Major Super Hero Genre History
Identified according to Medium
This post starts with the work of Siegal and Shuster, who created Superman. There is another post following, describing all the mythical, literary, pulp magazines and radio shows that lead up to the Trinity: Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, starting with Gilgamesh.
Interesting fact; The Company that would become DC had Siegel and Shuster working for them for two years before Action Comics 1. They were not unknown teenagers to DC but experienced creators.
Also, the woman who modeled for Siegel Shuster as Lois Lane became Siegel’s second wife, not his only wife. She was the one who shamed DC to employ Siegel as a writer for Superman stories again from 1956 to 1967 where he wrote Return to Krypton and Imaginary Story Death of Superman.
Super Hero Genre History
1933 Comic Strip (unpublished) Superman by Siegel Shuster (both born 1914 so 19 years old)
1935 Comic Book New Fun Comics has first all New Material
1936 Comic Book New Fun Siegel Shuster does Federal Men
1938 Comic Book Siegel Shuster
produces Slam Bradley, Radio Squad, Spy, Federal Men and Dr. Occult.
1938 Comic Book Siegel Shuster Superman and alter ego Clark Kent, Lois Lane appear in Action Comics 1 Siegel Shuster sells rights for 130 dollars, get 10 year contract with 800 dollars a week each.
The Golden Age begins.
1939 Comic Strip Siegel Shuster Superman
1939 Comic Book Bob Kane Bill Finger (co creator writer uncredited) Detective 27, first appearance of Batman.
1939 Comic Book Timely now Marvel Android Human Torch by Burgos and Anti hero Namor the Submariner by Everett appear.
1940 Comic Book MLJ, now Archie First patriotic super hero The Shield.
1940 Comic Book All Star Comics 3 Justice Society of America, first super hero team.
Superman and Batman excluded because had own title. Original members are Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Atom, Sandman, Hourman, Spectre and Doctor Fate. Last issue 57, replaced by All Star Western, in 1951.
1940 Comic Book Fawcette Whiz Comics Captain Marvel.
The child Billy Batson is granted super powers by shouting Shazam (First Letters of Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles and Mercury)
1940 Comic Book All Star Comics 8 (Justice Society of America comic) Wonder Woman by William Moulton Marston and H G Peter.
1940 Batman 1 First appearance of Joker and Catwoman
1940 Comic Book Detective 38 Robin, first sidekick. Gave Batman someone to talk to. Kids wanted to be Robin. Batman takes a more gentle tone after Robin appears
1940 Radio Adventures of Superman Added Jimmy Olsen (gave Superman someone to talk to, essential in radio), Kryptonite, Batman and Robin
1940 16 page Comic Insert for Newspapers The Spirit Will Eisner.
1941 Comic Book Timely now Marvel Captain America Simon and Kirby
1941 Comic Book MLJ, now Archie Pep Comics Archie Andrews
1941 Movie Superman Max Fleischer Cartoons Superman flies, not leaps, in later cartoons.
1941 Movie serial Captain.Marvel
1941-1970 Comic Books Mort Weisenger was editor of Superman and Batman. Supergirl, the Original Batwoman, Red Kryptonite, Bizarro, Bat Mite, Transformations of Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane, Imaginary Stories, all were his ideas.
1942-45 WW II
Siegel drafted. Poor eyesight of Shuster causes him to be rejected.
30% of the reading material shipped to soldiers are comic books
Paper needed to be donated for War effort. These paper drives make older comics very rare.
1945 Comic book More Fun 101 introduced Superboy - Superman when he was young. Superboy was not part of Siegel Shuster contract. Siegel suggested it but DC said no. DC used character while Siegel was in Army…
1946 Soldiers return home.
Comic book sales drop dramatically because no longer shipped to soldiers, former soldiers think of comics as related to war, comic book covers no longer can carry dramatic and patriotic War themes.
1947 Court Case As 10 year contract nears end, Siegel Shuster sue DC for rights to Superman and Superboy lose case and fired by DC.
1947 Comic Book Simon Kirby Young Romance
1947 Wonder Woman creator Marston dies. His wife Elizabeth asks for her being given the right to write Wonder Woman, as she worked with her husband on it. DC refuses.
