In 1951, Ajax-Farrell introduced the Lone Rider. I’m not sure if there is a technical difference between a Ranger and a Rider, but at least his overall look was quite different. He wore head to toe blueish-black, or is that blackish-blue and a full face mask reminiscent of the Golden Age hero, the Clock. He had a decent run, lasting 17 issues until 1954. Swift Arrow, who ran as a back-up here.

The Masked Ranger was Premier Magazines’ addition to the Lone Ranger rip-off parade. He looks astonishingly similar to the earlier pre-TV red-shirt version of the Lone Ranger. As if one carbon copy wasn’t enough, this series also featured a character named the Crimson Avenger. It ran for a mere 9 issues, as Premier was a 3rd tier publisher. It did feature some nice covers, though.

If you take the Lone Rider and add the Masked Ranger and remove any originality, you get the Masked Raider. Actually, that’s not totally fair as the Masked Raider was accompanied by a giant eagle named Talon. Other than that, it is a pure Lone Ranger rip-off, right down to using the mask as background for the title logo. This series was fairly successful (in its three iterations), and it lasted 40+ issues well into the 60s. Some of the stories were reprinted in the Charlton series Gunfighters in the early 80s. I have to wonder if this was initially either a Fawcett or Ziff-Davis creation, as the first issue featured a nice painted cover – not something normally associated with Charlton.

One of the very earliest Lone Ranger clone was also one of the shortest-lived. As superheroes waned in the late 40s, Standard-Nedor introduced a variety of jungle and western themed characters, including Rick Howard, the Mystery Rider in Exciting Comics. Yes, that is perhaps the lamest cowboy name ever. He also wears a red shirt like the Lone Ranger but at least his hat and scarf are different colors. He is really nothing more than the Black Terror on a horse.

Like many Atlas-Marvel western characters, the Black Rider churned through several costumes and series. He started out with the scarf look (a la Vigilante), but he went with the full face mask (much like Lone Rider). Just before the Atlas Implosion, a new Black Rider series was launched with him wearing a small domino mask, much more like the Lone Ranger. This series lasted a single issue, so we’ll never know if he planned on keeping this look for a long time.

There were other masked cowboys over the years, including the hilariously retconned Two-Gun Kid, but that's story for another day.

If you want to waste more time on comic book chatter, check out my blog: Seduction of the Indifferent

17 Comments

• At November 17, 2009, Scott Harris wrote:

  John Severin is a genius.

• At November 17, 2009, Jeremy A. Patterson wrote:

  AC Comics reprinted The Masked Ranger & The Masked Raider in their reprint books!

  J.A.P.

• At November 17, 2009, Dan Bailey wrote:

  Scott Harris is correct.

• At November 17, 2009, azjohnson5 wrote:

  Scott are you going to be involved at all with "The Top 75 Most Iconic Covers in DC History" ...

• At November 17, 2009, jazzbo wrote:

  The Lone Rider actually looks pretty cool. I like that look better than the Lone Ranger.

• At November 17, 2009, Kirbydotter wrote:

  Both Scott Harris and Dan Bailey are correct!

  Heh! :)

  About the BLACK RIDER RIDES AGAIN!, is this the cover of ...

• At November 17, 2009, Scott wrote:

  John Severin is indeed very awesome.

  asjohnson5 - I have only been casually following that top 75 covers series. I should ...

• At November 17, 2009, Mary Warner wrote:

  So what's the story of the hilariously-retconned Two-Gun Kid?

• At November 17, 2009, Monica Dickey wrote:

  That second cover is gold. Looks like someone has a case of gigantism haha.

• At November 17, 2009, Sijo wrote:

  The Lone Ranger was *never* alone. Tonto was his almost-equal partner. (Intercultural trivia: in Spanish, Tonto was renamed "Toro" (Bull) ...

• At November 17, 2009, Gavin wrote:

  And the Black Rider isn't black. =D

• At November 17, 2009, Dalarsco wrote:

  So, since there is so much Severin praise, I presume that the answer to the question I was going to ...

• At November 18, 2009, DIOS die autentisen wrote:

  And the Clone Ranger?

• At November 18, 2009, Roquefort Raider wrote:

  All dressed in blue and wearing a mask? I really like that Masked Raider fellow!!!

• At November 18, 2009, Matthew Johnson wrote:

  Lightnin' Hero Horse!

• At November 18, 2009, Dan Bailey wrote:

  Dalarsco --

  Severin (who happens to be my favorite artist, period; his fortes are war & westerns) drew the Black Rider ...

• At November 19, 2009, onion3000 wrote:

  Harry Harrison apparently drew the 'Masked Ranger' cover - though it's all very confusing. "Lone" this, "Masked" that...

1967 was a pretty quiet year over at DC, as there were not many milestone events. Most titles kept chugging along, seemingly unaware of the juggernaut that Marvel had become. Deadman made his first appearance in Strange Adventures #205, and the Spectre became the first and only of the re-introduced JSAers to get his own title. A few series were launched including Inferior Five and Bomba the Jungle Boy, but none found lasting success. Blackhawk tried to stay relevant in with the introduction of the three-issue arc converts the team members into the Junk Heap Heroes; which culminated in issue #230. Superman and Flash had their first of many races in Superman #199. This ‘stay the course’ philosophy would change at the beginning of ’68, when Dick Giordano came aboard to edit several titles.

After several years of cranking out one successful new character and/or title after another, Marvel had settled into a comfortable groove in 1967. John Romita was well entrenched at Amazing Spider-Man, John Buscema was aboard at Avengers and Gene Colan was at the beginning of a long run on Daredevil. A few titles were launched, most Not Brand Ecchand the revamped Marvel Super-Heroes, which included the first appearance of Captain Marvel. We saw the last of both Tales of Suspense and Tales to Astonish, as Marvel was making room for an expanded list of titles. Other notable events include the introduction of the Kingpin, the Abomination and Mike Murdock!

Charlton Comics had a pretty crazy year, but that was par for the course with everyone’s favourite Derby, CT based publisher. There was a lot of high quality output, as was the tail end of Dick Giordano’s tenure as Editor in Chief. Great titles like Captain Atom and Judo Master came to an end. Blue Beetle #1 introduced the world to Steve Ditko’s The Question, and Charlton Premiere premiered and gave the world the great ‘Children of Doom’ story with its 2nd or 3rd issue (depending on how you track crazy Charlton numbering). Sam Glanzman’s well regarded Hercules got started in 1967, as did oddballs such as Grand Prix and All-American Sports.

Dell was still in the picture in 1967, launching a variety of new TV tie in titles including the Monkees and Mission Impossible. They were also continuing their efforts to crack the superhero market with less than stellar titles such as Mighty Heroes and Neutro. For my money, the best title introduced by Dell in 1967 was Flying Saucers, a fun UFO title which only partly made up for the loss of Kona, Monarch of Monster Isle. The writing was on the wall for Dell’s demise.

Gold Key, on the other hand, had a strong 1967. They still had the Edgar Rice Burroughs properties, and Magnus, Robot Fighter and Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom were chugging along. They launched some duds that year, especially The Owl and Tiger Girl, both half hearted attempts to jump aboard the superhero bandwagon. They also had some success with new ventures, including Star Trek and Chip ‘n Dale. As I’ve grown older, I’ve come to better appreciate the varied output from Gold Key during this period.

The saddest news of 1967 was surely the demise of American Comics Group (ACG). My guess is that almost no one noticed that it was gone at the time, but when you look at its long publishing history, it’s hard to see its final issues as an important chapter in comic book history. ACG was one of those second tier publishers that managed to stay alive through the 50s and well into the 60s through a strange combination of innovation and comfort food comics. If an ACG could fall, then it was only a matter of time before the Dells, Gold Keys and Charltons would go as well. I find it amusing that the final series launched by ACG was Gasp!; as in ‘last gasp’.

1967 also saw the year of the final flame outs of some short-lived publishers. King Comics emerged when the newspaper syndicate repatriated its properties and got into comic book publishing directly. It wasn’t long before the likes of Popeye and The Phantom were sent off to Charlton for career counseling. A couple of quick ‘fly by night’ operations folded as well. M.F. Enterprises learned that Captain ‘SPLIT!’ Marvel was neither a Superman nor a Spider-man. Lightning Comics, home to Fatman and Super Green Beret lasted only a few months.

Lots of other publishers continued to succeed in their genres, including Archie, Harvey and Warren. Tower Comics were still cranking out fun book, but they would not be in the race much longer. All in all, 1967 was a solid if unspectacular year in funnybooks. Although superhero books continued to dominate the marketplace, the luster of the craze had faded somewhat and the non-Big Two companies had a hard time convincing readers that their knock-offs were worth 12 cents.

For more comic book nonsense, stop by my blog at Seduction of the Indifferent

17 Comments

• At November 10, 2009, Dan Bailey wrote:

  This happens to be the year that I'd have to rank as nearest & dearest to my heart, of course, ...

• At November 10, 2009, Brian wrote:

  The Star Trek stuff is great. You can find collected editions of that run now. On the Mission: ...

• At November 10, 2009, Chris Simpson wrote:

  It's neat to relive the year I was born in!

• At November 10, 2009, Jeremy A. Patteron wrote:

  !967 also saw the demise of Patsy & Hedy (#110), the last of the Patsy books of the SA. The ...

• At November 10, 2009, Mary Warner wrote:

  Wasn't there a revived King Comics in the early 1980s? I acquired a few issues somewhow back then. ...

• At November 10, 2009, Matt Bird wrote:

  Yup, that's Cinnamon. Zen Tiger, aka the Cross-eyed cyclops, posted the entire M:I comic series for download a while ...

• At November 10, 2009, Scott wrote:

  Dan - I'm glad to hear that '67 was such a good year (I was -5 myself). That Bizarro 80 ...

• At November 10, 2009, buttler wrote:

  Great roundup, but I can't find it in me to call a year that saw the last of Hedy Wolfe ...

• At November 10, 2009, onion3000 wrote:

  Re: The Terrible Five cover...

  'THE VILLIANS ARE COMING!' suggests sloppy editing.

  'THE WORST BAD GUYS IN COMICDOM' suggests why the comics ...

• At November 10, 2009, buttler wrote:

  This sounds like a job for the immortal Ambush Bug foe Villian the Villain.

• At November 10, 2009, Dan Felty wrote:

  This is what I like to see! This sort of context make the comics so much more interesting!

• At November 10, 2009, benday-dot wrote:

  Charlton wears the crown I'd say. Although, I have a great fondness for those twilight issues of Tales to Astonish ...

• At November 10, 2009, Mary Warner wrote:

  Those were definitely the King Features comics I was thinking of. My brothers got ahold of a few issues ...

• At November 10, 2009, Bill Reed wrote:

  Super Green Beret! Now there's a property that's begging for a comeback.

• At November 11, 2009, andyh40 wrote:

  Once again, a great post Scott. 1967 was also the year that I got into collecting comics...mostly DC Batman and ...

• At November 11, 2009, Scott wrote:

  Thanks for the kinds words everyone - great discussion.

  I'm always glad (and jealous) to hear of people who were ...

• At November 12, 2009, Scott wrote:

  OK - for the sake of completing a tagential discussion (aren't they always the best kind), I checked the indica ...

The cover to Justice League of America #19 is perhaps the best known of example of a recycled cover design. Murphy Anderson channeled his own cover from Mystery in Space #17 (January, 1954). It was re-used once again for Strange Adventures #229 in 1971.

Justice League of America #22 features a terrific cover, and is the second part of the first JLA/JSA crossover. Once again, Anderson has takes the idea from an old cover, using Mystery in Space #18 (February-March, 1954) as his inspiration.

Justice League of America #6 is an example of Anderson borrowing a cover from a different artist, as he channels Irwin Hasen’s cover from All-Star Comics #42 (August-September, 1948). Is it a swipe or an homage? It’s also the earliest example of a cover recycled for the JLA that I found.

While not a direct swipe, Justice League of America #17 certainly borrows heavily from Mystery in Space #5 (January, 1952). On both covers, the heroes are caught in a tornado emanating from a spaceship.

An example of thematic recycling is the famous cover to Justice League of America #4, where Green Arrow joins. The idea of being trapped inside a giant diamond was previously used on the cover for Mystery in Space #9 (August-September, 1952).

Murphy Anderson’s cover to the Justice League’s third adventure in Brave and the Bold #30 is certainly one of the teams most iconic. I believe that Anderson got the idea from Gil Kane’s cover to Strange Adventures #14 (November, 1951). We’ve got characters trapped in glass cylinders and a laser beam. Although it’s a Kane cover, Anderson drew the Captain Comet story, so he was certainly familiar with the premise.

How about Justice League of America #8? It’s the famous, ‘JLA for Sale’ cover. I find it very similar to the ‘Alien Auction’ cover from Strange Adventures #15 (December, 1951), also by Gil Kane. We’ve got an auctioneer/barker, a line up of individuals on display and some shadowy onlookers in the foreground.

Another example of an idea being recycled rather than the entire image is the Felix Faust cover from Justice League of America #10. There are a few later examples of ‘finger puppet’ covers (see House of Mystery #214), but I can only think that this cover was ‘inspired’ by Sensation Comics #109 (May-June, 1952). I can’t ID the artist on the original cover, but Schwartz was editing the title at the time.

I had thought that I’d found all of the really good examples, when I started some ‘outside the box’ thinking. It occurred to me that the cover to Justice League of America #2 was very similar to Bob Brown’s cover to Phantom Stranger #5 (June-July, 1953). This discovery, which I stumbled upon just yesterday, led me to thinking that there are likely more out there somewhere.

I’m not trying to cast aspersions on the creators behind these early Justice League books, as most of the editorial staff DC recycled ideas and covers during this period. I just find it interesting that so many of these covers featured borrow ideas and images. If you know of any others, I’d love to see them.

For more comic book talk, stop by my blog: Seduction of the Indifferent

14 Comments

• At November 3, 2009, buttler wrote:

  Wow, I knew about half of these -- the pinwheel, the space cages, the finger puppets, the super-exiles ... but ...

• At November 3, 2009, buttler wrote:

  Come to think of it, JLA #29 is even more influenced by All-Star #8 than JLA #21 is.

• At November 3, 2009, Doron wrote:

  I heard that Schwartz looked at how many copies a book sold, and if it did well enough he would ...

• At November 3, 2009, Rebis wrote:

  Hey Scott. Great work. I didn't know about this. Interesting stuff. Interesting to see how Anderson (usually) improved on the ...

• At November 3, 2009, GarBut wrote:

  Agreed on Anderson generally improving the layouts--which is only to be expected, given the advantage of the homager. In numerous ...

• At November 3, 2009, Scott wrote:

  For the sake of thoroughness, I should have mentioned All-Star Comics #8 - just thought that that one might have ...

• At November 3, 2009, buttler wrote:

  In addition, All-Star #43 is, in some ways, a mirror image of Brave and Bold #28 (right down to a ...

