INote: This article first appeared online on June 1, 2009. The conversation continues at: comicsbronzeage.com/?p=2648

While we’re at it, what is Comics Bronze Age?Comics Bronze Age is an online magazine celebrat-ing the Bronze Age of the American comic book (roughly 1970 to 1985). At the heart of the publication is one fan’s effort to revisit and review just about every issue published during his formative years.

And just who is that crazy fan-turned-editor?Your Comics Bronze Age editor is Andrew Wahl, a life-long comic-book aficionado and resident of the Pacific Northwest. A career journal-ist, Wahl left his newspaper job in 2008 to work on his master’s degree and various freelance projects.

How often is Comics Bronze Age updated?Comics Bronze Age offers a new review of an old comic every weekday. Check out the latest reviews at:

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Inside: PAGE 2 PAGE 3 PAGES 4-5

2010PRINT

EDITION

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SO, WHAT EXACTLY IS THE ‘BRONZE AGE’ OF COMICS?

REVIEWS: A TRIO OF A+ MARVELSTHE AVENGERS ANNUAL #10

Published and © by Marvel, 1981

Title: “By Friends — Betrayed!”

Synopsis: The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants goes on the attack, first targeting Ms. Marvel, then the entire Avengers team.

Writer: Chris Clare-montPenciler: Michael GoldenInker: Armando Gil

Review: As Bronze Age classics go, Avengers Annual #10 has it all: The introduction of an important new character (Rogue); the return and repositioning of another (Ms. Marvel); great guest stars (Spider-Woman, and a brief appearance by the X-Men); and powerful teams of heroes (The Avengers, of course) and villains (the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants) going toe-to-toe in an extended, well-choreographed battle. More importantly, it’s got A-game work from two of the era’s top creative talents: Chris Claremont’s script is thick with strong characterization and his signature soap-opera drama, all captured brilliantly by penciller/colorist Michael Golden. An outstanding superhero comic.

Grade: A+

Cool factor: In the days before Previews and advanced solicitations on the Web, this one took a lot of young fans by surprise. Just imagine walking into a mom-and-pop grocery and finding this one on the spinner rack.

Not-so-cool factor: The Al Milgrom cover. It’s not hor-rible, but, come on, Michael Golden is one of the best cover artists of his generation.

Notable: First appearance of Rogue. … The Over-street Comic Book Price Guide also lists this as the first appearance of Madelyne Pryor. That fact has largely been debunked, though it’s interesting to note that The

Official Marvel Wiki still lists Avengers Annual #10 as the character’s first appearance, at least as a child.

Character quotable: “I’m Maddy Pryor. I been sick. But I’m better now.” — A little girl in the background of a hos-pital scene, setting off years of fan debate about whether she’s that Madelyne Pryor.

DAREDEVIL #191

Published and © by Marvel, Feb. 1983

Title: “Roulette”

Synopsis: A para-lyzed Bullseye be-comes an involuntary participant in a game of Russian roulette initiated by an emo-tionally distraught Daredevil.

Writer: Frank MillerPenciler: MillerInker: Terry Austin

Review: Much of Frank Miller’s initial Daredevil run was strong, but this superb coda offered the best clue of the greatness to come. The emotionally rich story explores themes of violence and father-and-son relationships, while the Russian roulette plot would tie Daredevil and Bullseye together forever. Art wise, Miller really comes into his own as a storyteller, using layouts to control time, dramatic impact and flow. His work gets a nice polish from inker Terry Austin, and subtle colors Lynn Varley. Daredevil #191 is unbelievably sophisticated for a Marvel comic of its era, and remains quite brilliant today.

Grade: A+

Cool factor: Story. Art. Coloring. This one’s just top shelf.

Character quotable: “You feel lucky, Bullseye?” — Daredevil, not doing so well emotionally.

X-MEN #137

Published and © by Marvel, Sep. 1980

Title: “The Fate of the Phoenix!”

Synopsis: Amid lunar ruins, the X-Men duel the Shi’ar Imperial Guard to determine the fate of the Phoenix.

Writer/co-plotter: Chris ClaremontPenciler/co-plotter: John ByrneInker: Terry Austin

Review: For young comic-book fans in 1980, X-Men #137 was a life-changing event. The entire Chris Claremont/John Byrne run had been addictive, but this double-size issue brought a whole different level of high. Claremont’s skills are on full display, with a well-crafted story, good pacing, and strong characterization. Byrne’s pencils offer a perfect mix of grace and power, all beauti-fully inked by Terry Austin. Then-Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter deserves some credit, too, for insisting on the gut-wrenching ending that still cuts deep today. The best superhero comic of the Bronze Age. And one of the best, period, of any genre or era.

