Feb. 1951: This month it’s Warren Kremer’s cover to Web of Mystery #1. I talked a little about Kremer back in the June 1946 entry, but this cover was done for Ace, which is where Kremer did the majority of his early comics work. By this time he had started doing some work for Harvey as well, which is where he would make his name. In fact, he’d be exclusive with Harvey by the end of this year. But during this transition period, he turned in some of his best work for Ace, this cover being a prime example.
Mar. 1951: I know I’ve talked about the prominence of westerns and Native Americans in comics during this period, but this month there were six (!) titles with Native Americans as the cover feature/lead character: Apache #1, Apache Kid #3, Long Bow #1, Prize Comics Western #86 (featuring American Eagle), Red Warrior #2—and Indian Braves #1 shown below. I'm not sure who the cover artist is, though it is speculated to be another Warren Kremer cover (this is an Ace comic, and Kremer was still doing work for them). I can’t say for sure if it is or isn’t, but it’s not a bad guess. Either way, it’s got a nice composition, and a terrific background.
Apr. 1951: While westerns and romance ruled the day (with horror and crime coming on strong), sci-fi still had a presence. In fact, this month DC launched a brand-new sci-fi title, Mystery in Space, with a dramatic Carmine Infantino cover.
Carmine was moving away from his Caniff-heavy style, as he had just begun studying under William McNulty and Jack Potter at the Art Students League. It was there he was introduced to the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, Degas, and Giacometti, and became more interested in shape and design than in light and shadow. This cover is something of a transition piece for Carmine, and has a bit of the best of both worlds.
Marvel Two-In-One #52 June 1979 Cover by George Perez
Moon Knight teams-up with Mr. Fantastic and the Thing! While accepting an award at a ceremony on his behalf, Reed Richards witnesses an attempted assassination. Ben Grimm quickly goes into “Thing” mode, but not before Moon Knight arrives on the scene with answers and the location of the mercenary.
Marvel Two-In-One #52 June 1979 Cover by George Perez
Moon Knight teams-up with Mr. Fantastic and the Thing! While accepting an award at a ceremony on his behalf, Reed Richards witnesses an attempted assassination. Ben Grimm quickly goes into “Thing” mode, but not before Moon Knight arrives on the scene with answers and the location of the mercenary.
I'm betting Sinnott did a little redrawing on some of the details in his inking of this cover.
May 1951: I should have looked ahead, because I didn’t really want to run the same cover artist in back-to-back months, but here we are and Carmine Infantino strikes again with the cover of Strange Adventures #9, featuring the first appearance of Captain Comet. This is also the first time Carmine made use of the distant-cityscape-as-background-element he would go on to make famous in the Silver Age Flash comics. It was one more step in his evolution as an artist.
And speaking of evolution, Captain Comet was the first superhero to be called a mutant—12 years before the X-Men hit the stands. Take that Namor, you retrofit, you!
For the record, I always liked Captain Comet better than Adam Strange as a kid. Maybe because I was reading more stories with him (Super-Team Family, Secret Society of Super-Villains, DC Comics Presents), but I think it was more that he seemed more original, and less a knock-off of Flash Gordon (I wasn’t aware of John Carter yet).
There were tons of $2 and $3 boxes filled with Bronze, some Silver, and even some Golden (or perhaps Atomic) Age books at Heroes Con this year. I'll take this week to post some highlights of stuff I bought.
First up is a book from a series I posted about not too long ago, Henry Aldrich #8 Dec.-Jan. 1952) with cover art by Bill Williams. I saw this for $3 and couldn’t pass it up. (Note: the image here isn't my copy, in case you missed the watermark.) I wouldn’t say it’s a classic, but it was entertaining slapstick humor, and the art was top-notch. Well worth the three bucks (there was a 1/8" tear at the top of the book that went through about half the issue, but no other major problems—a perfect reader copy).
More Heroes Con loot: This one is one I'd never seen before, but it looked to be in the vein of Inferior 5, and it was. The story was written by fanzine legend Grass Green and drawn by Henry Scarpelli (better known as the guy DC would turn to when Bob Oksner was unavailable on Jerry Lewis). It’s a light story about a young wannabe supervillain who takes it upon himself to use his gadgets to help criminals escape from being captured by superheroes—he even takes on Peacemaker (kind of) and Blue Beetle. It was too odd a book to pass up for $2.
More Heroes Con loot: This one is one I'd never seen before, but it looked to be in the vein of Inferior 5, and it was. The story was written by fanzine legend Grass Green and drawn by Henry Scarpelli (better known as the guy DC would turn to when Bob Oksner was unavailable on Jerry Lewis). It’s a light story about a young wannabe supervillain who takes it upon himself to use his gadgets to help criminals escape from being captured by superheroes—he even takes on Peacemaker (kind of) and Blue Beetle. It was too odd a book to pass up for $2.
