General
The Best of DC Digest No. 51 Batman Family Cover by Hannigan & Giordano
General
Batman Family had had a good run of 20 issues before being folded into Detective Comics to save DC's flagship book from cancellation.
Detective Comics: The Bat-Murderer Covers by Aparo & Giordano
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The Bat-Murderer story arc ran in Detective Comics Nos. 444–448. Written by Len Wein, the arc started with Jim Aparo on his normal full art and lettering duties.
The Flash No. 275 Cover by Dick Giordano
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The Flash's world was about to be marred by tragedy. It would be a dark thread in his continuity until this run ended as Crisis on Infinite Earths began.
Marvel Spotlight No. 8 Cover featuring Captain Marvel by Miller & Austin
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Jim Starlin had had a great run on Captain Marvel and followed it up with Adam Warlock. Starlin moved onto other projects, and subsequent efforts by other creators with Captain Marvel didn't gain traction with readers.
Marvel Treasury Edition No. 31 Cover featuring Adam Warlock by Jim Starlin
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Along with Neal Adams, Jim Starlin was my earliest influence when I began drawing more seriously in my mid teens.
The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones Poster by Chaykin & Austin
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With Marvel's success with Star Wars, they were the obvious choice to take on Indiana Jones as well.
The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones No. 6 Cover by Chaykin & Austin
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Howard Chaykin was the perfect choice for the visual dynamic of Indiana Jones in the comics. It's too bad he didn't do more stories. Terry Austin on inks worked well too.
Secrets of Sinister House No. 7 Cover by Michael Wm Kaluta
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The stuff of dreams in a flight of fantasy shows another side of comics that anthology books did so well.
The Scorpion No. 1 Cover by Howard Victor Chaykin
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The prototype for Howard Chaykin's Dominic Fortune was an Atlas Comics character that only lasted two issues.
Shazam! No. 25 Cover by Kurt Schaffenberger
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Cover dated October 1976, this issue of Shazam! helped promote the Shazam/Isis Hour on CBS Saturday mornings.
Nite Owl No. 1 by Dave Gibbons
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The Golden Age Nite Owl rang true in Watchmen, and that's part of the reason his demise felt so tragic and pointless.
Watchmen House Ads by Dave Gibbons
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Everything about Watchmen marked it as a watershed moment for DC. Even the house ads.
Published in black, white and red, they stood out as a fresh design direction, and were later included in the Watchmen Portfolio.
Colour by me. No AI was used.
The Comedian
As published.
Colour version.
Dr Manhattan
As published.
Colour version.
Nite Owl
As published.
Colour version.
Ozymandias
As published.
Colour version.
Richie Rich No. 39. Cover art by Warren Kremer.
Rorschach
As published.
Colour version.
Silk Spectre
As published.
Colour version.
Green Lantern No. 224 Cover by Gil Kane
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It was the end of Green Lantern's book as a generation of us knew it.
Green Lantern No. 117 Cover by Staton & Giordano
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This is where I came in and started collecting comics regularly. Joe Staton was evolving and developing into his first mature style. Denny O'Neil was still writing the book, but was close to his end of this period at DC. Jack C Harris oversaw an enjoyable period of Green Lantern that captivated at least me in my early teens.
Detective Comics No. 400 Cover by Neal Adams
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Certainly one of the more-interesting characters in the Batman Family is Kirk Langstrom as the Man-Bat.
But it would take a few years. He debuted in this issue, cover dated June 1970. While the interior art by Neal Adams & Dick Giordano is its usual good stuff, I never really liked Frank Robbins as a writer on Batman. This story comes off as unevenly paced and little more than a preamble. Later in the 70s, Langstrom would be shown as a younger man and his wife Francine would join the cast. Art by Michael Golden and Marshall Rogers is still memorable now.
Colour by me. No AI was used.
As published.
Original art scan from somewhere on the web.
Art made production ready.
New colour version.
Re-created trade dress added.
Outlaws of the West No. 16 Cover by Mastroserio & Masulli
General
While the signatures read (Rocco) Mastroserio and (Pat) Masulli, the information I have is that Masulli pencilled this and Mastroserio inked it. That seems to agree with my knowledge of Mastroserio's inking style.
Batman Family No. 7 Cover by Ernie Chan
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Batman Family was gaining steam and would soon expand to all-new material. For this issue they continued with Batgirl & Robin in a new story, and two reprints to fill out the page count.