Grade: A+

Cool factor: Everything. This one’s that good.

Notable: Double-size issue. … The (first) death of Jean Grey. … The original ending to this issue was eventually printed in 1984’s Phoenix #1.

Character quotable: “The X-Men do not realize it — they may never realize, or accept it — but this day they have won perhaps the greatest victory of their young lives.” — Uatu, the Watcher.

A word from the editor-in-chief: “I felt the way the story was originally designed to end, it did not have enough consequences for what happened — it wasn’t an end-ing.” — Jim Shooter, from “The Dark Phoenix Tapes” in Phoenix #1, Apr. 1984.

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Atlas (Seaboard)

THE DESTRUCTOR #1

Published and © by Atlas(Seaboard), Feb. 1975

Title: “The Destructor”

Synopsis: Jay Hunter’s criminal activities get his scientist father killed — but not before the old man helps him become a super-hero.

Writer: Archie GoodwinPenciler: Steve DitkoInker: Wally Wood

Review: One of the best series of the entire Atlas (Seaboard) line, The Destructor is one part Spider-Man, one part Dare-devil. That makes sense, given those are the characters Steve Ditko and Wally Wood were best known for at Marvel. The pair makes for an odd but excellent art team here, with Ditko particu-larly being in fine form. There’s a bit of a struggle for control, with both artists’ styles quite appar-ent throughout. But, for the most part, it’s the strengths of each that shine through. Given room and time to grow, this series could have been outstanding.

Grade: B+

Cool factor: An inspired Ditko on a book that wants to be Spider-Man? Hard to go wrong with that.

Character quotable: “Bringin’ down Raven’ll take something more vicious … a smasher, a

destroyer … a DESTRUCTOR!” — Jay Hunter, about to don his Destructor togs for the first time.

Charlton

SPACE: 1999 #3

Published and © by Charlton, Mar. 1976

Title: “Bring Them Back Alive!”

Synopsis: Three members of the Moonbase Alpha crew join with other captives in an attempt to escape an intergalactic zoo.

Writer: Nicola CutiArtist: John Byrne

Review: Nicola Cuti’s story is fun if not original, as the heroes of Space: 1999 find themselves trapped with other aliens, en route to a space zoo. The mix of action, drama, and a little mystery make for a good read, though there’s always a nagging feeling you’ve read this story somewhere before. Of course, the big draw here is some of the earliest professional art by com-ics legend John Byrne. Like all of his Charlton work, Byrne’s art here is raw and energetic, with hints of the greatness to come on just about every page.

Grade: B+

Cool factor: It’s pre-Marvel John Byrne. That’s always cool.

Notable: This issue includes a text backup story (uncredited), with illustrations (also uncred-ited), titled “The Space Sirens.”

Character quotable: “I just had a horrible thought. This whole set-up reminds me of … a trap!” — Commander John Koenig.

Star*Reach

STAR*REACH #1

Published and © by Star*Reach, Apr. 1974

Title: “… the Birth of Death!”

Synopsis: An old man shares a bedtime story with an ailing young boy — a story about the origin of Death!

Writer: Jim StarlinPenciler: StarlinInker: Starlin

Review: Editor Mike Friedrich kicks off the first issue of his leg-endary “ground level” series with a short story by already-hot-in-the-mainstream creator Jim Star-lin. Given new artistic freedom, the writer/artist responds with … a cosmic story about Death! OK, no shock there, but the art is absolutely stunning.

Title: “Death Building”

Synopsis: An elevator and an acid trip lead a young man to a cosmic showdown with Death.

Writer: Jim StarlinPenciler: StarlinInker: Starlin

Review: More Jim Starlin, more beautifully drawn, cosmic comics featuring Death. This one adds drugs, topless women … and Starlin himself!

Title: “Fish Myths” and “Subur-ban Fish”

Synopsis: In this pair of seem-ingly semi-autobiographical sto-ries, a fish struggles with college, marriage and American values.

Writer: Steve SkeatesPenciler: SkeatesInker: Skeates

Review: Steve Skeates’ odd fish tales have more in common with underground comix than with the fantasy-inspired material in this issue.

