T.H.U.N.D.E.R Agents : Phase 1
PREFACE - By Way Of Explanation
First, let me explain a few things. This post arose from two very separate ideas. First, on a whim, I decided (since I was curious) to see what it might look like if the folks at Grantray-Lawrence Animation (who "animated" the fondly remembered Marvel cartoons of the 60's) had, in some alternate reality, animated a version of T.H.U.N.D.E.R Agents for TV. Viola......
Not too shabby eh.....? Or how 'bout this swell "Noman In Action" bit...
So, that was idea numero uno. Of course, I couldn't just leave things well enough alone and I hadda do a little spot for each the team, including the second-stringers like Menthor (R.I.P.)....
Don't worry, the ones for Lightning and Raven are found below...
Now we come to the second (and far less whimsical) point.
It has to do with printing quality, more specifically the printing (and "restoration") quality of the DC T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents Archives, which I find to be well executed but marred by an unimaginative technical approach to the reproduction of the material.
I have, previously, worked in the printing industry, and have assisted more than once in the operation of a very large Heidelberg press, so I do have some (albeit probably outdated) expertise in this area.
I could be wrong on this, but it seems that the approach is as follows -
Step 1 - Scan the original comic pages
Step 2 - In the computer, reduce the scanned image to black and white.
Step 3 - Proceed with this image as a new line art template, add color and so on.
What's wrong with this? Well, if the final product was intended to be printed as a old school four color comic book, as they were printed from the 30's to the 90's, nothing at all.
However, the final product is high end printing on really nice paper, so another alternative is indeed available. It requires more attention to the registration of the plates during the printing process, but that's just one of the tasks performed by a Master Printer while supervising the execution of a complex job.
To my mind, the "restoration" needs to be a little less intrusive -
The method that I would use (if I had my druthers) is as follows:
Step 1 - Scan the original comic pages
Step 2 - In the computer, return the scanned image to "True Color" (that is to say, return the blacks, whites and colors to their original tones prior to any discoloration due to aging, fading or yellowing)
Step 3 - Create new line art masters in four colors, reproducing (as close as possible) the coloring of the original printing.
As i've stated before, acute attention would need to be paid to the registration of the color plates, but this kind of work is done ALL THE TIME in every glossy magazine photo you see, so it's not impossible. It is, however, both time and labor intensitive and arguably more expensive as well. However, the steep price-tag on these items is so hefty that you've got to wonder how much of the retail price goes into the actual pre-press production of these items. 10%? 5%? 1%?
Having bought a few of these Archive Editions and having been dissatisfied by some or all of the reproduction contained therein I can't help but feel that there has to be a better way to "restore" these works for future generations.....
INTRODUCTION - A Hypothetical Epiphany At The Summit Of The Tower.
In many fairy stories, sword and sorcery tales and other meta-stories of the Joseph Campbell ilk, the goal of the hero/protagonist is often depicted as the apex of a tower, holding a captive princess, untold riches or some other equally desirable device. Get to to top of the heap, my son, and there you'll find The Golden Fleece, Holy Grail or what-have-you.
But what if you get there and it's all for naught? Well, that's what happened to Wally Wood. This 1968 photo of Woody below (by Bhob Stewart) illustrates the world-weariness and disillusionment that he must have felt upon the collapse of Tower.
PHASE 1 -
Let's go back to the beginning though -
Wood had just recently departed Marvel (Daredevil #11 is cover dated Dec. '65, one month after the debut of THUNDER Agents #1) and was doing his well known pattern of "hit-and-run" freelancing - "Total War", "Ripley's Believe it or Not" and "The Munsters" for Gold Key, plus returning to do SF illustrations in Worlds of If (Sept. '65 - a 4 year hiatus) and Galaxy Magazine (Oct. '65 - a break of only 2 years) not to mention other one-off projects for Topps and so on.
Into this mix comes Harry Shorten and Tower. In Wood's own words from a 1981 interview with Shel Dorf - "....I had a lot of freedom." This is indeed the crux of the matter, which ultimately led him to self-publish "The Wizard King" in later years.
