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[CCBC-Net] Editors past and present
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From: leonardsma at aol.com <leonardsma>
Date: Mon, 21 Jul 2008 20:08:47 -0400
There were wordless graphic novels for adults before CALICO was created as an artier alternative comic book for children. In Belgium, Frans Masereel's THE CITY (1925) (which is available by the way as a Dover paperback) and in the US Lynd Ward's GOD'S MAN (1929) and MADMAN'S DRUM (1930) are three examples. Ward was influenced by Masereel and was an early influence on David Wiesner. But these graphic novels were artist's books rather than pop culture. The librarians' opposition to comics during the 40s may have served to make the comics seem even more desirable to children than they already were. But it may also have helped lay the groundwork for the more organized assault on the comics of the early 1950s, culminating in the Senate hearings presided over by Adlai Stevenson's running mate, Estes Kefauver. The Comics Code that industry executives devised on their own with a view to preempting further congressional action knocked the wind out of the genre for a time.
Leonard S. Marcus
54 Willow Street, #2A
Brooklyn, New York 11201
tel 718 596-1897
e-mail leonardsma at aol.com
web www.leonardmarcus.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Fern Kory <fkory at eiu.edu>
To: leonardsma at aol.com
Cc: ccbc-net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
Sent: Mon, 21 Jul 2008 5:55 pm
Subject: Re: [CCBC-Net] Editors past and present
It seemed to me that you documented some moments of innovation (e.g. Calico on p. 151) that suggest that the graphic novel or something like it might have emerged earlier. Do you think that the rejection by "minders" of comic books during their heyday in the 40s had a lasting effect???
-- Fern Kory Professor of English Eastern Illinois University
Received on Mon 21 Jul 2008 07:08:47 PM CDT
Date: Mon, 21 Jul 2008 20:08:47 -0400
There were wordless graphic novels for adults before CALICO was created as an artier alternative comic book for children. In Belgium, Frans Masereel's THE CITY (1925) (which is available by the way as a Dover paperback) and in the US Lynd Ward's GOD'S MAN (1929) and MADMAN'S DRUM (1930) are three examples. Ward was influenced by Masereel and was an early influence on David Wiesner. But these graphic novels were artist's books rather than pop culture. The librarians' opposition to comics during the 40s may have served to make the comics seem even more desirable to children than they already were. But it may also have helped lay the groundwork for the more organized assault on the comics of the early 1950s, culminating in the Senate hearings presided over by Adlai Stevenson's running mate, Estes Kefauver. The Comics Code that industry executives devised on their own with a view to preempting further congressional action knocked the wind out of the genre for a time.
Leonard S. Marcus
54 Willow Street, #2A
Brooklyn, New York 11201
tel 718 596-1897
e-mail leonardsma at aol.com
web www.leonardmarcus.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Fern Kory <fkory at eiu.edu>
To: leonardsma at aol.com
Cc: ccbc-net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
Sent: Mon, 21 Jul 2008 5:55 pm
Subject: Re: [CCBC-Net] Editors past and present
It seemed to me that you documented some moments of innovation (e.g. Calico on p. 151) that suggest that the graphic novel or something like it might have emerged earlier. Do you think that the rejection by "minders" of comic books during their heyday in the 40s had a lasting effect???
-- Fern Kory Professor of English Eastern Illinois University
Received on Mon 21 Jul 2008 07:08:47 PM CDT
