A fun aspect of comic books is that sometimes their covers combine to make an even larger image. Here’s a look at some connecting covers.
Justice League: A Midsummer’s Nightmare was a mini-series written by Mark Waid & Fabian Nicieza with art by Jeff Johnson and Darick Robertson. It set the stage for Grant Morrison’s JLA.
On Ebay: Justice League
On AtomicAvenue: Justice League
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.
Keith Pollard pays homage to a classic Astonishing Tales cover by Rich Buckler.
 Astonishing Tales #36 July 1976 Rich Buckler |
 Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. vol. III #6 December 1989 Keith Pollard |
On Ebay: Astonishing Tales | Nick Fury
On AtomicAvenue: Astonishing Tales | Nick Fury
Marvel Two-In-One launched in 1974, teaming the Thing with a different hero each month. This guide will tell you everything you wanted to know about the series – and more!
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Date: October 1976
Cover Price: 30¢
Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: Sal Buscema
the Thing – Benjamin J. Grimm was bombarded by cosmic rays in a space exploration flight, alongside three friends. The cosmic rays gave each of them different powers, and they formed the Fantastic Four. Ben underwent the most physical change of the foursome: his skin mutated into orange rock and, as a result, he gained super-strength. At this point in Marvel Continuity, Ben Grimm was reverted back to human form but he operated an exo-skeleton armor created by Reed Richards that was made to look exactly like the Thing.
Liberty Legion– a super-team that fought the Axis influence in the United States during World War II. The team consists of the Whizzer, Miss America, Red Raven, Jack Fost, Blue Diamond, Thin Man and the Patriot.
The Thing has traveled back in time to the year 1942 to retrieve a piece of vibranium metal before it can alter the course of history – for the worse (see Marvel Two-In-One Annual #1).
Currently, he has propelled himself towards a gigantic, Flying Swastika that is destroying Manhattan’s skyscrapers. When he reaches the deadly aircraft, he discovers it’s piloted by Brain Drain – the free-floating brain of Nazi supreme intellect, Werner Schmidt. The Thing manages to inflict some damage to the Flying Swastika but, Brain Drain safely lands it upon his floating, secret base.
It’s on that secret base that the Thing is attacked by SkyShark, Meranno the U-Man and Master Man. But, before he can be overwhelmed by the Nazi super-villains, he’s joined by the Liberty Legion. With eight heroes facing three villains, the Nazis are quickly beaten. The Thing retrieves the cannister of vibranium from SkyShark and returns to the present knowing that the time-stream has been returned to normal.
New York City in the year, 1942. Specifically, Manhattan.
While SkyShark and Slicer have not been seen since, Meranno the U-Man returned in the Invaders #38 (cover date: March 1979). Brain Drain got himself a new, robotic body in Alpha Flight #108-110 (1992) and Master Man returned in the Invaders #16 (cover date: May 1977).
After the early success of the Invaders, Roy Thomas expanded Marvel’s “golden-age” super-hero line-up by introducing the Lethal Legion – the homefront version of the Invaders. They took over the lead of Marvel Premiere for two issues in 1976 but didn’t prove popular enough to maintain an ongoing. It would appear that their inclusion here was Roy Thomas’ way of getting them some more audience exposure.
This issue served to wrap up the storyline that originally started in Fantastic Four Annual #11 and continued into Marvel Two-In-One Annual #1. While the second chapter of this storyline strongly featured the Liberty Legion, this issue leaned hard the other way and gave the spotlight to the Thing. Lots of action to be had here but little in the way of characterization. With eight heroes and five villains (including Brain Drain and Slicer), there’s just not enough limelight to adequately go around.
On Ebay: Marvel Two-In-One | the Thing | Liberty Legion
On AtomicAvenue: Marvel Two-In-One
Marvel Comics Presents launched in 1988 as an ad-free anthology showcasing four eight-page features, stuffed inside a wrap-around cover. This guide will tell you everything you wanted to know about the series – and more!
