As we recounted in passing last time, the arrival of creator Joe Simon and Jack Kirby to the Sandman strip that had been running in the back pages of ADVENTURE COMICS swiftly turned it into a popular feature once again. The stories were much improved, with a thematic thread of dreams running through them all, … Continue reading The Last Sandman Story
The Sandman was introduced in NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR COMICS #1 and immediately became the featured player in ADVENTURE COMICS staring with #40. He was a character steeped in an old formula and clearly influenced by the radio hero the Green Hornet. Like the Hornet, his main weapon was a gas gun, and he battled … Continue reading The First Sandy Story and the Super-Heroification of the Sandman
Continuing at our look at CANCELLED COMIC CAVALCADE, the Xerox-printed compilation of material that DC Comics wrote off in teh wake of the 1978 "DC Implosion" which saw 40% of their line cancelled and a number of staff members laid off. These stories were reproduced in this fashion so that DC could continue to hold … Continue reading CANCELLED COMIC CAVALCADE #2: PREZ #5
A few years ago, I ran a piece on the first book-length comic book story ever produced. You can take a look at that page here: https://tombrevoort.com/2022/03/19/the-first-book-length-comic-book-story/ But as it turns out, I had overlooked something. Prior to ALL-FLASH COMICS #2, there had been at least one earlier book-length story produced. And it saw print … Continue reading The First Book Length Comic Book Story Redux
The advent of World War II and the patriotic fervor that hit the nation swiftly became a driving force behind comic books. It was clear almost immediately that young readers, with no other real way of engaging the enemy and helping with the battle effort, wanted to live those experiences vicariously through stories. Consequently, all … Continue reading The Other Captain America
As the Silver Age kicked off in the late 1950s, DC/National Comics wasn't the only publisher testing out the genre once again,. All throughout the decade, different publishers had attempted to find success with new costumed heroes with names like Captain Flash, the Avenger and Strong Man. And Archie Comics was no exception. Getting a … Continue reading Brand Echh: The Double Life of Private Strong #1
The very last story printed in CANCELLED COMIC CAVALCADE #1 was the story intended for a third issue of THE GREEN TEAM by Joe Simon and Jerry Grandenetti. As with the material from the previous issue which we looked at last week, this story also predates the period of the DC Implosion, with its roots … Continue reading CANCELLED COMIC CAVALCADE #1: THE GREEN TEAM #3
Here's another look at material that was collected in CANCELLED COMIC CAVALCADE #1, the first of two self-printed and bound issues of in-production comics that would never see print, done so as to insure the copyright to the material. Most of what was collected in these two volumes were victims of the DC Implosion that … Continue reading CANCELLED COMIC CAVALCADE #1: THE GREEN TEAM #2
The opening up of the Direct Sales marketplace, comprised of a string of independently-operated comic book specialty shops across the Nation and eventually the globe--offered up new promise in terms of the way in which comic books were sold. Up to this point, Comics were sold like any other periodical publication: a print run was … Continue reading Brand Echh: JCP Features the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #1
A week ago, I posted a feature in which writer Jerry Siegel and artist Paul Reinman revealed the secret origin of the Web, that 1960s-era costumed crusader who was "hen-pecked" by his wife Rosie and her mother to give up the super hero business and settle down to a regular life. https://tombrevoort.com/2022/12/17/brand-echh-mighty-comics-45/ I mentioned that … Continue reading ZIP COMICS #28 and the Origin of the Web
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