Under the Code, criminals weren’t to be sympathetic or glamorous, legitimate government authority was not to be put in a bad light, and “deviant” sexual behavior was prohibited. There was nothing illegal about publishing a comic without the Code’s seal, but most newsstands and many printers wouldn’t risk getting involved, for fear of angry parents. In 1954, the Comics Code Authority was created to monitor comics before they were delivered to the public. After World War II, US society had an increasing belief that society was delicate and in danger of subversives, and that meant that narrative media was under deep scrutiny. Meanwhile, the wizard Shazam drew power from both the Jewish figure Solomon as well as deities from Pagan pantheons.īut the audience’s taste for placing real beliefs alongside fantasy elements changed. Keeper to mentor the boy in his new career as a hero called Kid Eternity. Keeper, who managed the passage of souls to Heaven. Elsewhere, a young boy died prematurely due to a clerical error by Mr. When police officer Jim Corrigan died, his spirit encountered a brilliant light and a voice that told him he was to return to Earth as the vengeful Spectre. The first character to use the name “Black Widow” was recruited by the actual devil after her murder, and assigned to return to Earth and take down sinners. When the Golden Age of Comics started in 1938, using Heaven and Hell was totally fair game. A laissez-faire attitude towards using religious motifs ran headlong into a period of industry censorship, and writers and artists were left holding the pieces, with the job of fashioning them into the continuity we know today.
ETHE DEMON TRIGAN DC COMICS FULL
How do demonic bikers and spirits of divine vengeance coexist with Norse gods and Olympian warriors?Ĭomics history is full of simple events that made Marvel and DC’s Heaven and Hell such a strangely convoluted place. But comics get even weirder when you consider the characters who got their powers from actual religious figures. Comics involve wild cosmic beings and people who somehow get powers from radiation, rather than health problems.