A comic book letter column is a section of an American comic book where readers' letters to the publisher appear. Comic book letter columns are also commonly referred to as letter columns (or lettercols), letter pages, letters of comment (LOCs), or simply letters to the editor. Letter columns appeared early on in the history of comic books themselves, and their growing prevalence—particularly beginning in the 1960s—helped create and legitimatize comics fandom. As the forum developed, the volume and tenor of letters became a reliable gauge of overall reader response to developments in the comics themselves. Letter columns remained a regular feature of most comic books until the early years of the 21st century, when they began being phased out in favor of the growing prevalence of email and Internet forums. Despite this, the 2010s saw a renaissance of comic book letter columns, and many comics titles still print them.
History When Hugo Gernsback published the first science fiction magazine, Amazing Stories in 1926, he allowed for a large letter column which printed reader's addresses. By 1927 readers, often young adults, would write to each other, bypassing the magazine. Science fiction fanzines had their beginnings in Serious & Constructive (later shortened to sercon) correspondence. The fans would start up clubs to ease finding others with their same interests. Gernsback founded the Science Fiction League in 1934, where these clubs could advertise for more users.
The first recorded comic book letter column appeared in Target Comics #6, published by Novelty Press in 1940.Overstreet, Robert M. Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, vol. 33. House of Collectibles, 2003. (The page in question also has an early mention of comic book collecting.) The first DC Comics comic to include a letters column was Real Fact Comics #3 (July-August 1946).Heritage Auction Galleries: Amazing Comics Auction #13011; Lot #15707. January 5, 2003 - Real Fact Comics #3. Retrieved November 16, 2008. The first DC title with a letters column as a regular feature was Superman beginning with issue #124 (September 1958).
Early versions of the lettercol tended to be simple fan letters, often from young readers. These letters tended to be praise for the previous issue's story and artwork; or simplistic questions about the correct pronunciation of "Mxyzptlk" or where Superman put his Clark Kent clothes when he was in costume;Engblom, Mark. "Dear Editor: Metropolis Mailbag...After Dark!" Comic Coverage (September 17, 2007). Accessed November 24, 2008. or alternately, obsessive dissections of perceived continuity errors or art mistakes.Carlson, K.C. "KC: LOC," Westfield Comics (September 2008). Accessed November 24, 2008: ". . . Mort Wieisinger's lettercolumns for the Superman titles . . . were big lists of 'goofs' that popped up in the books, that encouraged the worst kind of fan behavior (and indirectly inspired Stan [Lee] to create the No-Prize!)."
Letter columns came into their prime in the 1960s, when readers' letters became longer and the discussions more sophisticated. For example, in the mid-1960s longtime letter writer (and future comics historian) Peter Sanderson's lengthy, well-reasoned, and impressively erudite missives forced DC editor Julie Schwartz to expand the lettercols in his books to a second, separate page (such as "Flash-Grams — Extra", "Letters To the Batcave — Extra", and "JLA Mailroom — Special Peter Sanderson Edition") to facilitate Sanderson's sharp analysis.Hembeck, Fred. "The Fred Hembeck Show: Episode 21." IGN Entertainment, August 2, 2005. Retrieved July 2, 2008.
Of Marvel Comics' Silver Age superhero titles, only the Fantastic Four initially had a letter column; it thus served as the editorial information/reader comment source for all of Marvel's superhero titles — until they too got their own dedicated letter columns.Cronin, Brian. "Knowledge Waits: The History of Marvel's No-Prize: CSBG looks at the history of Marvel's celebrated No-Prize!", CBR (Feb. 11, 2016): "Over the next year or so, the letter page for the Fantastic Four became the place where Lee would interact with the entire Marvel fandom, which continued to grow as Marvel added more and more new characters like Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, Spider-Man, etc. Only Spider-Man got his own letter column initially."
By the 1970s, nearly all mainstream comics included letter pages. Historian Matthew J. Pustz describes the different approaches of the two major publishers, DC and Marvel:
As the letter column became a longstanding tradition in the mainstream comic book industry, it even became a feature of underground, independent, and alternative comics of the 1970s and 1980s. In the 1990s, a trend in letter writing developed in which readers would send in specific, bulleted questions about the direction of the series, plot points, etc.; which were often answered (or evaded) by the writer or editor point-by-point.
By the first few years of the 21st century, as comics-related forums sprang up all over the Internet, many letter columns were gradually replaced by advertisements or in-house promotions. This, combined with a growing sentiment that letters pages were increasingly bringing out the worst in readers, led to their continued decline.Sims, Chris. "12 Reasons Why Bringing Back Letter Columns Is Not The Best Idea," ComicsAlliance.com (Jan. 6, 2011). In 2002, DC officially ended the practice of the letter page.Stuever, Hank. "A Dead-Letters Day: Comic Books End Printed Mail Columns As Fans Turn to Web," Washington Post, page C1, December 10, 2002.
Almost a decade, later, however, in 2011 DC brought back the practice.Hyde, David. "DCU in 2011: DC Nation: Letter Columns Return to DC Comic Books," DC Comics Fan News (January 11., 2013). In addition, many titles not published by Marvel or DC — most notably Image Comics' titlesHarper, David. "Backmatter and the Golden Age of Comic Book Letters Columns: In 2015, what have comic creators had to do make letters columns relevant again?" Sktchd Chronicles (September 29, 2015). — still feature letters pages. One reason for the persistence of the form, even in the face of other outlets for publisher-creator communication, is that letters pages allow for a more in-depth discussion than most online forums.
