Talk Nerdy to Me: 10 facts about comic books
In preparation for the Columbus Sci-Fi Con at the Coca-Cola Space Science Center, we’ve dug up 10 little known facts about comic books. Whether you’re a hardcore fanatic or simply a fan action movies, Sci-fi Con is sure to be a blast!
1. The name of the first modern comic book published in the United States was Famous Funnies. It was released in 1933 and was a reprinting of earlier newspaper humor comic strips. – Source
2. In 2002, a 4-year-old boy suffering from hearing loss didn’t want to wear a hearing aid because Super heroes don’t. To get him to wear his hearing aids, Marvel Comics created a super hero with a hearing aid called Blue Ear. – Source
3. The Hulk was originally gray, but Marvel changed him to green after problems with ink in their presses. – Source
4. The term “graphic novel” was coined by Richard Kyle in 1964. – Source
5. The world’s largest comic book collection belongs to the Library of Congress. They currently hold over 100,000 individual issues. – Source
6. The most valuable comic book of all time is Action Comics #1 (1938). This is the comic in which Superman first made an appearance. A pristine copy sold on Ebay for a record $3.2 Million in August 2014. – Source
7. The violent comic books of the ’40s and ’50s triggered Congressional scrutiny. In 1954 the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency held hearings on whether comic books inspired juvenile delinquency. – Source
8. The term “Cosplay” is short for costume play, where participants wear costumes and fashion accessories so to represent a specific character. It is especially popular in Asia. – Source
9. The largest annual fan convention in the world is San Diego Comic-Con International. In 2010, it filled the San Diego Convention Center to capacity with more than 130,000 attendees. – Source
10. When the character of Nick Fury was re-introduced into the Ultimate Marvel comics, he was redesigned to resemble Samuel L Jackson, without the actor’s permission to use his image. It wasn’t until Samuel himself saw his resemblance in the comic that he contacted Marvel to secure a role in any future Marvel movies. – Source
