Comics
Superman Family Colouring Commissions
The 1960s Superman books were the last time superheroes could be as innocent and corny and fun as they were. The world was changing, and the comics would change with it. In many ways, they got better. More inclusive, more culturally aware, and deeper than the light ambrosia of a young reporter with a signal watch, and a neurotic girlfriend who cared more about her place in Superman's orbit instead of her own needs as a person.
The New Adventures of Superboy No. 51 Cover by Frank Miller
During his Ronin period, Frank Miller produced this great cover for The New Adventures of Superboy. The comic was a throwback to the simpler times of the 1950s and 60s in comics, so seeing a Miller cover was an unexpected and welcome surprise. And as much as I liked the original colouring, I never thought Superboy would leave town in shame at sunset. No, if he'd been humiliated, he'd skulk away in the dead of night, in the shadow of his supposed greatness.
Darkseid - Master of Death No. 1 Cover by Jim Lee
As an artist, Jim Lee has made a career on good draughtsmanship backed up with superior rendering skills. Recently, he did this Darkseid piece via live feed and I loved its looseness and strength. By not getting in there to sweat the details there's a freshness and power to this piece which is a welcome departure from the usual.
Mister Miracle No. 24 Cover by Marshall Rogers
While Marshall Rogers is rightfully remembered for his groundbreaking run on Detective Comics with Steve Englehart and Terry Austin, his early work for DC also included the most-accessible of Jack Kirby's Fourth World characters, Mister Miracle.
Batman No. 234 Cover by Neal Adams
Two-Face is one of those characters that is fantastic when he's written well. In August 1971, Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams (with Dick Giordano on inks) delivered one of his best stories for his first appearance of the Bronze Age in "Half An Evil," the lead story in Batman No. 234. And, of course, it was wrapped in an iconic Adams' cover.
Black Canary No. 1 Cover by Trevor Von Eeden
By 1983, Trevor Von Eeden had matured into a bold, expressive style that was all his own. From Batman Annual No. 8 to the Green Arrow mini-series, and eight stunning issues of Thriller, he was on the cutting edge of dynamic storytelling.
The Shadow No. 1 Cover by Michael Wm Kaluta
The early 70s enjoyed a renewed interest in pulp magazines, and Conde Nast owned more than one popular character which would appear in comic books. While Marvel secured the Doc Savage license, DC acquired The Shadow, and put one of their best young artists – Michael Wm Kaluta – on it, with the first issue having a cover date of November 1973.
Time Warp No. 2 Cover by Michael Wm Kaluta
Time Warp No. 2, January 1980, with a cover by Michael Wm Kaluta showing his Art Nouveau and Art Deco influences, plus some science fiction pulps thrown in for good measure. The cover wrapped 64 pages of science fiction short stories drawn by Joe Orlando, Steve Ditko, Gil Kane, Howard V Chaykin, Mike Nasser (Michael Netzer), Jerry Grandenetti, Don Newton, Dave Simons, Romeo Tanghal Sr and John Celardo.
Time Warp No. 5 Cover by Michael Wm Kaluta
Time Warp was a science fiction anthology series published by DC Comics in 1979 and 80. Each 64-page issue had stories by seasoned pros and newcomers alike, and we can all wish that anthology books were still a regular staple in comics today. All five issues had fantastic covers by Michael Wm Kaluta, including this one for No. 5, July 1980.
Ronin No. 4 Cover by Frank Miller
I missed most of Frank Miller's first run on Daredevil (though I would later acquire them as back issues). Being a DC fan, the news of Miller leaving Marvel to come to DC to work on his own project – Ronin – was exciting. Things got even better when we saw sample art from the first issue.
Green Lantern No. 71 Cover by Gil Kane
A simple and powerful composition by artist Gil Kane for this issue cover dated September 1969. Kane's cover design abilities were advancing steadily and would serve him well when he moved over to Marvel in the coming years.
Green Lantern No. 104 Cover by Mike Grell
Mike Grell saved DC Comics from itself. He came along just as DC made things very unwelcome for Neal Adams, the artist who had modernised American comics and saved DC from itself a few years before. Mike probably came cheaper then. He was also full of energy, produced more pages than Adams; his tight, detailed work exuded freshness and fun, and we ate it up.
Green Lantern No. 158 Cover by Keith Pollard
In between Green Lantern No. 151 – when Marv Wolfman and Joe Staton left after one of the best runs on the title – and Green Lantern No. 172 – when Len Wein and Dave Gibbons took over, Green Lantern went through a number of writers and artists. In spite of experienced talent, GL floundered, lacking solid editorial direction and decent writing.
