Teen humor comics are a genre of

comics a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

that humorously depict contemporary American teenagers. When teen culture and buying power emerged in the early 1940s, comics publishers were quick to glut the newsstands with light-hearted, innocuous comic books about funny teens, cars, dating,

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

, and parents. Teen humor comics appealed especially to young teen girls and tweens of both sexes because the books gave them a glimpse of what awaited them in high school. The genre's formulaic plots anticipated the radio and television suburban family

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

s such as ''

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from October 3, 1952, to April 23, 1966, and starred the real-life Nelson family. After a long run on radio, the show was brought to television, where it ...

'', and though many titles ceased publication as adult audiences turned to comics tinged with extreme violence and sex in the late 1940s and early 1950s, ''

Archie Archie is a masculine given name, a diminutive of Archibald. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname *Archie Alexander (1888–1958), African-American mathematician, engineer and governor of the US Virgin Islands * Archie Blake (mathematici ...

'', ''Buzzy'', ''

Patsy Walker Patricia "Patsy" Walker is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stuart Little and Ruth Atkinson, Patsy Walker first appeared in ''Miss America Magazine'' #2 (November 1944), published by Marvel precu ...

'' and other titles had relatively long publication lives.

Background

It was in the 1920s that American teens were first viewed as a distinct social group, aided and abetted by the black-and-white illustrations of flappers and their boyfriends produced by

John Held, Jr. John James Held Jr. (January 10, 1889 – March 2, 1958) was an American cartoonist, printmaker, illustrator, sculptor, and author. One of the best-known magazine illustrators of the 1920s, his most popular works were his uniquely styled ...

By the early 1940s, teens had become a significant consumer group with money of their own, and adult, rather than juvenile, tastes. The group was ripe for exploitation. The commercial and popular success of teen-oriented films such as

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

Andy Hardy Andrew "Andy" Hardy is a fictional character best known for the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer series of 16 films in which he was played by Mickey Rooney. The films were released from 1937 to 1946, except for a final one made in 1958 in an unsuccessful att ...

series of the late 1930s starring

Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the ...

and the Henry Aldrich films of the early 1940s with Jimmy Lydon, gave comic book publishers the incentive to create and develop the teen humor genre.

Archie Comics

In 1941,

MLJ Comics Archie Comic Publications, Inc., is an American comic book publisher headquartered in Pelham, New York.Archie Comics Archie Comic Publications, Inc., is an American comic book publisher headquartered in Pelham, New York.Archie Andrews and his Riverdale High pals into their superhero and crime buster comic book, '' Pep Comics''.Goulart 2001, p. 156 MLJ would become the principal exponent of teen humor comics.Wright 2001, p. 72 The Riverdale teens were popular, and, by the fall of 1942, Archie had his own comic book series with stories focusing on the benign aspects of teen life – cars, dating, school, and parents. While the stories explored contemporary teen culture, they always affirmed conformity and respect for authority. The series tapped into the neglected pre-teen female audience as well as youngsters of both sexes who would soon enter their teens to experience high school life. The nostalgic, idealized, blissful view of suburban high school life (that predicted the soon to be realized sit-com formula) assured their success. Parental approval was granted for their non-smoking, non-drinking hero who never used teen slang, fought, or disobeyed his parents and whose libido only faintly glimmered. Archie and his pals offered youngsters a safe glimpse of high school teens who observed the rules of adult society.Wright 2001, p. 73 Following the war, MLJ dropped all its superhero titles and focused on its teen humor line with Archie and Archie spinoffs such as '' Betty and Veronica'' leading the way. ''Archie'' has remained in publication for years, and, in the 1990s, the title's simple, satisfying formulaic stories of middle class teens displayed little change from the stories of its first issues.