1948 Movie Serial Superman
1950 Comic Book EC Comics Crime Horror
1950s Most superheroes no longer puplished. Only Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Superboy, and backups Aquaman and Green Arrow survived
Replacements were Cowboy titles (Atlas, now Marvel, had Kid Colt Outlaw, Rawhide Kid, Two-Gun Kid, and Wild Western, all by Stan Lee. Harvey had Boys’ Ranch, by Simon and Kirby, DC Comics All-Star Western, which replaced the JSA in All Star Comics in 1951) Romance, Archie, Atlas Miller the Model and Patsy Walker (lHellcat decades later) by Stan Lee, and EC Comics Crime, Horror, Science Fiction, War and Humor (Mad)
1951 to 1972 Magazine
PS Magazine, the Preventive Maintenance Monthly, for US Army, Will Eisner
https://digital.library.vcu.edu/digital/collection/psm
1954 Court Case National Comics Publications versus Fawcette Publications. Judge ruled Captain Marvel was a copy of Superman in 1952, after 11 years of litigation. Fawcette paid 400,000 in damages and got out of declining super hero market. Whiz Comics ended
with issue #155 in June
1953, Captain Marvel
Adventures was canceled
with #150 in November
1953, and The Marvel
Family ended its run with
#89 in January 1954.
1952 TV Adventures of Superman
1954 Book Seduction of the Innocent Comic book says comic books cause juvenile delinquency
Batman Robin were portrayed in the book as homosexuals living together Superman was a fascist. Wonder Woman was a Lesbian.
1954 Congressional Hearing on Comics EC Publisher Bill Gaines Testifies. Public Relations disaster
1954 Comic Code Authority
(CCA) created, providing self censorship guidelines for remaining publishers.
1954 Wholesalers refuse EC Comics because no CCA seal on covers
1955 Magazine Mad first appears.
1955 Comic Book Detective Comics backup Martian Manhunter
1956 Comic Book Showcase 4 The Flash. Julius Schwartz editor. Kanigher Infantino Kubert
The Silver Age Starts
1958 Comic Book Adventure Comics Legion of Super Heroes.
1958 Magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland, started by publisher James Warren and editor Forrest J Ackerman.
1959 Comic Book Supergirl Action Comics 252. Otto Binder
1959 Comic Book Archie Publishers Adventures of the Fly (originally child orphan with Captain Marvel transformation, then adult, prototype for Spider-Man when Kirby did inital drawings for Stan Lee which he rejected for leaner Steve Ditko version) and Double Life of Private Strong (revival of Archie’s patriotic super hero Shield, which predated Captain America, with Superman like powers, sued out of existence by DC) by Simon and Kirby. Simon Estate now owns both of these characters, but not related character Fly Girl or original 1940s Shield.
1959 Comic Book Showcase 22 Green Lantern by Schwartz Broome Kane
1960 Comic Book Brave and Bold Justice League of America Schwartz Fox Sekowsky
1961 Comic Book Marvel Fantastic Four Lee Kirby. On golf course, DC publisher Jack Liebowitz told Marvel Publisher Martin Goodman of big hit JLA by editor Julius Schwartz. Goodman tells Stan Lee, cousin to Goodman’s wife, to create a title with a group of super heroes. Julie said later on, “I not only saved DC Comics, I saved Marvel Comics too.”
1961 Comic Book Flash 123 Flash of Two Worlds Original Flash Jay Garrick, Earth 2 parallel world introduced. Schwartz Fox Infantino.
1961 Comic Book Brave and the Bold 34 Hawkman Kubert Fox
1961 Fan Magazine Alter Ego Jerry Bails Roy Thomas
1962 Comic Book Marvel Amazing Fantasy 15 Spider-Man Lee Ditko
1963 Comic Book My Greatest Adventure 80 Doom Patrol Drake Haney
1964 The parents of 13 year old Mike Uslan and his friend Bobby drive up to Otto Binder’s house, known in comic book pro circles as “The House That Captain Marvel Built” (based on the years of comic book script checks Otto received for writing Captain Marvel stories), He met Mrs. Binder and their blonde, pretty, almost 14 year-old daughter, Mary (named after Otto’s earlier creation, Mary Marvel), and here was the one girl on Earth, who did NOT look at a teenage boy who read and loved comic books as any sort of nerd, geek, or loser. The two boys then spent the next ten hours with Otto Binder in his attic office. Otto brought to life the history of comics. He talked about pulp magazines, radio shows, movie serials with weekly cliffhanger endings, how the comic book companies like DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Harvey Comics and Archie Comics all came to be, and how and by whom the great comic book heroes were created, starting with Superman and Batman and Captain Marvel, how the early comic books were created, written, drawn, edited, inked, lettered, colored, printed, and distributed, what “lawsuits” were, and then detailed the time Superman hired a lawyer to sue Captain Marvel, claiming Cap was a copy of Superman.