Title: “A Tale of Sword & Sorcery”

Synopsis: A generic barbarian hero and a generic old wizard emerge from the chaos to do battle.

Writer: Ed HicksPenciler: Walter SimonsonInker: Simonson

Review: This slight story plays with fantasy genre tropes, with loose art by Walter Simonson the only thing making it notable.

Title: “Cody Starbuck”

Synopsis: In the wake of war and crumbling empires, space swashbuckler Cody Starbuck en-counters beautiful women — and treachery!

Writer: Howard ChaykinPenciler: ChaykinInker: Chaykin

Review: Howard Chaykin’s sex-fuelled space adventure is the most accomplished piece of storytelling in this issue. This one’s thick with potential.

Title: “The Origin of God!”

Synopsis: And on the first day, there was nothingness. And then some more nothingness. And then …

Writer: Jim StarlinPenciler: StarlinInker: Starlin

Review: This one-pager would be stronger if something similar to its last panel hadn’t already been used in the first story.

Grade (for the whole issue): A-

Cool factor: Top Bronze Age creators are set free to tell the stories they want to tell, with concepts and characters they own.

Not-so-cool factor: With the exception of “Cody Starbuck,” the stories fall short of the art in this first outing.

Notable: The Star*Reach logo was designed by longtime X-Men letterer Tom Orzechowski.

Collector’s note: The first print-ing features a “Cody Starbuck” cover by Howard Chaykin and a Death-with-naked-green-women back cover by Jim Starlin. These covers were reversed for subse-quent printings.

Character quotable: “… Tell Lord Gideon Miss Breedlove is safe, and in the best of … What? … No, I can’t speak to him myself … no … she’s sleeping … .” — Cody Starbuck, busy with what would become a Chaykin signature in the years ahead.

A word from the editor: “If (the artists and writers) make their work good enough to please even half the numbers of peo-ple they sell to in their straight work, they come out financially ahead. And their concepts, characters and artwork remain theirs … and so they work that much harder to make them bet-ter.” — Mike Friedrich, explain-ing the Star*Reach approach to comics, in the introduction to this issue.

REVIEWS: MARVEL, DC WEREN’T ALONE

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WarlordWarlord

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REVIEWS

WHILE NOT THE MOST ORIGINAL, THIS SWORD-AND-SORCERY EPIC IS CLEARLY A LABOR OF LOVE

Want more Warlord reviews?Several other issues have already been reviewed on the Comics Bronze Age Web site. Check them out at: comicsbronzeage.com/?tag=title-warlord

Bronze Age Warlord collected editions• Showcase Presents: Warlord Volume One (2009) Collects 1st Issue Special #8, Warlord #1-10,12-28

• Warlord: The Savage Empire TPB (1991) Collects 1st Issue Special #8, Warlord #1-10, 12

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REVIEWS

5

1ST ISSUE SPECIAL #8

Published and © by DC, Nov. 1975

Title: “Land of Fear!”

Synopsis: Air Force pilot Travis Morgan ejects from a crashing SR-71 — to discover the hidden, savage world of Skartaris!

Writer/penciler/inker: Mike Grell

Review: As the story goes, Warlord began life as a newspa-per strip called Savage Em-pire, which creator Mike Grell tweaked on the fly when pitching it to DC as a comic book. Whatever its origins, Grell was on to something here. Though not shockingly original — think swords, sandals and sorcery, all set in an Edgar-Rice-Burroughs-esque hollow Earth — Grell’s Warlord manages to surpass the sum of it’s parts. The writer/artist’s passion for this material is contagious; there’s little ques-tion he’s having a blast with this origin issue, and readers almost certainly will, too.

Grade: B+

Cool factor: The debut of Mike Grell as auteur, a development that would lead to many good comic books over the years.

Not-so-cool factor: Why is Skartaris called “Tartarus” on first reference?

WARLORD #1

Published and © by DC,Jan.-Feb. 1976

Title: “This Savage World”

Synopsis: Fleeing the city of Thera, Travis Morgan and Tara find an assortment of dangers in the jungles of Skartaris.

Writer/penciler/inker: Mike Grell

Review: Picking up right where 1st Issue Special #8 left off, writer/artist Mike Grell contin-ues the business of mythmak-ing as he lays out more of the hollow-Earth world of Skartaris. Grell packs this issue with plenty of action (including one fantasy cliché too many in the form of a satyr), yet still finds time for character development. He’s already displaying a good story sense, both as a writer and an artist. The art here is particularly nice; his inking on later issues could be a little rough, but this work is nicely polished.

