MIKE GRELL Returns to MAGGIE THE CAT, Plans Other Projects
EXCLUSIVE: The comics stalwart revisits a favorite…
From his Bronze Age revival to today… — Shazam! is out this weekend, as you know, so we’ve been giving some love to the classic incarnations of the Big Red Cheese. Click here for a nifty 13 COVERS selection, for example. Anyway, I’ve asked columnist Anthony Durso to dive into the world of the erstwhile Captain Marvel and come up with 13 THINGS TO LOVE about the character now called Shazam. Dig his groovy list — ranked 13 to 1 — below. By the way, not that you asked, but my favorite Cap story was the two-parter by Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway, Rich Buckler and Dick Giordano in 1981’s DC Comics Presents #33 and #34. Sacrilege, I know, but the heart wants what the heart wants. Here’s Anthony: — By ANTHONY DURSO 13. Mego (1974). The 8-inch Mego Shazam! action figure may have been my first encounter with the World’s Mightiest Mortal. Although I never purchased one back in the day, it seemed to be the one I’d encounter wherever I saw Megos. That image from the back of the box is burned in my brain from the countless times I saw it in department stores and toy shops. The figure itself is rather generic. Just about everything on it is wrong… boots, cape, Peter Parker-esque head. Ahhhh… Mego. — 12. Pepsi Moon Glass (1976). Much like the Mego figure, the Pepsi moon glass featuring Captain Marvel is the one I always seemed to stumble across at any garage sale or flea market in the last 30 years. — 11. Corgi Jr. (1979). I wasn’t much of a di- cast car kid. My brother, though, was the Matchbox king. He had tons of them that he’d take around in those little vinyl-and-plastic carrying cases. He also dabbled in the Corgi Jr. line but most of those were of the TV/movie variety like the Batmobile or Kojak’s car. Occasionally, I’d cross over into his world. The Shazam Corgi Jr. was one such occasion. — 10. Don Newton’s Shazam! (1978-82). I was very late to the party. Artist Don Newton’s Shazam! was my first encounter with the Big Red Cheese in a standard comic book, having missed the initial Bronze Age revival. Newton became the penciller with Issue #35 in 1978 and upon the title’s cancelation, moved with the character to...
BATMAN WEEK: Let’s play! — It’s BATMAN WEEK! We’re celebrating Wednesday’s Detective Comics #1000 — and Saturday’s 80th anniversary of the Caped Crusader. For the complete index of features and tributes — many by some of the top creators in comics — click here. — With BATMAN WEEK and THE TOP 13 BATMAN COUNTDOWN (click here), we’re covering just about every angle of the Caped Crusader — so it’s only fitting that we also take a deep dive into all those wonderful toys. So as we did for AQUAMAN WEEK in December (click here), we asked 13th Dimension contributor Anthony Durso – the best maker of repro and custom toy boxes around — to rank the TOP 13 BATMAN ACTION FIGURES. Dig it. — By ANTHONY DURSO 13. Surf’s Up Batman ’66, Mattel. In 2013, after nearly 45 years, Batmania was all the rage once again as products under the “Batman Classic TV Series” license (i.e., Batman ’66) began to hit store shelves. One of the higher profile efforts was the release of a series of 6-inch figures from Mattel. Unfortunately, the output was very limited and the line eventually tanked within two years. Seven characters (Batman, Robin, Riddler, Joker, Penguin, Catwoman and Batgirl), one vehicle and two dioramas were all that were released. And two variants — Surf’s Up Batman and Joker, complete with baggies and surfboards. Cowabunga! — 12. Lego Batman. First introduced in 2006, Lego Batman has since spawned a whole line of Batman (and later DC Universe) characters and vehicles in brick format, as well as video games and feature films. Not bad for a hero that’s only four bricks tall! — 11. Funko Pops Rainbow Batman. One of the greatest things about modern fandom and Batman is the willingness to accept the goofiness. How else can you explain the series of six Rainbow Batman Funko Pops released in 2014 to celebrate the Caped Crusader’s 75th Anniversary? Inspired by the classic Silver Age story in Detective Comics #241. — 10. Captain Action Batman. One of the first action-figure lines, Ideal’s Captain Action included Batman as one of its initial characters released in 1966. As with the rest of the superhero identities that Captain Action could assume, the package just contained a costume, mask and accessories, while the actual CA figure was sold separately. The costume...
EXCLUSIVE: The comics stalwart revisits a favorite…
