The History of Comics in 500 Issues

In this episode I go back to 1935 and 1936 and discuss how business was actually done in the early comics industry the rise of Comics Magazine Company Everett M. "Busy" Arnold's career in comics the unsavory intersection of "Busy" Arnold, Joe Paterno, and the realities of big-time college football in the 1930s Funny Pages  #6, and why it's an important issue in the history of American comics

In which I take a look at British comics during the 19th century, talk about some of the notable and important people who were a part of it, and describe what led up to  Comic Cuts  #1, the most important British comic of the 19th century and the comic that set the standard for British comics for the next forty years.  The transcript, complete with illustrations, can be found at my Patreon page . 

In which I briefly sketch the history of comics between Rodolphe Topffer and the 1930s, discuss the first comic books, and then describe  New Fun  #1, the first comic book that featured all new material rather than reprinted newspaper comic strips.  I also discuss Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, the failson behind  New Fun  #1, and what makes  New Fun  #1 notable besides the presence of entirely new co...

In which I begin the series by taking us back to Switzerland in the 1820s and 1830s and describe how Rodolphe Topffer, a Swiss teacher and caricaturist, invented the modern comic book.  It's a bit more complicated than that, of course.