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Wolverine in “Weapon X” part 3 written by Barry Windsor-Smith art by Barry Windsor-Smith Logan burst forth from the lab but collapsed once the life-support lines were torn from his body. As the scientists look in on their subject, it becomes clear that the Professor had long since suspected Logan’s mutant origins – and he fills Doctor Abraham Cornelius in on his theory about homo superior. The Professor also reveals Logan‘s past as a government agent which stands in sharp contrast to the animal-like beast he’s become. The Professor charges Dr. Cornelius with the task of training and “programming” Logan. |
Shanna in “The Bush of Ghosts” part 8 written by Gerard Jones art by Paul Gulacy Mchele is quickly gunned down by Sir Guy Cross-Wallace‘s troops but, in the chaos, Shanna breaks loose. In the conflict that arises between Shanna and Cross-Wallace’s men, a jaguar is killed that came to her aid. |
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Meggan/Shadow Cat in “Charmed Lives“ written by Sue Flaxman art by Gavin Curtis In the waters off the shore of Excalibur’s lighthouse, Shadow Cat and Meggan rescue two men: Mischa and Yuri. They reveal that they are scientists who were working for Roxxon when they made a discovery that, they realized, could be turned into a biological weapon. They escaped before Roxxon could get their hands on the formula but an assassin had been sent after them. The killer, Cypress, has followed them to Excalibur’s base where Meggan and Shadow Cat aid in defeating him … but at what cost? |
Doctor Doom in “Triumph“ written by Dave Cockrum art by Dave Cockrum Doctor Doom … is bored. And, in his boredom, he decides to create a device that allows him to harness cosmic energies. Armed with new-found power, he strikes out at New York City where he’s met with resistance in the form of heroes. Many heroes! Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the Avengers – and more! But, eventually, they all fall to the power of Doom. Even the Silver Surfer is reduced to human form before Doom’s new powers. And, just as Doom is about to conquer the entire Earth – we discover it’s all a dream. Actually, a nightmare – of Franklin Richard’s. |
In the Weapon X feature, we start to see some strong personalities emerge from the Professor and Doctor Cornelius. The Professor is revealed to be manipulative while Cornelius seems to be a concerned and sympathetic character. Shanna’s story spotlights a lot of action this issue, as she is chased through a herd of hippos by Africans armed with guns. The Excalibur story is mostly a throw-away tale … and, even worse, the fate of the Russians isn’t entirely spelled out – leaving the reader hanging. With all the recent ____ vs the Marvel Universe series we’ve seen, this Doctor Doom short seems like an early prototype. And, before you complain about it “being a dream” – remember, those other stories aren’t in continuity either – so they count just as much.
On Ebay: Marvel Comics Presents | Wolverine | Excalibur | Shanna | Doctor Doom
On AtomicAvenue: Marvel Comics Presents | Wolverine | Excalibur | Shanna | Doom
You may not be surprised to learn that most people in the comic business grew up reading comic books. However, you might be interested in knowing what they were reading. Here’s a look at “Famous Fanmail”!
Dean Mullaney founded Eclipse, one of the earliest independent comics publishers, in 1977. He got a letter printed in Astonishing Tales #27 (cover date – December 1974), weighing in on the debut of Deathlok.
On Ebay: Astonishing Tales | Dean Mullaney
On AtomicAvenue: Astonishing Tales
A fun aspect of comic books is that sometimes their covers combine to make an even larger image. Here’s a look at some connecting covers.
Painkiller Jane debuted in the pages of 22 Brides and quickly moved on to her own series, published by Event Comics in 1997. In December 2005, SciFi adapted the character into a made-for-tv movie that led to a single-season television series. With the newly-acquired attention, Dynamite Comics launched a second Painkiller Jane comics series. By the time they followed that up with her third series, they had also acquired the rights to publish Terminator comics and both characters were thrown together in a crossover story. The story continued into Terminator 2 #6 – both variants combine into the image below.
On Ebay: Painkiller Jane | Terminator
On AtomicAvenue: Painkiller Jane | Terminator
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.
Mike Mignola pays homage to a classic Flash cover by Carmine Infantino.
 the Flash #174 November 1967 Carmine Infantino |
 Secret Origins vol. III #41 June 1989 Mike Mignola |
Marvel Two-In-One launched in 1974, teaming the Thing with a different hero each month. This guide will tell you everything you wanted to know about the series – and more!
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Date: 1976
Cover Price: 50¢
Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: Sal Buscema
the Thing – Benjamin J. Grimm was bombarded by cosmic rays in a space exploration flight, alongside three friends. The cosmic rays gave each of them different powers, and they formed the Fantastic Four. Ben underwent the most physical change of the foursome: his skin mutated into orange rock and, as a result, he gained super-strength. At this point in Marvel Continuity, Ben Grimm was reverted back to human form but he operated an exo-skeleton armor created by Reed Richards that was made to look exactly like the Thing.
Liberty Legion– a super-team that fought the Axis influence in the United States during World War II. The team consists of the Whizzer, Miss America, Red Raven, Jack Fost, Blue Diamond, Thin Man and the Patriot.
After the events in Fantastic Four Annual #11, Reed Richards surmised that the missing half of the vibranium they recovered was destroyed in the blast. But, the Watcher’s presence seems to indicate that everything was not fixed with the timestream. With the rest of the Fantastic Four gone, it’s up to the Thing to figure out what happened to the rest of the vibranium cylinder – and he seems to have a hunch that, when it was sent back in time, it was broken in half by a “time wedge”. One half ended up in occupied Europe (see FF Annual #11), now it’s up to the Thing to go back in time again to recover the other half, lest its presence in the past change the present!
This time, he arrives in New York City of 1942 – just in time for SkyShark‘s air raid on the Big Apple. Before the Thing can even catch his wits, the Liberty Legion bursts into action to stop the German attack on American soil. They manage to destroy all of the Stukas but one – SkyShark makes a hasty retreat accompanied by the Japanese villain, Slicer. The Liberty Legion hops into the Thin Man‘s plane to chase after the Nazi villain – leaving the Thing behind in their NYC headquarters.