Dynamo was an inspired creation, and for those of you who don't see it, is also an affectionate nod to the Golden Age Superman and a certain "Big Red Cheese" - strips and creators who took themselves and their characters none too seriously, but respected the intelligence and senses of humor of their readers.
Dynamo is pretty much an average guy who has a hard time getting dates and is almost continually being berated by his boss.... but with superpowers. In the mid-60's, when Marvel-esque soliloquies of angst and torment began to overly dominate "The House of Ideas", and DC's almost pathetic attempts at "hipness" (remember those "Go-Go Checks"?) made me cringe - even as a pre-teen, the T.H.U.N.D.E.R stories and characters were refreshingly streamlined and realistic, making Tower the producers of the most believable superhero comics of the 60's.
Oh, and of course the debut of "The Iron Maiden", who is possibly the sexiest villainess in 60's comics, bar none.
By far, the most innovative hero of the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. agents was NoMan, The Silver Age's first android hero (predating both Marvel's Vision and DC's Red Tornado) who's main power was not his "Cloak of Invisibility" but his ability to switch bodies with a thought (apparently inspired by protagonist of A. E. van Vogt's two Null-A novels).
The downside of this was, of course, lazy scripting often resorting to the old switcheroo as a convenient "Deus Ex Machina".
And then there's Menthor..... we'll come back to him, I promise.
Lastly, The Blackhawks... er, I mean The T.H.U.N.D.E.R Squad..... more on these guys later....
1 November 1965 Cover: Wally Wood
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents: "First Encounter" 4 Art: Wally Wood Story: Larry Ivie
Dynamo: "Menace of the Iron Fog" 12
Art: Wally Wood Story: Len Brown/Larry Ivie
NoMan: "T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agent NoMan" 10
Art: Reed Crandall (w/Wood) Story: Larry Ivie
Menthor: "The Enemy Within" 12
Art: Gil Kane & George Tuska/Mike Esposito (pages 2-7 penciled by George Tuska)
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Squad: "T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Squad" 10
Art: M. Sekowsky/F. Giacoia Story: Larry Ivie
Dynamo: "At The Mercy of the Iron Maiden" 10
Art: Wally Wood & Dan Adkins/Wood & Adkins
Text: Larry Ivie 2
2 January 1966
Cover: Wally Wood & Dan Adkins
Dynamo: "Dynamo Battles Dynavac" 13
Art: Wally Wood & Richard Bassford/Wally Wood Story: Len Brown
NoMan: "In The Warlord's Power" 10
Art: Dick Ayers/Wally Wood & Joe Orlando
Menthor: "Menthor" 10
Art: Mike Sekowsky/Frank Giacoia
Dynamo: "D-Day For Dynamo" 13
Art: Wally Wood & Dan Adkins/Wood & Coleman
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Squad: "On The Double" 10
Art: Mike Sekowsky/Frank Giacoia
Text: "Junior T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents" 2 Illustration by Mike Sekowsky
3 March 1966
Cover: Wally Wood
Dynamo: "Dynamo Battles the Subterraneans" 10
Art: Wally Wood & Dan Adkins/Wood & Coleman
NoMan: "NoMan Faces the Threat of the Amazing Vibraman" 10
Art: John Giunta/Wally Wood & Tony Coleman Story: Bill Pearson
Dynamo: "The Red Dragon" 10
Art: Wally Wood & Dan Adkins/Wood & Coleman
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Squad: "Invaders From the Deep" 10
Art: Mike Sekowsky/Frank Giacoia
Dynamo & Menthor: "Dynamo vs. Menthor" 10
Art: Wally Wood & Dan Adkins/Wood & Coleman
Pin-up: Dynamo 1
Art: Wally Wood & Dan Adkins/Wally Wood
Pin-up: NoMan 1
Art: Wally Wood & Dan Adkins/Wally Wood
Pin-up: The Thunderbelt 1
Art: Wally Wood & Dan Adkins/Wally Wood
Pin-up: Menthor 1
Art: Wally Wood & Dan Adkins/Wally Wood
Pin-up: T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Squad 1
Art: Wally Wood & Dan Adkins/Wally Wood
Letters 2
Just to give you an idea regarding restoration, here's a quickly executed (10 minutes maximum) panel from the "Dynamo vs. Menthor" story. See how easy it is?
