The term "comic book" arose to describe some of the earliest such publications, which reprinted newspaper comic strips, themselves so labeled for originally presenting humor exclusively.

Early history

Comic strips had been collected in hardcover book form as early as 1833, with The Adventures of Obadiah Oldbuck, which appeared in New York in 1842, as the first to be published in English. This was the first of seven comic books/graphic novels that were not comic books in the modern sense: Rather than contain with dialog word balloons and other familiar conventions, they utilized blocks of text beneath single images.

The commercial success of these collections led to work being created specifically for the comic book form, which fostered specific conventions such as splash pages.

Long-form comic books are sometimes called "graphic novels," but the term's definition is vague and somewhat controversial. Comic books are examples of an indigenous American art form though prototypical examples of the form exist.

American comic books have become closely associated with the superhero tradition, though many exist outside the genre. In the United Kingdom, the term "comic book" is used to refer to American comic books by their readers and collectors, while the general populace consider a comic book a hardcover book collecting comics stories.

American comics

main: American comic book

The history of the comic book in the U.S. is divided into several ages or historical eras: the Golden Age, the Silver Age, the Bronze Age, and the Modern Age. The exact boundaries of these eras, the terms for which originated in the fandom press, is a debatable point among comic book historians.

The Silver Age of Comic Books is generally considered to date from the first successful revival of the dormant superhero form — the debut of the Flash in Showcase #4 (September-October 1956) — and last through the early 1970s, during which time Marvel Comics revolutionized the medium with such naturalistic superheroes as the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man. There is less agreement on the beginnings of the Bronze and Modern ages. Some suggest that the Bronze Age is still taking place. Starting points that have been suggested for the Bronze Age of comics are Conan #1 (October 1970), Green Lantern/Green Arrow #76 (April 1970) or Amazing Spider-Man #96 (May 1971) (the non-Comics Code issue). The start of the Modern Age (occasionally referred to as the Iron Age) has even more potential starting points, but is generally agreed to be the publication of Alan Moore's Watchmen by DC Comics in 1986.