Adventure Comics #160, DC Comics, January 1951 – Artist: Al Wenzel.
Norman Rockwell? No, Al Wenzel! I like the cover to Adventure Comics #160 because it epitomizes what comic books were and are, escapism. Stuck in a real world traffic jam? Catch a ride with a superhero.
I was seriously thinking of picking Action Comics #160 (pic below) but rightfully so I awarded it with a JOWA, what’s aunt Minerva’s last name? Sarfreyed?
Check out that Mighty Mouse #160 pic I included, global warming cover!
I thought Strange Adventures #160 gave us a great cover as did Daredevil #160.
I’m not jiving when I say there are too many turkey’s on the covers of Famous Funnies. Maybe our friend Bud Plant can shed some light on the running turkey themes on these covers?
Girls’ Romances #160, love how back then the guy is just devoid of any fault, it’s all between the girls. Darn, he’s kissing my best friend, why’s I introduce him to her!
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.
OMG, that Action cover is just terrible. I think Jerry Siegel must have started the humor trend for Superman and Action covers, post-war, some of my least favorite covers for poor Supe. But after DC gave Shuster and Jerry the heave-ho, DC kept the theme.
At least Jerry’s covers usually were generic and had nothing to do with the story. I think it shows his ambivalence towards superheroes, as early as the mid-forties. After all, his next original creation was Funnyman, a flat-out spoof of the genre (though surprisingly well drawn at times, and a sleeper to this day).
Wish I could help on the turkey question with Famous Funnies. I do believe that seasonal themes were very big in those days. Those DC Christmas covers on Wonder Woman, Batman, World’s Finest, Comics Cavalcade…they were just wonderful. Today on the vintage DC calendars, you often see these.
In my earliest comics reading, Barks always had seasonal stories, with lots about Thanksgiving. As a kid in San Jose, his stories about wintertime in Duckburg, snow forts, snowball fights, shoveling snow, snowmen, were endlessly fascinating. I came from an area where snow never fell, in the south Bay Area, so this was a look at a different, more romantic world. Now I love winter and snow (in moderation), I do believe those stories helped influence my moving to the Sierra foothills so I could experience it.
So I can only speculate that editors found seasonal covers sold well. But this one, giving it a JOWA would be a kindness, its terrible. But maybe not for ten-year-olds, I suppose, they probably loved it. Aughhh.
JOWA?
Although I don’t own any Funnyman comics Bud… its a great series. It was a series that had both comic book and comic strip presence… and is an accolade to Yiddish humor! But I agree that the Supes covers did get a bit smaltzy…I remember trading an issue with another guy that had the Man of Steel getting a busted toe from one of Lois’s cookies only the GET one that had a barber breaking his scissors on Supes proverbial curl. I actually like them now more then in the 70’s… but I agree there were a lot better Golden Age covers!
I love your part of the world Bud, I spent 10 days in San Francisco in 1993, went through San Jose, down to Carmel, Big Sur then up to Napa and Sonoma. Easily the most beautiful place I’ve been to in the USA.
The cover is pleasant but I can’t go for “great”.
For #161 I spent about a minute on this and am saying Strange Tales. I also really dig Superman (1987), but again it doesn’t really meet my criteria.
Duane…in case that is a question and not an ironic statement…you never know with this group:
JWOH is an acronym Walter, and Chris maybe, coined earlier this year. The Jimmy Olsen awful, dumb, silly cover award…although I have forgotten what does OH means.
Jimmy Olsen comics back before issue #100 or so, are widely known for zany, strange covers. Jimmy was never the brightest bulb in the Superman mythos. You name it, its happened to Jimmy.
Artist and historian Scott Shaw, however, would call them wonderful ‘cause he dotes on this stuff. He’s surely got something online you can have fun looking at.
Poor form for writers to use acronyms in articles without defining them. Leaves new readers out of the loop.
OMG Scott I’m SMH at your concern over NUB’s FOMO. IMHO it STBY if you need TMI to figure out the JOWA.
I think I got half of those Chris! WTF is a FOMO ?
“fear of missing out”