Buried Treasures: Dynamite's Superhero Confidential (the conclusion)

Doug: We've had a blast over the past five or six weeks reminding ourselves how awesome those monthly book orders from Scholastic, Inc. could be when we were elementary school-aged. Today I'm going to show off the last three features that I saved from Dynamite magazine. The Captain Marvel (Shazam to Bronze Age Babies) feature was my introduction to the Captain's four-color adventures, as I am positive at that point in my life I knew him only from the Saturday morning live action show. As you have, drop us a comment on the artwork, the selection choices editorial made, and the Q&A/FAQ sections that followed the comic excerpts.

I think the Daredevil feature is from Daredevil #117, which I reviewed some years ago. However, as my art samples don't match and since that comic has left my possession I cannot be certain. Any help would be welcome.

I've enjoyed finding and sharing these gems from the middle of the Bronze Age. Who knows what else lurks down deep in the recesses of the comic room's closet?

Who's the Best... Spacefaring Hero?

Martinex1: From the depths of inner space to the reaches of the outer ring, from a galaxy far, far away to where no man has gone before, artistic creators from the 20th Century introduced a new breed of heroes to the pulp and punk generations... the adventurous spacefarer. Whether a space cowboy, a cosmic guardian, a scientific genius with a laser gun, a sportsman with a penchant for interstellar travel, or a cyborg bent on justice, these star-spanning celebrities offered countless hours of entertainment. In books, magazines, comics, television and film these adventurers sparked our imaginations. So which  spacefaring hero is the best?

 

If I Had a Buck... Mirthful Marie Severin!

Doug: Well, if I don't have egg on my face. And lots of it! Our buddy Martinex1, famous inventor of the $1 Challenge (hey, maybe he's The Man!) alerted me to my senility -- like he had to go and do that... Anyway, today's post was actually emailed to us waaaaaaay back at the end of November. Who knows what I was doing then -- it obviously wasn't readying this post for publication! So today we rectify that, and I think you'll enjoy it. Public apologies to ol' Mike S. -- you'll find this worth the wait!

Guest Post – If I Had a Buck…MARIE SEVERIN 

 

Mike S.: Last fall in a couple of posts and comments, Marie Severin’s name was mentioned as an underappreciated artist, a great talent on the Incredible Hulk book, and as a go-to mainstay of the Marvel Bullpen.   

So here is a challenge of “If I Had a Buck”, highlighting the varied work of Ms. Severin’s career.  Not only was she a fantastic superhero penciler, but she also handled comedy, mimicry, satire, adventure and horror genres extremely well.   It is actually surprising how many different high level Marvel characters she touched.  The art always reflected the classic house style but often also contained interesting perspective and layouts.   She started as a colorist at EC and headed the color department at Marvel for a time, all the while pitching in on so many aspects of comic art and production along the way.   She was very prolific and I believe she should be listed along with many of the Silver Age greats.  

Take a look at the 14 covers below, all with Marie Severin art, and I think you will get a small taste of a very big talent.   Spend your dollar wisely; there are plenty of 15 cent masterpieces to choose from.  

Guest Writer - If I Had a Buck... Oh Captain, My Captain

Doug: Martinex1 is in the driver's seat today, friends. He has another fun one in store for our discussion purposes, so do him right! And pssst... this is the last "guest post" we have in the queue, just so all you Junior Chipmunk bloggers know.

Mike S.:This round of “If I Had A Buck” has only a very tenuous linking thread and concept… the heroes have monikers with the rank of “Captain”. 

Beyond that there is not that much to connect this crew. We have spacefaring captains, and we have captains with specific nationalities; we have WWII captains, and we have humorous hungry captains. We have hard punching captains, and we have captains with cosmic powers; we have Canadian captains, and we have carrot chomping captains. Sorry, we are sold out of Cap’n Crunch!

So choose your preference, spend your dollar, and share your thoughts. For the purpose of having all dollars make sense (get it?), the Captain Britain comic will sell for 30 cents.

Until Major Victory, Major Force, and Colonel Sanders have comics, make mine the Bronze Age!

Here is an outline of the comics on sale:

Captain America (Marvel) No. 262;  50 cents.  1981. Cover by Mike Zeck and John Beatty.   “Death Of A Legend” by J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Zeck.   2^nd of a 3 part story involving Nomad, the Ameridroid, and the Red Skull.

Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew (DC) No. 1; 60 cents.  1982.  Cover by Scott Shaw, Ross Andru, and Robert Smith.  “The Pluto Syndrome” by Roy Thomas and Scott Shaw.  Featuring Rubberduck, Yankee Poodle, Alley Kat Abra, and Superman!

Captain Atom (DC) No. 4;   75 cents. 1987.  Cover by Pat Broderick. “Father’s Day” by Cary Bates and Pat Broderick.   Includes an appearance of General Eiling (a prominent character in the Flash TV series).

Captain Marvel (Marvel) No 43;  25 cents.  1976.  Cover by Al Milgrom and Bernie Wrightson.  “Destroy Destroy” by Steve Englehart and Al Milgrom.  Guest appearance by Drax the Destroyer.

Captain Canuck (Comely Comix) No. 10;  50 cents.   1980.   “Beyond, Part 2” Story by Richard Comely; Art by George Freeman.   Don’t confuse him with the Guardian, he’s Captain Canuck.  (IDW has a nice collection by the way).

 

Captain Hero Comics Digest Magazine (Archie) No. 1;  95 cents.  1981.   Cover by Stan Goldberg.  Digest format.  Collects thirteen stories including “The Plight of the Bumblebee”, “Evilheart’s Revenge”, and “Dial M for Monster”.

Captain Savage and His Battlefield Raiders (Marvel) No. 16;  15 cents.  1969.  Cover by John Severin.   “War is Hell …On Ice” by Arnold Drake and Don Heck.   This short lived series mimics the format and styling of Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandoes. 

Captain Britain (Marvel UK) No. 35;  10 p / 30 cents.   1977.   Cover by Bob Budiansky, John Romita and Frank Giacoia.  “That Camelot Might Live” by Gary Friedrich, Larry Lieber, and Ron Wilson.  Brian Braddock continues his adventures, plus some backup reprints of the FF and Nick Fury. 

Marvel Spotlight starring Captain Universe (Marvel)  No. 9; 50 cents.  Cover by Steve Ditko. “The Mystery of Mister E” by Bill Mantlo and Steve Ditko.   From the pages of the Micronauts comes Captain Universe.

Bronze Age Babies Buleltins: Who's Captain Marvel, and Meet the Black Panther

Karen: At the request of our buddy Humanbelly, today we're going to give folks a chance to engage on a topic that has received a lot of attention lately: who should play Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers in the Marvel film universe? A lot of names have been thrown around; most recently, Charlize Theron has been mentioned. But fans have been petitioning for Katee Sackhoff, Natalie Dormer, Katheryn Winnick, Emily Blunt...well, just about any actress you can think of. What's your opinion?

Image from Comicbookmovie.com

Karen: As a bonus, here's some cool mock magazine covers made by Black Panther fan and mechanical engineer Darian Robbins that would be great promo pieces for the film. Comic Book resources (where I also grabbed the images) has an interview with Robbins here. These are really smart, slick graphics and work well to introduce T'Challa and his world. Are you watching, Marvel?