American comics

RE “They’re Not Just for Laughs” [Oct. 21]: With “The Yellow Kid,” America created the comic. “Little Nemo in Slumberland” was a comics page. From that came the comic strip, then the comic book. Just as moving pictures became comic shorts, became movies, became television, American cinema and comics constantly kept reinventing themselves on somewhat similar tracks. But comics never became the cash cow that movies did, because comics were faster, cheaper and under [editorial] control.

For me, comic books are the last great bastion of American illustration and, as such, will always be rediscovered. Comics’ influence on advertising, humor and pop culture is pervasive. Comics are part of our collective American memory, delivering thrills, romance and the occasional small truth. Like jazz and basketball, comics remain a great American invention!

Brad S. Barnes

Santa Ana