DC
Time Warp No. 2 Cover by Michael Wm Kaluta
Time Warp No. 2, January 1980, with a cover by Michael Wm Kaluta showing his Art Nouveau and Art Deco influences, plus some science fiction pulps thrown in for good measure. The cover wrapped 64 pages of science fiction short stories drawn by Joe Orlando, Steve Ditko, Gil Kane, Howard V Chaykin, Mike Nasser (Michael Netzer), Jerry Grandenetti, Don Newton, Dave Simons, Romeo Tanghal Sr and John Celardo.
Time Warp No. 5 Cover by Michael Wm Kaluta
Time Warp was a science fiction anthology series published by DC Comics in 1979 and 80. Each 64-page issue had stories by seasoned pros and newcomers alike, and we can all wish that anthology books were still a regular staple in comics today. All five issues had fantastic covers by Michael Wm Kaluta, including this one for No. 5, July 1980.
Ronin No. 4 Cover by Frank Miller
I missed most of Frank Miller's first run on Daredevil (though I would later acquire them as back issues). Being a DC fan, the news of Miller leaving Marvel to come to DC to work on his own project – Ronin – was exciting. Things got even better when we saw sample art from the first issue.
Green Lantern No. 71 Cover by Gil Kane
A simple and powerful composition by artist Gil Kane for this issue cover dated September 1969. Kane's cover design abilities were advancing steadily and would serve him well when he moved over to Marvel in the coming years.
Green Lantern No. 104 Cover by Mike Grell
Mike Grell saved DC Comics from itself. He came along just as DC made things very unwelcome for Neal Adams, the artist who had modernised American comics and saved DC from itself a few years before. Mike probably came cheaper then. He was also full of energy, produced more pages than Adams; his tight, detailed work exuded freshness and fun, and we ate it up.
Green Lantern No. 158 Cover by Keith Pollard
In between Green Lantern No. 151 – when Marv Wolfman and Joe Staton left after one of the best runs on the title – and Green Lantern No. 172 – when Len Wein and Dave Gibbons took over, Green Lantern went through a number of writers and artists. In spite of experienced talent, GL floundered, lacking solid editorial direction and decent writing.
Interlac: The Language of the 30th Century
Interlac – the intergalactic universal language of the 30th century and the Legion of Super-Heroes – was first referenced in Adventure Comics No. 379, March 1969. It was turned into a tangible alphabet with Paul Levitz, Keith Giffen and letterer John Costanza in Legion of Super-Heroes v2 No. 311, May 1984.
The Legion of Super-Heroes Logos
When Superboy left the Legion in No. 259 of his former book, Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes was retitled to Legion of Super-Heroes v2 for the January 1980 issue. DC Comics staff letterer Todd Klein created a new logo for the book. I've always thought it a great logo utilising three-point perspective.
The Best of DC Digest No. 40 Cover by Gray Morrow
Beginning just as the 1970s ended, DC Comics' digest-sized comics followed on the success of the format at Archie Comics and Gold Key Comics, and lasted until the mid 1980s. They most often offered reprints based around one hero or a theme in each issue.
Green Lantern No. 74 Cover by Gil Kane
At the end of the first era of the Hal Jordan Green Lantern, Gil Kane – the series' first artist – had gone from a reserved, unremarkable style to a bold, dynamic style informed by his mastery of structural anatomy.
Green Lantern No. 141 Cover by Dick Giordano
Dick Giordano's last Green Lantern v2 cover as a solo artist went unpublished. Instead George Pérez's illustration – teasing the first appearance of The Omega Men in the issue – appeared on the cover of Green Lantern No. 141, June 1981.
Green Lantern No. 124 Cover by Dick Giordano
The late Dick Giordano had a solid association with Green Lantern, notably for his collaboration with Neal Adams at the beginning of the Bronze Age, and later for drawing GL backup stories in The Flash.
Ghosts No. 59 Cover by Luis Dominguez
Luis Dominguez was born in Argentina in the early 1920s and has had a long and distinguished career in comics in Argentina and the US. For my generation, he's well remembered for his work with DC Comics in the 1970s. From what info I've been able to find, he's still alive today.
