THE BRONZE AGE 1970-1986
Characterized by a restless creativity and willingness to experiment, the Bronze Age began at DC with the crazy energy of Jack Kirby’s Fourth World saga and the social relevance of Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams’ Green Lantern. On the covers of that title, Batman, and numerous others, Adams worked with DC’s production department to achieve hitherto unseen effects with photostatted halftones and screens. Influenced by Adams and Nick Cardy’s realistic figure work and Kirby’s peerless imagination, artists like José Luis García-López, George Pérez, and Keith Giffen came to prominence, while a wave of British artists began to make their mark, from the considered stylings of Dave Gibbons to the studied elegance of Brian Bolland. Towards the end of the Bronze Age, Pérez and Marv Wolfman’s Crisis on Infinite Earths instituted a raft of sweeping changes, streamlining DC’s continuity and setting the stage for the Steel Age.
Artist: Neal Adams
The dynamic creative partnership between writer Denny O’Neil and artist Neal Adams would redefine Batman (not to mention Green Lantern and Green Arrow) for the Bronze Age.
It began with this issue: Adams’ cover encapsulates the gothic tenor of the main story, “The Secret of the Waiting Graves”, which introduced an element of the supernatural to Batman’s mythos.
Artist: Neal Adams
This startling cover, illustrating Len Wein, Marv Wolfman, and Neal Adams’ spooky tale “The House that Haunted Batman”, was something of an experiment for Adams. The artist was concerned that having to use a tier of panels to show Robin’s disintegration would mark the cover as a failure, but the impact of the bottom panel brings the composition together.
DETECTIVE COMICS #457 March 1976
Artist: Dick Giordano
One of the most important Batman stories of the Bronze Age, Denny O’Neil and Dick Giordano’s “There Is no Hope in Crime Alley!” revisits and revises the murder of Bruce Wayne’s parents, introducing Leslie Thompkins as a key figure who comforted the bereaved Bruce. Giordano’s clever cover conceit of framing the murder within Batman’s profile reinforces its formative influence.
DETECTIVE COMICS #472 September 1977
Artists: Marshall Rogers and Terry Austin
Marshall Rogers was a relatively new and untested artist when he and writer Steve Englehart began an eight-issue run on Detective Comics in 1977, but their tenure is one of the most significant and influential in Batman’s history. Rogers’ second cover is his first outright classic, evoking the simplicity of early Bob Kane but with a modern stylistic twist.
DETECTIVE COMICS #477 June 1978
Artists: Marshall Rogers and Dick Giordano
Aside from a framing sequence by Len Wein and Marshall Rogers, this issue’s story is a reprint of Detective Comics #408, but Rogers’ cover is among his finest. In contrast to Neal Adams’ experimental panelled cover for the story’s first appearance (p.84), Rogers instead chooses to illustrate the dramatic moment when Robin shoots at Batman.
DETECTIVE COMICS #476 April 1978
Artists: Marshall Rogers and Terry Austin
DETECTIVE COMICS #500 March 1981
Artists: Jim Aparo, José Luis García- López, Dick Giordano, Carmine Infantino, Joe Kubert, Walt Simonson, Bob Smith, and Tom Yeates
Identified by editor (and eventual DC president) Paul Levitz as DC’s first “jam” cover, this multiple-artist anniversary wraparound stars the many characters who appeared in Detective Comics over its 500 issues. Beginning with Joe Kubert’s Hawkman and Hawkgirl, each artist in turn added their characters to the composition.
DETECTIVE COMICS #503 June 1981
Artist: Jim Starlin
Best known for space opera epics like Dreadstar, Jim Starlin drew just a handful of Batman and Detective Comics covers (though he later scripted Robin’s demise in the “A Death in the Family” storyline). This memorably macabre cover was used by Gerry Conway and Don Newton as the basis for their interior story, “The Six Days of the Scarecrow”.
“The Laughing Fish” is regarded not only as the apotheosis of Steve Englehart and Marshall Rogers’ Detective Comics run, but also one of the greatest-ever stories of The Joker. For the cover of this second part, Rogers focuses on The Joker’s unfortunate victims, revealed from the cape of an evilly grinning Batman – in reality another victim wearing the hero’s costume.
DETECTIVE COMICS #510 January 1982
Artists: Gene Colan and Dick Giordano
Famed for his work on Daredevil and Tomb of Dracula, Gene Colan became one of DC’s main Batman artists in 1981 (having previously drawn DC romance comics in the Silver Age). His first Detective Comics cover is a chiaroscuro masterpiece, displaying Colan’s characteristic ability to suggest form with light and shadow, while the arrow captions lead the eye round the composition.
DETECTIVE COMICS #526 May 1983
Artists: Don Newton and Dick Giordano
Along with Gene Colan, Don Newton was one of the primary Batman and Detective Comics artists in the late Bronze Age, noted for his naturalistic figure work and staging of action, though he drew very few covers. This gold-enhanced anniversary cover is his best, a multiple-portrait spectacular reflecting his and writer Gerry Conway’s epic 56-page story, the climax of Conway’s run.
