This Cover Made Me Buy This Comic Book

Thor #275 (September 1978)(cover by John Buscema, Tom Palmer, and Gaspar Saladino)

Doug: Action in the Mighty Marvel Manner, indeed! You know John Buscema had a blast drawing this cover, replete with those ugly trolls and a quite serious battle axe being wielded by Loki. This cover just exudes energy. Gaspar Saladino's letters don't hurt, either. I have to wonder, though, if the call-out to the television cameraman wasn't in some way a form of base trickery toward readers of the day -- after all, one could find similar call-outs on Spider-Man and Hulk comments at around the same time advertising their own TV shows.

BAB Classic: Darwyn Cooke's Take on the DC Universe

NOTE: This post was originally published on September 20, 2014.

Doug: Sadly, Karen and I never got round to reviewing Darwyn Cooke's masterpiece The New Frontier. I wish we had. Oh, we've both read it -- and we've both seen the equally pleasant animated feature of the same name. But time and busyness intruded around a year ago when we were in talks to get it done. Today, it's a sense of loss that an artist who brought us joy, and from all accounts I'm reading was a fantastic human being, is gone. But his work remains, and has been such a high to see around the Internet these past two days. One cannot help but smile at Cooke's smiling heroes and sexy women. His was a talent akin to Bruce Timm's -- guys like that just make comics fun. So thanks, Darwyn, for the fun.

Karen: Although not a Bronze Age artist, Darwyn Cooke sure has that sensibility. He might be best known for "New Frontier," his retro story of the DC super-heroes' origins (which was also turned into an animated feature), but he's currently produced 23 variant covers for DC books, and they are spectacular.You can see all 23 at the link below, but  I've posted a few here to show you what to expect. Personally, I get a big kick out of that Teen Titans cover!

http://comicsalliance.com/darwyn-cooke-dc-variants-december/

 

Curating

Doug: On Twitter we follow all kinds of folks -- publishers, creators, fans, collectors, etc. I get a kick out of one fellow in particular (@AaronMeyers) who seems to have a bottomless comic book budget. He's posted photos in the past of his comic book room. To say it is a warehouse of longboxes would not do it justice. He regularly posts photos of books he picked up for $1, $2, $4... you get the idea. I love seeing the stuff he purchases, as it's varied. Of course I'm digging the Bronze Age-era books he acquires, but that brother has a broad range of interests. Check him out, give him a follow -- I guarantee you you'll find something that kindles a memory.

Doug: This got me to thinking, because obviously he buys comics in a range of conditions. To start us off today, I'll ask this: How do you handle your comic books? I'd guess that anything of age or value you've stored in bags/boards and in longboxes. But how about those of you who don't -- we've discussed storage before, but go ahead and remind us of your system. As my comics have now left to join other families, this is a worry I do not have anymore. In fact, you probably have figured out that I am pretty rough on my trades and hardcovers. Those scans I provide in my weekly reviews don't just happen -- most of my books have been bent in such ways that they could use a visit to the chiropractor!

Doug: So if you're looking at a comic that has some value (monetary or sentimental), do you wash your hands first? Do you make sure the surface is clean before laying it down, or do you not mind holding it? What's your method for unbagging it (because I guarantee I've pulled some color from a few covers in the past in tape mishaps)?

Doug: I was reminded of a funny story in this vein when teaching last week. We watched a clip from the MTV-produced film I'm Still Here: Real Diaries of Young People Who Lived During the Holocaust (2005). I paused the film as the next vignette began to tell a story about the diary. One time at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, during one of my meetings with the Regional Education Corps of which I am a part, we were privileged to meet Mr. Peter Feigl. Peter is a child survivor of the Holocaust who wrote down the chain of events he experienced in a diary. Years later he donated the book to the USHMM; it has been featured in the aforementioned film, which is based on the book Salvaged Pages: Young Writers' Diaries of the Holocaust. We had assembled in one of the Museum's classrooms, located on the basement level. Mr. Feigl was present, as was one of the Museum's curators. She had his diary with her. It was in a large plastic bag, like a Ziploc bag. Inside the bag, the diary was wrapped in some kind of white cloth. The curator wore white gloves as she handled the bag. As Peter was addressing us, he asked if he could read a passage from the diary -- now if that wasn't thrilling! The curator gingerly removed the book from the bag and wrappings, exposing the cover we'd all seen pictured in I'm Still Here. The curator very gently laid it on a white towel in front of Peter, who then opened the diary rather roughly and began to rapidly leaf through it, looking for the spot he desired. The lady behind him lurched forward but stopped herself; a look of terror swept her face. Aware of this, Peter paused and looked over his shoulder. With a mischievous smile, he said, "Relax. It's my book... I wrote it!" Everyone laughed. Even the curator. A little.