In 2015, writer David Harper published his list of the top back matter/letter columns then running: "Letter Daddies," in Sex Criminals (Image Comics) "Processing" in Shutter (Image Comics) "To Be Continued," in Saga (Image Comics) "The Secret Ingredient," in The Fade Out (Image Comics) "Letters From Nuts," in The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (Marvel Comics) "Kaiju Mail," in Kaijumax (Oni Press) "Hellmail," in Hellboy (Dark Horse Comics)
Form and content As standardized by the big mainstream American companies, the letter column was typically overseen by one of the comic's staff members, often the book's editor (or later on, the assistant editor), and occasionally the book's writers.
The letters page was often used as a soapbox, where in addition to responding to reader comments, the editor would provide behind-the-scenes details about the comics world, announce changes to the title or the creative team, plea for more (or better) letters, needle the competition,"Marvel Bullpen Bulletins" (July 1966). Accessed February 15, 2009. and otherwise communicate with readers.Gruenwald, Mark. "Mark's Remarks Index." Accessed July 9, 2008.
Due to the monthly (or longer) lag between issues, a comic's letter column usually featured reader responses to issues about three-to-five months prior to the current one. Occasionally, if a story ran too long one month, or there were printer-related problems, a comic's letters page would be omitted that issue. This would often produce an outcry from deprived readers in later letter columns, accompanied by the requisite apologies and explanations.
Until the late-1970s, letter columns were usually found in the middle of the book, when they mostly moved to the book's second-to-last page (the last page tending to be an advertisement).Stern, Roger, ed. "Avengers Assemble!" Avengers #186 (Marvel Comics, August 1979), p. 31: "... and while Jim [Shooter] thanks you for the kind words, he'd like to point out that it was Roger Stern's idea to move his letters pages back to page 31... a move with which — we're proud to say — most other editors have enthusiastically followed suit!"
Toward the end of 1960 — thanks in no small part to the urging of motivated readers like Jerry Bails (later to be known as the "father of comics fandom") and Roy Thomas — DC editor Julius Schwartz decided to print readers' home addresses in the letters, a custom of long standing in science fiction magazines and one which helped originate science fiction fandom (where Schwartz himself got his start in publishing). The first letters page with the letter writers' full addresses appeared in The Brave and the Bold #35 (May 1961).Schelly, Bill. The Golden Age of Comic Fandom, Hamster Press, 1995. Because of this practice, many readers connected with each other, becoming penpals, and starting communities of fans and/or publishing fanzines.Siegel, Howard P. "Made in America," BEM #16 (Dec. 1977). In a number of cases, readers (including future X-Men artist Dave CockrumJacobson, Aileen. "Serious Comics Fans," Washington Post (August 16, 1971), p. B2. and future Elfquest creators Wendy and Richard Pini) "met" their future spouses via a comic book letter page.Pulfer, Richard. "The Flickering Mind of Al Schroeder III," Broken Frontier (May 28, 2008). Accessed July 17, 2008. In 1979, a woman named Barb Long saw Al Schroeder III's letters in the Superman letter columns, and wrote to him. He wrote back, and six months later, they met face to face. Six months after that they were married."Al Schroeder," COMIXtalk: Contributors. Retrieved July 17, 2008.
Peter Sanderson writes of Schwartz's letter columns:
Similarly, under the guidance of editor-in-chief/publisher Stan Lee, Marvel Comics also decided to print readers' home addresses in the letters. Lee made it a priority to create a community of readers, giving them a sense of personal investment in Marvel and its titles. Lee's ambition to create a company aesthetic in this way was overwhelmingly successful; many Marvel fans would sign off their letters with the phrase, "Make Mine Marvel!"
Around 1965, however, the Comics Code Authority — fearful that pornographers might market their wares to comic book readers by acquiring their home addresses from the letters pages — decreed that publishers should no longer print readers' addresses. DC gave in to this edict, while Marvel ignored it, at least for a while.Cronin, Brian. "Comic Legends: When the Comics Code Declared War on Letter Columns: In a Bonus Comic Book Legends Revealed, find out the strange reason why the Comics Code Authority turned on comic letter columns!", CBR (June 20, 2018).
For many fans, having a letter printed was a badge of honor — especially if it was in one of the more high-profile letters pages. The feeling was that if one wrote enough good letters, it was possible to influence the direction of the comic and/or one's favorite characters. And as letters pages became more collaborative in this way, many became forums for long-running discussions among the editors and readers, with topics ranging from what defined a "mutant" to real-world issues such as religion, racism, feminism, gay rights, and the rights of the disabled.Franklin, Morris E. III. "Coming Out in Comic Books: Letter Columns, Readers, and Gay and Lesbian Characters," Comics & Ideology chapter 10 (New York: Peter Lang, 2001), pp. 221-250.Busiek, Kurt. Letter in "Avengers Assemble!" Avengers #183 (Marvel Comics, May 1979). Cerebus creator Dave Sim's comments about women, for example, became the source of a particularly long-running and bitter debate in the pages of "Aardvark Comment".