A word on Comics

An admission here. I'm not trying to say that nobody knows what I'm talking about when I make references To the Silver age or EC comics. Far from it, as I'm fairly confident that most people here are familiar, at least on a base level, know about comics a bit. However just for reference in the future I have decided to explain some of the terms and jokes I use to get a more comic book like feel. I'm not trying to sound condescending or to insult your intelligence I'm just trying to get a few things down for you.

Golden Age of comics- 1930's- about 1953. This is the where most classic heroes originated. Batman, Superman and Captain America all debuted here. It's marked by it's combination of Darker elements and odd concepts. Batman used a gun in this era, and superman laughed while a criminal choked to death. Nazis and Communist were the major bad guys here. EC comics had it's rise and fall here.
EC Comics- Publisher of Mad Magazine, Tales from the Crypt and the Vault of Horror. I will occasionally make references to something being EC-ques, this simple means that it has a horror undertone to it. The Crypt keeper is the most recognizable property of these guys.

Silver Age of comics- 1954- about 1970- A moral panic in 1954 about the morality of comics brought about a sweeping change in how comics were written, Vampires and ghouls were banned, only good guys could win and villains could not be sympathetic. Stories got goofier, lighter and softer. Despite this, the classic idea of the superhero flourished during this time, with the classic stories of monster fighting, Also where we get silly concepts like age reversing rays, big headed future people stopping flying cars, and Jet powered super apes how wish to blown up the moon. The Flash, Spider man and the Fantastic four were all introduced at this time. Probably the most remembered time in comic books.
Hostess Fruit Pies- Due to the limited number of companies willing to advertise the silly comics, the hostess company often paid for short one page comics about the snack food. Silly and often meaningless, these snacks often get referenced in the modern era as a joke.

Bronze Age- there is some debate on this, but for my money the introduction of Man-thing in 1971 until, well, the 1990's- After an embarrassing incident involving the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, the comics code, the rules on comics were loosened allowing for darker stories and elements. This is also the Time where the best (Critically acclaimed) comics were written. Watchmen, Neil Gaiman's Sandman, The Killing Joke, Alan Moore's Swamp-thing were all written in this time. The Punisher, Swamp-thing and Jonah Hex were all debuted at this time.

(Sigh) The Dark age of comics- the 1990's- approx 2001 (though the date is debatable)- The comics code was removed entirely, allowing a flood of violent 'heroes' That killed all most every villain they came across. I think the Idea came from looking at the best selling material of the Bronze age, and thinking that darker stuff sold better, there for the public likes darker meant better sales. I like to bring up 1993, as that was the year they killed superman, broke batman's spine and gave venom his own series. Heroes like Spawn, Hitman and Hellboy came about at this time.
90's Anti-hero- An archetypal hero that seems to show up a lot. no compunction about killing villains, Super-powers, if they have any, tend towards the lethal, Either demonic or technological in origin. Have gritty names that used to be reserved for villains, often misspelled. While these are not requirements, they are usually present in this archetype.

Modern age of comics- 2001-now- Trying to remain relevant in a time where web comics are their main competition, modern comics often emphasis cross-overs and big events, showing world spanning issues and how disasters can effect every one. I don't know much about this era.

If you have anything to add, or wish to correct me, feel free to comment below.

This is awesome. Also, nice name. I hope to see more stuff like this

You forgot Zuvembies.

Because the loosening of the comics codes, monsters like Werewolves and Vampires could be shown in the same vain as 'Classic Literature'. But zombies, lacking the backing of a substantial artistic backing, (the first instance of the word only appering in the 1910's) Zombies were still banned. So, writters wanting this new and hip monster, got around this by using the Zuvembie, a word created by Conan creator and Lovecraft BFF, Robert E. Howard, that meant pretty much the same thing.

Great guide, I love comics, especially Bronze age era.