DC Special Series No. 2 Swamp Thing Cover by Bernie Wrightson
The late Bernie Wrightson made his name on the first 10 issues of DC Comics' Swamp Thing before moving on to Warren Publishing and other venues. He returned to Swamp Thing in 1977 to do this fantastic wraparound illustration to cover DC Special Series No. 2, which reprinted Swamp Thing Nos. 1 and 2.
Batman No. 255 Cover by Neal Adams
At the end of his industry-changing run at DC Comics, Neal Adams turned in this solid cover. However, with Batman then running 100-page issues, the art didn't get the packaging it deserved. Shrunk to fit a smaller box in the cover template, we've always wondered how it would have looked as a normal cover.
Giant-Size Blog Headers
Online friend Richard Guion (aka Cousin Dick) was kind enough to give this site a couple of plugs on his blogs Giant-Size Marvel and Giant-Size Geek, and I returned the favour by making new blog headers.
Wonder Woman No. 108 Cover by Andru & Esposito
For my money, one of the best Wonder Woman covers ever. From early in the Silver Age, cover dated August 1959 and drawn by long-time WW art team Ross Andru and Mike Esposito.
Action Comics No. 500 Cover by Andru & Giordano
As the Seventies were drawing to a close, the long-running Action Comics and its star Superman were celebrating the comic's 500th issue. Andru and Giordano were the regular cover team and they drew the iconic characters with their usual flair.
The Secret Six No. 2 Cover by Nick Cardy
Nick Cardy is one of best DC cover artists of all time. From Aquaman to The Brave & the Bold and Superman, his work is noted for the power of its composition and the emotional depth of his characters.
The Secret Six No. 4 Cover by Jack Sparling
An interesting cover design most likely sketched by Carmine Infantino and then passed to Jack Sparling – The Secret Six's regular artist – for illustration. From November 1968.
The Secret Six No. 3 Cover by Jack Sparling
It was a small series of only seven issues beginning in early 1968 and running bi-monthly. The Secret Six was created and plotted by E. Nelson Bridwell, with dialogue by Joe Gill. Frank Springer drew the first two issues and Jack Sparling the remaining five.
Detective Comics No. 379 Cover: Novick or Novick?
Just because you do a good drawing doesn't mean it's going to make the best cover, at least in the eyes of the art director or editor. Case in point, Irv Novick drew two covers for Detective Comics 379 from September 1968. The first is beautifully drawn. You can see the care he put into it with the rendering of the man's hand, for example.
The Demon No. 1 Cover by Jack Kirby
With his Fourth World books at DC Comics cancelled, Jack Kirby moved on to a second series of books which included Omac, Kamandi, Kobra and The Demon.
Batman No. 210 Cover: Novick or Adams?
As can happen, one artist draws a cover, and the editor chooses to have it redrawn by another artist. Case in point the cover for Batman 210, March 1969. The layout had been done by Carmine Infantino and passed on to Irv Novick who was enjoying his early years of drawing super-heroes for DC, which included Batman and The Flash.
Wonder Woman by HG Peter
HG Peter was Wonder Woman's original artist, and this piece by him was a rejected cover from the 1940s. A perfect illustration to colour and package. A lost gem is rediscovered.
Batman No. 351 Cover: Colan or Colón?
Gene Colan was the penciller on Batman in 1982, and he did up a cover for No. 351, inked by Frank Giacoia. Perhaps wanting a larger, more active Batman, Ernie Colón and Dick Giordano were tasked to re-draw the figure. Here are both of them coloured up.
The Doom Patrol Covers III
Following up on a previous post and this one too, here are three more interpretations of The Doom Patrol done by current artists, with cover layouts by myself.
The Doom Patrol Covers II
Following up on a popular post, here are three more interpretations of The Doom Patrol done by current artists, with cover layouts by myself.
DC Comics Presents No. 26 Cover by Jim Starlin
DC Comics Presents No. 26 is more often remembered as the first appearance of The New Teen Titans, but it also marked the first appearance of Jim Starlin as a DCCP artist.
The Doom Patrol Covers I
The original Doom Patrol was a comic book series from DC Comics in the 1960s. Created by Arnold Drake and Bruno Premiani, they first appeared in My Greatest Adventure No. 80, 1963, and the book was renamed for the team as of No. 86. The series ran until No. 121, 1968, when the Patrol seemingly sacrificed themselves to save the small fishing village of Codsville, Maine. They'd come back in different incarnations with different characters and different levels of popularity with readers.