DETECTIVE COMICS #535 February 1984
Artists: Gene Colan and Dick Giordano
Gene Colan and Dick Giordano’s chaotic battle scene is less the focus here than the colouring, befitting the rainbow proclivities of villain Crazy Quilt – and recalling the cover of Action Comics #89. The unsung heroes of the Bronze Age, colourists like Anthony Tollin, Adrienne Roy, and Tatjana Wood worked on hundreds of covers, frequently enhancing their compositions.
DETECTIVE COMICS #566 September 1986
Artist: Dick Giordano
Dating back to the 19th-century collections of photographs of criminals kept by police, the term “rogues gallery” has also long been used to denote Batman’s collection of nemeses. Dick Giordano’s literal interpretation of the phrase elevates the cover of this issue, a lead-in to the villain team-up of Batman #400. It has since been reproduced on posters, T-shirts, and shot glasses.
GREEN LANTERN #85 August 1971
Artist: Neal Adams
O’Neil and Adams’ Green Lantern run was always characterized by a preoccupation with social issues. The pair upped the ante with this story, in which Green Arrow’s sidekick, Speedy, is revealed as a drug addict. Any anxiety at DC over Adams’ shocking depiction of drug abuse on the cover was assuaged when the Comics Code Authority rules were reworked to allow it.
GREEN LANTERN #76 April 1970
Artist: Neal Adams
GREEN LANTERN #86 October 1971
Artist: Neal Adams
For the cover of the second part of the drugs-focused “Snowbirds Don’t Fly” story, Adams used the same device of faces in the background as Strange Adventures #207, again working with Jack Adler to produce the halftone effect with photostats. Inside, New York’s then-mayor, John V. Lindsay, provided an anti-drugs message, thanking DC for publishing the story.
GREEN LANTERN #87 December 1971
Artist: Neal Adams
Architect John Stewart was DC’s first African-American Super Hero (Jack Kirby’s Black Racer predated him, but as the Messenger of Death he wasn’t really a hero). Stewart was introduced as backup Green Lantern in this issue, at Neal Adams’ request. Adams drew this cover twice, as he wasn’t satisfied with the figures in the initial version.
Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams’ arrival as the new Green Lantern creative team heralded momentous changes for the title – literally, as Green Arrow joined as co-star and the logo was redesigned. Though Neal Adams wasn’t happy with the final composition of the first new-look cover, Green Arrow’s bolt smashing Hal Jordan’s power battery was an effective statement of intent.
OUR FIGHTING FORCES #127 October 1970
Artist: Joe Kubert
Created by writer Robert Kanigher, the Losers – a hard-bitten group of pre-existing DC war characters – first appeared in G.I. Combat #32 before gaining their own series in Our Fighting Forces #123. Editor and cover artist Joe Kubert often incorporated the Losers logo into his cover designs, here daubing it onto a dangerously suspended bomb.
OUR ARMY AT WAR #300 January 1977
Artist: Joe Kubert
Sgt. Frank Rock debuted in G.I. Combat #68 (initially as Jimmy “The Rock”) before moving to Our Army at War, where he and his unit, Easy Company, quickly became the regular cover feature. To celebrate the 300th issue of the title, Joe Kubert depicts Easy Company scaling the edifice of a towering “300” while fighting off enemy troops.
SGT. ROCK #371 December 1982
Artist: Joe Kubert
Incorporating the title logo into the cover artwork was a device that Joe Kubert employed multiple times, notably during his long run on Sgt. Rock (retitled as of #302 from Our Army at War). Here, the logo takes the form of a tombstone-like backdrop, against which Rock and the battered members of Easy Company make a desperate last stand.
SGT. ROCK #398 March 1985
Artist: Joe Kubert
Featuring another cleverly incorporated logo – crafted from the ruins of a shelled building – this cover is also a brilliant example of how a cover can pull a reader in. Illustrating a scene that actually took place back in Sgt. Rock #348 (seen in this issue as a flashback), bazookaman Zack’s horrific injury is accentuated by his giant shadow and the dialogue’s red lettering.
THE WITCHING HOUR #13 March 1971
Artist: Neal Adams
Taking over from original The Witching Hour cover artist Nick Cardy, Neal Adams drew a short run of covers for the horror anthology in the early 1970s. Of those, this is his most striking, utilizing a steel engraving screen over a pencil drawing to achieve the grainy effect, with the bug rendered in a cartoon style to make it stand out.
THE HOUSE OF SECRETS #88 November 1970
Artist: Neal Adams
Tapping into the popularity of gothic romance novels, in the early 1970s Neal Adams created a number of covers featuring women fleeing creepy houses, working with Jack Adler to achieve the desired dramatic effect via halftones and knocked-out whites. Compositionally, this one bears a marked resemblance to Adams’ cover for Batman #227 , itself an homage of Bob Kane’s Detective Comics #31.
