Before there was 52....

2011-06-12T03:31:06Z

Posted by: skjam

...There was "Action Comics Weekly", DC's first attempt at a weekly comic book. It was an anthology comic somewhat on the model of 2000 AD, several continuing stories each week, with seven page chapters (and a two-page Sunday comics spread for Superman.) There were several interesting projects done during this run--I especially liked the new Secret Six they had. Sadly, sales and logistics reasons meant that the experiment lasted less than a year.

Love that Kirby art, though I think this might have been an inventory piece DC had lying around. 2 1/3 pages from each of the seven-page storiesin Action Comics Weekly #638 (2/7/89), one double-page spread, and a special treat!

( Remember relevance? )

Your thoughts, questions and comments?
SKJAM!
(http://skjam.dreamwidth.org/19423.html --see my fiftieth birthday approaching!)

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The first round of incredibly rare Batman newspaper comics from 1989

2011-02-12T10:12:43Z

Posted by: thehefner

Five months after the smash hit release of the Tim Burton film, a new Batman comic strip ran in newspapers from 1989 to 1991. Following the film in spirit but set in an entirely new continuity, the first storyline was written by Max Allan Collins (Road to Perdition, creator of Post-Crisis Jason Todd) and illustrated by the late, great Marshall Rogers (Batman: Strange Apparitions, which still looks stellar today).

I've fallen head over heels in love with this comic strip. Naturally, my love doesn't really kick in until Harvey Dent becomes a major supporting character in the next storyline, which may be one of the most original and interesting takes on the character I've seen anywhere, in any medium. I actually suspect that it influenced the creators of Batman: The Animated Series.

But even from the start, I love how Collins (and his successor, William Messner-Loebs) didn't try to simply regurgitate the old stories for newspapers, but came up with distinctly different characterizations, origins, and plots, while the stories themselves feel completely divorced from comics of any era. They're fun, suspenseful, moving, and occasionally, even a bit on the cracky side.

( A rather different look at Gotham City behind the cut! )

Coming up next, the new creative team of Messner-Loebs, Infantino, and Nyberg bring us the Penguin, Batman's mysterious new British sidekick, and a refreshingly different take on Harvey Dent, D.A. (how do you like THOSE credentials, Rex Morgan?).

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Scans_Daily

Before there was 52....

The first round of incredibly rare Batman newspaper comics from 1989