The year was 1941. National Comics was in a boom period like no other, practically owning the comic-book industry thanks to their unprecedented one-two punch of Superman and Batman. After some three and a half years of success, the company decided to put a big promotional push behind a new character, and even anoint it […]
Previously: In the first two parts of our examination of THE AVENGERS, we explored the origin and roster of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, and took a stroll through their decades-long history. This week, we’ll explore the glory that new (and not-so-new) blood brought to the book in the late ‘90s. So settle in, have Jarvis pour […]
For those who came in late: Last week, we took a look at the beginnings of the Avengers, Marvel Comics’ preeminent superhero team, and indulged in what some might call an exhaustive look at the Avengers’ roster in the four decades since its inception. As we continue, we change our focus from who the Avengers […]
DC Comics may have invented the concept of the “superhero team” with the Justice Society, and later the Justice League, but they were never much on refining it. In the DC Universe, superheroes formed super-teams because, well, that’s just what superheroes did. (Sure, there were rare exceptions like the Doom Patrol, but they were short-lived.) […]
Editor’s Note: The recent loss of Neal Adams prompted me to pull this off the shelf and enjoy it again, and to entice you to do the same with this column from a few years back… With the news on Friday of the death of unrivaled boxing champion, social activist and philanthropist Muhammad Ali, I […]
By Scott Tipton By 1964, The Marvel Age of Comics was just getting into gear, and Marvel editor Stan Lee was looking for a way to punch up his newest superhero team book, THE AVENGERS. Having already revived Timely’s other Golden Age success, the Sub-Mariner, in the pages of FANTASTIC FOUR, it was time for […]
The news on Friday about the passing of illustrator and comics legend George Perez quite honestly knocked the wind out of me, even though we were all sadly expecting it, following his announcement last year of his battle with pancreatic cancer. I don’t have the words for how much his work meant to me or […]
For Those Who Came In Late: Last week, in response to the passing of writer Dennis O’Neil, we unearthed a lost entry from the COMICS 101 Archives exploring the early adventures of DC Comics’ Green Arrow, a.k.a. Oliver Queen, a bland if likable enough chap who bore a striking conceptual resemblance to DC’s most famous […]
EDITOR’S NOTE: Yesterday came the welcome news that my old friend and mentor Mark Gruenwald has been inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame, a well-deserved honor for a great talent in comics who left us far too soon. Let’s take a look back at my favorite of Mark’s works, his landmark […]
I keep a old-style comic-book spinner rack in my house, and I keep it packed full of old comics I’ve never read from the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s, so I can always have the experience I had as a kid of walking up to the spinner and pluck out a brand-new comic. And when you […]
Most little kids related Easter with the Easter Bunny. For me, and still to this day, Easter makes me think of a different jovial character. Captain Marvel. When I was little, many Easters ago, I woke up one Easter morning to see my Easter Basket, full of the usual fare: chocolate bunnies, peanut butter eggs, […]
The following column first appeared April 18, 2018. Your humble professor is freshly returned from this year’s WonderCon 2018, returned to its rightful home in Anaheim, California, across the street from the House of Mouse. And a great show it was, feeling much like what was to me the heyday of the San Diego Comic-Con, […]
So let’s assume you’ve seen all the Marvel movies for the last few years, and are looking to do some AVENGERS reading now that MOON KNIGHT is airing and you’re back in a MCU mood. What do we recommend? Well, lucky for you, gentle reader, I just happen to have a list… AVENGERS MARVEL MASTERWORKS, […]