As night began to fall, Otto gave the two boys copies of his actual comic book scripts for Superman, Superboy, Jimmy
Olsen, Lois Lane, a Legion of Super-Heroes story, and a Bizarro tale. Then a copy of his most famous science fiction work, “I, Robot,” the amazing story of Adam Link, the first
robot to be accorded human rights. Finally, Otto Binder gave them stacks of Golden Age comic books he had duplicates of, including Captain Marvel Ad-
ventures #9 with the first comic book story he ever wrote about Captain Marvel, “Captain Marvel, Saving the King”: Captain Marvel, Jr. #1; and tons of Whiz Comics and Master Comics.
1965 Convention Broadway Central Hotel. Mike Uslan, Bobby and Mike’s parents, on a humid July day in downtown New York City. The world’s first ever comic book convention, with nearly two hundred fans. At the bar, 13 year old Uslan was introduced to uncredited Batman co creator Bill Finger by Otto Binder. Flo Steinberg, the gal Friday of Marvel Comics’ Stan Lee, Maggie Thompson and her husband Don, Roy Thomas, Len Wein and Marv Wolfman attended. Dr. Jerry Bails, a professor at Wayne State University in Michigan, co-founder of comic book fandom, presided over the comic book auction. Action.Comics 1 went for $40. Uslan wanted Batman 1 badly. He was aware that in addition to this being the first edition of Batman Comics, it also marked the first appearance of BOTH the Joker and the Catwoman! He had $22.50 and begged for five dollars more from his dad. He then bid 27.50. It sold for $29.
Then came the Costume Parade Contest, judged by Binder. Uslan’s mom had created a costume of the original 1939 DC comic book character the Sandman, who wore a green double-breasted suit, a purple cape, orange gloves, a gold fedora, and a gas mask, while packing a Wirepoon Gun. Uslan assumed he was the first color-blind superhero. He remembered a chubby Marv Wolfman dressed as Herbie, the Fat Fury. Then Phil Seuling and his wife, Carole, entered as Captain Marvel and Mary Marvel costumes, as Phil struck a classic superhero hands-on-hips pose and looked about at all the superheroes assembled in the run-down ballroom, including Batman and Spider-Man, and proclaimed, “It’s a bad night for evildoers!’” Then Dave Kaler, in full makeup and garbed in a swirl of blue satin that could have been designed by Bob Mackie for Cher’s Las Vegas act. He WAS Dr. Strange. He won the contest.
1964 Comic Book Marvel Avengers 4 Captain America thawed from ice Lee Kirby
1964 Magazine Creepy James Warren Publisher revival of horror comics. Like Mad Magazine, not under CCA code.
1965 Comic Book Brave and the Bold 60 Teen Titans Haney
1966 Comic Book Adventure Comics 346, Jim Shooter,
14 years old at the time,
wrote his first Legion of Super Heroes story.
1966 TV Batman. Camp craze begins. 20th Century Fox Television (now Disney, which own Marvel) still holds the rights to this show, not Warner Brothers. When Camp craze dies, Batman comic book sales plummet.
1966 Comic Book Marvel Fantastic Four 52 Black Panther Lee Kirby
1967 Comic Books DC Comics becomes part of Warner Brothers.
1968 Comic Books Writers Otto Binder, Bill Finger, John Broome, Arnold Drake, and Gardner Fox and artist Kurt Schaffenberger. asked DC management for more financial benefits, including reprint payments, higher page rates and health insurance. This was a poor time to ask. None were employees, but ‘work for hire’. DC could at any time just not give them assignment. Sales at DC were declining, as Sales at Marvel were going up. Much younger writers, who were former fans, were requesting work, and available at a much lower page rate. It was not so much as people were let go, but if any DC editors was willing to use him (and after the rebellion, that was probably discouraged), that wouldn’t have lasted long.
One result:
Justice League of America 65
Gardner Fox
Justice League of America 66
Denny O Neil
Fox wrote novels. Deadman and Doom Patrol co creator Drake went to Marvel for a brief period, Binder went back to writing science fiction, Broome relocated to Paris.
