Posted By Dan Greenfield on Nov 19, 2023 | 4 comments

A birthday salute to Mike Sekowsky, who was born 100 years ago on Nov. 19, 1923…

By JIM BEARD

I feel like “Big Mike” Sekowsky is one of those “love ’em or hate ’em” comic book creators, which is sad to me because I’ve always been an unapologetic fan of his. I think a good portion of that stems from me discovering his Justice League of America work through 1970s reprints when I was an impressionable kid, which I suppose is how a lot of other people also formed their opinions of Big Mike’s artistic offerings.

It was probably once I grew up into a teenage, and then an adult, fan before I realized that he had done other work beyond the JLA. One of those other projects was his short-lived tenure as editor, writer, and artist on Adventure Comics 1970-1971, a run I’ve recently collected and kind of fallen in love with. It’s Sekowsky’s own twist on Supergirl stories, and while not as well known as other works of his, I feel it needs to be remembered.

And so I’m using it to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Mike’s birth here. Get ready for 13 SUPER SEKOWSKY SUPERGIRL SPLASHES, courtesy of Adventure Comics:

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Adventure Comics #397 (Sept. 1970). Inks by George Roussos and Frank Giacoia. The Sekowsky era begins with a frightening splash on Page One, indicating immediate changes to the book with Big Mike at the wheel.

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Adventure Comics #398 (Oct. 1970). Inks by Dick Giordano. Sekowsky’s second issue began with a reprint, but this one-page splash before his new story made it clear that Supergirl wanted you to know a few things first.

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Adventure Comics #400 (Dec. 1970). Inks by Jack Abel. The big 35th anniversary issue for the book—Maid of Might indeed!

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Adventure Comics #401 (Jan. 1971). Inks by Frank Giacoia. Sekowsky was willing to experiment with back-up features like Tracey Thompson, a Nancy Drew-type. I just love this eerie splash in her first adventure.

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Adventure Comics #404 (March 1970). Inks by Jack Abel. Kara gained a new enemy in the Sekowsky era, the female ne’er-do-well Starfire. I couldn’t decide on which of these back-to-back splashes to show you, so you get both, you lucky devils.

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Adventure Comics #405 (Apr. 1971). Inks by Dick Giordano. Supergirl was taking the threat of Starfire very seriously, obviously.

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Adventure Comics #406 (May 1971). Inks by Jack Abel. Kara took a job with a television station in San Francisco, providing us with one of my most favorite Sekowsky splashes of all.

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Super DC Giant #S-24 (May-June 1971). Inks by Dick Giordano. A book of reprints to capitalize on the new Supergirl, but Big Mike got in a few splash pages to show off new costumes designed by readers. Here’s one of them.

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Adventure Comics #407 (June 1971). Inks by Henry Scarpelli. Very little Supergirl in this one, but I love the organized chaos of it.

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Adventure Comics #408 (July 1971). Inks by Henry Scarpelli. Other than the logo, no Supergirl to be found here—but didn’t Mike have a real knack for the creepier, more atmospheric images?

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Adventure Comics #409 (Aug. 1971). Inks by Dick Giordano. Another nice Supergirl-less Sekowsky splash, this time illustrating the mobilization of global forces to combat the Mer-Men.

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Adventure Comics #421 (July 1972). Inks by Bob Oksner. Big Mike left Adventure after #409 but returned to pencil a few stories before Supergirl left the title herself to earn her own book. Here’s a fantastic splash of a character called Nightflame searching for the Maid of Might.

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Adventure Comics #423 (Sept. 1972). Inks by Bob Oksner. Here’s Sekowsky’s last go-round with Kara in Adventure, an adventure she shared with the artist’s old pals, the Justice league of America.

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MORE

— 13 COVERS: A MIKE SEKOWSKY Birthday Celebration — 2022 Edition: WONDER WOMAN. Click here.

— 13 COVERS: A MIKE SEKOWSKY Birthday Celebration — 2021 Edition: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA. Click here.

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When JIM BEARD’s not editing and publishing through his two houses, Flinch Books and Becky Books, he’s pounding out adventure fiction with both original and licensed characters. In fact, he’s put words in the mouths of Luke Skywalker, Superman, Fox Mulder, Carl Kolchak, Peter Venkman and the Green Hornet… and lived to tell about it. One of his more recent pop culture non-fiction books is The Old Origin Changeth, a series of historical essays on how some of your favorite characters’ not-so-secret origins have evolved over the decades. It’s available here.