Action and adventure
Action and adventure |
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Page 13 of 42  Cover, Action Comics, no 1, (National Periodicals, 1938). Art: Joe Shuster. Today, collectors pay upwards of $150,000 for the comic that featured the first appearance of the man of steel. Before the 1930s the syndicated newspaper strips were certainly dominated by humorous content, but the influence of pulp-style adventure was increasingly felt. There were sporadic early examples of drama strips, perhaps the best known being Charles W Kahles's 'Hairbreadth Harry' (1906), which though essentially burlesque, nevertheless took its inspiration from nineteenth-century adventure fiction. Very fast-moving, and with a hero who specialized in hairbreadth rescues, the strip was an early pioneer of continuity: stories would end on cliffhanger situations with words such as 'Looks as if this operation calls for an encore'. Later, more inventive strips appeared. Two notable examples dated to 1924. Roy Crane's 'Wash Tubbs' was about an optimistic adventurer and his friendship with the hardboiled Captain Easy, and was notable for its punch-ups and treasure hunts in exotic locations. The strip also featured some remarkable new effects, such as the use of mechanically achieved half-tones, which gave the drawings a unique range. Harold Gray's 'Little Orphan Annie' was an adventure variant on the 'kid strip' theme, about a tough little orphan taken under the wing of a rich industrialist. It was based on the movies of Mary Pickford, in content and in look - both stars boasted lustrous curls - though the 'Annie' stories always featured a conservative political subtext, and were commonly used to barrack the pro-welfare policies of the Democrats.  Page from Superman (DC Comics, 1941) Art: Joe Shuster/ Wayne Boring. Script: Jerry Siegel.  Cover, Superman (BC Comics, 1971). Art: Curt Swan. |