The Flash No. 183 Cover by Andru & Esposito
All the covers from Andru & Esposito's run on The Flash were well designed and reflected a sharp change from the early 60s. Love the dynamism and realism here.
The Flash No. 279 Cover by Dick Giordano
While Dick Giordano would be most-often paired as an inker to cover penciller Ross Andru during this period, Giordano remained a highly-skilled illustrator all on his own.
Flash Gordon Starring Buster Crabbe
Scott Dutton
Before episodic TV, people used to go movie theatres once a week to watch serials. Buster Crabbe, a champion Olympic swimmer, turned his fame into an acting career and when the comic strip Flash Gordon was adapted into a serial, he played the title character. He repeated that a couple of times for other stories.
The Flash No. 282 Cover by Andru & Giordano
Super-heroes have enough trouble with the villains. So you'd think they could count on their friends. All except for the flighty, fickle, foot-focussed Flash. Really, Green Lantern should flatten him with a big green fist.
Green Lantern No. 29 Cover by Kane & Anderson
It was certainly a more innocent time. It would be a few years before Gil Kane got truly dynamic with his layouts, so we have the gimmick of Black Hand wiping away half of Green Lantern with a high-tech Etch-a-Sketch®.
Green Lantern No. 112 Cover by Mike Grell
In the back pages of The Flash, Green Lantern had found a home after the book had been cancelled. A few artists did stories, but when Mike Grell drew the assignment and stuck with it, the feature was revitalised. GL graduated back to his own magazine.
Green Lantern Covers by Brian Bolland
There's a lot to be said about the lad from Lincolnshire, Brian Bolland, but his Wikipedia entry does a pretty good job of getting to the details, so I recommend reading that instead if you're curious.
Strange Adventures No. 159 Cover by Murphy Anderson
Who doesn't like astronauts and dinosaurs? And gosh darn it, why shouldn't we have stories with them both in it at the same time?
Omniverse No. 3 Cover by Hannigan & Beatty
Scott Dutton
Created by Mark Gruenwald and Dean Mullaney, Omniverse was a fanzine that lasted two issues. Gruenwald would go on to be a writer and editor at Marvel Comics, while Mullaney would found Eclipse Comics with Cat Yronwode.
Worlds Unknown No. 8 Cover by Kane & Colletta
The Golden Voyage of Sinbad is one of my favourite films from childhood. Big adventure, cool Ray Harryhausen characters, Caroline Munro looking sexy (as she always did), Tom Baker as a fantastic evil sorcerer and John Phillip Law as a bright and adventurous Sinbad who looked like he was having fun.
Jungle Jim No. 26 Cover by Pat Boyette
Jungle Jim fights the Luftwaffe with only a 45. Can he and the lovely girl on his arm escape? Casualties so far: one Panama hat and one surplus canteen.
Conan the Barbarian No. 4 Cover by Rob de la Torre
Rob de la Torre is channeling the late John Buscema's work on Marvel's Conan the Barbarian on Titan Comics latest licensed series.
Ghostly Haunts No. 42 Cover by Don Newton
Don Newton was a brilliant figure artist with classical underpinnings. He was also a solid storyteller. Emerging from fanzines, he spent some time at Charlton, becoming associated with The Phantom, before moving on to DC. He was particularly fond of the Captain Marvel Family, but it was his time as a Batman artist that cemented his reputation.
Green Lantern by Bender & Giella
When veteran artist Howard Bender posted this 1976 pin-up that he pencilled and Joe Giella inked, I thought it would make a great Green Lantern cover.
Limited Collectors' Edition No. C-39 Secret Origins of Super-Villains Cover by Dick Giordano
Here we have another fine example of a new cover wrapping memorable reprints from the DC Comics archives.
The Flash TV Special Cover by Williams & Robinson
The 1990 Flash TV series only lasted one season, but it's well remembered. Star John Wesley Shipp joined the cast of the more-recent series as Jay Garrick and two other characters. Guessing he was good to work with.
DC Marketing Art by Dick Giordano and Neal Adams
Giordano and Adams were the 'look' of DC's brand throughout the 1970s, giving the marketing materials an iconic look that still has power today.
Hawkman by Mike DeCarlo and Scott Dutton
Mike DeCarlo made his name as an inker who worked primarily for DC Comics.
Brightest Day No. 14 Cover by Ivan Reis and Hi-Fi
There have been a lot of great depictions of Deadman since his creation in the 1960s. Neal Adams, Jim Aparo, José Luis García-López and more.
