BRONZE AGE BONANZA: Adams! Kane! Kaluta! Cardy! 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. — Neal Adams is back in action this month, while Gil Kane makes three appearances and Nick Cardy two. Plus many of your faves, from Bob Oksner to Mike Kaluta. Right on. — 13. Superman’s Girl Friend Lois Lane #125, DC. How is any of this even possible? I mean, I know a flying man is impossible too, but still… — 12. Daredevil #91, Marvel. Pretty standard hand-to-hand combat situation but I love, love, love seeing the cityscape below. As a city guy, this is always dramatic imagery. — 11. Betty and Me #44, Archie. I admire Betty’s healthy, self-possessed attitude. — 10. Conan the Barbarian #18, Marvel. Jack Kirby gets all the credit for Marvel’s beastly monsters but Gil Kane was no slouch in that department, either. — 9. Fantastic Four #126, Marvel. Hey, where have I seen this before? — 8. Amazing Adventures #14, Marvel. Really groovy poster style cover by Gil Kane but what really makes it is that ol’ hoary chestnut, the rubber-mask disguise. As if! — 7. The Flash #217, DC. Just a bunch of surprisingly obnoxious Flashes standing around and arguing. Looks great though, especially set off by the black background. I dig it. — 6. The Amazing Spider-Man #112, Marvel. Whattya think? Should we do the TOP 13 TIMES SPIDER-MAN JUST PLAIN GAVE UP? I mean, the guy quits more than anyone, then comes back to the very same conclusion: With great power, there must also come great responsibility. Pete’s a slow learner, huh? Anyway, good thing John Romita could always be counted on to find a new way to show the same ol’, same ol’. — 5. Justice League of America #100, DC. Nicely done, Nick Cardy. Fifteen heroes shown in full despite the box-cover format. Plus five floating heads! That’s a winner, folks. By the way, it’s the late Len Wein’s birthday and this story is often cited as one of his best. — 4. The Demon #1, DC. Classic Kirby cover introducing one of comics’ great cult-favorite antiheroes. Smashing way to introduce Etrigan to the world. —...
BRONZE AGE BONANZA: Kubert, Kane and Wrightson show us how it’s done. And that’s not all! — 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. — An eclectic month this was, with Bernie Wrightson, Gil Kane and Joe Kubert among the many heavyweights. Side note: I think this might be the first BRONZE AGE BONANZA installment without a Neal Adams cover. As it happens, Adams didn’t have a single cover published this month; there would be more to come, obviously, but his career was already heading in different directions. Sigh. In any event, dig THE TOP 13 COVERS OF MAY 1972 — RANKED: — 13. Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp #6, Gold Key. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: If there’s a Lancelot Link cover, it makes this list automatically. — 12. The Avengers #102, Marvel. A decent cover augmented by FLOATING HEADS! Everything is better with floating heads. — 11. Korak, Son of Tarzan #47, DC. Just a straight up great action scene by Joe Kubert. — 10. Fear #9, Marvel. A lot of artists make it appear that people move under water the same way they do on land. Not Gil Kane, whose escaped convict is a prime example of the illustrator’s mastery of anatomy, movement and context. By the way, I like how the octopus seems to be saying to the reader: “What’re you looking at, buddy? You’re next!” — 9. Detective Comics #425, DC. All things considered, whether it’s covers or interiors, isn’t it kind of amazing that Bernie Wrightson didn’t do more Batman in his career? Unrelated follow-up question: The carriage driver looks like a demented Cat in the Hat, doesn’t he? — 8. Wanted #1, DC. As a kid weaned on the Batman TV show, a cover with so many colorful villains is like batnip. By the way, I will defend the Signalman’s costume until the end of time. It’ll never happen but man, he would make a great Mego. — 7. Hero for Hire #2, Marvel. The subtle genius of a comics master: The image is pretty standard comic action but John Romita gives it a slight Dutch angle that ramps up your perception of speed,...
Your clearinghouse for the third year of the Bronze Age…
BRONZE AGE BONANZA completes another year with the best of the best…
BRONZE AGE BONANZA: One of the grooviest months of the year!
BRONZE AGE BONANZA: ADAMS! KIRBY! KUBERT! KANE! MORE!