Part 2 is here.
I realized while looking over Part 2 that I
forgot to mention some key books that helped shape my early comic book reading
days. So before diving into Star Wars I’d like to explore those books–starting with my
introduction to Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes, which came in the form
of a Spanish version of Adventure Comics
#345. This was bought on that same family vacation to Mexico where I picked up
the Batman and World’s Finest issues mentioned in Part 2. It was the conclusion of
a two-part tale featuring the Legionnaires trapped in a Super-Stalag, drawn by
legendary artist Curt Swan.
I can only imagine what the Spanish translation
for Matter Eater Lad was. I wish I could remember!
Forty-plus years later I finally got to read
this story in full (and in English) when issues 344 and 345 were re-printed in
the recently published Silver Age Legion
of Super-Heroes Omnibus Volume 2.
Incidentally, here’s the cover to World’s Finest #228. The cover to the
Spanish version was a cropped version of the original, showcasing only Nick
Cardy’s artwork for the main Super Sons story. It made for quite the dramatic
cover. I can easily see why it caught my eye as a kid.
As I’ve mentioned before, my exposure to
Spider-Man came mainly in the form of the classic animated show from the 60’s.
The only comic books of his I had were Amazing
Spider-Man #174, which I covered in Part 1—and Marvel Team-Up #66, which featured a very cool team-up between
Spidey and Captain Britain. I believe this may have been the first appearance
of Arcade.
This was a great issue, done by a top-knotch
creative team. It was one of those books that I re-read often in my youth in
the days before I actually starting collecting comics.
Not surprisingly, my appetite for comics was
not limited to super-heroes. Archie digests were a common super-market checkout
purchase. In fact to this day it makes me smile when I see Archie digests on
display at the checkout counter when I do groceries. I’m glad to see they’re
still around.
I also had some Archie comic books, but the
memory of those is lost to time except for this issue of Archie at Riverdale High I was able to track down via the internet.
I remembered that cover as soon as I saw it.
Along with the DC treasuries that showcased
DC’s stable of super-heroes I also had a copy of one of the Rudolph the
Red-Nosed Reindeer treasuries written and drawn by Sheldon Mayer. Great fun.
Rudolph was certainly a lot more mischievous in these stories than he was in
the classic Christmas stop motion TV special!
I was introduced to Carl Barks’ beautifully
told and illustrated Uncle Scrooge tales via a Spanish paperback bought during
a family trip to Spain.
I encourage anyone unfamiliar with Carl Barks’
work to check it out. His Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge comics are considered to
be among the greatest artistic and storytelling achievements in the medium.
Here’s an excerpt from one of the stories
reprinted in that Spanish paperback. The image of a lipstick-wearing Mermaid
Queen was one that stuck with me all these years, making it fairly easy for me
to track this story down.
In terms of humor books, Mad and Cracked were
occasional purchases. My brother and I had a treasure trove of Mad paperbacks, which is where I first
encountered the genius of Don Martin and Sergio Aragones. These books are still
in my collection.
Next time… Star
Wars! ‘Nuff said!
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