My first comic cover of the day! Lets go to Finland shall we? I can say I don't own many books from over there… but times are always a changing in this foreign game. My Spidey 129 set is a beloved set of mine and I am always hungry to expand it. The Hamahakkimies Finland Spidey stuff is beautifully done. And this modern mail away edition of the 129 can be very tough at times. Only meant for subscribers, the print run was tiny. My understanding is this issue was somewhere in the 1000 to 3000 print run range. Recently a small hoard was found which this issue belonged to. File copies? I do not know… Needless to say its a striking 129 foreign and I am thrilled to own it.
That Finland cover is awesome, and in a freakish coincidence, it's the cover (US version) randomly displayed on my desktop today!!!
Sure is! When I first saw it years ago I knew immediately it had to be sourced for my collection. I looked years for a darn copy. Many of the copies that had been found had subscription stickers on them. In many of the SCandinavian countries comic subscribers were sent comics thru the mail with the address stickers on the backs. Luckily like I had mentioned before we think a file copy hoard was found that had never been mailed and I was able to snag one. Glad you like… I have foreigns from all over the world that I can share in this thread if people are interested….
Following along with Eric's Heroes Con finds... (It was great seeing you at Heroes Con, Eric!)
Here's a book I grossly overpaid for, but I really wanted it for my custom calendar for next year. I had this one when I was five or six, and the very concept of a monster in the basement made me uncomfortable in cellars for many years after. (ha)
From July 1970, Where Monsters Dwell #4, with pencils by Marie Severin and inks by Tom Palmer.
As a non-cover bonus, I also found a stash of those 1970's Marvel stickers -- the ones with the goofy sayings. I still have a handful of these, but picked up these three at Heroes Con for a buck or two each... Gotta' love that Ploog Frankenstein!
The Italian 1st Him(Fantastici Quattro #64) is a cool book. Published by Corno, one of if not my favorite Italian publisher, this copy isn't to shabby. A Little discoloration but structurally very solid considering it is 43 years old. Corno published this issue in 73 about 6 years after the American original I think. Corno as a publisher did a magnificent job with the Marvel license and many young Italians first brush with the Marvel juggernaut was because of Corno "fumetti"(comic in Italian). Corno's being thicker than we are used most of the time chose to combine multiple stories within one comic. This issue contains a Submariner story along with another I cant place. A nice thicker quality cover stock rounds out the wow factor with Corno books. You really have to hold one of these beasts in your hand to get an idea of its heft, more like a small trade almost.
Comments
R.I.P.
Good-by Darwyn. Thanks for thrilling and entertaining so many of us. Rest in peace.
From July 1974, the painted cover to Savage Tales #5 by Neal Adams!
Dec 2013
Variant cover by Daniel Brereton
Carmine was moving away from his Caniff-heavy style, as he had just begun studying under William McNulty and Jack Potter at the Art Students League. It was there he was introduced to the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, Degas, and Giacometti, and became more interested in shape and design than in light and shadow. This cover is something of a transition piece for Carmine, and has a bit of the best of both worlds.
June 1979
Cover by George Perez
Moon Knight teams-up with Mr. Fantastic and the Thing! While accepting an award at a ceremony on his behalf, Reed Richards witnesses an attempted assassination. Ben Grimm quickly goes into “Thing” mode, but not before Moon Knight arrives on the scene with answers and the location of the mercenary.
All-New Collectors' Edition #C-56
1978
Cover Art: Neal Adams, Dick Giordano, Terry Austin & Cory Adams
Seemed fitting today. RIP Cassius Clay
And speaking of evolution, Captain Comet was the first superhero to be called a mutant—12 years before the X-Men hit the stands. Take that Namor, you retrofit, you!
For the record, I always liked Captain Comet better than Adam Strange as a kid. Maybe because I was reading more stories with him (Super-Team Family, Secret Society of Super-Villains, DC Comics Presents), but I think it was more that he seemed more original, and less a knock-off of Flash Gordon (I wasn’t aware of John Carter yet).
First up is a book from a series I posted about not too long ago, Henry Aldrich #8 Dec.-Jan. 1952) with cover art by Bill Williams. I saw this for $3 and couldn’t pass it up. (Note: the image here isn't my copy, in case you missed the watermark.) I wouldn’t say it’s a classic, but it was entertaining slapstick humor, and the art was top-notch. Well worth the three bucks (there was a 1/8" tear at the top of the book that went through about half the issue, but no other major problems—a perfect reader copy).
Here's a book I grossly overpaid for, but I really wanted it for my custom calendar for next year. I had this one when I was five or six, and the very concept of a monster in the basement made me uncomfortable in cellars for many years after. (ha)
From July 1970, Where Monsters Dwell #4, with pencils by Marie Severin and inks by Tom Palmer.
As a non-cover bonus, I also found a stash of those 1970's Marvel stickers -- the ones with the goofy sayings. I still have a handful of these, but picked up these three at Heroes Con for a buck or two each... Gotta' love that Ploog Frankenstein!