See, because, gamma rays can cause DNA mutations… Is the Hulk possible? No, not really. But it is National DNA Day (true) and we all know how gamma rays somehow made Bruce Banner’s DNA go kablooey, so here we are: an excuse to run 13 HULK COVERS from the Silver Age. Why the Silver Age? Why not! Jack Kirby pencils, possible inks Bill Everett Gil Kane Kirby and Everett Kirby pencils, Dick Ayers inks Kirby and Everett Marie Severin Severin Hulk figure: Severin pencils, Frank Giacoia inks. Asgardians: Kirby pencils, Syd Shores inks. Hulk section: Kirby pencils, Sol Brodsky inks ..read more

Scott and Dan hit up the comics racks from 70 years ago… This week for RETRO HOT PICKS, Scott Tipton and I are selecting comics that came out the week of April 24, 1954. Last time for RETRO HOT PICKS, it was the week of April 17, 1990. Click here to check it out. (Keep in mind that comics came out on multiple days, so these are technically the comics that went on sale between April 21 and April 27.) Joe McCarthy and his henchman Roy Cohn So, let’s set the scene: The cracks in Communist witch-hunter Joe McCarthy’s facade were widening. McCarthy, a red-baiting Republican senato ..read more

Bring on the bad guys! For the last two years, Abrams ComicArts has turned Alex Ross’ famed Marvel heroes mural into a wall calendar, complete with a 6-foot foldout of the mural itself. Now, for 2025, the publisher will bring on the bad guys with the oversize Alex Ross Marvel Mural 2025 Super Villains Calendar. Dig this official, online retail description: THE ALEX ROSS MARVEL MURAL 2025 SUPER VILLAINS CALENDAR Unfolding to 6 ft. wide x 2 ft. tall, this oversized wall calendar features a mural of 37 Marvel Comics Super Villains painted by renowned comics artist Alex Ross. From Doctor Doom an ..read more

Bill’s fabulous riff on Martin and Lewis’ Artists and Models, in time for Shirley MacLaine’s 90th birthday… By BILL MORRISON Like my 13th Dimension cohort, Paul Kupperberg, I am an unabashed Jerry Lewis fan! I especially love to collect Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis film posters and comic books, and one day several years ago I did one of my regular eBay searches for “Martin and Lewis Comic Book” and got a huge surprise. Someone was selling an original, painted Bat Lady prop-art cover from the 1955 Frank Tashlin film Artists and Models, starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis! It seemed that no ot ..read more

What better way to celebrate environmental preservation than with plastic? By DWAYNE PINKNEY I’ve always loved two things since I was a child: Monsters and superheroes. So, give me a combination of the two, and I’m a fan for life. Such is the case with Swamp Thing. My first introduction to the character was the eponymous 1982 film by Wes Craven starring Ray Wise as Alec Holland, Dick Durock as Swamp Thing, Louis Jourdan as Arcane, and the lovely Adrienne Barbeau as Alice Cable. The original movie poster I started collecting the second DC Comics series around that time, and even had the pape ..read more

Scott and Dan pick the comics they’re most looking forward to… — Dan Greenfield, editor, 13th Dimension Showcase #22 Facsimile Edition, DC. One of the most important comics ever — the 1959 debut of Hal Jordan’s Green Lantern, by John Broome, Gil Kane and Joe Giella. There’s a sketch variant too. I’ll be getting both. (The ish’s 65th anniversary is later this year.) — Dick Tracy #1, Mad Cave Studios. One of comics’ most storied heroes returns for a modern audience. Co-written by our old friend Alex Segura! — My Mighty Marvel First Book: The Falcon, Abrams Appleseed. Still the best look ..read more

Your tax dollars at work! It’s the 70TH ANNIVERSARY of the ludicrous — but extremely damaging — congressional comic book hearings… By FRED VAN LENTE Wednesday, April 21, 1954, was one of the more bizarre days in comics history. The United States Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency met not in Washington, but in the federal courthouse at Manhattan’s Foley Square, to be closer to the subject of that day’s hearings: the comic book industry, which child psychiatrist Dr. Fredric Wertham (among others) accused of, at best, being harmful to kids’ psyches; and, at worst ..read more

BRONZE AGE BONANZA: Aparo! Adams! Kane! Romita! MORE! — Welcome to BRONZE AGE BONANZA — our monthly series that looks at the greatest covers of the Bronze Age — exactly 50 years later. For more info on this feature, click here. — It’s a strong month when you could argue that the No. 7 cover should be No. 1. Dig the TOP 13 COVERS OF APRIL 1974 — RANKED: — 13. Batman #257, DC. A sentimental pick, really. Kind of on the busy side, but I dig the bold, red background and (I’m pretty certain) it’s the first Bronze Age appearance of the Penguin, seen here with a disguised Talia ..read more

SUNDAY FUNNIES WITH KERRY CALLEN! A few weeks ago, we ran Kerry’s take on what would have really happened if a radioactive spider bit Peter Parker. It was A) hilarious and B) the first part of an excerpt from 2018’s Mad #3. The original ran three pages, but the beauty is that each page stands on its own, as well. We ran Part 2 last week — so here’s the furious finale! — Want more SUNDAY FUNNIES WITH KERRY CALLEN? Come back next week! Want more BATMAN WEEK, including another cartoon by Merry Kerry? Click here. Want a commission? I don’t blame you. But Kerry right now isn’t ..read more

REEL RETRO CINEMA: The Harryhausen classic was released in America five decades ago! — UPDATED 4/20/24: The Golden Voyage of Sinbad was released in the U.S. 50 years ago this month, on April 5, 1974! Perfect time to “reprint” this piece from 2016! Dig it! — Dan — OK, so there’s a special reason Rob Kelly’s latest REEL RETRO CINEMA column is focused on this Sunday-matinee staple. See, over the last year or so, ever since Sir Christopher Lee died, he and Caroline Munro have become minor obsessions of mine. It’s because I’m convinced that the two of them should have been Ra’s al Ghul and Talia i ..read more