This is a good example of the small-figure covers that Ernie Chan (credited as Ernie Chua) created for DC in the mid 1970s. Competently-drawn as usual, but whoever dictated this approach missed out on the energy Chan could bring to more dynamic compositions. In the next generation, George Pérez would demonstrate how you could do small figures and keep the excitement up.
Colour by me. No AI was used.
As published.
Original art scan from Heritage Auctions.
Art made production ready.
New colour version.
Re-created trade dress added.
Claw the Unconquered No. 3 Unpublished Cover by Chan & Dutton
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This was an interesting find. An unpublished version of Ernie Chan’s – then credited at DC Comics as Ernie Chua – cover for Claw the Unconquered No. 3 from the summer of 1975.
I think Chan’s body of work – especially the stuff he did for Marvel – was dynamic and exciting. But all too often at DC his cover figures were small, stiff, static and nowhere near showing the energy we remember him for.
Comparing the published version to the unpublished one here, this may help explain why. If the pencilled version was done first, that’s the Chan we know and love. Lots of life in Claw here. The published version is stiff and stylised. I’m guessing the layout was done by Carmine Infantino who – for whatever reason – rejected the pencilled version. Infantino was a superb designer and knew how to use geometric underpinning well in his own work. It didn’t mesh well with Chan’s more fluidic style though, and this is what we got.
So let’s see what the unpublished version might have looked like.
Inks, colours and updated trade dress by me. No AI was used.
As published. I suspect this version was done after a layout supplied by Carmine Infantino.
Original art scan of Chan’s pencils from somewhere on the web.
Inks by me.
Colour version.
Updated trade dress added.
Strange Suspense Stories No. 7 Cover by Jim Aparo
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Not a lot to say this time out. Another horror gem by Jim Aparo, who should have spent more of his career doing stuff like this.
Swamp v2 No. 25 Unpublished Cover by Cullins & Broderick
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Stephen Bissette & John Totleben were creating a new visual language for Swamp Thing and it was time for their work on the covers. And so they took over those duties with this issue. The consequence was that a separate cover by Paris Cullins and Pat Broderick went unpublished.
So here it is packaged as the comic it never got to wrap.
Colour and re-created trade dress by me.
As published.
Original art scan from Heritage Auctions
Art made production ready.
Colour version.
Re-created trade dress added.
Star Wars Weekly No. 7 Cover by Kane & DeZuniga
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In 1977, Star Wars was a phenomenon like no other, and Marvel on both sides of the Atlantic had the rights to produce comics that readers ate up by the millions.
Ghostly Haunts No. 52 Cover by Pat Boyette
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Just a demon going about his evil day accompanied by his pet bat Flappy. A wonderful painting by Pat Boyette on this issue of Ghostly Haunts.
The Human Fly No. 14 Cover by Lubbers & McLeod
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This cover for The Human Fly has a lot going for it.
The James Bond Books by Ian Fleming
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James Bond debuted in 1953's Casino Royale. Created and written by Ian Fleming, the character became a phenomenon during the spy craze of the 1960s.
DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest No. 20 Cover by Joe Orlando
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I have to say that as a teenager, I passed up buying this issue. I think a lot of young guys did, which is why this issue of gothic romance reprints of early 1970s material commands a high price on the collectors’ market now.
I appreciate this cover for the Joe Orlando art. He was a DC editor at the time, and I wish he’d been able to draw a lot more covers and stories. As a former EC guy, he had the chops.
This comic is notable to me for a Madame Xanadu pin-up by Michael Wm Kaluta. You’ll see it after the cover update.
Colour and updated trade dress by me.
Cover by Joe Orlando
As published.
Original art scan from Heritage Auctions.
Art made production ready.
New colour.
Re-created and updated trade dress added.
Back cover.
Front cover.
Madame Xanadu Pin-Up by Michael Wm Kaluta
Michael Wm Kaluta has been associated with Madame Xanadu from her first appearance in Doorway to Nightmare No. 1 in 1978.
In addition to the five Doorway covers and a Madame Xanadu one-shot that make up the character’s early appearances, Kaluta also contributed a pin-up to this issue.
The art is well-suited to being turned into a half-page ad for the return of DC’s anthology line.
The published pin-up in the digest.
Scan of Kaluta’s original art.
New colour.
House ad layout.
John Targitt Man-Stalker No. 2 Cover by Frank Thorne
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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.
World's Finest Comics No. 258 Cover by Adams & Giordano
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A standout wraparound cover from the mid Bronze Age. Front cover by Neal Adams, and the back by Dick Giordano.
