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Publications Elfquest
Tarzan
House of Mystery Creators Steve Ditko
Frank Frazetta
Wally Wood
Gaylord Dubois | ||
Fantasy comics have been around as long as the medium itself.
Contents
History
In the US market, early years of fantasy comics began in the Golden Age of Comic Books and were populated with such notable works range from All-American comics' (and later DC comics') Greek myth inspired super hero Wonder Woman to Dell's Tarzan.
Starting in the late 1940s through the mid-1950s horror-themed fantasy anthologies gained prominence; the most famous of these include EC Comics' Tales from the Crypt, Haunt of Fear, and Vault of Horror; and lesser notable titles such as American Comics Group Adventures into the Unknown and Forbidden Worlds though this trend saw its prevalence cease with the publication of Dr. Fredric Wertham's book Seduction of the Innocent which directly led to a Senate hearing of the influence of comics on juvenile violence. Though fantasy comics were able to survive in this new atmosphere though in a diminished capacity compared to its much stronger output in these early years.
Fantasy-themed super heroes continued to populate comics through the 1950s and regained popularity in 1960s with such characters as Steve Ditko's Doctor Strange published by Marvel comics and Jack Kirby's Thor both appearing in two of Marvel's fantasy-themed anthologies – Strange Tales and Journey into Mystery.
In the 1970s, Conan the Barbarian, created by Robert E. Howard, became one of the most popular publications of Marvel Comics. After some changes of publishers, it continued to be published in the 2010s.
In the 1990s, The Sandman, created by Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth and Mike Dringenberg was popular.
Notable creators
Adaptations
Several fantasy manga have been or will be adapted into anime television series, including Hakkenden: Eight Dogs of the East (2013), Akame ga Kill! (2014), The Seven Deadly Sins (2014), Trinity Seven (2014) and Akatsuki no Yona (TBA).