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UP, UP AND AWAY Comic books’ popularity only growing in Digital Age

UP, UP AND AWAY Comic books’ popularity only growing in Digital Age

 Nicknamed “The Big Blue Boy Scout,” DC Comics’ Superman is the gold standard for superheroes and the pursuit of good. (Image courtesy of Metaweb)

August 2025

Cover Story

UP, UP AND AWAY

Comic books’ popularity only growing in Digital Age

by Corbin Crable

The box office success of James Gunn’s new film “Superman,” which soared into theaters last month, has once again thrust comic books and comic book characters into the spotlight of public consciousness.

One might think this highly collectible form of ephemera is on the downswing, but recent studies have revealed otherwise. A June 2025 article from Fortune Business Insights shows that the market’s value is projected to reach 17 billion by the end of the year and reach 26 billion within the next seven years. Whether in printed or digital form, there are plenty of reasons to crack open a new issue.

“The growing production of comics with engaging stories and attractive graphics to help illustrate the content is driving the popularity of comics worldwide,” the article states. “These books help readers improve their vocabulary, improve their creativity, and build a strong value system through a positive message.”

Kiddin’ around: Comics at the turn of the century

Comics and comic books as we know them can be traced back to the mid-1890s, with the full-color publication of “Hogan’s Alley” and its flagship character, The Yellow Kid. First published in Joseph Pulitzer’s New York World newspaper, gave rise to the phrase “yellow journalism,” which referred to stories that were sensationalized for the purpose of boosting newspaper sales. The bald, barefoot boy, dressed in a raggedy yellow nightgown, lived in a tenement ghetto in New York City, and was described as being “sweet and generous, with a sunny disposition.” The comic made use of thoughts and speech being represented in word balloons that appeared above its characters.

The comic book as we know it – a monthly printed book of comics titled “Comics Monthly” – wasn’t printed until nearly 30 years later, in 1922.

 

Flash Gordon

Flash Gordon

Recently, publishers such as Mad Cave Studios have resurrected vintage comic book titles like Flash Gordon for a modern audience in the digital era. (Image courtesy of Mad Cave)

Hope for a world in need of a hero

Like so many forms of entertainment, comics of the 1930s were intended to act as a form of escapism for a Depression-weary American public. Enter National Allied Publications, the pre-cursor to DC Comics, from Jerry Siegel and Joel Schuster, a New York-based duo who, in early 1935, published its first comic. The next few years were dedicated to developing the character who would change the face of comics and pop culture forever. They named him ‘Superman,’ branding the industry’s first superhero as a beacon of strength, perseverance, and hope in a world being darkened by the prospect of a world war on the horizon. The Man of Steel would make his great debut in June 1938.

In those early years, comic books’ Golden Age, other superheroes would make their debut to critical acclaim, including The Flash and Green Lantern (1940), and Wonder Woman and Marvel’s Captain America in 1941.

“The period from 1938 through the mid-1940s represents the peak of comic book popularity. Whereas current monthly sales of popular comic book titles hover around 100,000 copies, in the early 1940s, Superman, Batman, and Captain Marvel titles each regularly sold in the range of 1.5 million copies per month,” according to an article on illustrationhistory.org.

Marvel’s Captain America

Marvel’s Captain America

Comic book heroes have never shied away from taking on villains both fictional and from real life. Marvel’s Captain America, for instance, made his debut by punching Adolph Hitler in the face. It was 1941 – the same year that the United States entered World War II. (Image courtesy of CSR)

vampire hunter Blade

vampire hunter Blade

In order to ensure their comic books reflected their audience, the 1970s saw comic publishers place superheroes of color in the spotlight. One of the most enduring is vampire hunter Blade, who made his debut in 1973. (Image courtesy of Games Radar)

Action Comics

Action Comics

In 2022, this issue of Action Comics, in which the world first met Superman, sold at auction last year for a whopping $6 million. It is considered the most expensive comic book ever sold. The Man of Steel also appears in second place with “Superman #1” at $5.3 million. The third most expensive comic title – at $3.6 million — goes to Amazing Fantasy #15, in which the Amazing Spider-Man first appeared. (Image courtesy of Heritage Auction)

Archie Comics

Archie Comics

Comic books aren’t entirely populated by superheroes, of course. Example: Archie Comics, launched in 1942 and detailing the adventures of all-American teen Archie and his friends Betty, Veronica, and the smart but laid-back Jughead. (Image courtesy of eBay)

The new scapegoat

Postwar America in the late 1940s and all of the 1950s saw a small dip in comic book sales as American families focused on building careers and lives together.