THE PHANTOM STRANGER #14 August 1971
Artist: Neal Adams
The origins of the Swamp Thing are as strange behind the scenes as they are on the page. One month after Bernie Wrightson first depicted him in The House of Secrets #92, Neal Adams drew an eerily similar looking (but allegedly completely separate) creature on this cover. Two months later, the interior of The House of Mystery #195 featured yet another giant green monster, again drawn by Wrightson!
BATMAN #232 June 1971
Artist: Neal Adams
The debut of a Neal Adams’ co-creation, terrorist mastermind Ra’s al Ghūl, prompted the artist to push the envelope in terms of what could be achieved on a cover. Working closely with Jack Adler in DC’s production department, Adams devised a method whereby his pencils were photostatted with halftone screens, producing the steel engraving look of the background Ra’s.
BATMAN #227 December 1970
Artist: Neal Adams
For this issue Neal Adams was charged not only with referencing Bob Kane’s iconic cover for Detective Comics #31, but also capitalizing on the then-prevalent craze for gothic horror. The composition bears a marked resemblance to Adams’ own cover for The House of Secrets #88, published the month before.
BATMAN #234 August 1971
Artist: Neal Adams
The early 1970s was an incredibly fertile period for Neal Adams, where it seemed every cover he created was a classic – this being a case in point. Little seen since the 1950s, Two-Face was reinvigorated in this issue by Adams and writer Denny O’Neil, setting the stage for his subsequent elevation to premier-league status in Batman’s rogues gallery.
BATMAN #244 September 1972
Artist: Neal Adams
Neal Adams and Denny O’Neil’s cycle of early 1970s Ra’s al Ghūl stories established the character as a major threat in the Batman mythos, aided by Adams’ unforgettable covers. At Adams’ direction, here Jack Adler uses grey tone washes to darken the sky, with a red-and-yellow logo to complement the sunset, and blue logo background to make it pop.
BATMAN #251 September 1973
Artist: Neal Adams
Sporting one of the greatest-ever cover images of The Joker, this issue reestablished the villain as a deadly threat to the Dark Knight. To create a cover worthy of that proposition, Adams solved the problem of having the two characters interacting while facing the reader by placing Batman on a playing card in The Joker’s hands.
BATMAN #238 January 1972
Artists: Neal Adams and Dick Giordano
The successor to Silver Age innovations like the 80-Page Giants, DC’s 100-Page Super Spectaculars were a Bronze Age initiative that for the most part featured reprint stories. They did, however, boast new wraparound covers. The best of these were by Neal Adams, here bringing together a disparate set of characters (with a key on the inside back cover listing them all).
BATMAN #291 September 1977
Artist: Jim Aparo
An ambitious storyline for its time, “Where Were You on the Night Batman Was Killed?” centres on a who's who of Batman’s rogues, plus Lex Luthor, as they try to determine who murdered the Dark Knight. Of course, it is later revealed that Batman is still alive. Epitomized here, Jim Aparo's distinctive style was synonymous with Batman for a generation.
BATMAN #321 March 1980
Artist: José Luis García-López
Of José Luis García-López’s half dozen Batman covers, this is undoubtedly his greatest, featuring a gleefully triumphant Joker celebrating his birthday in fine style. García-López’s elegant take on Batman and DC’s other icons led to the company enlisting him to create a style guide in 1982 – artworks from which are still used today.
BATMAN #359 May 1983
Artists: Ed Hannigan and Dick Giordano
Killer Croc (alias disfigured criminal Waylon Jones) had been introduced in Detective Comics #523, three months before this issue, but his origin story was revealed here. The assemblage of rogues on Ed Hannigan’s cover – and its unusually outsize, angled logo – would have excited readers, but the villains it featured wouldn’t actually appear until the story’s denouement in Detective Comics #526.
BATMAN #368 February 1984
Artists: Ed Hannigan and Dick Giordano
This issue saw the cover debut of Jason Todd, the second Robin. With an origin that bore a marked resemblance to Dick Grayson’s – Todd too was a circus acrobat whose parents were murdered – the new Robin was similar enough a character for readers to generally accept the change.
BATMAN #366 December 1983
Artist: Walt Simonson
The cover for this issue, with its logo incorporated into the building’s features, actually started life as a private commission. Editor Len Wein spotted it at a comics convention, loved it, purchased the rights from Simonson, and then asked Batman writer Doug Moench to come up with “a Joker story featuring a Central American pyramid”.
BATMAN #400 October 1986
Artist: Bill Sienkiewicz
Bill Sienkiewicz gave full rein to his idiosyncratic talent on this anniversary issue. On the back cover, Sienkiewicz’s fully painted artwork was reproduced sans logo and text, while inside he illustrated a chapter alongside an all-star artistic line-up, with an introduction provided by Stephen King.
WONDER WOMAN #199 April 1972
Artist: Jeff Jones
Jeff Jones, primarily known as a horror and fantasy artist, drew just three covers for DC, two of those for successive issues of Wonder Woman. Both display the influence of fantasy artist Frank Frazetta stylistically, but this, the first, is the most memorable – a dark, modern take on the character.
