American comics: I drew Superman during the Great Depression

As Charles Adams said, his creative style is very special.

If the previous applicant William Steiger's creative style is more like fairy tales, then Charles Adams's works are obviously dark.

In the draft, Charles Adams used messy strokes to describe a love story of a skeleton awakening from a cemetery.

This is obviously what Charles Adams has always liked.

Because it is a first draft, the content of the whole comic is a bit crude, but just through these rough characters, people can feel the eerie and weird but slightly absurd and humorous comic style behind the whole story.

And this eerie and weird comic, combined with Charles Adams, who is dressed strangely in front of him, finally reminded Colin of his identity.

Charles Adams, a representative figure of American black humor comics, is also the original author of the comic "The Adams Family".

It is worth mentioning that when serializing "The Adams Family", Charles Adams did not name the characters in the comics.

The names of these characters were not decided until they were adapted into TV series and movies later, when Charles Addams and the screenwriters at the time discussed and determined them.

For example, the full name of his daughter Wednesday was Wednesday Friday Addams, which actually came from an English ballad that helped remember time at the time:

"...

Wednesday's child is full of woe, (a child born on Wednesday is full of sorrow)

...

Friday's child is loving and giving, (a child born on Friday is affectionate and giving)

..."

Because Charles Addams thought it was interesting, he used it as the name of Wednesday.

And Charles Addams' black humor style with unique values ​​also became the basis of the Gothic style that was later sought after by the public, and even formed a special type of film and television in Hollywood for a time, including director Tim Burton, who was a loyal supporter of this style.

Of course, in this era, the Gothic style has not yet taken shape.

As one of the founders of this style, cartoonist Charles Addams has not yet created the classic comic "The Addams Family".

At the moment, he was still troubled by the newspaper's rejection of his manuscript.

After all, no matter how obsessed he was with coffins, bones and tombstones, he had to fill his stomach.

Although Charles Adams liked these things, he did not plan to accompany them so early.

Thinking of this, Charles Adams looked up at Colin in the newspaper with a look of expectation in his eyes.

Although deep in his heart, he did not have much hope for this recruitment.

"Very unique style."

Withdrawing his eyes from the draft, Colin said slowly under the gaze of Charles Adams.

"But..."

Hearing this, Charles Adams' heart suddenly cooled, and he even imagined what Colin would say next.

"Congratulations, Mr. Charles Adams."

However, the content that came out of Colin's mouth was very different from what Charles had originally expected.

"What?!"

Because it was too unexpected, Charles Adams was even a little unresponsive for a moment.

"I mean congratulations, Mr. Charles Adams, you've been accepted."

Looking at Charles who looked a little surprised, Colin smiled and repeated.

After Colin's reminder, Charles seemed to wake up from a dream. He grabbed the hat with strange eyes inlaid in his hand, and murmured with a bit of disbelief: "Did I hear it wrong, or..."

"You didn't hear it wrong, Mr. Charles Adams, can you go to work tomorrow?"

"Yes, of course!"

Hearing Colin's question, even in a trance, Charles Adams agreed without hesitation.

Handing the draft back to Charles Adams in front of him, Colin looked at the man who was still a little unbelievable, and said with a smile: "Your creative style is very unique, which is not a bad thing for a cartoonist. Perhaps, Charles, you can try to integrate this style into other comic works."

If there is a chance in the future, Colin would be happy to let Charles Adams create the story of Batman.

I believe that the collision of Charles Adams' unique dark Gothic temperament and Batman's story will definitely form a relatively unique comic style.

Of course, the premise is that Colin creates "Batman" and allows this Gotham City tycoon to be independent from the "Superman" comic story and have his own publication.

...

"... Mr. Lange, there is your letter."

New York, Second Avenue.

After a long wait, Lange, the agent in New York, finally waited for a reply from Augsburg.

Taking the envelope from the postman, Lange couldn't wait to open it and pull out the letter inside. Looking at the reply from Manroland headquarters, the expression on Lange's face gradually solidified.

In the letter, Manroland confirmed that it had received the newspaper sent by Lange, and indeed noticed the difference in the printing of the two newspapers.

However, the current situation is affected by the turbulence of the current situation and Germany's internal economic problems.

Manroland has suspended research on new rotary presses, and in the next few years will focus on rotary printing presses that are currently on sale and produced as the main market.

To put it simply, Manroland has no money to support research and development and can only make money from the printing presses it originally produced.

At the same time, in the letter, Manroland also conveyed unfortunate news to Lange. After internal discussions within the company, manroland decided to temporarily abandon the U.S. market. After all, the Great Depression in the United States was more severe than in Germany. Manroland could not continue to invest money in a loss-making market, especially when the company's own financial resources were already barely there. under the circumstances.

Therefore, Lange, as Manroland’s agent in New York, unfortunately lost his agency rights and became one of the unemployed.

"how so?"

It took a while to accept the content of the letter.

Lange looked at this letter from the Manroland headquarters in Augsburg, especially the notice of cancellation of agency rights, and murmured for a long time in astonishment.

He never expected that he was aware of the emergence of new printing press technology on the market and wanted to inform Manroland of the news, but instead he lost his job.

If he had known that it would end like this, he would not have written that letter and sent it to Manroland even if Lange was killed.

However, the matter has come to this, and no amount of regret will be of any use.

After losing its status as a manroland agent, Lange needs to think about how to face the subsequent unemployment life.

As a former rotary printing press repairman, if Langer wanted to, he could find a maintenance wage in the factory at a cheaper wage than before the Great Depression.

During the Great Depression, the demand for printed products showed an increasing trend. Everyone was looking for a channel to escape reality, and books became the first choice for some people.

