Peerless Power of Comics!

                "Our Revels Now Are Ended..." Dark Shadows # 2, August 1969 Like the comic books, music and movies of the 1960s, television was very much a part of my childhood, and Dark Shadows was one show that left a distinct and lasting impression on me. The series had a lot in common with the comic books I absorbed, mainly the serialized adventures of the Marvel heroes. The trials and tribulations of characters such as Peter Parker or Ben Grimm were not very different from the struggles of Barnabas Collins as portrayed by Jonathan Frid,. Like the Marvel heroes, Barnabas was given special "powers" but he didn't want to have them, and didn't revel in his vampire role. To him it was a curse, and he only wanted to live like a normal person. These type of characters greatly appealed to me. The character of Barnabas Collins was never created to be an ongoing part of the gothic so...

This time around I thought I’d take a break from familiar ground and talk about some comics that are not Marvel/Atlas related. Although my main interests lie in the early Marvel age, over the years I've collected, and continue to collect, quite a bit of non-Marvel material. At the last New York con a few weeks ago, attending with the “legendary” Yancy Street Gang (legends in our mind anyway!), I was pleased to have acquired a batch of comics, most in the $2-4 dollar range. Often at cons there is little variety for sale, but this time around it was quite different. This led me to buy a load of different comics, some on my list, others purchased on impulse. While I did buy a batch of Marvel westerns, I'll focus on some of my other interesting purchases in the genres of romance, western and mystery. I knew very little about the romance line published by DC Comics, and had none of their comics for a long time. Most of my romance collecting focused on Marvel’s late 1960s line,...

For those of you who don't get enough of my musings here (there's no accounting for taste!), I have a guest post on Roy Rasmussen's excellent Comic Book Collectors Club site. I thank him and Barry Pearl for allowing me to revise my article on Amazing Spider-Man # 33, which originally appeared in Ditkomania # 76: http://comicbookcollectorsclub.com/the-lifting-sequence-ditkos-defining-moment-on-the-amazing-spider-man/#comment-61

It's always wonderful to not only discover something new when looking through old comics, but actually get conformation from someone who was there. I've been lucky to meet some of the creators of the early Marvel period in person and occasionally go over their work. As a student of comic art I examine covers and interiors and find alterations by other artists, or uncredited pencils and inks from time to time. Some changes are pretty clear cut, others puzzling. Not every artist is aware of corrections, or is unable to identify uncredited inkers. Drawing so many pages, they sometimes have a hard time identifying their own work if it was inked by a strong hand, or perhaps rushed out. I've discovered that it never hurts to ask a question, and this weekend proved the point. I attended the New York ComicCon with "The Yancy Street Gang", that group of scallywags that includes my brother John, Barry Pearl and Michael Vassallo (AKA Doc V). We always have a delightfu...

While most fans are aware that John Romita, Marie Severin, Herb Trimpe and others provided art corrections and alterations for Stan Lee, it is not common knowledge that Jack Kirby also contributed his share of corrections over other artists work in the early days of Marvel. In the late, lamented Jack Kirby Quarterly # 12 (Spring 1999), I was intrigued by a column written by Nigel Kitching discussing Kirby's art corrections. Like myself, Nigel thrived on minute aspects of comics art, and his first discovery was one that had completely escaped my notice. Splash to Amazing Spider-Man # 11, April 1964 This splash was the first image Nigel discussed, drawn by Steve Ditko. Notice anything unusual? To quote Nigel: " Spider-Man's head is clearly Ditko - the webbing is organized in typical Ditko fashion. But the body is nearly all Kirby. The webbing on Spider-Man's right hand has been hastily drawn as only a series of lines; ...

Over the past few years I've been honored to write about the work of one of the most important, unique and distinctive artists in the world of comics - Mr. Steve Ditko - in DitkoMania . Rob Imes has been editing the revived publication, which was originated by Bill Hall. Rob's fanzine is a labor of love, and I like the fact that it is "home grown", put together the old fashioned way, with scissors, tape and tender loving care. Rob decides what to include, and his approach has been entertaining and thoughtful. While Rob has theme issues that often focus on Ditko's earlier work, he also reviews Ditko's latest output. I'm also in great company, sharing space with folks like Barry Pearl, Jason Sacks, Bruce Buchanan, Javier Hernandez, Dave Sim, Mort Todd, Batton Lash and Michael T. Gilbert (to name a few). DitkoMania has well thought out articles, wonderful artwork and a lively letters page. It's a real bargain, and ...

Ever since I can remember I've been fascinated by the process of comics: how they're put together. Pencils, inks, colors, lettering, editing, production. Early on I had an ability to notice alterations in artwork. I was a lad of 10 when Kirby moved to DC and Superman and Jimmy Olsen's redrawn faces stuck out like a sore thumb. Or, at Marvel, Romita faces were sometimes on Kirby's women, or a Marie Severin or Herb Trimpe face or figure would show up in a George Tuska or John Buscema story. I was particularly interested in comparing changes that occured in reprint titles such as Marvel Tales or Marvel Collector's Item Classics . I often took out the originals from my brothers collection and discovered that the entire story was often recolored, or there were sometimes changes in copy. Covers were particularly interesting, since the originals were often restructured in some form, either cropped, images flopped or co...