Characters such as Spider-Man, Superman and the Hulk have become iconic figures in American popular culture. While Holden Caulfield was drifting through 1950s’ Manhattan in JD Salinger’s The Catcher In The Rye, America was restless for a new kind of literary hero. Heroes that could lift up cars, climb up walls and combat evil in a way never seen before. From the 1950s and 60s emerged the golden age of comics in which colour, adventure and imagination leapt from every page. Featuring interviews with a who’s who of comic book legends – including Stan Lee, Frank Miller and ToddMcFarlane – this new ten-part series serves as a definite guide to the worldwide phenomenon of comic books, exploring themes of love, death and sexuality.

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Episode Synopsis

Heroes
The Superman of today is by no means the same Superman who was first created back in the 1930’s, and the same can be said about Batman, Wonder Woman, and Spiderman… So what do our heroes symbolize today and how have they changed over time?   

Death and Resurrection
Death is inevitable… even for the costumed heroes gracing the pages of comic books.  From Doomsday, the earth shattering force of nature that ended the life of Superman, to the tragic ‘collateral damage’ death of Gwen Stacy, Peter Parker’s first girlfriend, Super heroes face death everyday in many forms… some times in ways you would never have imagined…

Gender and Relationships
Sex and comics have always had an uneasy association.  From the strained relationships of Superman and Lois Lane, Spiderman and Mary Jane to the sexual orientation of North Star and the latest incarnation of Bat Woman, sex is not a subject that has been easy for most comic book creators and publishers.

Social Relevance
How do comic books help with the problem of global warming?  How have comic books fed starving people?  And how have comic books helped pass a bill to create a law in the United States?  Comic books are a reflection of their times and the problems of those times can’t help but appear in the pages.  There are dozens of issues that comic books have taken on over the years… here are some of the biggest…

Evolution of Comics
In the early years comic books were regulated to ensure that nothing sexual, offensive or unpatriotic made it onto the pages or into the minds of their young readers.  This regulation was the job of the Comics Code.  As the audience for comics became older and more sophisticated the code vanished and the work done in the medium of comics became more mature making way for some of the greatest works in the medium.

Villains
Comic book villains like comic book heroes, started out as simple statements on evil. But they too had to evolve to keep up with the changing times and audience.  The Joker, Dr. Doom, Lex Luthor and Magneto are not exactly the simple one note super-villains they were when they were created…

Politics
What does it mean when a Super hero’s uniform is based on his country’s flag? Art and politics have crossed over in many forms and comic books are no exception.  From fantastic story lines like Lex Luthor becoming the President of the United States  to the real historical comic books based on the war in Bosnia, comic books have examined the subject of politics in a fantastic and often very realistic light. 

The Creators
Jack Kirby, Joe Kubert, Stan Lee… these are just a few of the big names that have made the comics industry what it is today.  These are their stories.

Genres
We all know about superhero comics, but the western, sci-fi, fantasy, horror and noir are just some of the other genres that are available to readers. While the super hero genre seems to have literally hijacked the medium of comics in the minds of the public, there really are stories being told in comic form that will astound and amaze you… and they do it with no heat vision or spandex…

Alternative Press
Everyone knows Spiderman and Superman, but there are works being done in the field of comics that have nothing to do with the big-title publishers.  Legendary figures like Robert Crumb along with not so-well-known artists have created works that have altered the art form of comics for all time.  Telling stories that range from deeply personal to historical biography, these creators present an alternative view of the art form you thought you knew.