Bronze Age (1970-79)

The Silver Age of Comic Books is an informal name for the period of artistic advancement and commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly in the superhero genre, that lasted roughly from the late 1950s/early 1960s to the early 1970s. more...

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Silver Age (1956-69)
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It is preceded by the Golden Age of Comic Books.

During the Silver Age, the character make-up of superheroes evolved. Writers injected science fiction concepts into the origins and adventures of superheroes. More importantly, superheroes became more human and troubled, and since the Silver Age, character development and personal conflict have been almost as important to a superhero's mythos as super powers and epic adventures.

Events leading to the Silver Age

Following World War II, superheroes faced a steady decline in popularity. Their development was complicated by the rise of gritty horror and crime comic books, as well as by national parental concerns ignited by Dr. Fredric Wertham's influential book Seduction of the Innocent, and fanned by U.S. Senate hearings on juvenile delinquency. In response, the comic book industry implemented the Comics Code, which forbade gore, sexual suggestiveness, and disrespect of authorities, among other tenets. This made certain genres more difficult to publish, though comic books, like the similarly constrained media of film and television, of necessity, developed new means of storytelling and new types of stories.

History

The beginning (as well as the end) of the Silver Age is cause for debate, but it is generally agreed that the period began with DC Comics’ Showcase #4 in 1956, which introduced the modern version of the Flash. Under editor Julius Schwartz, the Flash was the first of many old characters revised as streamlined, science fiction-influenced models. Others included Green Lantern, the Atom and Hawkman. DC also introduced The Justice League of America, an all-star group consisting of its most popular characters.

The success of these series meant DC had found a viable format that could make for successful properties under Comics Code Authority restrictions. This helped breathe new life into the medium and sales began to recover.

The period also saw the rise of Marvel Comics, under the guidance of writer-editor Stan Lee and artists/cowriters Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, who introduced more sophisticated characterization and dynamic plotting into superhero comics. The most popular and influential Marvel character of this period was Spider-Man. Other significant and long-lasting Marvel heroes introduced during the Silver Age include The Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, Daredevil, The X-Men, and Marvel's own all-star group, The Avengers. After an initial period of hesitance, DC began to adopt some of Marvel's creative approaches.

Read more at Wikipedia.org