WONDER WOMAN #191 December 1970
Artists: Mike Sekowsky and Dick Giordano
The “new” Wonder Woman – stripped of her powers after the Amazons retreated to another dimension – had debuted at the tail end of the Silver Age in Wonder Woman #179. For this reprint of that turning point, cover artist Mike Sekowsy, who shepherded Wonder Woman through this era, finds a novel way to illustrate the narrative shift.
WONDER WOMAN #298 December 1982
Artists: Frank Miller and Dick Giordano
Frank Miller had drawn the occasional war story for DC in the 1970s, but by late 1982, with his run on Marvel’s Daredevil nearing its end, his star was in the ascendant. About to embark on his Ronin project for DC, he drew a couple of covers in 1982 – World’s Finest #285, and this fine effort, which bears comparison with Wonder Woman #199.
SUPERMAN #233 January 1971
Artist: Neal Adams
An homage to Superman #11, this classic cover has itself been referenced multiple times and reproduced on everything from T-shirts to postage stamps. For Neal Adams, it was less of a success. With just a few hours to draw the cover, he was asked partway through by his editor to make space for text between Superman’s legs, necessitating making one leg longer than the other!
SUPERMAN #252 June 1972
Artist: Neal Adams
The theme for the cover of the second Superman 100 Page Super Spectacular was “flying heroes”, a concept that Neal Adams tackled with characteristic bravado. The artist brought together soaring characters from across DC’s history – 21 in total, stretching across the wraparound cover, with a handy key inside the back cover identifying them all.
SUPERMAN #300 August 1976
Artist: Bob Oksner
For Superman’s 300th issue, Cary Bates, Elliot S. Maggin, and Curt Swan imagined Superman debuting in a troubled future of 2001. Bob Oksner’s cover, however, has one foot in the past: it was based on Carmine Infantino, Curt Swan, and Murphy Anderson’s splash page for “The Origin of Superman” story in 1973’s Amazing World of Superman.
SUPERMAN VS. MUHAMMAD ALI April 1978
Artists: Joe Kubert and Neal Adams
A momentous cover for a momentous meeting between two icons, this oversized one-shot was originally going to be drawn by Joe Kubert. When Neal Adams took over, he utilized Kubert’s original layout, but decided to make the publication more of an event by incorporating around 170 likenesses in the crowd, including Batman, Lex Luthor, the Beatles, Jimmy Carter, and Kurt Vonnegut.
SUPERMAN ANNUAL #11 July 1985
Artist: Dave Gibbons
In this classic Alan Moore tale, an alien parasite causes Superman to experience a life where Krypton never exploded. For the cover, Dave Gibbons first tried a close-up of the Man of Steel, with the alien attached to him and Krypton in the background. Keeping the symmetrical composition, Gibbons ultimately opted instead for a design showing more characters.
SUPERMAN #423 September 1986
Artists: Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson
Revisiting the multi-panel layout he had made famous on the Superman annuals, here Curt Swan uses it to show such shocking events as the death of Clark Kent and an assault on the Daily Planet. This, the first part of Alan Moore’s “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?” story, was the final issue of the first volume of Superman – the story was concluded in Action Comics #583.
SUPERMAN #422 August 1986
Artist: Brian Bolland
This was a radical cover for its day: quite apart from the startling image of Superman seemingly transformed into a werewolf, the decision by editor Julius Schwartz to leave it largely black-and-white, apart from the red in the logo and eyes, marked the issue out on the stands. Brian Bolland was commissioned by Schwartz to come up with the cover idea, which was then used as the basis for the story within.
THE FOREVER PEOPLE #1 March 1971
Artists: Jack Kirby and Frank Giacoia
The second title in Jack Kirby’s Fourth World narrative, The Forever People #1 saw not only the debut of Boom Tubes – the dimensional portals that the New Gods use to travel to Earth – but the first full appearance of Darkseid. The cover, depicting Superman meeting the Forever People (modelled on 1960s hippies), features elements of collage, using Kirby’s own artwork.
NEW GODS #1 March 1971
Artists: Jack Kirby and Don Heck
In 1970, after altering the course of comics at Marvel, Jack Kirby returned to DC, creating an epic, multi-series storyline known as the Fourth World. The flagship title was New Gods; for the first issue’s cover, Kirby drew the figure of Orion, son of the fearsome Darkseid. The background collage was created by DC’s production department.
MISTER MIRACLE #1 April 1971
Artists: Jack Kirby and Vince Colletta
Upon his arrival at DC, Kirby requested that he be solely responsible for his comics as writer, artist, and editor of his own material. Mister Miracle, the third of his Fourth World titles, featured escape artist Scott Free, a character inspired both by fellow artist Jim Steranko’s previous career, and by Kirby’s own quest for artistic freedom.
