Classic Comic Covers

It was about a scientist who discovers a blob like creature that immobilises him and starts dehydrating him. He realises it will drain the whole Earth of moisture if not stopped! He can project an alter-ego who is a sort of villianous Mr Hyde type who GL has battled before!

Anyhow GL realises what is going on and dispells the creature! I havn't read it in 30 odd years so things are sketchy but I think that is the jist of it!

There was a truly bizzare `Metal Men` cover where the `Metals` are `candles` on a collossal pink cake! It is bieng eaten by an even larger robot owned by oriental villian `Egg-Fu Yung`!

alanultron5 wrote:There was a truly bizzare `Metal Men` cover where the `Metals` are `candles` on a collossal pink cake! It is bieng eaten by an even larger robot owned by oriental villian `Egg-Fu Yung`!

Metal Men #20, 1966. It was actuaslly Dr Yes, the robot double of Egg Fu, I believe...

Just had to share this-one of the most unlikely team-ups ever, and a great cover...

Just because we've been discussing Superman in another thread-a classic cover of the man of steel which I've just found. I used to love Lex Luthor in that costume-and who else remembers Terra Man, the intergalactic outlaw?



...and incidentally, I'm missing the next issue which features the conclusion of the story of Luthor's reformation, so if anybody knows what happened-tell me!!!

Air Wave sounds more like some 40's or 50's hero, the man who can transmit himself through radio waves! ...nah that sounds more like a British comic, and undoubtedly he'd be wearing an immaculate suit and would have a cockney assistant in a flat cap.

felneymike wrote:Air Wave sounds more like some 40's or 50's hero, the man who can transmit himself through radio waves! ...nah that sounds more like a British comic, and undoubtedly he'd be wearing an immaculate suit and would have a cockney assistant in a flat cap.

You're actually half right-Air Wave was American, but he was indeed originally a 1940s character, having made his debut in Detective Comics #60 in 1942. He was radio enthusiast Larry Jordan, a lawyer's clerk who in his spare time fought crime in an outfit that included special skates which allowed to him to travel down telephone wires (literally: he actually skated along the wires, much to the consternation of people on the street below) and a cowl radio for listening in on police reports. His sidekick was a parrot named Static! Decades later, Larry's son Hal Jordan (whose cousin was the 'other' Hal Jordan) became the second Air Wave, but he actually had the power to transmute his body into energy. He later changed his named to the more sensible but less engaging 'MASER'.

I was going through some old British comics I picked up awhile ago which were sitting unsorted in a box in the shed yesterday, and came across a curious coincidence. I picked up this copy of Mighty World of Marvel #87 from 1974...



...and the one right underneath it turned out to be this copy of Incredible Hulk #23 from 1982! Notice anything?

Found this one and just rather liked it...

A title which I suspect would be sadly misinterpreted if published today...

A trio of covers I know the Kirby fans amongst us will appreciate...

The Green Lantern, in his 1940s and 1960s incarnations...

...and the Golden Age and Silver age versions of the Flash. The stylized, cartoony look of the Flash Comics issue is far removed from the Silver Age cover, I think-but nowhere near as marked a difference as between the Golden Age Green Lantern cover above and the late sixties one with Green Arrow on it. That was Neal adams, of course...

Haven't seen those Kirby covers for YEARS - lovely artwork - though would have been better had Joe Sinnott inked them...but classic covers none the less...

GBF wrote:Haven't seen those Kirby covers for YEARS - lovely artwork - though would have been better had Joe Sinnott inked them...but classic covers none the less...

Kirby's style on FF altered quite drastically quite quickly, didn't it? That was issue #6 and it already looks nothing like the first couple of issues. By the end of the first year it was already well on its way to being the distinctive look we then got through issue #102!

That's because most of the early stuff was rushed - he was just doing layouts. It was about 1966 before he began to give Marvel 'full pencils' - when he just did FF, Cap and Thor...instead of everything!! Also, there were many inkers who were given his stuff. hen it all landed on Sinnott's desk for a couple of years...

