Titans Together: 24 George Perez Splash Pages

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Curt Swan, DC Archive Edition New Teen Titans, DC Comics, George Perez, Marv Wolfman, New Teen Titans, New Teen Titans Omnibus, Romeo Tanghal, Teen Titans, Teen Titans reprints

Though thirty-four years have passed since Marv Wolfman and George Perez began their run on the Teen Titans for DC Comics, time has done nothing to diminish our affection for their work. Our gallery below presents a collection of splash pages and two-page spreads from the first twenty issues of The New Teen Titans, showcasing Perez’s knack for detail, action, and creative layouts. Romeo Tanghal’s ink work made him an integral part of the team. Nothing displays this better than the two pages (included in our gallery) penciled by legendary Superman artist Curt Swan in issue #5. Under Tanghal’s pen they seamlessly maintain the look and feel Perez established for the title.

The New Teen Titans embraced the absurdities of superhero comics while taking them to a higher level with rich characterizations and finely-crafted emotional lives for its adolescent stars. It managed to be a grown-up book without being an “adult” title, and it handled many serious stories without veering off into the “grim and gritty” deconstructionism of more famous works from the 1980s. The New Teen Titans deserved better than the cheap paper and printing processes of the average comic book of its time. It thus became one of the first mainstream superhero books to change to a higher-quality printing process, though unfortunately this came near the end of Perez’s stint on the title.

Readers would have to wait many years to see Perez’s outstanding art printed in a high-quality format it deserved. This began with The New Teen Titans DC Archive Edition in 1999, a four-volume hardcover reprinting #1-27, the first Annual, the first appearance in DC Comics Presents #26, and the Tales of the New Teen Titans limited series. Sadly, that printing only covered less than half of the incredible Wolfman/Perez run. Readers would have to wait even longer for a complete reprint of the masterpiece.

More recently, from 2011 to 2013, DC Comics unleashed The New Teen Titans Omnibus. This three-volume hardcover series spans 1,720 pages, at last giving this outstanding series the treatment it deserved.

As a result, the demand for original printings of all but the earliest issues has significantly declined. So, if you enjoy collecting classics on a budget, you will find the original issues of New Teen Titans incredibly affordable. The upside of having the original issues is that you can truly enjoy the two-page spreads in a format where they open up completely and don’t lose any artwork in the “gutter” between pages. We love omnibus formats, but sometimes a floppy old comic book that opens flat allows you to really take in the artwork as originally intended. The choice is yours!

Superman 329: The Killer Kryptonoid!

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Curt Swan, Kryptonoid, Martin Pasko, Mort Weisinger, Superman

Martin Pasko and Curt Swan crafted my favorite issue of Superman. I had this one back in 1978 — probably the Whitman version — and recently picked it up again. It’s still awesome! How do they do that? You can tell it’s going to be amazing right from the question mark layout on the first page.

Are you ready for the attack of the killer Kryptonoid? What the heck is a Kryptonoid? That’s what Superman needs to figure out before it’s too late. One touch from this shape-shifting, metal-controlling pink monstrosity and it’s all over for Supes! The sick, twisted tragedy of the Kryptonoid’s origin, once revealed, slays us every time. Plus, Clark Kent gets naked for Lana Lang — sort of. Believe me, if I was Superman, I’d fly around naked, too. Just because I could.

The image gallery includes a tribute page: a memorial to Mort Weisinger who died on May 7, 1978. The resolution should be high enough that you can read the full text by zooming in. Something I did not include from this issue: a back-up story about Mr. & Mrs. Superman, an alternate reality where Supes and Lois are married.

Collector’s Guide: From Superman #329; DC Comics, 1978. The first half of the story appeared in Superman #328. But don’t worry, Pasko’s three-page opening recap gives you all the details you need!

Tandy Whiz Kids Save Metropolis with 1982 Computer Tech

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Alec and Shanna, Computer Masters of Metropolis, Curt Swan, DC Comics, Frank Chiaramonte, Paul Kupperberg, Radio Shack, Superman, Superman Radio Shack Giveaway, Tandy Whiz Kids, Wonder Woman

Witness the glory of “Computer Masters of Metropolis!” in our gallery today. This free promotional comic book from Radio Shack perfectly captures the state of consumer computer tech in 1982. I know, because I was there. I got this book when it came out! Dad worked at Radio Shack back then, and he always brought home a copy of their comics for me. You might get a laugh now in 2013, but things like “a subscription to an information retrieval service” were a big deal in those thrilling days of yesteryear.