Other titles

Late in 1943,

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

introduced trumpet-tooting, platter-playing Buzzy in ''All Funny'', and granted him his own book in 1944. Written and drawn by George Storm, Buzzy Brown was a scrawny, jalopy-driving, suit and tie-wearing kid suggesting

Harold Teen ''Harold Teen'' is a discontinued, long-running American comic strip written and drawn by Carl Ed (pronounced "eed"). Publisher Joseph Medill Patterson may have suggested and certainly approved the strip's concept, loosely based on Booth Tarkingt ...

of the 1920s. His girlfriend Susie loved his trumpet-playing but her father hated it and tried to keep Buzzy out of the house. Buzzy remained in publication until 1958. Late in 1944, Quality Comics Group introduced sexy, chestnut-haired Candy in ''

Police Comics ''Police Comics'' was a comic book anthology title published by Quality Comics (under its imprint "Comic Magazines") from 1941 until 1953. It featured short stories in the superhero, crime and humor genres. Publication history The first issue of ' ...

'', and gave the character her own book in 1947. The creation of Harry Sahle, Candy was sweet and wholesome but liberated; she used slang, adored boys, and collected jitterbug platters – much to the annoyance of her parents.Goulart 2001, p. 158 Timely published ''Tessie the Typist'' in 1944, '' Millie the Model'' in 1945, and ten similar career girl titles by 1947. Radio shows ''Meet Corlis Archer'' and '' A Date with Judy'' were both translated to comics. In 1945, American Comics Group (ACG) introduced former

animator An animator is an artist who creates multiple images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video gam ...

Dan Gordon's Cookie, a wide-eyed, diminutive kid, in ''Topsy-Turvy Comics''. He had his own bimonthly book in 1946. Cast members included Cookie's irascible businessman father, his understanding mother, his beautiful blonde girlfriend Angelpuss, his slang-spouting pal Jitterbuck, and his rival Zoot. Cookie tales were full of slapstick, violent pratfalls, low-brow jokes, and gags involving unusual props. The book has been compared to the wildness of animation director

Tex Avery Frederick Bean "Tex" Avery (February 26, 1908 – August 26, 1980) was an American animator, cartoonist, animation director, director, and voice actor. He was known for directing and producing animated cartoons during the golden age of American a ...

or the wackiness of the

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series ''Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation.

. ACG's ''Hi-Jinx'' was touted as "a brand-new idea in comics" and debuted in 1947. The title was an unsuccessful combination of the teen humor and talking animal genres. Despite an invitation to "meet some real hepcats" and the work of Dan Gordon and Milt Gross, the title folded after seven issues. Dozens of teen humor heroes and heroines peopled the comics of the period and included Binky, Ozzie, Junior, Jeanie, Ginger, Kathy, Mitzi, and

.Goulart 2001, p. 159

Aftermath

The popularity of teen humor comics contributed to the temporary demise of the

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

genre. The light-hearted teen dating situations found in ''Archie'' and other teen titles would be reworked with a darker tone for mature female comics readers in the many romance comics that were launched in 1947 with

Joe Simon Joseph Henry Simon (October 11, 1913 – December 14, 2011) was an American comic book writer, artist, editor, and publisher. Simon created or co-created many important characters in the 1930s–1940s Golden Age of Comic Books and served as the ...

and Jack Kirby's flagship production, ''

Young Romance ''Young Romance'' is a romantic comic book series created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby for the Crestwood Publications imprint Prize Comics in 1947. Generally considered the first romance comic,Ro, Ronin. ''Tales to Astonish: Jack Kirby, Stan L ...

''.Goulart 2001, p. 128 With the return of

GIs A geographic information system (GIS) is a type of database containing Geographic data and information, geographic data (that is, descriptions of phenomena for which location is relevant), combined with Geographic information system software, sof ...

from overseas at the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and the increase in adult comics readership during the post-war years, teen humor comics would be challenged in the late 1940s and early 1950s by horror comics, romance comics, and other comics genres tinged with extreme violence and titillating sexual images and situations.

Notes

References