SUPER-HEROES ON STAMPS
Like many matters in an industry populated by opinionated devotees, the origin of the comic book generates passionate debate, but comics, as we know them today, developed from the ‘humorous pencillings’ of political satirists of the 1700s, giving the illustrations their ‘comical’ name.
By the early 20th century cartoon strips seen in newspapers were becoming increasingly popular and the content expanded and varied, taking on more adventurous and engaging topics than just topical comment. ‘Soon publishers began creating original material for comic books,’ says Lawrence Klein, Chairman of New York’s Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art (MOCCA). ‘Thus were born Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Plastic Man, Captain America, and countless others.’
Known in the USA as the Golden Age of Comics, a period most notable for the rise of Superman, the explosion of these commercial periodicals during the 1920s and 1930s was actually seen in a variety of countries.
In Japan, ‘Manga’ was flourishing following the relaxation of propaganda laws, and in North America traditional heroes such as detective Dick Tracy and sailor Popeye (both