NEW GODS #2 May 1971
Artists: Jack Kirby and Vince Colletta
First making a cameo appearance in 1970 during Jack Kirby’s run on Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen, Darkseid, ruler of the planet Apokolips (dark counterpart of the New Gods’ home, New Genesis) was the malignant engine driving Kirby’s Fourth World saga. As with the first issue of New Gods, Darkseid’s cover debut features elements of collage in the background.
THE DEMON #1 September 1972
Artists: Jack Kirby and Mike Royer
When two of Jack Kirby’s Fourth World titles were cancelled in 1972, Kirby responded with two new titles he already had in the works: The Demon and Kamandi. Created when DC requested a horror character, Etrigan the Demon’s look was inspired by an episode from Hal Foster’s Prince Valiant newspaper strip, where Valiant dons a demon-like disguise.
“I believe the man who draws the story should write the story.”
JACK KIRBY
KAMANDI, THE LAST BOY ON EARTH #1 November 1972
Artists: Jack Kirby and Mike Royer
Hot on the heels of The Demon came Kamandi, The Last Boy on Earth, created by Jack Kirby after DC requested a title akin to the Planet of the Apes movie. Though he hadn’t seen the film, Kirby came up with a post-apocalyptic world populated by savage, animalistic humans and the eponymous boy hero, with a cover that pays homage to the movie.
OMAC #1 October 1974
Artists: Jack Kirby and Mike Royer
Jack Kirby left DC in 1975, but before he departed he created Buddy Blank, alias OMAC, the One-Man Army Corps. The bizarre concept – which Kirby had dreamed up some years before – is encapsulated on the stripped-back first issue cover. It was inked by Mike Royer, Kirby’s favourite embellisher of the period, who let Kirby’s distinctive stylings shine through.
BRONZE AGE ARTISTS
DICK GIORDANO
Though these days he’s primarily remembered as a prolific inker, Dick Giordano (1932–2010) is an important figure in DC’s history, both as an artist and as an editor. He started his career in 1952 drawing for Charlton, eventually becoming an editor for that publisher before moving to DC in 1968. There, he formed a fruitful creative partnership with Neal Adams, inking Adams’ pencils on Batman and Green Lantern/Green Arrow, then leaving DC to form the studio Continuity Associates with him. When Giordano returned to DC in 1980 he was elevated in short order to vice president, spearheading what was termed “The New DC” (“There’s no stopping us now!”) and helping to oversee seismic events like Crisis on Infinite Earths, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, and Watchmen. Always a fine penciller as well as inker, Giordano lent his talents to many memorable stories, notably Detective Comics #457, a key issue exploring Batman’s origins, as well as hundreds of covers across DC’s entire line.
BATMAN #317 November 1979
GEORGE PÉREZ
Few artists can match George Pérez (1954–) for epic, multi-character tableaux that still retain a remarkable level of detail. Beginning his comics career at Marvel in the mid-1970s, Pérez soon landed the gig of artist on The Avengers, defining the look of the series for decades afterward. In 1980 he arrived at DC, initially on Justice League of America, then launched New Teen Titans with writer Marv Wolfman. A modern take on DC’s veteran teen team, the series was a huge hit and led to the same creators embarking on their masterwork, the epochal Crisis on Infinite Earths. Bridging the Bronze and Steel Ages, not only did it give Pérez the opportunity to draw every single DC character, but it was the source of some of his most iconic and famous covers. Not content to rest on his laurels, in 1987 he both wrote and drew the relaunched Wonder Woman, refocusing the title on Greek mythology and providing the template for years to come.
NEW TEEN TITANS #39 February 1984
JACK KIRBY
Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg, 1917–1994) may have done his most acclaimed DC work during the Bronze Age, but his profound legacy stretches from the Golden Age to today’s medium. In short, without Kirby, comics as we know them wouldn’t exist today. Active in comics from 1939, Kirby’s first big success came in 1941 when he and fellow cartoonist and writer Joe Simon launched Captain America into the world. Subsequently the pair worked their magic at DC, reimagining existing characters Sandman and Manhunter and launching the successful Boy Commandos. Kirby went on to draw Green Arrow and introduce the Challengers of the Unknown. Almost 30 years later, having co-created the likes of the Hulk, the Fantastic Four, and the Avengers with Stan Lee, Kirby returned to DC at the height of his powers, giving full rein to his fertile imagination and dynamic stylings. Beginning in 1970, he unleashed his sprawling Fourth World saga, introducing the world to high-concept characters like Darkseid and the New Gods, with covers that were big, bold, and breathtaking.
SANDMAN #1 December 1974
OUR ARMY AT WAR #219 May 1970
JOE KUBERT
When thinking of DC’s war comics, the name that springs immediately to mind is Joe Kubert (1926–2012). Kubert began drawing for DC in 1943, near the start of his comics career; two years later, in the pages of Flash Comics #62, he embarked on a long association with Hawkman, his style becoming synonymous with the character in many fans’ minds. But it was when he began contributing art to Our Army at War in 1955 that Kubert’s time at DC kicked into high gear. With writer Robert Kanigher he created Sgt. Rock in 1959, and went on to depict the adventures of the World War II infantryman and the rest of Easy Company for the next 30 years. Kubert’s covers were frequently masterpieces of composition, featuring memorable narrative images, elegant linework, and often incorporating title logos into the artwork in ingenious ways. He left a lasting impact on generations of artists, not least through his School of Cartoon and Graphic Art.
