Posted By Dan Greenfield on Oct 16, 2023 | 1 comment

Did you know he was the first artist to draw a Beatles comic?

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UPDATED 10/16/23: The late Joe Sinnott was born 97 years ago, on Oct. 16, 1926. While Sinnott’s obviously best known for his historic work for Marvel, he also happened to be the first artist to chronicle the Fab Four in comics. Enjoy this interview with Sinnott by Michael Eury, from 2017’s book Hero-A-Go-Go!, which you can still order through publisher TwoMorrows. — Dan

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Every Saturday for 13 weeks, we’ve been serializing Back Issue editor Michael Eury’s new book Hero-A-Go-Go! — a ginchy exploration of the Silver Age and Swingin’ Sixties. For other installments, click here. Hero-A-Go-Go! is out now. You can order it here.

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We started this fab 13-week serialization of Michael Eury’s Hero-A-Go-Go! with Adam West’s Batman (click here), which makes sense since the 1966 TV show is what launched both Michael’s and my own love of pop culture. Along the way, I made sure to also address one of the other great “B”s of the Swingin’ Sixties — James Bond. (Click here.)

But it was only fitting that, in the end, we’d finish with … the Beatles.

I have my own deeply personal connection with the Beatles and comics. When I was about 10 or 12, my mother took my older sister and me to Beatlefest at what’s now called the Hotel Pennsylvania across the street from Madison Square Garden. I dug the Beatles and was excited to go but, really, this was a bigger deal for Paula, who ate, breathed and slept John, Paul, George and Ringo.

Anyway, it turns out there was a comic-book convention going on at the same time. What were the chances? I didn’t even know such things existed. When I looked inside, I had one of those moments in life when it feels like Captain Marvel zaps you right between the eyes — ZAP!

It is not an exaggeration to say that my life changed right then and there. Mom was cool enough to let me go off on my own and explore the convention while she and Paula went upstairs to Beatlefest. (Check out the full account here. If you’re a fan of either the Beatles or Batman, I think you’ll dig it.)

OK, but back to Hero-A-Go-Go!

In this finale, we tie it all together with Michael’s interview with the great Joe Sinnott, who illustrated the 1964 Beatles biographical comic from Dell.

Here are the pages from the book in their entirety. And I gotta tell you, Hero-A-Go-Go! includes a lot more on the Beatles and their impact, so make sure you pick up the book.

You can order it here.

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For other Hero-A-Go-Go! excerpts, click here. The book is out now. You can order it here.

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MORE

— BATMAN MEETS THE BEATLES: He Came in Through the Bat-Room Window. Click here.

— YELLOW SUBMARINE: The Voyage From Screen to Page. Click here.