Deadman No. 1 Cover by Neal Adams
It was the perfect showcase for Neal Adams to work on as his first regular feature at DC Comics. Deadman – appearing in Strange Adventures – had touches of mysticism inside a Fugitive framework. And Adams drew the hell out of it.
Space: 1999 by David & Dan Day
Scott Dutton
David and Dan Day are Canadian artists with a number of comic book credits between them, plus they've continued to work as artists outside of comics. They're the younger brothers of the late Gene Day, who made a solid start in the business, particularly with Marvel Comics, before he passed away at a young age.
Chamber of Chills No. 19 Cover by Lee Elias
Scott Dutton
We've got a special post this time out. Not only do we have the best horror comic book cover of all time – Chamber of Chills No. 19 by Lee Elias, September 1953, Harvey Comics – we have two pages of development materials by Harvey's art editor Warren Kremer. Kremer should be remembered more today for the significance of his contributions, so it's nice to be able to shine a small spotlight on him.
Limited Collectors' Edition No. C-27 Shazam! Cover by Bob Oksner
Was there anything bigger and better in North American comics in the 1970s than tabloid/treasury comics? Big presentation. Longer page counts. The best stories reprinted or new epic stories.
Captain Marvel Adventures No. 151 Cover by Kurt Schaffenberger
Anyone who visits this site knows I'm a lifelong reader of DC Comics. But that doesn't mean I'm a fan of everything they've done. There have been a lot of great books, but there has been some pretty cutthroat and nasty business in their almost 100 years.
Assignment: Earth No. 1 Cover by John Byrne
Scott Dutton
We return to one of my favourite topics, Gene Roddenberry's other ideas for TV series. The first one was Assignment: Earth, a back-door pilot that aired as the last episode of the second season of Star Trek in 1968.
Sword of the Atom by Jan Strnad & Gil Kane
The Atom had initially done well in the early 1960s as part of DC editor Julius Schwartz's retooling and revival of the company's Golden-Age heroes. Like Green Lantern, his tryout began in Showcase and he soon graduated into his own title.
The Atom No. 29 Cover by Gil Kane
You have to wonder about The Thinker. That helmet looks like it might give him some powers. Either to project his thoughts onto others, or to at least amplify is own intelligence.
Doorway to Nightmare No. 3 Cover by Michael Wm Kaluta
Another haunting depiction of Madame Xanadu by Kaluta.
The Fury of Firestorm No. 1 Unpublished Cover by Pat Broderick
Firestorm had debuted during that misty time just before the DC Implosion and had come and gone.
The Best of DC Digest No. 48 Cover by Bender & Giordano
The digests were DC's reprint program during a time when the full-sized comics declared they were about "The New DC." DC had great reprints integrated into their regular comics going back decades, but after the DC Implosion they were very much about regaining ground and market share. So it's understandable that they wanted to keep the old separated from the new.
Tales to Astonish No. 95 Cover by Marie Severin
As I've mentioned a few times before, when I was growing up I didn't read nearly as many Marvel comics as I did DC comics. But that didn't mean I didn't have some great Marvel reading experiences.
Dalgoda by Jan Strnad & Dennis Fujitake
Scott Dutton
Dalgoda by Strnad & Fujitake occupies the same place in my memory and experiences as Don Simpson's Border Worlds. Both were wonderfully unique works of science fiction material from the mid 80s. Strnad had worked with Richard Corben, and one of Fujitake's influences was Jean 'Mœbius' Giraud, and so the connection to Heavy Metal during it's best years was strong.
The Doom Patrol vs MODOK by John Byrne
I've never been big on the Mechanized Organism Designed Only for Killing (MODOK). He was a big head with tiny limbs and he fought Captain America lot. But, I gotta tell ya, he deserved better than what he got in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, both in the cheesy visual effects used to depict him, and in the "we can't take him seriously" vibe the filmmakers set for him. Corey Stoll deserved better. I'm sure his cheque cleared and he'll be looking for something a little less dopey to be in next.
Underoos Concept Art by Alex Toth
Alex Toth was one of the true visionaries in the development of the visual language of American comic books. Eschewing the lush brushwork of contemporaries like Milton Caniff and Frank Robbins, he relentlessly simplified his linework and showed that a single line, perfectly placed was worth more than all the hatching and scalloping of lesser talents. He was also a vocal commentator and critic of trends in comics he thought strayed from a positive and progressive path of growth.
Detective Comics No. 415 Cover by Adams & Giordano
Behind this great cover by Neal Adams and Dick Giordano were two solid stories written by Frank Robbins. Batman was drawn by Bob Brown and inked by Giordano, while Batgirl had Don Heck doing full art.
Swamp Thing No. 25 Unpublished Cover by Ernie Chan
Those first 10 issues of Swamp Thing by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson were something special. Horror was enjoying a revival in comics thanks to a relaxation of rules enforced by the Comics Code Authority. Wrightson had emerged as one of the young stars of the moment and his work demonstrated mastery and continuous improvement.
Detective Comics No. 473 Cover by Marshall Rogers
With Neal Adams no longer drawing stories for DC, Batman in the mid 1970s settled into a quiet period with artists like Ernie Chan, John Calnan and regulars Irv Novick and Jim Aparo. So when Marshall Rogers arrived with inker Terry Austin, their stylish angular art and crisp architectural backgrounds brought something new to Detective Comics. Add to that superior scripting by Steve Englehart and their run is well remembered today.
Doorway to Nightmare No. 1 Cover by Michael Wm Kaluta
Designed by cover illustrator Michael Wm Kaluta, Madame Xanadu made her first appearance in this comic.
Phoenix No. 2 Unpublished Cover by Sal Amendola
Scott Dutton
Atlas/Seaboard was a short-lived comic company owned by Martin Goodman after he left Marvel. Producing a couple dozen titles, none lasted beyond four issues.
DC Super-Heroes UK Annual 1982 by Brian Bolland
In 1980, British comics didn't exist for me beyond the occasional Dandy or Beano annual that appeared in Coles bookstore in the small Canadian town I grew up in. I didn't like the look of those, so I never bought them.
eBooks: The Steve Ramsay World-Wide Adventures by Rosaylmer Burger
Scott Dutton
Adventure novels have a long history of popularity. Evolving from mythical stories of Odysseus and Beowulf to explorers of strange lands, by the 1960s we had James Bond and cold warriors.
Demon with a Glass Hand by Ellison & Rogers
The Outer Limits was an important stepping stone in popularising speculative fiction. Premiering in 1963 it lasted one-and-a-half seasons and connected the more general The Twilight Zone with 1966's straight science fiction Star Trek. Many that worked on The Outer Limits later moved on to Trek.
Witches Tales No. 10 Cover by Lee Elias
Scott Dutton
It was pretty ballsy of Lee Elias in 1952 to draw the devil figure with androgynous characteristics on this fantastic cover for Witches Tales No. 10 for Harvey Comics. Perhaps that's why it was covered up by a text block once it was published.
Black Cat Mystery No. 49 Cover by Lee Elias
Scott Dutton
When I look back at the few examples I've seen of what was considered extreme in comics by men like Dr. Fredric Wertham and Senator Estes Kefauver, I'm most often saddened by the energy and vitality I saw in that work versus what came later after the Comics Code Authority was established.
Star Hunters No. 8 Unpublished Cover by Buckler & Giordano
Star Hunters had been cancelled as part of the DC Implosion with issue No. 7. But even if it had continued it would have been without creator/writer David Michelinie.
Mythelinies – The Connected DC Universe of David Michelinie
Back in the mid 1970s, David Michelinie had the idea to connect the books he created with the same background concept of gods of law and chaos – or light and darkness – who could not fight directly for dominance in our worlds, and so each side chose their champions to act as avatars.
The House of Mystery No. 182 Cover by Neal Adams
If there were hundreds of covers like these by Adams I'd want to colour them all. Unfortunately, there are only a couple dozen or so he did for DC's horror comics, and only a few of those have decent scans available on the web. So I take my time with these and only do one once in a while.
Christmas with the Super-Heroes No. 2 Cover by DeStefano & Mahlstedt
I highly recommend this cover if you wish to discover how tedious it is to colour little elves and their multi-coloured costumes. Though with the lantern light to play off of the scene it did turn out to be magical.
Marvel Treasury Edition No. 8 Giant Super-Hero Holiday Grab-Bag Cover by John Romita
I'm not sure I'm down with a rage monster dressed up as Santa and looking as pleased as punch with a kid on his lap, but it was a different time, I guess.
Spider-Man 2099 No. 50 Unpublished Cover by Joe Kubert
Joe Kubert didn't do an awful lot of work for Marvel Comics, and it was always a pleasant surprise when he did.