With only a few hours left, I have to burn off the rest of my Halloween covers.
This says Monster Comics on the cover, so I'm counting it.
The scary thing here is that people keep forgetting that Betty Boop is supposed to be like 14.
Really? Originally, she was a "flapper" who hung out in "speakeasies", at least I thought so. Who the hell knows what those crazy rubber-legged characters were up to.
With only a few hours left, I have to burn off the rest of my Halloween covers.
This says Monster Comics on the cover, so I'm counting it.
The scary thing here is that people keep forgetting that Betty Boop is supposed to be like 14.
Really? Originally, she was a "flapper" who hung out in "speakeasies", at least I thought so. Who the hell knows what those crazy rubber-legged characters were up to.
According to Fleischer himself, in her first cartoons she's 16. But that changed after the Production Code of 1934. After that point, she was clearly depicted as an adult.
Let’s see, where was I? Oh, yes, 1978—Kirby’s final year as a full-time comic book artist. Going into the year, Kirby was down to one bi-monthly title—Black Panther—along with the covers for Invaders. He debuted (and ended) two new series though, Devil Dinosaur and Machine Man (spinning out of the pages of 2001). Both lasted only nine isses, ending with Kirby’s departure for the greener pastures of animation. Kirby wasn’t entirely done with comics, but it would be a few years before he'd draw sequential art again. Here’s Devil Dinosaur #1 (Apr. 1978), inks by Frank Giacoia.
Let’s see, where was I? Oh, yes, 1978—Kirby’s final year as a full-time comic book artist. Going into the year, Kirby was down to one bi-monthly title—Black Panther—along with the covers for Invaders. He debuted (and ended) two new series though, Devil Dinosaur and Machine Man (spinning out of the pages of 2001). Both lasted only nine isses, ending with Kirby’s departure for the greener pastures of animation. Kirby wasn’t entirely done with comics, but it would be a few years before he'd draw sequential art again. Here’s Devil Dinosaur #1 (Apr. 1978), inks by Frank Giacoia.
Great cover! Very weird series, both of them.
For the sake of accuracy, Machine Man actually lasted longer than 9 issues, but that’s when Jack’s tenure ended in the book and it went on a 9 month hiatus. Machine Man appeared next in a three issue story arc within the pages of The Incredible Hulk #235–237 (my introduction to MM). The series then relaunched with issue #10, with Marv Wolfman coming aboard as the new writer, partnered with artist Steve Ditko, which helped set a different tone from Kirby's previous stories. Issue 15 saw a new writer, Tom DeFalco, taking over the writing chores. The title lasted until issue #19, finally ending in February 1980.
Let’s see, where was I? Oh, yes, 1978—Kirby’s final year as a full-time comic book artist. Going into the year, Kirby was down to one bi-monthly title—Black Panther—along with the covers for Invaders. He debuted (and ended) two new series though, Devil Dinosaur and Machine Man (spinning out of the pages of 2001). Both lasted only nine isses, ending with Kirby’s departure for the greener pastures of animation. Kirby wasn’t entirely done with comics, but it would be a few years before he'd draw sequential art again. Here’s Devil Dinosaur #1 (Apr. 1978), inks by Frank Giacoia.
Great cover! Very weird series, both of them.
For the sake of accuracy, Machine Man actually lasted longer than 9 issues, but that’s when Jack’s tenure ended in the book and it went on a 9 month hiatus. Machine Man appeared next in a three issue story arc within the pages of The Incredible Hulk #235–237 (my introduction to MM). The series then relaunched with issue #10, with Marv Wolfman coming aboard as the new writer, partnered with artist Steve Ditko, which helped set a different tone from Kirby's previous stories. Issue 15 saw a new writer, Tom DeFalco, taking over the writing chores. The title lasted until issue #19, finally ending in February 1980.
I don't think they thought about books in terms of being on hiatus back then. I doubt when they cancelled the title they knew for sure they were going to bring it back nine months later. I think the Hulk story was something of a test drive to see if the character still had legs. I mean, Black Panther kept on going with a new creative team stepping in right after Kirby left the book, lasting until May 1979.
Oh? When did extended hiatuses begin? All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder? LOL.
I’m going to stick to my original MM response for accuracy’s sake (and since I also own the full run & the epic collection tpb which contains all of the 19 MM issues I mentioned, along with the 3 Hulk issues).
The idea of hiatuses came well after the introduction of the direct market. Publishers didn’t dare miss a newsstand distribution deadline—you might lose your spot on the racks and you would get killed on late fees. Whether Marvel intended to relaunch Machine Man or not, officially they would have told the distributor that the book was cancelled, so that they could replace that spot on the rack with another of their titles and, most importantly, so they wouldn't keep getting hit with late fees by the distributor.
I have no idea what book was the first to go on hiatus, but I would bet good money it was an indie book. Miracleman had a pretty loose schedule, often going several months between issues, especially after Gaiman took over the writing. There was a year break between issues 23 and 24. I doubt it was the first, though.
