golden age Archives

The solicitation for the DC New Golden Age one-shot this week by Geoff Johns, Steve Lieber, Jerry Ordway, and Diego Olortegui are bringing us new Golden Age Heroes for the DC Universe It looks like these are characters who did not previously exist in the DC Universe because they were removed from it, and now[...]

The solicitation for the DC New Golden Age one-shot this week by Geoff Johns, Steve Lieber, Jerry Ordway, and Diego Olortegui tells us "those heroes and villains will have their lives turned upside down DC's future…and its past…will never be the same again But how are Mime and Marionette connected to this? Why are Rip[...]

One of them was The Golden Age Aquaman Well, it looks like he will be making his first actual appearance in the upcoming The New Golden Age one-shot by Geoff Johns, returning to the Aquaman – just a very different one Maybe. Aquaman was a member of the Justice League, but not the Justice Society, he[...]

The solicitation for next month's New Golden Age one-shot by Geoff Johns, Steve Lieber, Jerry Ordway, and Diego Olortegui is solicited thus; "from the Justice Society of America to the Legion of Super-Heroes, The New Golden Age will unlock DC's epic and secret-ridden history of heroism, launching a new group of titles set firmly in the[...]

Pay-Off is one of a small line of little-known but memorable crime comic book titles from magazine publisher D.S. Publishing.

Famous Funnies #81 features the comic book debut of early female comic superhero Invisible Scarlet O'Neil, with cover by H.G. Peter.

The series was published by the important Golden Age comic book publisher and printer Eastern Color Printing Company A title too often overlooked that features early covers and stories by the legendary Bill Everett, there's a Heroic Comics #1 (Eastern Color, 1940) Condition: VG and several other early issues of the series up for auction[...]

Strange Adventures lived up to its name during its run 1950-1973, and "The Space-Roots of Evil" is an excellent example of the series.

Newspaper comic strip syndicate United Feature had an extensive presence in the comic book industry since the early days of the Golden Age.  They published their flagship Tip Top Comics for 188 issues from 1936-1954 before licensing the title to St John, featuring a variety of their comic strip characters reprinted in comic book format. [...]

Silver Streak Comics is a rarity among Golden Age titles in that it was launched with a villain as the cover feature.  That villain, The Claw, was both an obvious example of war-era propaganda and based on a blatant racial stereotype.  Publisher Lev Gleason was so intent on focusing on this wartime enemies theme that[...]

Created by Will Eisner, Jerry Iger, and Mort Meskin at the behest of Editors Press Service, jungle girl character Sheena is an icon of the Golden Age of comics.  She was one of the earliest and most popular comic book heroines of the era, was featured in both Jumbo Comics and her own title Sheena,[...]

Completists and run collectors are a vanishing breed among vintage comic book collectors.  To state the obvious, it's vastly more difficult to find and afford a complete run of a substantial Golden Age comic book series than it was in the 1970s and 1980s.  Golden Age collectors tend to pick their shots these days, focusing[...]

When we covered the auction for a copy of All Top Comics #10 (1948) last year, we noted that it contained the strangest Phantom Lady story of the Golden Age.  Many of Phantom Lady's adventures of the Golden Age were pretty typical crime comic (or even true crime) stories, but this tale in All Top Comics #10 is[...]

Was Key Ring Comics' Radior originally meant for a feature in Dell's War Comics series before the company cooled off on superheroes?

Aviation-themed covers were a large part of the early era of L.B. Cole's career as a comic book cover artist.

Street & Smith's Super-Magician Comics ended with a story about how gods lose their power as their worshippers die off.

Blackstone the Magician faces off against descendants of the original Gunpowder Plot conspirators in this weird Super-Magician Comics tale.

Popper & Co.-published items, Vital Publications published at least two Blackstone comic book giveaways, in 1948 and 1949, one of which also includes Timely-published material.  Proskauer was in the Blackstone publishing business throughout this entire period. Meanwhile, Street & Smith's Super-Magician Comics lasted for nine issues after Blackstone's departure.  Two of the final three issues also[...]

As one of the most important Golden Age Marvel/Timely issues featuring Namor, demand for this issue seems destined to increase as Namor joins the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  The foundational Marvel character will be played by Tenoch Huerta, beginning in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever With high-grade unrestored copies virtually impossible on the public market, this very[...]

"Like some fantastic creation, Black Fury relentlessly fights crime in all its phases, in the distorted minds of ruthless men.  A beautiful girl, like a phantom crusader for what is right…"  So began a March 29, 1941 teaser for a new comic strip which included the first image the public ever saw of this early[...]

We've recently covered its overlooked Simon & Kirby material and its historic debut of the first atomic-age hero, but overall, Headline Comics might be one of the most underappreciated series of its era.  This Prize Comics Group series lasted for 77 issues from February 1943 to September-October 1956, comfortably transitioning from the Golden Age, to[...]

Headline Comics might contain the most overlooked Simon & Kirby material that this legendary creative team ever produced.

Voight, was the first of these, with a debut in Headline Comics #16.  Perhaps the first hero of the atomic age, there are copies of several issues of Headline Comics featuring Atomic Man up for auction in the 2024 August 1 – 2 Rarities of the Golden Age Comics Showcase Auction #40259 at Heritage Auctions. Headline[...]

One of the most important characters in science fiction history, Buck Rogers headed into comic books' Silver Age from Gold Key in 1964.

The post-World War II era was a time of transition for all American comic book publishers.  Many were pulling back on their superhero titles, and experimenting with a wide variety of other types of material to see what might be the next big thing.  In 1946, Harvey launched a number of new series including Stuntman,[...]

Some experts believe the pencils are by Jack Kirby." Mendryk elaborates on the "Glaven" pseudonym on the Simon & Kirby blog, noting that this was a nickname of sorts for one of Simon's childhood friends. Is there anything to be learned about this cover in the context of Speed Comics #17-23?  The Speed Comics #17 cover is[...]

'Go put out a comic book,' she told him, and he did." But Greenwald's brief association with Speed Comics seems pretty hands-on and savvy.  In issue #12, he made an obvious reboot to Shock Gibson, the Human Dynamo, by giving him a new costume and expanded electricity-based powers, bringing his abilities more into alignment with his[...]

Imagine a sort of early 1970s psychedelic concert poster art style somehow transported through time to 1940.  Further imagine that this retro-futuristic style is used to illustrate the comic book adventures of an interplanetary mail carrier.  This gives you some tiny glimmer of a notion of the wonder that is Mars Mason of the Interplanetary[...]

Bob Powell's cover for Speed Comics #38 from Harvey is based on a historic WWII moment that took place a few weeks prior.

Considered the last western outlaw and perhaps the first of a new breed of 20th century killers, Harry Tracy closed out the Prize Comics.