1968 Comic Books Wonder Woman surrendered her powers to remain in “Man’s World” rather than join her fellow Amazons to another dimension where they could "restore their magic’ (part of her motivation was to assist Steve Trevor, who was facing criminal charges). This new era of the comic book was influenced by the British television series The Avengers, with Wonder Woman bcoming like Emma Peel. Diana Prince ran a boutique, and fought crime. Denny O’Neil and editor/plotter/artist Mike Sekowsky
1970 Comic Book Green Lantern Green Arrow 76 O’Neill Adams
1970 Comic Book Marvel Conan the Barbarian Roy Thomas
1971 Comic Book Batman 232 “Daughter of the Demon” writer Denny O’ Neil and atist Neal Adams redefined the Batman from the campy figure in the 1966 Batman TV series into a dread avenger of the night. This story is one of the high points of their legendary run.
The Bronze Age starts.
1971 Comic Book New Gods Kirby comes to DC
1971 Comic Book Marvel Kree–Skrull War Roy Thomas,Sal Buscema, Neal Adams, and John Buscema.
1971 College Course on Comic Books Indiana University Mike Usland instructor. Dean refused initially.
Mike asked, “So would you VERY
briefly just summarize for me the basic stor of Moses?”
“The Hebrew people were being persecuted, their first-born were being slain,” The dean said, “A Hebrew couple placed their
infant son into a little wicker basket and sent him drifting down the Nile. The basket was
found by an Egyptian couple who raised the child as their own son. When he grew up and
learned of his true heritage, he became a great hero to his peo-
ple by…”
“Do you recall the origin of Su-
perman?” I asked. “Sure,” he repliesd, “The planet Krypton was
about to explode. A scientist and his wife placed their infant son into a little rocket ship
and sent him to earth where he was found by the Kents, who raised him as their own son.
When he grew up and
learned of his true…”
Suddenly, the dean stopped talking. And then he said, “Mr. Uslan, your Course is accredited.”
1972 Fan Magazine Comic Reader by Paul Levitz In 1975, left NYU to work for DC Comics Wrote Legion of Super Heroes and JSA in All Star Comics. Served as Batman editor, vice president, executive vice president, president and publisher of DC Comics. Along with publisher Jenette Kahn and editor Dick Giordano, he was responsible for hiring creators such as Alan Moore, Marv Wolfman, John Byrne, George Perez, Keith Giffen and editor Karen Berger. In 2009 he stepped down as President and Publisher of DC Comics to serve as the Contributing Editor and Overall Consultant for the newly-formed DC Entertainment. Afterward, as the co-creator of the Earth-2 Huntress with artist Joe Staton he wrote a mini series on her which continued into Worlds Finest with Power Girl in the New 52.
1971 Comic Book Marvel Savage Tales 1 First appearance of Man Thing, Thomas Conway later THE Writer of Man Thing was Steve Gerber
1972 Comic Book Swamp Thing Wein Wrightson
1972 Comic Book Marvel Tomb of Dracula Wolfman Colan
1972 Magazine Ms Magazine Gloria Steinem, who grew up reading Wonder Woman comics, was offended that the most famous female superheroine had been depowered, placed Wonder Woman (in costume) on the cover of the first issue of Ms. (1972). Warner Communications, DC Comics’ owner, was an investor which also contained an appreciative essay about the character.
1972 Comic Book Hardcover
reprinting the Golden Age Wonder Woman stories of Marston and H G Peter. Gloria Steinem selected the stories and wrote of them, "Wonder Woman symbolizes many of the values of the women’s culture that Feminists are now trying to
introduce into the mainstream: strength and self reliance for women; sisterhood and mutual support among women; peacefulness and esteem for human life; a diminishment both of ‘masculine’ aggression
and of the belief that violence is the only way of solving confiicts.
1973 Comic Book Wonder Woman’s powers and traditional costume were restored in issue #204. Robert Kanigher returned as the title’s writer-editor.
1973 Magazine James Warren reprints The Spirit by Will Eisner
1973 TV Super Friends
1973 Comic Book DC Comics Shazam The Original Captain Marvel on Earth S. Dr Sivana had placed characters in suspended animation for 20 years. Original Artist C C Beck left after 10 issues. Lasted 35 issues.