Let’s see, where was I? Oh, yes, 1978—Kirby’s final year as a full-time comic book artist. Going into the year, Kirby was down to one bi-monthly title—Black Panther—along with the covers for Invaders. He debuted (and ended) two new series though, Devil Dinosaur and Machine Man (spinning out of the pages of 2001). Both lasted only nine isses, ending with Kirby’s departure for the greener pastures of animation. Kirby wasn’t entirely done with comics, but it would be a few years before he'd draw sequential art again. Here’s Devil Dinosaur #1 (Apr. 1978), inks by Frank Giacoia.
I love that cover, but I didn't like that series. My favorite use of Devil Dinosaur is probably Nextwave.
Let’s see, where was I? Oh, yes, 1978—Kirby’s final year as a full-time comic book artist. Going into the year, Kirby was down to one bi-monthly title—Black Panther—along with the covers for Invaders. He debuted (and ended) two new series though, Devil Dinosaur and Machine Man (spinning out of the pages of 2001). Both lasted only nine isses, ending with Kirby’s departure for the greener pastures of animation. Kirby wasn’t entirely done with comics, but it would be a few years before he'd draw sequential art again. Here’s Devil Dinosaur #1 (Apr. 1978), inks by Frank Giacoia.
I love that cover, but I didn't like that series. My favorite use of Devil Dinosaur is probably Nextwave.
Yeah, the series had moments, but overall wasn’t that great. But some of the two-page spreads in those issues are pop-art masterpieces. The Kirby Museum helped put on a Kirby exhibit out in California last year or the year before (and they’ve done it elsewhere since), and had a couple of the DD spreads—scans of the original art—blown up really big, like six or seven feet wide. I didn’t get to see it in person, but the photos from that were awesome.
Feb. 1955: It's been a while since I did one of these, but back to the month-by-month covers. This time it’s A-1 #129, a.k.a. The Avenger #1, penciled and inked by Bob Powell. The Avenger marked Magazine Enterprises’ last attempt at relaunching a superhero line. The A-1 title alternated between The Avenger and Strong Man for six issues before reverting back to the title’s regular fare for three issues, and finally one last issue each of The Avenger and Strong Man before the title was cancelled and the Avenger faded into obscurity.
While the first issue of The Avenger was drawn entirely by Dick Ayers (except the cover, of course), Bob Powell drew most of the stories thereafter. Born Stanley Robert Pawlowski in 1916, Powell began working in the comic industry in the late ’30s in the Eisner & Iger Shop. He drew a little bit of everything in those days, but specialized in jungle girls, particularly the “Sheena” feature. When Eisner left to form his own studio, Powell was one of the artists he took with him. There Powell co-wrote the first “Blackhawk” story and drew the Mr. Mystic strip for the Spirit section among other things. He entered the Air Force in 1943, and after the war formed his own studio doing work for several publishers. In 1961 Powell became the art director of Sick magazine, but he continued doing freelance work as well. One of his best known projects was the 1962 Mars Attacks trading card series, for which he did finished pencils over Wally Wood’s layouts. And, of course, he did several jobs for Marvel, including doing layouts for the last three issues of Daredevil that Wally Wood penciled. Powell died in 1967, just a few days shy of his 51st birthday.
Comments
One of my all-time favorite series (at least those first 20 issues, anyway)
For the sake of accuracy, Machine Man actually lasted longer than 9 issues, but that’s when Jack’s tenure ended in the book and it went on a 9 month hiatus. Machine Man appeared next in a three issue story arc within the pages of The Incredible Hulk #235–237 (my introduction to MM). The series then relaunched with issue #10, with Marv Wolfman coming aboard as the new writer, partnered with artist Steve Ditko, which helped set a different tone from Kirby's previous stories. Issue 15 saw a new writer, Tom DeFalco, taking over the writing chores. The title lasted until issue #19, finally ending in February 1980.
I’m going to stick to my original MM response for accuracy’s sake (and since I also own the full run & the epic collection tpb which contains all of the 19 MM issues I mentioned, along with the 3 Hulk issues).
I have no idea what book was the first to go on hiatus, but I would bet good money it was an indie book. Miracleman had a pretty loose schedule, often going several months between issues, especially after Gaiman took over the writing. There was a year break between issues 23 and 24. I doubt it was the first, though.
While the first issue of The Avenger was drawn entirely by Dick Ayers (except the cover, of course), Bob Powell drew most of the stories thereafter. Born Stanley Robert Pawlowski in 1916, Powell began working in the comic industry in the late ’30s in the Eisner & Iger Shop. He drew a little bit of everything in those days, but specialized in jungle girls, particularly the “Sheena” feature. When Eisner left to form his own studio, Powell was one of the artists he took with him. There Powell co-wrote the first “Blackhawk” story and drew the Mr. Mystic strip for the Spirit section among other things. He entered the Air Force in 1943, and after the war formed his own studio doing work for several publishers. In 1961 Powell became the art director of Sick magazine, but he continued doing freelance work as well. One of his best known projects was the 1962 Mars Attacks trading card series, for which he did finished pencils over Wally Wood’s layouts. And, of course, he did several jobs for Marvel, including doing layouts for the last three issues of Daredevil that Wally Wood penciled. Powell died in 1967, just a few days shy of his 51st birthday.