• At November 3, 2009, Dan Bailey wrote:

  The next time I'm formulating my list of 10 favorite comic artists ever & I leave Murphy Anderson off (as ...

• At November 3, 2009, Omar Karindu, with the power of SUPER-hypocrisy! wrote:

  Sadly, "The Man Who Hated Science" is, IMHO, one of the weaker JSA stories of the 1940s, and has an ...

• At November 3, 2009, Omar Karindu, with the power of SUPER-hypocrisy! wrote:

  That said, the design of Professor Amos Fortune does seem indebted to the design of that issue's villain, Professor Zabor ...

• At November 3, 2009, Sijo wrote:

  I don't consider them swipes if they're done by the same company who owned the originals. It's their right to ...

• At November 3, 2009, benday-dot wrote:

  Great retrospective, including some I never thought of before. Thanks Scott.

  But Sijo, I don't think a swipe is an issue ...

• At November 4, 2009, Sijo wrote:

  Benday: Even from an artistic viewpoint, many of those barely qualify as "swipes". For example, the cover of "The Super-Exiles ...

• At November 4, 2009, benday-dot wrote:

  Sijo: Thank you for your comments. I think we are after all much in agreement in your general point.. My ...

Tom Sutton was an absolute master of comic book horror - infusing the his work with a gothic creepiness that almost oozed from the pages in an organic plop. If you're put off by his style upon first glance, I urge you to take a closer look in order to appreciate the truly unique style that he brought to the table during an era when many artists were simply aping Adams or Wrightson.

13. Haunted #25
Although I was certainly too young to buy any horror comics in the mid-70s, there’s no way my parent would have let this one into the house. I know that the rules had be somewhat loosened years earlier, but I’m a bit surprised this cover slipped past the Code. The warm tones established through Sutton’s color choices really accent the realism of the picture. Creepy.

12. Creepy #22
Speaking of Creepy… Like many artists of his generation, Tom Sutton’s earliest work was for Warren Magazines. He was even assigned a handful of covers during the late 60s. ‘Children in Peril’ was a big theme with Neal Adams at DC, but Sutton flipped that notion on its head with this ‘Children Behaving Badly’ cover. One of his very earliest works.

11. Ghostly Haunts #33
I love the sense of motion of this one. It also features a theme that Sutton will return to again and again: frightened faces in the foreground at the bottom of the cover. It’s as it they are trying to run right off the page. The horse is truly demonic looking, and the castle in the background helps to establish the setting. This ain’t Sleepy Hollow, NY folks.

10. Monster Hunters #3
This cover features much of what I love about Tom Sutton’s artwork. At first glance, you’re not sure what to think. All you know is that it is a striking image and unlike anything else you’ll see on the spinner rack. You’re forced to squint your eyes to try to get a better sense of what is going on. Good horror movies often work on the same basis, with a quick flash of a darkened shape in the woods setting your imagination into overdrive.

9. Haunted #8
‘Gothic’ is certainly the first word that springs to mind when I think of Tom Sutton. The second is ‘Lovecraftian’. This cover, one of Sutton’s earliest for Charlton, plays up the Cthulhu mythology. The use of black here is incredible, as our hero is almost nothing more than a silhouette set against the giant creature.

8. Werewolf By Night #10
Sutton was rarely given cover assignments by either DC or Marvel, but they certainly could not have been disappointed with what he produced. Sutton pencilled a few issues of this title, and was even given a couple of covers. I like this one because it fits right into the Marvel mainstream horror vibe, but still retains some of the Sutton touch; especially in the splashing water and the pose of the female captive. I also love the placement of his signature.

7. Creepy Things
Creepy Things was part of the ‘Charlton Mini-Explosion’ in the mid-70s, and it featured some pretty entertaining covers. I really like the claustrophobic atmosphere established here, as the trapped man looks horrified. I would be too, as these little white men are frightening. I find the absence of details in their faces and bodies to be quite eerie. The mushrooms in the background have me wondering if this is really happening, or if the guy got hungry and chose the wrong snack.

6. Haunted Love #3
This gothic romance title was the perfect sandbox for Tom Sutton. This cover features a classic Victorian damsel (nearly) in distress. Bonnets were all over the place in Sutton’s horror artwork. I really love the claws emerging from the purple hued fog. If this is what love and dating were all about in Victorian times, I think I’d settle for a spinster’s life.

5. Creepy #23
I truly believe that this cover can holds its own with the very best Warren covers of the period. This one just drips with atmosphere; with the lonely cabin high on the precipice, set against the full moon. We are left to imagine just what kind of man-beast is howling at that giant moon. Is it a Werewolf? Is it some sort of Pan? Is it a Were-Pan?

4. Ghost Manor #23
This is probably one of Sutton’s better known covers. Like a good horror movie poster, it makes piques your curiousity. Why did this guy die in the chair? Why hasn’t anyone found him? Why does that teddy bear have such sharp teeth and claws? You can almost smell the decay. The black cover makes this one tough to find in high grade, but that’s ok because the more decay; the better.

3. Ghostly Tales #113
We’re getting down to the best of the best here, folks. This very trippy cover relates to the very trippy tale Through a Glass Darkly. For my money, it is among Sutton’s very finest work and is a great example of his singular vision. I didn’t really catch on to just how cool some of this Charlton stuff was until I was in my 20s, but it is still plentiful and very cheap so get out there and try some.

2. Haunted #17
This one has always creeped me out big time. There’s something about faces in a garden that has always gotten to me (probably has something to do with seeing Motel Hell when I was waaaay too young). This one also brings to mind the cover of the pulp magazine Weird Tales from September, 1952. Come on, someone out there knows what I’m talking about, right?

1. Ghostly Haunts #41
Here it is – my favorite Tom Sutton horror cover of all-time. I know that Charlton got next to no respect during the 70s, but there’s no way that this one would not have caught the eye of even the most diehard Marvel zombie. It has every element you could possibly need: bondage, mutants and rats. The Mole Man would be much more menacing if his minions looked like these guys. It is a wonderfully designed cover, with superb color choices and great use of perspective, as the reader is given the ‘drowned rat’s eye view’.

If you have always loved Tom Sutton, I hope that this was a nice walk down memory lane. If you are new to his artwork – I hope it was enough to get you interested in tracking down some old books. Sutton went on to do great work on the I… Vampire series in House of Mystery but was never assigned the cover. Granted, Joe Kubert and Mike Kaluta do some pretty nice work, but it would have been great to see at least one Sutton cover on that title. Star Trek fans likely know that Sutton spent much of the 80s working on the main Star Trek title, showing that he was just as comfortable in space as he was in a sewer.

Tom Sutton died of a heart attack at age 65 in 2002. For one reason of another, I was unaware of his passing until a year or so later. It’s a shame that some of the most truly talented artists, the ones with a great personal style and unique vision, sometimes slip from our radar screen.

Happy Halloween to one and all, and thanks for all the chills and spine tingles Mr. Sutton!

For more comic book chatter – stop by my blog: Seduction of the Indifferent

16 Comments

• At October 27, 2009, Dan Bailey wrote:

  Sutton is one of the two Charlton mainstays -- Pat Boyette is the other -- whose work I initially found ...

• At October 27, 2009, Scott wrote:

  Dan, I'm sure you'll recall that I listed Haunted #20 as one of the top 5 horror comics last Halloween.

• At October 27, 2009, Dan Bailey wrote:

  I do now -- what a wonderfully Lovecraftian issue that was!

• At October 27, 2009, GarBut wrote:

  Monster Hunters #3: a Moore-era SWAMP THING cover, but ten years ahead of its time! Wow, just, wow.

• At October 27, 2009, danar wrote:

  I really like your choices, though I think #4 (Ghostly Manor #23) is the best and I like #13 (Haunted ...

• At October 27, 2009, Scott wrote:

  Gary - you got me thinking that Sutton would have been a great Swamp Thing artist.

  danar - just do a ...

• At October 27, 2009, Edo Bosnar wrote:

  Personally, I would put no. 10 and 5 at 1 & 2, respectively - by a long shot. But agreed, ...

• At October 27, 2009, Dan Bailey wrote:

  >>which ones have Ditko, Sutton, Zeck, Staton, Boyette, Byrne etc.

  Just wanted to make sure that danar knows that "etc." also ...

• At October 27, 2009, Dan Bailey wrote:

  And Pete Morisi. My god, how in hell could I forget Pete Morisi, even for a couple of minutes?

• At October 27, 2009, Tom Fitzpatrick wrote:

  What about Berni Wrightson? He did some outstanding covers too, I believe.

• At October 27, 2009, Scott wrote:

  Tom - dan is just talking about artists in the Charlton stable during the 70s, so Wrightson would be included.

  Dan ...

• At October 27, 2009, Kirbydotter wrote:

  OMG! I didnt even know of Tom Sutton passing away!

  Thats a great case you build here Scott for recognizing ...

• At October 27, 2009, joecab wrote:

  One of my favorite Tom comics was a non-horror one: What If? #18: What if Dr. Strange were a disciple ...

• At October 27, 2009, "O" the Humanatee! wrote:

  @Scott: Sutton did draw one issue of Swamp Thing (#98), but he was inked by Alfredo Alcala, and so didn't ...

• At October 28, 2009, omni-man wrote:

  One of many under-rated artists that people should seek out. Always good to see someone shine the spotlight on guys ...

• At October 30, 2009, Chris wrote:

  I posted a Sutton horror comic on my blog!

  http://comicbooksareinteresting.blogspot.com/2009/10/you-gotta-love-killer-teddy-bearsand.html

Chamber of Darkness Special #1 is a great place to start. It’s a fairly odd one-shot from 1972, published more than a year after the cancellation of the parent title. Nevertheless, it’s a fun read, collecting stories from the first two issues of Chamber of Darkness. It's pretty standard Marvel fare, helped out by an all-star lineup of creators, with scripts by the likes of O’Neil, Thomas and Goodwin. John Buscema adds some very moody artwork and Don Heck really shines on two stories (you’ll seek what a good inker can do for him. Of greatest interest to me is the rather ‘non-Marvel Bullpen looking’ Tom Sutton drawn story Mr. Craven Buys His Scream House - a clever play on an old Cary Grant movie. It's pure Sutton, which I love – and it’s great to see Marvel taking a chance on a young artist. This one but certainly looks out of place in a Marvel book. I’ve seen decent copies of this one for under $5 both on eBay and with on-line retailers.

After a few years of incredible work, Warren Publishing became somewhat notorious for reprinting stories not long after their initial appearance. That surely would have bugged the crap out of me as a monthly reader, but as a back issue bargain hunter, I've got no problem with it at all. Creepy #91 is a wonderful issue, it collects some of the best mid-70s horror stories by a who's who of talent and it can be found for next to nothing. If you like a good disillusioned sniper story (and who doesn't?); this is the magazine for you, as it has two of ‘em. The infamous ThrillKill with luscious Neal Adams artwork is partnered with the Phantom of Pleasure Island with Alex Toth in top form. For the same low price, you also get Wrightson, Severin, Wood and Heath. It boggled the mind to think that comics once had some many talented people collected in a single issue. Can you even try to beat that team? One story that I found to be particularly compelling is Cold Cuts written by Wrightson with Jeff Jones art. It's very atmospheric and really stands out from your typical Bronze Age horror tale. If you see this one - do not pass it up. I’ve seen high grade copies selling for $20, so something in the VG-F range should be under $5.

To me, Ghosts was always the dull spinster of the DC horror family. It featured some nice artwork from time to time, but the stories were quote tame as compared to other titles in the genre. This entry, buried in the DC Special Series (#7 to be precise) line of books, still doesn’t quite hit EC levels of gore and suspense, but it’s quite a bit stronger than your average issue of Ghosts. Unlike the other books I’m featuring today, the stories collected here are all-new. Bob Haney’s weird (are all of his ‘weird’?) Beware the Beggars Feast is a good old school tale of a greedy banker getting his just desserts, while Madness of the Moon is an entertaining 3-pager with great Tenny Henson artwork. The real highlight for me is Night of the Vengeful Corpse, which is a rather sinister ‘revenge from beyond the grave’ story with stunning Alex Nino artwork. I found this one is a dollar bin, and I bet you can too. A VG copy didn’t sell at 99 cents at a US-based eBay auction that ended last week. Surely, it’s worth a look at that price.

Much like the Chamber of Darkness Special, Giant-Size Chillers #3 reprints some of the better Marvel horror stories published between 1969 and 1971. The cover story features some breathtaking Berni Wrightson artwork, and a nice twist ending. Gene Colan fans should note that this one features two reprints by the Dean, one inked by Esposito and the other by Adkins (I’ll take the latter, thank you). The Monster is a real hidden gem written and drawn by Jack Kirby and To Sneak, Perchance to Scream is another great Denny O’Neil tale drawn with great gothic gusto by Tom Sutton. One prominent on-line retailed has a VG/F copy for $4.80, but I’m sure you can find it for less.

My final pick was a very recent discover for me. In 1981, Harvey Comics published Shocking Tales Digest #1, and it is an amazing book. Seemingly out of nowhere, Harvey decided that this would be a good time to reprint a bunch of old Jack Kirby stories from the late 50s (Marvel and DC had the same epiphany, only a decade earlier). It has a mixture of pre-Code and post-Code horror stories from titles such as Witches Tales (one of my favourites), Alarming Tales and even Race for the Moon. Aside from Kirby, there is also excellent artwork by Bob Powell and Howard Nostrand in there too. This book features some true classics, including the infamous Colorama and The Last Enemy, which will be a big hit with Kamandi fans. The reprint quality is quite good, and the artwork stands up to the reduction in size. Harvey I know that Kirby's artwork likely doesn't translate well to the digest page, but I really love Harvey horror, and we're not likely see it reprinted elsewhere. I bought a FN copy for $8.40, which was a bit steep for me but more patient readers may find a better deal (HINT – I just spotted at $7.21 FN+ copy at retailer that rhymes with Blue Radia).

There you have it – some inexpensive Bronze Age horror collections that are sure to keep you entertained through the Halloween season. For more comic book nonsense, stop by my blog Seduction of the Indifferent

6 Comments

• At October 20, 2009, Dan Bailey wrote:

  >>It’s a fairly odd one-shot from 1972, published more than a year after the cancellation of the parent title.

  I ...

• At October 20, 2009, Scott Harris wrote:

  It make some sense that they did these reprints even though they came out after the series had been canceled. ...

• At October 20, 2009, brian wrote:

  I'm actually enjoying both Showcase volumes of Phantom Stranger right now. Maybe not outright scream horror, but fun spooky ...

• At October 20, 2009, benday-dot wrote:

  Your assessment of the Giant-Size Chillers is spot on Scott. I came by my copy rather accidentally. Some years ago ...

• At October 21, 2009, benday-dot wrote:

  Your assessment of the Giant-Size Chillers is spot on Scott. I came by my copy rather accidentally. Some years ago ...

• At October 21, 2009, Dan Bailey wrote:

  *sigh* GIANT-SIZE CHILLERS ... Most likely I owned all 3 issues back in the '70s, since as I've noted elsewhere ...

