Category: Comics

Conan #10 was the first issue of Conan that I bought off the rack.  Barry Smith (who was not yet Barry Windsor-Smith) was really starting to show promise of what was to come and Roy Thomas’ story has stayed with me all these years later.

Diversions of a Groovy Kind recently took a look some of Barry Smith’s Conan Covers and that’s what stirred up this great memory.

Victor Santos’ riff on Bullseye is just one of five Daredevil character pieces that he posted here.

If you’re a fan of fanzines, then you’ve got to check out Ken Meyer, Jr.’s monthly column Ink Stains.  Each month Ken (who is an amazing artist) posts… well, let’s let Ken explain…

I have a collection of over 200 fanzines from the 60’s-80’s that I plan to scan and talk about, one at a time. I hope to have some of the participants answer a few questions. Many of those participants are established comics professionals now, while some have gone on to other things. I will show a few snippets from each zine and give you a link to download a pdf of the whole thing, which I hope all of you will do!

For Ink Stains 66, Ken took a look at Wowiekazowie #1 from 1976 from Editor and Publisher: William (Willie) Blyberg

Ink Stains 66 features –

• Covers (front and back) by Willie Blyberg
• Tons of spot illos by Willie Blyberg, Pete Iro, Rodi and others
• The DC Revival Craze by Bob Rodi
• Not Far From Yancy Street by Jack Frost and Dean Mullaney
• An Article on Nick Fury and Shield
• Two Comic Stories by Willie Blyberg and Pete Iro
• The Background Heroes by Kim Thompson
• …and more!

This is fanzine brings back so many wonderful memories.  One of my favorites from those fanzine days.  Willie put out several great issues and this is the first.

Thanks to Ken Meyer, Jr. for making these available!

If you’re a fan of fanzines, then you’ve got to check out Ken Meyer, Jr.’s monthly column Ink Stains.  Each month Ken (who is an amazing artist) posts… well, let’s let Ken explain…

I have a collection of over 200 fanzines from the 60’s-80’s that I plan to scan and talk about, one at a time. I hope to have some of the participants answer a few questions. Many of those participants are established comics professionals now, while some have gone on to other things. I will show a few snippets from each zine and give you a link to download a pdf of the whole thing, which I hope all of you will do!

For Ink Stains 64, Ken took a look at Word Balloons #1 from 1974 from Editor and Publisher: Gary Groth

Ink Stains 64 features –

• Cover by Jeff Jones
• Archie Goodwin: Comics in Crisis
• Interview and Art from Neal Adams
• Donald Wong Portfolio
• Denny O’Neil Keynote Speech Transcription
• Steranko Keynote Speech Transcription
• Dave Cockrum Backcover
• …and more!

This is a new one to me.

Ah, the memories of the glory days of fanzines.  Thanks to Ken Meyer, Jr. for making these available!

Diversions of the Groovy Kind has posted some vintage Howard Chaykin art that is worth a look.

This is the splash page from Master of Kung Fu #29.  Paul Gulacy pencilled and inked it.  Ain’t it a beaut?

This Barry Smith piece is actually one of 15 Rejected X-Men Comic Book Covers that you can check out at CBR.com.  The article shows the rejected cover along with the one used.  In almost half of the cases I preferred the rejected cover.

If you’re a fan of fanzines, then you’ve got to check out Ken Meyer, Jr.’s monthly column Ink Stains.  Each month Ken (who is an amazing artist) posts… well, let’s let Ken explain…

I have a collection of over 200 fanzines from the 60’s-80’s that I plan to scan and talk about, one at a time. I hope to have some of the participants answer a few questions. Many of those participants are established comics professionals now, while some have gone on to other things. I will show a few snippets from each zine and give you a link to download a pdf of the whole thing, which I hope all of you will do!

For Ink Stains 59, Ken took a look at Fantafolio 3 from 1980 from Editor and Publisher: Peppy White

Fantafolio 3 features –

• Cover by John Beatty and Jerry Ordway (Both who went on to long distinguished careers as comics pros)
• Doug Herring Portfolio
• Pin-Ups by David Mazzuchelli (Batman: Year One and Daredevil fame), Willie Blyberg & Doug Hazelwood (both who became comic pros)
• Fandom regulars in the issue include: Larry Houston, Pete Iro, Mike Machlan, Don Secrease and others.
• Tons of fan art, comic stories, spot illos and more.

This is a new one to me.  Interesting to see how many future comic super stars(Rick Burchett inked one of the stories) were included!

Ah, the memories of the glory days of fanzines.  Thanks to Ken Meyer, Jr. for making these available!

Diversions of the Groovy Kind has posted some really early John Byrne Batman sketches that fans will enjoy.

I always liked this What If… cover by Bill Sienkiewicz.  Of course there aren’t too many covers by Bill that I didn’t like.  You can see this one and a couple more even larger at The Bristol Board.