Comics in the 1960s: Groundbreaking Silver Age

The Silver Age of comics, which ran from approximately the mid-1950s to 1970, is noted as a transitional time for the medium. Many new characters were created and several from the Golden Age (the late 1930s through the 1940s) were revamped to become more well-rounded individuals. They ventured into topical content, stories had more edge, some had striking new art styles, youth culture was integrated into books, and they embraced the pop culture zeitgeist, including the mod movement.

While comics had always been considered a medium for young readers, mainstream superhero titles had almost exclusively been led by adults. The Silver Age of comics saw a shift with the addition of new books and characters that put more emphasis on teenage/young heroes leading their own stories.

Peter Parker, the teenager who became Spider-Man, was introduced in Marvel’s Amazing Fantasy #15 in 1962. With his hopes and insecurities illustrated in his stories, the teen hero was the type of character kids could relate to and pretend to be during afternoon daydreams. Peter was bitten by a radioactive spider while visiting a science exhibit, gaining superhuman strength, speed, and agility, the ability to adhere to most surfaces as well as a precognitive Spider-sense. Using his scientific acumen, Peter developed a gadget to fire adhesive webbing through small, wrist-mounted barrels. Armed with his new abilities and tech, Peter became Spider-Man.

Despite becoming a superhero, in his regular life Peter was still just a high school student who needed to help his widowed aunt pay the rent, and he was regularly taunted by quarterback Flash Thompson.

As Spider-Man, he evokes the editorial wrath of newspaper publisher J. Jonah Jameson. He became friends with Harry Osborn, son of his nemesis Green Goblin, and tried to have normal relationships with girls like Mary Jane Watson and Gwen Stacy. Eventually, Peter transitioned into adulthood, though true to his roots, he still has normal guy problems amid his attempts to stop supervillains in New York City.

The Teen Titans is a team of DC’s teenage superheroes who broke free from being sidekicks to take the lead on their own missions. The team debuted with Robin (Batman’s sidekick), Kid Flash (the Flash’s sidekick), and Aqualad (Aquaman’s sidekick), then quickly added Wonder Woman’s younger sister Donna Troy. Others who joined the team included Aquagirl, the psychic Lilith Clay, Mal Duncan/Guardian, Hawk and Dove, Bumblebee, and Harlequin.

Originally, the team’s missions centered around helping other teenagers or stopping minor threats not handled by the Justice League of America. The series explored the usual issues that teens face, and some of their concerns about the world around them like Vietnam War protests, racial tension, and inner-city violence. The book’s goal was to reach teenage readers by making kids their age the main heroes. Not only were they teens, but they also embraced youth culture, fashion, and interests.

Archie Comics has always had a finger on the pulse of teenage trends, tapping into the current clothing styles, slang, and musical preferences of its young protagonists. Their comics in the 1960s embraced the mod look by putting the girls in more vibrant colors and bolder patterns, and giving the boys smarter suits to look cooler in their small town.

The publisher had many successful titles in the 1960s, including the main Archie title that followed the clumsy, bighearted teenager as he navigated the world around him. Archie’s Pals ‘n’ Gals, which began in 1952 and thrived in the ‘60s, followed the adventures of Archie Andrews’ group of friends including Jughead, Betty, Veronica, Reggie, Moose, and others. The book focused on teenage identity, romance, and archetypes in the publisher’s signature family-friendly way.

Life with Archie debuted in 1958 featuring more stories per issue than some of the standard Archie comics. The title had flexible storytelling with some “real life” scenarios, like the love triangle between Archie, Betty, and Veronica. It also told fantasy tales in which Archie and the gang were secret agents or superheroes.

Josie, the frontwoman of Josie and the Pussycats, was introduced in 1963 as a comic strip turned comic book. She’s Josie, later renamed Josie, told stories about her groovy and fashionable group of high school friends, then after a few years, the title was revamped to Josie and the Pussycats starring Josie and bandmates Melody and Valerie. By removing Josie and the Pussycats from their hometown and high school and sending them on a world tour, the book’s subject matter broadened and redefined its premise. They moved between the fashion-frenzied Katy Keenes and the fierce and infallible superheroines, representing the everyday girls who wanted to make music.

Riverdale started to really rock when The Archies band was introduced in 1967. The bubblegum pop quintet was led by Archie on guitar and vocals, Jughead on drums, Betty on percussion and vocals, Veronica on keyboards and vocals, and Reggie on bass. Inspired by The Monkees, the fictional band appeared in comics and in The Archie Show animated series. The band went through the typical bumps in the road as they attempted to keep everyone focused on the music, tried to get their big break, and interacted with eccentric characters in the music industry.

