After looking at hundreds of comic book covers, it becomes quickly apparent that not every cover is 100% original. Whether done intentionally or even underhandedly, there's something about uncovering these "swipes" that adds a new element of fun to reading and collecting comics.
In a twist on the Superman mythos, the title character in Jim Valentino's normalman (stylized in all lower-case letters) is shipped off into space by his father when he concludes that the planet they inhabit will explode. The child arrives on a planet inhabited completely by super-powered beings - they dub him normalman, because he's the only one there without powers.
The character debuted in Cerebus the Aardvark #56 and was soon given his own ongoing series. That title served as a vehicle for creator, Jim Valentino, to spoof and parody other comics, a perfect opportunity (if ever there was one) to introduce cover swipes that parody the source material.
Will Eisner's the Spirit debuted in the Sunday pages of 1940 newspapers - the character is a masked vigilante that fights crime with the blessings of the city's police commissioner. The Spirit has gone on to be featured in hundreds of comics as well as a feature-length film written and directed by Frank Miller.
On Ebay: normalman | the Spirit
On Amazon: normalman | the Spirit
On AtomicAvenue: normalman | the Spirit
the SpiritOctober 9, 1941 Will Eisner |
normalman #6December 1984 Jim Valentino |
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