The Essential Bad Golden Age

[FenrisUlf]

Having covered half the comics ages, might as well nail the last two.

What did you find awful about Golden Age comics, characters, or stories? I haven't read enough to say myself, though the frothing at the mouth hatred for foreigners (esp. Orientals -- was every GA Asian a slack-jawed, perverse apeman?) they could attain was truly nasty by modern standards.

The 'no real superpowered opposition' could also get ridiculuous with some of the more cosmic types like the Spectre. What are the gangsters gonna do, shoot him?

Anyone else?

[OddHat]

Thuggish politics. The Authority in post-Ellis crap mode is just a return to Golden Age form, with the greater scale made possible by power inflation. Don't like someone's politics? Why not dangle him over the city and threaten to drop him unless he mends his ways?
Oy.

The racism and nationalism were thick in the worst Golden Age titles as well, as you pointed out.

Superman beating a wife abuser and threatening to come back and do it again if he continues sticks in my mind. It's the kind of impulse we all have (Heck, Schwarzenegger did almost the same thing in Kindergarten Cop), and it's still ugly and useless (not that there would be much else you could have done in the early 40s, short of helping the woman set up a new identity somewhere).

[nexus]

Totally off topic, but I recall a story (in Spawn of all places) that kind of explored the "thuggish" way to solve problem and how it wouldn't work. Spawn beat up and humilated a crooked cop that was abusing one of his kids to make him change his ways. He didn't. He went home and took it out on his kid as soon as the Hero was out of sight, forcing the boy's brother to shoot his father to save his life. Very dark, but surpringly effective story.

[TheRealVector]

Totally off topic, but I recall a story (in Spawn of all places) that kind of explored the "thuggish" way to solve problem and how it wouldn't work. Spawn beat up and humilated a crooked cop that was abusing one of his kids to make him change his ways. He didn't. He went home and took it out on his kid as soon as the Hero was out of sight, forcing the boy's brother to shoot his father to save his life. Very dark, but surpringly effective story.

That is a very effective story. Moral of the story: If you're in the Iron Age don't beat the crooked cop up, kill the bastard right then and there.

...now cue the Afternoon Special theme music...

[Whitewings]

(esp. Orientals -- was every GA Asian a slack-jawed, perverse apeman?)

There were occassional exceptions to his, but it must be remembered that during most of the so-called Golden Age, the US was at war with Imperial Japan. How else would you expect Japanese characters to be portrayed. Trust me, the Germans didn't get off any better. This doesn't excuse anything, but it does explain them.

[Supreme]

Totally off topic, but I recall a story (in Spawn of all places) that kind of explored the "thuggish" way to solve problem and how it wouldn't work. Spawn beat up and humilated a crooked cop that was abusing one of his kids to make him change his ways. He didn't. He went home and took it out on his kid as soon as the Hero was out of sight, forcing the boy's brother to shoot his father to save his life. Very dark, but surpringly effective story.

Wow didn't think Spawn had such intelligent writing. Was that a MacFarland story?

For me the worst parts of the Golden Age were:

• The only well developed characters were the white males.
• The sick levels of nationalism and patriotism were found primarily in Timely Comics which later became Marvel. In DC such issues were basically ignored (which is not such a good thing either), or were dumped once the original writers like Siegel went off to war.
• The stories were ridiculously simple. While this allowed a certain cavalier attitude that is more or less lost to us today, it also meant that plots and characters remained a bit too stupid

Of course these are largely my complaints about the Silver Age too, so you won't see me posting to that thread.

[st barbara]

I remember reading that people COMPLAINED when Fawcett created "Captain Nazi" a tough, ruthless, and clever enemy for "Captain Marvel" (or was it "Captain Marvel Jr" ?). It appears that many readers back in the "golden age" WANTED the villains to be ugly, vicious and stupid and regularly beaten up by the heros. Personally I prefer villains that sre tough and clever and give the heros a great fight every time they meet !

[SKJAM!]

Most of the very worst of the Golden Age has simply never been reprinted, and thus is unavailable to read.

That said, overt and frothing racism; cultural tonedeafness; stories so formula you could (and sometimes they did) simply recolor the main character's costume to pass as new; really, really bad art.

[CBikle]

Not sure if this counts, but here's the first ad for Maxim magazine, circa 1935.

There's a few creepy aspects to this ad including references to the magazine coming with "instructions" and references to a "magic tab" (shudder).