The Spirit Section was a stand-along comic book circular that was syndicated to newspapers all across the country that could be included with the rest of their Sunday editions. It was designed to be a pushback against the rising popularity of comic books--comics, "funny pages", had long been a sales driver for newspapers. So the … Continue reading Lost Crossovers: The Spirit Section, December 28, 1941
Tag: Bob Powell
5BC: Five Terrible Marvel Super Hero Costume Redesigns
The world of super heroes is never a stationary place, despite feelings among certain fans that nothing ever seems to change. And primary among the places where alteration can be seen is in the attire of classic characters. Giving a lagging hero a costume redesign can sometimes enhance their appeal and help carry them to … Continue reading 5BC: Five Terrible Marvel Super Hero Costume Redesigns
WC: STRANGE TALES #129
This was the last issue of STRANGE TALES that I had gotten in the box of Silver Age comics that made up my Windfall purchase in 1988. As we've spoken about before, the series felt more and more like an afterthought, one that simply wasn't as important to the line as books like FANTASTIC FOUR, … Continue reading WC: STRANGE TALES #129
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: EL SORPRENDENTE HOMBRE ARANA #153 and DAREDEVIL #9
People certainly seemed to be interested in my earlier story about the assorted Spider-Man stories that were crafted for the voracious marketplace in Mexico in the early 1970s and which have not been translated or reprinted in English. So let's take a look at another one, since I happen to have a stack of these … Continue reading Forgotten Masterpiece: EL SORPRENDENTE HOMBRE ARANA #153 and DAREDEVIL #9
Brand Echh – Sick #42
Joe Simon was the editor of SICK magazine, one of the assorted knock-offs of the extremely popular MAD that crowded the newsstands in the late 1950s and 1960s. Simon had largely moved away from his involvement in the comic book field, though around the time this issue was being worked on, he had been drafted … Continue reading Brand Echh – Sick #42
The Short Career of Atoma
The Golden Age of Comics is littered with one-hit wonders, characters who appeared a single time and then vanished into obscurity, only known to those of us who bother to excavate these disposable treasures of yesteryear. Sometimes, some pretty innovative work was done on these stories, which is why it pays to bring them to … Continue reading The Short Career of Atoma
THE LAST MAN
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