GBF wrote:That's because most of the early stuff was rushed - he was just doing layouts. It was about 1966 before he began to give Marvel 'full pencils' - when he just did FF, Cap and Thor...instead of everything!! Also, there were many inkers who were given his stuff. hen it all landed on Sinnott's desk for a couple of years...

Who inked FF #1? Any idea?

Unknown for sure - some say Sol Brodsky had a hand on it, others say George Klein amongst others. I even heard Artie Simek (the letterer) did it. One thing I DO know is that Jack Kirby had no idea - he told me himself. Dick Ayers inked the cover.

GBF wrote:Unknown for sure - some say Sol Brodsky had a hand on it, others say George Klein amongst others. I even heard Artie Simek (the letterer) did it. One thing I DO know is that Jack Kirby had no idea - he told me himself. Dick Ayers inked the cover.

Given how significant that issue turned out to be, I'd have thought the inker would have spoken up and grabbed the glory by now...

I quite agree. I don't recall seeing Sol Brodsky take the credit so I would presume he didn't do it. George Klein died in 1969 well before the issue arose and Simek died in the early 70s I think - again before the issue arose. Some people think Chic Stone inked it, but it's clearly not his style. My guess, and it's only that, is that George Klein did it from Kirby's layouts. We all know there was so much stuff going on, people were getting pages from the same books. Kirby told me that in the 40's, he would take Captain America pages home after Joe Simon had inked them and thicken up some lines, make a few changes (Joe knew this). When he brought them in the next day, Joe would go over some more lines. Kirby and Simon REALLY worked together, and neither of them got in each others way. The were probably the only TEAM: Both Script and Art. They BOTH 'wrote' the books. This turned into the problem later with Lee and Kirby. In my opinion, Jack was correct when he said HE wrote the books. Lee dialoged them from the artwork and Kirby's notes on the side of the artwork. Jack plotted them too (like Ditko on Spidey and Dr Strange), as Lee was busy doing his editorial stuff and running Marvel (no mean thing it must be said). Lee's genius was to let Kirby and Ditko (and the others later) just get on with it. Then he put the words in. And took the credit with his 'written by' balloons.

Following in the grand tradition of Bob Kane at DC. Though Kane had no input at all into most of the later Batman stories that carry his name-at least Stan wrote something, Kane just allowed his signature to go on other people's work.

Wasn't that to do with 'creator's rights'? I do believe that Stan told his artists what he was looking for - but only a very rough idea: Spiderman should be a skinny, next door kid at school who gets Spidey powers...that sort of thing. Kirby and Ditko needed only a little direction. That's why Kirby was pulled off Spidey because in the 5 pages he drew of the strip, Spidey was too 'God like' - like most Kirby characters. That's why Ditko got it - and brilliant, reliable artist who can draw 'ordinary' people. Kirby and Ditko will get their recognition - some day.

Both Kirby and Ditko, though, seemed to have a problem accepting that fashions had moved on beyond the fifties. In the mid seventies, how many men still wore hats? If I have a single complaint about either of those guys, it's that their civilian characters, their bystanders and everyday guys in the street, always seemed to have stepped straight out of a fifties B movie...

Bit harsh that really, Tony...they could probably argue that their storytelling techniques are second to none and that comics are SEQUENTIAL art - not a glossy book of Pin-ups. Anyway, I used to wear a hat in the mid 80s. And it looked quite good!

GBF wrote:Bit harsh that really, Tony...they could probably argue that their storytelling techniques are second to none and that comics are SEQUENTIAL art - not a glossy book of Pin-ups. Anyway, I used to wear a hat in the mid 80s. And it looked quite good!

Well, yes-but how many men with hair wore hats in the mid eighties? Aside from the members of Madness, of course...

Ho Hum - well, you wouldn't know this but a man needs to be REALLY good looking to wear a hat. Having seen your photo (and met you) I'm surprised they let you out...