Interlac: The Language of the 30th Century
Interlac – the intergalactic universal language of the 30th century and the Legion of Super-Heroes – was first referenced in Adventure Comics No. 379, March 1969. It was turned into a tangible alphabet with Paul Levitz, Keith Giffen and letterer John Costanza in Legion of Super-Heroes v2 No. 311, May 1984.
The Legion of Super-Heroes Logos
When Superboy left the Legion in No. 259 of his former book, Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes was retitled to Legion of Super-Heroes v2 for the January 1980 issue. DC Comics staff letterer Todd Klein created a new logo for the book. I've always thought it a great logo utilising three-point perspective.
The Best of DC Digest No. 40 Cover by Gray Morrow
Beginning just as the 1970s ended, DC Comics' digest-sized comics followed on the success of the format at Archie Comics and Gold Key Comics, and lasted until the mid 1980s. They most often offered reprints based around one hero or a theme in each issue.
Green Lantern No. 74 Cover by Gil Kane
At the end of the first era of the Hal Jordan Green Lantern, Gil Kane – the series' first artist – had gone from a reserved, unremarkable style to a bold, dynamic style informed by his mastery of structural anatomy.
Green Lantern No. 141 Cover by Dick Giordano
Dick Giordano's last Green Lantern v2 cover as a solo artist went unpublished. Instead George Pérez's illustration – teasing the first appearance of The Omega Men in the issue – appeared on the cover of Green Lantern No. 141, June 1981.
Green Lantern No. 124 Cover by Dick Giordano
The late Dick Giordano had a solid association with Green Lantern, notably for his collaboration with Neal Adams at the beginning of the Bronze Age, and later for drawing GL backup stories in The Flash.
Ghosts No. 59 Cover by Luis Dominguez
Luis Dominguez was born in Argentina in the early 1920s and has had a long and distinguished career in comics in Argentina and the US. For my generation, he's well remembered for his work with DC Comics in the 1970s. From what info I've been able to find, he's still alive today.
DC Special Series No. 2 Swamp Thing Cover by Bernie Wrightson
The late Bernie Wrightson made his name on the first 10 issues of DC Comics' Swamp Thing before moving on to Warren Publishing and other venues. He returned to Swamp Thing in 1977 to do this fantastic wraparound illustration to cover DC Special Series No. 2, which reprinted Swamp Thing Nos. 1 and 2.
Batman No. 255 Cover by Neal Adams
At the end of his industry-changing run at DC Comics, Neal Adams turned in this solid cover. However, with Batman then running 100-page issues, the art didn't get the packaging it deserved. Shrunk to fit a smaller box in the cover template, we've always wondered how it would have looked as a normal cover.
Giant-Size Blog Headers
Online friend Richard Guion (aka Cousin Dick) was kind enough to give this site a couple of plugs on his blogs Giant-Size Marvel and Giant-Size Geek, and I returned the favour by making new blog headers.
Marvel Comics Giant-Size Cover Template
I've rebuilt and coloured a lot of vintage comic book covers. Now, it's your turn. Here's a template for Marvel's Giant-Size comics of the mid 1970s. I'd love to see what you create in the comments below.
Marvel Preview No. 4 : Star-Lord by Gan and Wrightson
Star-Lord first appeared in Marvel Preview No. 4, cover dated January 1976. The character was named by Marv Wolfman, and Steve Englehart created the character from there. Steve Gan was the artist.
Wonder Woman No. 108 Cover by Andru & Esposito
For my money, one of the best Wonder Woman covers ever. From early in the Silver Age, cover dated August 1959 and drawn by long-time WW art team Ross Andru and Mike Esposito.
Doctor Strange (1978) DVD Cover
You have to feel for the folks over at Shout Factory. They got the rights to re-release the 1978 Doctor Strange TV movie to tie in with the release of the new feature film starring Benedict Cumberbatch. And they went to the effort to remaster it from the original film elements. That's dedication, and one of the reasons genre film and TV lovers love Shout like cinephiles love Criterion and Kino Lorber. They do things right.
Action Comics No. 500 Cover by Andru & Giordano
As the Seventies were drawing to a close, the long-running Action Comics and its star Superman were celebrating the comic's 500th issue. Andru and Giordano were the regular cover team and they drew the iconic characters with their usual flair.
The Secret Six No. 2 Cover by Nick Cardy
Nick Cardy is one of best DC cover artists of all time. From Aquaman to The Brave & the Bold and Superman, his work is noted for the power of its composition and the emotional depth of his characters.
The Secret Six No. 4 Cover by Jack Sparling
An interesting cover design most likely sketched by Carmine Infantino and then passed to Jack Sparling – The Secret Six's regular artist – for illustration. From November 1968.
