...and instantly wanting, nay, NEEDING to get my hands on those twin tabloids. The Action Comics #1 reprint I found quite easily at my local drugstore (which at the time was my main comicbook haunt). The Batman tabloid, though, I searched high and low for, eventually accidentally finding it at a "strange" (i.e. one I'd never been to before) drugstore near my pediatrician's office (Young Groove had recently broken his arm and was due a check-up). After all the hunting (my dad, bless 'im, even took me out on a long drive to search for it on one of his days off earlier in the month) I lucked out and found it on January 15, 1974. T'was a true red letter day for Young Groove. Not only did I possess a copy of the coolest Bat-comic on the planet, but I finished reading it before the debut of Happy Days on ABC. Broken arm or no, it was one great day!
What made that tabloid (besides its humongous size) so cool? Neal Adams' cover, which re-worked the cool splash from Batman #251...
Classic Golden Age stories drawn by the likes of Bob Kane (with a Joker story I'd never seen), Jerry Robinson, and Dick Sprang...
A Silver Age winner drawn by Carmine Infantino...
Plus a "How to Draw Batman" page (again by Infantino)...
One of my all-time fave Batman stories, "Hot Time in Gotham Town Tonight!" with Irv Novick art (I'll have to share that whole story in the near-future)...
Adams art on "Ghost of the Killer Skies!"...
A mini-lesson on "Batman on the Screen" (I always loved photo-features! Who wrote it? Bob Rozakis? Allan Asherman? ENB?)...
And even the "table-top diorama" was cool--more Adams!
Even at the unthinkable price of a whole buck, that, babies, was a bargain! Wheeeeee-O!
Mike Grell Batman heads on the batman on the screen article?
ReplyDeletePat Broderick started out at DC with filler material such as intro pages for the 100-page reprint books; he did the Batman on the Screen header.
DeleteThank you,Mr Groove!
ReplyDeleteThen you will understand,O Groovy A,when I tell you what a misery my life has been;
I have NEVER owned a copy of Batman Limited Collectors' Edition C-25.
/Mr Anonymous
p.s.Yes please,share some Hot Time,Mr Groove.
One of the most cherished and well-read pieces in my collection.
ReplyDeleteHad this and loved - although the cover was purple in the UK. I actually cut out and assembled the diorama.
ReplyDeleteDidn't it have a map of the Batcave and guide to the utility belt in there too
Wish I still had it just for the diorama.
ReplyDeleteyep. this, and the classic Batman villains one they did. glorious.
ReplyDeleteMy father bought both the ACTION COMICS #1 and BATMAN treasury editions for me in early '74 as a surprise present (I had just turned nine). Very exciting time to be reading comics! Wrightson was just wrapping up his run on SWAMP THING, and Wacky Packages were all the rage. My older brothers had a stack of MAD magazines which subsequently became mine. FM Radio used to actually play unusual but skillful hit singles like Edgar Winter's "Frankenstein" and "Hocus Pocus" by Focus.
ReplyDeleteAh, the halcyon days of youth...
Best regards,
Chris A.
Great memories oh Groovy one! I was either 12 or 13 when these came out. Loved them, the first one I ever ordered through the mail though. Was the epic (1976) Superman vs Spider-Man! I just recently rebought off eBay about two years ago for about $28. Actually Happy Days was a unaired pilot, that did eventually air a few years later. But on Love American Style. Being born & growing up in Milwaukee, WI. Happy Days will always had a special place in my heart. I especially loved the first season, except Fonzie's stupid white windbreaker! Ironic I just e-mailed Henry Winkler this morningover on Face Book! AAAAYYYYYY!!!!
ReplyDeleteMy brothers and I also had a stack of those 7-Eleven slurpee cups with DC super-heroes on them in those days. Probably worth a small fortune now. I enjoyed "Happy Days" and "The Six Million Dollar Man" (first two seasons in both cases)---oh, and "Kolchak: The Night Stalker" with Darren McGavin. Very groovy time!
ReplyDeleteChris A.
Took me back! I had these, these were literally the first comics I ever read! wow, its so weird seeing images that captivated you as a kid after not having thought about them for 30 years- Next con I have to find them!
ReplyDeleteLet out a tremendous gasp when I saw the advertisement for this tabloid decades ago as a teen,and vowed I"d track that issue down if it took all of eternity,which turned out to be twenty years later for a sum of $20.00.Good stuff cover to cover.
ReplyDelete