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!
By the middle of the 1960s, Dell, once the leader in the field, was battling for market share and audience attention. Their split from Western Publishing had caused them to lose most of their creative staff as well as a number of licenses, and so the quality of their output had seriously dipped. Dell continued … Continue reading Brand Echh: Dr. Who and the Daleks
It turns out that I made an error a while ago when I covered JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #15, indicating that it was the oldest of the JLA issues that I wound up with in my Windfall Comics purchase of 1988. Because in actuality, that was this book, JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #6. So we'll … Continue reading WC: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #6
As super heroes began to take hold of the comic book marketplace at the beginning of the 1960s, all sorts of different publishers stepped up to provide their own take on series featuring costumed do-gooders. One of the best-remembered was MAGNUS, ROBOT FIGHTER (though today most readers may be more familiar with the character in … Continue reading Brand Echh: Magnus, Robot Fighter #1
One of the most spectacular misfires in the history of comics, NEUTRO lasted only a single issue, released by Dell at the tail end of the super hero fad and attempting like so many others did to cash in on the sudden heat of that genre. It's debatable whether this colossal shaggy dog story even … Continue reading Brand Echh: Neutro #1
Just as with Jimmy Olsen, whose title we covered here a few weeks ago, so too was Lois Lane popular enough throughout the 1960s to headline a series all her won. This is thinks in no small part, I expect, to the portrayal of actress Noel Neill in the ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN television series, which … Continue reading WC: SUPERMAN’S GIRL FRIEND LOIS LANE #24
We've covered this point many times in this feature, but just to set the stage once more: by the mid-1960s, the super hero fad in comic book publishing had grown into a nationwide obsession thanks to the appeal of the BATMAN live action television series, which premiered on January 12, 1966. Super heroes as a … Continue reading Brand Echh: Werewolf #1
When I was a kid, Green Lantern was my second favorite super hero, right behind the Flash (just as he was right behind the Scarlet Speedster in those days, when his strip was a back-up in FLASH.) This despite the fact that somehow, the character conception is nonsense. Green lantern--it's such a weird name for … Continue reading WC: GREEN LANTERN #7
The 1960s was a time of social change, as the fight for Civil Rights for black Americans was constantly in the headlines of the era. Marvel gets (and takes) big props for their progressiveness in introducing the Black Panther, a dark-skinned super hero, in FANTASTIC FOUR in 1966--and in fairness, that was still an accomplishment … Continue reading Brand Echh: Lobo #1
In the 1960s, one of the factors that enabled DC/National Comics to become the best-selling comic book publisher of the era was the shattering of Dell Comics. Dell had been a powerhouse in the field for more than a decade, far and away the best-selling comics company--a company whose wares were so known and trusted … Continue reading Brand Echh: Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom #5
The Tom Brevoort Experience 