Posted By Dan Greenfield on Jul 4, 2024 | 4 comments

Ba-Dum… Ba-Dum… It’s July Fourth!

Y’know, I have this theory that renowned designer Paul Bacon, the artist of the original 1974 Jaws book cover, just mayyyyybe saw Joe Kubert’s cover for Our Fighting Forces #138 at his local newsstand in May 1972:

I have zero evidence to back this up, mind you, but it wouldn’t be the first time that artists in other fields took their, ahem, inspiration from comics.

But here’s what we do know: In 1975, the movie Jaws — a seminal July Fourth flick — was a massive hit, the birth of the modern blockbuster, and its paperback cover and movie poster by Roger Kastel chomped their way into the public consciousness forever.

Now, comics are much less shy about ripping off whatever’s chewing up the zeitgeist and so, in the wake of the film’s incredible success, every publisher on the beach wanted a big ol’ chunk of Jawsmania. (So did toymakers, like Mego.)

Over the next year or so (even longer), everyone from DC to Marvel to Charlton to, perhaps most sadistically, Little Archie joined the feeding frenzy like young Alex Kintner, giving us storylines and covers featuring sharks and other sea creatures with nasty, big, pointy teeth, to quote another 1975 classic.

Hell, some of the covers you could call shark-adjacent — with the theme of man-eating mandibles adapted for other kinds of superhero torture.

So, in memory of young Master Kintner and in honor of the great Mayor Larry Vaughn, dig these 13 COVERS THAT TAKE A BITE OUT OF JAWS:

John Romita

Jim Aparo

Warren Sattler

Mike Grell

Rich Buckler pencils, Frank Giacoia inks

Gil Kane pencils, Mike Esposito inks

John Buscema pencils, Esopsito inks

Mort Kunstler

Buckler pencils, Dan Adkins inks

Joe Kubert

John Buscema pencils, unconfirmed inks

Aparo

Dexter Taylor

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MORE

— AQUAMAN AND THE GREAT WHITE SHARK: The Perfect JULY 4 Action Figure Set. Click here.

— 13 QUICK THOUGHTS: FTC’s AQUAMAN/SHARK Set is Epically Silly. Click here.