When yours truly entered this old world way back in 1957 the comic book rack looked much different than it does today. The modern youth is crushed by the myriad superheroes who leap and twist and bamf across the landscape of the four-color world. But when I was just beginning only DC published superhero comics and all of them on sale for the month of June can be seen above. Four Superman family comics with
Action Comics,
Superman, Adventure Comics and
Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen. Lois Lane was still showcasing her talents in anticipation of a regular series. We have two Not-So-Quite-Dark-Knight features with
Batman and
Detective Comics, and there is
Wonder Woman. The Flash had debuted but didn't yet have his own comic. Now in the back pages of
Action there was jungle action with Congo Bill and sci-fi with Tommy Tomorrow and in the back of
Adventure thee were still Green Arrow and Aquaman. In
Detective Comics only Martian Manhunter held the line for super types with Roy Raymond landing the other slot. Wild weird adventures of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman were all that graced the covers for the reader in those ancient days. It should be noted that
World's Finest was not on sale in June.
Blackhawk was still around offering a mix of science fiction and war with Tomahawk doing the same for frontier adventure. In the comic named The Brave and the Bold the likes of Silent Knight, Robin Hood, and Viking Prince held sway. Gang Busters is the lone representive of the once robust crime genre as well All-Star Western being the only pure representative of that kind of book.
War comics were well represented with five different titles such as G.I.Combat and Star-Spangled War Stories offering up a range of battlefield fare.
Science Fiction and mystery tales had four representatives . Note that Jack Kirby is still working for DC at this moment, though that will change soon. The best cover of the month was likely Gil Kane's for Mystery in Space.
Romance comics were represented by four classic varieties of the comic intended for girls (as indicated by the titles) as well as the Archie-flavored A Date With Judy.
There were three comics from a genre little seen today. The Adventures of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, The Adventures of Bob Hope, and Jackie Gleason and The Honeymooners were three comics that attempted to tap into other types of entertainment to catch a few sales.
But the dominant kind of comic book from DC in June 1957 was the funny animal variety. There were eight different titles available for the young reader, one more than superheroes. In these Comics Code aware times the comic rack was indeed a different place. But not all that different as we'll see this week as funny animals make a comeback (of sorts) here at the Dojo.
Oh and before I forget there was one more DC comics on sale in June of that halcyon year, a comic book that defies categorization really -- the simple awesome Sugar and Spike by Sheldon Mayer. Enjoy the day, I know I will.
You overlooked Sgt. Bilko from the DC "comedian titles". Coincidentally enough, it debuted in 6/57 as well.
ReplyDeleteAccording to my source for this information - Mike's Amazing World of Comics - Bilko #2 was on sale in May and #3 in July. But I'm not one to argue these things.
DeleteEveryone of those covers is imho a lost art, The artist has (possibly with the assistance from the editor or writer) drawn the cover in a way that makes me want to know what the story inside is about. I miss the funny animal genre that US comics used to be so good at . AHH Sugar and Spike a lovely comic.
ReplyDeleteCovers were once upon a time advertising battling on the spinner racks for the momentary attention of a young whimsical buyer. They had to strike hard and fast and capture the imagination. Now with comic shops we get pretty but sometimes boring poster shots all the time. And not nearly enough copy for my tastes. And Sugar and Spike was a masterpiece and I cannot figure why its only reprinted in Archive format. I think trades, perhaps small one would do quite well in the market Archie keeps using to its benefit.
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