In June 1963, in Batman 156, DC Comics decided to have a little joke at the expense of…
Just Imagine!
JUST IMAGINE! July 1961: This Is Your Life, Superman!
In 1961, the Superman title had an average monthly circulation of 820,000 — second only to…
JUST IMAGINE! December 1958: Hubris in the Himalayas
Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a…
JUST IMAGINE! December 1960: Distaff Dangers
During the 1950s, DC heroes like Superman, Batman, Tomahawk, and Blackhawk had various cover-gimmick fake marriages,…
JUST IMAGINE! March 1964: What Comes Fourth?
I’ve loved the panel at left— which appears in The Avengers 4 (March 1964), the issue…
JUST IMAGINE! September 1951: Mind Over Maiden
DC Comics editor Julius Schwartz clearly had real respect and affection for knowledge-based professionals — so…
JUST IMAGINE! July 1963: From Eastmancolor to Four Colors
A giant ape might seem to be a problematic protagonist for a comic book series, but…
JUST IMAGINE! October 1933: Look! Up in the Sky!
In the early decades of the 20th century, readers might easily have confused fighter pilots with…
JUST IMAGINE! March 1963: When Titans Tangle!
Fantastic Four 12 (March 1963) offered something rare at the time — a superhero battle that…
JUST IMAGINE! June 1969: Bruce Wayne, Secret Agent
“Ein Fledermausmann! Schiessen! Schiessen!” It’s the spring of 1969. You pick up a copy of The…
JUST IMAGINE! September 1962: Exemplars and Experimentation
Marvel’s neophyte superheroes continued to develop by fits and starts in the titles appearing on newsstands…
JUST IMAGINE! February 1963: Crowded by Cloud Creatures
Children tend to anthropomorphize their world, projecting human characteristics onto animals, cars, trains, and even natural…
JUST IMAGINE! August 1960: The Monsters Beneath Your Feet
The Earth is full of monsters. In one month alone, for example, you might run into…
JUST IMAGINE! January 1960: Big Purple Beasts and the Borg
I wonder if the purple simian-ish creature in I Was a Bodyguard to a Beast (My…
JUST IMAGINE! August 1931: Chandu, the Father of Dr. Strange
“Those who lived during the Depression thirties, having experienced their fill of hard times, had a…
JUST IMAGINE! December 1954: The Lost Father of Bizarro
Bizarro may have been born a stranger in a world he never made, but he had…
JUST IMAGINE! October 1966: An Attractive Trap for Superteen
To Betty’s horror and Archie’s delight, Magnet Girl could transform the randy redhead into a literal…
JUST IMAGINE! February 1962: The Ant Who Didn’t Save the World
I recall being highly satisfied with all three stories in Strange Adventures 137 (Feb. 1962), but…
JUST IMAGINE! May 1963: The Old Guy in the Sky
I’d argue that the Vulture was the first true comic-book supervillain faced and defeated by Spider-Man. Oh…
JUST IMAGINE! August 1951: Who That Masked Man Really Was
When I think of my late father, I often imagine him huddled with some of his…
JUST IMAGINE! January 1966: TV Tiptoes into Capes and Masks
The 1960s Batman TV show was the first true attempt to do really full-blown, colorful comic…
JUST IMAGINE! August 1967: Posing the Question
Given his emphatic philosophical views, I’m a little surprised Steve Ditko didn’t call his new superhero…
JUST IMAGINE! July 1962: The Menace in the Metal Mask
Three members of the Fantastic Four were writhing and gasping for air in a gray dungeon,…
JUST IMAGINE! November 1962: The Sadness of Super-Girl
With her red hair and green-and-orange costume, Supergirl had arrived! But not really. Not so fast.…
JUST IMAGINE! January 1963: The Turtle of Tomorrow
The redoubtable and risible Reptile of Steel appeared in filler cartoons across a half dozen DC…
JUST IMAGINE! September 1967: Time Traveling for Treasure
I’ve always been fascinated by the one-hit wonders of the superhero world, and in Charlton Premiere 1 (Sept.…
JUST IMAGINE! July 1968: The Shadow of the Clown
A classic villain, like a classic hero, casts many a shadow. So it is with Batman’s…
JUST IMAGINE! September 1963: The Skrull in the Mirror
The Fantastic Four frequently fought examples of a time-tested theme in superhero comics — the mirror-image…
JUST IMAGINE! July 1964: Supermen in Space and at Sea
With his interest in the superhuman theme, science fiction author A.E. van Vogt anticipated and/or inspired…
JUST IMAGINE! December 1983: A New Dimension in Comics
If there’s anything I like better than an obscure superhero, it’s an obscure superhero who’s a…
JUST IMAGINE: June 1952: The Dynamic Duo Catches Fireflies
I had a delight in store for me in the summer of 1962, when I turned…
JUST IMAGINE: August 1964: Behold a Pale Shadow
The first time I saw the Shadow was in 1964, when I was 10 and the…
JUST IMAGINE! October 1963: Spider-Man Faces Doom
As superhero comic book readers in the 1960s, we did a lot of conscious and unconscious…