Here's another vintage newspaper article about comic books from the dawn of the Silver Age. This is the earliest such piece that we've run, and it's interesting to see the writer's attitude towards comic books--both the titles that he clearly remembers from his own youth and their scarcity in the present moment--that moment being August … Continue reading Vanishing Art Form…
One of the hugest steps forward for the growing popularity of the Man of Steel in his earliest years and the event that represents the apex of the Superman fad which opened the floodgates to dozens of similar costumed champions in the pages of dozens of comic books was the arrival of Superman on the … Continue reading SUPERMAN: MATINEE IDOL Times Three
It became one of the hallmarks of the new Marvel line of super heroes to have characters from different series casually crossing over and encountering one another. But that wasn't a new thing for editor Stan Lee, who had been using such stories to cross-promote other titles in the proto-Marvel line. This story from PATSY … Continue reading Patsy Walker Meets Kid Colt
What is the rarest Superman comic book in existence? That's a question that would invite a great deal of debate. But there's some compelling evidence to indicate that it may be this one. This Superman custom comic book had a print run of only around 200 copies total, and was distributed to an incredibly select … Continue reading Superman: This Island Bradman
it cannot be overstated how much of an impact the 1950s ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN had in keeping both the character and the entire comic book business alive and vibrant throughout that decade and the next. While the Man of Steel was a red-hot fad at the start of the 1940s when he first burst onto … Continue reading TV Guide: How They Make Superman Fly
It's one of the great lost pieces of Superman Americana. For three months in 1966, actor Bob Holiday starred as the Man of Steel in 129 performances of the Broadway musical It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman. While a cast recording was made and is readily available today, and a few promotional appearances … Continue reading It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Superman 1966 Souvenir Program
Wrapping up our look at the first SUPERHERO MERCHANDISE catalog that was put together by Ivan Snyder for his mail order operation that eventually transformed into HEROES WORLD. This is the section that transitioned more into published work, books on comics and back issues and the like. And it's worth pointing out that, in 1976, … Continue reading SUPERHERO MERCHANDISE Catalog, Part Three
For no discernable reason that I can figure out, there's been a sudden burst of interest in this obscure Marvel item from 1979--people are amazed that such a thing exists, and want to know more. Well, rest assured, those of us who were around in 1979 for its release were just as befuddled by it … Continue reading The Incredible Hulk & The Amazing Spider-Man: The Gamma Gambit
Here's the second part of our look at the first SUPERHERO MERCHANDISE catalog, put together for entrepreneur Ivan Snyder by several moonlighting freelancers from Marvel and available through the mail. SUPERHERO MERCHANDISE eventually transformed into being HEROES WORLD, an outlet of which was the very first comic book store that I ever encountered, so I … Continue reading SUPERHERO MERCHANDISE Catalog #1, Part Two
Now, this is a fun little Easter Egg, although I'm not quite certain who it was intended for. It may simply have been editor Stan Lee amusing himself, as he sometimes did in the girl humor titles. In any event, those books operated in a loose quasi-relationship with one another that was almost a precursor … Continue reading When Kathy Met Patsy Walker
The Tom Brevoort Experience 