The Bronze Age of DC Comics

Comics grow up.  The humanized super hero On December 15, 1978, the dreams of generations of American children finally came true. You ll believe a man can fly," read the posters and billboards for the blockbuster film Superman. With an undeniable mass appeal, it cemented the role of the super hero as America s most enduring archetype, and the comic book as one of the country s most significant native art forms. That art form, however, was already moving in a new direction. Influenced by the emergence of underground comics and shifting political tides, DC's line of comics was increasingly aimed at adults, and sold in comic book shops, rather than on newsstands. Socially relevant subjects such as drug addiction, racism, and women s rights had entered the mainstream, and comics weren t just for kids anymore.