Panic was a bi-monthly humor comic that was published by Bill Gaines‘ EC Comics line during the mid-1950s as a companion to Harvey Kurtzman‘s Mad, which was being heavily imitated by other comic publishers.
Panic was edited by Al Feldstein (who became the editor of Mad a few years later). Beginning with its first issue (February–March 1954), Panic had a 12-issue run over two years. Feldstein was the primary cover artist, with stories illustrated by Jack Davis, Will Elder, Jack Kamen, Joe Orlando, Basil Wolverton and Wally Wood. Some story ideas were by Nick Meglin, later the co-editor of Mad. Scripts were by Feldstein, Elder and Jack Mendelsohn, later a co-screenwriter of Yellow Submarine (1968) and an Emmy-nominated TV comedy writer.
In volume 2, Spector abandons his Moon Knight, Grant and Lockley identities after the effects of Russell’s bite (lunar cycle-based strength) fade away, and functions as an independently wealthy man opening art galleries around the world, with the help of art historian Spence. Spector’s estranged relationship with Marlene ends when she finally leaves him for her ex-husband when he becomes Moon Knight again.
The cult of Khonshu telepathically summons Spector to Egypt and supplies him with a new arsenal of moon-themed projectile weaponry, originally designed by a time-traveling Hawkeye in ancient Egypt. Khonshu himself appears to Spector and enters his body, giving him the same lunar abilities he previously had.
Published by Dark Horse Comics, Star Wars: Obsession ran from November 24, 2004 to May 18, 2005. The concept of the series was to lead directly into Episode III, but publication delays prolonged the release of the final issue until the day before the release of the film.
Comic book version of the 1960s TV series about one man’s crusade to convince people that an advance guard of alien creatures had infiltrated the world’s population and were preparing to conquer Earth.
Batman-Spawn: War Devil is a 1994 graphic novel published by DC Comics and written by Doug Moench, Alan Grant, and Chuck Dixon. This is one of two such crossovers between the two characters published that year (the other being Spawn/Batman). A third meeting between the two characters, to be titled Spawn/Batman: Inner Demons and pitting Batman and Spawn against the Joker and Clown, was planned but never made.
X-Force was created by illustrator Rob Liefeld after he started penciling The New Mutantscomic book in 1989 with #86. The popularity of Liefeld’s art led to him taking over the plotting duties on the book. With help from writer Fabian Nicieza, who provided the dialogue for Liefeld’s plots, Liefeld transformed the New Mutants into X-Force in New Mutants #100, the book’s final issue. Liefeld and Nicieza launched X-Force in August 1991. Rob Liefeld obtained the name for the series from an unknown artist at a convention a few months prior to its release. With the aid of a multiple-variant poly-bagged card, the book sold a record 5 million copies, and remains the second highest selling American comic book of all time, surpassed only by Jim Lee’s X-Men book that same summer with 8 million copies. The original line-up of the team included Boom Boom, Cable, Cannonball, Domino, Feral, Shatterstar and Warpath. In later issues, X-Force’s roster would include Siryn, Rictor and Sunspot.
In 2007, Image Comics/Frazetta Comics published the Death Dealer: Shadows of Mirahan 6 issue miniseries featuring Death Dealer in the first story fully approved by Frank Frazetta. The book’s creators are Nat Jones, Jay Fotos, and Joshua Ortega. The story was written by Jones, Fotos and Ortega, with pencils and inks by Jones, and colors by Fotos. The story tells of an ancient land, and two warring nations fighting in an epic war. The Death Dealer appears on the field of battle and slaughters both sides. When the two kingdoms forged an alliance, the Dealer disappears for years but returns years later. Image’s Death Dealer comic inspired a series of Dungeons & Dragons adventures published by Goodman Games.
In 2009, writer Geoff Johns and artist Ethan Van Sciver created The Flash: Rebirth, a 6-issue miniseries bringing Barry Allen back to a leading role in the DC Universe as the Flash, much in the same vein as Green Lantern: Rebirth. When asked what Flashes would appear in the series, Johns and Van Sciver said, “All of them.”
Adventures Into the Unknown was best known as the medium’s first ongoing horror-comics title. Published by the American Comics Group, initially under the imprint B&I Publishing, it ran 174 issues (cover-dated Fall 1948 – Aug. 1967). The first two issues, which included art by Fred Guardineer and others, featured horror stories of ghosts, werewolves, haunted houses, killer puppets, and other supernatural beings and locales. The premiere included a seven-page abridged adaptation of Horace Walpole‘s seminal gothic novelThe Castle of Otranto, by an unknown writer and artist Al Ulmer.
Unlike many American horror comics of the Golden Age, it weathered the public criticism of the early 1950s and survived the aftermath of the Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency hearings of April and June 1954 when the comics industry attempted self-regulation with a highly restrictive Comics Code.
Spawn began a resurgence in popularity as the title approached its 300th issue, with the title once again becoming a fixture in Diamond’s Top 100. This 300th issue also made Spawn the longest-running independent comic book series of all time.
EHT Comics 