The celebrated Mr. K. pays tribute to the Bronze Age stalwart, who turns 79… By PAUL KUPPERBERG Jack C. Harris was my favorite kind of editor. The kind that gave me work. Back when I was getting started, when the grizzled old veteran editors like Julie Schwartz and Murray Boltinoff were working with their regular crews of experienced writers, and the New Wave editors like Dick Giordano and Joe Orlando were seeking out young talents with a lot more talent than this newbie, Jack was himself a relative newbie and more or less one of my contemporaries, as we discussed in our talk in my book Direct Conversations: Talks With Fellow DC Comics Bronze Age Creators. If you need proof that comics fandom was a career path to becoming a comics pro, Jack C. Harris — born 79 years ago, on August 30, 1947 — is one of the people who made the case. Like so many of us who came of age during the Silver Age, Jack started out on the reader’s side of the stories. He bought the comics, read the letter columns, followed the creators, attended conventions, and immersed himself in the growing community of fans who believed comic books were worth taking seriously, not just as entertainment, but as a craft. That enthusiasm eventually opened a professional door at DC Comics. Joining the editorial staff in the early 1970s, Jack arrived at a time when the company was changing. The veteran generation that had built DC was still in place, but younger editors, writers, and artists were beginning to leave their mark. Besides editing, he quickly became a dependable writer, turning out stories across a wide range of genres and characters, including Kamandi and Wonder Woman. Over the years, his credits would also include Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Blackhawk, and a variety of licensed titles, while his editorial work touched dozens more, including Black Lightning, Shade the Changing Man, and Firestorm. Whether developing new material with freelancers or scripting stories himself, he became a dependable member of DC’s editorial and creative staff during a period of change for the company. Later, he turned to teaching in the BFA Cartooning Program at New York’s School of Visual Arts, inviting me a couple of times to speak to his class of young comics creators. Along...
It’s a full moon — but they don’t all have to be Moon Glasses! By CHRIS FRANKLIN Much has been written about the famed 1976 Pepsi Super Series of collector glasses based on DC Comics characters, or as they are commonly known among fans, the “Moon Series.” This name stuck because of the circular design, or “moon” behind every character. But that was just the tip of the ice cube when it came to Pepsi and DC promotional glasses in the 1970s. In 1978, Pepsi released not only a second set of comics-based Collector Series glasses, but they also made a similar set of vessels based on Superman The Movie. As we did with the original series, let’s take a look at each of these sets and rank them, based on the criteria of artwork, presentation and which ones just visually ring from the cupboard, shall we? — At first glance, the 1978 Pepsi Collector Series looks like a direct continuation of the previous “Super Series.” But a lot has changed on closer inspection. For one there are only seven distinct character glasses rather than 14, although there are variations we’ll discuss. The number of different inks used on each glass is generally more limited than the first series as well. There are no villains present this time, and the heroes tend to stretch across the glass more. The biggest change is that the heroic action image isn’t replicated on both sides of the glass. Now on the back you have the character’s name logo, and their emblems. There is also a second set of slightly smaller glasses with a different shape, rounded at the bottom. These variations seem to be much rarer and harder to find on the secondary market today. I rarely see them in the wild or on sites like eBay. Like the previous series, the glasses were seemingly sold at various restaurant chains that carried Pepsi fountain drinks. I know for sure they were available at some Pizza Hut locations, because my cousin bought me a set of the small round Superman and Batman glasses back in 1978 when I wasn’t quite yet 4 years old. My Mom took the “Collector Series” name seriously and put them in her China cabinet for safe keeping. I never drank from them, which is probably a good thing,...
Perez assembles an impressive resume…
All those DC heroes — and you ain’t seen nothin’ yet…
A tour of DC’s past and present…
He didn’t draw them much — but he did draw the hell out of them…
