dimanche 12 janvier 2014

History Of Science Fiction Comic Book Authors

By Marissa Velazquez


The first sci-fi comic strip was a comedy called Mr Skygack from Mars by A. D. Condo, which appeared in the 1900s. The first sci-fi comic strip of a serious nature was Buck Rodgers in 1928, which was quickly followed by Flash Gordon, Brick Bradford, and Dan Dare from Britain. Since then Sci-fi comic books have spread throughout the world and there are many science fiction comic book authors creating more imaginative storylines making the genre incredibly popular to this day.

A high proportion of the first comics contained elements of sci-fi. Planet comic's "Superman" series brought in the super hero sci-fi sub-genre. EC Comics published sci-fi comics to great success in the 1950s and the storylines and concepts became more and more sophisticated. US sci-fi comics continued into the 1960s with comics aimed at both children and adolescents. Young adults became interested in the genre in the late 1960s with the wave of hippy underground comics.

The Manga comics from Japan first appeared in the 1950s and Atro Boy by Osamu Tezuka is believed to be the fist sci-fi comic from Manga. Manga became very popular and spawned high popular series, such as Galaxy Express 999 by Leiji Matsumoto, Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo and Ghost in the Shell by Masamune Shirow.

Sci-fi graphic novels first appeared in the 60s and comic strips with a longer and more developed storyline. Graphic novels have the advantage of being able to portray specific concepts that would be difficult to put into words. Robots, time travel, virtual reality and mecha are popular concepts in sci-fi graphic novels. The graphic novel has become increasingly sophisticated in it's artistry and storylines and tend to be aimed more at adolescents and adults.

The USA sci-fi comic scene tends to mainly be in the superhero genre, and DC comics and Marvel comics are among the most successful. They have produce the most well known superheroes, such as Superman, Spiderman, The Incredible Hulk, Thor and many others. These superheroes all have elements of sci fi, although plots tend to be set on earth in the modern time rather than in the future.

Manga comics from Japan tend to be set in a futuristic setting. The famous sci-fi Manga comics include, Akira that was the inspiration behind The Matrix films and Ghost in the shell is set in a futuristic dystopia.

Many sci-fi comics and graphic novels depict the specific science fiction concepts that existed when they were written and capture the zeitgeist of the era. The older and classic sci-fi graphic novels were hand drawn and inked by an artist, whereas modern sci-fi comics often use computer generated images created using photoshop, corel paint, illustrator and paintbucket.

Science fiction is a broad term and many of the best science fiction comic book authors have played around with the genre to create new concepts. Warren Ellis can be credited for creating the cyberpunk concept with his Transmetropolitan series. Alan Moore used the genre to create social commentary with his V for Vendetta, which is set in a Dystopia.




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