Ok, how about this for an idea. We take it in turns to post a favourite (British spelling) comic cover every day. This went really well on the comic fan website that I used to frequent. What we tried to do was find a theme or subject and follow that, until we all got bored with that theme. I'd like to propose a theme of letters of the alphabet. So, for the remainder of October (only 5 days) and all of November, we post comic cover pictures associated with the letter "A". Then in December, we post covers pertaining to the letter "B". The association to the letter can be as tenuous as you want it to be. For example I could post a cover from "Adventure Comics" or "Amazing Spider Man". However Spider Man covers can also be posted when we're on the letter "S". Adventure Comic covers could also be posted when we're on the letter "L" if they depict the Legion of Super Heroes. So, no real hard, fast rules - in fact the cleverer the interpretation of the letter, the better, as far as I'm concerned.
And it's not written in stone that we have to post a cover every day. There may be some days when no cover gets posted. There's nothing wrong with this, it just demonstrates that we all have lives to lead.
If everyone's in agreement I'd like to kick this off with one of my favourite Action Comic covers, from January 1967. Curt Swan really excelled himself here.
Discussion and voting on future monthly themes takes place on the "Nominations, Themes and Statistics for A Cover A Day" thread. Click here to view the thread.
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As I have older siblings, comics, usually of the Gold Key, Disney, and Dennis the Menace variety, were about. My brother had a few Batman comics because of the TV show. The first non-Batman superhero comic I read was this one, which led me to imagine that Captain Incredible was as much a part of the superhero world as Superman, Supergirl, or (of course) Batman and Robin. I read it at least a year after its release date, though September 1967 is significant in that some of my earliest retained memories are from that year, including encountering and reflecting on the concept of death. My oldest sister, meanwhile, on a dance trip at 13, got to slip away with some of her friends (they of course just let kids do that, see Toronto in groups, meet us back her at such-and-such a time), to visit Yorkville Ave when it was at its height as Canada's version of Haight-Asbury. No word on whether she passed by William Gibson, who was living there at the time.
I know this was probably released a few months earlier but this is my birth month and year is 1953.
I did manage to read this about 70 years later in the Atlas Era Marvel Masterworks collection.
JANUARY 1961 - BIRTH MONTH.
The Super Friends TV series is what got me started reading comics. While I do remember some TV before that, like The Archies followed by The Monkees and then Jonny Quest on CBS Saturday mornings in 1968 for example, I honestly don't remember seeing any superhero based programs before the Friends in 1973.
DC was more conservative (wiser?) with their characters in1962 when I was born. Superman only had Action Comics (already posted) and, being published only eight times a year back then, there wasn't an issue of his own title in March of that year. Wonder Woman was on the same schedule and Aquaman, on a bi-monthly schedule, was in between his first (January-February) and second (March-April) issues.
Batman and Robin (technically part of the group but never officially announced by Ted Knight during the first season's roll call opening the show) had only Detective Comics and Batman's own title for the most part. The multiple series and commercialism came much later. (Images courtesy of the Grand Comics Database.)
Marvel Team-Up #27---"Rick Jones" convinces the Hulk to break his friend out of prison! Can Spider-Man stop him?
This story takes place in New York City and crosses over with The Defenders. When you think of all the time the Hulk spent in the Big Apple, I'm surprised that it's still standing!
So after reading and digesting Adventure #336 (and returning it to Kevin) I took myself down to the local newsagents that very weekend, with my one shilling coin clenched in my hand, and bought this comic. My very first US comic purchase! Sadly I no longer have it.
On sale the month I got married. I always enjoyed this series.
Tales to Astonish #27. First appearance of Henry Pym, who eight issues later becomes Ant-Man.
This month in 1971 is the last time I bought comics for about 25 years.
If anyone is interested I'll list the reasons I quit, but please ignore if not.
Martin Goodman instructed Stan to quit multiple issue stories and return to done in one issues. Word balloons returned to covers. This made comics appear more like the "kids" comics of 10 years ago. As a late teenager I found this a backward step. Distribution got spotty in the UK and I started to get gaps in my 60 issues runs. I'd left school started working and had new friends who were more interested in beer, girls and rock and roll. Then Jack Kirby quit Marvel, this seemed like the universe giving me a sign that comics were no longer a necessity in my life.
Does this seem familiar to anyone else?
#27: Just looking out my window at the "blood moon" lunar eclipse:
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