So, try to imagine a primitive world before people born during the Clinton administration were old enough to legally buy beer! In this world, you loaded computer programs and video games from a cassette player. It made a high-pitched tortured mechanical scream the whole time, and the low-fi games were all written in BASIC. Alec and Shanna — the Tandy Whiz Kids, named for Radio Shack’s Tandy computers and TandyVision video games — use this ancient tech to save the day. They look up newspaper articles about Lex Luthor to help save Superman! What nerds!

The scene which most chills my blood shows young Alec working in silence for an hour as the computer gives him problem after problem at speeds faster than he ever could have imagined. NNAYARGH! That precisely describes several really awful temp jobs I had in the mid-1990s!

Compuserve was a big deal when these comics came out, and it gets several mentions. Whatever happened to Compuserve? Hey, you can read all about them on the greatest “information retrieval service” to date: Wikipedia!

I haven’t reproduced the whole issue here, just some of the stunningly “old-school” technology. The part about Superman is cheese-eriffic, but Wonder Woman makes a good electronics teacher!

Collector’s Guide: From Superman Radio Shack Giveaway #2; DC Comics, 1982. The Whiz Kids also had their own title published by Archie in 1986. Whiz Kids afficionados can find it under Whiz Kids Radio Shack Giveaway. Story by Paul Kupperberg; Art by Curt Swan and Frank Chiaramonte.

World’s Finest #147: The New Terrific Team!

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Batman, Curt Swan, Jimmy Olsen, New Terrific Team, Robin, Superman, Worlds Finest, Worlds Finest 147

1965: You could call it the Wham Bam Thank You Ma’am age of comics. In the brief sixteen pages of the cover story from World’s Finest #147, we experience an exploding tower of rocket fuel, giant mutant eagles, a car wreck, an invasion by giant robotic water beetles, a trip to another planet, telepathic aliens, and one %@$#-ing insane science experiment.

Whoa! No wonder I loved reading this as a kid. That, plus lots of youth rebellion. Yes! World’s Finest #147 was one of the treasures I discovered in Gramma’s garage of comic book utopia. It left a lasting impression on me. I share it with you today in all its rampaging Silver Age glory!

The story is called “The New Terrific Team!” Superman and Batman get put in their place when teenage sidekicks Robin and Jimmy Olsen decide to strike out on their own. But are the boys’ heroic deeds driven by a more sinister menace? Find out!

Collector’s Guide: From World’s Finest #147; DC Comics, 1965.

These Photos Prove that I, too, Came from the Planet Krypton!

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Batman, Bruce-El, Curt Swan, destruction of Krypton, Krypton, Superman, World's Finest 146, Worlds Finest

In World’s Finest #146, Batman takes part in ‘five minutes of silence’ observed by Superman and every other surviving Kryptonian on the anniversay of Krypton’s destruction. The silent ceremony triggers a memory in Batman — a memory he could not possibly have unless he, too, was from Krypton! The ensuing drama and its resolution tug at my heart strings every time I read it.

Every so often, my local comic shop puts some well-worn silver age comics in the $5 bargain box. “Affordable Silver Age” says the sign. Okay — I’ll bite! Last time, I found this copy of World’s Finest #146. True, the science is completely goofy, and the writing aims at a younger audience. But, this is one of those gems I read as a youngster in the amazing comic book stash in Gramma’s garage. If I haven’t bored you with that memoir before, jump over to my other favorite issue of World’s Finest: World’s Finest #147.

Even if you’re not a big Silver Age fan, I encourage you to check out this story. You might never think of Krypton in the same way again!

Collector’s Guide:
– From World’s Finest #146; DC Comics, 1964.
– Reprinted in Superman in the Sixties TPB.

Script by Edmond Hamilton, pencils by Curt Swan, inks by Sheldon Moldoff. This issue also includes a Superboy story.