Taschen's The Silver Age of Comics 1956-1970 by Paul Levitz is another entertaining guided tour through the history of arguably the most important producer of comics in the last century. There's no doubt that Marvel fills that niche in this century but it was of course not always so. And the passing of the torch can be seen in many ways as the pages in this exceedingly large tome flip by.
Like the previous volume dedicated to the Golden Age, this one begins with an interview. This one is with Neal Adams, the artist who changed the look of DC more than any other in the Silver Age and beyond. I admire and respect the work of Neal Adams as much nearly any other artist from that era and I will not diminish his contribution to the art and the working conditions of the industry. He was an instrumental figure, but alas he is all too aware of it and he doesn't do modesty. Every interview I've ever read with Adams has the same supreme confidence in both his skills and recollection and sadly that comes across as brash self-love. I don't debate the facts, just the skill of the presentation.
The Silver Age of DC Comics details in brisk form how the lowly comic book form was kicked back into gear with the appearance of Barry Allen the Flash. It of course was not as simple as that and I'm one of those who is attracted to the notion that Martian Manhunter is the marker for the Silver Age, but I won't pick that wound. The Silver Age at DC was one operated by professionals such as Carmine Infantino, Gardner Fox, John Broome, Gil Kane, Murphy Anderson, Joe Kubert, Jerry Grandenetti, Irv Novick, Robert Kanigher, Curt Swan and many many others. All of these gentlemen (Ramona Fradon the lone distaff voice) were craftsmen who knew how to make a comic book. So sure were they of their skills and the impact of those skills on the marketplace, that as they filled the comic racks with such as Justice League of America, The Flash, Challengers of the Unknown, Hawkman, Atom, Green Lantern, and more such as the legion of Superman titles and more than a few Batman titles they never saw the Stan Lee machine at Marvel inching ever closer. The meteoric rise and fall the Batman TV show certainly helped save not only that character but lifted all of comics out of their rut and infused them with a fresh hip energy. And with the guidance of editors such as Julius Schwartz, Mort Weisinger, and Jack Schiff the DC line was really several lines in one, a machine dedicated to professional-looking comics that would begin the Silver Age and end it number one in the field.
Here are some of the grand DC comic covers featured in this entertaining book.
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