GBF wrote:Ho Hum - well, you wouldn't know this but a man needs to be REALLY good looking to wear a hat. Having seen your photo (and met you) I'm surprised they let you out...

Because I'm so damn irresistible I'm dangerous, you mean?

Classic American humour comic from 1945. The stereotyped hillbilly character seems to have been popular in comics at the time...

Got this for Christmas from Deb. It's dated August 1959 and is the second appearance of this version of the Shield-a lowly private in the US Army who is in secret the sole survivor of an experiment intended to create an army of super soldiers, who in no way resembles Captain America, oh dear me, no...

Groo the Wanderer #4 has one of my favourite covers, a spoof of Frank Frazetta's cover to Conan the Adventurer.

An outstanding piece of work, as any fool can plainly see (I can plainly see that)!

Hourglass was after some more Conan covers earlier in this thread, so here are some of my favourites.

Conan the Barbarian #1 by Barry Smith


Conan the Barbarian #21 by Barry Smith


Conan Annual #1 by Barry Smith


Conan the Barbarian #124 by John Buscema


Conan the Barbarian #127 by Gil Kane


Savage Sword of Conan #2 by Neal Adams


Savage Sword of Conan #4 by Boris Vallejo


Savage Sword of Conan #74 by Joe Jusko


Marvel Treasury Edition #4 by Barry Smith


What If? #43 by Bill Sienkiewicz

My favourite Conan Treasury Edition was #15, the one with the John Buscema cover with Red Sonja. I'll have to try and locate it. I always thought the Buscema's were underrated.

I loved Marvel Treasury Edition #15 too, with a strip each by the 3 primary Conan artists, Smith, Kane and Buscema, and inking from Neal Adams and Alfredo Alcala. The cover by Buscema and Chan wasn't one of my favourites, though. I always preferred Red Sonja's original look to Esteban Maroto's metal bikini.

I like the metal bikini despite it being totally ridiculous and impractical (why put chainmail on a few inches of skin and leave the rest totally exposed?). I think it's one of those costumes that just works as a character's trademark. Rather like Sgt. Rock's useless crossed ammunition belts full of ammo for a type of gun he never carried.

Here are some of my favourite Captain America covers:

Captain America Comics #9 by Jack Kirby


Captain America Comics #27 by Alex Schomburg


Captain America Comics #65 by Syd Shores


Captain America #76 by John Romita Sr


Tales of Suspense #80 by Jack Kirby & Don Heck


Tales of Suspense #82 by Jack Kirby & Frank Giacoia


Captain America #111 by Jim Steranko


Captain America #144 by John Romita Sr


Captain America #176 by John Romita Sr


Captain America #193 by Jack Kirby & John Romita Sr


Captain America #215 by Gil Kane & Joe Sinnott


Captain America #224 by Mike Zeck & Bob McLeod


Captain America #241 by Frank Miller & Bob McLeod


Captain America #250 by John Byrne & Joe Rubinstein


Captain America #254 by John Byrne & Joe Rubinstein


Captain America #275 by Mike Zeck & John Beatty


Captain America #286 by Mike Zeck & John Beatty


Captain America #332 by Mike Zeck & Klaus Janson


Captain America #446 by Ron Garney


Captain America #50 by Gene Ha


Captain America #1 by Steve Epting & Frank D'Armata

A nice selection from across the ages. I have a few of those myself. Is that slabbed copy actually yours?

No, but I wish it was (although I don't really approve of slabbing). It just happened to be the best picture I could find of that cover. I love how the villain is throttling Bucky whilst painting a picture of the scene with his other hand.

Good call. And as regards slabbing: I have only ever bought one slabbed comic (Miracleman #24), purely because it was cheaper than the only available un-slabbed copy. I cracked the slab open as soon as I got it home. Comics should be treated with respect as collectibles, yes, but if they can't be read there's really no point in owning them.