The Liberty Legion assumes that SkyShark is bound for the government’s aircraft plant in upstate New York – although, we discover that he’s veered off to a secret base (a metal platform in the Atlantic Ocean). Once the Legion arrives at the plant, they discover it’s being attacked by Master Man – so they leap into action against the Nazi villain. But, they’re not able to defeat him – he breaks into the plant and runs away with their experimental cockpit, which he was sent to steal for SkyShark.
Meanwhile, Meranno the U-Man steals an experimental jet engine from another laboratory out from under the Legion’s noses. And, back at Legion HQ, the Thing spies a jet-propelled, Swastika-shaped aircraft that’s destroying the city!
New York City in 1942 with a side mission to upstate New York.
The villains (SkyShark, Slicer, Meranno and Master Man) will all appear in Marvel Two-In-One #20 – the continuation of this story.
After the early success of the Invaders, Roy Thomas expanded Marvel’s “golden-age” super-hero line-up by introducing the Lethal Legion – the homefront version of the Invaders. They took over the lead of Marvel Premiere for two issues in 1976 but didn’t prove popular enough to maintain an ongoing. It would appear that their inclusion here was Roy Thomas’ way of getting them some more audience exposure.
As a Marvel Two-In-One issue, it wasn’t very good since the Thing has very little to do. Nearly the entire issue was either a flashback to events from Fantastic Four Annual #11 or Liberty Legion action – of which, the Thing was left out of since they left him at their HQ when they took off for action. I enjoyed the time-travel aspect of the first part of the story but this just feels redundant. Actually, worse – it just feels like a way to ram the Liberty Legion down the readers’ throats. I’m hoping the story improves in its concluding chapter.
On Ebay: Marvel Two-In-One | the Thing | Liberty Legion
On AtomicAvenue: Marvel Two-In-One
Marvel Comics Presents launched in 1988 as an ad-free anthology showcasing four eight-page features, stuffed inside a wrap-around cover. This guide will tell you everything you wanted to know about the series – and more!
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Wolverine in “Weapon X” part 2 written by Barry Windsor-Smith art by Barry Windsor-Smith As the adamantium-infusing process continues, the Professor finds out that Logan is a mutant – armed with a healing factor. They also discover an excess drain of adamantium at his hands and wrists (we know it’s because of his claws – he’s got more bones there than average humans). Logan pops his claws and begins writhing in pain. The Professor sends the status-tech worker from lab two in to try to help Logan but the boy is quickly murdered by Logan. Doctor Abraham Cornelius is horrified by the death but the Professor seems oddly … impressed. |
Shanna in “The Bush of Ghosts” part 7 written by Gerard Jones art by Paul Gulacy Sir Guy Cross-Wallace is alerted to Shanna and her friends’ attack on his citadel. He orders his troops to take them all alive – and, soon after they do, Shanna is prepared for a ceremony to be made Cross-Wallace’s bride. Cross-Wallace summons forth the wedding meal – which is revealed to be the body of Shanna’s friend, Eric Heller! At this disturbing sight, Mchele goes berserk, grabs a gun from a nearby guard and starts slaughtering Cross-Wallace’s soldiers. |
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Constrictor in “the Freebie“ written by Scott Lobdell art by Scott McDaniel Years ago, when Frank Schlichting was a young boy, his mother and sister were killed by his mom’s boyfriend, McAvey. The man frightened the young boy into not testifying – so he went free. In the present, Schlichting is the villain known as the Constrictor. And, when he finds out that McAvey has returned, the Constrictor decides to make the murderer as frightened of living each day as young Frank was. |
Iceman/Human Torch in “Absolute Zero“ written by Dan Mishkin art by Joe Staton The villain, Firebomb, kidnaps the Humans Torch’s wife, Alicia, and straps her to a time bomb. It’s a race against time as the Human Torch and Iceman have to free her before she’s blown to bits. |
It’s important to remember that, at this point in Wolverine’s history, we didn’t know whether his claws were created by Weapon X or just enhanced by them. This issue doesn’t make the distinction, but you could make the case for either proposal. What was done to Shanna’s friend Eric Heller was truly gruesome! Constrictor’s tale of revenge was a successful way of building some empathy towards this adamantium-enhanced villain (just how many people have access to this rare metal?!). The Torch/Iceman team up offers nothing in the way of character development and it doesn’t even show the villain mentioned throughout the story – totally skippable. It’s very cool to see a Sam Kieth cover on this issue. And, while his Human Torch is kind of funky looking, the other three came out really well.
On Ebay: Marvel Comics Presents | Wolverine | Iceman | Shanna | Constrictor | Human Torch
On AtomicAvenue: Marvel Comics Presents | Wolverine | Iceman | Shanna | Human Torch
You may not be surprised to learn that most people in the comic business grew up reading comic books. However, you might be interested in knowing what they were reading. Here’s a look at “Famous Fanmail”!
Roger Slifer is a comics writer who’s worked for both Marvel and DC. He had a short run on the Defenders but he’s best known for writing the Omega Men and co-creating Lobo. He got a letter printed in Astonishing Tales #24 (cover date – June 1974), lending his praise to the title’s It, the Living Colossus feature.
On Ebay: Astonishing Tales | Roger Slifer
On AtomicAvenue: Astonishing Tales
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