Forgotten Masterpiece: The Rats Capture Airboy

We're back with a look at the second part of the classic-but-mostly-forgotten storyline in which aviator Airboy battled the threat of super-intelligent rats waging war against humanity. It was a memorable two-part encounter, one that certainly made an impact on the readers of the say. By the time it was published in late 1948, interest … Continue reading Forgotten Masterpiece: The Rats Capture Airboy

Forgotten Masterpiece: Airboy Fights the Rats

As the 1940s were drawing to a close, a new genre was beginning to gain in popularity in the comic book field. This genre was horror, and it would only be a short time before EC Comics jumped on this growing interest to create some of the most memorable comic book stories of the period. … Continue reading Forgotten Masterpiece: Airboy Fights the Rats

Forgotten Masterpiece: SMASH COMICS #36 and the Death of Midnight

Quality Comics put out a wide variety of strong, solid material back during the Golden Age of Comics, much of which is largely forgotten today. But they maintained a strong house art style and a commitment to story that made their offerings among the most readable comics of the period. Today, we're going to look … Continue reading Forgotten Masterpiece: SMASH COMICS #36 and the Death of Midnight

Forgotten Masterpiece: BIG APPLE COMIX #1

Flo Steinberg came to the notice of comic book fandom during the early 1960s, during the initial flowering of what became the Marvel Age of Comics. As Marvel's corresponding secretary, she was, among other things, charged with answering the volumes of fan mail that came in for editor Stan Lee, and so the various active … Continue reading Forgotten Masterpiece: BIG APPLE COMIX #1

Forgotten Masterpiece: WINGS COMICS #94

Fiction House was one of the more successful comic book publishers of the Golden Age of Comics. They came into the field from pulp magazines, where they had an active line of titles every month. For the most part, Fiction House's comic book output mirrored their pulp magazines--often using the same title and even on … Continue reading Forgotten Masterpiece: WINGS COMICS #94

Forgotten Masterpiece: JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #46

One of the most remarkable storytellers in the history of comics was Bernard Krigstein. His work first came to prominence in the 1950s, when he worked for the illustrious EC Comics. Krigstein produced many notable stories for EC, but probably the best remembered was "Master Race", published in IMPACT #1. This story, in which a … Continue reading Forgotten Masterpiece: JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #46

Forgotten Masterpiece: MILITARY COMICS #1 and the Death Patrol

Quality Comics was one of the best publishers during the Golden Age of Comics, and true to their name, the quality level of all of their titles was high. In part, this was due to the fact that Will Eisner did editorial work for the early Quality line and helped to innovate a number of … Continue reading Forgotten Masterpiece: MILITARY COMICS #1 and the Death Patrol

Forgotten Masterpiece: FUNNYMAN #1

The basics are a familiar story to anybody who studies the history of comics. Young creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster sell the rights to their creation Superman to what would become DC/National Comics. As their ten-year contract to produce the strip was reaching its end and fearing that National wouldn't re-up it, the pair … Continue reading Forgotten Masterpiece: FUNNYMAN #1

Forgotten Masterpiece: When Brooklyn Was Superman

When the strip was first introduced (in the pages of DETECTIVE COMICS of all places), Joe Simon and Jack Kirby's Boy Commandos was an immediate sensation. Graduating into its own title several months later, the earliest issues of the series were among the best-selling that DC put out during that period--on a par with SUPERMAN … Continue reading Forgotten Masterpiece: When Brooklyn Was Superman

Forgotten Masterpiece: Scribbly Returns!

Sheldon Mayer is one of the most important figures in the Golden Age of Comics, though he's one that relatively few people have heard about. An obsessive cartoonist, Mayer broke into the business at a young age, in the era in which comic books were just starting out. For a time, he worked at the … Continue reading Forgotten Masterpiece: Scribbly Returns!