Psychiatrist Dr. Frederic Wertham’s book “Seduction of the Innocent” painted comic books as harbingers of societal and moral decay; his crusade against comic books and the comic industry was so widespread and feared that comic book publishers banded together to form the Comics Code Authority, an organization tasked with regulating the content churned out every month.

Among the Code’s edicts:

“In every instance good shall triumph over evil…”
“If crime is depicted, it shall be as a sordid and unpleasant activity.”
“Females shall be drawn realistically without exaggeration of any physical qualities.”
“…vampires and vampirism, ghouls, cannibalism and werewolfism are prohibited.”

Comic books’ popularity rebounded during their Silver Age, which took place between the mid-1950s and early 1970s. During that time, comic books “saw a change from dark and supernatural comic book themes to the other end of the spectrum with books containing silly plots and a high degree of camp,” according to illustrationhistory.org. “Such plots involved Superbaby and ‘The Super-Monkey from Krypton in Superboy #76 (October 1959) and Batman and Robin teaming up with comedian Jerry Lewis to fight the Joker in Jerry Lewis #97 (December 1966).” The Batman television series of the mid-1960s would introduce even more bizarre characters and give the program an overall campy feel

the “evils” of comic books

The “Evils” of Comic Books

In the 1950s, Dr. Frederic Wertham led the charge against the “evils” of comic books, arguing in his extremely flawed studies that the medium had the power to drive good people to lives of crime. (Image courtesy of Wikimedia)

The X-Men

The X-Men

DC Comics faced a formidable competitor in Marvel Comics, which created a world of incredible characters like those in the X-Men comics. The X-Men made their debut in 1963. (Image courtesy of Pinterest)

Keeping up with the times

The Bronze Age of comic books (1970-85) reclaimed the serious and dramatic feel of their predecessors of the 1930s and ‘40s. In this era, with comic book writers not hesitating to kill off beloved characters to advance a storyline – with the character of Mary Jane Watson, Peter Parker’s (Spiderman) love interest being the first. The 1970s and early ‘80s also were a time during which comics took up the mantle of social and environmental causes.

Illustrationhistory.org notes that this occurred “most famously during the collaborative adventures of Green Lantern and Green Arrow as they fought against racism, pollution, and social injustice. Green Arrow also confronted his sidekick Speedy’s heroin addiction while Iron Man came to terms with his alcoholism.”

The action and drama continued with comic books’ Dark Age (1985-96), which saw the rise of anti-heroes in comic books and the use of alternate universes, such as in DC’s “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” considered a massive success for the company. The Dark Age saw the death of Superman; the publication of Alan Moore’s “Watchmen”; and chaos continuing to reign in Batman’s Gotham City, which a newspaper editor once described as “Manhattan below 14th Street at eleven minutes past midnight on the coldest night in November.”

Wonder Woman,

Wonder Woman

Comic book characters have made the successful leap from page to screen over the decades, including Wonder Woman, played by Lynda Carter in the 1970s. Little girls everywhere practiced Carter’s transformation spin, which took the character from everyday woman to red, white, and blue superhero. (Image courtesy of lyndacarter.com)

The Dark Age, with its equally dark storylines, settings, and characters, ended with a decline in comic book readership.

In the Modern Age (1996- present), however, comics have seen a resurgence in readership, due in large part to the popularity of Japanese books (called ‘manga’), as well as digital technology making them more readily available than ever before.

Move over, Superman. The digital world, it seems, has saved the day for an industry that continues to adapt to change.

Says Illustrationhistory.org, “Over 80 years since the debut of Superman, the comic book industry has remained relevant through the early adoption of digital comics, successful saturation into the film and television markets, and maintaining a strong connection to their fan base.”

Hogan’s Alley

Yellow Kid from Hogan’s Alley

In 1995, the U.S. Postal Service released a series of stamps honoring comic book characters, including the one and only Yellow Kid from “Hogan’s Alley.” (Image courtesy of U.S. Postal Service)