Introducing… BRONZE AGE BONANZA!
A new monthly look at some of the best art from comics’ greatest age…
BRONZE AGE BONANZA: The 1970 INDEX
Your clearinghouse for the first full year of the Bronze Age…
BRONZE AGE BONANZA: A big month for the King! PLUS: Byrne! Kane! Kubert! 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. — Jack Kirby takes everyone to school with three this month, plus standouts by Howard Chaykin, John Byrne, Gil Kane and more. Dig the TOP 13 COVERS OF JUNE 1976 — RANKED: — 13. Daredevil #137, Marvel. This month’s requisite Jawsmania cover. Good lord, what a stretch. — 12. Everything’s Archie #50, Archie. Finally, an objectifying swimsuit cover featuring the guys! — 11. Beetle Bailey #118, Charlton. That time Beetle taught Sarge all about huffing. — 10. Secret Romance #40, Charlton. There is no question in my mind that Art Cappello and the tricksters at Charlton shaded the dude’s left leg to make it look like his pecker was standing at attention. I cannot be persuaded otherwise. — 9. The Joker #9, DC. Ah, the end of the line for this misbegotten-yet-really fun series. Nice, solid cover with two of Batman’s biggest baddies, but this is more a sentimental pick than anything. I could just have easily selected this or this. — 8. Blitzkrieg #5, DC. The end of the line for another misbegotten series. I know the point was to show how cruel the Nazis were and how their victims suffered, but your typical mainstream reader just wasn’t going to go in for a comic about sadism. Nevertheless, Joe Kubert’s covers were outstanding (of course). The Comics Code didn’t have a problem with this, though, huh? — 7. The Invaders #8, Marvel. Union Jack was introduced the issue before — he was created by writer Roy Thomas and interiors artist Frank Robbins — but this is his first cover appearance and it’s bold Kirby all the way. I’ve always dug this costume, too. — 6. The Tomb of Dracula #48, Marvel. Gene Colan and Tom Palmer were doing their best covers at this point in the classic series. This image is your basic vampire trope but these two pros still managed to make it next level. — 5. Captain America #201, Marvel. Kirby goes from poster-style with The Invaders #8 to moody and surrealistic with Cap #201. The Falcon looks especially great here, with his...
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...
A new monthly look at some of the best art from comics’ greatest age…
Your clearinghouse for the first full year of the Bronze Age…