You never know what's going to turn up, even so many decades after the fact. Over at the Heritage Auction site, they have a variety of offerings on display for an upcoming auction dedicated to original comic book artwork. https://comics.ha.com/c/search/results.zx?dept=1938&mode=live&auction_name=7468 And among the many treasures that can be seen there are the unused pencils for … Continue reading SUPERMAN #43: The Lost Pencils of Joe Shuster
Jim Shooter, who had been the Editor in Chief and main creative driver of the Valiant super hero universe didn't last for very long with the company following the UNITY crossover. Not to get into any of the specifics of his departure, about which assorted parties have very different recollections, the key factor germane to … Continue reading Brand Echh: RAI #0
The VALIANT line of interconnected super hero titles were really the successors to Marvel's New Universe efforts. They evidenced a similarity of ethos, though they were both better conceived and better produced for the most part--and thus were a lot more successful. Whether this was due to Valiant EIC and lead writer Jim Shooter having … Continue reading Brand Echh: MAGNUS, ROBOT FIGHTER #1
The last of the four Tempo DC paperbacks that I wound up buying was this one dedicated to WORLD'S FINEST and the team-ups between Superman and Batman. Again here, I can't quite explain this purchase apart from it probably being an acquisition of opportunity: some point at which the number of available options was limited … Continue reading BHOC: WORLD’S FINEST Tempo Paperback
The third Tempo paperback that I wound up buying was dedicated to the adventures of Superboy and the futuristic Legion of Super-Heroes. I seem to think that I got this book at a short-lived convenience store that operated in the local supermarket mall for a short time called Shanes. I had never entirely clicked to … Continue reading BHOC: SUPERBOY & THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES Tempo Paperback
I'm not 100% certain who I borrowed this issue of BATMAN from. it might have been my grade school friend Donald Sims as with most of the books that we've been looking at recently. But I suspect that it was actually my next-door-neighbor Johnny Rantinella. Johnny was a year younger than I was and a … Continue reading BC: BATMAN #257
It cannot be overstated just how amazing an impact was made by writer Alan Moore on comic books. He came along at exactly the right time, just as the Direct Sales Market was making it possible to do comic book stories with greater sophistication for a somewhat older audience. It was a rare thing for … Continue reading Perfect Game – SUPERMAN #423
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
Like the Green Arrow who we talked about last week, Aquaman was another of three features created to fill the back pages of the ailing MORE FUN COMICS and hopefully reverse its fortunes by creating some additional reader interest. The Sea King was the brainchild of newly-hired editor Mort Weisinger, who collaborated with artist Paul … Continue reading The Second Aquaman Story
When editor Mort Weisinger was first hired by DC Comics (then Detective Comics Inc) in 1941, one of the first tasks he was given was to improve the fortunes of one of the firm's longest-running titles, MORE FUN COMICS. The popularity of headliner characters Doctor Fate and Jerry Siegel's The Spectre were lagging behind the … Continue reading The Second Green Arrow Story
The Tom Brevoort Experience 