Crimebuster

Even without that, the Supergirl #3 cover is terrific!

Young Love #68 is one of my absolute favorites. That cover is to die for. I'm trying to collect the whole DC run - I've got 52 of the 88 issues so far. I'd probably be further along if I weren't also collecting all the other DC books at the same time! But I'm furthest along with Young Love and Young Romance (the DC issues only).

Good call! I somehow missed that one when making my Charlton "must have" list, but I just went out and bought a copy on ebay. Thanks!

I've heard the early ones are hard. I've been doing pretty well with the run as a whole, but my approach has been quite scattershot, plus I don't care too much about condition personally. Are you looking for books in a certain condition range? Just curious which ones you're having trouble finding.

I'm collecting all the Bronze Age romance books, and for me personally, it's very hard to choose one over the other. I love Charlton for their willingness to get weird and go off formula, and they have some very underrated art and artists. DC really started loosening up in the late 60's, though, and they certainly presented a more professional package than Charlton. As for Marvel, I actually would have them last as the melodramatic Marvel style sometimes feels over the top when piled onto a romance book. On the other hand, though, it's fantastic to see the Marvel art teams take on romance books and you get some real gems as a result. My head says DC, but my heart says Charlton. My top two titles are Young Love and Just Married.

I have never come across any of these in the wild, but they are definitely on my radar.

Secret Romance #30 is a classic! I had a heck of a time finding a copy, but I see there's a reasonably price solid copy on ebay right now.

Is that Stan with the hat and cigarette? I know he didn't have a mustache at this point, but that looks kind of like him playing dress up.

It's not quite nameless - this series pre-dates Sabrina #1 by over a year. Prior to this, she had an ongoing backup series in Mad House, but rarely made the cover. My understanding from interviews is that Archie Comics didn't know how popular Sabrina was with readers until the TV network decided to feature her in a cartoon, which prompted them to launch this book - Archie's TV Laugh Out is an anthology featuring the Archie characters who were appearing in cartoons. The success of the cartoon and this series prompted them to launch Sabrina's own series in 1971, and Chilling Adventures in Sorcery in 1972, but this pre-dates both. I think some collectors would view it as the first Sabrina #1, as it says "starring Sabrina..." on the cover and features her prominently. Either way, though I don't know for sure, I'd think it's a key book for Sabrina collectors.

I love Matt Baker, but this cover is signed by Lily Renee. I also thought this was going to be a Senorita Rio thread!

I think in the late 70's, when the creators' rights movement really got going, many creators stopped using their good ideas at Marvel and started saving them for their own use. Why lose the rights to a cool character with work for hire when you could self publish or later go the Image route? I think this is why we haven't seen any real breakout new characters debut from either Marvel or DC since the 90's. Even Roy has cited this as a reason why he didn't create a lot of original characters, at least until he was EiC, but rather revamped older properties like Vision. I mean, I think it was also because he's a big nerd fanboy like us, but I've read interviews where he said he didn't want to create new characters he would lose the rights to.

The Jim Lee X-Men series from 1991 made it to #275, if that counts. G.I Joe ran for 155 issues! X-Factor I think made it to #149. X-Force made it to issue #129.

The only way for me to be sure of the grade is for you to mail it to me. And then I'll need roughly 45 years to inspect it.

I met Allen Bellman a few years ago. When I saw he was appearing at a local show, I went online to see if I happened to have any of his works in my small Golden Age library. According to his personal website, I did, so I brought a couple early issues of Man Comics for him to sign. When I gave him the books to sign, he looked puzzled, and after flipping through them, said, "Did I draw something in here?" I said, "well, your website says you did!" He agreed to sign them, but on the condition that I first buy one of his prints, which I did. I still don't know if he actually drew anything in those issues of Man Comics, but I hope so, because either way they now have his signature!

The Kickstarter for The Crimebusters #2 is over, and we successfully funded thanks to all your support! It really means a lot to me. I am humbled and grateful and I hope everyone enjoys reading it as much as I have enjoyed creating it. I'm still putting the finishing touches on issue #2, but I am nearly done and expect to send it to the printer by the end of the month, and I expect to also send out the digital version by the end of the month as well. And then I can get to work on issue #3! I'm really excited to share some of the concept art for issue #3... once I have time to actually draw it. But suffice to say I've been looking forward to doing #3 from the time I laid out the series arc, and it's going to feature cameos and guest appearance by several Golden Age characters, including one of my favorites whom I have updated and redesigned, and who will play a major role in the series going forward. Can't wait to share it! But first, I have to finish up issue #2. So, back to work. And, again, thank you all so much!

