Comics – which until recently were attributed only to “nerds” and “geeks” – are now mainstream. For several years now, we have been flooded with great film productions based on comic books, so it is hard to find a person who would not know Batman, Superman or another “man”. However, there was a time when comics were subject to censorship that even a superhero could not win.

In the early 1940s. In the 1980s, there was a real boom for superheroes in America. Comic books aimed at young readers abounded in political and social content, often serving the purpose of… propaganda. The creators of the comics often drew inspiration from police records and described actual crimes – so the editions were full of violence and brutality, which only helped to sell them. Therefore, voices quickly appeared about the harmfulness of such content and its demoralizing impact on young minds. The aftermath of anti-comic propaganda was the Comics Code Authority, adopted in 1954, which imposed a number of requirements on content and images. Despite the fact that the introduction of the code severely limited creativity and freedom of creation, there were publishing houses that turned the limitations into success. The codex didn’t apply to other planets, so Marvel and DC began to create heroes who would fight in space or even in other dimensions. New characters were created to inspire teenagers and show that anyone can be a superhero. This is how the lonely and struggling Peter Parker became Spider-man, the blind boy Matt became Daredevil fighting evil, and the orphaned Bruce Wayne became the best detective in the world – Batman.

Today, the publishing market abounds in comics of all contents. You can find here crime, horror, fantasy and even romance. On the covers of comic books we can find the names of great writers such as Nail Gaiman or Stephen King. We can also find comic versions favorite books – for example, “The Witcher” by Andrzej Sapkowski. So if you’ve never got your hands on a comic book, let Public Comic Book Reading Day be the beginning of a great adventure. We recommend 5 comics from the American classics of the genre that you simply have to read! However, if you are familiar with this form and your home library is overwhelmed by comic books (like mine!), recommend your favorite works to us!

TOP 5. Start reading comics.

• “Batman: The Long Halloween” (recommended, if you like reading detective stories! You can even try to solve the mystery in front of Batman – will you face it? The creators, Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, are one of the most famous duos in the comic book world.)
• “Old Man Logan” (tells the story of the old Wolverine – but don’t worry, you don’t need to know other comics to like this story).
• “Moonknight” (great series about an as-yet-unknown superhero, we recommend it if you have little time to read).
• “Parker” (an adaptation of the book “Parker” by Richard Stark, we recommend it for fans of thrillers and crime novels. Worth a look, if only to admire Darwin Cooke’s hand-drawn pictures).
• “A New Frontier” (this is where you’ll start your adventure with the Justice League and befriend heroes such as Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman).

Ela Nowak, Communication Team Olivia Business Centre