ratiocinations out of thin air and elsewhere
BY 1962, I was bored with the hum-drumness of Superman, Batman, and the whole stable of DC superheroes. By 1964, I was addicted to the Marvel superheroes of Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Steve Ditko!
By 1969, I had subscriptions to Rocket’s Blast Comic Collector and Witzend. By 1972, I had been to several of Phil Seuling’s comic conventions in New York as a dealer, and had attended the first and only EC Fan Addict Convention.
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I DON’T FOLLOW EDITORIAL CARTOONING, although I certainly appreciate the fact that we may be living in its golden age. There are so many brilliant individuals who combine political and social insight with intelligence and with along with the ability to draw! While I have paid a certain amount of attention to avid Horsey, part of that is because he is so well known here in the Pacific Northwest. [Continue reading]
THE SPORT OF TYCOONS is the title of the 1974 painting of Scrooge McDuck by legendary artist Carl Barks. Barks was a Disney Studio artist who made his way into comics in the early 1940s. Like other artists who worked for Disney at the time, his work was unsigned and so he was known only as “The Good Duck Artist” to fans. [Continue reading]
THE ADS FOR WITZEND first appeared in late 1966 or early ’67, probably in the Rocket’s Blast Comics Collector. RBCC was a fanzine that featured articles on comics and ads from dealers and collectors offering stuff for sale. I sent my dollar bill off to some strange address in New York and eagerly awaited an entire publication by my fave artist, Wally Wood. [Continue reading]
COMIC BOOK ARTIST BASIL WOLVERTON was idiosyncratic from the beginning. Wherever he found a publisher, his work stood out from all other comic book artists of the 1950s. His outlandish style was best suited for a form of what used to be referred to as ‘bigfoot humor’ (which had something to do with Lil’ Abner, nothing to do with Sasquatch). [Continue reading]
THIS ARTICLE is one of twenty-four ‘book reviews’ addressing my introduction to and immediate addiction to Marvel superhero comics in the summer of 1964. Before reading this, I recommend that you read the first part, “addicted to marvel comics 1964,” which provides the background for the what follows here and subsequent articles. These [Continue reading]