YELLOW CLAW was one of the strangest series published by Marvel, then Atlas, in the 1950s. it feels like a throwback to an earlier time, an era when "yellow peril" adventure stories about Dr. Fu Manchu and his many knock-offs were big business in the pulp magazines of the day. Having done a little bit … Continue reading The First Marvel Mutants
Just as DC/National Comics and other outfits were still dabbling with super hero characters as the 1940s transitioned into teh 1950s, the same was true of Timely Comics, which would one day become Marvel. The firm has lasting success with three characters throughout the 1940s: the Human Torch, the Sub-Mariner and Captain America. But all … Continue reading The First Silver Age Marvel Super Hero
This cover to WYATT EARP #6 by Bill Everett is cool in terms of just how much of a story it tells in a single image. It's got a good use to spotted blacks to draw the eye to Wyatt's face and head in the center of the cover. From there, his gaze carries the … Continue reading Great Covers: WYATT EARP #6
A fantastic 1954 cover by the terrific Russ Heath for an issue of WESTERN OUTLAWS. It's an amazing piece of work in that Heath uses the reflection in the mirror behind the central gunman to fill in the gaps of the narrative--this single illustration delivers a complete story of action and reaction. Heath's fine linework … Continue reading Great Covers: WESTERN OUTLAWS #3
Here's a weird little throwback adventure, one that some have theorized might have represented an earlier unpublished Sub-Mariner adventure being burned off, but that I think simply amounts to something of an inside joke. In this 1956 premiere issue of ADVENTURE INTO MYSTERY, there's a short 4-page story drawn by Tony Mortellaro about an undersea … Continue reading The Last Gasp of the Sub-Mariner
EC Comics were never the biggest sellers even during their heyday, but they were consistently the market leader in terms of the quality of the material they were routinely putting out and the manner in which they attracted a dedicated audience of somewhat-older readers. There's a reason why those five years' worth of EC Comics … Continue reading THE LAST MAN
The Tom Brevoort Experience 