Posted By Dan Greenfield on Jun 15, 2025 | 6 comments

BRONZE AGE BONANZA: Big month for GIL KANE! PLUS: ADAMS! KUBERT! GRELL! MORE!

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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.

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Huge month for Gil Kane, and a game of “Is it a comic cover or an album cover?” There are also fights in the sky, a famous Neal Adams illustration, and some tongue.

Dig the TOP 13 COVERS OF JUNE 1975 — RANKED:

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13. Haunted #23, Charlton. Tom Sutton’s gonna Tom Sutton.

Tom Sutton

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12. Tor #3, DC. I guess babies also had beards a million years ago? Also check out the fighting dinos on the upper right. They should have made that a flip cartoon all through the comic!

Joe Kubert

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11. Midnight Tales #14, Charlton. She’s holding it by the tongue.

Wayne Howard

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10. The Amazing Spider-Man #148, Marvel. The first of three “Big Moon” covers on this list. And no, I’m not talking about Spidey’s butt. I like this one not because it’s a classic ’70s Spidey cover — it’s not — but because it’s a somewhat different predicament and visual perspective for our hero. Nice color palette and tip o’ the web to Gil Kane and John Romita for Spider-Man’s subtle body language: You can’t see his face, but there’s a single line that indicates his brow is furrowed and the positioning of his shoulders subtly show his strain against the chains. Well done by a couple of all-time pros.

Gil Kane pencils, John Romita inks

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9. Batman Family #1, DC. Total sentimental pick. I love it on the grounds that it’s the first issue of the most consistently entertaining Batbook of the Bronze Age. And the bright red background and return of the Silver Age Batlogo do their magic. But that main Grell image, while terrific — Batgirl and Robin together again for the first time! — was originally bound for 1st Issue Special before it got cancelled, so it leaves you wanting more. And ol’ Bats there was originally the Superman image on 1972’s Shazam #1. So it gets points off for the Frankensteined nature of the whole thing. But I do love it. It’s a cover that means a lot to me.

Mike Grell (main image) and Nick Cardy (Batman)

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8. Marvel Team-Up #37, Marvel. Back-to-back “Big Moon” close-quarters, werewolf battle covers comin’ at ya. Which do you prefer?

Ed Hannigan pencils, Romita inks

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7. Werewolf by Night #33, DC. I like the balance and symmetry of this one slightly more.

Kane pencils, Janson inks

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6. Demon Hunter #1, Atlas/Seaboard. Oh, Atlas, we hardly knew ye. Adieu.

Rich Buckler

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5. Daredevil #125, Marvel. Gil Kane, master at work. Guy holding guy over his head — seen it a million times, right? But the bodies’ positions, the black rainstorm and the electricity give it great drama. There’s more: The angles of the rocks that flank Copperhead and Daredevil slope inward, giving the illusion of greater depth and implied movement. Excellent. The real star, however? The unnamed colorist who made it all explode with the red and yellow, accented by pale blue.

Kane pencils, Klau Janson inks

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4. Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction #5, Marvel. Whattya think? Caroline Munro? Maybe? Kinda?

Sebastia Boada

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3. The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #14, Marvel. Putting one of Neal Adams’ most famous illustrations this low feels like a crime. It was even hanging in his studio.

Neal Adams

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2. The X-Men #94, Marvel. The first regular issue of the All-New All-Different X-Men! And it’s not just because of its landmark status — it’s because it’s a corker that announces this book has returned from reprint status with power, energy and style. No wonder these guys caught on.

Kane pencils, Dave Cockrum inks

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1. Marvel Treasury Edition #6, Marvel. A seminal Doctor Strange cover by Frank Brunner that comes off like a classic prog rock/heavy metal album cover. You just know that half the teenagers that picked this up got baked, threw on a set of ear cans, turned Sabbath’s Paranoid up to 11, and just stared at every line, bolt and star, as the Sorcerer Supreme cast his spell over them.

Frank Brunner

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MORE

— The TOP 13 COVERS of MAY 1975 — RANKED. Click here.

— BRONZE AGE BONANZA: The 1975 INDEX. Click here.

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