Now, that's a real mouthful! I'm not even sure that there was ever a #1, but I am far from an expert on the confounding organizational system at Archie during the 70s and early 80s. All I can say is that if you see this strange little item at a low price, pick it up. Sure, it has a few lame mid-60s "Mighty Heroes" stories, but those are fun and harmless. What you really need this for are the reprinted Simon and Kirby Shield stories from 1959. There's also a very nice Black Hood story (the 'balaclava' version) by Gray Morrow and an odd little Wally Wood story 'The Ultimate Power', which I believes comes from an early 70s Red Circle book, but none that I own. Kirby, Morrow & Wood all in one tiny package (yes, it is a bit too teeny tiny)? Yes, miracles can happen. Oops, did I forget to mention the 10 page Neal Adams story? Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Hidden Gems: Archie's Super Hero Comics Digest Magazine #2
Now, that's a real mouthful! I'm not even sure that there was ever a #1, but I am far from an expert on the confounding organizational system at Archie during the 70s and early 80s. All I can say is that if you see this strange little item at a low price, pick it up. Sure, it has a few lame mid-60s "Mighty Heroes" stories, but those are fun and harmless. What you really need this for are the reprinted Simon and Kirby Shield stories from 1959. There's also a very nice Black Hood story (the 'balaclava' version) by Gray Morrow and an odd little Wally Wood story 'The Ultimate Power', which I believes comes from an early 70s Red Circle book, but none that I own. Kirby, Morrow & Wood all in one tiny package (yes, it is a bit too teeny tiny)? Yes, miracles can happen. Oops, did I forget to mention the 10 page Neal Adams story?
The first issue was called "Archie's Super Hero Special". It came out in early 1979 (I'm pretty sure there was snow on the ground when I got mine) and featured the origin of Lancelot Strong, lots of Mighty Comics reprints, and lots of the Archie gang as super heroes (all Silver Age stuff). It's a hard one to track down these days!
ReplyDeleteThere was a first issue of the book, but while it did have Simon & Kirby and hooror, it was overflooded with reprints.However, not all of the reprints were bad: The two stories of 'The Fly' as well as The Jaguar's story were not from the mid-1960s 'Mighty Comics Group' phase. They were part of an earlier 1960s phase called 'Archie Adventure Series', The AAS-era stories were not as awful as the Mighty Comics stuff, but they were competent for the early 1960s. The Black Hood stories were actually never-before-published(At the time), which was a rarity for the digest at the time, as these Black Hood stories were originally intended for the first issue of a new Black Hood series that was slated for release in 1975! That is leftover inventory material! I have this issue!
ReplyDeleteJ.A.P.
I remember buying (or my mom buying it for me) this digest from off those little magazine racks in front of the supermarket checkout lanes. I think the occasion might have marked my first awareness that there was a superhero universe existing outside Marvel and DC. I didn't really know Kirby from Adams back then, or even reprint from original, but I still have this book... and thanks for blogging about it Scott.
ReplyDeleteOops, sorry... if it matters, I forgot to leave my name for the above comment... Craig (benday-dot)
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