SHAZAM! #1 February 1973
Artists: C. C. Beck, Nick Cardy, and Murphy Anderson
Previously published by Fawcett, the character Shazam! transferred to DC in 1973 with a new series, 20 years after he’d last appeared. The character’s co-creator, C. C. Beck, drew the figures of Superman and Shazam! on this cover, assisted by Nick Cardy – at that time DC’s main cover artist – but Superman’s face was drawn by Murphy Anderson, who was often enlisted to ensure a correct likeness.
SHAZAM! #3 June 1973
Artist: C. C. Beck
C. C. Beck drew the first eight covers of DC’s Shazam! series, and interior stories up to issue #10, after which he departed due to creative differences. His simple, clean style, very much a product of the Golden Age, marked his covers out from much of DC’s Bronze Age output, but the concept of the Shazam family has proved enduring.
PLASTIC MAN #11 March 1976
Artists: Ramona Fradon and Tenny Henson
Acquired by DC from Quality Comics in the 1950s, Plastic Man got his own series in 1966, but it ended with issue #10. When it resumed eight years later with #11, Ramona Fradon was now cover artist. Besides demonstrating the crazy elasticity of Plastic Man, here Fradon has drawn priceless expressions on the faces of the befuddled assailants.
THE FLASH #246 January 1977
Artist: Neal Adams
After a short run of The Flash covers in the early 1960s, Neal Adams returned for one last cover with this issue. Deciding to draw The Flash standing still rather than running (as he is usually depicted on covers), the artist created a calm, organized composition, but then infused it with tension via converging perspective lines and a meticulous attention to detail.
THE FLASH #217 September 1972
Artist: Nick Cardy
THE FLASH #316 December 1982
Artists: Carmine Infantino and Rodin Rodriguez
Having co-created and chronicled the Barry Allen incarnation of The Flash in the Silver Age, Infantino returned to the title in 1981. On this, one of his finest covers in this later run, he conveys The Flash’s speed with swooping lines, incorporating the logo and knocking the price box and Comics Code Authority stamp out of position.
THE FLASH #349 September 1985
Artists: Carmine Infantino and Klaus Janson
The epic “Trial of the Flash” storyline – detailing the fallout after Barry Allen kills his nemesis Professor Zoom – ran for two years in The Flash, bringing the series to a conclusion. Infantino’s cover for the penultimate issue is atypically quiet and still in composition, the stark contrast of the bars and shadows emphasizing The Flash’s plight.
Nick Cardy became DC’s main cover artist in the early 1970s, working closely with executive editor Carmine Infantino to create covers across the line. This, his second cover for The Flash, is perhaps his best for the title. Placing the five Flashes (the result of an experiment gone wrong) on a black background accentuates the subtle differences in poses and expressions.
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #102 October 1972
Artist: Nick Cardy
Boasting the involvement of 33 heroes, this three-part tale is regarded as one of the best JLA/JSA crossovers. Nick Cardy – by this point DC’s principal cover artist – had a 17-issue run of Justice League of America covers starting from #99. Necessarily featuring multiple heroes, these could be overly busy affairs, but not this striking, elegantly drawn effort.
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #200 March 1982
Artist: George Pérez
A foretaste of what was to come from George Pérez with Crisis on Infinite Earths three years later, this multi-character wraparound cover marks Justice League of America’s 200th issue. Featuring contributions from Brian Bolland, Gil Kane, and Joe Kubert, this issue was also Pérez’s last as interior artist. However, he would continue working on the title’s covers for over a year.
ACTION COMICS #484 June 1978
Artists: José Luis García-López and Dick Giordano
Two decades before Clark Kent and Lois Lane were married for real, Action Comics celebrated the 40th anniversary of Superman’s debut by marrying the pair’s Earth-Two counterparts. On the cover, José Luis García-López and Dick Giordano bring an undeniable sense of joy to the newlyweds – although sneakily there’s no mention of them being the Earth-Two versions.
ACTION COMICS #500 October 1979
Artists: Ross Andru and Dick Giordano
Marking Action Comics’ 500th issue, Ross Andru makes good use of the Droste effect, repeating the cover seemingly to infinity. To complete the composition, in the background classic covers are reproduced in magenta line – a treatment previously used on Batman #200 in 1968. On the back, the baby Kal-El is shown being rocketed from an exploding Krypton.
ACTION COMICS #583 September 1986
Artists: Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson
Working from an uncredited layout by Ed Hannigan (a fine cover artist in his own right, who often did cover roughs for other artists to follow), Curt Swan illustrates the finale of Alan Moore’s elegiac “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?” At the front of the group bidding Superman farewell are Swan himself, then-DC president Jenette Kahn, and editor Julius Schwartz.
