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Episode 1541 Talkback - Comic Talk
i_am_scifi
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While a sleet-storm rages in Reading, the Geeks cocoon in their respective dwellings and engage in some Comic Talk via conference call! Shane and Chris pay their respects to the late Leonard Nimoy; Pants weaves the tale of his recent trip to the west coast for Gallifrey One, including tantalizing descriptions of some of L.A.'s finer comic shops; and the debate over proper terminology for the 'Ages' of comics is revisited. Plus TV talk, 'Secret Wars' speculation, and other frozen treats.
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The term “Golden Age of Comics” was coined in 1960 by Dick Lupoff in his Comic Art fanzine. “Silver Age” spun out of that not long after, definitely by 1966 when the term appeared in the letters column of JLA #42.
We had a brief discussion about the current Age about a year ago.
I agree with Pants that Ages are best defined, much like the evaluation of a President’s term in office, in retropect with the added perspective of time. For example, at the time Lupoff used the term “Golden Age,” it was entirely appropriate. After all, these were generally older fans romantically looking back at the comics they grew up with as children. But in more general usage, a Golden Age is thought of to be the peak of whatever it is that the term is being applied to. I.e., the Golden Age of the Roman Empire is considered to be the 200-year long Pax Romana Era, which began 250 years after the Empire's formative years. Yet compare most Golden Age comics with the comics of today, and you'll find them vastly inferior for the most part—(there are always exceptions to the rule).
I think a more historically appropriate name for that time period would be “Bronze Age.” Just as the making of bronze tools and weapons brought humanity from the Stone Age, so too did the early comics establish a new format for telling stories with sequential art. But, let's face, we're stuck with Golden Age, Silver Age, and Bronze Age being what they are. Though even now there are arguments over exactly when each of those Ages begins and ends. Or if there's a brief Atomic Age stuck in there between the Golden and Silver Ages.
I also think we are always in the Modern Age. That is to say, the Modern Age is something that is constantly changing and evolving. What was the Modern Age in 1987, is now something else, be it the Dark Age, the Copper Age, or however it ends up being named. And as I referred to in the other thread, ideally there should be some key defining moment to indicate the beginning and end of any Age, but what those moments are, aren't always so clear. And perhaps those “moments” may actually be transitions that take place over several months or even years. Hence discussions like these.
How's that for a start?
Here is the entire Nimoy interview:
http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/leonard-nimoy