Monday, April 13, 2020

Superman Supacomic #150 and Colossal Comic #17: Adams and Amos


Colour Comics' Superman Supacomic #150 was published c.February 1972:


This is one of the most famous Neal Adams covers, originally appearing on the cover of Superman #233:


But you may not know there was an Australian precursor to this iconic image:


The cover to Colossal Comic #17 is by Hart Amos, published by K.G. Murray c.April 1961

Now, I'm not saying it's a conscious swipe - I seriously doubt Adams knew of a 10-year-old comic published in Australia - but I am asserting the similarities begin with the pose and the breaking of chains, and extend to the radiating glow. 

And Australian readers of Superman Supacomic in 1971 may well have recalled the earlier image from Colossal Comic #17.

Saturday, April 11, 2020

Superman Presents Wonder Comic Monthly #72


Colour Comics' Wonder Comic #72 was published c.April 1971:


The cover art by Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson is cropped at the bottom and has a modified story title banner- compare to the original art on the cover of DC Comics' World's Finest Comics #196:


The main features:

The Kryptonite Express!, originally published in World's Finest Comics #196, September 1970
The Map of Menace, originally published in House of Mystery #96, March 1960
The Man Who Hated Science!, originally published in Mystery in Space #6, February-March 1952 
Hang Him High, originally published in Tomahawk #131, November-December 1970

This issue also contains a Casey the Cop filler which originally appeared in Detective Comics #180, and was reprinted in Batman #227. I don't think it's going out on a limb to suggest each of these issues is cherished by fans for other reasons...

The Map of Menace was reprinted a year later in The Unexpected #135, which is the likely source of the Murray reprint in Weird Mystery Tales #11

The Man Who Hated Science! was reprinted in  Justice League of America #78 as a DC Extra which is the version published by Murray a couple of years later in Superman Presents Tip Top Comic Monthly #61.

When I was a kid reading these K.G. Murray comics I didn't know the term 'cognitive dissonance' but I sure knew when the art in the interior pages was inferior to the cover art. As a seven-year-old I didn't know anything about pencillers and inkers - I just knew that Superman looked great on the cover and rather crude on the inside. Or, that one was as smooth and rich as caramel milk chocolate - my preferred Friday night treat - and the other was like home brand dark chocolate with nuts, which is what I sometimes ended up with. I now know the difference between Anderson and Abel (and other culprits) on Swan, but I don't think I can articulate the difference between them any better.

And here's one for the trainspotters:


Yep - that's Wonder Comic #72 in the bottom left hand corner of the second photo. 

These photos are from the tabloid-sized Amazing World of Superman, Metropolis Edition. I imagine this was the first time many comics readers in America realised there were alternate universe editions of their comics beyond the Earth Prime paradigm.

Tuesday, April 7, 2020

Superman Supacomic #111


Colour Comics' Superman Supacomic #111 was published c.November 1968:


The Neal Adams cover was originally appeared on DC Comics' Superman #205:


The main features:

The Man Who Destroyed Krypton!, originally published in Superman #205, March 1968
The Fearsome Foot-Fighters!, originally published in Detective Comics #372, February 1968
Batgirl's Costume Cut-Ups!, originally published in Detective Comics #371, January 1968
The Legion Chain Gang!, originally published in Adventure Comics #360, September 1967

Also included in this issue are a few filler strips: Cap's Hobby Hints from Justice League of America #62 and World's Finest Comics #175; Moolah the Mystic from House of Mystery #131; and The Eyes Have It!,from The Atom #37.

This issue also contains the following in-house advertisement:



The Justice League illustration is by Mike Sekowsky, adapted from an interior panel originally published in Justice League of America #37. Here's a scan of the original page as it appears in my copy of Justice League of America Archives Vol. 5, 1999:


For KGManiacs tracking this stuff, this story was published by KG Murray just a couple of years earlier in Mighty Comic #51.

The inner and rear covers have advertisements. The ad date code on the rear cover is KGM.SS.1168 - a proxy cover date.


Monday, April 6, 2020

Superman Supacomic #110


Colour Comics' Superman Supacomic #110 was published c.October 1968:


The cover by Neal Adams originally appeared on DC Comics' World's Finest Comics #176:


The main feature contents:

The Superman-Batman Split!, originally published in World's Finest Comics #176, June 1968
The Secret of Kryptonite!, originally published in Superman #136, April 1960*
Catwoman Sets Her Claws for Batman!, originally published in Batman #197, December 1967
Superboy Meets William Tell!, originally published in Superboy #84, October 1960*
The Outlawed Legionnaires!, originally published in Adventure Comics #359, August 1967

This issue also contains full-page advertisements on the inner and rear covers, an in-house ad for Tip Top Comic, and a Henry Boltinoff filler gag Billy previously published in Superman #208.

*The Secret of Kryptonite! is The Editor's Round Table version as published in World's Finest Comics #171, and Superboy Meets William Tell! is the Demand Classic version as published in Superboy #145.

Friday, April 3, 2020

Gunslinger Western: Chatto in triplicate



Page Publications' Gunslinger Western #5 is a recycled edition of Gunman's Western #6 -which was itself a recycling of Shotgun Western #2 and Fast Gun Western Library #2 - under a 'new' Keith Chatto cover. This cover had previously appeared on Gunslinger Western #3:


and subsequently on the cover of Gunslinger Western #6:


Yep - three of the six issues in the series have the same cover.

Thursday, April 2, 2020

Supernatural Thrillers #3: The Yaffa edition


Page Publications' digest-sized Supernatural Thrillers #3 was published in 1980:


The cover is from Marvel Comics' Supernatural Thrillers #9:


The story contents are as follows:

The Return of the Living Mummy!, originally published in Supernatural Thrillers #7, June 1974
He Came from Nowhere!, originally published in Supernatural Thrillers #7, June 1974
Power Times Four!, originally published in Supernatural Thrillers #8, August 1974
The Little Gypsy Tea Room, originally published in Supernatural Thrillers #8, August 1974
Pyramid of Peril!, originally published in Supernatural Thrillers #9, October 1974
The Secret of the Universe!, originally published in Supernatural Thrillers #9, October 1974

The three Steve Ditko shorts in this issue are reprints of material from the early 1960's and do not include the job numbers.

He Came From Nowhere! was originally published in Strange Tales #94


The Little Gypsy Tea Room was originally published in Amazing Adult Fantasy #13


The Secret of the Universe! was originally published in Amazing Adult Fantasy #11


Any excuse to post some Ditko splashes...

This issue contains black and white prints of the front covers to the relevant Supernatural Thrillers issues sans trade dress:



Given SupernaturaI Thrillers #5 was recycled as an unnumbered edition I expect there is another edition of this issue too, either unnumbered or retitled, but I have not seen one.

Update 26 January 2023: There is indeed a retitled unnumbered edition of this issue - The Living Mummy:


Thanks to James Zanotto for the headsup.

Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Super Spy Library #1


Page Publications' Super Spy Library #1 was published c.1974 and features a rather moody Keith Chatto cover:


The cover is swiped from MV Features' Secret Service Picture Library #24:


The protagonist of The Face of a Traitor, Gerald Blair, was a recurring character in the Secret Service Picture Library series, and thus appeared in a few Page Publications issues, including the many printings of The Edge of Fear

This is the only Yaffa printing of The Face of the Traitor I have found so far, but I daresay more will turn up.