Top 10 Comics: Then v. Now

Remember when a full year subscription of Superman only cost $1.15? How about when Archie & Veronica issues were smuggled into classrooms, tucked inside textbooks to fool teachers?

A lot’s changed since the Baby Boomer generation was the target market of comic book publishers. Here’s a breakdown in the top 10 comic books based on issues circulated back in 1962, compared to this year. Plus we’ll throw in a few historical tidbits to help explain some of the differences.

1962: Top 10 Comic Books*

2012: Top 10 Comic Books*

Some Comic History Factoids:

Sales figures dramatically decreased for a few reasons:

1. Television, movies and video games emerged as fierce competitors of the paperback variety.
2. Production values have increased, causing a spike in price of individual issues and yearly subscriptions.

Heroes with human-like weaknesses grew in popularity

Though perhaps not shown in these year comparisons, this is generally accepted as fact, by comic enthusiasts. In the 60’s and 70’s, during a period marked by social upheaval and public disorientation in America, people needed entertainment they related to. Hulk and Spiderman were especially popular.

Batman got darker.

His popularity was suffering in the 60’s, and creators returned to the character to his original grim roots, culminating with The Dark Knight Returns in 1986. Since then, feature films helped Batman maintain his popularity.

Inter-textuality became a trend.

This year’s top title, Avengers v. X-Men, represents the trend that began in the 1980’s of comics “realizing” their existence. Characters started leaping into each other’s stories, and narratives were blended. Fans loved this, and still do today.

This is just a glimpse at the industry’s incredibly rich history, comparing two slices in time. Are there other titles you loved as a child you wanna share? Let us know in the comments!

* Sources:

1. http://www.comichron.com/yearlycomicssales/1960s/1962.html