However, after experiencing the life of an agent, it is obviously a huge psychological gap for Lange to take off his suit and become a worker again. What's more, he still has several workers under him. Once he leaves, these workers will immediately fall into unemployment, and some of them may even become members of the homeless army.

Lange had seen the homeless people and saw them gathering in the alleys and fighting for kitchen garbage.

He didn't want or want to see this happen to people he knew, especially since these workers had been with him for a long time. In fact, he had known several of them since they were maintenance workers.

It's just that the idea is one thing, but the reality is another.

Those who are wandering on the streets, if you ask them, they are 100% unwilling to live the life they are living now.

However, under the impact of the Great Depression, whether they wanted to or not, they lost their jobs, homes and even families and became homeless homeless people on the streets. Some of them were even richer than Lange before becoming homeless, and were bank directors or even company owners.

Thinking of this, the expression on Langer's face became a little heavier.

Returning to the office with a somewhat preoccupied look, the workers were still unaware of the bad news of unemployment and were working hard.

Scanning the familiar faces of these workers, Langer opened his mouth, but it was difficult to convince himself to tell everyone the news from Manroland headquarters.

Once he revealed the news, it was not only the workers who were hit, but also the families they were supporting.

But what difference does it make? Even if Lange can conceal it for a while, can it continue to be concealed? Manroland's cancellation of agency rights will be known to everyone sooner or later. What's more, once the funds from Manroland headquarters are gone, Lange alone will not be able to support the remaining wages of workers.

It’s not just the worker who has a family to support, he also has a wife and daughter to support.

"...it's time to make a decision."

Thinking of his wife and daughter at home, Lange couldn't help but take a deep breath, and was about to tell everyone with difficulty that he had lost the agency rights of Manroland Head Office and was unemployed.

Suddenly, his eyes inadvertently fell on a newspaper on the worker's table.

Looking at the clearly visible comic strips in the newspaper, Lange quickly stopped what he was saying, picked up the newspaper and asked: "Who knows which newspaper company printed this newspaper?"

"It should be the Courier, right?"

Facing Lange's inquiry, the workers, who had no idea that they had just been on the verge of unemployment, looked at each other, and one of them spoke in an uncertain tone.

"The Courier."

Listening to the worker's answer, Lange murmured to himself.

At present, based on his observations during this period, the printing technology used by The Courier is only used in its newspapers. In other words, this printing process has not been promoted on the market, although it is unclear whether this so-called brand-new printing technology was actually invented by Colin, the owner of the Courier Newspaper, as rumored.

But Langer decided to meet the other party.

"This may be the only chance."

Silently saying something to himself in his heart, Langer looked at the unaware worker in front of him.

Put all your hopes in the Courier.

…

"Mr. Longo Worster?"

Inside the Courier newspaper office.

Colin looked at the hesitant middle-aged man in front of him and asked in confusion.

"So, what was your purpose in waiting at the door of the newspaper office so early in the morning?"

According to Little John, the man who called himself Lange Worster had been waiting at the door of the newspaper office before he opened the door, and it seemed that he had been waiting for a long time.

"If you want to apply for a job, I'm sorry, the previous application for "The Courier Comics" has ended."

Looking at Lange's appearance, Colin obviously regarded him as someone who came to apply for a job after seeing the information in the "Courier".

"No, you misunderstood, Mr. Colin Luper, I'm not here to apply for a job."

Shaking his head, he denied his identity as an applicant.

Although Lange has indeed become unemployed after losing the agency rights of Manroland, he obviously has not accepted this change of identity, or he still intends to work hard.

"So, who are you?"

Hearing Lange's denial, Colin's expression on his face was slightly surprised, looking at the embarrassed middle-aged man in front of him, and asked.

"In fact, I am an agent of rotary printing presses, at least not long ago..."

Under Colin's gaze, Lange slowly revealed his identity, and at the same time, he did not hide the fact that he had lost the agency rights of Manroland.

This is something that can be verified, and Lange does not want to lose the opportunity for cooperation because of his concealment.

"Agent of rotary printing presses?"

Hearing Lange's self-introduction, Colin raised his eyebrows.

He did not expect that the other party's purpose was actually the four-color double-sided offset printing press he mastered. It's not that Colin does not value this printing process, but because the "Courier" has only been using the four-color double-sided offset printing press for a short time, Colin originally thought that it would take some time for everyone to notice the specialness of it.

But he did not expect that Lange had discovered it so early and came to the door.

If Lange knew what Colin was thinking.

He would definitely smile bitterly. He not only discovered the difference in the four-color double-sided offset printing technology mastered by Colin, but also reported it to the Manroland headquarters in Augsburg.

It was because of this action that Manroland headquarters discovered his losses in the US market in advance, which led to the fact that his agency rights were cancelled and he lost his job.

It can be said that if it were not for Lange's "sharpness", Manroland would not have noticed the situation in the US market so quickly. After all, they were busy with their own problems in Germany, so how could they have the energy to pay attention to the problems of an overseas agent.

All the ballads: Monday's child is fair of face, a child born on Monday has a beautiful face

Tuesday's child is full of grace; a child born on Tuesday is full of grace

Wednesday's child is full of woe, a child born on Wednesday is full of sorrow

Thursday's child has far to go; a child born on Thursday has rich experience

Friday's child is loving and giving, a child born on Friday is affectionate and giving

Saturday's child works hard for its living; a child born on Saturday works hard for its living

But the child that is born on the Sabbath day, a child born on the Sabbath day

Is bonny and blithe, and good and gay. Healthy and happy, kind and happy

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