Several incarnations of Hawkman have appeared in DC Comics, all of them characterized by the use of archaic weaponry and by large, artificial wings, attached to a harness made from the special Nth metal that allows flight. Most incarnations of Hawkman work closely with a partner/romantic interest named Hawkgirl or Hawkwoman.
Since DC’s continuity was rewritten in the 1985 series Crisis on Infinite Earths, Hawkman’s history has become muddled with several new versions of the character appearing throughout the years, some associated with ancient Egypt and some with the fictional planet Thanagar. These versions of the character have starred in several series of various durations.
The Atom introduced in Showcase #34 (1961) is physicist and university professor Dr. Raymond Palmer, Ph.D. (He was named for real-life science fiction writer Raymond A. Palmer, who was himself quite short.) After stumbling onto a mass of white dwarf star matter that had fallen to Earth, he fashioned a lens which allowed him to shrink down to subatomic size. Originally, his size and molecular density abilities derived from the white dwarf star material of his costume, controlled by mechanisms in his belt, and later by controls in the palms of his gloves. Much later, he gained the innate equivalent powers within his own body. After the events of Identity Crisis, Ray shrank himself to microscopic size and disappeared. Finding him became a major theme of the Countdown year long series and crossover event.
Atom #27 F+ $30The Atom #28 VG $10The Atom #33 VF $39Atom #34 VF- $35Atom and Hawkman #45 VG $10
Due to strong sales on the character’s first appearance in Amazing Fantasy #15, Spider-Man was given his own ongoing series in March 1963. The initial years of the series, under Lee and Ditko, chronicled Spider-Man’s nascent career with his civilian life as hard-luck yet perpetually good-humored teenager Peter Parker. Peter balanced his career as Spider-Man with his job as a freelance photographer for The Daily Bugle under the bombastic editor-publisher J. Jonah Jameson to support himself and his frail Aunt May. At the same time, Peter dealt with public hostility towards Spider-Man and the antagonism of his classmates Flash Thompson and Liz Allan at Midtown High School, while embarking on a tentative, ill-fated romance with Jameson’s secretary, Betty Brant.
By focusing on Parker’s everyday problems, Lee and Ditko created a groundbreakingly flawed, self-doubting superhero, and the first major teenaged superhero to be a protagonist and not a sidekick. Ditko’s quirky art provided a stark contrast to the more cleanly dynamic stylings of Marvel’s most prominent artist, Jack Kirby, and combined with the humor and pathos of Lee’s writing to lay the foundation for what became an enduring mythos.
Amazing Spider-Man #17 FN+ $525Amazing Spider-Man #23 VF- $379Amazing Spider-Man 30 CGC 7.5 Off-White to White Pages $295Amazing Spider-Man #54 CGC 9.0 White Pages $339
Following his introduction as Dr. M. T. Graves in Charlton Comics‘ Ghostly Tales #55 (cover-dated May 1966) in the three-page story “The Ghost Fighter” by writer-artist Ernie Bache, the character went on to host his own anthology title, The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves. The series ran 72 issues (May 1967 – May 1982), generally published bimonthly. Following issue #60 (Jan. 1977), the title went on hiatus for seven months until issue #61 (Aug. 1977) before being canceled with #65 (May 1978). Charlton revived the title three years later with #66 (May 1981) before canceling it once more six issues later.
The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves#54 (Dec. 1973). The cover art is among the earliest professional works of John Byrne. Three additional issues consisting solely of reprints, and titled simply Dr. Graves, were published as issues #73-75 (Sept. 1985 – Jan. 1986).
The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves #11 FN+ $10The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves #12 FN $7The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves #13 FN+ $9The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves #14 VF $11The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves #16 FN-VF $10The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves #17 FN- $6The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves #18 FN $7The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves #19 VF- $9The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves #21 VF+ $11The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves #22 FN- $5The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves #23 FN+ $6The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves #23 VF $10The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves #25 VF- $8The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves #26 VF+ $12The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves #32 VF- $8The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves #33 VF- $8The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves #35 FN $6The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves #36 VF- $8The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves #37 VF $9The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves #42 VF+ $11
Journey into Mystery was initially published by Atlas Comics, then by its successor, Marvel Comics. Initially a horror comics anthology, it segued to giant-monster and science fiction stories in the late 1950s. Beginning with issue #83 (cover dated August 1962), it ran the superhero feature “The Mighty Thor“, created by writers Stan Lee and Larry Lieber and artist Jack Kirby, and inspired by the mythological Norsethunder god. The series, which was renamed for its superhero star with issue #126 (March 1966), has been revived three times: in the 1970s as a horror anthology, and in the 1990s and 2010s with characters from Marvel’s Thor mythos.
