Four Color, Silver Age, etc. Defined somewhere?

[jnormandin]

These terms refer to the general feeling, realism or grittyness of the story, right? I've been seeing these terms pop up and am kind of unsure of their meaning. I think I've got 'Four Color' but the others I could use a little help with.

 

Tried to find this info with Google but just found a billion posts from people buying/selling comics.

[Katherine]

Re: Four Color, Silver Age, etc. Defined somewhere?

 

I'm kind of a newb to the terms but here's how I understand them:

 

Four Color: The "classic" idea of comics. Not very "realistic" morality is black and white. Heroes are good, villains are bad that sort of things. Sort of like the Superfriends.

 

Silver Age: Comics in the 70s/80s. Some problems but still fairly black and white with over the top (or some might say "goofy) characters and situations.

 

Iron Age: "Modern" comic, ultra gritty, violent and morally ambiguous.

 

I'm sure someone will give you more accurate definitions shortly.

[Magmarock]

Re: Four Color, Silver Age, etc. Defined somewhere?

 

I'm afraid you are opening a can of worms.

 

Ask ten people this question, you'll get ten different answers.

 

Best for you to search for this topic, because this topic has been done to death on many, many threads. You shouldn't have any problems locating 3 or 4 recent threads that will cover most everyone's opinions on the matter.

 

Good luck,

 

Mags

[JmOz]

Re: Four Color, Silver Age, etc. Defined somewhere?

 

The silver age is the era of comics between the Golden Age & the Bronze age.

 

I place it between Showcase #4 (Introduces the second Flash, early/mid sixties) to the death of Glen Stacey (Spider-man's girlfriend, mid/Late seventies)

 

4 color actualy refers to the way a book was printed back then (They used four colors to make the books:Red Blue Yellow & Black), it has come to be synonomous with the more light hearted tales one found in many silver and golden age books

 

Iron Age is what people call the current age, though in truth most titles these days are still as they were in the bronze age (less sillienest like Bat-Mite, but still strong moral characters). USUALY however when someone refers to Iron Age they are talking about characters like the Punisher or the Authority or 90% of what Image premeired with.

[Doug McCrae]

Re: Four Color, Silver Age, etc. Defined somewhere?

 

The silver age is the era of comics between the Golden Age & the Bronze age.

 

I place it between Showcase #4 (Introduces the second Flash, early/mid sixties) to the death of Glen Stacey (Spider-man's girlfriend, mid/Late seventies)

Showcase #4 was published in 1956.

 

Golden Age = 1938 - some time between the end of WW2 and the start of the Silver Age.

Silver Age = 1956 - 197?

 

The Bronze Age/Iron Age boundaries are highly debatable, there's plenty of disagreement about whether we're still in the Iron Age or not. The dates I use are:

 

Bronze Age 1970 - 1985/6

Iron Age 1985/6 - present

[jnormandin]

Re: Four Color, Silver Age, etc. Defined somewhere?

 

Thanks guys, makes much more sense to me now.

 

I appreciate the responses.

[Lord Mhoram]

Re: Four Color, Silver Age, etc. Defined somewhere?

 

 

Bronze Age 1970 - 1985/6

Iron Age 1985/6 - present

 

I would support these numbers. If you look for "Events" in the publishing world to mark the changing of ages I go with - Gold/Silver was the Witchhunt. Silver/Bronze was the Death of Gwen Stacy or Speedy's drug problem, take your pick. Bronze/Iron The Watchmen and Dark Knight Returns. If we are in the "gilded age" now instead of Iron I would peg that at the publication of Astro City.

[devlin1]

Re: Four Color, Silver Age, etc. Defined somewhere?

 

I place it between Showcase #4 (Introduces the second Flash' date=' early/mid sixties) to the death of [b']Glen Stacey [/b] (Spider-man's girlfriend, mid/Late seventies)

Indeed, Stan Lee was on the cutting edge. No other comic at that time was even coming close to tackling issues of same-gender relationships.

[Doug McCrae]

Re: Four Color, Silver Age, etc. Defined somewhere?

 

Silver Age: Comics in the 70s/80s.

I think you're a bit off with this. 70s/80s = mainly Bronze Age by most people's definitions. And the Silver Age is usually assumed to begin in 1956, certainly no later than Fantastic Four #1 in 1961.

