Posted by Dan Greenfield on May 18, 2025
The TOP 13 COVERS of MAY 1975 — RANKED
BRONZE AGE BONANZA: Featuring an outright masterpiece! Kane! Aparo! Kirby! MORE! — Welcome to BRONZE AGE BONANZA — our monthly series that looks at the greatest covers of the Bronze Age — exactly 50 years later. For more info on this feature, click here. — This month, it’s a race for second! Dig the TOP 13 COVERS OF MAY 1975 — RANKED: — 13. Plop #15. I thought I could get away from the Plop! covers but no such luck, thanks to Wally Wood, doing his best Basil Wolverton. — 12. Richie Rich and Casper #7, Harvey. Holy shit, Richie, I think Casper’s going to eat your soul. Then again, you have no soul. (Oh, and Harvey copy editors: This is Richie and Casper together for the seventh time.) — 11. For Lovers Only, #80, Charlton. It’s 1975 but this looks like it was drawn in 1972. Just a little outmoded by this time. Still, I like the polluted, mustard-colored sky. — 10. Batman #266, DC. Total sentimental pick here. I mean, it’s a perfectly fine cover but not really a world beater. I’m just letting this in because this comic was a favorite as a kid and it marked the return of Catwoman’s classic — if impractical — purple dress. — 9. Movie Monsters #4, Atlas/Seaboard. Whut? — 8. Tiger-Man #3, Atlas/Seaboard. The little comics company that couldn’t was already on its last legs, but they still managed to unleash my favorite cover of the line, with our beautifully maned hero. — 7. 1st Issue Special, DC. Decapitated heads were OK by the ’70s, according to the Comics Code Authority. Basic design but really unsettling (and fun) image. — 6. The Shadow #12, DC. The last issue of the fan-fave run goes out with a straightforward, nicely composed Mike Kaluta cover. Not one of his best of the series but certainly good enough. — 5. House of Secrets #134, DC. Was it the difference in editors? Ernie Chan’s Batman covers for Julius Schwartz were pretty mundane. Same with a lot of his superhero work. The he turns around and does this for Joe Orlando. Imagine if he really cut loose like this on the Darknight Detective. Comics might have been a different place. — 4. The Invaders #1, Marvel. What I like more than anything is how John Romita is basically doing...
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