Batman Year One
From 1986, this house ad was the first piece we saw from what was going to become a classic Batman storyline by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli.
Wonder Woman No. 269 Cover by Andru & Giordano
From July 1980, we have a great cover by Ross Andru and Dick Giordano, a prolific cover team for many DC titles during this period.
Justice League of America No. 66 Cover: Dillin or Adams?
From November 1968, two versions of the cover to DC Comics' Justice League of America No. 66 have survived. The first, drawn by Dick Dillin and Joe Giella was rejected. The second was drawn by Neal Adams and made it to the newsstands. I've coloured them both up here from scans of the original art.
Hawkman and The Justice Society of America by Joe Kubert
From 1970, Joe Kubert provided this powerful illustration for The Steranko History of Comics 1. Here it is in colour, and with trade dress from different eras of DC Comics.
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Green Lantern No. 114 Cover by Saviuk & Giordano
From March 1979, Alex Saviuk and Dick Giordano knock Green Lantern and Green Arrow off their feet for DC Comics.
Secrets of Haunted House No. 39 Cover by Buckler & Giordano
From August 1981, Rich Buckler and Dick Giordano put a new spin on a horror icon for DC Comics.
The Warlord No. 82 Cover by Jurgens & Giordano
Another Warlord cover. Cary Burkett and Dan Jurgens' run was a good successor to Mike Grell's.
The Warlord No. 76 Cover by Jurgens & Giordano
Another Warlord cover. Cary Burkett and Dan Jurgens became great stepafathers to the series.
Superman vs. Spider-Man Cover by Andru, Giordano & Austin
When this came out in 1976, fans went apeshit. And rightfully so. For the first time, rivals DC and Marvel teamed up for mutual profit. Written by Gerry Conway, pencilled by Ross Andru (with some polishing by Neal Adams), figure inking by Dick Giordano and background inks by Terry Austin. It was a whole lot of fun to read.
The Warlord No. 31 Cover by Mike Grell
I'm a long-time fan of Mike Grell's The Warlord. It started with me finding issue Nos. 30 and 31 on the stand.
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Starman by Darren Goodhart
I saw this and knew I had to colour it. Darren Goodhart shared this art over on facebook and he was kind enough to send me a copy. Levitz & Ditko's Starman has always been a favourite of mine, and we're celebrating his return to Adventure Comics.
DC Comics Presents No. 36 by Levitz & Starlin
With DC Comics recently releasing the second volume of DC Comics Presents in its black & white Showcase line, we now move into a number of great issues with art by Jim Starlin. My favourite of the bunch is No. 36, which completed the original run of Starman, late of Adventure Comics. Another cover I've done logo and colour reconstruction for.
Charlton Comics Cavalcade Weekly
As Charlton Comics' managing editor in the 1960s, Dick Giordano put together the Action Heroes line with talents that included Joe Gill, Steve Ditko, Pete Morisi, Pat Boyette, Frank Mclaughlin and others. Charlton was petering out in the mid 80s, so DC bought the rights to those characters and presented them to Giordano – now DC's executive editor – as a gift.
Batman Family No. 19 Cover by Michael Wm Kaluta
Batman Family stands out among the late 1970s Batman books. The last few issues, oversized dollar comics, featured the work of Michael Golden, Jim Starlin, Marshall Rogers, P. Craig Russell, and this fellow, Michael Wm. Kaluta. The published version pulls most of the artwork off the black plate for a white-out day scene. I wondered what the exact opposite might look like. Here's a recoloured version.
Batman : The Brave & The Bold
If you want to have a whole lot of fun packed into 30 minutes or less, watch an episode of the new Batman: The Brave & the Bold TV series on Cartoon Network in the US and on Teletoon in Canada. You also might find it – ahem – on the web while we await a DVD package.
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Defending Skartaris
If you blinked, relatively speaking, you probably missed it. Beginning in February 2006 with an April cover date, DC revived The Warlord. This time around the book lasted 10 issues. (The original had 133 and went through a number of ups and downs during the run.)