The late 40s was a strange time for Captain America. World War Two was over and the threat of the Red Menace hadn’t quite peaked. What was a patriotic superhero to do to boost sales? The first step was to introduce more macabre themes, and replacing the Human Torch and the Sub-Mariner with the much spookier The Witness. Even he was replaced by straight ahead horror stories with titles like “Tomb of Terror” and “The Thing in the Swamps”. The title was switched to Captain America’s Weird Tales, and although his name appeared on the final issue – he’s nowhere to be found inside. The final issues of this series are highly desired in among Golden Age collector and were priced out of my budget decades ago.

Sensation Comics had been home to Wonder Woman and a host of other heroes since 1940. As tastes changed, so did Sensation Comics, to the point where it may have arguably become the first All-Female comic book, as it went through a Romantic Period just prior to the shift to horror. The change at Sensation was much more abrupt than with Captain America, as with issue #106, Wonder Woman, Dr. Pat etc… were gone and replaced by Johnny Peril and other horrific and suspenseful strips. I guess DC didn’t think the change was sufficiently drastic as they changed the title to Sensation Mystery with issue #110. The experiment would only work for a while, and the series was cancelled a year later.

A little known fact about Fiction House’s Jumbo Comics is that it feature the first ongoing horror strip in comics. Ghost Gallery began in 1942, but the fine folks at Fiction House correctly guessed that showcasing Sheena and assorted jungle animals on the cover would generate greater sales. By 1952, however, the powers-that-be felt that the world was finally ready for the Ghost Gallery to be featured front and center on the cover. It is rather odd seeing Sheena take a back seat for the final 7 covers, and her strip was demoted to the very back of the book. Again, the switch to horror must not have helped sales as Fiction House would not be part of the comic book world for much longer.

Many people will say that it was the DC lawsuit that scared Fawcett out of the comic book business, but I think plummeting sales had more to do with it. During the 40s, the Marvel related titles were reportedly selling in the millions. I can only assume that it was a dip in sales that led to the horror themed covers and stories that began to appear in the early 50s. Fawcett had introduced a line of great horror titles, and those themes permeated into the world of Fawcett City, to the point where Dr. Death became an ongoing strip in Captain Marvel Adventures. Of course, as well all know, the writing was on the wall for Fawcett and the Marvels. It’s a shame, because some of these latter day pseudo-horror issues are among the best Fawcett ever produced, and they are getting tougher and tougher to find at reasonable prices.

There are many, many more examples of this trend. I'm even considering doing a piece on horror themed westerns at some point. Many of these books had relatively low print runs in the early 50s, and can be quite tough to track down, as compared to their 40s counterparts. Happy Hunting!

For more random comic book chatter - stop by my blog: Seduction of the Indifferent

8 Comments

• At October 13, 2009, Daniel O' Dreams wrote:

  The Marvels look positively embarrassed to be confronted with pirate ghosts. Thanks for the fun piece.

• At October 13, 2009, Dan Bailey wrote:

  Seeing the Marvels in those settings makes me wonder whether the horror trend intruded at all in, say, Superman, Action, ...

• At October 13, 2009, Dan Bailey wrote:

  Although of course you address Wonder Woman & Sensation Comics. What I'm curious about, though, is whether those flagship characters' ...

• At October 13, 2009, Lt. Clutch wrote:

  Along with Sensation, DC also took Star-Spangled Comics towards the mystery route after introducing Doctor Thirteen. It was later renamed ...

• At October 14, 2009, Scott wrote:

  Dan

  I don't think that Wonder Woman's stories took on a real 'horror-mood' feel. I believe there's the occasional haunted house ...

• At October 14, 2009, David wrote:

  I remember the same thing happening to the first (late 1960s) Spectre series, where the Spectre became a commentator for ...

• At October 15, 2009, Matt Beahan wrote:

  I notice that the Captain America covers have "Marvel Comic" on them... If they date from late '49/early '50 wouldn't ...

• At October 15, 2009, Scott wrote:

  Beginning in January, 1947 - many Timely books had a little 'peel back' logo in the top corner, announcing that ...

That’s always made sense to me, as the content of a pre-Code book may not be approved by the CCA. What I really found odd, however, was the fact that ACG reprinted several of its CCA approved covers in the early 60s, making alterations that toned done the subject matter. Take a look at these examples and see what you think:

The transformation from Confessions of the Lovelorn #94 (June, 1958) to My Romantic Adventures #130 (March, 1963) is one of the most interesting I’ve seen. The ‘Accusing Fingers’ style of cover was very popular pre-Code, but was not seen very often in post-Code comics, as it was perhaps a bit too harsh for the CCA. The original cover really focuses on the world “Jilted” and warns women “not to be the kind Men jilt”. What we’ve got here is the sense that the man has ‘cheated’ on the woman. That theme will subtlety be removed from many of these covers. You’ll notice that the modified cover simply accuses the man of being a ‘braggart’ and a ‘liar’.

The cover Confessions of the Lovelorn #92 (April, 1958) was altered quite significantly to create the cover to My Romantic Adventures #131 (April-May, 1963). This is an ‘ugly duckling’ story, but I don’t think that this is the same one reference by Michelle Nolan, as that would have been a pre-Code story. You’ll notice a couple of things about this cover. First, our heartbroken heroine is no longer referred to as an ‘ugly duckling’. Second, our lovers have been taken from the back seat of a car (too lewd?) and placed on a park bench. These tweaks create a fundamental shift in the overall tone of the cover.

The cover to Confessions of the Lovelorn #78 (February, 1957) is really rather shocking, as the woman stumbles upon her fiancée kissing another woman. When the cover was reworked for My Romantic Adventures #127 (Oct-Nov, 1962), the reference to the upcoming nuptials was removed. Suddenly, the bride-to-be is transformed into the ‘Brainless Type’ and seems to be assigning herself some of the blame, stating that ‘he couldn’t love a fool like me'. Perhaps the series should have been re-titled My Self-Esteem Issues.

Confessions of the Lovelorn #87 (November, 1957) is a strange one and I can’t quite put my finger on why it was changed for My Romantic Adventures #138 (March, 1964). The cover blurb in the original states : The Path of True Love Didn’t Run Smooth For Andrea. Learn Why in a Romance that Pack a Punch! 'Professional Man'. Andrea’s beau, states “It’s Just a Dream House Now Sweetheart – but Someday It’ll be Ours”. Seems like a typical American Dream type story, but it was changed so that the blurb reads: An Amazing Romance – Straight From the Heart. 'Anything Can Happen In New York'. Here, our Romeo states "The Girl I've Dreamed of... and our own Honeymoon Cottage". Well, I guess it's now clear that they are married (or at least that the nuptials are pending), but the I really don't understand this switch, unless they felt the phrase 'Professional Man' would be interpreted in a lurid way. Also, the house has been downsized considerably - so maybe they were removing the implication that the woman was a gold digger. The only thing I find 'amazing' is that they got such a large yard in NYC.

Confessions of the Lovelorn #100 (December, 1958) ) is a pretty typical cover, except for the fact that the message is a bit negative. The caption states that our heroine always ran from those Awful Young Men, and she states that she'd always "Been Afraid of Men". Perhaps the editors thought it was a bit of a downer cover, or perhaps they felt that too much could be read between the lines, but they did a complete 180 degree turnaround with the reworked cover for My Romantic Adventures #136 (Dec-Jan, 1963). Here, the caption indicates that the tables are turned and that our fella has "Got To Do Something For Her", and she states, somewhat cryptically, that "It's Always Been This Way With Me". Huh? Is she in love or is she infirm. The latter wouldn't surprise me as we saw a lot of disease and injury centric love stories in the 60s and early 70s.

And that's not all of them, folks. There are plenty more. I’m sorry to say that I’ve not investigated the actual stories in these books to see if they have been altered, or if the covers correspond to completely different stories. The romance genre is vast, and it gets a bit difficult (and pricey) to investigate properly. If you are interested in finding out more about classic romance comics, I encourage you to dig up any Michelle Nolan articles you can find, as well as checking out Sequential Crush.

For more comic book nonsense - stop by my blog, Seduction of the Indifferent

9 Comments

• At October 6, 2009, Mary Warner wrote:

  Maybe they meant New York state?

• At October 6, 2009, Scott Harris wrote:

  Cool feature. Over the last year I've developed an appreciation for old romance comics, so I'd love to see more.

• At October 6, 2009, benday-dot wrote:

  Great feature Scott. I knew from previous exchanges that you have long been a fan of Michelle Nolan's great CBM ...

• At October 6, 2009, Ethan Shuster wrote:

  Maybe someone considered the "someday we'll live there" suggestion without mentioning marriage suggested they would have house before marriage? Changing ...

• At October 6, 2009, Jacque Nodell wrote:

  Nice interpretation of the changes, Scott! I only have one ACG romance book, but it is a rather early ...

• At October 7, 2009, Scott wrote:

  It really is to bad that digital versions of Comic Book Marketplace were never made available. I have nearly two-thirs ...

• At October 7, 2009, Thelonious_Nick wrote:

  But why would they change the cherry tree on the first cover, which is really quite beautifully done, to a ...

• At October 7, 2009, Sean wrote:

  "Or am I reading too much into it, and they just didn't want to put the effort into the coloring?"

  Maybe ...

• At October 8, 2009, jazzbo wrote:

  Were some of these a case of just slightly altering an old cover to make it work for a new ...

Flash Gordon (June, 1965)
Western had held the license for Flash Gordon at various points, and decided that the mid-60s was the perfect time to reintroduce Flash, Dale and the gang to the Four Color world. This was obviously some sort of quickie cash-in as it is a condensed reprint of story from Four Color #173 from 1947. It has some nice Paul Norris artwork, but it is really nothing spectacular. Within a matter of months, King Features would repatriate many of its characters and launch it own high quality, yet short-lived, line of comics. Flash Gordon would then be handed over to Charlton before returning to Gold Key in the late 70s.

Freedom Agent (April, 1963)
I’m not really sure if this counts as a true one-shot, as in some ways it is a continuation of the John Steele, Secret Agent book I talked about a while back – but let’s keep it as a standalone. It goes without saying that it features one of the greatest covers of the 60s, if not of all-time. There’s some good, clean cold war action to behold, all drawn by the meticulous and vastly underappreciated Alberto Giolitti. How can you go wrong?

Jet Dream – (June, 1968)
One would think that the late 60s was the perfect time to launch a series about a group of females superspies. For whatever reason, however, this series never took hold. This strip was introduced as a back-up in Gold Key’s Man from U.N.C.L.E series before getting its own book. It is a decent, but not great, book – a case of the concept being better than the execution. Still, it’s a worth picking up for the kitsch factor alone. Joe Certa provides pleasant but dull artwork.

Duke of the K-9 Patrol (April, 1963)
If you are going to purchase only one Silver Age comic book about police working with dogs in a mid-sized American city, make it this one. All kidding aside, this is actually a very entertaining book, focusing on the important role played by police dogs. The best tale is the finale in which a budget conscious city councilman threatens to shut down the K-9 unit. In a somewhat suspicious coincidence, that same councilor has his store robbed by masked bandits. Who do you think tracked down those thieves? Yup, Duke. This book has some nice Dan Spiegle artwork and a good piece on the history and economic efficiency of police dogs.

Blake Harper, City Surgeon (August, 1963)
The early 60s was really the peak of the medical/hospital genre in comic books. Many of these were tie-ins to TV shows, but some were original concept, such as City Surgeon. Jack Sparling provides the artwork, and while I understand that he is an acquired taste for some, this is some of his most subdued and accessible work from this period.

So, there you have it. Another ecletic group of book that could only come from Gold Key. For more comic book nonsense, stop by my blog at Seduction of the Indifferent

• At September 29, 2009, Pedro Bouça wrote:

  "...all drawn by the meticulous and vastly underappreciated Alberto Giolitti."

  Don't worry, he is rightfully praised on his native Italy.

  Best,

  Hunter (Pedro ...

• At September 29, 2009, Bill Reed wrote:

  These all look utterly fantastic. Gold Key had the best covers.

• At September 29, 2009, dantecat wrote:

  "Jet Dream"???

  Really??

  I'm the first to say it????

• At September 29, 2009, LouReedRichards wrote:

  Yeah, those are some great covers, esp. Duke of the k-9 Patrol.

  How expensive are these Gold Key one shots?

  Thanks, I've ...

• At September 29, 2009, Scott wrote:

  Good question:

  I picked up a FN copy of Duke for $5 at a convention in August

  A Jet Dream in VG/F ...

• At September 29, 2009, Scott Harris wrote:

  I certainly can't argue with the art on these covers, as they all look great. However, as a kid reading ...

• At September 29, 2009, Andrew Collins wrote:

  Scott, you may have just hit the nail on the head as to why these were only ever 'one-shots.' That ...

• At September 29, 2009, jazzbo wrote:

  I'm with Scott. I've never given Gold Key comics a look because the covers made the comics look boring. But ...

• At September 29, 2009, Roquefort Raider wrote:

  That Freedom Agent book sure has an impressive cover for a one-shot !!! That's really impressive work.

• At September 29, 2009, Alan Coil wrote:

  I have purchased a dozen or so of these old Gold Key (and Dell) comics over the years. Some of ...

• At September 29, 2009, Rob Schmidt wrote:

  Gold Key's painted covers didn't attract me as a kid. Seems to me they were trying to evoke old ...

• At September 29, 2009, Kirbydotter wrote:

  Never even heard of these, except for the Flash Gordon of course.

  You never cease to amaze me Scott. You ...

• At September 30, 2009, Matthew Johnson wrote:

  "Freedom Agent" is a great title. Also, more comics covers should have chickens prominent in the foreground.

Sea Devils is the commercial and artistic peak of the entire subgenre. The initial creative team of Robert Kanigher, Bob Haney and Russ Heath created a wonderful corner of the DC Universe, where a group of brave divers were assigned to deal with the various menaces that popped up issue after issue. If you don’t have Russ Heath listed in you personal list of top artists, I strongly suggest you check out this series. Much of the success should go to Jack Adler, the head of DC’s production department who had perfect the ‘wash’ technique used for many of the striking covers. Heath eventually left the title, and Irv Novick took over. Howard Purcell later replaced Novick. While neither Novick nor Purcell could match’s Heath’s artwork, they maintain a level of consistency right up to the end of the series.

I’ve praised Dell’s Frog Men series elsewhere, but allow me to do it here as well. This is an incredibly fun series with a real sense of adventure. There were a lot of great series in the early 60s, but I think you’d have a tough time finding one that could match the pool of talent assembled here. George Evans, Alex Toth, Mike Sekowsky, Don Heck, Frank Springer and George Tuska all contributed to this title. Even Frank Frazetta did some inking in spots. It’s a very fun series, and still quite inexpensive in mid-grade or lower.

