Monday, April 13, 2009

Comic Art/1961/1-7 complete








Per wikipedia:
Maggie Thompson and her late husband, Don Thompson (October 30, 1935-May 23, 1994), were among the instigators of what developed in the 1960's into comic book fandom. Their Harbinger (a mimeographed one-sheet published in the autumn of 1960) announced the upcoming publication of Comic Art, the first of the amateur magazines devoted to all aspects of sequential art (a term not then in use). The initial issue of Comic Art was released the following spring. Seven issues were published at irregular intervals between 1961 and 1968. As publication of Comic Art wound down, they shifted their attention to a new venture as the Thompsons started a fanzine titled Newfangles in March 1967. Unlike other comics news fanzines of the time it was devoted to the doings of comics fandom instead of news about comic books and comic book professionals
With Don, she wrote a miscellany of articles and comic-book stories; The Official Price Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy (1989, House of Collectibles); five years of Comics Buyer's Guide Annual (1992-1996, Krause Publications); Marvel Comics Checklist & Price Guide 1961-Present (1993, Krause Publications); and Comic-Book Superstars (1993, Krause Publications). With others, she produced the Comics Buyer's Guide Checklist & Price Guide (now in its 15th edition, Krause Publications); and the Standard Catalog of Comic Books (now in its 5th edition, Krause Publications).




Yep, Comic Art had a different air to it. Unlike its contemporary Alter-Ego, Don and Maggie Thompson's fanzine Comic Art did not concern itself with superhero comics. The zine was much more geared towards comic strips, and non-hero comics, and tended to skew towards the more literary, even though, as Don points out in his editorial, they don't believe comics to be "literature with a capital 'L'." It was in a dead-heat with AE in getting to the public.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Unabashed Plug Department...

Yes, it's commercial time!
Well, not exactly but I'd like everyone to know I have three super-duper special blogs that cover at least SOME of the things I have an interest in.
Drop by and sit a spell:
here
and here

Alter Ego Volume 1/ Issue 11/1978...







Mike Friedrich and Roy Thomas finished Alter Ego 11 seventeen years after the first issue was published. Issue 10 had been published in 1969.
Alter Ego sponsored the first fandom awards, the Alley Awards (after Alley Oop, the 'first' superhero by virtue of his place in time). Here's one owned by Julius Schwartz!
This is the last of these, but there exists another cover for issue 10 by Sam Grainger. I will try to locate a scan to post. To hold you over, here is the original artwork for issue 10 by Marie Severin and Gil Kane!

Alter Ego Volume 1/ Issues 6-10/1961...






Roy Thomas took over with issue 7 with the great Shazam Family cover (the original art for which he still owns!). Biljo White was the artist and it really benefited from the offset printing as it became the premier fanzine of the day.

Alter Ego Volume 1/ Issues 1-5/1961...






Starting in 1961, these early and unassuming slips of paper became a must-read for comic fans in the know. In fact, it continues today, resurrected by Roy Thomas who came up with the title. Roy downplays his importance in the early era of fandom, but without him it would have been much different.
Co-creator, Jerry Bails passed editorship of his groundbreaking fanzine to Ronn Foss who in turn passed it to Roy Thomas.
Jerry was an idea man and frequently passed the legwork of his many innovations on to others so that he could continue to create.
This is generally acknowledged as the first hero 'zine but it tied with Don and Maggie Thompsons' Comic Art as the first comics related fanzine. Comic Art will be featured in the next installment.
Please enjoy Thomas' cover artwork on the early issues.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Capa-Alpha Part 4/Issues 16-20






Last of my set of these.





Interesting set here.
Little Annie Fanny gets the spotlight along with Spiderman and (his Amazing?) friends.
Issue 18 has relevance today with old heroes being dug up and polished off.
Australian hero the Crimson Comet (who oddly enough has wings) is on the cover of 19 and 20 rounds it out with some good ol' sexist remarks. (Hey, this was 45 or so years ago!)

Capa-Alpha Part 3/Issues 11-15






More of the early comic fandom apa.