Grade: B+

Cool factor: One of the better first issues of DC’s Bronze Age.

Character quotable: “Stick it in your ear!” — Travis Morgan. (You’re such a badass they call you Warlord, and those are the strongest words you can come up with?!)

WARLORD #2

Published and © by DC,Mar.-Apr. 1976

Title: “Arena of Death”

Synopsis: Separated from Tara, the soon-to-be Warlord is captured by slavers and forced to fight in a gladiator arena.

Writer/penciler/inker: Mike Grell

Review: A bit more grounded than Warlord #1, this latest issue of Mike Grell’s hollow-Earth epic is still chockablock with genre tropes. Again, there is not much new to be found in this captured-by-slavers-and-forced-to-fight-in-an-arena plot, but Grell tells his tale eagerly. This issue’s slave revolt also sets Travis Morgan on the path to becoming the Warlord. On the art side, Grell continues to impress. This issue is the first to feature a double-page splash, a technique that became a signa-ture for this series. Grell’s inking remains refined, and his storytell-ing this issue is a notch above.

Grade: B+

Cool factor: Let’s go with Mike Grell’s art this time out. There are some really nice pages this issue.

Notable: First appearance of Ma-chiste. … Warlord was canceled after this issue, only to return a half a year later at the behest of new DC publisher Jeanette Kahn.

WARLORD #3

Published and © by DC,Oct.-Nov. 1976

Title: “War Gods of Skartaris”

Synopsis: On the hunt for a unicorn, Morgan is captured by lizard men who worship a recent-ly arrived “god.”

Writer/penciler/inker: Mike Grell

Review: This issue gets off to a slow start as the half-a-year delay between issues neces-sitates another origin recap. But, once the story gets down to business, Grell delivers a fun done-in-one tale with some clever twists. Even the recap is a treat, though, as Grell executes it as a beautifully drawn two-page spread. The artist really understands the visual nature of the comic-book medium, and he regularly delivers crafty storytell-ing and explosive splashes. With the exception of some issues with anatomy, Grell is a master-ful comic-book artist — and even better comic-book creator.

Grade: A-

Cool factor: Nice character mo-ments. Beautiful splashes. Great cover.

Character quotable: “God help me — I love this!” — The War-lord (with “it” behind battle and carnage, of course).

WARLORD #4

Published and © by DC,Dec. 1976-Jan. 1977

Title: “Duel of the Titans”

Synopsis: Morgan’s legion lays siege to the city of Thera in an effort to earn freedom — and rescue Tara from Deimos.

Writer/penciler/inker: Mike Grell

Review: The conclusion of the first Deimos arc ends with a bang (and a sword fight). By today’s standards, this storyline feels a bit rushed, but that’s certainly better than dragging it out over several “decom-pressed” issues. While most of Warlord #4 works, Morgan’s showdown with Deimos doesn’t ring true. Why would a powerful sorcerer fight The Warlord with blades? What do work well are the continued hints of forgot-ten advanced technology from Skartaris’ past; it’ll be interesting to see how this develops. As for the art, Grell’s inking is starting to get a little scratchy, especially the shading.

Grade: B+

Cool factor: The continued hints about advanced technology give Warlord a unique flavor.

Not-so-cool factor: Deimos’ costume. It’s hard to take seri-ously a bad guy in a half shirt.

BRONZE AGE: 1970 TO 1985

From the site: other opinions“It’s not as simple as just the ’70s, and I think young talent/fans getting into the business is the key.”

— Pete Doree

“Fantastic Four #102 is cover-dated September 1970. Conan #1, first purely Bronze Age

comic, is cover-dated October 1970. This is the clear dividing line both artistically and indus-try-wise (as it marks Kirby’s departure from Marvel). I’m not sure where the debate is.”

— Thelonious_Nick

“With the lifting of some restric-tions in the CCA, circa 1971, it allowed writers, artists and edi-tors to be a little more realistic in their storytelling.”

— Jim Kingman

“How about ‘Whatever Hap-pened to the Man of To-morrow?’ — this story was published in 1986, ended the original run of both historic Su-perman titles, AND marked the retirement of Julius Schwartz.”

— Michael Cobb

“Looking at Marvel, the Bronze Age seemed to end when John Byrne took over Fantastic Four.”

