Adventure Comics #364, DC Comics, January 1968. Artist: Curt Swan.
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’m going light today because I want to go out with a bang tomorrow. I’ll also take this time right now to thank each and every one of you that participated and supported the Covered 365 project. I think we did something special and unique and boy would I ever love to be able to rewind it and start right off the hop with picking a pile of good covers. I’m sure there would have been days in the early numbers where I would have had to post 20 covers!
All I know is that if I saw Curt Swan’s cover to Adventure Comics #364 in a bin somewhere I’d want to buy it, I mean we get to see Cosmic Boy’s underwear!
I’ve noticed that Steve Epting was very ambitious with each and every one of his covers during his Avengers run, great effort and strong composition to his cover to Avengers #364.
Kieron Dwyer gives us a nice Cap grimace on his cover to Captain America #364, Kieron Dwyer has surprised me a few times during this exercise, he’s been a pleasant surprise.
As it’s not over ’til it’s over, I will save something for tomorrow as well.
I like the Avengers but something, probably the coloring, made it too confusing to me to pick it.
If you are just going with the #365s I think it will be hard to go out with a bang. Some good covers but nothing up to the standards of many of the covers that have been noted over the year. For the last day Action is very apropos – “Superman’s Funeral!” – but that is only the JOWA from my perspective. Similarly if you pick Four Color’s Brownies, that will be a serious bummer. That leaves one choice, which is Detective. A very recognizable cool Joker cover, and up to the standards of the exercise, but hardly a bang. Otherwise Captain America and FF as good if very standard beat ’em up covers.
Walter, your pre-wrap up message made me realize another benefit of this exercise. You’ve gotten me more familiar with, as well as introduced me to, a number of more contemporary artists. Although my career and my collecting passion is all about comics, most of my expertise is Bronze, to a lesser extent, but mostly to the Silver and Golden Age.
I know many of the contemporary creators, at least by their work. But there lots of guys, like Epting and Dwyer above, who just never made it to my radar. No art books on them, no (at least for me) sketchbooks of theirs that handled. I’m sure they were in Archive or three, but again, they didn’t stand out for me until now.
So its good to get introduced to their work here. I’ll do more to promote these guys and others, if and when when the opportunity presents itself. They are now part of “Walter’s 365!!”
But best of all, I feel like I’ve gained some new comic buddies that’ll be fun to bump into at a show one of these days. I had fun pontificating as the picks segued into subjects and creators I am passionate about. Hope my comments didn’t have you rolling your eyes…”what is that guy going on and on about THIS time??”
Thanks, Walter! And all you dedicated commentators!
Walt, thanks for taking this on. It seemed just like yesterday that you started but time sure does fly ! A few (probably obvious) oservations:
As we got into the 300’s it seems like there are very few comic runs that made it this far-sure we have Detective Comics, Captain America, Superman, etc. But your choices started to be limited. Also, being a child of the 70’s in my opinion, the modern age artists, with a few exceptions don’t move me the way the first and second generation artists did. You did open me up to seeing things a little different. Thanks again and have a happy new year !
P.S. I really enjoyed your auction wrap up posts. Bring them back for 2020 !!!!
Yes, lots of modern artists I don’t know about so that was a good aspect to this exercise, expanding my view. I tend to default to when i was growing up, the sixties. Great info, comments and opinions by the gang here even though I came to it late. Thanks Walter, see you one more time tomorrow and maybe in a week or so I’ll start all over from the beginning.
Well looks like we are all on the same page here. I am in Buds generation and my focus has also been on silver thru bronze. Oh some of the artists I was familiar with, but there were a lot I wasn’t and some did so great art. I agree there is a different look to modern comics that are a result of the times. It not just the paper (although I do long for the creamy white of newsprint as opposed the ‘baxter’ paper and the new glossy stuff)! I guess I can’t be to hard on some if these artists or its the equivalent of my yelling to “turn that awful music down”! So if I offended anyone with my opinion, sorry ( with the exception of Liefeld…he just sucks!)
Funny cover that Adventure. Good for a gag, but not exactly something that catches my eye. I thought Hulk was a nice cover today.
For 365 I like the style of the Thor cover, it’s a classic look, while still being modern. I like it especially as it sets up a mirror image cover for 366 with the well known Thunder Frog! I wish it was number 365 for this excercise, because it truly is a good looking cover.
Detective is a nice Joker cover, but weak in appearance as a house -face. The Brownies are cute as ever, but would be passed by without much thought if I saw it on the shelf. Hulk has a nice action cover, however Hulk looks like he’s on a diet. Avengers and Captain America are alright covers, but FF is plain bad. Even X-Men is fair.
JOWA to Action as Meli said. What are they thinking?
WWWP?
Two chaotic covers; yet the Swan cover is so clean that it makes the Avengers cover look so messy in comparison and hard to follow.
The Action is getting taken out of context. It’s part of a multi-issue story. Superman gets infected with Kryptonian virus-x and he gets further weakened with each issue. Superman is launched toward the most powerful sun in the universe, capable of cremating the weakened Superman to prevent virus-x from spreading to Supergirl and the Kandorians, the only other people susceptible to the virus.
SPOILER ALERT: Virus-x is plant-based and the Bizarros throw white K at Superman in attempt to kill him faster but end up curing him by killing the virus. Action 366 (with a great Adams Supergirl cover) has Superman returning to Earth only to learn he’s been replaced.