LOS ANGELES , California ( CNN ) -- America faces an economic calamity . Trouble brews in faraway lands . Superman # 14 , cover art . Artist : Fred Ray . ( c ) 1941 DC Comics . All rights reserved . Sound familiar ? More than 70 years ago , the very first superheroes debuted in the dire times of the Great Depression and the early years of World War II . Their names became legend -- Superman , Batman ( or , as he was then known , the Bat-Man ) , Wonder Woman , Captain America -- and they 're still with us today . A new exhibit at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles celebrates these icons from the Golden Age of Comic Books . Through a collection of rare original artwork and comics , the exhibit explores how a group of mostly Jewish artists created the costumed heroes who came to symbolize the hopes of a beleaguered nation . `` In the 1930s , the American Dream had become a nightmare , and I think comic books and superheroes in particular provided an escapist form of entertainment that allowed the American public to go into a fantasy world where all the ills of the world were righted by these larger-than-life heroes , '' says Erin Clancy , a curator at the Skirball . Watch a tour of the exhibit » . Guest curator Jerry Robinson not only organized the exhibit , he 's a part of it . The comic book pioneer created Batman 's arch-enemy , The Joker , and named the caped crusader 's sidekick Robin . ( Success has many fathers , of course : Bob Kane , credited with creating Batman , has long disputed elements of Robinson 's creation stories . ) `` We were just emerging from the Depression , '' Robinson recalls . `` Superman started in 1938 . Batman started in 1939 . So , we were just recovering . '' Robinson says the villains changed with the times . `` The first villains in the comic books were hijackers , embezzlers , bank robbers . It was the era of Pretty Boy Floyd and so forth . Once the war came along , we felt a need for more patriotic heroes to fight Hitler . `` In fact , '' he adds , `` Hitler banned American comics , at least Superman and superheroes . He said they were Jewish . Little did he know that the creators were actually Jewish . ... Hitler banned American comics , except one : Mickey Mouse , which was his favorite . '' One of the highlights of the collection is Robinson 's original sketch for The Joker . `` My first thought was that a villain who had a sense of humor would be different and memorable , '' he says . `` So , I 'm thinking of a name for a villain that has a sense of humor . I thought of 'The Joker ' as a name , and as soon as I thought that , I associate it with the playing card , as my family had a tradition of champion playing ; my brother was a contract champion bridge player . There were always cards around the house . `` So I searched , and luckily it had the typical image of the joker , which came out of a tradition in Europe . This was an important element . Throughout history , we had court jesters , clowns , and so this was an iconic image that was also very useful . '' In our own times , the public is turning to costumed heroes again in record numbers . Movies based on comic books are box office leaders ; comic books themselves remain a strong and growing industry . `` I think the comic book superhero came out of a context in which the political , social and economic realties were a little tough , '' Clancy says , `` and we can certainly relate to those realities now in our own day . I think the resurgence of popularity of superheroes can be attributed to that . '' Last year , audiences made `` The Dark Knight '' the second-highest grossing film of all time . The late Heath Ledger , who won a best supporting actor Oscar for his performance as The Joker in that film , spoke with Robinson before he died . `` I was flattered to hear from him that he based the whole concept of The Joker 's persona and rationale on our first concept of The Joker , '' Robinson says . With the box office success of `` The Dark Knight '' and `` Iron Man '' -- plus comic book-inspired films like `` The First Avenger : Captain America , '' `` The Avengers '' and `` Thor '' in development -- it looks like superheroes will continue to inspire . `` I think heroes are back , '' Robinson says . `` I think you can almost chart it . The times are not so good -- we 're looking for heroes . '' All images and characters copyright DC Comics . DC Comics , like CNN , is a unit of Time Warner .
Superman , Batman , others born during the Depression , early World War II years . New exhibit ' ` ` golden age '' of superhero characters . Author Spider Robinson , who created The Flash : ` ` We 're looking for heroes ''