What are the different eras of DC Comics?

[TheDragonKing]

If you were to break up DC Comics into different eras along with the years, what would it be?

[scary harpy]

If you were to break up DC Comics into different eras along with the years, what would it be?

I would define eras in DC comics by the decades.

Most writers and artists would not know what 'age' they were in: the Golden Age, the Silver Age, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, the Death Metal age, etcetera.

Hopefully, most knew what decade they were in.

[Lightning63]

I generally just define it by the different relaunches: Pre-Crisis, Post Crisis, New 52, Rebirth and Infinite Frontier. Though you could probably split Pre-Crisis, Post-Crisis and Rebirth in two.

[Digifiend]

1935-1956 - Golden Age
1956-1970 - Silver Age (starts when Barry Allen debuts in Showcase #4)
1970-1986 - Bronze Age (ends with Crisis on Infinite Earths)
1986-2005 - post-Crisis
2006-2011 - One Year Later
2011-2016 - New 52
2016-2020 - Rebirth
2021-present - Infinite Frontier

[DrNewGod]

1935-1956 - Golden Age
1956-1970 - Silver Age (starts when Barry Allen debuts in Showcase #4)
1970-1986 - Bronze Age (ends with Crisis on Infinite Earths)
1986-2005 - post-Crisis
2006-2011 - One Year Later
2011-2016 - New 52
2016-2020 - Rebirth
2021-present - Infinite Frontier

The span between 1951 and 1956 was different enough to deserve its own lable. Further, I'm not convinced that the Silver Age really burst full force onto the scene with Flash's arrival, although he was unquestionably the first step in that direction. I'm not sure when the SA really began, I haven't read enough of it.

[achilles]

Golden Age
Silver Age
Bronze Age
Post COIE
90s Gimmicks
early 2000s
The toxic sludge era, still going on.

[Jim Kelly]

Well, when their offices were in Manhattan, that was definitely an era of comics that has now passed.

Legend tells it that fans used to show up at their offices and they'd get a guided tour. Imagine!

Don't let it be forgot, that once there was a spot, for one brief shining moment, that was known as Just'a Lot.

[Jody Garland]

The span between 1951 and 1956 was different enough to deserve its own lable. Further, I'm not convinced that the Silver Age really burst full force onto the scene with Flash's arrival, although he was unquestionably the first step in that direction. I'm not sure when the SA really began, I haven't read enough of it.

Atomic Age has seen some use for '51 to '56 and it fits well enough. It's sort of a wild west era for comics as a whole, where publishers were popping up and dying left and write, genres popped up and fell off the radar, the CCA was formed, Congress investigated comics, all sorts of stuff. It stands apart pretty well from the Golden and Silver Ages.

[SJNeal]

1935-1956 - Golden Age
1956-1970 - Silver Age (starts when Barry Allen debuts in Showcase #4)
1970-1986 - Bronze Age (ends with Crisis on Infinite Earths)
1986-2005 - post-Crisis
2006-2011 - One Year Later
2011-2016 - New 52
2016-2020 - Rebirth
2021-present - Infinite Frontier

For all intents and purposes, this pretty much mirrors the mapping in my own head as well.

[MajorHoy]

"Eras"?

My bad. I thought you said "errors" . . .

[SJNeal]

"Eras"?

My bad. I thought you said "errors" . . .

I don't think the CBR servers are large enough to accommodate such a thread...

[bat39]

Specifically to DC, this is how it breaks down:

Golden Age: 1938-51
Atomic Age: 1951-56
Silver Age: 1956-70
Bronze Age: 1970-86
Modern Age: 1986-Present

A lot of these are a bit arbitrary to be honest, and even vary from character to character. Some might argue, for instance that the Atomic Age is just part of either the Golden Age or the Silver Age, since it was all more a gradual shift than a clear dividing line. And then there's the question of the 'Modern Age', which started after COIE in 1986. But its been 35 years now, and there have been a lot of changes since then, in terms of continuity, tone and pretty much everything. And you can't just call something the Modern Age forever.

The problem is that the previous ages were not just exclusive to DC but broadly fit Marvel and other publishers as well (even though the specific years might differ). How could you get a similar industry-wide term to break down the post-1986 eras?

I guess 'Dark Age' has been suggested, and that actually fits in perfectly. But then when did the Dark Age end exactly?

I do feel that a new age began either in the mid 2000's or the early 2010's.

The mid 2000's was a time when both DC and Marvel had a bit of a nostalgia thing going. On DC's side, IC brought back a lot of Silver/Bronze Age continuity and you had the return of Silver Age icons like Hal, culminating in Barry's return a few years later. On Marvel's side, the X-men became a bit more overtly superhero-ish again after Morrison's more 'grounded' revamp from 2000, Spider-Man's marriage was undone turning the clock back to his Bronze Age status quo, and you had the push towards more classic status quos for characters once the dust from Civil War settled.

The early 2010's had the New 52 on DC's side and the Marvel NOW initiative on Marvels side that were both efforts (albeit technically very different) to relaunch/reboot the lines - initiatives that have led to event after event for both companies with constant efforts to both reinvent old characters, bring back older versions of characters, and simultaneously create newer versions of old characters (including legacies and alternate versions).

So I guess one of these two should be the cut-off point for a new age. Perhaps they both should...