ACTION COMICS #419 November 1972
Artists: Neal Adams, Murphy Anderson, and Jack Adler
Neal Adams wasn’t the first artist to composite artwork and photos – the technique had been in use since the mid-1960s – but he got the best results. Adams and Murphy Anderson’s Superman figure works brilliantly with Jack Adler’s vertiginous photo of NYC (standing in for Metropolis). Notably, this issue features the first appearance of Christopher Chance, the Human Target.
ADVENTURE COMICS #428 August 1973
Artist: Bob Oksner
Despite the claim on Bob Oksner’s wonderfully seductive cover that this is an “origin issue”, Black Orchid’s debut is anything but. The mystery of who and what the character was would persist until Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean identified her as human-plant hybrid Susan Linden-Thorne in the 1988 Black Orchid miniseries.
ADVENTURE COMICS #462 April 1979
Artist: Jim Aparo
This was not the first time the Dark Knight’s death had been depicted in a comic book (nor would it be the last), but it was certainly the most final – at least for the original Batman, alias the Earth-Two version. Aparo’s cover perfectly captures the sombre mood, as Robin, Superman, The Huntress (Batman and Catwoman’s daughter), and others pay their respects.
SWAMP THING #7 December 1973
Artist: Bernie Wrightson
When Swamp Thing gained his own title after debuting in The House of Secrets #92 (July 1971), co-creators Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson were assigned to continue his chronicles – much to the surprise of Wrightson, who could barely recall the first story! The pair updated the character’s origin (reworking him as modern-day scientist Alec Holland); this issue brought Batman into the narrative.
SWAMP THING #9 April 1974
Artist: Bernie Wrightson
Bernie Wrightson’s second-to-last Swamp Thing cover is one of his most straightforward, but also arguably his most famous, featuring a beautifully rendered image of the eponymous lead. Wrightson used a brush technique for the first nine issues of the title; he switched to pen for his final one, #10, feeling that he had become too comfortable with the former method.
THE SAGA OF THE SWAMP THING #25 June 1984
Artists: Steve Bissette and John Totleben
In 1983, Alan Moore began writing the second volume of SwampThing, bringing a new depth and sophistication to the title, and ramping up the horror element. His main artists were Steve Bissette and John Totleben, both of whom responded with their best work: intricate and flowing creations, as on this cover, which incorporates the logo into the flora.
SWAMPTHING#34 March 1985
Artist: John Totleben
The relationship between Swamp Thing and his lover, Abby Arcane, was a central strand during Alan Moore’s run on the title, exemplified by John Totleben’s quiet, tender, beautifully painted cover for this issue, which won the artist a Kirby Award. Controversial for its time, the story sees Abby and Swamp Thing consummating their relationship in a hallucinogenic coupling.
DC SUPER-STARS #17 December 1977
Artists: Joe Staton and Bob Layton
Starting out as a reprint title, anthology series DC Super- Stars had started publishing original material by the time The Huntress made her debut in this issue. She was created by Paul Levitz and Joe Staton as Helena Wayne, daughter of the Earth-Two Batman and Catwoman. Her first cover appearance displays Staton’s cartoony style, which he termed “highly stylized, leaning to exaggerated plasticity”.
BLACK LIGHTNING #1 April 1977
Artists: Rich Buckler and Frank Springer
Created by Tony Isabella and designed by Trevor von Eeden (who was only 17 at the time), Black Lightning – alias schoolteacher Jefferson Pierce – was the first DC African-American character to star in his own series. Rich Buckler drew almost all of the first series’ covers, here capturing the urban, street-level feel of the character.
FIRESTORM #1 March 1978
Artist: Al Milgrom
DC debuted a wave of new heroes in the late 1970s, among them Firestorm. Though the first series was cancelled after the fifth issue, Gerry Conway’s novel concept – two people, high school student Ronnie Raymond and physicist Martin Stein, merged into one powerful being – and Al Milgrom’s striking design saw Firestorm back in another series just four years later.
THE UNTOLD LEGEND OF THE BATMAN #1 July 1980
Artist: José Luis García-López
The miniseries was a new initiative for DC in the Bronze Age. The Untold Legend of the Batman, the second to be released (after 1979’s World of Krypton), not only boasted covers by José Luis García-López – here using the device of a giant book to illustrate the theme of delving into Batman’s past – but was also X-Men artist John Byrne’s first DC work.
BATMAN SPECIAL #1 s June 1984
Artist: Michael Golden
Mike W. Barr and Michael Golden’s classic “The Player on the Other Side” was originally scheduled as Batman Annual #9 in 1983, but the pair needed more time to develop it properly; it saw light as a special instead. Golden’s symmetrical cover composition reflects the story, in which the villainous Wrath’s origin story is a mirror of Batman’s.
BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS #1 August 1983
Artist: Jim Aparo
After debuting in a preview story in the final issue of The Brave and the Bold, Batman’s new team, the Outsiders – consisting of Black Lightning, Geo-Force, Halo, Katana, and Metamorpho – gained their own series the following month.
The varied expressions on the faces of the Justice League – sadness, anger, and shock – are testament to Jim Aparo’s range as an artist.
THE NEW TEEN TITANS #1 November 1980
Artists: George Pérez and Dick Giordano
Previewed in DC Comics Presents #26, Marv Wolfman and George Pérez’s The New Teen Titans quickly became DC’s best-selling comic book when it launched in 1980. Pérez’s dynamic first issue cover gives a taste of the fresh approach to the Titans, now reinvigorated with a mix of original members and new creations Starfire, Raven, and Cyborg
THE NEW TEEN TITANS #13 November 1981
Artists: George Pérez and Romeo Tanghal
Shockingly killed off at the end of their series in 1968, the original Doom Patrol were only mentioned sporadically over the next 20 years, but Teen Titans member Beast Boy’s status as a former Doom Patrol associate prompted a story in which the Titans hunt for the late team’s killers. George Pérez’s cover is a fine example of his detailed, tightly rendered style.
“While I do enjoy the grand-scale elements, it’s the personal scenes that I really find satisfying.”
GEORGE PÉREZ
THE NEW TEEN TITANS #16 February 1982
Artists: George Pérez and Romeo Tanghal
As excellent as George Pérez’s dramatically staged main image is, this cover is more notable for the sidebar introducing anthropomorphic heroes Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew, who debuted inside in a 16-page preview comic. A new innovation at DC, the first of these, inserted in 1980’s DC Comics Presents #26, had introduced the New Teen Titans themselves.
TALES OF THE TEEN TITANS #44 July 1984
Artist: George Pérez
Deathstroke the Terminator had debuted in The New Teen Titans #2, swearing vengeance on the Titans after his son was killed while battling the team. His masterplan unfolded during “The Judas Contract” storyline, which in this issue saw the debut of Dick Grayson’s new identity, Nightwing. The cover recalls the multi-panel covers of Curt Swan – a formative influence on George Pérez.
THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #289 July 1982
Artist: Keith Giffen
Writer Paul Levitz and artist Keith Giffen’s 1980s run on The Legion of Super-Heroes is one of the most celebrated in comics, at the time propelling the title to new heights. Giffen’s arresting third cover for the series forgoes action in favour of a desolate scene of shipwrecked Legionnaires, the tapered title directing the viewer’s eye downward.
THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #293 November 1982
Artist: Keith Giffen
Perhaps the most impactful of all Keith Giffen’s Legion covers, here the title logo is transformed into a towering rock face, riddled with blast marks and dwarfing the Legionnaires struggling to hold back the Servants of Darkness. Even the price box and Comics Code Authority stamp become integral aspects of the design, re-envisaged as rubble.
THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #294 December 1982
Artists: Keith Giffen and Larry Mahlstedt
Keith Giffen was hugely influenced by Jack Kirby, whose creation, Darkseid, takes centre stage on this cover. That influence can be seen not just in the depiction of Darkseid and the style of draftsmanship, but in the patented “Kirby Krackle” – the energy dots in the sky. Kirby receives a dedication in this issue, the climax to the epic “Great Darkness Saga”.
THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #313 July 1984
Artists: Keith Giffen and Larry Mahlstedt
A hallmark of Keith Giffen’s time on Legion was his idiosyncratic and imaginative approach to 30th-century technology and architecture.
Here, as with The Legion of Super-Heroes #293, he incorporates the comic’s logo into the overall cover design, but in this instance the logo becomes signage on the side of an elaborate far-future construction.
CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #1 April 1985
Artist: George Pérez
The 12-issue “maxiseries” Crisis on Infinite Earths was a watershed moment for DC, a crossover event the like of which had never been seen before, and an opportunity to streamline a continuity that (to some) had become convoluted. For the first issue, George Pérez took full advantage of a wraparound cover to depict a thrilling multi-Earth-and-character cataclysm.
CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #7 October 1985
Artist: George Pérez
Pérez seized the opportunity to draw almost every DC character in Crisis on Infinite Earths, exemplified by the assembled throng seen in the background here. Depicting the devastating death of Supergirl, this cover is among the most famous comic book covers ever produced. Repeatedly referenced itself, Pérez’s composition references the pose of Batman holding Robin’s body on the cover of Batman #156 .
CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #8 November 1985
Artist: George Pérez
One issue on from Supergirl’s demise, another DC icon met their end as the Silver Age Flash died thwarting the villainous Anti-Monitor. The seismic changes wrought by Crisis on Infinite Earths were so wide-reaching – from character deaths to the elimination of entire universes – that thereafter events in the DC Universe would be tagged “pre-Crisis” and “post-Crisis”.
DC Comics Cover Art
Written by Nick Jones
Penguin Random House, 2020
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