Irwin Donenfeld was the publisher and editorial director of DC Comics (then known as National Comics and National Periodical Publications) for most of the 1950s and 1960s. Irwin was the son of the firm's founder and majority owner Harry Donenfeld, and he was groomed from a young age to play a role in the family … Continue reading The Sales Figures of DC’s Irwin Donenfeld
Superman has been with us for more that 80 years at this point. He's become an icon, he was the flash-point for the success of an entire industry and he set the standard and the style for the myriad of costumed super heroes who would come after him. He's been the subject of a myriad … Continue reading The Greatest Superman Story Ever Told
A post from my Marvel blog of long ago, part of a series discussing my early Marvel purchases which failed to make me a fan. Bad Comics I Bought pt. 4 April 28, 2007 | 1:00 AM | By Tom_Brevoort | In General Continuing our exploration of Marvel books I sampled in the 70s but … Continue reading Blah Blah Blog – Bad Comics I Bought, Part Four
https://youtu.be/CfCI_B47Ox4 Another new bit of video content, this time showcasing my selections for the five best single issue comic books released during the year 1974.
This issue of ACTION COMICS was heavily advertised in DC house ads in the weeks leading up to its release, and so I was prepared for it to show up on the spinner rack at my local 7-11. And as you'd expect, it was being promoted as the for-real, no-fooling story of Superman marrying Lois … Continue reading BHOC: ACTION COMICS #484
Saw this cover the other day for the first time since it was originally published and was struck by how simple and how powerful the image here is. It's really a case where less is more, and the juxtaposition of the background American flag and the burning Superman cape forge an inescapable connection. Great use … Continue reading Great Covers: SUPERMAN #145
The fannish desire for a unified field theory of fictional comic book universes is strong, and a fun game to play--especially when considering meetings between characters at rival publishing houses, characters who in all likelihood will never get to interact on the page (or at least not in the way the fans might desire.) Some … Continue reading 5BC: Five More Times Marvel Referenced DC Characters In Interesting Ways
While as we've seen, Marvel was relatively quick to begin to self-mythologize its creative staff and editorial Bullpen, rival publisher DC (then known as National Periodical Publications in an attempt to disguise the fact that they published evil comic books in the aftermath of the senate hearings) wasn't as quick to follow suit. Even creator … Continue reading 5BC: Five Times DC Self-Mythologized
Here was another regular issue of SUPERMAN that I bought during one of my weekly Thursday 7-11 new comics drop-ins. It's not a wonderfully drawn cover, for all that the purple background does help it to pop. But for some reason, the reproduction on a lot of DC's covers in this period was muddy, with … Continue reading BHOC: SUPERMAN #324
This was the fourth chapter in Superman's clash with the super-powered android Amazo, a conflict designed as the backdrop through which to introduce a new and marketable new piece of Kryptonian lore to the mythos: the Supermobile. Having accomplished that over the past two issues, it was time to get this story wrapped up this … Continue reading BHOC: ACTION COMICS #483
