One of the coolest things DC did back in the Groovy Age was to publish a series of 100 page, ad-less, reprint comics under the umbrella title of
DC 100 Page Super-Spectacular. Another really cool thing they did was to get Neal Adams to draw three of 'em. A total of ninety-nine heroes (some, like Superman and Batman appear more than once) populate those three covers! Can you stand all the far-out awesomeness, Groovester? (Click 'em to see 'em in all their groovy glory!)
DC 100 Page Super-Spectacular #6: World's Greatest Super-Heroes!
Batman #238 (October, 1971)
Superman #252 (March, 1972)
One of the coolest things DC did back in the Groovy Age was to publish a series of 100 page, ad-less, reprint comics under the umbrella title of DC 100 Page Super-Spectacular. Another really cool thing they did was to get Neal Adams to draw three of 'em. A total of ninety-nine heroes (some, like Superman and Batman appear more than once) populate those three covers! Can you stand all the far-out awesomeness, Groovester? (Click 'em to see 'em in all their groovy glory!)
DC 100 Page Super-Spectacular #6: World's Greatest Super-Heroes!
Batman #238 (October, 1971)
Superman #252 (March, 1972)
Oh those wonderful DC 100 pagers have a special place in my comic lovin' heart. That cover to Super Spectacular #6 is pure heaven!!!
ReplyDeletewhen I was a kid, the only exposure to great golden age comics was pretty much the DC 100-pagers. these books introduced me to Reed Crandall, to Lou Fine, to the Vigilante and Wildcat and Blackhawk. man, I could go on.
ReplyDeletewhy don't they do stuff like that any more? how hard can it be? it's not like there's not an audience for it.
Those are some great wrap arounds indeed. I loved the big annuals and specials from DC and Marvel, usually loaded with choice reprints and maybe a couple new stories, typically by someone like Adams. And I remembered when the special were 25 cents!!!! I cannot believe that now.
ReplyDeleteI love those old, huge books. I still grab them from time to time off Ebay when I see one I remember. Neal Adams definitely had a way of bringing out the best look in any hero he drew.
ReplyDeleteOne item of note: on the WGSH cover, it's the JSA's Wonder Woman standing between Superman and Batman and the JLA!
ReplyDeleteThe non-powered Earth-One Diana Prince is on the back cover (right above the Earth-Two Hawkman's wing) with the rest of the JSA (including the Earth-Two Superman and Batman)
Apparently Jack Kirby didn't think much of the WGSH cover, thinking that, with all the characters standing in the same position, it was a bit of a damp squib. This was in response to either Carmine Infantino or Julie Schwartz (sorry, can't quite remember which) saying it was one of the best covers he'd ever seen. Kirby thought the characters should all have been jumping, flying, and running all over the place and thus giving a sense of action and excitement.
ReplyDeleteI used to have all of these. I treasured each one of them because they had stories from each era of comics. From the golden age to the present. With the 100 pagers you could read stories from the 40's, 50's or 60's to the present day. The 100 page super specials have a place in my heart because I read them so many times to learn about the characters. It got me interested in the characters origins and eventually I started buying each and ever "Secret Origins" comic to see how my favorite heroes got their start. When I think of how long ago these were printed...back in 1972 or 1973...I wonder how much would it cost to print something like that today? It would probably be just under 10 dollars or so to produce this on nice paper for collector purposes.
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