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September 02, 2006

Comments

Sheryl Schopfer

I found this from When Fangirls Attack. I really enjoyed your discussion about the Little Boys Club influence on the major superhero comics. A lot of things I found puzzling about older comics make a lot more sense when viewed with a seven-year-old boy filter. I liked your wording and use of the cover examples as well. Nicely done!

Mark Engblom

Hi Sheryl! Glad you liked "Girl Germs". Something I always try to do when looking at the old covers is to keep in mind both the context of the times and who the target audience was. When I read complaints from jaded 30-somethings about how silly and childish the Silver Age comics were, well....that's because they were created to be silly and childish. They weren't after the "Lost" demographic back in 1961.

Of course, that doesn't completely overlook some of the obvious chauvanism inserted into many of those old stories, but I think it helps mitigate some of the outrage knowing what the times were like, the predominant age and gender of the audience, and the upbringing and worldview of the creators.

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