4 April 1966
Cover: Reed Crandall/Wally Wood
Dynamo: "Master of Evolution" 12
Art: Wood & Adkins/Wood, Adkins & Coleman Story: Len Brown
NoMan: "The Synthetic Stand-ins" 10
Art: Sekowsky/Giacoia Story: Steve Skeates
THUNDER Agents: "The Deadly Dust" (1st Lightning) 10
Art: Sekowsky/Giacoia Story: Steve Skeates
Dynamo: "The Return of the Iron Maiden" 10
Art: Reed Crandall/Wally Wood & Dan Adkins
Menthor: "The Great Hypno" 11
Art: John Giunta/Wally Wood & Tony Coleman
Pin-up: NoMan in Action 1
Art: Wally Wood & Dan Adkins/Wood & Coleman
Pin-up: The Origin of T.H.U.N.D.E.R. 1
Art: Wally Wood & Dan Adkins/Wood & Coleman
Letters 2
T.H.U.N.D.E.R.'s Flash/Whizzer clone makes his debut, Guy from The T.H.U.N.D.E.R Squad puts on the yellow suit, and the goggles aren't a disguise, they're eye protection! Only the slightly screwball scripting of Steve Skeates salvages the sinking strip (how's THAT for alliteration!?!) and by issue 6 takes on a decidedly kooky feel.
5 June 1966 Cover: Wally Wood/Wood & Adkins
Dynamo: "Dynamo and the Golem" 10
Art: Reed Crandall/Wally Wood & Dan Adkins
NoMan: "In the Caverns of Demo" 10
Art: Gil Kane/Wally Wood & Tony Coleman Story: Bill Pearson
Lightning: "Return of Baron Van Kampf" 10
Art: Sekowsky/Giacoia Story: Steve Skeates
Menthor: "Menthor vs. The Entrancer" 10
Art: John Giunta
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents: "Double For Dynamo" 14
Art: Wood & Adkins/Wood & Coleman Story: Steve Skeates
Pin-up: Lightning 1
Art: Dan Adkins
Letters 2
Unused Alternate cover!
6 July 1966
Cover: Wally Wood & Dan Adkins/Wood
Dynamo: "Dynamo & the Sinister Agents of the Red Star" 14
Art: Wally Wood & Dan Adkins/Wood & Adkins
Lightning: "The Origin of the Warp Wizard" 11
Art: Sekowsky/Giacoia Story: Steve Skeates
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents: "T.H.U.N.D.E.R. vs. Demo" 10
Art: Giunta/Wood & Adkins
Menthor: "The Carnival of Death" 10
Art: John Giunta/Carl Hubbell
NoMan: "To Fight Alone" 10
Art: Steve Ditko Story: Steve Skeates
I jus' LOVES me some Steve Ditko NoMan!
Ah, back to Menthor. His series was, to a large extent lacking direction, so when Dan Adkins suggested to Wood that they kill Menthor (really, REALLY kill him stone cold ain't comin' back dead) Woody embraced the idea. Best death in Silver Age comics, mainly because he actually stayed permanently and totally deceased!
