It's a bird! It's a plane! No it's the moral decay of society created through the strangle hold comic books have on our children. Comic books have been one of the most persuasive and influential media forms of 20th century pop culture. Comic books are at least as old as movies. Their first steps were set in the beginning of 20th century in search for new ways to showcase graphic and visual communication and expression. In the first decade of comic books, they were for humoristic purposes. The stories and themes were mostly about children and their pet's many adventures. .
In 1929, there was a turning point in comic book history. Comic books grew up with picturing adventures that were out of the ordinary. Three types of adventures emerged, the science fiction, detective stories, and jungle adventures. Than came the first costumed character, the Phantom, created by Lee Fall and Ray Moore. The first comic book icon was born in the 40's. Siegel and Shuster's creation of Superman became a start of the Golden Age of comic book history. Sadly, they sold the rights of Superman to DC Comics in the 40's and never gained the amount of profits that Superman has garnered through the decades.
Comic books became part of the mass pop culture. It evolved and expanded into more creative and perverse themes. During the period of 1940-1945, four hundred superheroes were created; most of them were based in Superman's model. Out of the bunch, came two notable superheroes. Saving the city of Gotham, Batman emerged as a phenomenon. Batman was created by Bob Kane. Captain America was created by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon. Captain America became a huge hit, considering it was the time of World War II. He battled the infamous Adolf Hitler on his first issue. .
By the 1950's, there were massive debates over the influence of comic books. A very famous psychiatrist by the name of Frederic Wertham led the campaign for the censorship of comic books.