Sea Hunt holds a special in American pop culture history and the TV series is the inspiration for the scuba-themed series of the early 60s. Starting with some Four Color appearances, Sea Hunt was eventually given its own title at Dell. These are worth tracking down, as Russ Manning drew the bulk of the series and Alex Toth contributed to one issue. I do find that there still seems to be a premium on comic books with a TV tie-in. Too many cross-hobby collectors, I guess.

Not to be confused with The Frogmen is Hillman’s Frog Man Comics, which predates the Dell series by nearly a decade. The series didn’t last long (only 11 issues over 15 months), but like so many Hillman titles, it was a high quality affair. One issue feature Mort Meskin artwork and Berni Krigstein contributed to another (although it was on a ‘crime’ story that didn’t get anywhere near the water). I wish more Hillman artists signed their work, as I have a tough time IDing some of it and I’d like to properly heap my praise. These are not easy to find, but Hillman titles are generally on the more affordable end of the pricing spectrum.

Another short-lived scuba-themed title from the 50s is Avon’s Fighting Undersea Commandos. From the two issues I’ve seen, it’s a fun read – mixing underwater suspense with some typical politically incorrect characters. Louis Ravielli did most of the heavy lifting on the art in this series. I don’t know much about him, except that I’ve also seen his name in some pulps, but I will say that he was a very talented artist with a real gift for moving the action along. He’s yet another artist I wish had been able to stick around long enough to test his talents during the Silver Age.

U.N.D.E.R.S.E.A Agent from Tower Comics was an interesting addition to the THUNDER Agents universe. Agent Davy Jones, a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy was the star of the show and he had a number of entertaining, if somewhat repetitive adventures. U.N.D.E.R.S.E.A is probably the greatest comic book acronym of all-time, as it stood for United Nations Department of Experiment and Research Systems Established at Atlantis. This series doesn’t get much ink whenever the Tower Comics line is discussed, but it is consistently strong with some great artwork by Gil Kane, Ray Bailey, Mike Sekowsky and one of my personal favorites, Manny Stallman.

There are a couple of more standalone issues worth mentioning fo those of you who really want to get to the bottom of the scuba subgenre, both from Dell's Four Colour series. Four Color #1197 Aquanauts, which was a Four Color tie-in to the short-lived TV series. Dan Spiegle provides artwork for this issue, and although I’ve never seen it, I’m certain that I would love it. Four Color #1328 featured an adaptation of the rather bland 1962 movie Underwater City, which is notable as it was drawn by a team of EC-alumni team-up as George Evans inked Reed Crandall’s pencils. Underwater City starred Julie Adams, who also had some aquatic adventures in the Creature From the Black Lagoon.

Go ahead and head back to the boat, because we're done here. For more comic book nonsense, stop by my blog - Seduction of the Indifferent

10 Comments

• At September 22, 2009, Matthew E wrote:

  I was wondering if you were going to mention [i]Primus[/i], a Charlton comic based on a TV series. I had ...

• At September 22, 2009, Kirbydotter wrote:

  DC has got to wake up and reprint the Russ Heath run of SEA DEVILS!

  The few examples I've seen of ...

• At September 22, 2009, Scott wrote:

  Ooops.

  I totally forgot about Primus! I've never owned any, but that series has always intrigued me. Very early Joe Staton ...

• At September 22, 2009, Cully C wrote:

  I have a copy of Undersea Agent #4. I bought it for the curiosity of the monster on the cover. ...

• At September 22, 2009, Bill Reed wrote:

  These all look totally awesome.

  I see more Fin Fang Foom there than Abomination, though I do note the resemblance there, ...

• At September 22, 2009, Dan Bailey wrote:

  >>(Kubert, Colan and ??? the 3rd one escapes me).

  Andru/Esposito, I believe. Only issue of the series that I own. ...

• At September 22, 2009, Scott Harris wrote:

  I have to say, when I was a kid I saw the James Bond film Thunderball, which features a lot ...

• At September 22, 2009, Scott wrote:

  Thanks Dan - I knew someone would know the answer to that one.

  As for the Kane monster - If you ...

• At September 22, 2009, benday-dot wrote:

  Well done! A favourite sub-genre of mine too Scott. And another one fans might want to check out is Gold ...

• At September 29, 2009, prince hal wrote:

  Scott, DC ran a series of stories about a frogman, IIRC. It wasn't always the same character, but centered on ...

I cut my teeth of the Star Wars: New Hope adaptation and still have all 3 Treasuries (the pt. 1, the pt.2 and the combined edition), but looking back I can see how the Empire Strikes Back adaptation is, like the film, the best of the trilogy. It is available in a few different formats, but my favorite is the nice, glossy version published in magazine for Marvel Comics Super Special #16. Archie Goodwin’s script is very lean, and it feels better paced than the first adaptation. This story serves as further proof that Al Williamson is a god, and I only wish that he didn’t more pencil work during the 70s and 80s. I’ve got to give props to Carlos Garzon, who served as Williamson’s assistant on the artwork. It’s lush and gorgeous. The inking is beautiful, and the muted colors really help to establish the atmosphere.

Can you imagine Wally Wood bringing Raquel Welch and Donald Pleasance to life in the 4 Color World? Well, it happened. Chances are you’ve passed right by this adaptation of Fantastic Voyage at a convention and failed to pick it up. That’s too bad, because this is an excellent adaptation of the 60s sci-fi ‘inner space’ classic. If you’ve seen the movie, you know that it’s a really fun premise, and a perfect fit for Wally Wood (and his assistant(s) – mostly likely Dan Adkins). If you now the film well, you’ll notice that some scenes have been omitted and that there is a new final scene. This may not be the best example of Wally Wood’s artwork (I was shocked by many curves he removed from Raquel Welch), but it’s an awesome book, and a very affordable Silver Age treat. I’m certain that I got my copy for under $5.

I’ll admit that nostalgia, and a love of kitsch, plays a role in my love for the Power Records adaptation of Escape From the Planet of the Apes. I owned 3 of these Book & Record sets as a kid I listened to them over and over again. Escape From POTA is my favorite because of the reverse ‘fish out of water’ theme element. The record clocks in at something like 12 minutes, so all of the fat has to be trimmed from the story, to the point where Sal Mineo’s Dr. Milo is completely omitted. The story and art for this comic are credited to Arvid Knudsen and Associates. Does anyone know anything about that shop? They do a fantastic job, and the pacing is perfectly in synch with the story on the record. The Marvel adaptation is also very, very strong and I have no complaints with it, but this Power Records version still hits all the right spots for me.

X, the Man with the X-Ray Eyes is a movie that is all kinds of awesome. It is a very visually inventive Roger Corman flick with a rather over the top performance by Oscar winner Ray Milland. For the comic book adaptation, the folks at Western Publishing make a good call by assigning Frank Thorne to the project. Paul S. Newman’s script is pretty standard fair, but Thorne adds so much to the story by finding ways to translate the ‘x-ray’ effect to the comic book page. My favorite scene is Thorne’s depiction of what Dr. Xavier sees when he looks up through the apartment building. It’s unlike anything I’d ever seen in comics before and requires an artist with a boundless creativity. I’ve raved about this one elsewhere, so do yourself a favor and pick it up.

Finally, I can’t talk about great comic book adaptations without mentioning the treasury-sized MGM's Marvelous Wizard of Oz; a Marvel/DC co-production. This is comic books done on a grand scale, and John Buscema was the perfect choice as penciller. Roy Thomas’s script is very strong, and he and Big John really seem to keep up with both the tone and pacing of the film. I’m not normally a huge fan of ink jobs by ‘The Tribe’, but there is some decent consistency here. There are many wonderful moments in this comic, but I think my favorite is the understated page where Dorothy opens the door to discover the techni-colored world of Oz. I think a reprint of this book would sell nicely via the bookstore market - but I imagine it's a legal quagmire.

So, there you have it: 10 very strong and very entertaining comic book adaptations of movies. There are many other good ones, so I’ll likely revisit this topic at a later date.

For more comic book nonsense, stop by my blog: Seduction of the Indifferent

21 Comments

• At September 15, 2009, Adam wrote:

  A fun element of the Star Wars adaptions is that they tend to inadvertently capture the deleted scenes that didn't ...

• At September 15, 2009, Matt Bird wrote:

  Idiosyncratic choices! Do I spot Rudy Nebres and/or Danny Bulandi inks on the Apes?

• At September 15, 2009, Andrew Wahl wrote:

  This was a fun two-parter. A suggestion for a future topic: Movies (or other licensed properties) that took on a ...

• At September 15, 2009, Matt Halteman wrote:

  I'm kind of surprised that the Archie Goodwin / Walt Simonson adaptation of "Alien" didn't make the cut. Now that ...

• At September 15, 2009, Mea wrote:

  I was kinda hoping Art Adams' addaptation of "The Creature From the Black Lagoon" would make the cut. Still, ...

• At September 15, 2009, Scott wrote:

  There's no real 'making the cut' here. These are just examples of 10 good ones - not a top 10 ...

• At September 15, 2009, DC Guy wrote:

  God, I love that WIZARD OF OZ adaptation! I owned it when it first came out, and read it ...

• At September 15, 2009, Paul wrote:

  Some of my favorites. Can we get honorable mentions?

  Beneath The Planet of The Apes. (Gold Key). Includes Ape ...

• At September 15, 2009, joecab wrote:

  Oh right that Alien adaptation was great! Everybody involved was at the top of their game.

  Funny how that Empire Strikes ...

• At September 15, 2009, Gavin wrote:

  @joecab

  They HAD finalized the look of Yoda, it was just that they didn't want the design of the character to ...

• At September 15, 2009, MJS wrote:

  Between the cover and the interior art you've sampled, that X, THE MAN WITH THE X-RAY EYES adaptation does look ...

• At September 15, 2009, Patrick Joseph wrote:

  Gavin,

  You certainly sound knowledgeable about this topic, but my memory of the release of the Empire adaptation is slightly ...

• At September 15, 2009, joecab wrote:

  My memory says purple, too, but know knows.

  The early release story is true. In his "But I Digress" column, Peter ...

• At September 15, 2009, Ian Colton wrote:

  Dug out my copy of the digest, Yoda was blue in the first panel he appeared in and then purple ...

• At September 15, 2009, Gavin wrote:

  @Patrick Joseph

  First off, the dating is more than two weeks off IIRC and I think the first published version of ...

• At September 15, 2009, kalorama wrote:

  The Empire adaptation was my first real exposure to Al Williamson's art. Man, was it an eye-opener.

• At September 15, 2009, Roman wrote:

  Goodwin and Simonson's Alien was the first comic to make the NY Times Bestseller charts. Flash Fact.

• At September 15, 2009, Gavin wrote:

  Just found out through this link on google books: http://tinyurl.com/q8s4nm

  According to that book, they were done will their shooting schedule ...

• At September 15, 2009, Michael P. wrote:

  "The early release story is true. In his "But I Digress" column, Peter David talked about what a problem it ...

• At September 16, 2009, Edo Bosnar wrote:

  The only one of these I ever had (or even saw) was the ESB adaptation - and like many others, ...

• At September 16, 2009, Comicaze wrote:

  @ Edo Bosnar and Adam

  ...

I no expert on the world of Frank Herbert’s Dune, but David Lynch’s film is certainly a bit of a beautiful disaster. Marvel released it as a 3-issue miniseries, a mass market ‘pocketbook’ as well as in magazine sized format as part of the Marvel Comics Super Special series. Ralph Macchio wrote the script, and it’s not much easier to follow than the film but the real treat here is the artwork by Bill Sienkiewicz. In my humble opinion, this adaptation of Dune is the key point in Sienkiewicz’s evolution from his older style to the full on, more abstract style that we saw from Elektra: Assassin onwards. This is a very interesting piece for the comic book historian.

Yes, this is not a mistake. I do fully intend to say glowing things about Darby O’Gill and the Little People. It’s a rather charming tale of a father trying to fight off old age and remain a hero in his daughter’s eyes. I’m not sure who was behind the script (let’s say Paul S. Newman as an educated guess) but it is very lively and endearing. The #1 reason to pick up this book, however, is that the artwork is 100% Alex Toth. I’ll even go as far as saying that this is Toth at the absolutely top of his game, demonstrating that he draw anything with great style. This was initially published as part of Dell’s Four Color series, but a much easier to find (and more affordable) version is the Gold Key reprint that hit shelves nearly a decade later.

Disney’s The Black Hole was not quite the commercial or critical success that the studio had been hoping for, as it tried to enter a new market with more adult fare. I was probably about 7 years old when it hits theatres, so it worked just fine for me. A more recent discovery has been the Gold Key/Whitman adaptation of the film. The script is very tight, and improves on the movie’s rather slow pacing and the robots aren’t all that annoying once you remove the voices of Roddy McDowall and Slim Pickens. It is beautifully illustrated by Dan Spiegle, who chooses to create his own character designs rather than simply draw the cast. His Dr. Reinhart is far more menacing and Mad Scientesty than Maximillian Schell’s version. It’s available in a tabloid size, but the single issues can be found for next to nothing.

This one can be a bit tough to find, but there are two versions and the second is often more affordable. The Creature From the Black Lagoon is a terrific movie, filled with underwater atmosphere and a real slow burn. That’s not the easiest thing to convey in the comic book format, but it is done very, very well here in The Creature. My hat goes off to the always terrific Bob Jenney, one of the most underappreciated of all Golden and Silver Age comics. The man could draw anything, and his work his is beautiful. Keep an eye out for this one and grab it if you see it, as it doesn’t hit the market every day.

I caught Sharkfighters on TV a few years back. It’s a fun, but often silly movie about testing for shark repellent in World War Two (why didn’t they just call Batman). The adaptation is a vast improvement, mainly because of the nice John Buscema artwork. If you’ve ever seen Buscema’s 50s style, check this one out. I found a beat up copy for a mere $4 and it was a terrific purchase. Who can refuse Victor Mature? I get the felling his character also survived the sinking of the USS Indianapolis. Great fun!

For more comic book tomfoolery, check out my blog Seduction of the Indifferent

Next Week: Another 5 movie adaptations.

50 Comments

• At September 8, 2009, Andrew Wahl wrote:

  The original Star Wars adaptation was competently adapted by Roy Thomas and Howard Chaykin (though the Chaykin art was all ...

• At September 8, 2009, Adam wrote:

  Interesting topic! My impression was that the movie adaption was a dead art form--I don't recall seeing Marvel or ...

• At September 8, 2009, knivesinwest11 wrote:

  i loved Darby O’Gill and the Little People. what a great film.

• At September 8, 2009, Gavin wrote:

  Of interesting note: for some stupid reason, the comic adaptation of The Empire Strikes Back had a BLUE Yoda. ...

• At September 8, 2009, Gavin wrote:

  @ knivesinwest11

  Yeah, Darby O'Gill is a really good flick and Sean Connery sings.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBu25aPNYOs

• At September 8, 2009, Patrick Joseph wrote:

  Darby O'Gill is a terrifying movie, and I find that I am unable to watch it without experiencing trauma. I ...

• At September 8, 2009, Wraith wrote:

  I've heard a few good things said about the "1941" adaptation. Certainly it's hard to imagine it being any less ...

