The Avengers-pulp Heroes Never Go Out Of Style!
Disney's latest blockbuster, The Avengers, is a refreshing reminder that people never tire of pulp heroes
. In this latest movie offering for the adventure-loving set, Captain America, Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, Hawkeye and the Black Widow are recruited by Nick Fury, director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division), to save the world from doom. Working together, these superheroes-who had their origins in the pages of comic books-find they must not only conquer the enemy but also their own rivalries with one another.
Comics were a natural extension of the pulp fiction magazine market and were often printed on the same cheap pulp paper used in such magazines as Weird Tales, Thrilling Adventures and many more. Superhero characters like Captain America offered affordable entertainment, combining strong visuals and sparse scripts. Captain America himself was created in 1941 by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. During World War II Captain America was one of the best-selling comic books in the country. At the height of his popularity, over a million copies a month were sold; Captain America had become a cultural icon.
Like so many of the characters found in pulp fiction magazines, Captain America stood for the qualities of hard work and honor as he fought evil in its many forms. After the war, he was set to work fighting agents of communism-but the Golden Age had passed, and the character temporarily slipped into obscurity.
Stan Lee resurrected Captain America in The Avengers #4 (March, 1964). The original lineup of the Avengers included Thor, Iron Man, Ant Man, Wasp and the Hulk, all popular characters for Marvel Comics. During the 1960s The Avengers became one of the best-selling comic book series in history. Captain America was also given his own monthly title again and has remained one of the more popular pulp heroes worldwide.
Comic book superheroes were essentially a visually rendering of the heroes found in pulp magazines, all espousing the American ideals of fair play, hard work and a determination to fight for justice. In the comics they were garbed in bright eye-catching costumes that advertised their larger-than-life abilities to friend and foe alike. Superman, Batman and Spider-Man, all of whom are slated for big-screen treatment in the coming months, are among the most popular fiction heroes ever created.
With actors Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson and Jeremy Renner playing the principals, The Avengers has already set box office records while garnering critical acclaim. The film is a delightful throwback to the Saturday afternoon movie serials of the 1930s and '40s. Like the pulp fiction of the era, the movie serials satisfied the audience demand for dashing good guys, nefarious villains and damsels in distress. The costumed champions of justice in The Avengers are direct descendants of the stalwart heroes found in the pulp stories of Walter B. Gibson, L. Ron Hubbard and Lester Dent. These are tried and true all-American stories of derring-do.
Pulp heroes have never really lost their popularity; each generation finds a way to engage classic characters or to create new ones, whether they live in the pages of magazines, blazon forth from comic book frames, or hurtle across the big screen in their quest to fight evil and restore peace and justice. The phenomenal success of The Avengers is proof enough that pulp heroes never go out of style.
by: Thomas McNulty
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