Writestream Radio Network

Though America cannot claim credit for the invention of cartoons and other storytelling graphics, there can be little question that the art form today has its home solidly within the borders and culture of the United States. The editorial cartoons of English newspapers and magazines were quickly adopted by the American colonies, and thanks to Benjamin Franklin and other publishers, took on a distinctly Continental flavor. And throughout the many wars fought during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, cartoons grew in both sophistication and quality. But it was the development of comic books in the decade before World War II, that created a new medium of illustrated storytelling which became a distinctly American art form. Superheroes like Superman and Captain Marvel came into being, and the idea of visual storytelling became a mainstay in American media for young people. And when America went to war in 1941, comic books and their characters went to war too. In fact, comic books, their characters, and sub