The Secret Six No. 3 Cover by Jack Sparling
It was a small series of only seven issues beginning in early 1968 and running bi-monthly. The Secret Six was created and plotted by E. Nelson Bridwell, with dialogue by Joe Gill. Frank Springer drew the first two issues and Jack Sparling the remaining five.
Detective Comics No. 379 Cover: Novick or Novick?
Just because you do a good drawing doesn't mean it's going to make the best cover, at least in the eyes of the art director or editor. Case in point, Irv Novick drew two covers for Detective Comics 379 from September 1968. The first is beautifully drawn. You can see the care he put into it with the rendering of the man's hand, for example.
The Demon No. 1 Cover by Jack Kirby
With his Fourth World books at DC Comics cancelled, Jack Kirby moved on to a second series of books which included Omac, Kamandi, Kobra and The Demon.
Batman No. 210 Cover: Novick or Adams?
As can happen, one artist draws a cover, and the editor chooses to have it redrawn by another artist. Case in point the cover for Batman 210, March 1969. The layout had been done by Carmine Infantino and passed on to Irv Novick who was enjoying his early years of drawing super-heroes for DC, which included Batman and The Flash.
Spider-Man & Daredevil Special Edition No. 1 Cover by Frank Miller
Frank Miller had completed the Daredevil run with Klaus Janson which had made him a top creator at Marvel. His next major project would be 1983's Ronin limited series.
The Original Star-Lord Covers
His mother murdered by aliens, Peter Quill wanted revenge and his only goal was to get out into space to see it through. The early Star-Lord adventures were darker in tone than what we see today. They also had some great covers by top illustrators. Here they are as originally published, and new versions as Star-Lord magazine.
Wonder Woman by HG Peter
HG Peter was Wonder Woman's original artist, and this piece by him was a rejected cover from the 1940s. A perfect illustration to colour and package. A lost gem is rediscovered.
The X-Men Chronicles by Dave Cockrum
From 1981, Cockrum's hand-painted cover for this one-shot fanzine.
Uncanny X-Men No. 138 Cover by Byrne & Austin
One of the iconic covers in a run of iconic covers by Byrne and Austin. With fresh type and colour by me.
Batman No. 351 Cover: Colan or Colón?
Gene Colan was the penciller on Batman in 1982, and he did up a cover for No. 351, inked by Frank Giacoia. Perhaps wanting a larger, more active Batman, Ernie Colón and Dick Giordano were tasked to re-draw the figure. Here are both of them coloured up.
The Silver Surfer by John Buscema
I ran across a really grotty copy of the late John Buscema's pencils for this page from The Silver Surfer v3 No. 110. Detailed below are the steps from inks to layout to turn it into a cover.
The Doom Patrol Covers III
Following up on a previous post and this one too, here are three more interpretations of The Doom Patrol done by current artists, with cover layouts by myself.
ROM the Space Knight by Jeff Slemons
One of the early integrations of electronic features into an action figure, the ROM action figure didn't do well in the market, but the Marvel comic lasted 75 issues and four annuals. He'll return to comics in 2016 via IDW Publishing.
The Doom Patrol Covers II
Following up on a popular post, here are three more interpretations of The Doom Patrol done by current artists, with cover layouts by myself.
DC Comics Presents No. 26 Cover by Jim Starlin
DC Comics Presents No. 26 is more often remembered as the first appearance of The New Teen Titans, but it also marked the first appearance of Jim Starlin as a DCCP artist.
The Doom Patrol Covers I
The original Doom Patrol was a comic book series from DC Comics in the 1960s. Created by Arnold Drake and Bruno Premiani, they first appeared in My Greatest Adventure No. 80, 1963, and the book was renamed for the team as of No. 86. The series ran until No. 121, 1968, when the Patrol seemingly sacrificed themselves to save the small fishing village of Codsville, Maine. They'd come back in different incarnations with different characters and different levels of popularity with readers.
Batman Year One
From 1986, this house ad was the first piece we saw from what was going to become a classic Batman storyline by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli.
Wonder Woman No. 269 Cover by Andru & Giordano
From July 1980, we have a great cover by Ross Andru and Dick Giordano, a prolific cover team for many DC titles during this period.
Star-Lord by Byrne & Austin
Back in 1976, Marv Wolfman – then editor-in-chief for Marvel Comics – came up with the name Star-Lord and passed it on to writer Steve Englehart to flesh it out. The result appeared in Marvel Preview #4, January 1976.
Justice League of America No. 66 Cover: Dillin or Adams?
From November 1968, two versions of the cover to DC Comics' Justice League of America No. 66 have survived. The first, drawn by Dick Dillin and Joe Giella was rejected. The second was drawn by Neal Adams and made it to the newsstands. I've coloured them both up here from scans of the original art.