Posted By Dan Greenfield on Feb 8, 2020 | 4 comments

BRONZE AGE BONANZA: This month features one of the most significant comics in history…

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Welcome to BRONZE AGE BONANZA — our new monthly series that looks at the greatest covers of the Bronze Age — exactly 50 years later. For more info on this feature, click here.

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For some, February 1970 was the real start of the Bronze Age. You’ll see why below.

In any event, what still strikes me in beginning this feature is the sheer variety of material available to readers at the time. Mainstream comics today are dominated by superheroes, crime and sci-fi, even if other niche genres still pop up here and there from various publishers. But back then the spinner racks offered so much, on so many different levels.

Anyway, don’t forget: These entries are based on sale dates and not official publication dates.

So dig THE TOP 13 COVERS OF FEBRUARY 1970 — RANKED:

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13. Little Lotta in Foodland #22, Harvey. Boy, there’s really so much wrong here — but it was a different time. Hey, at least she’s enjoying herself!

Artist unknown

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12. The Governor and J.J. #2, Gold Key. There once was a CBS sitcom called The Governor and J.J. about a governor and his daughter. It ran for a season and a half on CBS. Somebody at Gold Key thought it’d make a good comic book. It ran for three issues.

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11. Ripley’s Believe It or Not! #19, Gold Key. Just a reminder that kids love weird shit.

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10. Superman’s Girl Friend Lois Lane #100, DC. I’m guessing there wasn’t a single issue of Lois Lane that passed the Bechdel Test. And, damn, Superman is so eager for Lois to be guilty. Bonus points for hair-pulling.

Curt Swan pencils, Murphy Anderson inks

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9. Edgar Rice Burroughs: Korak, Son of Tarzan #34, Gold Key. Dig that plane! And dig Korak’s fashionable jungle haircut!

George Wilson

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8. Jughead, #179, Archie Comics. The Archie covers of this period are a lot of fun, so it’s kind of hard to pick just one that captures the zeitgeist. But this is definitely the best of the month with its groovy imagery. Wish I knew who the colorist was, because this cover is far out!

Dan DeCarlo pencils, Rudy Lapick inks

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7. Teen Confessions #61, Charlton. I think Miss Ryman could do better than either of these jerks. But the cover does get major bonus points for the tighty-whities. And even more bonus points because it was done by JOSE LUIS GARCIA-LOPEZ!

Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez

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6. Captain America #125, Marvel. I’ve said this before but man, Marie Severin would have been a superstar if she were working today. She was just ahead of her time.

Marie Severin pencils. Frank Giacoia inks

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5. The Brave and the Bold #89, DC. Kind of makes a nice companion piece to Cap #125 doesn’t it? Y’know, people don’t talk about it enough but Neal Adams was great at horror. The foreground image is so striking that I often forget that Robin’s even on this cover, for what that’s worth.

Neal Adams

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4. The Avengers #75, Marvel. Classic early ’70s Avengers cover. BIG HAND.

John Buscema pencils, Tom Palmer inks

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3. Our Army at War #219, DC. Joe Kubert does Will Eisner to great effect. Lord, I love Kubert’s covers.

Joe Kubert

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2. The Amazing Spider-Man #84, Marvel. John Romita = the greatest Spidey artist ever. (But you knew that.) What a great exercise in capturing action using dramatic angles and uncommon perspective. There’s so much movement here in a single moment: Look at the way Spider-Man’s body twists. Look at Kingpin’s sheer physical power.  It’s a fairly mundane fight scene but Romita turns it into a work of kinetic, compelling art.

John Romita

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1. Green Lantern #76, DC. There was no way this wasn’t going to be #1 — and it’s the third month in a row that Adams takes the top spot. This is one of the most important comics ever and for some the true start of the Bronze Age. (I measure it slightly differently.) A brilliant piece — homaged a million times over — that heralded a new era in comics. Spectacular.

Adams

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MORE

— BRONZE AGE BONZANA: The 1970 INDEX. Click here.

— The TOP 13 COVERS of MARCH 1970 — RANKED. Click here.

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Sources: Mike’s Amazing World of Comics and the Grand Comics Database.