1973 Comic Book Batman #251 “The Joker’s Five Way Revenge!”
This issue of Batman diverged from the established conventions of The Joker, which at that point were more in line with a prankster or mild annoyance more than a wildcard killer. Joker tracks down his old gang knowing that one of them was a snitch… It was said Snitch’s testimony sent him to jail and so he picks them off one by one, as he murders each, Batman finds it harder to stop him from getting to the next victim.
1974 TV Movie Wonder
Woman, featuring Cathy Lee Crosby, as a non-superpowered globe-trotting super-spy.
1974 TV Series Shazam
1974 Otto Binder dies. Best know as co-creator of Mary Marvel and Supergirl. He was prolific in the comic book field and is credited with writing over 4400 stories across a variety of publishers under his own name.
During his time at Fawcett,
Binder co-created with Marc Swayze and C. C. Beck such
characters as Mary Marvel, Uncle Dudley, Mr. Tawky
Tawny, Black Adam and Mr. Mind, as well as two of
Doctor Sivana’s four children: the evil teens Thaddeus Sivana Jr. and daughter Georgia. For DC comics he co-created the Legion of Super-Heroes, a teen
superhero team from the future that eventually became one of DC’s most popular features. Also Brainiac and the Bottle City of Kandor, Supergirl, Krypto the Super Dog. the Phantom Zone, and the supporting characters Lucy Lane, Beppo the Super Monkey, and Titano the Super Ape. He introduced Jimmy Olsen’s signal-watch, and Jimmy’s Elastic Lad identity. He wrote the Lois Lane feature in
Showcase #9, creating the first “Imaginary Tale, for Lois Lane” and of writing 'most of the early" Bizarro stories, including at least the first “Tales of the Bizarro World” feature.
Otto never recovered from the death of his only child, Mary in 1967 at age 16. She had been on her way to school one morning when a car jumped the curb, went intro the driveway in front of the school and killed her. Memories of his daughter forced him and his wife to move from Englewood, New Jersey, to upstate New York where his brother, artist Jack lived.
As film producer and comics
historian Michael Uslan, a family friend, recalled, “Otto never recovered. His wife never recovered. She had a breakdown, and Otto started drinking, and
eventually he dropped dead of a heart attack. And the three of them were gone, like in a flash.”
1975 TV Wonder Woman First season set in World War II. Other two season set in the current era. Lynda Carter was Wonder Woman and Lyle Waggoner the 1940s Steve Trevor in the first season.and his son in the other two seasons.
1975 Comic Book Marvel Invaders Marvel Captain.America Human Torch Namor in World War II, Thomas
1975 Comic Book Marvel X men Giant 1 Wein Cockrum Storm Wolverine major characters later writer Claremont artist Byrne
1975 Neal Adams Jerry Robinson and others campaign for justice for Siegel Shuster who are destitue while millions are spent on new Superman movie. DC Vice President Paul Levitz, later to become DC Publisher, helped push Warner Brothers to agree on final deal. Eventually Siegel Shuster got 20,000 each a year, extendable to heirs, medical benefits, and credits on comic books, TV and movies.
1975 Comic Book Marvel Defenders non team Hulk Dr Strange Namor sometimes Silver Surfer later Nighthawk, Valykrie, Hellcat (Patsy Walker, created in 1950s as teenager) First issue by Gerber, created by Thomas
1976 Comic Book All Star Comics 58 revival of Justice Society of America Power Girl introduced later Helena Wayne, Huntress, daughter of Earth 2 Batman and Catwoman Conway Wood, later Levitz Stanton
1976 Jenette Kahn, 28 years old, became publisher of DC Comics.
Offers Royalties to creators. The implementation of these incentives proved useful as Marvel Comics’ Editor-in-Chief, Jim Shooter, was alienating much of his company’s creative staff with his authoritarian manner and major talents there went to DC like Roy Thomas, Gene Colan, Marv Wolfman, and George Perez. Resigned in 2002 still President. She revitalized DC Comics including creating Vertigo with editor Karen Burger.
1976 Comic Book Marvel Howard the Duck Gerber Brunner
1977 Comic Book Black Lightning Tony Isabella
1978 Movie Superman Warner Brothers and DC get a lot of good publicity as Siegel and his wife and Shuster attended Premiere of Superman the Movie and saw ‘Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’ credit appear on the screen.