This Cover Made Me Buy This Book

Doug: Well, actually I talked my mom into buying it. I saw it at the grocery store of all places. The cover date of the book as listed at the Comic Book Database was August 1976. That would have been on sale in June, so I am wondering if maybe this was a gift for my 10th birthday. If you were to take a college course on the foundations of DC super-heroes, this would be your textbook. Released at the same time Marvel Comics was making their Origins of Marvel Comics series available, this was my primer to the DCU. The ten heroes pictured on the cover are all featured in this book, making it a tour de force of DC's Golden and Silver Ages. In cases where there are two heroes with the same name (think Earth-1 and Earth-2), both heroes' origins are featured.

Here are the contents (all links in this post take you to the CBDB) (NOTE: This post was updated 4-20-20; the Comic Book Database no longer exists, so all hyperlinks in the post have been removed.)

Action Comics (1938) #1
Adventure Comics (1938) #256
All-American Comics (1939) #16
All-American Comics (1939) #19
The Amazing World of Superman, Metropolis Edition (1973) nn
Batman (1940) #47
The Brave and the Bold (1955) #34
Detective Comics (1937) #33
Flash Comics (1940) #1
More Fun Comics (1935) #89
Police Comics (1941) #1
Showcase (1956) #4
Showcase (1956) #22
Showcase (1956) #34
WHIZ Comics (1940) #2
Wonder Woman (1942) #1
Wonder Woman (1942) #206

Doug: And oh, yeah... this still sits on my bookshelf (far left).

If I Had a Buck... Nick Cardy Covers

Doug: Here's your guy, Martinex1, back again to lead us on another shopping spree.

Mike S.: I have to give DC their due. I never followed the Distinguished Competition’s line of comics as closely as Marvel’s. I was so enamored with Spidey and his ilk that I would have joined the Merry Marvel Marching Society in its heyday if I was old enough. I only owned a smattering of DC books, but I was thoroughly intrigued by the Phantom Stranger and Metamorpho and the Spectre. All of those characters’ books were intermittently included in comics my cousin shared with me as a youngster. They were odd and dark and creepy. Combine that with a few issues of Unexpected and The Witching Hour and my taste of DC had a horror flavor.  

I had read a few issues of the iconic characters here and there, but most of my knowledge of DC’s core super-heroes came from Hollywood with Batman on afternoon repeat cycles, Wonder Woman on CBS, Superman in the theatre, and Super-Friends, Shazam, and even Bat-Mite on Saturday mornings. That part of their universe didn’t catch fire with me; it seemed too quaint.

However, one DC book that had been particularly etched in my young mind was “Unexpected” #119.  I was probably a little too young and easily spooked to be reading that one when I did as it surely cost me some sleep even with a nightlight on. But I read it again and again anyway. It had a handful of creepy stories about a mirror that records evil deeds, a woman created out of swamp muck, and a tree that captures lost spirits, amongst others. All of that was bad enough, but there was a cover that really captured my imagination. In a single panel it tells the tale of a blind man who promised marriage to a witch in exchange for his sight. Oh, what horror will he see when he finally turns around? The cover is not gory or gross; it is neither bloody nor gruesome. It just perfectly captures the moment of a sickening realization. It uses light and shadow and an impeccably rendered facial expression to create the instant when suspense turns to terror. 

And that leads me all these years later to today’s $1 Challenge of “If I Had A Buck”. You see, that cover of Unexpected #119 was lost all of those years ago to the ravages of childhood disarray. As I grew older, I sought out to recreate the collection my cousin had shared with me and that particular book was one of many that I needed to find. But not only did I need to get a copy, I wanted to know who penciled that cover, that wonderful cover. It turns out that the artist was Nick Cardy.

Nick Cardy (Oct. 20, 1920 – Nov. 3, 2013) was a comic book artist who was particularly loyal to DC for decades. He is best known for his interior work on Aquaman and Teen Titans, but he touched all of the DC icons and handled a wide array of genres. He was just as comfortable with cowboys and romance and gladiators and creatures as he was with long-johns and capes. He became the go-to cover artist for DC in the early Bronze Age. He was flexible in his layouts and always a masterful storyteller. In my opinion, his cover art was ground breaking in the way he played with logos, angles, dimensions, and light. All the while, his figures were perfect and the expressions were flawless.  Looking over his huge body of artwork, I have become convinced that I missed out on some great comics from the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. As I said, DC deserves its credit as does Nick Cardy.   

In 2005, he was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame after about 60 years of work in comics and commercial art including movie advertisements. All of this was done after receiving two Purple Hearts for wounds suffered in WWII.   

