Monday 14 September 2009

70 Years of Marvel - 1953


Young Men #24 saw the return of the superheroes, as Marvel-Atlas tried another throw of the dice. The return of Captain America, Sub-Mariner and the Human Torch would be short-lived, since no-one seemed much interested in superhero books. In a couple of years, DC Comics would start a big push on superhero titles, and things would turn around, but for now, super-books were very much on the periphery.

1953 saw the end of the Korean War, but the Cold War was in full swing: America had made the first hydrogen bomb, the Rosenbergs were being executed as Russian spies, and Stalin was dying, or depending on who you believe, being assassinated. Britain and the US were overthrowing the government of Iran

At the movies, Burt Lancaster was starring in From Here To Eternity, Brando was playing Julius Caesar, and more importantly, Daffy Duck was starring in Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century. On the telly, Patrick Troughton was playing Robin Hood, The Quatermass Experiment was in progress, and topical news prog, Panorama, was beginning a run on BBC tv which continues to this day. Meanwhile, Ian Fleming was writing the first adventure of a certain well-known British secret agent. And the first issue of Playboy was out.

No comments: