The Lizard by John Byrne
A simple – yet complex – one this time out. Images from the life of Dr. Curt Connors, the Lizard – a tragic and unhinged foe for the Amazing Spider-Man – surround the central figure.
Chamber of Darkness No. 7 Cover by Bernie Wrightson
Wrightson emerged as the 1960s ended with a lush and expressive illustration style strongly influenced by EC Comics of the 1950s.
Conan the Barbarian No. 30 Cover by Kane & Chan
The Marvel years of Conan the Barbarian started with the evolution of artist Barry Windsor-Smith as he cast off his influences and found his first maturity as an illustrator. He would leave comics behind for a number of years, and this allowed the more classically-oriented penciller John Buscema to step in and set the look and feel of Conan for many years.
The Invaders by John Byrne
First appearing in mid 1975 as a Giant-Size issue, The Invaders was the idea of Roy Thomas with his deep love of Golden Age characters. Thomas initially teamed up with penciller Frank Robbins. The Invaders lasted 41 issues and one annual during its first volume.
The Four Blue Beetles
The Blue Beetle is one of the earliest costumed adventurers appearing in American comics. He debuted in 1939 in Mystery Men Comics No. 1, published by Fox Publications. Over the years he would evolve and become completely different characters as he was passed from publisher to publisher.
Reading Digital Comics with YACReader
Over the past 20 years digital comics reading has grown through services like Comixology, DC Universe Infinite and Marvel Unlimited. And it's gained significant acceptance through iPads and other tablets.
At the grass-roots level, collectors have shared scans* of comic books for just as long. The benefit of many users sharing their public domain or scarce vintage books is that we can all fill in a collection that would take many lifetimes to find, let alone afford.
If you're just an occasional digital reader, looking at a folder of scans in any image viewer is likely to provide you a perfectly adequate reading experience. Similarly, some digital publishers save their books as PDFs, and PDF viewers abound on each platform.
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Korg 70,000 BC Covers by Pat Boyette
I was really jazzed when I came across the scans for the complete series of Korg 70,000 BC covers done by Pat Boyette. In comparison to how they were printed back in the 70s, the scans of Boyette's paintings were bright, crisp and colourful.
The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman by Charlton Comics
First published in 1972, Cyborg by Martin Caidin chronicled the story of astronaut and test pilot Steve Austin who crashes during a flight and suffers catastrophic injuries. Drawing upon the emerging science of bionics, Caidin has Austin rebuilt with mechanical parts that give him superior physical abilities. He's soon tasked as an operative working for a shadowy agency in the US government.
Time Warp No. 1 Cover by Michael Wm Kaluta
It was this comic from the summer of 1979 with my 14th birthday approaching that sent me over the edge. As my paperboy income increased, my comic book buying increased. DC was on the move again having recovered from the Implosion of two years earlier and their penchant for exploration and trying things out was at the forefront once again.
The Legion of Super-Heroes No. 282 Cover by Jim Aparo
Jim Aparo wasn't known for his work on the Legion, but he turns in a serviceable job here on a Time Trapper tale.
Batman No. 296 Cover by Amendola & Milgrom
Sal Amendola has had a long career as a comic book artist and teacher. Though his work at DC was mostly accomplished during a brief period in the early 1970s, what he did do is well remembered. "Night of the Stalker" – eventually published in Detective Comics No. 439 – was a story he and brother Vin plotted from an idea by Neal Adams, and Sal pencilled. It had its words added by Steve Englehart and inks by Dick Giordano.
The New Teen Titans No. 1 Alternate Cover by George Pérez
In 1980 I was in my first years of regularly collecting and then as now DC's books drew me more than Marvel's (plus I was picking up books available on the emerging direct market). I saw the New Teen Titans first appearance in DC Comics Presents No. 26 not because of them, but because I normally bought DCCP, and cool, Jim Starlin did layouts for the Superman and Green Lantern team-up. GL was, along with Batman, my favourite DC character.
Terry and the Pirates Cover by Jim Keefe
While the comic strip Terry and the Pirates by Milton Caniff is fading from the memory of the general population, it remains an epitome of the American adventure comic strip and a showcase for Caniff's skills as a storyteller.
The Phantom No. 29 Cover by Jim Keefe
Created by Lee Falk in 1936, The Phantom comic strip has endured to this day, outliving other adventure strips long gone. It has also travelled well around the world, supporting comic book sales in the Nordic countries and Australia.
Ghostly Tales No. 76 Cover by Jim Aparo
By the time of this cover, dated November 1969, artist Jim Aparo was transitioning away from Charlton and over to DC Comics where he would put his mark first on Aquaman with writer Steve Skeates, and then on Batman in The Brave & the Bold with writer Bob Haney.
Fightin' Army No. 140 Cover by Tom Sutton
Tom Sutton was a madman with brush, pen and ink during his time at Charlton Comics. Take this cover from 1979 as an example. Is there anything more that could be added?
Tales of the Unexpected No. 10 Cover by Mort Meskin
A prolific and skilled artist working in comics Golden and Silver ages, Mort Meskin eventually left comics for agency work in illustration and storyboarding.
Batman by Rob de la Torre
Rob de la Torre is a Spanish artist who has done work for Marvel Comics. When he works on Conan, it's as if he's channeling the soul of the late, great John Buscema with lush linework and deep, mysterious blacks.
Superman The Secret Years No. 4 Cover by Frank Miller
Miller was at DC. While Ronin had found an audience, it hadn't been a resounding success. But now he was working on The Dark Knight Returns, and that would change everything.
I was Face-to-Face with the Forbidden Robot by Lee, Lieber and Heck
Atlas Comics of the late 1950s are known for a couple of things. One, Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko drew an awful lot of monster stories that were fun to read. Two, Atlas was the precursor to Marvel Comics and Fantastic Four No. 1.
DC Comics Presents Pin-Up by George Pérez
DC Comics Presents was modelled after The Brave & the Bold, which is largely remembered for being the Batman team-up book. As the Superman team-up book, DCCP had some great stories in it. It also had some clunkers and from my point of view it was the ever-changing creative teams that worked on DCCP that gave it its up and down feel, while B&B had the creative team of writer Bob Haney and artist Jim Aparo to keep the book's feel consistent.
Wonder Woman No. 258 Cover by Delbo & Giordano
José Delbo was the penciller on Wonder Woman from 1976–1981, encompassing the time when the Lynda Carter TV series was on American television. This cover by him and inker Dick Giordano came right in the middle of his time on the book.
Jungle Jim - January 7, 1934 by Moore & Raymond
We all know who Flash Gordon is, or at least a good chunk of the general population does. Created at the same time, Jungle Jim by writer Don Moore and artist Alex Raymond ran as a page topper – a strip that ran above another on the same page – for Flash Gordon. Both strips premiered on January 7, 1934.
The Werewolf by Heath & Adams
Dynamite was this great magazine for the kids from Scholastic begun in the 1970s. Created by Jenette Kahn – later president and publisher of DC Comics – it featured articles about TV, movies and other media that kids liked long before the internet took that role over.
Star Trek for The Monster Times No. 2 Cover by Gray Morrow
Gray Morrow was one of those classy-as-fuck illustrators moving seamlessly from commercial illustration to comics and graphic novels. I first saw his work in Heavy Metal in the late 70s/early 80s doing Orion and an excerpt from The Illustrated Roger Zelazny before I saw him in regular comics. Later I enjoyed his long run on the Tarzan Sunday comic strip.
Detective Comics No. 443 Alternate Cover by Walt Simonson
I was just a few years too young to get comics regularly when Manhunter was the back-up feature in Detective Comics Nos. 437–443. Written by Archie Goodwin and drawn by Walt Simonson, it combined pulp high-adventure themes with espionage and thriller elements. With Goodwin's tight, evocative prose and Simonson's groundbreaking storytelling techniques, Manhunter always punched way above its weight as an eight-page back-up in the Batman comic that consistently sold the least copies.
Justice League of America No. 193 Cover by George Pérez
A fellow on facebook reminded me that another great George Pérez cover had been given the inset treatment. Justice League of America No. 193 carried a preview for All-Star Squadron. Written by Roy Thomas and initially drawn by Rich Buckler & Jerry Ordway, it was the then-current revival of DC's Golden Age characters. The book lasted 67 issues and three annuals.
The New Teen Titans No. 16 Cover by Pérez & Tanghal
Not a lot new to say this time out, except it's another of The New Teen Titans covers that was put into an inset so that another new book preview could be marketed. In this case it was the wonderful Captain Carrot & His Amazing Zoo Crew, and I'm sure the preview gave a boost to a book that might have disappeared after only a few issues. As it was, it lasted 20 issues and has had some revivals over the years.
Wonder Woman by José Luis García-López
Few artists can convey the romance, drama and power of a character like Wonder Woman better than García-López. While much of his work for DC Comics licensing is crisp, clear and by necessity stylised and simplified, pieces like this one show his full skill with lush ink work.
Tarzan Sunday Comic Strips by Archie Goodwin & Gil Kane
Scott Dutton
Tarzan has been a mainstay of the Sunday comics page since the 1930s and the work of Hal Foster. Notable artists over the following decades include Burne Hogarth and Russ Manning. I came along in the late 70s, enjoying the work of Gil Kane, and later Mike Grell and Gray Morrow, artists I was familiar with from comic books.
Archie Goodwin and Kane were on the Sunday strip for 83 weeks. During this time Kane did this illustration which was used as the cover of The Comics Journal No. 64.
Following that are the first three strips from the 1979/80 story "Refuge from the Rich and Famous", which was reprinted in black & white by Blackthorne Publishing in their Comic-Strip Preserves: Tarzan, Book 4. Fresh colour by me.
Superman No. 338 Cover by Andru & Giordano
As a part of the mythos of Superman's world, the city of Kandor had been stolen from Krypton by the android Brainiac and in the process it was shrunken and put into a glass bottle as part of his collection preserving civilizations that would be otherwise lost. Years later, Superman encounters Brainiac and steals back Kandor, vowing to one day return the city to its normal size. Until then, it sat on a shelf in his Fortress of Solitude like a futuristic ant farm.
Superman No. 186 Cover by Swan & Klein
As adult readers of comics, the lure of nostalgia can be powerful. We remember a time when responsibilities were simpler and lighter, and our understanding of the world was no where near complete.
Batman No. 251 Cover by Neal Adams
Neal Adams had arrived in comics in the mid 1960s, bringing art skills and techniques that had been honed in commercial art. Making his biggest impact at DC Comics, he's still associated with Batman and Green Lantern decades after he was active as those books' penciller.
Batman No. 291 Cover by Jim Aparo
David V Reed was a notable Batman writer, first writing the character in the late 1940s/early 1950s. He would return in the 1970s and likely his best moment was a four-parter published in Batman Nos. 291–294.
DC Special Series No. 27 Cover – Batman and the Incredible Hulk by José Luis García-López
It was the end of an era. Earlier in 1981, Marvel Comics had handled the second team-up of Superman and the Amazing Spider-Man. And then this book followed, shepherded through the DC offices. While DC and Marvel would still occasionally team-up their characters for reader excitement and mutual profit, the tabloids – a fixture of both companies throughout the 1970s – would not continue much further into the 80s.
The House of Mystery No. 175 Cover by Neal Adams
Kids in peril was an effective theme Adams used for his DC horror covers. Scare the kids, they'll love it and they'll buy the comic.
Limited Collectors Edition C-37 Cover – Batman by Jim Aparo
Another solid volume of Batman stories, these from the Golden Age and featuring villains from Batman's rogues gallery. All of it wrapped in an iconic cover by The Brave & the Bold regular artist Jim Aparo.
Marvel Treasury Edition No. 23 Cover – Conan the Barbarian by Buscema & Sinnott
Another volume in the oversized Treasury Edition series from Marvel, this Conan the Barbarian issue came wrapped in a suitably-dramatic cover pencilled by John Buscema – the regular artist on the Conan books – and inked by Joe Sinnott. Buscema and Conan were made for each other.
The Superhero Women Cover by John Romita
In the 1970s, both DC and Marvel released comic book collections into the mainstream book market. Marvel released a number of trade paperback volumes through Fireside Books beginning with The Origins of Marvel Comics in 1974, and their form factor was very close to the trade paperbacks we read today.
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Limited Collectors Edition C-43 Cover by Swan & Oksner
DC's 1970s tabloids were great treasures of reprinted material and this – the second "Christmas with the Super-Heroes" collection – was no exception. There was nothing like seeing favourite stories at a larger size.
Valley of the Dinosaurs No. 1 - The Remastering
It's a logical next step in the Valley of the Dinosaurs project that I would turn to the stories after completing restoration and remastering on the covers. While I have scans of the lineart for many of the 11-issue run, scans for issue No. 1 don't appear to be out there. So a good chunk of the remastering for this story involved extracting the lineart from the published comic and retouching printing flaws.
Valley of the Dinosaurs – The Covers by Fred Himes
1974 was the prehistoric year for Saturday morning TV shows on the three major American networks. NBC debuted the live-action The Land of the Lost which would live the longest at three seasons, ABC had the live-action Korg 70,000 BC which survived one season, and CBS green-lit the animated Valley of the Dinosaurs which also lasted a single season.
Marvel Treasury Edition No. 13 Cover – Giant Superhero Holiday Grab-Bag by Kane, Romita and Sinnott
Another holiday season and another Christmas reprint special from the House of Ideas. Pencilled primarily by Gil Kane – with touchups by John Romita – and inked by Joe Sinnott, I wonder how many people thought it was off the wall to have the Thing dressed up as Santa with Thor and Hulk as his reindeer. Plus Ben Grimm is Jewish and Thor came from the Norse gods.
Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter Cover by Dave Gibbons
I'm guessing I don't need to tell readers much about Watchmen here. You likely are already familiar with the 12-issue series – written by Alan Moore, drawn and lettered by Dave Gibbons, coloured by John Higgins and published by DC Comics in 1986 – to be even remotely interested in Tales of the Black Freighter, the allegorical/metaphorical comic within the Watchmen comic.
Valley of the Dinosaurs No. 1 Cover by Fred Himes
When you have no original art to work with, there are various methods you can use to create new lineart. The simplest is to use digital production techniques to delete the colour blocks and leave the black & white art behind. That worked quite well here.
Valley of the Dinosaurs No. 9 Cover by Fred Himes
Valley of the Dinosaurs enjoyed a longish run for a licenced book, totalling 11 issues, and this for being published after the animated series had been cancelled. Himes turns in his usual clearly-constructed illustration here.
Valley of the Dinosaurs No. 5 Cover by Fred Himes
Here's another of Fred Himes' great covers for Charlton Comics' licenced version of Valley of the Dinosaurs.
Sword of Sorcery No. 1 Unpublished Cover by Jeffrey Catherine Jones
The early 1970s saw an influx of new talent at DC, most of it shepherded by editor Joe Orlando. The four artists who would later make up The Studio – Bernie Wrightson, Michael Wm Kaluta, Jeffrey Catherine Jones and Barry Windsor Smith – had three of their number at DC while Windsor Smith was over at Marvel. Working outside the normal super-heroic books, they made their mark with covers, as well as adventure and horror stories.
Stalker No. 1 Cover by Steve Ditko and Wally Wood
Another of DC's short-run comics of the 1970s, this one boasted young Paul Levitz early in his career as writer, with veterans Steve Ditko and Wally Wood on art duties. Despite the quality of Stalker, it lasted only four issues.
Super DC Giant S-20 The House of Mystery Cover by Neal Adams
Throughout the 1960s and 70s, DC Comics leveraged their library of existing stories effectively with specials, annuals and series of books built around reprinted material.