Wikipedia Page

Rhetoric In Comic Books

When one thinks about comic books, they usually
don’t think about rhetoric being associated with it.
After all, to the casual reader of a comic book,
there would not be an association made to the
writings and visuals being designed with the idea
that it is meant to persuade or motivate the reader in
any way. But since their inception, comic book
creators have put much thought into the rhetoric.
That rhetoric has changed considerably over time,
being heavily influenced by an ever-changing world.
https://www.ign.com/articles/2018/05/01/the-25-most-iconic-comic-book-covers-of-all-time
Some of the most iconic comic book covers of all time, including
Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D #4 and Action Comics #1

Structure and Design Appeals

Going back to the introduction of the comic book, they have been designed to appeal to general
audiences. With covers that are designed with bright flashy covers, carefully designed titles, with
fonts and colors that are especially iconic. The characters on these covers are posed in iconic
poses, enticing fans to want to see what is inside. Within the cover themselves, the stories
contained within are framed in a way that both allows the stories to be conveyed in a way that is
easy to understand.

Much care and consideration go into the decisions of how to place a panel in the frame of a page.
Page layouts themselves are crafted to convey the story as best as possible and to create certain
appeals. For example, comic book creators typical will use splash pages (a page that is a scene
contained in a single panel on a page) to convey a big moment. Typically, creators will not put a
key moment or a surprise in a spot in a comic where it will show up on the page that is on the
right. Instead, they will make it so that you see that moment or surprise on the page on the right.
This is done because a creator wants that moment to shock the reader or catch the reader off
guard, and they want the reader to see that moment when they turn a page, not as they are
reading from one page to the next. (This may need to be re-written to make a little more sense)

Obviously, people think of the flashy designs of the super hero genre, and how the costumes are
designed to catch the eye and how the characters are posed in iconic, powerful poses. However,
this is not something that is exclusive to the super hero genre. See how characters are posed and
designed for comics in the horror genre, like The Walking Dead. Or how characters are designed
and posed in the context of comics of the genre, like Criminal or Fatale. There are certain
appeals in those genres that creators are thinking about when those characters are designed and
how they are framed in the story.
History
In 1939, Batman and Superman were introduced in the pages of Detective Comics and Action
Comics, respectfully. The characters were designed as larger-than-life, doing extraordinary feats
to appeal to young males.

As World War II was underway, comic book covers added in patriotic images. Stories and cover
art depicting classic comic characters warring with Nazi forces became commonplace. Captain
America, a character designed to appeal to America’s patriotism, saw his introduction months
prior to the Pearl Harbor attack and America’s entry into WWII.

Following the war, American comic books saw the addition of other genres, including horror and
science fiction. These comics were designed to appeal to the feeling of uncertainty in America as
the Cold War was in its early stages.

The late 50s and early 60s saw the emergence of a new age of super hero comics with new
characters being introduced. These characters included Spider-man, the Flash, the Hulk, etc.
Although the characters were still designed with bright, flashy costumes and amazing varied
super powers, these heroes were more flawed than the heroes that came before. The stories of
these heroes were balanced between encountering incredibly powered villains, while also dealing
with more real-world problems. Making the characters flawed and having them deal with real
life situations made the characters more relatable.

The 80s saw a shift as the tone of comic books became a bit darker. In 1985, Watchmen was a
comic book that was aimed at a more mature audience. Batman saw a darker shift in the pages of
The Dark Knight, a book that would influence the film adaptations that came from Tim Burton at
the end of the decade.

The 90s saw an attempt from the comic book industry to appeal to the collector’s market. X-men
#1 became the highest selling comic in history (Miller, 2017), with a release of five different
collectable covers. Although the 1st comic to have a variant edition was 1986’s Man of Steel #1,
this technique would become trendy throughout 90s, with several comic books being released
with rare variant covers with different gimmicks, including glow-in-the-dark covers and gatefold
covers. These gimmick covers appealed to both the collectors and young, impressionable comic
book fans.

Controversies
1950s Seduction of the Innocent and the creation of the Comics Code of Authority
In 1954, Fredric Wertham released Seduction of the Innocent. In this book, Wertham argued that
comic books were a negative form of entertainment that had an adverse effect on juveniles,
leading to delinquency. The book made specific arguments about the characterizations of several
popular DC characters contributing to juvenile delinquency. Those arguments included
assertions that the relationship between Batman and Robin had a homosexual subtext, that
Superman was a fascist, and that Wonder Woman was a lesbian (Wilson, 2016).

The book was taken seriously. It caused an alarm among parents. Soon enough, a U. S.
Congressional inquiry was launched to look at the comic book industry. This led to the creation
of the Comics Code of Authority. Several themes and elements disappeared from comic books,
as the industry tried to fit their content into the qualifications set by the Comics Code of
Authority. Many retailers at the time refused to carry comments that did not contain the Comics
Code of Authority seal of approval, making this an urgent matter for the comic book industry.

1970s Drug Issues

Drug addiction was a big topic in the 1970s. As such both Marvel and DC attempted to cover the
topic in a sophisticated way. Marvel released Amazing Spider-man #’s 96-98. The issues deal
with the drug addiction of Harry Osborn, the son of the Green Goblin. Because the Comics Code
of Authority did not allow the publication of comic books which dealt with drug addiction, these
three issues were published and released without the Comics Code of Authority seal of approval.

Later In 1970, DC released a two-part story in the pages of Green Lantern/Green Arrow, which
dealt with the topic of drug addiction. These two issues were published with the Comics Code of
Authority seal of approval and were very well-received, winning multiplate awards.

Further Reading
Comics and Sequential Art, a 1985 book by Will Eisner
Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art, a 1993 book by Scott McCloud
Graphic Storytelling and Visual Narrative, a 1996 book by Will Eisner. Serves as a companion
piece to Comics and Sequential Art
Reinventing Comics, a 2000 book by Scott McCloud
The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America, a 2008 book
by David Hadju.

References
Miller, John Jackson (2017). The Best-Selling Comic Book of All Time.
Retrieved from https://www.comichron.com/faq/alltimebestsellingcomicbook.html
Wilson, Matt D. (2016, April 19). Comics Bogeyman: A Look Back at ‘Seduction of the Innocent.
Retrieved from
https://comicsalliance.com/history-fredric-wertham-seduction-of-the-innocent/