 

Totally agree with you about Four Color = Classic comics though. Some say Four color = Golden Age and Silver Age but there's a lot that happened then that doesn't really fit most people's idea of Four Color, such as killer vigilantes. Also some things like annual cosmic crossovers, endless guest appearances and side-switching (villain becomes hero, hero becomes villain) are regarded as very comic booky but only really took off in the mid-80s.

 

OTOH DC Silver Age comics seem closest to most folk's idea of what Four Color means.

[Metaphysician]

Re: Four Color, Silver Age, etc. Defined somewhere?

 

Yeah, some people consider the "silver age" of Marvel to bear more resemblance to the later bronze age, and DC's "silver age" to be more an extension of the golden age.

 

That said, I don't think the present is a new age, its just that bronze and iron coincide on the racks.

[JmOz]

Re: Four Color, Silver Age, etc. Defined somewhere?

 

I think you're a bit off with this. 70s/80s = mainly Bronze Age by most people's definitions. And the Silver Age is usually assumed to begin in 1956, certainly no later than Fantastic Four #1 in 1961.

 

Totally agree with you about Four Color = Classic comics though. Some say Four color = Golden Age and Silver Age but there's a lot that happened then that doesn't really fit most people's idea of Four Color, such as killer vigilantes. Also some things like annual cosmic crossovers, endless guest appearances and side-switching (villain becomes hero, hero becomes villain) are regarded as very comic booky but only really took off in the mid-80s.

 

OTOH DC Silver Age comics seem closest to most folk's idea of what Four Color means.

 

 

Avengers #16:

 

Captain America

Hawkeye (enemy of Iron Man)

Scarlet Witch (Ex Brotherhood of Evil Mutants)

Quicksilver (Ex Brotherhood of Evil Mutants)

[Pegasus]

Re: Four Color, Silver Age, etc. Defined somewhere?

 

The beginning of the Iron Age can typically be traced to the one-two punch of The Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns. Ironic, really, when you consider that neither story is in continuity. These were the stories that showed how a "grown-up" version of classic heroes could possibly work. Problem is, writers missed the point (surprise). The stories weren't about body count and ultra violence, but that's what invaded the comics storylines generally for the next decade and a half.

[Dust Raven]

Re: Four Color, Silver Age, etc. Defined somewhere?

 

While it's not absolutely definitive, the Champions book discusses these periods/themes, and gives example Powers for the various ages.

 

It doesn't define a "4 color" age, but mention that that title is often given to Golden and Silver age superhero comics.

 

Whether or not it's the definitive text on the subject, it's the one I refer to when using these boards (Champions book, Champions boards... kinda works).

 

I'm actually surprised no one's mentioned this book as a reference before now (or maybe someone has, I haven't read all the threads on these subjects recently).

[devlin1]

Re: Four Color, Silver Age, etc. Defined somewhere?

 

The beginning of the Iron Age can typically be traced to the one-two punch of The Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns.

Ack. Watchmen. No "the." Minor but significant.

[st barbara]

Re: Four Color, Silver Age, etc. Defined somewhere?

 

Interesting points. I usually don't bother with the "bronze", "Iron", "Adamantium"or whatever ages, but I would have thought that the golden age ended during the 1950's when the popularity of the Super Hero comics was eclipsed by that of the Horror Comics and that the silver age began with the relaunch of Super Heros by Julius Schwartz in the 1960's. Perhaps the best name I have heard for the current period of comics is "The Age Of Diversity"with a large number of companies prooducing comics of very varied types (not just Super Heros) and comtinuing to thrive (or at least survive)

[MelbourneMewMew]

Re: Four Color, Silver Age, etc. Defined somewhere?

 

Okay, there's another humorous essay I have here that fits well into this, and, while admittedly not very serious, still makes some good points about the style and evolution of the various ages. From Marvel Year in Review 1993

 

BRING ON THE BAD GUYS

Why today's villains are more popular than heroes

 

Why must everything that's good for us taste so bad? - Chef Boyardee

 

It seems incredible to contemplate, but some of today's top Marvel superstars - Sabertooth, Venom and Deadpool, for instance - are villains! Oh, they shield themselves in tattered cloaks of respectability, but it's not too hard to see the truth. After all, does a car thief really deserve to be disemboweled?

