Gary Friedrich goes out of his way to flunk the Bechdel test
As I’ve blogged about before, by the end of the 1960s Stan Lee had no idea what to do with Captain America. How do you make the quintessential representative of …
Tag: Rereading the Silver Age
And THIS is how DC expects to win the Bronze Age?
I mean, we’re talking the end of 1971 — it’s pretty obvious that just as love comics are doomed, the Western comic is on its way out. Sure, Marvel has …
Would you like some cheese with that Wein?
My Silver Age reread is now moving into 1972, and Len Wein has already established himself as a writer. There’s his (IMHO) definitive Phantom Stranger (with Jim Aparo on the …
Would you like a monster of your very own?
If so, the comics ads of 1971 have you covered! Kirk Demarais’ ever-informative Mail-Order Mysteries says if you joined up with the Monster Fan Club the rewards were not as cool …
Re-enter the Creeper
As I’ve blogged about recently, the Bronze Age was big on reviving Silver Age villains who’d faded from the scene, whether they deserved it or not. Detective Comics #418’s lead story, …
It’s a crazy thought, but maybe some super-villains deserve oblivion
A couple of months ago, I cited Flash #209 and Batman #234 as the beginning of what would become a Bronze Age trend — writers using supervillains again rather than “realistic” or …
Steve Ditko’s final concept for Marvel: an armored objectivist hero called Iron Rand!
Okay, I made that up. But I’m sure anyone nerdy enough to hang out here at Atomic Junk Shop knows Steve Ditko was a devout admirer of Ayn Rand’s Objectivist …