A Fine Honor: BILL FINGER WAY Unveiled in New York City
Batman’s co-creator gets another belated accolade.
A Sub-Mariner splash from the ’70s! I’m already on record as being a fan of Namor’s groovy 1970s threads. I know some people prefer the Sub-Mariner’s Speedo-only look, and that’s fine, but give me that wocka-chicka Bronze Age outfit any day. Pretty cool then that John Romita’s original design for those zippy threads is going up for sale through Heritage Auctions later this month. Dig this: Here’s Heritage’s description: John Romita Sr. – Namor, the Sub-Mariner First New Costume Design Illustration Original Art (Marvel, 1973). After almost 40 years, it was time to say goodbye to skimpy green Speedos and hello to a flashy vest-and-pants combo, as Namor received the first major costume redesign in the character’s history! And when it came to brilliant Bronze Age redesigns, there was no one better than John Romita Sr., with the legendary art director and artist outfitting the Prince of Atlantis in regal black-and-gold separates that kept his chest mostly bare while adding glider wings to the vest and tailored openings in the pants for his iconic ankle wings. In-story, the Sub-Mariner had lost the ability to breathe air, and this new costume (designed by rival Reed Richards) granted him the ability to do so. In reality, the change was part of Marvel’s early-1970s modernization of its classic characters under Romita’s artistic direction, ushering in a bold new visual era for Marvel’s first mutant monarch and many more. Rendered in ink and crayon over graphite on vellum and matted to a 10″ x 16″ image area, the vellum displays toning, rippling, and creases measuring up to 2.5″. There are small tears along the edges, including a 1.5″ tear that extends into the ankle close-up and has been sealed on the reverse with tape. There is also a very small hole to the right of the image of Namor flying. The art is taped to the mat on the reverse. Romita signed the piece twice, including one inscription identifying it as the first sketch of the new costume. This historically significant piece is in Good condition. — Bidding will open around June 22. For those keeping score at home, the dazzling duds debuted in August 1973’s Sub-Mariner #67: Smashing! — MORE — 13 COVERS: The SUB-MARINER in His Groovy ’70s Threads. Click here. — 13 SUB-MARINER COVERS Just For the Fun of It....
True story. — UPDATED 6/4/26: I posted a feature today on those groovy old coin-operated Batmobile kiddie rides and it got me thinking about the time the 1966 Batmobile came to my house. So, this is a great time reprint that column from wayyyy back in April 2015. Thing is, much of it was way out of date, so I’ve rewritten the piece to a significant degree. Just being transparent. Dig it! — Dan — Back in 2014, I was involved in a one-year wonder comics convention in my hometown of White Plains, N.Y., called New York Comic Fest, led by 13th Dimension‘s co-founder Cliff Galbraith. (It later morphed into East Coast Comicon, before falling prey to the Covid lockdown.) Anyway, one of the attractions was a 1966 Batmobile owned by a cool New Jersey guy named Jeff Breden, who a couple months earlier had taken me for a ride in the world’s greatest car outside Cliff’s Asbury Park Comicon. Since the Batmobile was coming to my town and Jeff was such an affable dude, I decided on a lark — a total lark — to ask him if he’d pick me up in the Batmobile and take me to the show. I figured, “What the hell, why not ask?” I didn’t expect him to say yes. But he did. In the weeks leading up to the show, I asked him a couple of more times, “Are you sure this isn’t gonna be a problem?” He never hesitated once. “Oh, yeah, no problem.” But I still expected some kind of hiccup until I looked out the window of my house that bright June morning. There it was: the Batmobile. Like a kid at Christmas, I ran outside. Incredible. The Batmobile. In front of my house. These are the things of which dreams are made. It wasn’t long until the neighbors came out of their homes to gawk at this four-wheeled wonder on their street, phone cameras at the ready. I was worried we were going to cause an accident because every car slowed down to rubberneck, as well as joggers and cyclists out for a morning spin. I got in. Last time I was in Breden’s Batmobile, I took a video of the ride but this time, I didn’t want to. I just wanted to live in the moment....
Batman’s co-creator gets another belated accolade.