7 August 1966
Cover: Wood & Adkins/Wood & Adkins
Dynamo: "Wanted:Dynamo" 10
Art: Wood, Adkins & Ralph Reese/Wood & Adkins
Lightning: "The Warp Wizard's Revenge" 10
Art: Sekowsky/Giacoia Story: Steve Skeates
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents: "Subterranean Showdown" 10
Art: George Tuska
NoMan: "To Be Or Not to Be" 10
Art: John Giunta/Sal Trapani Story: Bill Pearson
Menthor: "A Matter of Life and Death" 10
Layouts: Wally Wood & Dan Adkins Story: Wood & Adkins
Tight pencils: Steve Ditko Inks: Wally Wood & Dan Adkins
Pin-up: The Iron Maiden 1
Art: Wally Wood & Dan Adkins/Wally Wood
Letters 2
8 September 1966 Cover: Wally Wood
Dynamo: "Thunder In the Dark" 10
Art: Wood, Adkins & Reese/Wood & Adkins
NoMan: "The Pyramid of the Warlords" 10
Art: John Giunta/Joe Giella Story: Bill Pearson
Lightning: "The Blue Alien" 10
Art: Sekowsky/Giacoia Story: Steve Skeates
Raven: "Enter... The Raven" 10
Art: George Tuska Story: Steve Skeates
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents: "Final Encounter" 11
Art: Dan Adkins/Wally Wood & Dan Adkins
Pin-up: The Overlord 1
Art: Wally Wood & Ralph Reese/Wally Wood
Letters 2
So Phase 1 of Tower Comics would be up to September 1966 (T.H.U.N.D.E.R Agents Issues 1 - 8, Dynamo 1 and Undersea Agent 1 - 4). Coming tomorrow (Monday), Phase 2 - Boom, Bust....... and Aftermath!
DYNAMO
1 August 1966
Cover: Wally Wood
"Menace from the Moon" 14 Art: Dan Adkins/Wally Wood & Dan Adkins
"A Day in the Life of Dynamo" 10
Art: Mike Sekowsky/Frank Giacoia
"Back to the Stone Age" 10
Art: Reed Crandall/Wally Wood & Dan Adkins
"Dynamo Meets the Amazing Andor" 10
Art: Steve Ditko/Wally Wood & Dan Adkins
Weed: "Wonder Weed, Super-Hero" 10
Art: John Giunta
UNDERSEA AGENT
1 January 1966
Cover: Ray Bailey
"Sink the Carrier Gettysburg" 14 Art: Ray Bailey
"Undersea Agent Meets Dr. Fang" 14 Art: Ray Bailey
"The Adventures of Skooby Doolittle" 9 Art: Ray Bailey
"Food, the Cycle of the Sea" 2 Art: Ray Bailey
"Underwater Exploration" 2 Art: John Giunta
Text 2
2 April 1966 Cover: Mike Sekowsky/Frank Giacoia
"Return of Dr. Fang" 10 Art: Ray Bailey/Sheldon Moldoff
"The Secret of the Flying Saucers" 11 Art: Ray Bailey/Sheldon Moldoff
"Double Jeopardy" 11 Art: Ray Bailey/Sheldon Moldoff (Moldoff splash)
"The Richest Man in the World" 11 Art: Ray Bailey/Sheldon Moldoff
"Buried Beneath the Sea" 10 Art: Mike Sekowsky/Frank Giacoia (even pages), Joe Giella (odd pages)
"Mysteries of the Deep" 1 Art: ?
"Ocean Oddities" 1 Art: ?
3 June 1966
Cover: Mike Sekowsky/Frank Giacoia
"To Save a King" 14 Art: Ray Bailey Story: Steve Skeates
"At the Mercy of Dr. Mayhem" 16 Art: Ray Bailey Story: Steve Skeates
"The Panther Whales" 10 Art: Mike Sekowsky/Frank Giacoia
"The Will Warp" 10 Art: Gil Kane Story: Steve Skeates
"True or False" 7 Art: John Giunta Story: Steve Skeates
"Submarines" 2 Art: John Giunta
4 August 1966 Cover: Gil Kane
"Introducing Dolph" 14 Art: Ray Bailey
"To Save a Monster" 13 Art: Gil Kane Story: Steve Skeates
"The Haunted Shipwreck" 14 Art: Ray Bailey
"Bait-Can Caper" 10 Art: Frank Bolle Story: Steve Skeates
Letters 1
First, let me explain a few things. This post arose from two very separate ideas. First, on a whim, I decided (since I was curious) to see what it might look like if the folks at Grantray-Lawrence Animation (who "animated" the fondly remembered Marvel cartoons of the 60's) had, in some alternate reality, animated a version of T.H.U.N.D.E.R Agents for TV. Viola......
