Vintage Paper is about old comics and more: whether you're interested in the Platinum Age, the Golden Age, the Silver, Bronze, or Copper Ages — or the history behind it all — Bleeding Cool has you covered on that. Featuring articles and research from some of the best experts in the field for comics, pulps, dime novels, and much more.
Buck Rogers has been one of the most enduring science fiction classics in American history since its debut in Amazing Stories volume 3 number 5 in 1928. From those pulp origins, it spread to become a popular favorite across media including comic strips, film, television, and much more. Legendary artist Frank Frazetta created eight Buck […]
Issue for issue, Fox Features Syndicate's 1947-1949 run of the title Phantom Lady is one of the most sought after titles in American vintage comics history. It's 12 issues of gorgeously delineated covers and art from Matt Baker, Jack Kamen, and others. Countless articles have been written about Baker and his talents — his sure-handed […]
The Flash #110 from DC Comics is best known for its debut of Wally West and Kid Flash. But this issue, which has an on-sale date of October 20, 1959 appears to be a stand-out example of something I love seeking out in comics of any era: it is a direct reflection of its moment […]
Denny O'Neil was a sweetheart of a man, who I had the pleasure of meeting on multiple occasions at conventions over the years. He was always cordial, good for a story of two, and really cared about comics as an industry and art form. He also wrote for BC in the past, which always made […]
If you've browsed auctions from major comics, original artwork, card, game, and collectibles auction house ComicConnect recently, you may have noticed something new in the comment text provided on the auction lots for three sessions from upcoming auctions. The Denny O'Neil Estate Collection session of the March Mega Monthly Auction and the incredible Kentucky Collection […]
Superhero origins are not born. They evolve into what they are over years and sometimes decades. For example, Batman's Joe Chill, and Superman's coming of age with the death of Pa Kent were both added and/or elaborated upon a decade or more after the first-told origins of those characters. There are many other examples of […]
Showcase #79, the try-out debut of Dolphin cover-dated December 1968 from DC Comics has the kind of very specific, detailed set-up that often points to some real-world inspirations. A girl with gills is found in the wreckage of a sunken warship by US Navy divers on an important mission. But the Dolphin is in the […]
One of the things I love about comics history is that no matter how much you research and read, the next surprise is waiting for you right around the corner. Talented artist Frank Thorne is best known for his formative work on Marvel's Red Sonja. His career has run the gamut from newspaper strips and […]
Fandoms like to connect dots. Wanting to make sense of the fictional worlds that our favorite characters inhabit is often one of the things that helps to define a particular fandom. Vintage comic book fans — Silver Age Marvel fans in particular — have developed a notion which has come to be called character "prototypes". […]
In 1977, comic book dealer Chuck Rozanski unearthed the most important comic book collection that the world will ever know. 18,000 comics from the late 1930s to the early 1950s — the earliest days of American comic books — in unimaginably high-grade condition. The collection is so important that researchers have spent considerable effort in […]
Arguably the most iconic sword and sorcery character in American comic books, Red Sonja has been an enduring fan favorite since her debut in Marvel's Conan the Barbarian #23 (cover-dated February 1973). Created by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith based on material by Conan creator and pulp writer Robert E. Howard, the character's early formative […]
Reddit User Johnathan Michael Seman has such a hulk of a find, posted to Reddit, that we had to get in touch with him and ask him to share it with you all. Because he found a copy of The Incredible Hulk #181, the first appearance of Wolverine, at an antique store in a shopping […]
Neil Gaiman's seminal run on The Sandman introduced The Endless to captivated readers in 1989. Destiny, Death, Dream, Destruction, Desire, Despair, and Delirium are a family of seven supernatural beings that, as you can probably tell from the name, encompass different forces of existence. One of the most beloved works featuring The Endless is Death: The High […]
We love him almost as much as he loves lasagna. Garfield is an American icon and is as synonymous with newspaper comic strips as Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Calvin, and Hobbes. Cartoonist Jim Davis launched Garfield in 1978 and still draws it to this day, continuing an incredible 42-year run on this iconic title. The title that […]
There's been quite a lot written about the rise to prominence of DC Comics character and Batman villain Black Mask in recent years — and for good reason. The character's rise from relative obscurity in 1980s DC Comics to major fixture of the DCEU across comics, games, TV, and film is impressive indeed. Created by […]
Creator Drew Hayes reportedly once described his signature creation Poison Elves as "Elfquest meets Terminator", but another way to look at this seminal product of the early 1990s is as the legacy of not only Elfquest, but also indie touchstones like Dave Sim's Cerebus and even Kevin Eastman's and Peter Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. […]
The science fiction pulps of the 1920s and 1930s constitute one of the defining moments of the genre. The artists who illustrated those pulps influenced how we think of science fiction and even science itself to the present day. Even the best-known names who worked in that era — artists like Frank R. Paul and […]
Garfield fans have a cool opportunity to own the complete artwork of one of the newspaper strips. On Auction over at Heritage Auctions, this strip is from June 13th, 1980. It features the pesky cat running to perform a stunt, only to have Odie step in and do it for him. The artwork looks to […]
The sole highest-graded Batman #1 CGC 9.4 White Pages copy has just closed at Heritage Auction's 2021 January 14 – 17 Comics & Comic Art Signature Auction for $2,220,000.00. The sale is a record price for a copy of Batman #1, and is the second highest price ever paid for a comic book in a […]
There are very few comic books in American history that have the historical importance of Captain America Comics #1. This late-1940 Marvel Comics release is of course the first appearance of Captain America, a character who has become the cornerstone of one of the world's most successful media franchises. It's also the first appearance of […]
