Redartz: Marvel and DC; the "Big Two". Known for such heavyweights as Spider-man, the X-Men, Avengers, Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. Both companies delved into the horror genre with titles such as "Tower of Shadows" and "House of Secrets". Both had entries in the war genre, especially DC. But what about 'funny books? Well, neither company exactly filled the spinner racks with them, generally leaving the field open for Archie, Harvey, and Gold Key (although DC did have more such books during the Silver Age). Nonetheless, Marvel and DC both dipped some ticklish toes into the humor field. Today we look at some of those...
Not Brand Echh: Yes, not technically Bronze age, but certainly deserving of mention. Probably the best of Marvel's 'attempts at humor'. When you have the likes of Kirby, Sutton, Severin, Heck, Colan, and more at the drawing table, you can anticipate some good visuals. Superhero parodies abound; but later issues had more features piercing tv, movies, music, etc.
Spoof: Debuting only a year or so after "Brechh" departed, "Spoof" kept Marie Severin busy (along with numerous others, including Archie Comic's Henry Scarpelli) doing more parodies of popular culture. Dark Shadows, All in the Family, The Partridge Family, and other 70's attractions all ended up under the Spoof scope...
Plop!: DC mined some twisted comic gold with "Plop!" Running from 1973 to 1976, it contained a wealth of humor blended with a bit of the macabre. One big attraction to this title was the covers, often showcasing the talents of comic greats Basil Wolverton and Sergio Aragones.
Arrgh!: Marvel followed DC's entry into horror humor with "Arrgh!". This rather short-lived book ran from 1974 to1975, and again gave Marie Severin some fine cover opportunites. This book had both new stories and reprints from 1950's vintage "Crazy" comics. Incidentally, those reprints had art by the likes of Bill Everett and Carl Burgos. New work was seen by Ross Andru, Jerry Grandenetti, Mike Sekowsky and others...
Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew: In the Exciting Eighties, DC tossed superheroes, satire and funny animals into a blender and came up with "Captain Carrot". Humor maven Scott Shaw! gives life to the Captain, Alley-Kat-Abra, Fastback, Yankee Poodle, Pig Iron and more. One of the best arcs was the Zoo Crew's meeting with the JLA (that is , the "Justa Lotta Animals")...
Ambush Bug: Not one single title, but several mini-series, and numerous guest appearances (usually at the expense of Superman). Kieth Giffen skewered many superhero tropes, played with DC icons, and twisted both story and art. All the while hosted, guested, or devastated by the irrepressible Ambush Bug. He even managed a team-up in DC Comics Presents. One of my favorite AB gags involved him meeting Wonder Woman disguised as Mrs. Sappho; first name Suffern. WW was not amused, but I was...
I'm personally grateful to all these titles for keeping me chuckling throughout the Bronze age. Any of these, or any other books, tickle your funny bone?
Redartz: Hi gang; ready for another survey of the best that comics have to offer? For today's installment, we go back to 1973, a very impressive comics year indeed. One I missed out on originally, as I was still reading exclusively Archies until 1974. But once I got the collecting bug, I picked up many of these and other gems from '73.
As always, we make our selections based on books on sale between January and December 1973, cover dated Apr.73 to Mar.74. And now, in no specific order, here are my picks for the year's best:
The Shadow 1- "The Doom Puzzle" by Denny O'Neil and Micheal Kaluta. O'Neil and Kaluta revive the classic pulp character with this striking debut issue.
Marvel Premiere 14- "Sise-Neg Genesis" by Steve Englehart, Frank Brunner and Dick Giordano. The climax to an epic Dr. Strange story, to creation and back. And who knew that it would only get better, soon, in Doc's own title?
Savage Tales 2- "Red Nails" by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor- Smith. The first half of perhaps the greatest Conan tale of all; a masterpiece. Windsor-Smith's art is a museum piece.
Avengers 117- "Holocaust" by Steve Englehart, Bob Brown and Mike Esposito. Marvel's first big crossover event, and it was a doozy. The first battle between Captain America and Sub-Mariner since the Golden Age, and that's only part of the book.
Plop! 1- Various content by Sergio Aragones, Steve Skeates, George Evans, Sheldon Mayer, Bernie Wrightson, Frank Robbins and Alfredo Alcala. This wonderfully twisted humor book gets off to a great start with a fine lineup of top creators. Wonder if this book is collected anywhere...
Amazing Spider-man 122- "The Goblin's Last Stand" by Gerry Conway, Gil Kane and John Romita Sr. So much has been written about this monumental issue, nothing I can say is very novel. But it turned the comics world upside down, and still packs a staggering punch all these years later. Plus, one of Mary Jane Watson's most powerful scenes ever.
Batman 251- "The Joker's Five-Way Revenge" by Denny O'Neil and Neil Adams. An instant classic; one of the best Joker stories in the long history of the Dark Knight.
Defenders 10- "Breakthrough" by Steve Englehart, Sal Buscema and Frank Bolle. Okay, I know it's part of the Avengers/Defenders war already represented above. But hey, it's a different title, it's Hulk vs. Thor, it's a gargantuan tale, and it's my choice anyway...
Fantastic Four 141- "The End of the Fantastic Four" by Gerry Conway, John Buscema and Joe Sinnott. Man, it was a tough year in Gerry Conway's titles. Nevertheless, this story has enough action and drama for a year's worth of books. Annhilus is always cool, and that ending left me stunned the first time I read it.
Swamp Thing 7- "Night of the Bat" by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson. Many issues of this run could have been chosen for this list, but this one is a favorite. Batman by Wrightson is certainly a perk, great story and beautifully moody art. But why did they have to kill the dog?
Whew, as always, it's a tough call. There was a ton of great material that year; so you probably have some other suggestions to consider. Fair enough, let's hear from you!