Book review: The Bronze Age of DC Comics is actually pure gold
A beautifully illustrated and fascinating history of one of the two pillars of American comic books shows how social changes found their expression on the page
by Paul Levitz and Dennis O’Neil
Taschen
American comic book nerds – this writer included – have long lamented the dismissal of the medium as fluff intended for the unsophisticated (now that superheroes dominate the global box office, that attitude has carried over to the world of film criticism and awards).
While superhero comics did in fact begin as vapid entertainment in the 1930s, the industry changed in the 1970s after a combination of factors – the loosening of content restrictions by the Comics Code Authority in 1971 and the growth of political awareness and social progressive values in the US – led to a sea change in comic book storytelling. Gone were the goofy stories of the 50s and 60s, replaced with darker, socially relevant plot elements such as drug use, poverty, racism and sexism. It’s a change that’s stayed with the industry since.