Comics entered their “golden age” in 1938 when a new idea revolutionized the industry: the creation of the first and archetypal superhero. Superman, pioneered by Detective Comics, better known as DC, was quickly followed by Batman, another brainchild of DC, in 1939. An explosion of acrobatic superheroes, such as Captain America, Wonder Woman, and The Green Lantern, quickly made the previous heros of the crime, cowboy, and romance genres look dated. Also in 1939, Marvel, then known as Timely Publications, introduced The Human Torch and his anti-hero Namor. That same year the creative and driving force of the superhero comic book genre, Stan Lee, began to work at Timely. The genre would never be the same again after benefiting from his innovative influence. Comics promoted wartime messages and patriotic spirit with the onset of WWII. By providing inexpensive and colorful entertainment, they also kept Americans’ spirits up amid wartime hardships and worries about friends and family members in harm’s way in both Europe and the Pacific. In more recent years, the comics genre has exploded with revolutionary artwork and formats, attracting an even broader array of readers. Today, comics and their related products are widely collectable as investments.
