history of comics

The history of graphic novels begins with the birth of comics. but we can go further back in time where sequential art first appeared.There are a number of differences between pictures and sequential art but the main one is that the one tells a story through the juxtaposition of images that builds to something that a single picture image can’t replicate.The placing of pictures side by side gives you a sequential narrative on which to read.scientists and art historians believe That the cave paintings of Lascaux are the earliest type of sequential art. Images of hunting are not single images but a collection of man and beast at different stages of the chase there for giving a narrative.The paintings in the egyptian tombs and pyramids also record important events through sequential art and hieroglyphic lettering.Sequential art can also be found in the Bayeux Tapestry, recording the invasion of Britain by the normans in 1066 the battle of hastiings.it must be made clear that these are not single images, but a collection of images in a series. Even though there are no borders frames or speech bubbles or no over eggagerated lettering they are building a narrative nonetheless.There are manny more examples that could be used such as Michelangelo’s Sistine chapel and medieval manuscripts.
If we go little while back into the 1700s to Britain, an man called William Hogarth would kick start an interest in narrative works. In 1743–1745 Hogarth painted the six pictures of Marriage à-la-mode,this work poked fun at the upper class people of the 18th century society. This ’story cycle’ shows the unfounded tragedy of an not well thought out marriage based on money. The paintings were designed to be shown side by side so providing.The Swiss, Rodolphe Topffer 1799-1846 is generally considered to be the founder of modern comics. His drawings with their borders and most importantly interdependent words were close to what we know as modern comic artwork.Before this in 1440, the Gutenberg press had improved society and now printed books and with siquentacl art could come to you rather than you to it. now that book production was a commercial business, the first copyright laws were passed to protect what we now would callintellectual rights.At the end of the nineteenth century things started to take shape. a pice of work named ‘Yellow Kid’ appeared in Richard F. Oultcault’s ‘Hogan’s Alley’. A gap-toothed skinhead street kid in a yellow gown. This was probably the first cartoon art that people followed.In 1935 print salesman Max Gaines thought up with a plan of reprinting daily and weekly newspaper comic strips in tabloid papers this would be known as comic books These were found to be so popular that publishers such as National know now as today DC Comics began to produce original stories to cope with the public demand.
National’s Action Comics no.1 featured Jerry Seigel and Joe Shuster’s Superman character in 1938. With this character the future of comics was cemented and the medium had found its killer format.Soon to follow was Batman, Wonder Woman, Captain America and many others. By the early 1950s the boom of the Super had died and DC Comics published Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman but that was about it. The only genre that was doing well was horror. The leading horror publisher was EC Comics .
Bill had reluctantly taken over from his father and had a different approach. He let the artists imagination run wild. Brutal war stories emerged such as Two Fisted Tales Wertham attempted to show the long term negative effects of comics on children. Eventually the comics industry imposed on itself a system of content regulation.EC Comics sales and fell sharply as retailers wanted nothing to do with the company. Mad comic changed into a lack and white magazine d the code) and became a household name in the states.