Hey, comic book friends! First, thanks so much for all your support with this project, it really means a lot to me. I wanted to let you know that the Kickstarter for The Crimebusters #2 is about to end. There are less than 36 hours left until it ends at midnight ET tomorrow night. I'm not one to do any kind of hard sell, but I did want to remind people who might have been waiting to decide, especially because the number of Kickstarter pledges I get determines how many copies of each variant cover I end up printing. For instance, I have now sold out of all three variant covers for issue #1 - the Boy Comics #120 variant, the Trixie's Mysteries Book One variant, and the Kickstarter Exclusive variant. All gone! So if you do happen to want one of the variants for issue #2, it's a good idea to let me know now through a pledge so I make sure to order enough — and so you are sure to receive one. Here's the link again - I can't embed it because the forums automatically turn it into a video instead of a link, which defeats the purpose. For those who missed out on the first issue variants, I have come up with a solution — I've begun working on 2nd Print Variants. This way, people who have the 1st print variant covers still get their exclusive collectibility - there are only 25 copies of the Boy Comics #120 1st print variant in existence — and people who missed it can still get a copy. I know how collectors work — some people won't want to get the Boy Comics #121 variant if they can't also get a #120. I get it, I'm a collector! So the 1st print variant (which was an homahge to Captain America Comics #3) will never be reprinted, but people new to the series can get the 2nd Print Variant instead in order to still get that sweet, sweet Boy Comics logo on their book. These 2nd print variants really are more Reprint Variants, because these covers I will reprint again in a 3rd or 4th edition if that ever becomes necessary. But the 1st print version, that's it, once they are gone, they're gone. For the 2nd print variants, I am doing more homages to classic covers - the Trixie's Mysteries 2nd Print Varant is an homage to Matt Baker's cover from Amazing Ghost Stories #16, while the Boy Comics #120 2nd Print Variant is an homage to Charles Biro's classic cover from Boy Comics #10. I've only begun the initial linework on these, so they are very much works in progress, but both will be done soon and will be available as add-ons through the Kickstarter campaign: I can't wait to be done with this so I can start issue #3! Issue #3 is going to feature cameos and guest appearances from several Golden Age characters now in the public domain, and I'm really excited to show you some of that stuff! But first, I gotta finish this. Thanks again!

Okay, okay, you talked me into it! For each issue of The Crimebusters, I'm doing multiple variant covers paying homage to my inspirations. On of these is the Trixie's Mysteries series of variants, which are designed to look like the classic Nancy Drew book covers, and pay homage to all those girl sleuths in teen detective novels like Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, etc. I drew the variant for the first issue myself (an homage of Adams from Detective Comics #395, which I thought was fitting), but starting with the second issue, I thought it would be cool to have a different woman indie comic creator do the Trixie's Mysteries cover. For issue #2, I hired artist Heather Farrington, who publishes her own series Juvenile Diversion. She decided to play up the Scooby Doo vibe, and I personally love the results. On the left is my cover for issue #1, and on the right is her cover for issue #2! They seem to be pretty popular, as I am down to just one copy left of my cover for issue #1. It's also been interesting and rewarding bringing on another artist to interpret my work!

Whew. It's been a really long, hard week for me. Just feel like I'm sick all the time, and it was also the anniversary of my mother's death, which always leads to health issues for me. But, on the bright side, the Kickstarter campaign to publish issue #2 of The Crimebusters is going really well! So, thank you for all your support. We've hit a couple of big milestones, which means it's also time to announce the next round of big stretch goals. So check it out when you have a chance! Thanks!

Well, my Kickstarter campaign for The Crimebusters #2 has entered what they call "the dead zone," which is the time between the first week of the launch and the last three days of the campaign. You tend to get most of your backers either at the beginning or the end, and very little in between. It can be a real drag to be working hard on the comic, and working hard plugging it, and not see any immediate response. But it's just part of the deal! In the meantime, I'm still hard at work. We hit the first stretch goal, meaning two free prints for all physical backers, and I have revealed the second stretch goal - a set of trading cards based on the Lev Gleason trading card sets from 1951. Hey, if we can't do geeky stuff like this, why do it at all, right? For comparison, here's one of the original cards from 1951: I've also just posted an interview with Heather Farrington, the artist who drew the Trixie's Mysteries variant cover for issue #2. I love the cover she did! If you want to learn more, check it out.

This looks like a train wreck. And not the good kind .

Here's a video to announce the first stretch goal! If you have any ideas about what you might want for the next stretch goal, let me know!

Ah, here they are:

There are two or three more comic con themed Archies as well, though I'm not sure if they have any real people in them. I think one might be cover only. There's one that takes place at a Riverdale Comic Con. I'll see if I can remember the issue numbers...

I'm excited to announce that after just 48 hours, the second issue of The Crimebusters is now fully funded! Hurray! The campaign still has 29 days left to go, though, which means stretch goals! These are cool bonus rewards that are unlocked when we hit higher goal levels. The question is, what kind of rewards do you guys want to get? The first will likely be some free prints, and later on I may do more trading cards, because I want those for myself! But if anyone has any ideas about cool stuff you want to see as rewards, please let me know! If it's something I can pull off logistically, I'll do it! Thanks again for all the support! Here's the link again for those who missed it before: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thecrimebusters/the-crimebusters-1-2-supernatural-mystery-adventure-awaits/