As much as comic fans fawn over the Golden Age, it's equally important to look at the preceding era, which set the stage for modern comics. Along with the lengthy roster of pulp heroes like Doc Savage, The Shadow, and Flash Gordon, fans tend to sweep the Platinum Age of comics under the rug and dismiss their foundational importance. I think a large part of the bias comes from how the medium was packaged. Comics from that era were newspaper strips and were considered disposable entertainment- even more so than their Golden Age counterparts.
With American comics shambling towards the grave, in terms of sales, it stands to reason that the rising popularity of Instagram and webcomics could be seen as a modern version of the Platinum Age for the digital era. Comic books and superheroes as we know them may be racing towards a fate no different than the pulp heroes that preceded them. Flash Gordon used to be as popular as Iron Man. Who's to say that the welcoming arms of obscurity aren't ready to receive Tony Stark?
In the video linked above, the YouTube channel Comic Tropes goes into the ignored history of the Platinum Age of comics and how their popularity led to a newspaper bidding war. If we are in the digital equivalent of the Platinum Age, is there a potential Golden Age for digital comics waiting in the wings? Before effectively drawing parallels, it's essential to look back at the history of the Platinum Age.
