The 1950s were a very interesting, and often very misunderstood time for comics.
The comic market started the decade already in turbulent times; after the superhero-crash of the late 1940's, a number of publishing houses had to change their strategy to stay in business. Atlas comics, for instance, managed to keep the lights on by publishing softcore/dirty """comedy""" comics under the misleadingly titled Humorama label. Others, however, stuck to the three things that always worked: romance, war and horror.
And cowboys. Lots and lots of cowboys.
But with the publishing of the controversial "Seduction of the Innocent", these violent/horny comics came under pressure from moral guardians, nearly killing the comic market entirely overnight. Still, some comics managed to thrive in this time, like Archie and its ocean of imitators. Overseas markets faired much better, with the publishing of classics like Astro Boy from Japan, or El Eternaut from Argentina.
How many have you read?
