The Second Atom Story

By 1940, the newsstands of the nation were filling up with stories of all-new superhuman champions. Superman had set off a flood of imitators, and costumed characters were clearly a bit of a gold mine. Not all of them were great, some of them were downright bizarre, and many wouldn't last the test of time. … Continue reading The Second Atom Story

The Second Green Lantern Story

As comic books entered teh 1940s, it became apparent to publishers that the thing that was really driving sales to kids, at least right at that moment, was super heroes. Larger-than-life costumed do-gooders dressed in outlandish costumes. Superman had shown the way, and every pulp publisher with two nickels to rub together began following suit. … Continue reading The Second Green Lantern Story

Lost Crossovers: FLASH COMICS #77

While Golden Age publishers in general were relatively averse to having the stars of their assorted strips meet and team up on any sort of regular basis, the folks at DC/National Comics were a little bit more open to the idea of an occasional appearance or reference. Especially when it came to the features and … Continue reading Lost Crossovers: FLASH COMICS #77

Forgotten Masterpiece: Scribbly Returns!

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!

The First Book Length Comic Book Story

Not all that long ago, we looked at the first Book-Length story to appear in SUPERMAN, a link to which is posted below. https://tombrevoort.com/2021/12/29/the-first-book-length-superman-adventure/ But working on it got me thinking: what was the first Book Length story to appear in comic books at all? The answer is a little bit complicated, and depends on … Continue reading The First Book Length Comic Book Story

More of the Sales Figures of DC’s Irwin Donenfeld

After the piece we ran a couple of weeks back on former DC publisher Irwin Donenfeld's big book where he would chart the sales figures of the various DC titles on an issue-by-issue basis in an attempt to ascertain what elements might make a given issue of a comic book sell better, a bunch of … Continue reading More of the Sales Figures of DC’s Irwin Donenfeld

Comics Creators in the Wild 2

Well it just goes to show: you never know what is going to resonate with an audience. Last week's kickoff installment of Comics Creators in the Wild received more notices and attention than I ever would have thought it would. So that being the case, I figured I ought to follow up on it sooner … Continue reading Comics Creators in the Wild 2

BHOC: FAMOUS 1st EDITION #F-7

Now, this is a comic book that I loved–so much so that my home had two copies of this Treasury Edition (one was bought for my brother at some point after I had gotten mine.) ALL-STAR COMICS #3, the first meeting of the Justice Society of America. I love this book so much that I … Continue reading BHOC: FAMOUS 1st EDITION #F-7