As superheroes were seeing a resurgence in popularity, Archie’s superhero characters came to the forefront in the imprint Mighty Comics Group. Noting the popularity of the Batman TV series, the Archie heroes were revamped for campier, humorous storytelling, which fit well with the publisher’s overall slate of titles.

For a short but memorable period in the ’60s, a subset of DC comics featured go-go checks as the top border on the covers. The go-go checks debuted in February 1966 as a way to make their comics stand out more on spinner racks at newsstands, drug stores, and grocery stores. As Marvel was seeing success with stories that gave superheroes real-world problems, DC competed in the era with artistic presentations that connected with the youth of the time.

Go-go checks provided a hip look at DC flagship titles like Action Comics #333-352, Batman #179-193, Detective Comics #348-365, The Flash #159-171, Green Lantern #43-54, Justice League of America #43-54, Superman #185-198, Teen Titans #2-10, and Wonder Woman #161-171, in addition to others.

Comics in the ‘60s embraced the mod movement by introducing characters who embodied the era’s style and attitude.

Neil Richards, aka Mad Mod, debuted in Teen Titans #7 (January-February 1967), sporting a mop top haircut and stylish suits. The Mad Mod was a Carnaby Street fashion designer who used his clothing label to smuggle goods, then he went on to become one of the first recurring Teen Titans villains.

Gold Key sped up to the trend with their book Mod Wheels about young road racers Wheels Williams, Lump Logan, Li’l Bit Bannon, and Scot McCall. In between racing fellow teams like the Modniks, the group solved mysteries and went on a variety of adventures. The publisher also introduced Zody the Mod Rob, a Zodiac and mod-inspired robot created by a high school student.

When Wonder Woman sales dipped in 1968, efforts were made to rejuvenate the series to make the character connect better with modern readers. To do so, Wonder Woman gave up her Amazonian powers and costume to live as regular mortal woman Diana Prince. The writers took cues from the popular British TV show, The Avengers, modeling Diana after the character Emma Peel in both attitude and style by giving Diana a new mod fashion style. Soon the writers turned it into a gimmick by putting Diana in trendy, solid white outfits. It became known as the “White Period,” starting with an ad in the back of Wonder Woman #177 and running through issue 204.

During the Silver Age of comics, Marvel introduced many of their most influential and inspiring characters. That decade gave us Spider-Man, Iron Man, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Thor, Carol Danvers, Black Panther, Black Widow, the Hulk, the Avengers, and the Guardians of the Galaxy, among others. Not only did the ‘60s give comic readers a boon in new characters, with creators like Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Steve Ditko at the helm, it also produced characters and stories with more depth.

Marvel gave these new heroes flaws, fears, and insecurities, ushering in storytelling techniques where the heroes’ bravery was exalted because they overcame their fallibility. The Fantastic Four chose not to use secret identities, going for transparency in a time when Cold War paranoia was rampant; one of the heroes looked monstrous, eschewing the handsome hero trope; and the team argued and annoyed each other like a regular family. Bigotry and ableism were themes often explored in the X-Men books stemming from what the characters endured and how it shaped their experiences.

Silver Surfer was the reluctant herald of the world-consuming Galactus in stories that can be interpreted as allegories for how some young people felt about the Vietnam War. Black Panther’s introduction as a figure respected for his leadership and power made him the most enduring and regally depicted Black superhero.

Steve Ditko was lauded for his imaginative art, by producing psychedelic imagery that was popular with young adults of the ‘60s. Doctor Strange’s adventures were usually on the path of

surrealism, with weird worlds and different dimensions, wrapped in magic and hallucinogenic qualities. This included Ditko and Lee’s cosmic character Eternity, who was drawn as a silhouette that contains the cosmos.

Near the end of the decade, comic writer Dennis “Denny” O’Neil and artist Neal Adams began a collaboration that was bold, innovative, and is considered among the key moments in comics history. The pair worked together on Green Lantern/Green Arrow (originally Green Lantern Vol. 2) putting the conservative Hal Jordan/Green Lantern and the liberal Oliver Queen/Green Arrow

on the same team. Editor Julius Schwartz gave O’Neil and Adams plenty of creative freedom, challenging them to infuse Green Lantern/Green Arrow with new life. To do this, they told stories about the state of the world and important real-world topics, rather than just writing superhero stories about battling the top villains.

It ended up being one of their most significant imprints on comics. Together they created powerful stories that dealt with real social issues and dynamics between differing social and political opinions. They tackled conflicts arising from differing beliefs, putting Hal Jordan and Oliver Queen at odds with each other on a regular basis, and covered topics like pollution, racism, corruption, overpopulation, and even the Manson Family. In one of their boldest stories, Oliver and Hal learn that Ollie’s ward, Roy Harper/Speedy, had become a drug addict. O’Neil and Adams’ more serious work in Green Lantern/Green Arrow represented a major change in tone at DC.