DC 52 Part I

Anyone following current mainstream comics knows that DC 52 means the 52 new #1s that DC Comics is publishing in September. All current comics end and the DC Universe is reborn. Sort of. While DC and the press make much of the effort I haven't seen anyone note that fully half of the new comics feature characters whose first stories were seen over 70 years ago. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Blue Beetle, Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Blackhawk.

It's amazing to me that the superhero comic still dominates the mainstream comic book world. All of the characters mentioned are children of the 1930s depression and when you think about it how can they matter (in a commercial, cultural or entertainment sense) in 2011? The 1960s Marvel universe has extended the life of the superhero comic but for how long?

This blog is about the time when comic books did matter and here is an example from Wonder Woman 39 (Jan-Feb 1950).