Propaganda In Comic Books During World War II

Superior Essays
Comic books have been a part of the American culture since their introduction in the 1930’s. Throughout the decades they have been sold by the millions, faced harsh scrutiny, been almost shut down, and yet, always continued to exist. The ‘Golden Age’ of comic books took place in the 1940’s during World War II. Comic books about superheroes were the most prevalent at this time and were often seen fighting the Axis powers, particularly Germany and Japan. Comic books reached out to American children and soldiers and inspired a generation to help fight the war against fascism. This paper will discuss the beginnings of comic books and how they were able to evolve into the comic books seen during World War II. A special interest will be shown towards the superheroes and also towards the numerous …show more content…
This paper will also go into the propaganda used in the comic books and how the propaganda was used to influence targeted audiences with an emphasis placed upon children and soldiers. The propaganda will range from stories relating to fighting the Germans and Japanese, to political messages and even comic books specifically targeted towards workers to inspire them to work harder. Propaganda in comic books relates to the next topic that will be discussed which is the role of comic books during the war. Controversy over the messages in comic books will be mentioned and a critical look into the argument between the connection between comic books and juvenile delinquency will be examined. The paper will conclude by illustrating how comic books were able to evolve and survive the hostility towards them and how they continue to thrive today.
The Origins of Comic Books
Comics were not created-they evolved.” -Les Daniels, 1971 Comic books are simply a story that is told through sequential art. Sequential art

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