So you know the drill. You have a single dollar to spend on the Nick Cardy comics below; he handled the cover art on each. Share your selections and share your thoughts about the man, the art, the company, and the characters.  

Aquaman #42 (Nov 1968; $0.12)

Bat Lash #5 (June 1969; $0.12)

Brave and the Bold #98 (Oct 1971; $0.25)

Flash #225 (Jan 1974; $0.20)

Girls’ Love Stories #156 (Jan 1971; $0.15)

Jimmy Olson #159 (Aug 1973; $0.20)

Spectre #8 (Jan 1969; $0.12)

Strange Adventures #239 (Nov 1972; $0.20)

Superboy and the Legion of Superheroes #200 (Jan 1974; $0.20)

Teen Titans #16 (July 1968; $0.12)

Unexpected #119 (June 1970; $0.15)

Weird Worlds #9 (Jan 1974; $0.20)

Witching Hour #21 (June 1972; $0.25)

Wonder Woman #206 (July 1973; $0.20)

Guest Writer - The Pieta: A Comics Cover Genre

Hey, kiddie-winkies! Filed under "careful what you ask for"... Back when we did our last comic book covers post ("Carry On..."), I remarked early in the comments section that it should fall on Martinex1 to shoot us another $1 Challenge as a follow-up to the characters-carrying-characters idea. Wait until you look below and see what the poor guy put himself through! I know you'll stand with me in saying "Great job, partner!"

Mike S: In February, Doug had hosted a post about comic covers and the frequency in which a hero carries another character, toting them along like a sack of potatoes. As he indicated, a subset of those types of covers is the “dead hero” motif. At some point along the way and picked up on the Internet, this cover layout capturing a moment of grief has come to be known as the “Pieta Cover” because of its similarity and reference to Michelangelo’s great work. The most famous examples of the bunch may be X-Men #136 (John Byrne art; cover dated August 1980) and Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 (George Perez art; cover dated October 1985). The first Marvel Graphic Novel, The Death of Captain Marvel, (Jim Starlin; April 1982) also employed the theme and mirrored the classic sculpture more closely with a seated and robed Death holding Mar-Vell whereas other examples have a central character standing and holding the injured, unconscious, or dying victim.  

Following Doug’s post, I had set out to create an “If I Had a Buck” post based on covers with the Pieta design.  Little did I know how daunting a task that would be.   As I explored examples, I was quickly overwhelmed and astounded by how frequently and often the pose occurs.   I decided to drop the $1 Challenge this time because I didn’t think it could do justice to the magnitude of the repetitious covers and I wanted to share the findings.  

There are many spots on the internet that cover the topic, but I have yet to find an all-inclusive list.  A special acknowledgement goes to the great Mike’s Amazing World of Comics site where I was able to dig deep on my archival hunt. My catalog grew so quickly, that I decided to focus just on DC covers (and I am absolutely sure I have not found all of the occurrences yet). My favorites are the two Lois Lane issues which went to the racks only about 30 months apart. I have no idea when the trend started; my earliest example is Batman # 156 (June 1963). It is up to you to find the countless examples from Marvel and other publishers (a coveted BAB no-prize for other DC covers and for the earliest cover date).  So without further ado, with a tip of the hat to Michelangelo, enjoy the DC procession of pietas.

Adventures of Superman #567 (Tom Grummett; May 1999)

Batman #156 (Sheldon Moldoff; June 1963)

Brave and the Bold #84 (Neal Adams; June 1969)

Captain Action #3 (Gil Kane; February 1969)

Captain Atom #8 (Pat Broderick; October 1987)

Captain Atom #44 (Pat Broderick; August 1990)

Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 (George Perez; October 1985)

DC Comics Presents #56 (Gil Kane; April 1983)

Detective Comics #574 (Alan Davis; May 1987)

Firestorm #21 (Jamal Igle; March 2006)

Flash #305 (Carmine Infantino; January 1982)

Freedom Fighters #5 (Rich Buckler; November 1976)

Legion of Super-Heroes #296 (Keith Giffen; February 1983)

Superman’s Girl Friend Lois Lane #102 (Curt Swan; July 1970)

Superman’s Girl Friend Lois Lane #128 (Robert Oksner; December 1972)

Major Bummer #12 (Doug Mahnke; July 1998)

Our Army At War #167 (Joe Kubert; May 1966)

Supergirl #79 (Ed Benes; April 2003)

Superman: The Man of Steel #10 (Jon Bogdanove; April 1992)

Tales of the Teen Titans #45 (George Perez; August 1984)

Tomahawk #121 (Neal Adams; March 1969)

Valor #18 (Stuart Immonen; April 1994)