The unexpected success of James Bond in the 1960s unleashed a flood of super-spies out to save the world from the clutches of villainous conspiracies. Preeminent among the Bond wannabes was The Man From U.N.C.L.E., starring Robert Vaughn as Napoleon Solo, and David McCallum as Illya Kuryakin—two operatives of the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement, the secret agency that protects the world from the diabolical organization THRUSH.
Like the Bond series, Man From U.N.C.L.E. offered up lots of exotic locales, mysterious women, car chases, explosions, and intrigue. The comic from Gold Key faithfully reproduced the key ingredients of the series.
It was announced at the C2E2 convention by Marvel Comics that in August 2012 Gambit gets his own solo series that takes him back to his roots as a charismatic, cool, mutant master thief, written by James Asmus and drawn by Clay Mann. When asked about the upcoming series Asmus was quoted saying “This book focuses on the two most important aspects of Gambit: #1 that he’s sexy, and #2 that he’s the preeminent bad-ass thief of the Marvel Universe.” Marvel canceled the series at issue #17.
Doctor Solar premiered in issue #1 of Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom in Summer 1962 (cover date October 1962) in the first batch of comics released by Gold Key, with Solar being Gold Key’s first original character. Though Gold Key did not have as large a distribution network as Dell Comics, the Gold Key comics stood out on the newsstand shelves due to their cover art and a 12 cent price (Dell Comics sold for 15 cents). The first two issues of Solar appeared with cover paintings by Richard M. Powers; beyond the second issue the cover paintings were done by George Wilson. The interior artwork in the first several issues also had unique features: the superhero, Dr. Solar, did not have a costume until the fifth issue, rectangular word balloons and no black holding line around each panel. Following from practise of Dell Comics, and thanks to Western Publishing’s reputation of publishing other children-friendly books, Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom was able to be distributed without the Comics Code Authority symbol. The original creative team of writer Paul S. Newman and artist Bob Fujitani lasted until issue #5 when Frank Bolle took over the art work. With the exception of issue #7 written by Otto Binder, Newman wrote the comic book until issue #10 when Dick Wood took over for the remainder of the series. Other artists that contributed included Mel Crawford, Win Mortimer, Alden McWilliams (issues #20-23), Ernie Colón (issues #24-26), José Delbo (issue #27).
The series also featured the popular “Batman: Black and White” back-up strip, which allowed various artists with widely varying styles to do their take on the Dark Knight in a black and white format. These back-up strips are also collected in trade paperback form.
Dominique Thiebaut, aka Cyblade, takes a trip to Soho seeking relaxation but when she visits the art gallery of her friend, Ana Ishikawa, the gallery is attacked by armored men from S.H.O.C. and Cyblade is knocked unconscious while Ana is missing and presumed dead.
Recovering in her apartment, Cyblade is visited by Witchblade who tells her that her friend is still alive and they must join forces to save her.
DC Comics revived the Sensation Comics series in August 2014 as a “Digital First” series featuring Wonder Woman. The print edition debuted with an October 2014 cover date. This series was cancelled in December 2015. The final issue was #17 (cover dated Feb. 2016).
Set at the beginning of what the Wizard Shazam calls “the second age of the great heroes”, after the debut of the Man of Steel, Batman, and Captain Marvel, but before the coming of Wonder Woman, the Flash, and Green Lantern, the story begins with Superman traveling to Fawcett City in pursuit of a group of criminals who have just robbed a museum from Metropolis and used magic against him. Upon arriving in Fawcett, he finds Captain Marvel fighting the same group of thieves.
The story follows Laurie Jupiter as she rebels against her mother Sally’s efforts for Laurie to replace her as the Silk Spectre. Laurie runs away with her boyfriend to discover herself in the San Franciscocounterculture of the 1960s.
The deadliest agent in the Marvel Universe has finally gotten out of the spy game, and she’s not asking for much, just a life of her own. When a sudden assassination attempt provides a harsh reality check, the former Soviet agent tracks a string of international killings that will lead her back to a Russia she can barely recognize.
Berni Wrightson Master of the Macabre was created by Bruce Jones with the full cooperation of the master himself. Originally published by Pacific Comics, it reprints Wrightson’s early horror stories, some of which appear here in color for the first time. The series ended with issue #4 but was briefly continued when it was picked up by Eclipse, which published issue #5.
Berni Wrightson – Master of the Macabre #1 NM- $10
Berni Wrightson – Master of the Macabre #2 VF-NM $7