• At September 8, 2009, comicbookreader wrote:

  What about Kirby's "2001"?

• At September 8, 2009, "O" the Humanatee! wrote:

  Got any scans (or links to scans) of the interior art? I've never seen any of these except the Dune ...

• At September 8, 2009, Bill Reed wrote:

  The last two movie adaptations I bought were "Snakes on a Plane" and "My Name Is Bruce." They couldn't hold ...

• At September 8, 2009, Roquefort Raider wrote:

  The Dune adaptation was very well done, that's true. Gorgeous Sienkiewicz art, with a deft use of bold black blocks ...

• At September 8, 2009, GarBut wrote:

  I was a big LOGAN'S RUN fan, both film and comic (funny, it took me decades to read the actual ...

• At September 8, 2009, Kirbydotter wrote:

  It is with great shame that I must admit to not having the faintest idea who Bob Jenney is...

  I hope ...

• At September 8, 2009, Scott wrote:

  Lotsa great comments folks, bring it on!

  I must admit to being a bit discourage from time to time when my ...

• At September 8, 2009, Felicity wrote:

  Please scan and show some of the internal artwork! :-) I would love to see Toth’s, and I only vaguely ...

• At September 8, 2009, Felicity wrote:

  I’ve noticed that adaptations to comics (be they from movie, TV, video game, or whatever) are usually poor quality. It’s ...

• At September 8, 2009, GarBut wrote:

  I might be wrong (and often am!) but I am pretty sure Byrne did not do RotLA. He DID do ...

• At September 8, 2009, Felicity wrote:

  P.S. “Seduction of the Indifferent” is a cool name for a comics blog. :-]

• At September 8, 2009, Scott wrote:

  You're quite right Gary - it was a John Buscema/Klaus Janson collaboration, and it was quite a good miniseries.

  As ...

• At September 8, 2009, Roquefort Raider wrote:

  An oddball film adaptation was Marvel's rendition of the two Conan movies. The Schwarzenegger films were nothing like Marvel's version ...

• At September 8, 2009, Scott wrote:

  Stand tuned, Ben - some POTA on the way next week.

• At September 8, 2009, Roquefort Raider wrote:

  Forgot to add...

  Alien by Walt Simonson and Outland by ***JIM STERANKO*** are brilliant movie adaptations!

• At September 8, 2009, Bill Angus wrote:

  @Kirbydotter:

  I don't have a direct link handy to that particular story, but Toth's version of the Time Machine is available ...

• At September 8, 2009, Felicity wrote:

  Hi Garbut. It might have been John Buscema. I should go check the issue I have, because I vaguely remember ...

• At September 8, 2009, Felicity wrote:

  Found the issue (“Raiders of the Lost Ark” #1). It looks like I and GCD are both wrong. It’s entirely ...

• At September 8, 2009, jazzbo wrote:

  Scott, I look forward to your column every week, but rarely comment because I feel that the posts pretty well ...

• At September 8, 2009, Rob III wrote:

  In his sketchbook Sienkiewicz states that he really wanted let loose on the Dune adaptation, he wanted to make ...

• At September 8, 2009, JJ wrote:

  If you cover Kirby's adaptation of 2001, be sure to mention his screw-up on one vital scene. When Bowman ...

• At September 8, 2009, DubipR wrote:

  Great post, Scott!

  I'm hoping to see Chaykin's "For Your Eyes Only" on the Top 5!

  But I do miss that comic ...

• At September 8, 2009, Kirbydotter wrote:

  GarBut is right. John Byrne didn't work on the Raiders of the Lost Ark movie adaptation. He wrote ...

• At September 8, 2009, The Mutt wrote:

  I liked the Goodwin/Simonson Alien better than I did the movie. And I loved the movie.

  Damn, what a fine comic ...

• At September 8, 2009, Capt USA(Jim) wrote:

  Scott, I second what jazzbo said. I read your stuff everytime and like it.

• At September 8, 2009, benday-dot wrote:

  Great line up Scott! Like Ben, I was about to say "What about Planet of the Apes"? But of course ...

• At September 8, 2009, kalorama wrote:

  I've never read the Dune adaptation (but then I've never read the book or seen the movie either). I'd love ...

• At September 8, 2009, Matt Bird wrote:

  3 favorites: Simonson's Alien, Ordway's Batman, and Williamson's Flash Gordon. The latter two are much better than the movies.

• At September 8, 2009, kalorama wrote:

  @Matt Bird

  You're the second person I've heard say that about the Flash Gordon adaptation. (But really, how could it not ...

• At September 8, 2009, AnnaMarie wrote:

  Oh my, I remember reading Dune and Black Hole (and I think the comics were better!). Hope you include ...

• At September 9, 2009, DanCJ wrote:

  I've never found a film adaptation that I've actually liked. Goodwin + Simonson's Alien probably comes closest (and it ...

• At September 9, 2009, Rob Schmidt wrote:

  Yes, be sure to include the excellent "Alien" by Goodwin and Simonson on your list.

• At September 9, 2009, Dan Bailey wrote:

  As it happens, just last night I ordered the late-'80s reprint of what I presume was the early '50s ...

• At September 9, 2009, Dalarsco wrote:

  I must find a copy of Dune. Sienkwicz, IMHO, is the only person I'd trust to o it right. ...

• At September 9, 2009, Edo Bosnar wrote:

  I can't contribute much at this point, since all of my favorite adaptations have been mentioned (Alien, Outland, & Logan's ...

• At September 9, 2009, Bryan wrote:

  If I don't see Creature from the Black Lagoon by Mignola on there, I will punch you in the jaw.

  Not ...

• At September 9, 2009, Bryan wrote:

  And speaking of all the Star Wars love, I know this series is a bit lesser-known, but I absolutely loved ...

• At September 9, 2009, Felicity wrote:

  Good call, AnnaMarie. I second the inclusion of Mignola’s /Dracula/!

• At September 10, 2009, DanCJ wrote:

  Actually yeah. I only read the first one or two issues, but Mike Mignola's Dracula was beautiful and seemed ...

• At September 10, 2009, Jesse Farrell wrote:

  I agree with the inclusion of Mignola's Dracula, which I loved at the time, although I wonder how it compares ...

• At September 10, 2009, Weekly Blogosphere Roundup - September 10, 2009 < The BassLine wrote:

  [...] Scott’s Classic Comics Corner: 10 Good Movie Adaptations Pt. 1 [...]

• At September 10, 2009, Scott wrote:

  Just a few of things:

  1. This isn't a top 10. It's just 10 fun adaptations - some of which you ...

• At September 15, 2009, g wrote:

  Another vote for the Goodwin/Simonson Alien. It truly was outstanding.

The company was only around for a few years, publishing just over a dozen titles, none of which lasted more than 20 issues. It may be best known as Don Heck’s personal sandbox, but other talented artists such as Pete “PAM” Morisi and the Andru/Esposito team made significant contributions. Comic Media was one of a small handful of comic book related companies controlled by Alan Hardy over the years. I haven’t read much on the company or its history, but its legacy lives on due to the incredibly high quality of the books it put out. Here’s a quick look at some of what Comic Media had to offer.

Let’s start with a look at some of Comic Media’s Adventure/Crime titles. Danger began in January of 1953 as a pretty standard ‘male adventure’ type book that Atlas published by the truckload. I’ve only owned one issue from this phase (#6 to be precise) and I can tell you that it was fun but nothing groundbreaking. With the 7th issue, the title had a real shift in tone focusing on government agents such as Duke Douglas. It’s a lot more hardboiled pulpy fun.

Dynamite has a very similar history to Danger. Launched in may of 1953, it made the tonal shift to hardboiled detective magazine with the 3rd issue, introducing Johnny Dynamite, the only Comic Media character who still resonates today thanks to Max Allan Collins and Terry Beatty. They featured reprints of Pete Morisi’s terrific creation as a back-up in Ms. Tree, eventually producing some original Johnny Dynamite stories.

Comic Media also dipped its toe into some other genres, including western with Death Valley (note the Andru/Esposito cover). I’ve never owned one of these, and came very, very close to picking one up at a show last weekend but stuck to my guns (and budget). War Fury was the only war book produced by Comic Media, but what a book it was. It’s a violent and sensational as any war book produced in the pre-Code era. Those with a keen eye will note that the soldier with the bullet through his head looks very similar to the infamous ‘bullet through the head’ cover to Horrific #3, which was published 4 months later. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a popular cover that was the result of simple stat.

Rounding out the genres, Comic Media also published a handful of Romance titles, including All-True Romance. Heck, Morisi and Andru/Esposito all excelled in that genre, some I can only assume that these were top notch books as I’ve never seen on in person. Finally, we’ve got Noodnik, a humor title feature a young Inuit boy. That’s something you don’t see every day. It was written and drawn by Frank Roberge, who went on to produce funnybooks for Charlton well into the 70s.

Ok, you’ve been patient. Now, we’ll get to the good stuff. The only reason Comic Media is still even a footnote among comic book lovers as its wonderful horror books. Weird Terror and Horrific are among the most highly coveted pre-Code titles on the market. I’ve had a handful of these over the years, and can state that they are among the finest horror books put out by a 2nd tier published. They are not quite at the EC/Harvey/Atlas level, but are far superior to the likes of Ajax-Farrell and Ace. How can anyone resist those great Don Heck covers? Comic Media never made it to the post-Code world, and they only real sign that the impending CCA was felt at the company was the change in title from Horrific to Terrific for the final issue. It was just a little hint that the end was nigh.

So, what happened to Comic Media? I don’t really know. Some of their titles were sold to Charlton, but they didn’t last more than a few issues. Aside from a few stories reprinted here and there, and the new Johnny Dynamite material, Comic Media is in danger of being lost to the sands of time. That’s a real shame, as there is plenty of great material and I’d line up for a collection of Comic Media reprints. I love EC as much as the next guy, but do we really need the 17th repacking of the EC titles, when great stuff like this has yet to see the light of day.

For more comic book chatter, stop by my blog Seduction of the Indifferent

10 Comments

• At September 1, 2009, T. wrote:

  Wow, I never heard of this company but....wow.

  Awesome piece, thanks for sharing this.

• At September 1, 2009, Mike Loughlin wrote:

  I never knew Don Heck had it in him.

• At September 1, 2009, joecab wrote:

  Noodnik looks like a slightly older Dondi in a parka.

• At September 1, 2009, jazzbo wrote:

  I never really cared for Don Heck's art on the Avengers, but these covers are great. I'd love to see ...

• At September 1, 2009, Scott wrote:

  Heck is the all-time criminally underappreciated comic book artist. Whoever called him 'Don Hack' back in the late 70s or ...

• At September 1, 2009, Sam wrote:

  These comics are great. But then again I love all golden age books, even the crappy ones.

  I got a few ...

• At September 1, 2009, Brad Curran wrote:

  I remember part of the problem with people bagging on Heck was that Harlan Ellison mistakenly called him the worst ...

• At September 1, 2009, Mike Loughlin wrote:

  In The Comic Book Heroes, by Gerard Jones & Wil Jacobs, the late '70s interview is recounted as follows:

  "While griping ...

• At September 2, 2009, Scott wrote:

  Thanks for that MIke and Brad - I knew that there was a bit of a screw up in ...

• At September 3, 2009, Dan Bailey wrote:

  Mike --

  Makes me wonder when that TCJ interview was published, because I well remember that Heck was regarded by ...

Next to Casper, Homer the Happy Ghost may be the best known Casper clone. Homer was created by Stan Lee and Dan DeCarlo (who would go on to really make his mark at Archie Comics). Homer was introduced in 1955 and his first series ran for 22 issues. He also had a spin-off, the Adventures of Homer Ghost, which ran for only 2 issues in 1957 before falling victim to the Atlas implosion. Marvel rebooted the franchise in 1969, but the second volume (containing reprints) lasted a mere 4 issues.

Always happy to follow the latest trend, Charlton hopped aboard the bandwagon with Timmy, the Timid Ghost #3 (February, 1956). This was a fairly successful series, and the first volume ran until 1966, ending with issue #45. It was re-launched a year later, lasting another 23 issues until 1971. Timmy was one of the few Charlton titles selected for the final days of the Charlton Empire, with 3 issues published in 1985 and 1986. I have one of these and can tell you that they do not pop up for sale all that often.

A very important, yet obscure figure in the ‘friendly ghost’ movement was Spencer Spook. He first appeared in Giggle Comics #21 in 1945; pre-dating the Friendly Ghost (his name before he was christened Casper). He starred in many of the later issues of the series for quite a few years before it was renamed Spencer Spook, which only lasted two issues in 1955.

Spunky, the Smiling Spook is the first of many friendly ghosts introduced by third tier publisher Ajax-Farrell. As far as I can tell, Spunky first appeared in the long running funny animal series Frisky Fables in the late 40s. I've only got a couple of these, so I can't quite pin down precisely when he first came onto the scene. His eponymous series was launched in August, 1957, and ran for 4 issues, reprinting earlier stories from Frisky Fables.

I know next to nothing about Lil Ghost, except that it must have been one of the last series launched by St. John. I assume that he was designed by Al Fago (he looks like a cousin to Timmy). I find it somehow ironic that Casper’s first comic book home (he was at St. John before being licensed to Harvey Comics) would go out with a cheap knock-off like Lil Ghost.

I know even less about Mighty Ghost, the 2nd Ajax/Farrell entry into the cute ghost industry. Continuing the numbering from Mighty Bear, Mighty Ghost #4 (June, 1958) was the only issue published.

I think that Ajax-Farrell's Super Spook is the exact same character as Mighty Ghost. He was also the star of a single issue, also a #4 issue and also published in June of 1958. I'm certain that one day, comic book historians will point to this book as the nadir of the Casper clone fad.

There are probably others out there folks, so keep your eyes out for books for chracters that look and behave like Casper, but lack a certain something. For more funnbook talk, stop by my blog Seduction of the Indifferent

15 Comments

• At August 18, 2009, Big Mike wrote:

  Homer the Happy Ghost... Agent of Atlas. I'd buy that book.

• At August 18, 2009, Brian wrote:

  I wanna know what the TV was. For 1958, wouldn't it be a big deal to be offering a ...

• At August 18, 2009, The Mutt wrote:

  Comics about dead babies! Dead Babies!!!

  Did any of those comics ever mention just how it was these kids toddled off ...

• At August 18, 2009, Jeremy A. Patterson wrote:

  The short-lived ACE Comics did six-issues of a revived Spencer Spook series in the mid 1980s. The book featured brand ...

• At August 18, 2009, onion3000 wrote:

  Ghosts/washing-line confusion never gets old.

  When I saw Spunky jiving with the dress I immediately thought of of the old British ...

• At August 18, 2009, Alan Coil wrote:

  Brian axed:

  "For 1958, wouldn’t it be a big deal to be offering a colour TV for free?"

  Yes, it would. Most ...

• At August 18, 2009, Scott wrote:

  I've never done a bit on ads... that could be interesting. I'm particularly interested in ads/contests that were feature on ...

