How Did the Comic Book Get Its Start?

The origins of the comic book are somewhat controversial and perhaps the jury is still out. So lets go back to the cartoonish broadsheets of the Middle Ages, which were parchment products, created by anonymous woodcutters. As mass circulation of these broadsheets became possible, they soon developed a market, particularly at public executions, popular events for centuries (ugh), which drew thousands of happy spectators. Many of these spectators would invest in an artist's rendering of a hanging or burning, and thus making a very lucky day for the broadsheet seller. Comic book history in the making!