Here are some classic Defenders covers:

Marvel Feature #1 by Neal Adams


Marvel Feature #3 by Gil Kane & Ralph Reese


Defenders #3 by Gil Kane with John & Sal Buscema


Defenders #9 by Sal Buscema


Defenders #14 by Sal Buscema


Defenders #32 by Gil Kane & Klaus Janson


Defenders #33 by Gil Kane & Mike Esposito


Defenders #43 by Jack Kirby & Al Milgrom


Defenders #46 by Ed Hannigan & Joe Sinnott


Defenders #58 by Ed Hannigan & Klaus Janson


Defenders #78 by Ed Hannigan & Bob McLeod


Defenders #89 by Mike Nasser & Joe Rubinstein


Defenders #94 by Michael Golden


Defenders #96 by Michael Golden


Defenders #98 by Marshall Rogers


Defenders #110 by Jim Starlin


Defenders #124 by Sandy Plunkett & Al Weiss


Defenders #128 by Kevin Nowlan


Defenders #134 by Kevin Nowlan


Defenders #151 by Kevin Nowlan


Defenders v2 #2 variant by Arthur Adams


Defenders v2 #7 by Erik Larsen & Klaus Janson

Beautiful stuff! The original Defenders series is one of my favourite Marvel titles, particularly the Steve Gerber and JM DeMatteis runs. And Nebulon, the Headmen and the Squadron Sinister are still among my all time favourite bad guys, just as Nighthawk is among my alll time favourite good guys. A shame nobody really seems to be able to "get" the Defenders these days...probably the best series since the original was the Busiek/Larsen series.

The Busiek/Larsen run was very underrated, a nice mixture of Steve Englehart and Steve Gerber. I have no idea why it received such negative reviews in Comics International.

By that time, pretty much everything Marvel put out was receiving negative reviews in CI (I did try to correct that apparent bias towards the end, when I was reviewing for them myself on occasion). But yes, it was a good run. I also really enjoyed the spin-off series, 'The Order'. It was nice to see Nighthawk finally acknowledged at the end as "the heart of the Defenders".

Whatever did happen to Samantha Parrington's Valkyrie, anyway?

They seem to have forgotten about her completely. The Marvel Chronology Project gives a cameo in Dan Slott's She-Hulk #9 from 2005 as her only post-Order appearance.

I think she had a one panel cameo in the final issue of Jim Starlin's 'Marvel Universe: The End'.

I've not read that series. Was it any good? I tend to find most of Starlin's post-Dreadstar output disappointing. According to the Grand Comics Database, Valkyrie appeared in #4 & 5. I think Marvel have been eqivocal as to whether the End is considered to be in continuity, which may be why the Chronology Project doesn't list it.

I don't see why it shouldn't be in continuity-it basically ended with a huge reset. It wasn't bad, and it did feature the Defenders quite heavily, though mostly only the founding members (and the Surfer, who I can never quite bring myself to see as a founding member).

Here are some classic Superman covers.

Action Comics #1 by Joe Shuster


Superman #1 by Leo O'Mealia


Superman #14 by Fred Ray


Action Comics #58 by Jack Burnley


Superman #149 by Curt Swan and Stan Kaye


Action Comics #351 by Curt Swan and George Klein


Superman #199 by Carmine Infantiono and Murphy Anderson


Superman #216 by Joe Kubert


Superman #233 by Neal Adams


Action Comics #400 by Neal Adams and Dick Giordano


Action Comics #410 by Nick Cardy


Action Comics #419 by Neal Adams and Murphy Anderson


Action Comics #421 by Nick Cardy


Action Comics #425 by Nick Cardy


Action Comics #434 by Nick Cardy


Superman #276 by Nick Cardy


Action Comics #466 by Neal Adams


Action Comics #484 by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez and Dick Giordano


Action Comics #547 by Gil Kane


Action Comics #571 by Brian Bolland


Superman #422 by Brian Bolland


Adventures of Superman #440 by Dave Gibbons and Jerry Ordway


Superman #22 by John Byrne


Superman #53 by Jerry Ordway

I have seen that "My son-is he man or beast?" cover so many times, and I've never found out what the actual story was! I really need to read it...