• At August 18, 2009, James wrote:

  Mutt -

  the live-action Casper movie from 1995 (I think) did just that, and it was quite tasteless. Awful movie.

• At August 18, 2009, Mary Warner wrote:

  At some time in the early mid-70s, the Marvel Bullpen page listed the winners of some kind of comic book ...

• At August 18, 2009, Scott wrote:

  That story was from Marvel less than stellar Crazy Magazine - issue #8 to be exact.

  Here's a link to a ...

• At August 18, 2009, Bill Reed wrote:

  Homer doesn't look very happy, and Mighty Ghost doesn't seem very mighty. I quite like the looks of Timmy, though; ...

• At August 18, 2009, Big Mike wrote:

  Bill Reed said

  "I’m surprised Marvel hasn’t brought Homer the Happy Ghost back in some triumphant, blood-soaked crossover extravaganza."

  See above, my ...

• At August 18, 2009, Generalissimo Fernando wrote:

  Holy God, that Kaspar the Dead Baby story you linked to is the funniest thing I've seen since the time ...

• At August 19, 2009, Dan Bailey wrote:

  Oh, I dunno -- I liked that story just fine. Of course, it's been obvious for most of my life ...

• At August 20, 2009, Generalissimo Fernando wrote:

  I dig sick humor, I enjoy Marv Wolfman's, I think the art is rather good, and I have no special ...

DC was a very big year for DC, as change was truly in the air. The greatest irony in the National vs. Fawcett battle arose in 1972, as DC published a book headlined by the Big Red Cheese but couldn’t call it Captain Marvel. DC had also recently acquired the rights to the Edgar Rice Burroughs properties, and launched Tarzan, Korak and Weird Worlds. For the most part, Jack Kirby’s great Fourth World epic came to an end (Mister Miracle kept going for a little while longer), but two other great and more commercially successful Kirby titles were launched: Kamandi and The Demon. 1972 also saw the introduction of Jonah Hex as well as the first issue of the ongoing Swamp Thing series. After years of avoiding the axe, not even the O’Neil/Adams team could save Green Lantern/Green Arrow, which was cancelled with issue #89. Also feeling the axe's blade was Teen Titans. Reprints were everywhere as DC really started to tap into its rich history.

If 1972 was a big year at DC, it was even bigger at Marvel. A major changing of the guards took place as Roy Thomas replaced Stan Lee as Editor in Chief. Marvel tried to dominate spinner racks by introducing a gazillion of new titles including Defenders, Tomb of Dracula, Marvel Team Up, Luke Cage, Marvel Premiere, Chamber of Chills, Combat Kelly, The Cat, Doc Savage, Gunhawks, Journey Into Mystery, Jungle Action, Lil Pals, Marvel Triple Action, Night Nurse, Red Wolf, Shanna the She-Devil, Supernatural Thrillers, Werewolf By Night etc… You get the idea. There were somfirst appearances of note during the year including Jack Russell, Ghost Rider, Luke Cage and non-Him Adam Warlock. On the villainous side of the ledger, we met Wendigo and Hammerhead. As you may have noted, there are lots of books with a horror/mystery feel to them, but Marvel wouldn’t jump on the black and white magazine bandwagon in full force until the following year. Strangely enough, it was a pretty mediocre year in many of Marvel’s core titles including Amazing Spider-Man, Fantastic Four and Incredible Hulk.

At Warren, Creepy and Eerie had settled into a nice groove by 1972. Sure, they no longer features some of the great artists that made the early years so fantastic, but also gone were the constant reprints. A 2nd generation of artists had moved in and this included Mike Ploog, Tom Sutton, Frank Brunner, and Rich Corben. Warren had also tapped into the rich vein of overseas talent including Estaban Maroto and Luis Garcia and Auraleon. For the most part, it was same old, same old. The Spirit was still more than a year away. Both Skywald and Eerie Publications continued to crank out their rather oddly entertaining horror titles.

Charlton kept chugging along in 1972 with plenty of horror titles as well as some licensed properties. The Action Heroes were dormant and E-Man was still a year away. Some of the new series launched in 1972 included the fan favourite Midnight Tales, a few Flintstones related titles and mags dedicated to heartthrobs Bobby Sherman and David Cassidy. Like its competitors, Charlton seemed quite happy focusing on horror books, but it would be another couple of years before it added a handful of new horror titles.

In the zero sum world of comic book publisher, Gold Key had to find a way to fill the void left by the departure of the ERB titles. They had some success with Brothers of the Spear and Jungle Twins, as both lasted 17 issues. They also tapped in the Barbarian market, with Dagar the Invincible, which enjoyed an 18 issue run. For me, Gold Key’s real strength during the 70s was its family of horror titles. Once of their best, Grimm’s Ghost Stories made its debut in 1972, and enjoyed a 54 issue run.

Think things never change at Archie? Well, there were some subtle shifts in 1972 that are certainly worth noting. If you do a quick scan of some of their titles, you’ll notice that some of them are even getting in on the horror/mystery action. Truth be told, it all started with Josie and the Pussycats in late ’71 but really hit its stride in 1972. I actually think that this change had as much to do with the success of Scooby Doo as the horror trend in comics. The most interesting title launched in 1972 was Chilling Adventures in Sorcery As Told By Sabrina. This rather strange series was combined horrorand the Archie house style. It paved the way for the wonderful Gray Morrow edited Red Circle horror books. I'll do a piece on those titles one day.

So there you have it, a quick overview of a pretty busy year in comics. For more funnybook talk, stop by my blog Seduction of the Indifferent

10 Comments

• At August 11, 2009, Dan Bailey wrote:

  One of these days I need to trawl through Mike's Amazing World of DC Comics & various other sites to ...

• At August 11, 2009, Hannibal wrote:

  The 1970's was when I started reading Marvel - the bw weekly UK reprints at first. But the 70's explosion ...

• At August 11, 2009, Michael "McK" Xavier wrote:

  I recently wrote about this DC era on my blog, too, simply because until recently many people tended to ignore ...

• At August 11, 2009, Roquefort Raider wrote:

  1972 had quite a few highlights to the young fan that I was. Thor #200 was the first time I ...

• At August 11, 2009, Billy Batson wrote:

  Isn't the publication of Shazam more of an achievement for 1973 than 1972? The first issue is cover dated February ...

• At August 11, 2009, Scott wrote:

  Billy, I don't know what to say although it came out in mid-December of '72, which makes it a '72 ...

• At August 11, 2009, benday-dot wrote:

  Terrific discussion of a terrific year Scott. Kubert's glorious advent on Tarzan and the inauguration of Kirby's Kamandi make up ...

• At August 11, 2009, Mary Warner wrote:

  I didn't buy comics until 1974, so this is still just a bit too early for me. I'm ...

• At August 12, 2009, Lt. Clutch wrote:

  I was born in 1972 as well, so no comic memories from me but thanks for the look back.

• At August 12, 2009, Scott wrote:

  I haven't read David Cassidy either, but I do have an issue of Bobby Sherman in my collection for some ...

Let’s start with Atlas’ Wyatt Earp title. It was launched with a cover date of November, 1955 making it the first out of the gate. It was quite successful for a late 50s Atlas title, as it was one of the few titles to survive the infamous Atlas Implosion and ran until June, 1960 ending with the 29th issue in order to make room for the revamped Rawhide Kid. Like many Atlas series, this one featured an all-star crew of creators with great covers by Joe Maneely, Jack Davis, Jack Kirby and John Severin. Norman Maurer and Dick Ayers provided the majority of the interior artwork, but Maneely, Davis and Doug Wildey made contributions. In 1972, Marvel relauched an all-reprint version of the title continuing the numbering with issue #30. Those five issues are an inexpensive way of getting a taste of the 50s title.

With a cover date of January, 1956, Charlton comics responded in kind with Wyatt Earp, Frontier Marshal. Like many Charlton titles (and Atlas, for that matter), the numbering continued from another series, beginning with issue #12. The series had a nice run, lasting until issue #72, cover dated December, 1967. I’m running on the assumption that most of this series was written by Joe Gill, and many Charlton mainstays including Rocke Mastroserio and Pete Morisi contributed artwork. What’s perhaps most interesting is that both Joe Maneely and John Severin contributed to this series, at about the same time that Atlas would have started publishing mostly inventory during the implosion. I’d be surprised if these two didn’t get a bit mixed up about which stories to drop off at which publisher.

Finally, let’s take a look at Dell’s Wyatt Earp series. Launched around the same time as the other two as part of the Four Color series, it begin in full force with Wyatt Earp #4 with a cover date of December, 1958. As the covers clear point out, this is the "Authorized Edition", based on the long running Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp television series starring Hugh O’Brien, whose visage graces these covers. The series only ran until issue #13, cover dated December, 1960. I believe that Russ Manning contributed most, if not all of the artwork for this series and that fact alone makes me want to track down a complete run.

So that’s a quick peek at a rather strange moment in comic book history. For more comic book talk, stop by my blog Seduction of the Indifferent

7 Comments

• At August 5, 2009, David Hackett wrote:

  Is it me, or does Hugh O'Brien look strikingly like Nathan Fillion?

• At August 5, 2009, Scott wrote:

  I thought exactly the same thing and meant to mention it in my post.

• At August 5, 2009, Kirbydotter wrote:

  Russ Manning!?!?

  Now this is something DARK HORSE should consider collecting in their line of archives!

  As a collector of Marvel westerns, ...

• At August 5, 2009, JJ wrote:

  There were a lot of TV westerns back then, Bat Masterson, Maverick, The Rifleman, Sugarfoot, Bronco, Wagon Train, Rawhide being ...

• At August 5, 2009, Steven E. McDonald wrote:

  Wytt Earp...makes me burp!

  I wonder what the real Earp would have made of the 1950s-1960s depictions of him? He ...

• At August 5, 2009, Kirbydotter wrote:

  You forgot the two most successful tv series JJ: BONANZA and GUNSMOKE (Marvel also had a western anthology named GUNSMOKE ...

• At August 6, 2009, Elspeth Forbes wrote:

  Steven's point about Earp being a bastard is bang-on if you ever saw a James Garner film from the '60's ...

Fans of Sergio Aragones will want to check out DC Super-Stars #13. I imagine this is an attempt to make up for the Plop! Super-Stars issue that never came to fruition. It’s all-new, and I’m not certain if any of these have been reprinted elsewhere. I tend to run pretty hot and cold on DC’s comedy mags, but this one is quite solid. The real highlight is nice little Steve Skeates story involving an oil pipeline and some rather angry forest animals. It’s comes across as a Mad Magazine/Tales From the Crypt mash up; funny and slightly sinister.

DC Super-Stars #14 is a fairly odd collection of Super-Villains Secret Origins stories. What we have here are a bunch of retconned origin stories that don’t really seem to exist for any reason other to frustrate continuity buffs. Why not write a story about GL defeating Gorilla Grodd long before the Flash encountered him – it all works so long as we explain that we mind wiped GL so that he forgot the whole thing. Did you know that Dr. Light (who looks a bit too much like Uncle Sam here) traveled to Thanagar before Hawkman ever left for Earth? It’s true! How about the fact that Harvey Dent wasn’t actually the intended target of that courtroom acid? Not a hoax! None of this is really necessary, and the Bob Rozakis story is the silliest of them all (isn’t that always the way?). I don’t know much about Ed Davis, the penciller on the Two Face story – but I really like his work.

DC Super-Stars #15 is a really change of pace, as it give the reader a full-length story. I’m a huuuuuge Unknown Soldier fan, so I pick up anything bearing his name. This is a very interesting story of an attempt to sabotage a German ICBM launching pad. The only real wrinkles to the Allied plans are that it’s heavily fortified, Sgt. Rock is wounded and Mlle. Marie has sworn to kill the Unknown Solider. Kanigher is really on his game here, and Lee Elias, not someone with whom you typically associate DC war books, shows that he is a master storyteller. Heck, even the Romeo Tanghal inks ain’t half bad. There are also one-page “DC Who’s Who” style bios of the three leads. If you’re wondering what Bronze Age DC war books were all about; this is a great place to start.

I’m not sure why I don’t love DC Super-Stars #16. David Michelinie is one of my all-time favourite writers and Don Newton can do no wrong. There’s just something about the Star Hunters that never really appealed to me. That’s not to say that you may not enjoy it quite a bit, as I know that this short-lived series, which made it debut with this issue, has a lot of fans. Worth checking out if you are a Don Newton fan. If you're not one, you should be.

DC Super-Stars #17 is another ‘Secret Origins’ installment, this time it’s the good guys. We start off with a Denny O’Neil/Mike Grell retelling of Green Arrow’s origin. It’s quite decent, but the framing sequences around the flashback are a bit lame and Grell’s artwork is at its ‘stiff and angular’ worst in some panels. Next up is a completely unnecessary Legion story about one of their first cases, which was undocumented. For some reason, Superboy seems really upset that was unaware of this particular a Legion mission. There’s not much too it, except for another notch in the belt for the founding members. Does anyone else find that the ‘Original 3’ can seem quite smug at times? We end off with one of the real highlights of this entire series. It’s the introduction of the Huntress, as well as the first time we learn of the nuptials of Earth-2 Batman and Catwoman. Paul Levits, Joe Staton and Bob Layton were up to great things here and it’s a shame that all of this got wiped by Crisis. A very strong story, with touching moments and great action.

It all came to an end with DC Super-Stars #18, and what a rather strange ending it was. For the finale, we get a team-up of some of the DCU’s best known magical/mystical heroes. Deadman, Phantom Stranger and Dr. Thirteen get together to stop a plot ‘hatched’ by Earth last two remaining Gargoyles. In addition, the annual Rutland Halloween parade serves as the backdrop. The problem is, the synopsis sounds more interesting that the final product. It’s a pretty wordy script and all three main characters have been better used elsewhere. Still, it’s fairly interesting and worth checking out for Rutland completists. I believe this one was reprinted in the second volume of Showcase Presents: Phantom Stranger.

So that's my look at another one of DC's rather odd series from the 70s. None of these are terribly pricey (I picked up a copy of #17 in nice shape for $5 at a half-price sale at my LCS) and there's probably something for everyone somewhere in these 18 issues. For more comic gibberish, check out my blog Seduction of the Indifferent

8 Comments

• At July 28, 2009, Dean wrote:

  Ok. I am confused.

  It seems to me that one of the view virtues of re-jiggering DC continuity yet again to ...

• At July 28, 2009, buttler wrote:

  Holy crabapple, that Sgt. Rock/Unknown Soldier story looks fantastic. I wonder if it's been reprinted anywhere. And I've ...

• At July 28, 2009, buttler wrote:

  The new Earth 2 has a Helena Wayne whose story is probably a lot like the old Earth 2 Huntress's, ...

• At July 28, 2009, Scott Harris wrote:

  Wait, there are Rutland completists? Am I the only one who finds those stories insufferable? On the other hand, I'm ...