Not too shabby eh.....? Or how 'bout this swell "Noman In Action" bit...
So, that was idea numero uno. Of course, I couldn't just leave things well enough alone and I hadda do a little spot for each the team, including the second-stringers like Menthor (R.I.P.)....
Don't worry, the ones for Lightning and Raven are found below...
Now we come to the second (and far less whimsical) point.
It has to do with printing quality, more specifically the printing (and "restoration") quality of the DC T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents Archives, which I find to be well executed but marred by an unimaginative technical approach to the reproduction of the material.
I have, previously, worked in the printing industry, and have assisted more than once in the operation of a very large Heidelberg press, so I do have some (albeit probably outdated) expertise in this area.
I could be wrong on this, but it seems that the approach is as follows -
Step 1 - Scan the original comic pages
Step 2 - In the computer, reduce the scanned image to black and white.
Step 3 - Proceed with this image as a new line art template, add color and so on.
What's wrong with this? Well, if the final product was intended to be printed as a old school four color comic book, as they were printed from the 30's to the 90's, nothing at all.
However, the final product is high end printing on really nice paper, so another alternative is indeed available. It requires more attention to the registration of the plates during the printing process, but that's just one of the tasks performed by a Master Printer while supervising the execution of a complex job.
To my mind, the "restoration" needs to be a little less intrusive -
The method that I would use (if I had my druthers) is as follows:
Step 1 - Scan the original comic pages
Step 2 - In the computer, return the scanned image to "True Color" (that is to say, return the blacks, whites and colors to their original tones prior to any discoloration due to aging, fading or yellowing)
Step 3 - Create new line art masters in four colors, reproducing (as close as possible) the coloring of the original printing.
As i've stated before, acute attention would need to be paid to the registration of the color plates, but this kind of work is done ALL THE TIME in every glossy magazine photo you see, so it's not impossible. It is, however, both time and labor intensitive and arguably more expensive as well. However, the steep price-tag on these items is so hefty that you've got to wonder how much of the retail price goes into the actual pre-press production of these items. 10%? 5%? 1%?
Having bought a few of these Archive Editions and having been dissatisfied by some or all of the reproduction contained therein I can't help but feel that there has to be a better way to "restore" these works for future generations.....
INTRODUCTION - A Hypothetical Epiphany At The Summit Of The Tower.
In many fairy stories, sword and sorcery tales and other meta-stories of the Joseph Campbell ilk, the goal of the hero/protagonist is often depicted as the apex of a tower, holding a captive princess, untold riches or some other equally desirable device. Get to to top of the heap, my son, and there you'll find The Golden Fleece, Holy Grail or what-have-you.
But what if you get there and it's all for naught? Well, that's what happened to Wally Wood. This 1968 photo of Woody below (by Bhob Stewart) illustrates the world-weariness and disillusionment that he must have felt upon the collapse of Tower.
PHASE 1 -
Let's go back to the beginning though -
Wood had just recently departed Marvel (Daredevil #11 is cover dated Dec. '65, one month after the debut of THUNDER Agents #1) and was doing his well known pattern of "hit-and-run" freelancing - "Total War", "Ripley's Believe it or Not" and "The Munsters" for Gold Key, plus returning to do SF illustrations in Worlds of If (Sept. '65 - a 4 year hiatus) and Galaxy Magazine (Oct. '65 - a break of only 2 years) not to mention other one-off projects for Topps and so on.
Into this mix comes Harry Shorten and Tower. In Wood's own words from a 1981 interview with Shel Dorf - "....I had a lot of freedom." This is indeed the crux of the matter, which ultimately led him to self-publish "The Wizard King" in later years.
Dynamo was an inspired creation, and for those of you who don't see it, is also an affectionate nod to the Golden Age Superman and a certain "Big Red Cheese" - strips and creators who took themselves and their characters none too seriously, but respected the intelligence and senses of humor of their readers.