 

No, the more pressing question is this: Why do these one-time blights on society now stir the interests of today's comic book readers, enough so that they can float their own highly successful limited series?

 

When Knights Were Bold

 

Things were a lot simpler in the early days of the Marvel Universe. Back then, Doctor Octopus would show up with some cockamamie plan to kill Spider-Man, both parties would meet in a conveniently abandoned part of the city, a few buildings would get knocked down, women would faint, and that would be the end of it. Your average bad guy wanted nothing more than to hold up a few discount fur outlets, make the good guy look like a sap, and then take off. You think the Melter actually wanted to hurt anyone?

 

Back then, there wasn't much risk in being a supervillain, because you knew every hero in creation had taken the Boy Scout oath: "I promise to do what's right, to hold myself to the highest standards of the Comics Code Authority, to help old ladies across the street, to eat all my vegetables, even the Brussels sprouts, to take my hat off in the presence of our flag, to treat others decently, as I would like to be treated, and to never take human life under any circumstance, not even when they really deserve it". The worst that could hapen to a villain was that he'd plummet dozens of stories into a river - to "certain doom" - and return three months later, ready to take up the fight again.

 

Things change.

 

Black is White

 

It all started in the Seventies with the appearance of "heroes" like the Punisher and Wolverine. Instead of being hurled through a swirling dimensional vortex to seeming oblivion, a supervillain was now more likely to take a bullet to the brain, or a claw through the heart! Committing crimes and fighting superheroes became dangerous!

 

No wonder the bad guys started behaving a little rowdier - can you blame 'em? Suddenly, villains like Doctor Doom - who'd up till now pranced about with an air of menace but never actually did anything to anybody - started bumping off people left and right... some of 'em just for snoring too loudly!

 

And it's getting harder and harder to remember a time when heroes-gone-hardcore such as Phoenix and Yellowjacket had to be brought to heel for their less-than-heroic actions. Today they'd be headlining two books apiece, with guest appearances galore. Think about it: cosmic genocide and spouse abuse pale in comparison to the ever-present threat of street hoods with guns.

 

"It's a different world out there." confirms Cyclops, leader of the Uncanny X-Men. "I remember when I started going to Xavier's school back in the 60s. It was like a family then. Sure, we'd short-sheet each other's beds, but nothing more than that. These days, with the likes of Sabertooth on the team, things are so bad around here that I'm forced to strap my own costume to my body to keep my teammates from funning off with it! It's obscene!"

 

The Heroes You Hate to Love

 

So what is it that lends "superheroes" such as Sabertooth, Venom and Deadpool their incredible popularity? It can't be their looks - cheap knockoffs of Wolverine, Spider-Man and Spider-Man, respectively. It could, however, be their approach to life; testosterone is always in demand in the popular media, and a temprament prone to violent behaviour is an appealing trait in friends and family.

 

But maybe the true secret behind the new villain-heroes' popularity is their unaccountability - no matter how many laws they break, or how many body bags they leave in their wake, we all know they'll be coming back for more... and they'll never truly be punished for their misdeeds! In many ways, they're more reliable than the goody-goody superheroes they fight!

 

Of course, does anyone stop to question the fact that Venom running free in his own limited series - and being allowed to run free by Spider-Man himself - is akin to Charles Manson being released to hunt down the really bad cultists?

 

No, Chef Boyardee, you haven't quite hit the nail on the head. It's this: Why must everything that's bad for us taste so good?

 

Lock Those Deadbolts

 

So where does it all end? Sabretooth lunchboxes? Venom underdoos? ("Coated with realistic symbiote slime!") Deadpool as a spokesman for Ginsu? ("It can cut through a steel can and still deliver a nice, clean slice to the ol' jugular!") Carnage-o's frosted cereal? ("Turns your milk the color of freshly spilled entrails!")

 

Plus, once all of the good villains become heroes, who are they gonna fight? I suppose they could all take each other on, but as "Maximum Carnage" proved beyond a doubt, that gets stale real fast. Perhaps this heroic migration portends a new golden age for humanity. At least one noted sociologist has theorized that by the year 2099, the superhero as we know him may well have disappeared, becoming an ill-remembered relic.

 

But for now, the bottom line remains: If you're a superhero and you don't have a gun or an attitude, get 'em. And keep an eye on the guy standing next to you.