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The history of American comics started in 1842 with the translation of Rodolphe Töpffer's work: ''The Adventures of Obadiah Oldbuck''. Local artists took over this new medium and created the first American comics. But it is not until the development of daily newspapers that an important readership is reached through comic strips. The first years corresponded to the establishment of canonical codes (recurring character, speech balloons, etc.) and first genres (family strips, adventure tales). Characters acquired national celebrity and were subject to cross-media adaptation while newspapers were locked in a fierce battle for the most popular authors. The second major evolution came in 1934 with the comic book, which allowed the dissemination of comics (first reprints of comic strips) in dedicated media. In 1938, when Superman appeared in one of those comic books, began what is commonly called the «Golden Age of Comic Books». During World War II, superheroes and funny animals were the most popular genres. Following the decline of the superheroes, new genres developed (western, romance, science fiction, etc..) and reached an increasingly important readership. At the beginning of the 1950s, with the emergence of television, comic books sales began to decline. Meanwhile, they suffered many attacks on their alleged harm to youth. For instance, the introduction of the Comics Code Authority removed the detective and horror series incriminated; though nor comic strips or magazines were affected by these attacks. In 1956 began the «Silver Age of Comic Books» with the return of the preference for superheroes, such as Flash and Green Lantern by DC Comics. If Dell Comics and its comics for children remained the leading publisher of comic books, genres other than superheroes started to decline and many publishers closed. Very popular superheroes, mainly created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, appeared in Marvel Comics. This turned into the leading publisher of comics in the next period known as the «Bronze Age of Comic Books» (from the early 1970s to 1985) during which the stories became less manichean while superhero comics maintained their hegemony. The distinction between these two periods is often associated by historians to an event but it is rather a series of changes that affected many aspects of the comics world. At the same time, underground comics appeared, which, aesthetically, addressed new themes, and economically, were based on a new distribution model. Comic strips continue to be distributed throughout the country and even some of them gained international dissemination, such as ''Peanuts''. The modern period initially seemed to be a new golden age when writers and artists recreated classic characters or launched new series that attracted millions of readers. However, it was then marked by a series of crises that threaten the financial stability of many agents. Alternative comics, successors of underground comics, develop in line with Art Spiegelman and his ''Maus''. On the other hand, the comic strip experienced a crisis more pronounced in the 2000s and linked to that of the press as a whole, while at the same time a new American product, the webcomics, sprang. == Different periods == American historians generally divide comics chronologically into «ages». The first period, called «Golden Age», extends from 1938 (first appearance of Superman) to 1954 (introduction of the Comics Code). The following period, the «Silver Age», goes from 1956 to early 1970s. The «Bronze Age» follows immediately and spans until 1986. Finally the last period, from 1986 until today, is the «Modern Age». This division is standard but not all the critics apply it, since some of them propose their own periods.〔 Furthermore, the dates selected may vary depending on the authors (there are at least four dates to mark the end of the Bronze Age). In ''A Complete History of American Comic Books'', Shirrel Rhoades resumes the canonical division but cites Ken Quattro, who proposes three heroic periods (from 1938 to 1955, from 1956 to 1986 and from 1986 until today) Rhoades also cites Steve Geppi who, taking into account comic strips, divides the history of comics in ages «victorian» (''Victorian Age'', from 1828 to 1882), «of platinum» («''Platinum Age''», from 1882 to 1938), «of gold» («''Golden Age''», from 1938 to 1945), «atomic» («''Atom Age''», from 1946 to 1956), «of silver» («''Silver Age''», from 1956 to 1971), «of bronze» («''Bronze Age''», from 1971 to 1985), «of copper» («''Copper Age''», from 1986 to 1992), «of chrome» («''Chrome Age''», from 1992 to 1999), and «modern» («''Modern Age''», since 2000).〔 Randy Duncan and Matthew J. Smith, in ''英語:The Power of Comics: History, Form and Culture'', prefer to speak of an era of invention, proliferation, diversification, etc. Consideration of comic strips in the general history of comics has led some, including Steve Geppi, adding two periods before the Golden Age: the Victorian period (from the beginning, from 1828 to 1882) and the Platinum Age (the period of comic strips).〔 In fact, originally only the golden age and the silver age had a right of citizenship since the terms «Golden Age» and «Silver Age» had appeared in a letter from a reader published in the nº 42 of ''Justice League of America'' in February 1966 that stated: «If you guys keep bringing back the heroes from the Golden Age, people 20 years from now will be calling this decade the Silver Sixties!». 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「History of American comics」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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