1979 Movie Michael Uslan, buys movie rights to Batman, when Warner Brothers thought TV Batman made character unprofitable for movies. Uslan still owns movie rights to Batman. Also got movie rights to Swamp Thing and John Constantine for free because Warner Brother executive considered characters to be useless in terms of profit. How times (don’t) change.
1980 Comic Book New Teen Titans Wolfman Petez.
1982 Movie Swamp Thing Wes Craven Producer Michael Uslan.
1982 Comic Book Camelot 3000 is a twelve-issue comic book limited series written by Mike W. Barr and penciled by Brian Bolland. It was published by DC
Comics from 1982 to 1985 as one of its first direct market projects, and as its first maxi-series. It was also the first comic book series to be printed on better quality Baxter paper instead of newsprint.
1984 Comic Books DC Comics were not selling well while Marvel was doing great. Warner Brothers almost closed down the DC Comics publishing imprint and wanted to license the characters to Marvel. According to Jim Shooter. Marvel would have continued to publish DC’s seven most popular properties – Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Justice League, Teen Titans and Legion of Super-Heroes – and would have had room to expand the line later if they so chose.
Shooter wanted deal but Marvel executives declined, thinking that DC was failing because of the characters, and that it would not be profitable for Marvel.
1984 Comic Book All Star Squadron Set in World War II, original members Hawkman Atom, Dr Midnight (from JSA) Plastic Man, Robotman, Jonny Quick, Liberty Belle. Thomas
1984 Comic Book Swamp Thing Anatomy Lesson Alan Moore
1985 Comic book Crisis on Infinite Earths by Wolfman Perez
Bronze Age ends and Modern Age begins.
1986 Comic Book Dark Knight Returns Frank Miller, later to be first hugely successful Graphic Novel.
1986 Comic Book Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons… Also converted to hugely successful Graphic Novel.
Continuously in print so rights never reverted to creators, as promised.
1986 Comic Book “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?” Written by Alan Moore with help from Superman editor Julius Schwartz, the story was published in two parts, beginning in Superman #423 and ending in Action Comics #583, both published in September 1986. The story was drawn by long-time artist Curt
Swan in his final major contribution to the Superman
titles and was inked by George Pérez in the issue of Superman and Kurt Schaffenberger in the issue of Action Comics. The story was an imaginary story
which told the final tale of the Silver Age Superman and his long history which was being rebooted following the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths,
1986 Comic Book Man of Steel Byrne
1986 Movie First Marvel film Howard the Duck
1987 Comic Book Wonder Woman Perez
1987 Comic Book Justice League then Justice League International (JLI) with issue 7 DeMatteis Griffen Inital Members: Batman, Black Canary,
Blue Beetle (Charlton),
Captain Marvel (Fawcette),Doctor Fate (Earth 2), a female Dr. Light, Guy Gardner, Martian Manhunter, Mister Miracle
The comedic tone was Giffen’s idea, Booster Gold added. Guy Gardner was now a loutish hothead, Booster Gold was greedier and more inept than before, and Captain Marvel displayed a childlike personality.
Captain Atom and Rocket Red #7 are added to the team by the United States and Russia
respectively. Captain Marvel and Doctor Fate quit the team for personal reasons; Batman steps down as leader, appointing Martian Manhunter to replace him.
1987 Comic Book Shazam!: The New Beginning. Roy and Dani Thomas artist Tom Mandrake. The personality of young Billy
Batson is retained when he transforms into the Captain. This change was justification for his sunny. Golden-Age personality in the darker modern-day comic book world
1988 Graphic Novel Killing Joke by Alan Moore. Barbara Gordon, Batgirl, paralyzed for 23 years, later becomes Oracke.
1989 Comic Book Sandman Neil Gaiman
1989 Comic Book Doom Patrol 19 Crawling from the Wreckage Grant Morrison
1989 Movie Batman Director Tim Burton and Producer Michael Uslan, who bought movie rights to Batman in 1979. Uslan gives a speech at the premiere, praising his mother and father as well as two teachers, who had encouraged his early writings. He arrainged for all four to come by limousine.
1991 DC Comics acquires all right to Captain Marvel and related characters from Fawcette Publications.
1992 Movie Batman Returns Catwoman Penguin
1992 TV Batman The Animated Series Paul Dini and Bruce Timm. Start of DCAU.
1992 Comic Book Death of Superman. Sells millions of copies. Event created because TV show Lois and Clark in development and planned Lois Lane Clark Kent marriage had to be postponed to coordinate with new series.