Journey into Mystery #120 FN+ $39Journey into Mystery #122 VG $24Journey into Mystery #123 VF- $65
Adventure Comics was published by DC Comics from 1938 to 1983 and revived from 2009 to 2011. In its first era, the series ran for 503 issues (472 of those after the title changed from New Adventure Comics), making it the fifth-longest-running DC series, behind Detective Comics, Action Comics, Superman, and Batman. It was revived in 2009 by writer Geoff Johns with the Conner Kent incarnation of Superboy headlining the title’s main feature, and the Legion of Super-Heroes in the back-up story. It returned to its original numbering with #516 (September 2010). The series finally ended with #529 (October 2011), prior to DC’s The New 52 company reboot.
The series was published for 85 issues from February–March 1969 to October 1978. Its tagline was “It’s 12 o’clock… The Witching Hour!” and was changed to “It’s midnight…” from issue #14 onwards. The series was originally edited by Dick Giordano, who was replaced by Murray Boltinoff with issue #14.Nick Cardy was the cover artist for The Witching Hour for issues #1–6, 11–12, 15–16, 18–52, and 60. Stories in the comic were “hosted” and introduced by three witches, Morded, Mildred, and Cynthia.
In response to the restrictions imposed by the Comics Code Authority, DC began a new science-fiction series in 1956. The series featured artwork by Murphy Anderson, Gil Kane, and many others, with stories by John Broome, Gardner Fox, and additional writers. It was an anthology comic for many years, publishing a variety of science fiction stories. The series featured Space Ranger as of issue #40 and running through #82 (April–May 1964) Other features included the “Green Glob” (issues #85–98, 100, 102, 103) and “Automan” (issues #91, 94, 97). The series’ last issue as Tales of the Unexpected was #104 (December 1967–January 1968). As of issue #105 (February–March 1968), the title was shortened to The Unexpected.
Tales of the Unexpected #101 FN+ $24Tales of the Unexpected #103 FN+ $24
By 1964, sales of Batman titles had fallen drastically. Bob Kane noted that, as a result, DC was “planning to kill Batman off altogether”. In response to this, editor Julius Schwartz was assigned to the Batman titles. He presided over drastic changes, beginning with 1964’s Detective Comics #327 (May 1964), which was cover-billed as the “New Look”. Schwartz introduced changes designed to make Batman more contemporary, and to return him to more detective-oriented stories. He brought in artist Carmine Infantino to help overhaul the character. The Batmobile was redesigned, and Batman’s costume was modified to incorporate a yellow ellipse behind the bat-insignia. The space aliens, time travel, and characters of the 1950s such as Batwoman, Ace, and Bat-Mite were retired. Bruce Wayne’s butler Alfred was killed off (though his death was quickly reversed) while a new female relative for the Wayne family, Aunt Harriet, came to live with Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson.
Batman #168 CGC 7.0 Off-White to White Pages $129Batman #180 FN+ $45Batman #201 VG- $18Batman #213 VF $89
Strange Tales switched to superheroes during the Silver Age of Comic Books, retaining the sci-fi, suspense and monsters as backup features for a time. Strange Tales‘ first superhero, in 12- to 14-page stories, was the Fantastic Four‘s Human Torch, Johnny Storm, beginning in #101 (Oct. 1962). Here, Johnny still lived with his elder sister, Susan Storm, in fictional Glenview, Long Island, New York, where he continued to attend high school and, with youthful naivete, attempted to maintain his “secret identity” (later retconned to reveal that his friends and neighbors knew of his dual identity from Fantastic Four news reports, but simply played along).
The title became a “split book” with the introduction of sorcerer Doctor Strange, by Lee and artist Steve Ditko. This 9- to 10-page feature debuted in #110 (July 1963), and after an additional story and then skipping two issues returned permanently with #114. Ditko’s surrealistic mystical landscapes and increasingly head-trippy visuals helped make the feature a favorite of college students, according to Lee himself. Eventually, as co-plotter and later sole plotter, in the “Marvel Method“, Ditko would take Strange into ever-more-abstract realms, which yet remained well-grounded thanks to Lee’s reliably humanistic, adventure/soap opera dialog. Adversaries for the new hero included Baron Mordo introduced in issue #111 (Aug. 1963) and Dormammu in issue #126 (Nov. 1964). Clea, who would become a longtime love interest for Doctor Strange, was also introduced in issue #126.
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