Peerless Power of Comics!

The Comic Reader was a source of news and information on upcoming product from a variety of publishers, as well as a lively forum for fans with articles and a letter column. They also kept in contact with many professionals, leading to artwork specially prepared for the publication.   The talented Russ Manning not only kept TCR informed of his work on various features for Western Publishing, including Magnus, but provided artwork as well. Cover of The Comic Reader # 34, February 1965. This issue also mentions in the news section that "Marvel MIGHT put out a book concerning Sgt. Fury's activities as a spy after the war, patterned after the Man From UNCLE. Instead of Thrush they'd have Hydra!" . They were correct, of course, and about four months later Fury replaced The Human Torch in Strange Tales. The Comic Reader # 35, March 1965 took a look at some of the results of the 1964 Alley Awards. Spider-Man and FF were very popular with fans, but surprisingly, Hawkman was t

The early fanzines had a charm, enthusiasm and energy that continues to fascinate me. So many of the pioneers produced work that is historically important and filled with the essence of youth, a wide-eyed spirit that filled many ink stained pages. There are many gems sprinkled throughout the aging, small-press fanzines (some with a print run of 300 or less) and I thought one of the most important, The Comic Reader, would be a good place to start. The father of fanzines, Jerry Bails is worthy of praise for producing Alter- Ego alone, but his accomplishments are many and varied. After passing AE to Roy Thomas, Bails produced the Comicollector and On The Drawing Board , which included comic book news and information of the pros. Bails discussed his early contributions in Bill Schelly's exceptional book, Comic Fandom Reader: " My initial conception of Alter-Ego turned out to be unrealistic. I wanted well-researched articles and features, comic strips, news, and ads. Each of these

I thought I’d break tradition this time out and pay tribute to the person who first spurred my interest in comic books: my brother John. John is seven years older than me, and was buying comics before I was born. I can't remember a time when comics weren't in the house. When I was a tyke John was buying Marvel’s on a regular basis, particularly the superhero line. John didn't only buy Marvel's though, he also purchased DC (John particularly liked group titles such as Challengers of the Unknown, Doom Patrol and Blackhawk );Gold Key, Charlton, Tower and Archie’s “Mighty Comics” line.   FF #20 may well be my introduction to Jack Kirby's art. It was the earliest issue in John's collection, and while I wouldn't describe the art as pretty, it had a rough around the edges quality that held my attention. Inside, equally ominous characters like the Watcher awaited, and I was hooked. Kirby pencils; George Roussos inks; Artie Simek letters and likely Stan Goldberg colo