Gorillas in comics

Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #98, containing an intricately contrived plot involving Jimmy almost marrying a gorilla.

Due to many factors, there are many examples of gorillas appearing in comic books, particularly during the Silver Age of Comic Books.

Overview

Before the "Silver Age", stories involving gorillas were inordinately popular in other media, most notably movies such as King Kong and Mighty Joe Young. The comic book industry attempted to cash in on this craze, and similarly increased the appearance of gorillas in their medium. This continued into the 1970s, reflecting the continued popularity of "gorilla movies" such as Planet of the Apes. In the late 1980s, the appearance of gorillas in comic books sharply declined, partly due to the decreasing depictions of them in other media, as well as the end of the Silver Age of Comics, and the backlash against "silly" plot-devices in the comic book form.

Silver Age

In a more appropriate context, Rulah Jungle Goddess battles a congress of gorillas to rescue an explorer

Gorillas were frequently used as a gimmick to increase sales for comic books during the Silver Age of Comic Books; this was most frequently seen in DC Comics. A common criticism of the comic covers of the Silver Age in general was that the covers would rarely correspond with the actual plotline in the comic book, as they were usually just created to snag interest from casual browsers. The gorilla covers were no exception, as many of the books featured only a panel or two with the actual gorilla plotline. These plotlines tended to be extremely contrived, characterized by an abundance of King Kong pastiches and human-gorilla brain transplants. Though these plotlines are now viewed as ridiculous, especially at a time when comic books are ostensibly becoming a more respectable art form, these classic covers have gained considerable collector's value.

Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen, for example, several times published covers featuring apes:

There are several rumors surrounding the wide use of gorillas in comic books at the time:

  1. Publishers believed that placing a gorilla on a comic book cover, regardless of the context or relevance, would automatically correspond with an increase in sales for that title; Irwin Donenfeld was the first to notice this trend.[4] The claim eventually became self-fulfilling as certain comic book collectors with an eye for "oddball" comics, would single out these issues, and purchase them for their collections.
  2. Due to the first rumor, it is also reported that DC Comics was worried about abusing the winning formula, so had an unwritten rule that there could be no more than one gorilla cover per month across all of its titles (except, of course, during the occasional "gorilla month").[5]}

Silver Age characters

Strange Adventures #75, featuring a typical gorilla villain.

In addition to the cameo appearances and splash shots on comic book covers, several recurring gorilla characters were introduced during this time, most of them villains:

Modern Age

Since the silver age, several modern comic book writers have made references to the bizarre preponderance of gorillas in comic book history.

The Weeping Gorilla from Promethea #1.

Other media

References

  1. ↑ Binder, Otto; Swan, Curt; Burnley, Ray (Oct–Nov 1957). "The Gorilla Reporter". Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  2. ↑ Swan, Curt; Klein, George; Schnapp, Ira (December 1966). "The Bride of Jungle Jimmy!". Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  3. ↑ Binder, Otto; Swan, Curt; Burnley, Ray (December 1968). "The Gorilla Reporter". Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  4. ↑ Interview with Irwin Donenfeld in Comic Book Artist # 5.
  5. ↑ Man of Two Worlds, Julius Schwartz.
  6. ↑

External links

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