1993 TV Lois and Clark
1993 Comic Book Vertigo Imprint
Karen Burger Editor until pushed out in 2013. Now works for Dark Horse. Successful titles under Vertigo included Fables, Hellblazer, The Invisibles, 100 Bullets, Preacher, V for Vendetta, The Unwritten and Y: The Last Man, plus already existing titles Sandman, Swamp Thing, Doom Patrol and Animal Man.
1993 Death High Cost of Living The Trade includes Death’s First Appearance in Sandman 8, 1991, Sound of Her Wings Neil Gaiman
1994 Jack Kirby dies. Co Creator of Marvel Comics Captain America, Fantastic Four, Dr. Doom, Silver Surfer, Black Panther, Thor, Sgt Fury and Howling Commandos, Original X men. For Archie Comics The Fly, and Lancelot Strong. Created Boy Commandos, Newsboy Legion, redesigned Sandman, Green Arrow, Challengers of the Unknown, later New Gods, Mister Miracle, Forever People, Darkseod, Etrigan the Demon, Kamandi for DC.
1996 Comic Book Kingdom Come Waid Ross
1996 Comic Book Supergirl 75 to 80 Peter David
Linda Danvers Supergirl meets Silver Age Kara el Supergirl
2000 Movie X men
2000 Comic Book Planetary Warren Ellis John Cassidy
The book’s primary concern is unearthing the confluence of influences that led to the idea of The Superhero as our modern culture now knows it. From Doc Savage to James Bond; the Lone Ranger, Green Hornet and The Shadow; Tarzan, noir Private Eyes and Fu Man Chu; 1950’s Sci-Fi B-Movies, Godzilla and Hong Kong action flicks; Superman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern; early Marvel comics, and more predominately, the work of Jack Kirby; the re-inventive, post-modern 1980’s DC comics work from English writers like Moore, Grant Morrision, Peter Milligan and company; all the way back to 19th century superhero precursors like Sherlock Holmes, Dracula and Frankenstein - - Ellis and Cassaday leave no stone unturned when it comes to excavating the heart of the superhuman myth as it existed in the 20th Century and continues to exist to this day.
2001 TV Smallville
2001 TV Justice League Animated
2002 Movie Spider-Man
2002 TV Birds of Prey
2002 Comic Book Vertigo Fables Willingham
2003 TV Teen Titans Animated
2004 TV Justice League Unlimited Animated
2004 Comic Julius Schwartz died, editor in late 40s of Golden Age Green Lantern and Justice Society of America and Silver Age Flash. Green Lantern, Justice League of America, Atom. Hawkman and later in the 70s Batman and Superman.
2004 - 20013 Siegel heirs sue DC, after an inital agreement in 1997. Part of suit was that Superboy was not part of the original 10 year work for hire contract but an independent matter. That is why Superboy was not used by DC in this time period. A judge ruled in 2013 that the 1997 agreement had been done freely and with forethought. That agreement gave the Siegel heirs a $2 million advance, a $1 million non-recoupable signing bonus forgiveness of a previous
$250,000 advance, a guarantee of $500,000 per year for 10 years, a 6 percent royalty of gross revenues, and various other royalties
2005 Movie Batman Begins Nolan
2005 Movie Constantine
2006 TV Legion of Super Heroes in the 31st Century animated
2008 Movie The Dark Knight Joker (Oscar Nomination) Nolan
2008 Movie Iron Man
2008 Movie Magazine Famous Monster of Filmland creator, Forrest J. Ackerman dies.
A typical obit from Paul Dini, who with Bruce Timm, created BTAS and the DCAU:
Before the internet, before Entertainment Weekly and the nightly show biz shows, we fans of the cinema fantastic had no touchstone to that world other than through Forry and FAMOUS MONSTERS. Each month in its pages we would learn of Hollywood’s horror lore, of Karloff, Lugosi and Chaney, Sr., and Jr., and of wonders to come – Star Wars, Superman, Carrie, and hundreds of others. We devoured the articles, we marveled at the photos, we groaned at the puns, we ordered the models and horror masks, and most of all we loved the man who brought it all to us.
Here’s to you, Forry. And thanks, from me and every kid you held in your spooky, but always thrilling Dracula-like trance each month.
