John Romita Covers the Marvel Universe

Doug: Isn't the cover of Avengers #23 awesome? It's penciled by Jack Kirby, but the inks are by Jazzy Johnny Romita. So this got me to researching -- what are those awesome covers throughout the Marvel Universe that were penciled by Romita, and excluding a certain Web-slinger? Of course I'm just giving you a sampling... suggesting others is your job! Enjoy! NOTE: This post was updated on April 24 2020. There were originally 30 samples of John Romita's cover work; that has been pared down to 9. Additionally, there is reference below to a link; that went to a site that is no longer active. So if you want to play along, you'll need to search on your own.

Doug: Well, if that doesn't whet your appetite to a) go read some Marvel Comics, or b) get into that link above and check out all the other Jazziness in our comics-loving history, then I don't know what will!

Readers' Turn: Discuss Evel Knievel, and Monty Python

Karen: Howdy folks. Here's your chance -if you ever wanted to propose a "Discuss" topic, go right ahead! Typically "Discuss" topics are pretty narrow ones (in the past we've thrown out things like "Discuss the Sub-Mariner" or "Discuss Animal House"). So get it rolling!

Doug: I wanted to break in today and tell you about a book I pre-ordered back in April and received yesterday. It is the very heavy (3.1 pounds!), 600+ page tome Tales of the Batman: Len Wein. The book collects Detective Comics #408, #444-448, #466, #478-479, #500, #514, Batman #307-310, #312-319, #321-324, #326-327,  World's Finest Comics #207, DC Retroactive Batman - The 70s, Untold Legends of the Batman #1-3, and Batman Black and White #5. Amazon's pre-order price was a mere $31. Couldn't pass it up!

But the aspect of the book which our readers might be most interested is the artist credits. Talk about a Hall of Fame! These stories are illustrated by Neal Adams, Dick Dillin, Jim Aparo, Ernie Chua, Marshall Rogers, Irv Novick, Walt Simonson, Don Newton, Dick Giordano, Joe Giella, Vinnie Colletta, and John Byrne (among many others). Wow... A note: there are a few Neal Adams stories that were reprinted previously in the Batman Illustrated by Neal Adams hardcovers. As you may know, Adams recolored all of his work for those books. Those versions are included here, rather than the traditional four-color versions. It's a bit off-putting alongside the many stories reprinted as they originally saw print.

I am in debt to DC for getting all of the Bronze Age Batman goodness compiled in these smart-looking hardcovers. Bravo!