What sparked your obvious love for comic books?
It’s a few things, from the early days of Adam West Batman reruns, the Super Friends cartoon, a batch of old comics from my godmother, and the first comic bought for me from my mom. Comics can be both a look at the past and hope for the future.
Growing up, which comic titles were you most passionate about?
A few. (Superboy and) the Legion of Super-Heroes, Justice League of America, Teen Titans…then the Fantastic Four. I loved groups and felt you were getting more than single titles (though there was a 1970s Aquaman run I liked, Karate Kid was fun, which was a title I started with its last issue…and was one of the first that inspired me to get back issues). The Legion had such depth to it, and going back got me that much more excited about the current stuff. There was no internet, nor many collected editions (though there was that wonderful Treasury that gave history and had Mordru’s Adventure Comics issues…), so you had to dig for comics. They were more available though.
And, the team-up books. Especially Brave and the Bold and Marvel Two-In-One. Marvel Team-Up and DC Comics Presents. The niceness of a regular, well-defined character, the joy of meeting someone new each month. The synergy all comics should strive for.
The idea these characters share a universe was fun…in bits before it became overdone and mandatory. Having Batman meet, say, Sgt. Rock, Wildcat, Swamp Thing, Plastic Man, Kamandi, and Mr. Miracle were great…and that happened in about a year, real-time…but all those characters didn’t feel it, other than Batman.
Have your tastes in comic content changed since then?
Yes! So much. Back then, even when the companies gave you too much of the great thing I went along…now, I find I look for what they aren’t giving me. And that Dovetails into why I do the blog. It started as me focusing on earlier (pre-Crisis) DC…because I didn’t see a lot of that out there. It has morphed over time to highlight artists (hard reality…easier to do) and includes more that I feel folks haven’t seen. Now that DC has its DC Finest program (to rival Marvel’s Epic Collections), I hope older DC’s will see the light of day (things like Green Arrow’s Action Comics backups, the Nemesis Brave and the Bold series, Mr. And Mrs. Superman from Superman Family, Zatanna’s run from Adventure, Lois Lane, Supergirl and World’s Finest…and things like Rip Hunter, Sea Devils, Metamorpho…
…and Captain Comet from Strange Adventures (not to mention a collection of Animal Man, Immortal Man, Faceless Hunter, and Enchantress from Strange Adventures with Dolphin and Cave Carson from Showcase as Forgotten Heroes (and Villains) one-off.
When did the idea of starting a blog about comics occur to you, and how long have you had it?
Been around since April 2014 as mine, and had done some work previously with a comic store. The idea was to focus on comics that people didn’t focus on. Keeping it simple enough for a non-regular reader to take an interest, combined with those deep dives only an Undersea Agent would get. Like all things, it’s changed expanded, and mutated. The best thing that happened was finding (well, being found by) the kindred souls of the Super-Blog Team-Up, who have been a joy to read/listen to and helped me spread my thoughts further than I ever could have alone.
What have been the topics on some of your most recent blog entries?
In the process of transitioning from Western Comics Month to Kirby Comics Month…found a nice book that’ll cover both. A LOT of artists lately (good because people love those articles and I can produce them fast….not enough hours in the day!). Plus, getting to cover an issue I’ve wanted to get to for years in mid-August in conjunction with an SBTU theme. That said, I’ve got to give Dr. Doom some love at some point with the announcement out of San Diego.
It seems that your blog covers from the Golden Age of Comics to the present day. Is that a fair statement?
Yes. I was trying originally to focus on the 1950s to 1970s DC, but it bloomed. Covered things like the JLA/JSA Crisis issues leading up to CW’s Crisis On Infinite Earths…obscure Batman villains thanks to the Batman Lego movie commercial where Joker rattles off a list of one-shot Batman villains (and I knew them all…). Try to touch on some Marvel here and there, throw in some Archie…even Richie Rich, Six Million Dollar Man, Lost In Space, and Star Trek…that’s the fun of comics, there’s a little in there for everyone!
Thanks for taking the time to talk about your wonderful comics blog, Dave.
Thank you for doing this! Always happy to help…and with over a thousand articles, I have things I hope would entertain any comic fan.
Dave has a blog on comics at davescomicsheroes.blogspot.com
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