Brave and The Bold Magazine #1 - DC/Titan Comics

April 2010 - A Brave and the Bold magazine! Outrageous!

Rarely do I get to use something for both this blog and my Aquaman Shrine site, since DC did so little in the traditional "magazine" format. But this new publication is a delightful exception!

Published by Titan Comics, this is a new series that is reminiscent of the classic oversized treasury comics of the 70s. Measuring at 9x12", this first issue contains all sorts of fun features, like a bio-page of various B&B characters:

It also features a brand-new, exclusive-to-this-magazine story featuring Batman and Power Girl, "The Panic of the Composite Creature", by Matt Wayne, Andy Suriano, and Dan Davis:

Following this, there's a Batman centerfold poster, a two-page spread on Green Arrow, a section featuring kids' drawings, and a "Secret Files" page on Power Girl:

On top of all that, there are several pages of activity pages, like a maze, a puzzle, and this brain-teaser:

As if that wasn't enough, the back cover features a full-size Batman mask you can cut out:

I'm happy to report this Brave and the Bold magazine is not a one-shot. It features an ad for the second issue, and a subscription ad, presumably meaning this is an ongoing series. As Aquaman would say, outrageous!


Since starting this blog in 2007, I've been happy to see that Marvel has jumped back into the magazine format again; they've released about a dozen one-shots and at least two or three ongoing series featuring their biggest stars. Sure, so far all they are are reprints of the color comics, aimed at a younger audience instead of an older one. Nonetheless, I'm glad to see Marvel is trying different formats again.

DC, like they did with the b/w magazine format in the 70s, is so far staying away from doing any sort of magazines. This British Brave and the Bold mag is a giant bunch of fun; I cannot fathom why this isn't available in America. Hopefully there'll be an American version at some point...

The Superheroes Monthly Vol.2 #3 - DC/Egmont

This issue's cover is by Bryan Talbot--I know what they were going for, but I can't help but think this looks like Batman has knocked out Santa Claus and the cops have the drop on him. Holy Elseworlds!
More classic reprints, all Christmas-themed stories, starting off with "Wanted: Santa Claus--Dead or Alive!" by Denny O'Neil, inker Steve Mitchell, and pencils by some new kid named Frank Miller.

Next is "Star Light, Star Bright...Farthest Star I See Tonight!" starring the Legion of Super-Heroes by Paul Levitz, Jose Luis Garica Lopez, and Dick Giordano.

A cool bonus feature is a text article called "A Date With DC" where over three pages we're given a series of important dates in DC's history from 1961-1981(previous issues handled earlier years). It starts off with "Feb.1961--After many years as a back-up feature, Aquaman starts a series of try-outs starting with Showcase No.30." Amen!

The last story is the bona-fide classic "The Man Who Murdered Santa Claus!" from Justice League of America #110, by Len Wein, Dick Dillin, and Giordano. The Key suckers the JLA into a series of death-traps in an extraordinairily fun adventure--one of my all-time favorite JLA stories.

Another nice feature in this issue is "Ask The AnswerMan", an all-new version of the Bob Rozakis column this time answering British comics fan's questions! Consdering how friggin' convoluted the DCU is nowadays, I'd say we need the AnswerMan more than ever!

These are great magazines filled with fun, timeless material--I definitely plan to get more of 'em as the blog goes on...

The Superheroes Monthly Vol.1 #8 - DC/Egmont

I had a couple issues of these British, b/w, magazine-sized DC reprint books years ago; I had forgotten all about them until I saw them on ebay last week so I quickly snapped two of them up--the other will be here tomorrow.

First off, the cover by artist Alan Craddock---way cool, and a predecessor to the look of realism Alex Ross would bring to comics. The Flash looks like a badass here--no easy feat.

Each issue features three stories from DC's archives, and this issue reprints the uber-classic "Mystery of the Human Thunderbolt"--the first appearance of The Flash from Showcase #4, by Bob Kanigher, Carmine Infantino, and Joe Kubert.

Next is "Marriage: Impossible", another chapter in the Man-Bat saga, by Frank Robbins, Neal Adams, and Dick Giordano.

Last is Superman in "The Man Who Murdered The Earth" by Len Wein, Curt Swan, and Murphy Anderson.

A really fun magazine, every bit as good as I remember it being when I had it as a young kid. The back cover features the cover painting, sans text, Gold Key-style.

Demon! #3 - Portman Distribution (aka Marvel UK)

Sometimes when I'm buying multiple comics from one seller, I'll look and see what b/w mags they might be selling that I can pick up for a few bucks. If someone's willing to not charge any additional shipping, I figure why not?

I found this little gem a week or so ago and now that I'm done rereading The Warren Companion (for like the seventh time) I thought I'd post this, the third issue of a British magazine called Demon--oh, excuse me, Demon!

Juding by its contents, I'd say Demon (I mean Demon!--dammit) is a UK version of a Marvel b/w magazine, since it features the Marvel character Satana, and the whole thing is done by the likes of Gerry Conway, Tony Isabella, Doug Moench, Tom Sutton, Sonny Trinidad, with a cover by Frank Brunner. I have not been able to find this particuar (particularly awesome!) cover on any other Marvel comic, so I wonder if this was commissioned for the British edition. Inside, there's no indication that these stories are anything but original to this magazine (Marvel isn't even listed as publisher in the indicia).

First is a Gabriel, Devil-Hunter story "To Worship the Damned" by Doug Moench and Sonny Trinidad, and features a really creepy looking demon(hence the title of the magazine, I guess). I mean, ew:

...good old-fashioned nightmare fuel. Thanks Mr.Trinidad!

Next is a "Satana, the Devil's Daughter" text-piece by Gerry Conway with some nice spot pieces by Estaban Moroto and Pablo Marcos. Ah, the 70s. The third piece is "Grave Business" a great, macabre tale written and drawn by Tom Sutton. Sutton really could combine horror and dark, dark humor like no one else, though this story does end especially gruesomely.

"Deathwatch", by Conway and Yong Montano(?) is a grim morality tale set during war, also with a really gruesome ending. Satana is back with her own comics story called "Bloody is the Path to Hell" (ironically, also the name of Ann Coulter's next book), where we get to see her make-out with a demon named Zannarath. Again--ah, the 70s. The story continues into Part 2, titled "This Side of Hell", where Satana makes out with another guy until she drains all the life out of his body, leaving just an empty husk. Where else can you go after that?

The back cover features an ad for another magazine called Journey into Nightmare, which features a Neal Adams Man-Thing cover, reprinted from Monsters Unleashed! I believe. The ad copy proclaims its "64 pages of utter misery, fear, weirdness, screams, neurosis, poison, violence, blight, evil, malice, and suffering." I was going to say that's the same description of Ann Coulter's next book, but I already made that joke.

But, as the ad undoubtedly intended, it makes me want to get it!