In Retroactive I’ll take you on a visual comic cover tour of the past covering all the covers for a particular series. Each entry will cover an entire year and I’ll always have one comic from DC and one comic from Marvel. At the end of each edition of Retroactive I’ll select my overall favourite cover for that year for each series. Last time on Retroactive we covered Detective Comics 1943 and Amazing Spider-Man 1967. If you need a refresher, just click HERE. With that said, let’s begin:
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Detective Comics (1944)
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Detective Comics #83(January 1944)
Detective Comics #84(February 1944)
Detective Comics #85(March 1944)
Detective Comics #86(April 1944)
Detective Comics #87(May 1944)
Detective Comics #88(June 1944)
Detective Comics #89(July 1944)
Detective Comics #90(August 1944)
Detective Comics #91(September 1944)
Detective Comics #92(October 1944)
Detective Comics #93(November 1944)
Detective Comics #94(December 1944)
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Amazing Spider-Man (1968)
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Amazing Spider-Man #56(January 1968)
Amazing Spider-Man #57(February 1968)
Amazing Spider-Man #58(March 1968)
Amazing Spider-Man #59(April 1968)
Amazing Spider-Man #60(May 1968)
Amazing Spider-Man #61(June 1968)
Amazing Spider-Man #62(July 1968)
Amazing Spider-Man #63(August 1968)
Amazing Spider-Man #64(September 1968)
Amazing Spider-Man #65(October 1968)
Amazing Spider-Man #66(November 1968)
Amazing Spider-Man Annual #5(November 1968)
Amazing Spider-Man #67(December 1968)
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Favourite Covers
Okay, so our journey through the past is complete for this week but which covers reign supreme? For Detective Comics, the crown goes to: Detective Comics #90. I admire the skill it took to draw those waves because making them seem so lifelike and visually interesting can be tough. Also, The Dynamic Duo’s poses are great and I love how Batman’s cape is breaking that invisible line and reaching out to almost touch the main title. For Amazing Spider-Man, the title goes to: Amazing Spider-Man #60. The use of the black background really makes the characters standout and the image of the Kingpin swinging Spider-Man around creates a captivating image that grabs the reader’s attention. I especially like how it appears that Spider-Man is going to go crashing right through his own comic’s main title. Just brilliant!
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So that’s it for this week. Agree/Disagree? Which covers are your personal favourites from this week? Comment below!
The Speech Bubble 
In 1944 Detective Comics covers started having the “pulpy noir feel” Batman is famous for. Until then, the covers of this series didn’t have a dark touch at all. Batman became 100 % dark, pulp and noir only in the ’70s, thanks to Steve Englehart, Marshall Rogers and their famous story arc, which goes from DC #469 to DC #476.
Recently DC printed an omnibus collecting a lot of Batman stories drawn by Marshall Rogers, so I expected that story arc to be included in the omnibus from the beginning to the end. And then, when I finally got it into my hands, I found out that only a part of it was included. Which means that I threw away over 50 euros. It’s still a painful memory.
My favorite Batman cover is Detective Comics # 83; as for Spidey, I agree that the ASM cover you chose was the best one published during that year. The presence of the Kingpin might have influenced me quite heavily, but that cover is brilliant for a lot of other reasons. You described them very well, so I won’t add nothing.
If you write a Character Spotlight concerning Kingpin in the future, don’t forget to mention Daredevil: Born Again. Kingpin had never been written so well before, and will not be until August 2003, when the unforgettable miniseries Kingpin: Thugs started being published.
“And then, when I finally got it into my hands, I found out that only a part of it was included. Which means that I threw away over 50 euros. It’s still a painful memory.”
And I bet they neglected to state which issues where in it on the back cover? I hate when they do that sometimes.
“If you write a Character Spotlight concerning Kingpin in the future, don’t forget to mention Daredevil: Born Again. Kingpin had never been written so well before, and will not be until August 2003, when the unforgettable miniseries Kingpin: Thugs started being published.”
I decided to take a little break from Spotlight in order to do some catch-up but it should be returning within the next month or so. I’ve found it to be a great addition to the site that draws in a lot of hits from outside sources and increases the site’s overall traffic. I’ll make sure to add Kingpin to the list 🙂
“And I bet they neglected to state which issues where in it on the back cover?” No, the back cover specified that (I just controlled). But the Preview presented that volume as an omnibus of Marshall Rogers, and an omnibus is supposed to include everything. The weirdest thing is that DC cut the first 2 issues of that story arc: if you cut the beginning of the story, how am I supposed to understand the rest of it? Complete non sense. Maybe the first 2 issues of that story arc were not drawn by Marshall Rogers, but that wouldn’t be an acceptable excuse. Thank you for your reply! : )
I did I quick check and you were right on the money: Issues 469 & 470 were drawn by Walter Simonson.
Ah, now I see. Anyway, I still believe that story arc had to be included from the beginning to the end. Thank you for checking and letting me know! : )
P.S.: Special mention for ASM # 65 and the ASM annual.
A very detailed background and a wonderful light play are enough to get a 2nd prize for ASM # 65.
The cover for the ASM annual has an eye catching psychedelic touch that is perfectly logical, if you consider that this cover was published in the 60s.
It would be wonderful if each commentor chose a different cover, as it happened last week: if we all choose the same cover, then the others, despite all their artistic qualities, are ignored, and it’s a shame.
Also, I noticed that Retroactive and Trending usually are the most commented sections of your blog: what makes them more successful than the others, in your opinion?
“The cover for the ASM annual has an eye catching psychedelic touch that is perfectly logical, if you consider that this cover was published in the 60s.”
Funny you should mention that one as I was so close to making that my #1 and I went back and forth but eventually went with #60.
“Also, I noticed that Retroactive and Trending usually are the most commented sections of your blog: what makes them more successful than the others, in your opinion?”
Retroactive is ripe for comments because, as you said, everyone has their own opinions on the matter. I find it a great article that drags in a lot of outside views and with its nice bite-sized format it makes it easier for people to digest than the longer in-depth ones. As for Trending: it references the current happenings in comics and thusly opens up the forum for discussion. Comic fans can get pretty passionate about various topics and Trending is just an outlet.
I like Det. #91, something about Robin helping to play a practical joke is funny to me. I agree ASM #60 is a standout as well.
“I like Det. #91, something about Robin helping to play a practical joke is funny to me.”
Something they’d never get away with these days and a perfect example of a bygone era. The TV Show Batman – The Brave and the Bold captured that levity pretty well.