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SILVER AGE COVER WINNERS #23-15

Started by ComicBookGuy,

77 posts in this topic

ComicBookGuy

ComicBookGuy

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Posted

Okay, everyone, I'm back from a lo-o-o-ng day at work and ready to put in some more hours to keep you guys from going crazy waiting for the results. We're going to take the results down to #15 tonight.

 

yay.gifyay.gifyay.gif

 

Here we go with #23. Teen Titans #14.

 

October nominated this beauty, and I stole his scan of it cause the colors on it really jump out at you. There are psychedelic covers from the 1960s, and there are psychedelic covers from the 1960s, and then there is this Nick Cardy masterpience. hail.gifhail.gifhail.gif The rainbow color scheme is breathtaking and one of the finest I've seen -- a cool juxtaposition of Peter Max with the superhero genre. This comic is not a key like many books and stands on its own on the merits of its art. Great nomination, Andy!

 

1172817-TT14.jpg

 

This cover finished with 37 points.

1172817-TT14.jpg.c568db62101fbdc5a4991b063238509f.jpg

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ComicBookGuy

ComicBookGuy

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#22. Thor #127

 

The pathos of this cover is immediate and intimate. There is nothing more tragic in this world than a parent mourning the death of a child, and this cover captures that with an intensity during the Silver Age only Kirby could match. Its variation of this "pieta" type of image is actually very familiar to us since we saw this same theme in a previous winner: Batman #156. No doubt Kirby had seen that cover in previous years and the image stuck with him. For the record, the Batman cover was dated June 1963, and the Thor cover is from April 1966. Do I need to say that the Michelangelo statue predates even that? makepoint.gif

 

Over in the Silver Age thread titled, "Rick's Top Twenty-Five Silver Age Covers," forum member followtheleader wrote, "That 127 is the best cover in all of comics, IMO (regardless of "Age"). Just unbelievable. I remember the first time I saw it. Nearly floored me, I was so impressed."

 

 

1172836-t127.jpg

 

This cover tied with the next winner with 38 points. The tie was broken, cause the next cover had a first place vote, and Thor #127, despite its popularity, did not receive any first place votes.

1172836-t127.jpg.d4d75a36d28fb5d0f78f15e057ad8d61.jpg

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ComicBookGuy

ComicBookGuy

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#21. Tomahawk #116

 

This is another non-key comic that stands on the strength of its cover art alone. I make no secret that Neal Adams is my all-time favorite comic artist, and this is one of his finest covers. We all know there's about twenty forum members ready to fight to the death for a true high-grade copy of this comic -- if it ever appears...

 

Rather than hearing me blab on about cover art again, here is Andy's (October's) excellent take on this cover:

 

"This wonderful and largely overlooked cover presents a simple yet beautiful image. The White Man intrudes on the Brave's territory and a conflict for the ages results. One is the hunter, the other is the hunted. But is it so clear cut? Here Tomahawk is at the mercy of an Indian who does not realize that the man he is about to kill was raised by his own tribe. Will he discover his mistake? Will Tomahawk reach his rifle? Adams captures a single moment in time, a single moment before tragedy is averted...or comes to fruition. And he does it with gripping action in the style he is known for. The eye is immediately drawn to the horseman and Tomahawk, there is no distracting background with use of monotone browns. The musculature and poses are drawn beautifully and capture the movement perfectly. The horse is rendered particularly well, and they have proved to be some of Adams' strongest subjects. Truly an iconic cover that deserves a place among his best efforts."

 

 

1172860-THawk116.jpg

 

 

This cover earned 38 points and was tied with Thor #127, but the tie was broken with a first place vote. (Not mine, surprisingly.) It's good to know I'm not the only member of the "Neal Adams Fanboy Club"... headbang.gifheadbang.gifheadbang.gif

1172860-THawk116.jpg.6dc4f56c376f6b5fbde03efcbd9433af.jpg

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october

october

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Okay, everyone, I'm back from a long day at work and ready to put in some more hours. We're going to take the results down to #15 tonight.

 

yay.gifyay.gifyay.gif

 

Here we go with #23. Teen Titans #14.

 

October nominated this beauty, and I stole his scan of it cause the colors on it really jump out at you. There are psychedelic covers from the 1960s, and there are psychedelic covers from the 1960s, and then there is this Nick Cardy masterpience. hail.gifhail.gifhail.gif The rainbow color scheme is breathtaking and one of the finest I've seen -- a cool juxtaposition of Peter Max with the superhero genre. This comic is not a key like many books and stands on its own on the merits of its art. Great nomination, Andy!

 

1172817-TT14.jpg

 

 

This cover finished with 37 points.

 

HA! I got ripped on for liking this cover but it looks like there are several closet fans. sumo.gif

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RDK

RDK

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I don't think i'd seen that Teen Titans cover prior to the nominations - well, probably so many years ago that I'd forgotten it - but i was so impressed that it was one of only two DC covers that made my Top 10. I'm not a great fan of Silver Age DC covers - at least compared to Marvel covers of the same period, and before Neal Adams' contributions began - but that Nick Cardy cover cover is awesome. I need to buy me one of those.

