Happy Valentine’s Day! By CHRIS FRANKLIN Dick Giordano was many things to comics: a pioneering editor; a trend-setting executive; an indelible inker; and an amazing penciller. And those pencils may be best known for drawing superheroes, but he cut his teeth on romance titles back in his early days working for Charlton Comics and later provided art and covers for DC’s romance line as well. So, when long-time Valentine’s Day card purveyor Cleo Wrap decided to release the Super Friends Action Valentine Playbook in 1980, what better artist to call than Dick Giordano? Giordano provided nearly every illustration in this tome full of traditional valentine cards (which we’ll focus on today) and action crafts, most of them new to this publication. I had two copies of this book as a child, and I simply wore each one out. The Valentine’s Day aspect was honestly unimportant to me. It was the beautiful art that grabbed me. The heroes looked classic, but modern. These were the DC heroes of the Bronze Age. In my mind’s eye, this is the perfect version of those characters. Giordano, along with Neal Adams and Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (both of whom he frequently inked) set the template for what these characters look like for all time to me, not only in the comics, but in a bevy of merchandise and promotional art. In some ways the Valentine Action Playbook was like the prototype of the famous 1982 Style Guide that Garcia-Lopez and Giordano provided artwork for… just with a Valentine’s Day theme. Without further ado, let’s take a look at 13 spectacular Giordano illustrations that I’m sure you’ll love — on Valentine’s Day and every day after! — Let’s start with an actual married couple, Aquaman and Mera! Bonus points for whoever wrote the text on these. Nice fish joke. Plus, Storm the seahorse! — Batman and Robin chasing the Joker? Giordano could probably draw this in his sleep… but it would still look fantastic like this! — Romance between this power couple? Was someone channeling the New 52 a good 30 years early? — You just got friend-zoned by the Dominoed Daredoll. For some reason Batgirl was called “Batwoman” in this book. Was DC playing around with changing her name, like they did with Hawkgirl/Woman around this time, or was it just an error? —...
The Triangle Era and beyond! Just shows you how old I am that I’m amused whenever I hear someone being nostalgic for the ’90s. Don’t get me wrong: There’s a lot to recommend that time — relative peace, relative prosperity and a fistful of Yankees championships. And the big one: My son was born at the end of the decade. That last one illuminates that I was already an adult in the ’90s, getting married and starting my career in earnest. A great time, but I’m a child of the ’70s, y’know? Whole different perspective. But I have to imagine you ’90s kids out there would be pretty pleased to see Superman: Ultimate ’90s Flashback Official Coloring Book from Insight Editions, featuring the art of Dan Jurgens, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez and others from the era. Dig the official description, along with some sample pages: SUPERMAN: ULTIMATE ’90S FLASHBACK OFFICIAL COLORING BOOK Superman comics experienced a creative resurgence in the 1990s, beginning with the momentous Death and Life of Superman events and continuing through the decade when the hero and his friends all got ’90s makeovers. Superman became more buff while Clark Kent leaned into his trendier, more fashionable side. Relive some of Superman’s most iconic ’90s looks with a coloring book celebrating one of the hero’s most visually distinct eras. Featuring art straight from the 1990s DC Comics vaults for Superman, Lois Lane, Wonder Woman, Superboy, and more. RETRO REVIVAL: Superman with super-long hair! Leather-clad Superboy! Business-suit Lois Lane! All the fabulous ’90s looks are here! STRAIGHT FROM THE ARCHIVES: Featuring artwork from the official DC Comics style guides, these pages contain vintage reference materials artists were using in the 90s to shape their stories and the products devoted to the Man of Steel. RELAX AND RELIVE YOUR YOUTH: Enjoys hours’ worth of coloring fun as you relive the past with your favorite childhood super friends. It doesn’t say or show it, but I have to imagine there’s some Jerry Ordway art in there too. The 64-page softcover is available now. It lists for $14.99. — MORE — DC’s SHOWCASE Returns — as a Coloring Book. Click here. — 13 DC COLORING BOOK COVERS to Make You Feel Good. Click...
The time has come, thanks to McFarlane Toys…
JAWSMANIA, Mego-Style!
An especially colorful ZOWIE WEDNESDAYS!
