ABSTRACT

Nostalgia plays a key role in the current success of the comics industry broadly and the superhero genre more specifically. While superhero comics, together with their readers and creators, might be trapped in a nostalgic childhood, today's actual children seldom encounter superheroes through the pages of comic books. In the United States, the 1940s and 1950s represented the apex of children's fascination with comics. Comic book readership among children in the United States today is at near-historic lows for this format, as its early 1950s-era popularity was further eroded with the 1970s' decline in distribution through newsstands, drug stores, and similar venues. Today, Marvel's merchandizing reach has no limits, and can include anything from toys to perfume and clothing to luxury cars. One of the peculiarities of nostalgia is, as Fred Davis observed, that one can experience nostalgia for a past one has not personally experienced.