— Edo Bosnar

ComicsBronzeAge.com6

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1970

Green Lantern #76 (Apr.): Land-mark run by Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams begins — as does the Bronze Age.

Conan the Barbarian #1 (Oct.): Marvel lands the license to Robert E. Howard’s most popular creation.

Fantastic Four #103 (Oct.): First non-Jack-Kirby FF.

Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #133 (Oct.): Kirby moves to DC; “Fourth World” begins.

1971

Amazing Spider-Man #96 (May): First of three drug issues released without the Comics Code Author-ity seal; leads to revision of CCA.

House of Secrets #92 (Jul.): First appearance of Swamp Thing.

The Avengers #93 (Nov.): Ad-ams joins the “Kree-Skrull War.”

Marvel Feature #1 (Dec.): First appearance of the Defenders.

1972

Amazing Adventures #11 (Mar.): First mutated, furry Beast.

Marvel Team-Up #1 (Mar.): Spider-Man gets second monthly series.

The Defenders #1 (Aug.): De-fenders graduate to own series.

Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth #1 (Nov.): First issue of Kirby’s longest-running Bronze Age title.

1973

Captain Marvel #25 (Mar.): Jim Starlin art begins.

Amazing Spider-Men #121 (Jun.): Death of Gwen Stacy.

Superboy #197 (Sep.): Legion of Super-Heroes becomes title feature.

Detective Comics #437 (Nov.): “Manhunter” by Archie Goodwin and Walter Simonson begins.

1974

Marvel Two-in-One #1 (Jan.): The Thing gets his own title.

Amazing Spider-Man #129 (Feb.): First Punisher.

Marvel Premiere #15 (May): First appearance of Iron Fist.

Astonishing Tales #25 (Aug.): First appearance of Deathlok; first George Pérez professional work.

The Incredible Hulk #181 (Nov.): First full appearance of Wolverine.

1975

Strange Tales #178 (Feb.): First Starlin Warlock.

Giant-Size X-Men #1 (May): First “all-new, all-different” X-Men.

The X-Men #94 (Aug.): New stories starring the new X-Men begin; Marvel’s premier Bronze Age title.

First Issue Special #8 (Nov.): First appearance of Warlord.

1976

Superman vs. the Amazing Spi-der-Man (???): First crossover book from Marvel and DC.

All Star Comics #58 (Feb.): Justice Society returns as title feature; first Power Girl.

The X-Men #101 (Oct.): First Phoenix.

Detective Comics #466 (Dec.): Marshall Rogers art begins.

Spectacular Spider-Man #1 (Dec.): Spider-Man gets third monthly series (not including the out-of-continuity Spidey Super Stories).

1977

Marvel Spotlight #32 (Feb.): First Spider-Woman.

Star Wars #1 (Jul.): The first of six issues adapt the smash movie and pop-culture phenom-enon; 35¢-cover-price variant is one of the era’s most valuable issues.

Iron Fist #14 (Aug.): First Saber-tooth; 35¢-cover-price variant is one of the era’s most valuable issues.

Cerebus the Aardvark #1 (Dec.): Dave Sim launches his self-published opus.

The X-Men #108 (Dec.): John Byrne art begins.

1978

All-New Collector’s Edition #C-56 (???): Adams draws Super-man vs. Muhammad Ali.

Fantasy Quarterly #1 (Spring): First Elfquest.

Cancelled Comics Cavalcade #1 (Summer): First of two rare, in-house editions collecting mate-rial orphaned by the DC Implo-sion.

1979

Daredevil #158 (May): Frank Miller art begins.

1980

The X-Men #129 (Jan.): “Dark Phoenix Saga” begins; first Kitty Pryde and Emma Frost.

The X-Men #137 (Sep.): Death of Phoenix.

DC Comics Presents #26 (Oct.) First New Teen Titans.

The New Teen Titans #1 (Nov.): Debut of DC’s premier Bronze Age title.

1981

Daredevil #168 (Jan.): Miller takes over as writer; first Elektra.

Fantastic Four #232 (Jul.): Byrne story and art begins.

1982

The Legion of Super-Heroes #285 (Mar.): Keith Giffen art begins.

Daredevil #181 (Apr.): Death of Elektra.

Wolverine #1 (Sep.): Wolverine gets own mini-series.

1983

New Mutants #1 (Mar.): X-franchise gets second monthly series.

Thor #337 (Nov.): Simonson story and art begins.

50 KEY BOOKS OF THE BRONZE AGE

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