Comic books are a staple of American literature. Haven’t you wished, at
least once, that your cherished comic books of yore had been saved….?
As a matter of fact, kids (and parents) have been carelessly discarding
those cherished comic books for almost 200 years.
OpenCulture.com provides the evidence, see it here.
Rudolphe Topffer of Switzerland is credited with publishing the first
comic book (in Europe) in 1827—his masterpiece, The Adventures of Obadiah
Oldbuck, was published in the U.S. in 1837.
Now, this one would not pass muster as a Marvel comic. In the early 19th
century, such as Obadiah and his shenanigans were considered to be targeted to
children and “the lower classes.” This marginally droll story may have been a
hoot in 1837, but it seems a bit dry for modern taste. Also, no super powers.
Read The Adventures of Obadiah Oldbuck here.
Spoiler alert: Obadiah tries to kill himself a half dozen times, but he’s
not good at it….
Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2015
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