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The Golden Age begins in June 1938 with the publication of Action Comics #1, which introduces Superman to the world. Within months, the industry realizes it has struck gold: Batman #1 is published in 1940, Captain America #1 in 1941. Superheroes become patriotic symbols in the context of World War II.

Technically, these comics are printed on cheap pulp paper, sold for 10 cents, meant to be read and thrown away. Colorful covers mask crude interior printing. Most issues preserved in good condition today were miraculously protected -- often by children who kept them, or by warehouses that stored unsold stock.

The Golden Age ends around 1954-1956 with the publication of the book Seduction of the Innocent by Dr. Fredric Wertham, which accuses comics of corrupting youth. The Comics Code Authority (CCA) is created in 1954 to self-censor the industry, and many publishers disappear.

The Silver Age conventionally begins with Showcase #4 (1956), which reinvents Flash -- no longer as a mystical character, but as a scientist struck by lightning in a laboratory. DC adopts this approach for all its heroes: Green Lantern, Atom, and Hawkman are all scientists or aviators. The Space Age directly influences the superhero imagination.

The great revolution of the Silver Age comes from Marvel. In 1961, Fantastic Four #1 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby introduces heroes who argue, doubt themselves, and live in the real world. In 1962, Amazing Fantasy #15 introduces Peter Parker, an ordinary teenager who becomes Spider-Man. This humanization of heroes permanently changes the industry.

The Silver Age is also the era of the Comics Code Authority at the peak of its influence: no supervillain can triumph in the long run, law enforcement is always respected, and stories remain morally simple. This constraint would be gradually circumvented in the following era.

The Bronze Age is perhaps the most exciting era from a narrative standpoint. Writers begin to openly challenge CCA conventions. The most famous example: Amazing Spider-Man #96-98 (1971), where Spider-Man confronts drug use -- published without Comics Code approval, at the request of the U.S. government which had asked Marvel to address the topic. These three issues would contribute to weakening the CCA's authority.

Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams transform Green Lantern/Green Arrow into a series that tackles racism, poverty, and drug addiction -- a shock for readers accustomed to the lighter adventures of the Silver Age. The death of Gwen Stacy in Amazing Spider-Man #121 (1973) marks a turning point: for the first time, a hero cannot save the person he loves.

The Bronze Age also sees the emergence of Wolverine, the Dark Phoenix Saga in X-Men, and the first attempts at a continuous epic narrative. Jack Kirby creates the New Gods at DC. The Bronze Age is the collector's sweet spot: mature stories, important key issues, and still-reasonable prices for most issues.

The Copper Age (sometimes called the late Bronze Age depending on the source) sees the industry transform radically. On one hand, works of unprecedented literary ambition: Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (1986-87) deconstructs the superhero myth. The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller (1986) imagines an aging Batman in a dystopian America. Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985-86) reboots the entire DC universe.

On the other hand, speculation begins to distort the market. Collectors buy multiple copies of each issue, store them in plastic bags (bagging), convinced they will increase in value. Publishers respond with holographic covers, variants, and polybagged editions. This period lays the groundwork for the excesses of the Modern Age.

Image Comics is being prepared behind the scenes: Todd McFarlane, Jim Lee, and other star artists from Marvel and DC will leave their publishers in 1992 to found their own company, revolutionizing the industry.

The Modern Age symbolically begins with the founding of Image Comics in 1992. Todd McFarlane, Jim Lee, Rob Liefeld, and their associates leave Marvel to create their own characters and retain their rights. Spawn, WildC.A.T.s, and the new-style X-Force flood the shelves with ultra-detailed art and spectacular covers -- foil covers, holographic, embossed.

That same year, The Death of Superman triggers unprecedented speculative hysteria: millions of copies sold in black polybags, now worthless precisely because too many exist. The direct market (comic shops) becomes dominant, replacing the newsstands and supermarkets that had fueled sales since the 1950s.

The Modern Age also sees the rise of digital comics with ComiXology (2007), crossovers becoming seasonal events at Marvel and DC, and a new generation of readers discovering comics through MCU films. The distinction between periods becomes blurred: works like House of X / Powers of X by Jonathan Hickman (2019) push narrative boundaries just as much as Watchmen did in its time.