720 YOUTH CULTURE IN COMICS
social changes. Th e youth of the time was a complex and confused one but the storylines
inherited from the 1950s did not refl ect any of those feelings. Stan Lee realized that
Marvel could capitalize on the feelings of modern youth and recover the teenage audience
for the comic book medium. Working with Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby , Lee developed
a new kind of superhero in such fi gures as the Fantastic Four (1961), Th e Hulk (1962),
Spider-Man (1962), and the X-Men (1963). Th e nature of these superheroes set them
apart from the ones published by the rival company DC , though DC itself soon coun-
tered with the Te e n T i t a n s , a youthful superhero team who began to appear in 1964. Th e
superheroes created by Marvel showed a complexity never seen before in the superhero
realm: they struggled with their secret identities and their superpowers; their relationship
with authorities and the public was ambivalent, with moments of admiration but also
persecution. Spider-Man and Th e Human Torch were young adults whose behavior and
issues did not diff er much from the typical teenager, from love matters to money prob-
lems. Many members of the X-Men were teenagers as well. Th e Th ing and Th e Hulk
were superheroes alienated from society because of their superpowers. As well, most of
Th e Hulk’s stories were often focused on his struggles with the Army and other forces of
authority that tried to capture him because of the perceived threat posed by his power.
Nonetheless, Lee was seeking a connection with the teenage reader beyond storylines.
He devised several strategies to establish and strengthen a connection between readers
and creators, such as bulletins and the Bullpen that accompanied every comic book
and helped to create a vibrant fan culture and sense of community among fans. Some
examples of fan behavior can be found as early as the 1930s in connection with science
fi ction literature. During the 1950s, EC readers managed to organize themselves. How-
ever, the fi rst instances of modern fandom are located in the early 1960s mainly caused
by two circumstances: the phenomenon of Marvel Mania and the inclusion of readers’
addresses in the letter pages of the comics published by DC. Fanzines and comic book
conventions soon became part of the comic book culture and readers and creators had
the opportunity to establish a dialogue. Since then, fandom culture has become highly
relevant for the world of comics in many ways: it supports the publishers’ eff orts to keep
their titles relevant to teen readers; it has sustained the careers of many readers that
dream of becoming comic book creators; and fi nally, fandom has become an important
and recognizable part of youth culture.
At the same time that Marvel was tapping into the interests of the teenage audience,
the development of underground comics ( comix ) was attracting an older audience of col-
lege readers with edgy, sexually charged, and anti-authoritarian storylines and characters.
Around the fi gure of Robert Crumb and other authors, the comics medium initiated
an alternative route away from mainstream publishers, the Comics Code, and superhero
storylines. Comix became part of a youth subculture concentrated around head shops
and the hippie movement. As soon as this culture weakened, comix started a slow decay.
However, their relative success proved the possibility of creating something alternative
to mainstream comics. Comix publishers were defenders of freedom of expression and
pushers of creative boundaries. Th is movement nurtured and opened doors to alternative
