BRONZE AGE BONANZA: More Kubert brilliance! Adams the painter! And 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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A lot of unsung artists make the cut this month — but the giants still reign.
Dig the TOP 13 COVERS OF MARCH 1975 — RANKED:
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13. The Friendly Ghost, Casper #180, Harvey. This is a bit… much.
Artist unknown
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12. Richard Dragon, Kung Fu-Fighter #2, DC. Damn, don’t look too close. Richard’s left one is about to pop out.
Alan Weiss pencils, Al Milgrom inks
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11. Yang #8, Charlton. Nice colors but the layout is a little too loose. I really dig the outfit on the she-wolf woman person on the hill there, though.
Warren Sattler
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10. The Incredible Hulk #188, Marvel. It’s all in the tooth spittle.
Herb Trimpe
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9. Superman Family #171, DC. The running-at-each-other-cover has been done 1,000,006 times but this is still groovy. I’m an absolute sucker for 1970s body shots down the left-hand column; Supergirl vs. Cleopatra is just plain weird; you get bonus Justice League in the background; and tying it all together is… Batgirl, who should have teamed up with Supergirl far more often. What’s not to love?
Ernie Chan pencils, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez inks
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8. Kamandi #30, DC. How did all those things end up in one place? I must read to find out! Which is the point, of course. (By the way, isn’t it kinda refreshing to see wreckage that’s not the Statue of Liberty?)
Jack Kirby pencils, D. Bruce Berry inks
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7. Tragg and the Sky Gods, Gold Key. Because YOU demanded it! Tragg and the Sky Gods — another feature clearly influenced by Chariots of the Gods — gets its own series! By co-creators Don Glut and Jesse Santos. The far-out Santos cover was unlike so much of what was on the racks that it really pops out. Brilliant colors, though I don’t know who was responsible for that.
Jesse Santos
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6. Giant-Size Invaders #1, DC. Maybe the best-known Invaders cover? If you’re a big Frank Robbins fan — I go either way, depending — feel free to move this up higher.
Frank Robbins pencils, John Romita inks
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5. Fightin’ Army, Charlton. Not the greatest draft work — I can’t help but think what Joe Kubert would have done here — but small publisher Charlton and artist Pat Boyette deserve a lot of credit for putting the Holocaust boldly on the cover. That’s just not something you’d see.
Pay Boyette
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4. Detective Comics #448, DC. One of the better-known Bat-covers of the ’70s, riffing on Detective Comics #444 and wrapping up the five-part “Bat-Murderer” storyline. Little-known fact: Aparo and colorist Tatjana Wood were in charge of Big Orange Moon Month.
Jim Aparo
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3. Star Trek #30, Gold Key. Not the best Gold Key Trek cover, but certainly one of the wildest — and definitely one of the most memorable. Eye-catching, wouldn’t you say?
Alberto Giolitti
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2. The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #11, Marvel. Put a paint brush in Neal Adams’ hand and you’re likely to see the resulting cover at or near the top of this list. Few artists could hold a candle to Adams when it came to capturing the force and pain of violence in a static image. You know something weird, though? I’ve never seen Billy Jack. Just one of those gaps. I’m gonna change that.
Neal Adams
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1. Limited Collectors’ Edition #C-36, DC. Joe Kubert is one of comics’ greatest artists. That’s a given. And this is one of his greatest illustrations. Setting aside the religious aspects for a moment, what Kubert captures powerfully is what is often overlooked: that the Bible is filled with horror and incredible, profound human drama. Utter brilliance.
Joe Kubert
Also a tremendous example of using a wraparound to its fullest extent. As a half image, it just doesn’t measure up:
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MORE
— The TOP 13 COVERS of FEBRUARY 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.
March 16, 2025
Didn’t get into Yang or Kung Fu Fighter or Kamandi, but I think I missed out not seeing the “Fightin’ Army” issue. I was in High School but was reading about the grim realities of WWII on my own. I agree, Kubert’s art on The Bible was magnificent! And I still can’t believe my Mom didn’t want me to buy any issue with “Bat-Murderer” on the cover—I guess she thought it was all like the 60s TV show. (“Holy Homicide!”) And I hadn’t seen “Tragg and the Sky Gods” until just now!
March 16, 2025
We’re entering what IMO is going to be a very fallow era for Top 13 covers, as this is when DC made the inexplicable decision to use Chua/Chan, often inked by Colletta, as the line’s main cover artist. While a great embellisher, especially over Buscema at Marvel, his figure were often static and his layouts often full of unnecessary negative space. And pairing him with the incompatibly styled Colletta only exacerbated the problem. With Cardy gone, the job should have fallen to JLGL or maybe Aparo.
March 16, 2025
I love that Superman Family cover. I’ve read that issue, and it is kinda groovy.
Is that supposed to be the Sphinx on the Kamandi cover? If so, it’s not a very good rendition.
Tragg and the Sky Gods looks interesting.
Personally, Frank Robbins art hurts my eyes.
Cool Detective Comics cover, and I love those Gold Key Star Trek covers!!
March 16, 2025
I never noticed the “big orange moon month” before. Kind of surprised that DC released both around the same time. Both covers are great though! I’m a little surprised that B&B #119 didn’t make your list. I think it is an amazing rendering of Man-Bat and one of the great B&B covers of the era. This was Aparo in his heyday!
March 17, 2025
Just missed the cut. Strongly considered it, though!
March 16, 2025
I am surprised that the cover of Giant-Size X-Men 1 is not on this list considering how famous it is. I would have also added FF 159 by Buckler/Sinnott, a very nice looking cover which has also been reproduced a lot and features both the FF and the Inhumans.
March 17, 2025
X-Men’s exact street date is a matter of slight debate — either Feb. 25 or April 1, depending on your source. We’re using the April date, so there’s a good shot you’ll see it next month.
March 16, 2025
That Casper cover looks like Ernie Colon’s work.
March 18, 2025
Am I wrong for that she-wolf woman on the cover of “Yang” is… kind of attractive? Also, precursor to the Vulcan priestess in “Search for Spock” on the cover of that “Star Trek” issue?