Superhero comics is one of the most common genres of American comic books. The genre rose to prominence in the 1930s and became extremely popular in the 1940s and has remained the dominant form of comic book in North America since the 1960s. Superhero comics feature stories about superheroes and the universes these characters inhabit.
Beginning with the introduction of Superman in 1938 in Action Comics #1 (an anthology of adventure features) comic books devoted to superheroes (heroic people with extraordinary or superhuman abilities and skills, or god-like powers and attributes) ballooned into a widespread genre, coincident with the beginnings of World War II and the end of the Great Depression.
Precursors
In comics format, superpowered and costumed heroes like Popeye and The Phantom had appeared in newspaper comic strips for several years prior to Superman. The first fully-masked hero The Clock first appeared in the comic book Funny Pages #6 (Nov. 1936).
After World War II superhero comic books gradually declined in popularity, their sales hindered in part by the publication of Seduction of the Innocent and the investigations of The Senate Subcommittee hearings on juvenile delinquency. By 1954 only three superheroes still had their own titles; Superman and Batman, who also costarred in World's Finest Comics, and Wonder Woman.[1]
Superhero Comics became darker with the release of landmark deconstructive works such as Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns, which led to many imitations. The late 80s to early 90s saw the rise of successful new characters including the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the anti-hero Spawn which were predominantly creator owned as opposed to Marvel and DC's which were corporate owned. The comic book mini series Kingdom Come brought an end to the popularity of the anti-hero and encouraged instead a reconstruction of the genre with superhero characters that endeavored to combine artistic and literary sophistication with idealism.
^Tim Hanley, Wonder Woman Unbound: The Curious History of the World's Most Famous Heroine, Chicago Review Press, 2014, p. 91.
References
Benton, Mike (1991). Superhero Comics of the Silver Age: The Illustrated History. Taylor History of Comics. Taylor Publishing. p. 226. ISBN0-87833-746-6.
Howe, Sean 2012). Marvel Comics: the Untold Story. First ed. New York: Harper. 485 p. ISBN978-0-06-199210-0
Jacobs, Will and Gerard Jones (1985). The Comic Book Superheroes, from the Silver Age to the Present. New York: Crown Publishers. xi, 292 p. ISBN0-517-55440-2
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