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RDK

RDK

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Thor 127 didn't quite make my cut, but comparing it to that Batman cover just proves to me the artistic superiority of Marvel during that period - and Jack's superiority to just about anyone at the time.

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ComicBookGuy

ComicBookGuy

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#20. Action Comics #252

 

Personally, I love these old DC covers. They represent an innocence and clear-cut era in the history of our hobby when comics were written for kids. There is not a trace of cynicism in them. We look at these covers now either...

* in fond recollection if we were alive back then cloud9.gif, or

* in respectful reverence, taking into account the historical aspects of this era of our hobby hail.gif, or

* in bewilderment -- wondering how such a corny cover could ever be taken seriously confused.gifconfused-smiley-013.gif. The answer is simple: The target audience for these comics were nine to twelve-year-old kids! makepoint.gif (We see a lot of this kind of reaction on the boards.)

 

This cover to me captures the spirit of Silver Age DC perfectly: cleanly-drawn art, campy dialogue that draws you in and makes you want to buy the comic (if you're ten, that is), and bright colors. This cover in particular is intriguing cause it introduces Supergirl and her spaceship from Krypton, an introduction that would change the DC Universe forever. I've always favored the Superman issues with Krypton and Krypton-related covers, and this one is no exception. All in all, a classic cover of a key book.

 

1172931-action252.jpg

 

This cover finished with 41 points.

1172931-action252.jpg.563cfb01a75f84a330324807f19981c6.jpg

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adamstrange

adamstrange

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Okay, everyone, I'm back from a long day at work and ready to put in some more hours. We're going to take the results down to #15 tonight.

 

yay.gifyay.gifyay.gif

 

Here we go with #23. Teen Titans #14.

 

October nominated this beauty, and I stole his scan of it cause the colors on it really jump out at you. There are psychedelic covers from the 1960s, and there are psychedelic covers from the 1960s, and then there is this Nick Cardy masterpience. hail.gifhail.gifhail.gif The rainbow color scheme is breathtaking and one of the finest I've seen -- a cool juxtaposition of Peter Max with the superhero genre. This comic is not a key like many books and stands on its own on the merits of its art. Great nomination, Andy!

 

1172817-TT14.jpg

 

 

This cover finished with 37 points.

 

HA! I got ripped on for liking this cover but it looks like there are several closet fans. sumo.gif

 

I would not have voted for it without reading your admiration of it. It's a great cover.

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Warlord

Warlord

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#21. Tomahawk #116

 

This is another non-key comic that stands on the strength of its cover art alone. I make no secret that Neal Adams is my all-time favorite comic artist, and this is one of his finest covers. We all know there's about twenty forum members ready to fight to the death for a true high-grade copy of this comic -- if it ever appears...

 

Rather than hearing me blab on about cover art again, here is Andy's (October's) excellent take on this cover:

 

"This wonderful and largely overlooked cover presents a simple yet beautiful image. The White Man intrudes on the Brave's territory and a conflict for the ages results. One is the hunter, the other is the hunted. But is it so clear cut? Here Tomahawk is at the mercy of an Indian who does not realize that the man he is about to kill was raised by his own tribe. Will he discover his mistake? Will Tomahawk reach his rifle? Adams captures a single moment in time, a single moment before tragedy is averted...or comes to fruition. And he does it with gripping action in the style he is known for. The eye is immediately drawn to the horseman and Tomahawk, there is no distracting background with use of monotone browns. The musculature and poses are drawn beautifully and capture the movement perfectly. The horse is rendered particularly well, and they have proved to be some of Adams' strongest subjects. Truly an iconic cover that deserves a place among his best efforts."

 

This cover earned 38 points and was tied with Thor #127, but the tie was broken with a first place vote. (Not mine, surprisingly.) It's good to know I'm not the only member of the "Neal Adams Fanboy Club"... headbang.gifheadbang.gifheadbang.gif

 

acclaim.gif

 

Well then, that was a well chosen #1 vote!! Glad to have been of service! headbang.gifheadbang.gif

 

My sweet #116: cloud9.gif

tomahawk116-fsm.jpg

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ComicBookGuy

ComicBookGuy

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#19. Fantastic Four #51

 

Jack Kirby's pose captures the Shakespearean inner conflict of The Thing perfectly. Yet, surprise: This actually isn't Thing. For those of us who have actually read the story, this is a guy posing as The Thing. Too bad, cause I could go on and on about how this cover epitomizes the anguish and torment Ben feels about being Thing. Since I can't, I'll just say it's the most expressive drawing of him I have seen to date, and it's the cover of what many people feel is the finest FF story ever penned.

 

1172972-FantasticFour-51-94.jpg

 

The cover finished with 42 points.

1172972-FantasticFour-51-94.jpg.9542235d5c419cbcdbd6e47f012ba9e6.jpg

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joe_collector

joe_collector

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I did fail to mention that Supergirl is kind of hot, though, as far as comic book super-heroines go...

 

Yeah, you've just got to love that mongoIoid, wide-spaced eyes look she's got going.

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blowout

blowout

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And if I hadn't been such a slacker and had actually sent in some nominations... this would have been among them!

 

tomahawk123-fsm.jpg

 

Adams was just a master at using perspective to create added drama in his covers. cloud9.gif

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