Ackerman provided inspiration to many who would later become successful artists, including Joe Dante, Peter Jackson, Steven Spielberg, Tim Burton, Stephen King, Penn & Teller, Gene Simmons (of the band Kiss), Rick Baker, George Lucas, Danny Elfman, Guillermo del Toro, John Landis, television producer Kevin Burns and countless other writers, directors, artists, and craftsmen.
Many of them wrote their own obits for him, echoing Deni.
2009 Movie Watchmen
2009 Movie Disney buys Marvel.
2009 Comic Book "Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?"featuring Batman. The story is published in two parts in the final issues of the series Batman (#686) and
Detective Comics (#853), released in February and
April, respectively. Written by Neil Gaiman, pencilled
by Andy Kubert and inked by Scott Williams, the story is purported to be the “last” Batman story in the wake of severe psychological trauma that Batman endures within the story Batman R.I.P and his
ultimate fate in Final Crisis.
2010 TV Young Justice
2011 Comic Book DC NEW 52 Reboot characters much younger.
Many characters and marriages go into oblivion.
Timeline shortened except for Batman and Green Lantern Batman urban legend in his beginning years.
2011 Movie Green Lantern bombs
2012 Movie Avengers a massive hit. Warner Brothers realizes it is behind, pushes quick route to movie Justice League.
2012 TV CW Green Arrow
2013 Movie Man of Steel start of DCEU
2013 TV Teen Titans Go
2014 TV CW Flash
2014 TV Constantine
2014 TV Gotham Batman presequel
2015 TV CW Supergirl
2015 Comic Book Superman Lois and Clark Introduction of Jon Kent, their son. Dan Jurgens
2016 Movie Batman v Superman Dawn of Justice introduces Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. Brief glimpses of Flash, Cyborg and Aquaman. Acknowledging Bill Finger for his work.on.Batman for the first time, Warner Brothers agreed to put on the credits: “Batman was created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger.” Athena Finger, the granddaughter of Bill Finger and her son went with Mike Uslan in his limousine to the premiere.
2016 Movie Suicide Squad Harley Quinn Amanda Waller
2016 Internet YouTube DVD DC Super Hero Girls set in Super Hero High School
2016 Comic Book DC Rebirth Legacy Characters like Wally West and older Superman back
2017 TV Batman actor Adam West dies. Goodbye Old Chum
2017 Comic Book Len Wein, creator of Swamp Thing and Wolverine, dies.
2017 Movie Wonder Woman directed by Patty Jenkins
2017 Movie Batman Lego
2017 Movie Professor Marston and the Wonder Women. a fictional biographical drama
portraying William Moulton
Marston, his wife Elizabeth, their mutual lover Olive Byrne, all living together and the creation of Wonder Woman. William and Elizabeth Marston’s granddaughter, Christie Marston, criticized the film, saying the idea
that Elizabeth and Olive Byrne were lovers was purely
fictional.
2017 Movie Disney buys Fox, who had movie rights to X men and Fantastic Four.
2018 Comic Book Steve Ditko died. Co creator of Spider-man, his major villains and Dr Strange. Creator of Captain Atom, Qustion, Creeper, Hawk and Dove, Nightshade and Squirrel Girl
2018 TV CW Black Lightning
2018 Movie Black Panther
2018 Movie Justice League, does not recover costs. Mixture of two directors, may have been released early, after expensive and extended reshoots, so Warner Brothers Executives could get bonuses.
2018 Movie Teen Titans Go
2018 Internet DC Universe Titans
2018 Movie Aquaman
2018 Comic Book Stan Lee dies. Co creator of early Marvel characters: Fantastic Four, Dr. Doom, Hulk, Spider Man, Sgt Fury and the Howling Commandos, Dr. Strange, Thor, Iron Man, Ant Man, Original X men, Daredevil. Revived Namor Captain America.
2019.Internet DC Universe Compete DC Comics Digital Library
2019 Internet DC Universe Young Justice Season 3, Doom Patrol (unexpected hit) and Swamp Thing (cancelled)
2019 Movie Shazam
2019 TV DC Super Heroes Girls Version 2 Teenage versions of Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Bumblebee, Batgirl, Zatanna, and Jessica Cruz, students of Metropolis High School with Secret Identities.
2019 Internet Krypton, Pennyworth (both presequels to Superman, Batman - Alfred). Titans season 2. Sandman (Netflicks,) Watchmen (HBO) in Development