• At July 28, 2009, jazzbo wrote:

  I've got a copy of #13 that's signed by Aragones and contains a small original doodle of his, too. The ...

• At July 29, 2009, Dan Bailey wrote:

  I own the entire run of the title (& whatever I paid for #17, it had to have been a ...

• At July 30, 2009, stephen cade wrote:

  I remember being warned about that super villain origins issue back in the 90's.

  I have the Huntress origin issue--as that's ...

• At September 28, 2009, Comics Bronze Age | Review: DC Super-Stars #16                    wrote:

  [...] Second opinions: “Bob Layton is usually a sympathetic inker to Newton’s pencils, but here the inks vary widely in ...

DC Superstars #7 is a all wet, as it features the entire Aqua Family. I actually really like the Aparo cover, as it just shouts “Hey, I’m Fun! Check Me Out”, although that Dolphin doesn’t look as though he’s having much fun. Much like the Teen Titans, Aquaman was ‘between series’ at this juncture, so this book served as s tryout. The main story is a reprint of a 1967 Skeates/Cardy effort. Personally, I would have preferred to see some from Ramona Fradon’s tenure, or one of the great Skeates/Aparo tales. There’s also an Aqualad solo story taken from Teen Titans #30 and a two-page overview of Aquaman’s main villains. It’s certainly not the best representation of how good Aquaman can be, but it’s a decent little package.

The very last of the “… of Space” installments can be found in DC Super-Stars #8. Ernie Chan does a decent job trying to channel classic Infantino for this cover. The Adam Strange story is solid, but people may have seen it elsewhere. More interesting, is the debut Space Ranger story. I’m not the world’s biggest Space Ranger fan, but I’ve always felt Bob Brown to be an underappreciated artist and this is an inexpensive way to read the first appearance of a character. What I said about Brown also applies to Sid Greene. Most people know his work as an inker, but he was a capable and often very imaginative penciller. That being said, I would have preferred a Space Cabby or Star Hawkins reprint to this Star Rovers tale.

I’ve discussed my general dislike for DC Super-Stars #9 elsewhere You've Been Warned: DC Super-Stars #9 , and I thank my good friend T Guy for pointing out that with this issue, the series was no longer under the direction of E Nelson Bridwell. I like the cover design, I only with the 3rd, eth and 5th characters had been better executed. There’s a decent Superman reprint, a fun story about a police sharpshooter with temporary blindness and a rather bleak tale of a Earth weapon being used to take down aliens at an alarming rates. I really like the Nighthawk story, as I’ve always been impressed by Ruben Moreira’s pencils. The thing that bugs me is that this story was reprinted just a few years earlier in Johnny Thunder #1. There are dozens of Nighthawk tales and I wish they did a bit more digging to come up with some different material. One of the things that drive me nuts about these reprint collections is that there is no mention of the origins of these stories. You can guesstimate by looking at the copyright information, but I really couldn’t tell whether the crime story came from Mr. District Attorney or Gang Busters. With the internet being sold helpful and all, I now know that it was the latter – but that’s beside the point.

You should expect nothing but silliness from DC Super-Stars #10 and that’s ok. The Ernie Chan cover is very awkwardly designed. The lead story is new – and it involves a remarkably nutty baseball game between the heroes and villains. It’s just crazy, and I only wish that Bob Rozakis had been able to see a bit more of the absurd humor of the situation. Everyone should read this story at some point in their lives. The reprints are ok, and it’s nice to see the mid-50s Gil Kane drawn story for pennies a page. I only wish they’d managed to sneak one of the great Carmine Infantino ‘Strange Sports’ stories from Brave and the Bold stories in here, as those are elegant and fun.

DC Super-Stars #11 is the perfect gift for the Zatanna fan in your life. Many of you may know that Zatanna starred in a very enjoyable back-ups series in Adventure Comics in the early 70s. The only problem was the structure, as Len Wein was trying to tell some longer tales that had to be chopped up over several issues. This didn’t help the flow of things. Here, they’ve pieced together stories from 3 issues into a single package and it works much better. Wein has some good dialogue and Gray Morrow’s artwork is fantastic, as usual. The reprint here is a great choice, reprinting the first appearance of Abra Kadabra from Flash #128. There are few neat ‘magical’ features, including one-pager on Houdini and some instructions for various magic tricks. I must be getting up because my fingers were not nimble enough to make any of them work. Did I mention the Gray Morrow cover? Gorgeous! This one’s a keeper.

Superboy and Superman fans take note; DC Super-Stars #12 features a brand-new Superboy story that adds a nice little detail to Superman mythology. Using the “Super Teacher From Krypton” story from Adventure Comics #240 as a springboard, Cary Bates as crafted an interesting tale that enlightens us on part of the transition from Superboy to Superman. It’s a bit convoluted, but there some good stuff packed in here and a final test of Superboy’s decision making. There’s some nice Swanderson art, and DC wisely bookends this with the original story of the Kryptonian Robot whose main function seems to be lecturing young Kal-El.

So that’s it for this edition, next week I’ll be back with a rundown of the final 6 issues of DC Super-Stars. For more comic book nonsense – stop by my blog Seduction of the Indifferent

• At July 23, 2009, Brian wrote:

  Where does the Aquaman story fall in relation to his Adventure series? It's after, isn't it?

  I'm looking forward to ...

• At July 23, 2009, Scott wrote:

  Aquaman was indeed the lead feature in Adventure Comics in '76, but his solo title wouldn't be rebooted until '77.

  Yup ...

• At July 23, 2009, Stephen wrote:

  That baseball story is one of my personal favourites (someone sent me a PDF a while back, as I've never ...

• At July 23, 2009, Mark McD wrote:

  Say, doesn't the Gray Morrow cover look like Zatanna has no bra on, and that golden girdle is her only ...

• At July 23, 2009, John Trumbull wrote:

  I've read that Zatanna story in an Adventure Comics digest-sized reprint. Great stuff, and Morrow's artwork is gorgeous (Morrow ...

• At July 23, 2009, Scott wrote:

  If memory serves - it's because Misty is under hynosis, right?

  Morrow does draw great women. Great everything, really. You're quite ...

• At July 23, 2009, stephen cade wrote:

  If I had ever seen a copy of #10 for sale--I would have bought it--unless it was ridiculously priced.

  It looks ...

DC Super-Stars #1 isn’t a particularly noteworthy debut. We’ve got a couple of so-so Teen Titans reprints from the 60s wrapped up in a so-so Nick Cardy cover. I remember buying this one off the 10 cent rack at my LCS circa 1980 and thinking “Who the hell is Lilith?” The first story is from Teen Titans #11 and it’s a pretty standard Bob Haney/Nick Cardy collaboration. The second story “Skis of Death” has always struck me as a particularly ridiculous tale and it features sub-par Gil Kane art. I’ve never understood why it would be chosen as a showcase reprint for the Titans. It was also reprinted 5 years later in a Best of DC digest. I’m fairly sure that the idea here was to send up a trial balloon to measure the appetite for the Teen Titans in the mid-70s. It must have been somewhat successful, as the Teen Titans series was re-launched 6 months later.

DC Super-Stars #2 was the first of the “Super-Stars of Space” installments. I’m not sure why DC thought that the comic book world was in need of some old sci-fi reprints, but in hindsight, I’m quite happy they did. This one leads off with the famous “Planets in Peril” story from Mystery in Space #90 from 1964, teaming up Adam Strange and Hawkman. Truth be told, I find this to be one of the most convoluted stories Gardner Fox has ever written (and that’s saying quite a lot). Much more interesting is the “Origin of the Atomic Knights” from the team of John Broome and Murphy Anderson. It’s a terrific concept and I’m actually quite surprised that one of today’s writers hasn’t done a revisionist version of it. For me, the real highlight of this issue is the “Knight of the Galaxy” store from Mystery in Space #7. This was a fun strip that ran as the lead in the early issues of Mystery in Space in 1951 and 1952. The story is written by Robert Kanigher and the artwork is Carmine Infantino. I really love this era of Infantino’s pencils – it’s still Caniff influenced and there’s just a touch of Toth. It’s one of those great ‘girls can do anything boys do’ stories. It is lots of fun and a real rarity. If memory serves, the letters page include a rather long and very lame letter ‘written’ by Adam Strange. I guess you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do for a letters page in a second issue, but it’s sooo bad.

In issue #2, Editor E. Nelson Bridwell announced that the previously advertised Plop! Issue slated for DC Super-Stars #3 was shelved in favour of a very special issue featuring the Adult Legion. Personally, I dig the Adult Legion stories and I think they represent some of Jim Shooter’s best work on the series. I’m not entirely sure why DC chose Legion as a filler issue, as they already had a series and I would have thought floating another trial balloon a la Teen Titans would have made more sense. I don’t think much of this particular Ernie Chan cover, but it’s a cheap way to pick up some Silver Age Legion.

With DC Super-Stars #4, we get another ‘…of Space’ issue. I like this multi-paneled Ernie Chan cover – it’s nothing groundbreaking, but sets the stage for the issue. We lead off with a decent Adam Strange story (I wish they went with some of the earlier ones). Space Ranger was always just a mediocre strip, but this one has some nice Jim Mooney creatures. It’s always a treat to see a Captain Comet story – and DC obviously thought this was a good time to re-introduce him to the DCU. What I really love about this issue is the one-page on the astronomer Frederick Bessel drawn by Mort Drucker. It’s early 50s rarities like this that make these purchases worthwhile.

DC Super-Stars #5 is a real change of pace, collecting 3 Flash-related stories. I really dig this Dick Giordano cover, and it’s a nice change of pace from all of the Chan covers. Again I don’t fully understand the rationale behind this issue, but I’m a sucker for 60s Flash stories. There are solid Flash and Kid Flash reprints here, but the really interesting story is the Jay Garrick story. In a rare ‘shot for shot remake’, Rico Rival has redrawn a 1946 story from All-Flash Comics. It’s an interesting little experiment that didn’t really take off. Apparently the original stuff was too substandard. This trick was also done with a story from Four Star Spectacular #1 from earlier that same year.

Were back in space with DC Super-Stars #6 (in fact, Bridwell notes that every even numbered issue will be ‘… of Space’. There’s a solid, if unspectacular Adam Strange story, a Captain Comet tale with a rather gruesome ending as creatures are turned into statues for the town square. There’s also a really fun Tommy Tomorrow story with superb Jim Mooney artwork. This one is great, as Tommy travels to the past and is assisted by his younger self. The gem of this issue is the Space Cabby story from 1958. I love Space Cabby and wish to hell someone would reprints those stories.

For more comic book talk - stop by my blog Seduction of the Indifferent

Next Up: Magic, guns and one of the strangest Superboy tales of all-time.

16 Comments

• At July 21, 2009, Wraith wrote:

  I have recently begun to really appreciate the various old reprint titles (though I've mostly been looking at Marvel's).

  For one ...

• At July 21, 2009, Kelson wrote:

  On the Flash issue, having read both the redrawn and original versions of "Deal Me From the Bottom," the original ...

• At July 21, 2009, Ethan Shuster wrote:

  Two things...

  First, it still continues to amaze me that Kid Flash was originally in an identical costume to the adult ...

• At July 21, 2009, Kirbydotter wrote:

  When I first started to hunt down comics on Ebay (back in 1999!), the first thing I looked for was ...

• At July 21, 2009, Bill Reed wrote:

  I'd buy a Space Cabbie reprint.

  I think somebody *did* bring back the Atomic Knights, but everyone ignored it.

• At July 21, 2009, Dan Bailey wrote:

  The Atomic Knights were revived, sort of, in DC COMICS PRESENTS #57, but not really.

• At July 21, 2009, Jbird wrote:

  The latest version of the Atomic Knights appeared in The Battle for Blüdhaven, then in . . . Countdown . ...

• At July 21, 2009, Jeremy A. Patterson wrote:

  When will you be doing articles on the varius anthology titles of the other great publishers: AC's 'Americomics' (This six-issue ...

• At July 21, 2009, Scott wrote:

  Wraith - you are quite correct that these are a great asset to have for collectors. They are a great ...

• At July 21, 2009, Mike Blake wrote:

  My only complaint about those reprints was that there was nothing "OF SPACE" about the Atomic Knights. They were science ...

• At July 21, 2009, benday-dot wrote:

  I think I have 5&6 of DC Superstars that you posted above Scott. It is one of their nicer reprint ...

• At July 21, 2009, Quick Thoughts Daily: 2009-07-21 – Reprints and Cons « Speed Force wrote:

  [...] on DC Super-Stars reprints from the 1970s – including a Flash book which re-drew a Golden Age story. [...]

• At July 22, 2009, Edo Bosnar wrote:

  Wow, this post just triggered a flush of memories: that 2nd issue with Adam Strange and Hawkman on the cover ...

• At July 22, 2009, Erik wrote:

  There was also a multi-part tale that was written in the 40's and not drawn until the 70's in the ...

• At July 24, 2009, JJ wrote:

  Those Atomic Knights stories were to be collected in a Showcase Presents volume but it got pulled from the schedule. ...

• At July 27, 2009, Jeremy A. Patterson wrote:

  You can get the entire 6-issue run of 'Americomics' for a dollar each at this store:

  http://stores.ebay.com/mycomicshop

  ...

Avon was much better known for its line of paperbacks, but for a relatively short-time it was a solid comic book publisher. The first Avon titles hit stores cover dated February, 1945 and the final issues were published with a cover date of September, 1956. For just over a decade, Avon (along with the Realistic imprint) published high quality comic books in a variety of genres.

What’s most notable about Avon’s comic book legacy is perhaps the incredible number of Avon one-shots that were published. Everything from the highly coveted Robotmen of the Lost Planet to the infamous Reform School Girl were ‘one and done’. Where many published (I’m talking to you, Charlton) seemed to do whatever was in their power to avoid a new series – Avon relished in the world of #1 issues. According to the GCD, Avon published 385 comic books over an incredible 125 titles. That’s got to be a record of some sort. Very rare was the Avon title that lasted more than 10 issues.

It’s worth noting a few of the interesting quirks that you might find in an Avon books. I’m mostly familiar with their Romance and War titles, as those have been within my budget, and I’m always delighted to find an issue with a classic Avon interior cover. These are black and white drawings, often serving as a Table of Contents. I’ve seen many of these drawn by Everett Raymond Kinstler, as is one of the examples I’ve featured above. I’ve also become quite enamored by the beautiful line work by Louis Ravielli, which pops up in many of Avon’s military titles. I’m partial to Fighting Undersea Commandos.

Another rather peculiar aspect of certain Avon titles is the ‘Story Behind the Cover’ feature. Rather than showcase the lead story in the cover, Avon’s covers would often serve as the springboard for the text pieces in many issues. Also of note is the fact that Avon text stories quite a bit longer than the industry standard (keep in mind that these were included to qualify for a lower postage rate). I’m not sure if these stories were reprints from various Avon magazines or paperbacks, but it is certainly something I’ve never seen done by another publisher.

