American Comics: The Driving Force of Creativity
American comics, arguably one the most influential of the different comics around the world. Comics have been around a lot longer but those were mainly pictures written on walls and paper.
American Comics' Humorous Beginnings
Anyway, American comics started as how their name started. They started in the 19th century in Britain as periodicals with caricatures.
Soon serialized Comic Strips started in 1884 which later developed into magazines. Newspaper comics started with humor implements in the New York World. At first everything was humor before drama and adventure started. Comic books started to show up, needless to say the most popular was the then new Superhero genre; spearheaded by Actions Comics' Superman.
Superhero Advents of American Comics
But what made superheroes so popular during this Golden Age? Well in the 30s, there were a lot of injustices around the world with the US entering World War II; people wanted images of hope that could inspire people to live on. After the war was over, people did not have hopes that were as high. Best things for publishers? That's easy, get more genres like westerns, crime, and romance.
But pretty soon the 'parental concerns' come in. A psychologist thought having this kind of content around kids would be a bad influence. So book burning comes in, seriously did people learn nothing from WWII?
Restrictions and Movements
So a rating system was made, which may or may not limit comics' potential. Even the psychologist who brought it up, thought the rating system was a bad idea. He didn't support censorship, just keeping thing away from kids.
It was actually around this time that Archie Comics starts to thrive and become an American icon. Originally gag ridden everyman stand-alone issues; Archie grows with the times to allow more content to sprout and explore the American civilization. Some comics however came under more scrutiny, becoming something only for kids. To fight it, underground comix stepped in to give adults a chance to read comics more to their liking; leading to alternative comics. Subjects like depression, abortions, and dealing with troubling relationships were something that influences stories decades later.
You call this Serious?
Pretty soon graphic novels like Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns became recognized and in the 21st century became a part of literature enough to be put in bookstores, libraries, and even college courses. Unfortunately, they also started a very bad trend in imitators who only used the surface level elements from the material. Gritty looking monologuers who are little more than mental patients becomes the norm. Fortunately, anything can be turned around with the right guidance.
Finally, like all forms of media comics were becoming digital including comics. These range from traditional comics distributed through the internet, mobile devices, and last but unfortunately least web comics. The digital market often brings more affordable alternatives to the medium, but ultimately only those with an internet connection.
American Comics Today
Today, American comic's vast majority are still superheroes and it'll probably be that way for a long time. Predominantly these are in the mainstream DC and Marvel comics and are mainstays that are continuing to evolve for better or worse. Speaking of superheroes, Valiant Publishing (then known as Valiant Comics) was once a publisher of highly grounded and relatively realistic superheroes that was enough to challenge Marvel and DC but went into decline before resurfacing with new and improved editions of their characters.
Creator Owned Surfacing
In the indie or rather creator-owned category, stories of noteworthiness are in Image Comics and its several subsidiaries. Originally just a bunch of superheroes who did some of the same stuff as the big two; the company eventually allows more content to be brought in, especially with Robert Kirkman's zombie epic the Walking Dead. Doesn't mean they shy away from superheroes though. Some of Image's better known comics from the late 90s and early 2000s are superheroes including co-founder Todd McFarlane's Spawn which propelled him to found Todd McFarlane productions; Erik Lansen's Savage Dragon, Marc Silvestri's Witchblade (existing in Image's subsidiary Top Cow Productions), and Robert Kirkman's Invincible. DC and Marvel also have tried their hands with imprints that tell self-contained stories.
Besides superheroes, a few different comic publishers focus on other niches including Archie comics mostly featuring its namesake Archie and his group of friends along with notable comic book original stories of noted characters Sonic the Hedgehog (until it goes to IDW) and Mega Man.
The Main Alternatives
Dark Horse Comics in their comic books (I'll talk manga some other time) have a wide variety of stories including Usagi Yojimbo (arguably best known for the title character's appearances in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), occult hero Hellboy, and stories based on the shared universe of the Alien and Predator (and Prometheus) movies. Recently they've even been including superheroes such as their buried relics like Fight Club.
One other notable publisher is Dynamite Entertainment who have characters that continue to thrive like Vampirella, and Red Sonja. Recently, they've even the Gold Key characters like Turok with varying success.
If we wanna talk more about variety let's look at IDW and Boom! Studios. IDW features franchises including Ghost Busters, Transformers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and an ever increasing library even stuff from overseas like Judge Dredd. Boom! Studios on the other hand features a few originals like the award winning Irredeemable and licensed material like Adventure Time.
And these are just the comics with backing from either publishers' parent companies or pushing into the direct market after adopting the practice in the 90s. There are also many other truly independent creators and publishers who claw up the ranks by appealing to fans directly by going on local and digital retailers. Some even make regular use of platforms like Kickstarters to make the funding for development.
Foreseeable Future?
Still many people like to point out that the comic industry is dying. Most of the time, TV and Movies based on these comic characters have all but replaced the funny papers. Add to the fact that most publishers prefer the direct markets over the general world, and it's going to be a very limiting experience. Especially with how most comic book stores arrange their wares. This is mostly a myth though, since comics still sell millions for bigger companies. Those same companies even take approaches to reintroduce their content to the world in general; like DC's deal with Walmart to sell anthologies that tell stories from both the older days and newer ones exclusive to the magazines.
At this point, the only thing creators and publishers can do now is present quality works and market them just right without overblowing everything. Comics are still a great way to tell stories and they're cheaper to make than animation or games, allowing for more franchises to take chances.