• The History of Comics in 500 Issues

  • By: Jess Nevins
  • Podcast

The History of Comics in 500 Issues

By: Jess Nevins
  • Summary

  • A leisurely walk through the history of comic books, one issue at a time. In each episode, I'll choose a single issue of a comic book (or comic book-like magazine) and talk about why the issue is important in the history of the medium, or particularly representative of a trend or a particular writer or artist's work, or is of significant aesthetic value. The first episode begins in the 1820s; the last episode, whenever that is, will be about a significant comic from the 2020s (or possibly the 2030s). I don't limit myself to American comics; I am going to discuss comics & comic book-like magazines from around the world.
    2024
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Episodes
  • Episode Four: "The Clock!" "That is right, gentlemen--and striking just in time!" Funny Pages #6
    Oct 13 2024

    In this episode I go back to 1935 and 1936 and discuss

    • how business was actually done in the early comics industry
    • the rise of Comics Magazine Company
    • Everett M. "Busy" Arnold's career in comics
    • the unsavory intersection of "Busy" Arnold, Joe Paterno, and the realities of big-time college football in the 1930s
    • Funny Pages #6, and why it's an important issue in the history of American comics
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    29 mins
  • Episode Three: In England's Green and Pleasant Land: Comic Cuts #1
    Sep 30 2024

    In which I take a look at British comics during the 19th century, talk about some of the notable and important people who were a part of it, and describe what led up to Comic Cuts #1, the most important British comic of the 19th century and the comic that set the standard for British comics for the next forty years.

    The transcript, complete with illustrations, can be found at my Patreon page.

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    44 mins
  • Episode Two: "A new cargo of mystery and thrills!" New Fun #1
    Sep 16 2024

    In which I briefly sketch the history of comics between Rodolphe Topffer and the 1930s, discuss the first comic books, and then describe New Fun #1, the first comic book that featured all new material rather than reprinted newspaper comic strips.

    I also discuss Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, the failson behind New Fun #1, and what makes New Fun #1 notable besides the presence of entirely new content.

    The transcript, complete with illustrations, can be found at my Patreon page.

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    26 mins

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