Valley of the Dinosaurs No. 1 Harvey Classics Cover by Scott Jeralds
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In 1993, Jurassic Park was the biggest thing in American movies, and Harvey Comics acquired reprint rights to Hanna-Barbera's Valley of the Dinosaurs, originally published by Charlton Comics. I'm guessing they did that to generate some dino dollars of their own.
Super-Team Family No. 1 Cover by Chan & Giordano
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In 1975, DC created four new Giant comics around the concept of a family of related characters.
eBook: Dracula by Bram Stoker
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Dracula was first published in 1897 and has remained in print ever since.
Jonah Hex by Mike Manley
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Jonah Hex was an honourable character in the trappings of an anti-hero – he was a former Confederate soldier and he had hideous scars on one side of his face. People reacted to him with fear, but his morals didn't waver.
Batman Family No. 12 Cover by Jim Aparo
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Marshall Rogers was drawing the Man-Bat feature inside, and a member of The Sunset Gang – I kid you not – has used her Moon-Beam to take down Kirk Langstrom.
Land of the Lost by Arthur Adams
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More Land of the Lost, and Enik the Altrusian is one of the most-fascinating characters from the series.
Green Lantern No. 126 Cover by Dick Giordano
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The Shark was cold-blooded and ugly, and he had the upper hand in a fight with Green Lantern!
Buckaroo Banzai by Michael Wm Kaluta & Others
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Steve Mattsson is a great guy to work with, and he's a dedicated aficionado of the 1984 cult-favourite film The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension.
Blue Falcon & DynoMutt by Renato Arlem
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Designed by Alex Toth, this mix of Scooby-Doo and Batman 1966 still has its fans.
Green Lantern – Comic Crusader No. 10 Cover by Martin L Greim
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Fanzines were a big part of early organised fandom, and were proving grounds for young artists and writers.
eBook: Lost Horizon by James Hilton
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I've seen the movie with Ronald Colman probably a dozen times by now. Its central theme of exploring a way of living different to the Western capitalist life always appeals.
eBook: Christopher Syn by Russell Thorndike & William Buchanan
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I've always wanted to know a little more about this one. Christopher Syn was written by William Buchanan, with work on it begun in 1956, and it was published by now-defunct Abelard-Schuman, Inc. in 1960.
The Incredible Hulk No. 203 Cover by John Romita Sr
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Yesterday was the late John Romita Sr's birthday, and I did this cover colouring to celebrate that.
Captain America No. 103 Cover by Kirby & Shores
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The leering face of the Red Skull as he rejoices in tormenting Captain America and Sharon Carter.
Adventure Comics No. 467 Covers by Ditko, Cockrum, Giordano & Aparo
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Before Adventure Comics No. 467 finally reached the newsstands, it went through a few different packages.
DC Special Series No. 15 Batman Cover by Marshall Rogers
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Marshall Rogers sense of style and his superior ability to draw architecture took Batman in a fresh direction.
Star Trek Mirror Mirror No. 1 Cover by Bagley & Mahlstedt
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The 90s were a time of great change in American comics, and some truly horrendous colouring.
Wonder Woman No. 244 Cover by Buckler & Colletta
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By request, we have this Wonder Woman cover from June 1978. While many believe in good legislative process, there are those that would rather destroy it.
Green Lantern No. 122 Cover by Dick Giordano
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So Hal was dating the psychic Kari Limbo, who happened to be the comatose Guy Gardner's girl as well. And Hal and Kari were going to get married. But guess who wakes up and spoils the milk?
Captain America No. 241 Cover by Miller & McLeod
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The early Punisher tales had a darkness to them. I thought he was an interesting villain/anti-hero.
Secrets of Haunted House No. 5 Cover by Bernie Wrightson
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By the 1973 date in Wrightson's signature, I'm guessing this simple image sat in DC's inventory for the better part of three years while it waited to be used.
Captain America No. 163 Cover by Sal Buscema
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I think this was one of the comics my brother bought. He was more into Marvel than I was. As a young kid, one of the things I loathed about Marvel was that every story seemed "To Be Continued." I always liked a clean "The End."
The Silent Night of the Batman by Friedrich, Adams & Giordano
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Without a doubt, it's my favourite DC Christmas story, and it's right up there with my favourite Batman stories as well. Batman No. 219 was cover dated February 1970 and would have been on newsstands for Christmas 1969.