How badass were those early Defenders? Dr. Strange, Hulk, Silver Surfer, Submariner ... man, that is a lot of firepower.
That line up was the toughest Marvel Team maybe ever. That group of characters is why I love The Defenders. It was like Stan Lee said "Picture this we need a team that nobody can out punch ever"; then he jumped off a desk and cartwheeled back to his office.
Here's the cover to Defenders #26 (August, 1975) featuring the Defenders in all their Avengers-esque "floating heads" glory watching the original Guardians of the Galaxy trying to escape the Baddoon. One of my all-time favorite story arcs. Cover by Jazzy John Romita.
Here's the cover to Defenders #26 (August, 1975) featuring the Defenders in all their Avengers-esque "floating heads" glory watching the original Guardians of the Galaxy trying to escape the Baddoon. One of my all-time favorite story arcs. Cover by Jazzy John Romita.
I see Romita's inking for sure, and maybe he drew the heads at the top... but the rest of the image sure looks like Gil Kane to me.
Maurer also worked in animation, as executive producer of—you guessed it—The New Three Stooges—and later worked at Hanna-Barbera as a writer and as the creator and executive producer of The Three Robonic Stooges.
The Three Robonic Stooges was instrumental in my development, during my formative years.
So I've been catching up on Hawkeye (yes, I'm so far behind on my reading that I'm behind on Hawkeye), and it got me thinking about other archer superheroes. With that in mind, here is the cover of Funny Pages vol. 4, #1 (Jan. 1940) by Paul Gustavson, featuring the first archer superhero, The Arrow. The Arrow first appeared in Funny Pages vol. 2, #10 (Sept. 1938), making him not only the first archer superhero, but the third superhero in comics (after The Clock and Superman). I chose this particular cover because it was in the Golden Age of Comic Books (1937–1945) which I read as a kid (and because it’s a cool cover).
One of my favorite covers. I'd always thought Mike Esposito had inked this one... though I do see Romita's touch on several of the faces. Maybe I was mistaken... although Romita did a lot of touch-ups on covers during this period.
Here’s an archer hero I don't know much about other than the mythological story on which she is based: Diana the Huntress. Diana appeared in Charlton’s Yellowjacket Comics throughout its 10-issue run. She’s sent by Zeus to protect Greece from the Nazis, and she gets help from some of the other Greek gods along the way. This cover for Yellowjacket Comics #6 (Dec. 1945) was drawn by Ken Battefield and features the closest thing to a cover appearance Diana ever received.
Battefield, by the way, helped Carmine Infantino get his first job in comics. Carmine had had to turn down a job before, because his parents wouldn't let him quit school, but once Carmine was ready to work, he had a chance meeting with Battefield. Carmine was eating at a diner, reading a comic book, and Battefield sat down beside him and told him he worked for Harry Chesler. Battefield took Carmine to Chesler's shop, and Chesler paid Carmine five dollars a week just to come up and watch the artists work and learn. Chesler had a pretty lousy reputation in the business, but evidently he had a soft spot for kids, because he had done the same thing for Joe Kubert before Carmine came along.
Battefield started out with Fawcett in 1940 drawing the “Devil’s Dagger” feature. He was a pretty average artist, but he stuck around until 1960 working for a number of publishers, but mostly for Charlton.
Like his fellow Quality Comics character, The Marksman was a Polish resistance fighter. But rather than fighting Nazis in the air, The Marksman took them on with his bow and arrow. His feature ran for just over two years in the pages of Smash Comics, but he never received more than a floating head cover appearance. I picked Smash Comics #36 (Oct. 1942) because of the fantastic Reed Crandall drawing of Midnight, the main feature of the book.
1978 Terry Austin and Dave Cockrum notes about Dr Don Blake: 1. he's been working out. 2. that's not how you do CPR, 3. that's not where Hawkeye's heart is
Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane #80 January, 1968 Cover pencils by Curt Swan, inks by Neal Adams.
"Lois Lane, tired of her fruitless quest to marry Superman, leaves Metropolis and the Daily Planet. Under the name "Lois Lorne", she finds a job as a nurse at a hospital near a U.S. rocket site, and finds new romance with an astronaut—Commander Rand Kirby."
Another archer and another Quality hero, The Spider appeared in the “Alias the Spider” feature in the first 30 issues of Crack Comics. Like The Marksman, he was never featured on a cover except as a floating head. GCD has this cover for Crack Comics #20 (Jan. 1942) tentatively attributed to Gill Fox, but I'm pretty sure it’s not Fox. Judging by the way the hands are drawn and Black Condor's face, it looks to me like Lou Fine. The inking isn't his usual style, but the figures certainly look like him.
Geoff Johns later retconned The Spider as a substitute for Green Arrow in the Seven Soldiers of Victory. But this version of The Spider was actually a villain in hero’s clothing who betrayed the team.
Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane #80 January, 1968 Cover pencils by Curt Swan, inks by Neal Adams.
"Lois Lane, tired of her fruitless quest to marry Superman, leaves Metropolis and the Daily Planet. Under the name "Lois Lorne", she finds a job as a nurse at a hospital near a U.S. rocket site, and finds new romance with an astronaut—Commander Rand Kirby."
I love that she had to change her name, like superman was a crazy stalker ex husband and she was Julia Roberts.
Another archer and another Quality hero, The Spider appeared in the “Alias the Spider” feature in the first 30 issues of Crack Comics. Like The Marksman, he was never featured on a cover except as a floating head. GCD has this cover for Crack Comics #20 (Jan. 1942) tentatively attributed to Gill Fox, but I'm pretty sure it’s not Fox. Judging by the way the hands are drawn and Black Condor's face, it looks to me like Lou Fine. The inking isn't his usual style, but the figures certainly look like him.
Geoff Johns later retconned The Spider as a substitute for Green Arrow in the Seven Soldiers of Victory. But this version of The Spider was actually a villain in hero’s clothing who betrayed the team.
Comments
:D
As a kid I had three of the Marvel school folders and this was one of them.
Battefield, by the way, helped Carmine Infantino get his first job in comics. Carmine had had to turn down a job before, because his parents wouldn't let him quit school, but once Carmine was ready to work, he had a chance meeting with Battefield. Carmine was eating at a diner, reading a comic book, and Battefield sat down beside him and told him he worked for Harry Chesler. Battefield took Carmine to Chesler's shop, and Chesler paid Carmine five dollars a week just to come up and watch the artists work and learn. Chesler had a pretty lousy reputation in the business, but evidently he had a soft spot for kids, because he had done the same thing for Joe Kubert before Carmine came along.
Battefield started out with Fawcett in 1940 drawing the “Devil’s Dagger” feature. He was a pretty average artist, but he stuck around until 1960 working for a number of publishers, but mostly for Charlton.
notes about Dr Don Blake: 1. he's been working out. 2. that's not how you do CPR, 3. that's not where Hawkeye's heart is
January, 1968
Cover pencils by Curt Swan, inks by Neal Adams.
"Lois Lane, tired of her fruitless quest to marry Superman, leaves Metropolis and the Daily Planet. Under the name "Lois Lorne", she finds a job as a nurse at a hospital near a U.S. rocket site, and finds new romance with an astronaut—Commander Rand Kirby."
Geoff Johns later retconned The Spider as a substitute for Green Arrow in the Seven Soldiers of Victory. But this version of The Spider was actually a villain in hero’s clothing who betrayed the team.
Oh yeah. That's a really nice dress, Lois. Seriously.
I need to own this issue.