CINCO DE MAYO: Dig These 13 Muy Bueno NEAL ADAMS MEXICAN BATMAN COVERS
Editorial Novaro’s take on the Bronze Age Darknight Detective…
BRONZE AGE BONANZA: A Warren kind of month, plus Adams, Kirby, Perez and 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. — You got sharks, the Bicentennial, and a lot of anniversaries! Dig the TOP 13 COVERS OF MAY 1976 — RANKED: — 13. Ka-Zar #17, Marvel. This month’s requisite Jawsmania cover. — 12. Archie’s Pals ‘n’ Gals #107, Archie. You remember it as well as I do. This is exactly how high-school girls dressed in 1976. Exactly. I just don’t know who’s carrying the weed apple — Betty or Veronica. — 11. Creepy #81, Warren. The most demented Spy vs. Spy strip ever. — 10. Iron Fist #6, Marvel. I dig all the crazy, intersecting lines and angles by Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia, and I love the Yu-Ti’s bemused hand gesture over his hood. But the real star is the unnamed colorist who brought just about the whole spectrum with them. — 9. Emergency! #2, Charlton. Eye-catching painted cover by Joe Staton. Again with the color! The Randolph Mantooth corner logo should be on a T-shirt. — 8. House of Mystery #244, DC. Horror covers were a dime a dozen, so to find one that is actually bona fide terrifying is really special. I’m a big fan of Luis Dominguez anyway, but this really taps into that ’70s cult-panic zeitgeist. Superb colors by the late Tatjana Wood, whose starkly red demon plays off the ghostly acolytes so well. Dynamite. — 7. Ragman #1, DC. Ragman was such an odd idea. Nice, unorthodox panel cover by Joe Kubert. I’m betting this was also Wood colors. Oh, and “tatterdemalion” literally means “ragged or disreputable in appearance.” — 6. Green Lantern #90, DC. The triumphant return of Green Lantern/Green Arrow! Mike Grell is second only to Neal Adams as far as GL/GA goes, even if Hal Jordan’s pose is on the wooden side here. It’s a very popular cover but it’s that detail that takes points off for me. — 5. The X-Men #100, Marvel. One of the seminal X-covers of the Bronze Age and, like GL/GA above, I’m sure a number of you would top the list with it. But heroes running at each other on a cover...
Starring Plastic Man and co.! — (For PLASTIC MAN AT 85: An Anniversary of 1941’s POLICE COMICS #1 — and Beyond, click here.) — By PETER BOSCH During its time, Police Comics — which debuted 85 years ago this week, on May 14, 1941 — was one of Quality Comics’ great art achievements. Here’s a look at 13 exceptional covers: (Art on all by Jack Cole, except the final two, which were pencilled by Reed Crandall and inked by Chuck Cuidera.) — MORE — PLASTIC MAN AT 85: An Anniversary of 1941’s POLICE COMICS #1 — and Beyond. Click here. — 85 YEARS OF BLACKHAWK: An Anniversary Celebration of 1941’s MILITARY COMICS #1 — and Beyond. Click here. — 13th Dimension contributor-at-large PETER BOSCH’s first book, American TV Comic Books: 1940s-1980s – From the Small Screen to the Printed Page, was published by TwoMorrows. (You can buy it here.) A sequel, American Movie Comic Books: 1930s-1970s — From the Silver Screen to the Printed Page, is out now. (Buy it here.) Peter has written articles and conducted celebrity interviews for various magazines and newspapers. He lives in...
Editorial Novaro’s take on the Bronze Age Darknight Detective…