Avon had a solid stable of talent working for it over the years. The aforementioned Kinstler shows up everywhere, and adds a touch of class to many an Avon comic book. Many Avon books are also notable for the contribution of a young Wallace Wood. You will also find a young Joe Kubert credited here and there, as well as the likes of Manny Stallman, Martin Nodell and Fred Kida. Unfortunately, as the 50s progressed, Avon books felt much more like Charlton books as it seemed like every single story was inked by Vince Alascia.

Strange Worlds is probably the most sought after Avon series, as it’s a terrific sci-fi title with tons of great artists on hand, including Wood. You will also find solid work by the likes of John Giunta, Joe Orlando and Carmine Infantino. In fact, there is a story in Strange Worlds #3 that is a collaboration among Wood, Al Williamson, Frank Frazetta, Angelo Torres and Roy Krenzel. How’s that for an All-Star edition of Many Hands?

Avon back issues can be tough to find, and even tougher to afford. Luckily, many of these stories have been reprinted in various spots through the years. Bill Black’s AC Comics published many Avon-centric reprint titles during the 80s and 90s. Israel Waldman, master re-packager of the late 50s and early 60s published many Avon stories in his oddball titles, including his own version of Strange Worlds and the fun Mystery Tales. These are much, much more affordable than the originals and a lot of fun to track down.

So that's a quick look at the short, but fulfilling life of Avon Publications. For more comic book talk, stop by my blog Seduction of the Indifferent

8 Comments

• At July 14, 2009, benday-dot wrote:

  Nice Scott. It's fascinating to see how much early Kubert art looked like a cross between Steve Ditko and Mort ...

• At July 14, 2009, Gavin wrote:

  Wow, that Robot Men of the Lost Planet is exceptionally perverted looking.

  Or is it just me?

• At July 15, 2009, Tom Fitzpatrick wrote:

  To Gavin:

  I believe Morrison based a assassin character on those Robot Men of the Last Planet in his DOOM ...

• At July 15, 2009, sgt rawk wrote:

  Good God, those comics look GORGEOUS.

• At July 15, 2009, Xander wrote:

  James Lileks posted a copy of the cover of Robot Men of the Lost Planet in his Institute of Official ...

• At July 15, 2009, Scott wrote:

  Craig

  You're quite right about the Ditko/Meskin look to Kubert's art. I'll email you that full story when I get the ...

• At July 15, 2009, MarkAndrew wrote:

  Really nice post.

  Yeah, Kubert (who's damn near my favorite artist ever) took a solid 10-15 years to become JOE KUBERT, ...

• At July 21, 2009, Jacque Nodell wrote:

  Hey Scott...How cool! I have actually never seen those, shame on me! It looks like it was after ...

You may have seen me post of these here and there, and I may have discussed some of these artists in prior columns - but this is the top 12, as my heart told me as of the end of 2008. This list would have been very different 10 years ago, and it will be very different 10 years from now. I was a bit surprised by a few omissions - no Neal Adams, no Alex Schomburg, no Joe Kubert etc... etc... What can I say? When you sit down and do a top 12, you really have to stick with what you truly love. Many of these are based purely on design and execution, but I'll admit that nostalgia played a role in at least one selection.

12. Mr. District Attorney #3 - May/June, 1948
Cover by Win Mortimer
As I've mentioned here at the Corner before, Win Mortimer is a criminally underappreciated comic book artist. From what I can tell, he blazed a trail for Adams, Kubert and Cardy as the DC cover artist in the late 40 and early 50s, working on numerous titles during that period. I am shocked by how many of my favourite DC covers are by Mortimer (House Mystery #1, Batman #62 and Superboy #30 to name but a few)

I just love this cover - and when I first saw a copy of it for sale, I simply had to have it. It is very simple, and yet wonderfully designed. I love how some artists can establish an atmosphere with minimal detail.

11. The Atom #17 - Feb/March, 1965
Cover by Gil Kane & Murphy Anderson
The thing I love most about the Atom (and all 'shrinkers') is the juxtaposition of the smaller figure against ordinary objects that pose a threat by virtue of their relative size. Of course, car tires pose a threat to anyone - but it's a broken foot for you or me and a complete squashing for Mr. Palmer. I love the way Kane has portrayed the speed of the spinning car wheel. How could anyone 10 year old have passed up this book back in 1965? I completed a run of the Silver Age Atom a few years back, and flipping through those covers is a real treat for the eyes. Looking at my top 12, I'm stunned to see that this is the only Kane cover I've chosen - but I can say with complete certainty that this is my favourite.

10. Confessions of the Lovelorn #52 - August, 1954
Cover by Ogden Whitney
Much like Win Mortimer, I consider Ogden Whitney to be a sadly underappreciated cover artist. This wonderful cover is evidence of his great skill. It has all of the exploitative elements of a good pre-Code romance cover. Whitney loved using giant hands, and here he uses the pointing fingers to great effect. The gossiping old hens and businessmen in the background only lend to the feeling of shame heaped upon our heroine. All of this conflict is balanced nicely against the image of the innocent baby, sound asleep. Sure it's goofy and over the top - that's the whole point. I love this one on so many levels.

There's no way this one could have come out the next year. They would have edited the crap out of it. The accusatory fingers would be gone. The caption about sinning would be gone, along with the gossips. They'd probably replace the baby with a dying fern and the lead story would be called 'Love Killed My Plant'. Actually that sounds better than most things I see on the shelves today.

9. Amazing Spider-Man #29 October, 1965
Cover by: some guy named Ditko
The first (of two) Ditko cover to make my list. This one may not be perceived to be quite as iconic as some other Spidey covers, but it's my favourite cover from the title. The Scorpion was introduced in issue #20 and that one featured a good cover, but it was a fairly static image when compared to this one. There is such a great fluidity of motion here, as the bodies bend in a very Ditkoesque manner. It's this sense of motion that distinguishes Ditko from his peers. This is a very simple snapshot, but it informs the reader that they will find a life or death struggle is within the pages. I absolutely love the Scorpion's regulator - a bit of Ditko sci-fi thrown in for fun. Of course, a good dose of Ditko water is always a bonus. Too often I find that the captions on Marvel covers really detract from the art, but the tagline 'Never Step on a Scorpion' is a good one.

8. Crime Clinic #11- October, 1951
Cover by Norman Saunders
As I may have mentioned once or twice (or a million times), I'm a big fan of Norman Saunders' artwork. He painted some of the best covers of the 50s, working for the likes of Fawcett and Ziff-Davis. I can't believe anyone in their right mind would have passed this one up if they spotted it on the spinner rack back in 1951. It is both creepy and compelling - a nice blend of crime and horror. Saunders was an amazing talent and compiling a list of his top 12 covers would be a blast.

7. Daredevil #43 - August, 1968
Cover by Jack Kirby and Joe Sinnott
The first and only Kirby cover on my list (I hardly believe it, myself). It's also strange that it comes from Daredevil - not exactly a series associated with Jack. I really don't have much to say about it, except that this cover tells you everything you need to know about Jack Kirby. The action is in your face, as Cap's right fist flying off the cover. Thank goodness the cover captions were kept to a minimum with this one (a true rarity for Marvel back then). It's perfect and should be a poster hanging on walls around the world. Actually, I think someone told me that this was indeed produced as a poster in the late 60s.

6. Jann of the Jungle #16 - April, 1957
Cover by Bill Everett
When I first saw this image, I just knew that I had to have the book. I still don't have it, but that's half the fun, isn't it? I love a cover that tells a story - and this one pretty much tells the reader that he (or she, in theory) is in for a very suspenseful ride. The colour effects for the underwater portion are just amazing. Bill Everett was such an amazing talent.

5. Justice League of America #142 - May, 1977
Cover by Rich Buckler & Jack Abel
Although I think this is a wonderfully designed cover, I must admit that nostalgia plays a large role in its selection, as this is my all-time favourite comic book. When I was a kid, this cover got me hook, line and sinker. This was my introduction to many DCU characters who would become near and dear to my heart over the next 30 years. So many questions popped into my head when I saw this book. Who were these 3 guys in the middle? Why were the likes of Batman and Superman so desperate for their help? How cool is that robot? How awesome it would have been had it been inked by someone other than Jack Abel?

4. Lone Ranger #106 - April, 1957
Cover by Hank Hartman
As you may have figured out by now, I'm more than a little nuts about the painted covers for Dell's Lone Ranger series and I've managed to track down about 80% of 'em. The covers were painted by a trio of talented artists: Hank Hartman, Ernest Nordii and Don Spaulding. This masterpiece is by Hartman and although I've flipped flopped over the years over which LR cover is my favourite - this one has been topping the charts for quite a while now. It's wonderfully moody, with dark clouds and turbulent water. The Ranger is obviously in the midst of a terrific battle as he has lost his hat and is cradling to a dying man. By the end of the year, the series would switch over to Clayton Moore photo covers, and while those are much more coveted by collectors, I'll gladly stick to my painted covers, thank you very much.

3. House of Mystery #277 - February, 1980
Cover by Steve Ditko
Ditko used this 'Menacing Floating Heads' theme on several occasions, but never better than on this cover. Blake Bell has pointed out that Mort Meskin's cover to Golden Lad #3 was the likely inspiration. Ditko is a master of design, as well as establishing an atmosphere. So many of his protagonists are haunted by their conscience and this wonderful images blends oppression, paranoia and claustrophobia. I bought this one off the racks when I was 7 years old and I had a really visceral emotional response to it. When I started featuring Ditko covers at my blog, this was the natural starting point. Ditko is the best at bringing out mankind's ugly side. It's a beautiful thing.

2. Piracy #6 - September, 1955
Cover by Bernard Krigstein
It's no surprise that Krigstein was also an accomplished "fine art" painter. His choice of colours is amazing - from the scorching sun to the less than inviting water. I'm just amazed by the amount of emotional punch contained in this relatively simple, static image - the man's 'defeated' posture tells you that some very interesting events have led to this moment. With each passing year, Krigstein climbs higher and higher on my favourite artists list.

1. Spotlight Comics #1 - 1944
Cover by George Tuska
Yeah, I know it's from an obscure title and I know that most people simply see Tuska as a capable, journeyman artist but I happen to think that this is the most gorgeous comic book cover ever created. It has that wonderful Golden Age blend of superhero and pulp hero - superbly designed and executed. Of course, the interior contents do not come close to living up to the promise of the cover, but that was par for the course back then. Any time anyone starts to diss Tuska, I simply introduce this cover as evidence and that ends the argument.

So that's it. I compiled this over 6 months ago, and can't see making any changes right now. The great thing about classic comics, is that there's always something new to be discovered. 10 years ago, I never knew Spotlight Comics #1 existed and here it is #1 in my heart.

For more comic book chat - stop by my blog: Seduction of the Indifferent

28 Comments

• At July 7, 2009, Omar Karindu, with the power of SUPER-hypocrisy! wrote:

  It's positively criminal that you have no favorite covers by Steranko or Carmine Infantino. Or, you know, not, because ...

• At July 7, 2009, Matt D wrote:

  It's interesting that the latest cover is from 1980. And really, there are only two covers from after 1968, though ...

• At July 7, 2009, Mr. M wrote:

  I especially like The Crime Clinic cover, as well as the Piracy cover.

• At July 7, 2009, Nick Marino wrote:

  Tuska's an amazing artist. Anyone ragging on him just hasn't read enough Tuska!!! I especially love his work from Luke ...

• At July 7, 2009, Aaron Poehler wrote:

  Several of these choices were underwhelming at best, and yeah, any great covers list without Infantino is sadly lacking.

• At July 7, 2009, TonyJazz wrote:

  Three cheers for the underrated Ogden Whitney selection! He drew with such clean lines and simple design---yet always effective ...

• At July 7, 2009, Gopher wrote:

  But what are your favorite splash pages of all time. I can see not including any Will Eisner pages ...

• At July 7, 2009, Drusilla lives! wrote:

  That Atom cover by Kane & Anderson is really nice LR... so is that Everett "Jann" cover. And I ...

• At July 7, 2009, Scott wrote:

  Yup, Steranko and Infantino are great and produced many memorable covers. But then again so did Murphy Anderson and Russ ...

• At July 7, 2009, Randy wrote:

  That Ditko cover is awesome. Definitely for a post code horror title.

• At July 7, 2009, Roquefort Raider wrote:

  That Piracy cover?

  Simply gorgeous. And without computer coloring, too.

• At July 7, 2009, Bill Reed wrote:

  I do love that Mr. District Attorney cover. It gets better every time I look at it.

  With the Atom cover, ...

• At July 7, 2009, Ethan Shuster wrote:

  It's not as vintage as some of these, but I still think this is a really great cover:

  http://www.yojoe.com/comics/joe/joe43.shtml

• At July 7, 2009, Ray R. wrote:

  Good list, Scott. Picking just twelve is inevitably going to leave a good number of people unsatisfied, because ...

• At July 7, 2009, Nitz the Bloody wrote:

  So, adjusting for contemporary inflations, what's the going price on selling a baby?

• At July 7, 2009, benday-dot wrote:

  It's great to see your list again Scott. I'd have to go back and revisit my own choices in order ...

• At July 7, 2009, Bill Reed wrote:

  So, adjusting for contemporary inflations, what’s the going price on selling a baby?

  I dunno. Ask Angelina how much she pays ...

• At July 7, 2009, TylerG wrote:

  I think all of mine would have been Skottie Young covers...

• At July 8, 2009, Edo Bosnar wrote:

  I know it's all a matter of taste, so I'll try to avoid the "ya shoulda picked..." comments. Actually, a ...

• At July 8, 2009, Scott wrote:

  Ben (RR) – if you don’t already have it, I highly recommend Greg Sadowski’s bio of Krigstein. You really get ...

• At July 8, 2009, Kirbydotter wrote:

  I understand about 60% of your choices. But I think your pulling our leg here and just wanted to ...

• At July 8, 2009, Dave wrote:

  Are we sure that Daredevil cover is by Kirby? It's always reeked of Barry Windsor-Smith is his Kirbyesque days. Regardless, ...

• At July 8, 2009, Dalarsco wrote:

  At least you admit that a lot of it was nostalgia. While all good covers, I wouldn't exactly call ...

• At July 8, 2009, benday-dot wrote:

  Dave, regarding Scott's Daredevil #43 cover... I'm certain its Kirby. While in his early years Barry Smith carried himself quite ...

• At July 8, 2009, GarBut wrote:

  Bit of a (subconscious) fascination with water, there, Scott? Shows up in one third of the covers, TWO of which ...

• At August 6, 2009, AtomicKommieComics wrote:

  I'm damned sure the Daredevil #43 cover is Barry Smith-Sinnott not Jack Kirby-Sinnott.

  The posing, anatomy & musculature are closer to ...

• At August 6, 2009, AtomicKommieComics wrote:

  The hero on the cover of Spotlight Comics was The Black Dwarf who was not a dwarf (in fact he ...

• At November 5, 2009, MilkmanX wrote:

  I am pretty sure that the Daredevil cover was all Jack. Pencil and Inked. They reported that in The Jack ...