Blue Bolt #113, Star Publications, May 1952 – Artist: L.B. Cole.
I was actually kind of nervous with this one. I know a couple of you guys were pointing to other books and I even went back (I had this one pegged for a while) and did a comparison and as good as the other picks were they can’t usurp Blue Bolt from Day #113. As I said before we are deep into Cole country and I think we should enjoy the vistas.
Gracious there were tons of great #113 covers, Captain America #113 and Sensation Mystery #113 were great. I didn’t have X-Men #113 but on second look it deserves to be on the short list. Wow, Gil Kane and Russ Heath go to town on All Star Western #113! And what’s going on with Silver Surfer #113.
On the Romance side I liked My Romantic Adventures #113, something about her, my boy’s in deep I think.
A great comic book cover matching each day of the year, 1 through 365. Please chime in with your favourite corresponding cover, from any era.
I agree with your assessment that there were a lot of outstanding #113’s, but after seeing the Blue Bolt cover I think your choice for the top spot was secure. This run of Blue Bolt covers is fantastic.
The Hulk and Captain America seem to be mounting a daily challenge but neither of them quite carried the day. On Chris’s recommendation I pulled out a copy of X-Men #113, and as I held it I thought it was a worthy challenger, but couldn’t figure out why it had never stood out to me before among the Bryne X-Men run. And I am currently looking for a copy of Zur-En-Arrh Batman #113, but the background and aliens have always seemed to be lacking.
I saw 2 other covers I really liked, although neither was a serious contender.
• Captain Marvel #113 – the world’s mightiest mortal in a pistols-at-dawn duel with a tiger in a sport coat. The incongruity is enough to make it standout.
• Wonder Woman #113 – a simple cover but the attacking Sphinx caught my eye.
Like I said, I was probably too influenced by my own history on X-Men, I think most people would pick this one. If you thought #112 was too much you don’t have that problem here. My one complaint – maybe just an embarrassing oversight on my part – but it wasn’t until I examined your enlarged version above that I noticed the (presumably) dead guy’s hand. I always thought the living guy was digging up a treasure or something, so the reason for the ghosts would be revealed within. I think the body being buried should have been made more prominent.
I was this close to putting All Star Western on my list, but I left it off because the cowboy didn’t have enough of a distressed look on his face. You’re about to be trampled by a horse, pay some attention.
I looked at Silver Surfer but I found the lack of color made it visually confusing. Agreed on My Romantic Adventures. A crossover issue with that girl and the brunette from Girls’ Love Stories #109 would have to be sold in one of those sealed opaque plastic bags.
#114 is again very fertile but my clear favorite is Strange Tales. This exercise has taught me that while Kirby was perhaps _the_ comic book artist, he certainly wasn’t _the_ cover artist. The good news is that he had plenty of chances, and Strange Tales is one of the big successes. Everything great about this cover, and mercifully the background sky color was just right for the rest of the scene. Recall that I didn’t agree with Strange Tales #107 because a) it was too simple, and b) there was not that much going on. Strange Tales #114 corrects both of these shortcomings with the bonus of replacing Sub-Mariner with the quintessential Kirby character, Captain America. No question that this is a battle, and look at the Amazed and Astonished onlookers, transfixed by the Mystery of the reappearance of Cap and held in Suspense awaiting the fight’s outcome. I understand that The Acrobat is still collecting residuals for his fortuitous masquerade.
Again Blue Bolt is fantastic but even a Cole monster is no match for the ersatz Cap and The Torch. I wish the competition were weaker so I could pick G.I. Combat – although I don’t know if you could really jump a tank like that. Iron Man is very traditional but it shouldn’t be underestimated – the layout, action, and depth show great mastery of the form. JIM – now that is a battle! (Another Kirby cover high point.) House of Secrets great fun. Scooby-Doo (1997) – turnabout for day #40.
The JOWA goes to Batman. It appear that the only knowledge of apes that Moldoff had came from actors in gorilla suits. Romantic Story is a close second – what exactly was the shirtless “creep” doing to “ruin the kids”? Girls’ Love: a lesson in hygienic caution. Sweethearts: I am sure we could find a position – I mean a place – for Lisa in that Romantic Adventures/Girls’ Love Stories crossover mentioned above.
Derrick, kudos for the WW #113 call. I passed it by but it is a lot scarier than I thought on closer examination. My complaint is the minimizing of WW – she should be dodging the blast, confronting the Sphinx, etc This book comes at the tail end of the ultra-scarce WW period of which I am a big fan. I don’t think it is possible to own too many post-1950 ten cent DC “core hero” books in F or above.
Well, as Walt has said we are definitely in Cole Country but after looking at the WW cover I have to admit its really great. Cole was so prolific during this period its hard to compete but I will side with the WW fans on this one. I still have my eyes on a Cole cover in 4 days.
I agree with Chris on the Strange Tales 114 as well. The only thing I could find that popped was Detective Comics but it lacked the dynamism of Kirbys Torch. However that black cover in high grade must be awesome to behold!
I’ve gone back and had a closer look at WW #113, great cover. I think on the thumbnail the Sphynx was overpowering and I just glossed over it.