Dynamo is pretty much an average guy who has a hard time getting dates and is almost continually being berated by his boss.... but with superpowers. In the mid-60's, when Marvel-esque soliloquies of angst and torment began to overly dominate "The House of Ideas", and DC's almost pathetic attempts at "hipness" (remember those "Go-Go Checks"?) made me cringe - even as a pre-teen, the T.H.U.N.D.E.R stories and characters were refreshingly streamlined and realistic, making Tower the producers of the most believable superhero comics of the 60's.
Oh, and of course the debut of "The Iron Maiden", who is possibly the sexiest villainess in 60's comics, bar none.
By far, the most innovative hero of the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. agents was NoMan, The Silver Age's first android hero (predating both Marvel's Vision and DC's Red Tornado) who's main power was not his "Cloak of Invisibility" but his ability to switch bodies with a thought (apparently inspired by protagonist of A. E. van Vogt's two Null-A novels).
The downside of this was, of course, lazy scripting often resorting to the old switcheroo as a convenient "Deus Ex Machina".
And then there's Menthor..... we'll come back to him, I promise.
Lastly, The Blackhawks... er, I mean The T.H.U.N.D.E.R Squad..... more on these guys later....
1 November 1965 Cover: Wally Wood
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents: "First Encounter" 4 Art: Wally Wood Story: Larry Ivie
Dynamo: "Menace of the Iron Fog" 12
Art: Wally Wood Story: Len Brown/Larry Ivie
NoMan: "T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agent NoMan" 10
Art: Reed Crandall (w/Wood) Story: Larry Ivie
Menthor: "The Enemy Within" 12
Art: Gil Kane & George Tuska/Mike Esposito (pages 2-7 penciled by George Tuska)
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Squad: "T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Squad" 10
Art: M. Sekowsky/F. Giacoia Story: Larry Ivie
Dynamo: "At The Mercy of the Iron Maiden" 10
Art: Wally Wood & Dan Adkins/Wood & Adkins
Text: Larry Ivie 2
2 January 1966
Cover: Wally Wood & Dan Adkins
Dynamo: "Dynamo Battles Dynavac" 13
Art: Wally Wood & Richard Bassford/Wally Wood Story: Len Brown
NoMan: "In The Warlord's Power" 10
Art: Dick Ayers/Wally Wood & Joe Orlando
Menthor: "Menthor" 10
Art: Mike Sekowsky/Frank Giacoia
Dynamo: "D-Day For Dynamo" 13
Art: Wally Wood & Dan Adkins/Wood & Coleman
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Squad: "On The Double" 10
Art: Mike Sekowsky/Frank Giacoia
Text: "Junior T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents" 2 Illustration by Mike Sekowsky
3 March 1966
Cover: Wally Wood
Dynamo: "Dynamo Battles the Subterraneans" 10
Art: Wally Wood & Dan Adkins/Wood & Coleman
NoMan: "NoMan Faces the Threat of the Amazing Vibraman" 10
Art: John Giunta/Wally Wood & Tony Coleman Story: Bill Pearson
Dynamo: "The Red Dragon" 10
Art: Wally Wood & Dan Adkins/Wood & Coleman
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Squad: "Invaders From the Deep" 10
Art: Mike Sekowsky/Frank Giacoia
Dynamo & Menthor: "Dynamo vs. Menthor" 10
Art: Wally Wood & Dan Adkins/Wood & Coleman
Pin-up: Dynamo 1
Art: Wally Wood & Dan Adkins/Wally Wood
Pin-up: NoMan 1
Art: Wally Wood & Dan Adkins/Wally Wood
Pin-up: The Thunderbelt 1
Art: Wally Wood & Dan Adkins/Wally Wood
Pin-up: Menthor 1
Art: Wally Wood & Dan Adkins/Wally Wood
Pin-up: T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Squad 1
Art: Wally Wood & Dan Adkins/Wally Wood
Letters 2
Just to give you an idea regarding restoration, here's a quickly executed (10 minutes maximum) panel from the "Dynamo vs. Menthor" story. See how easy it is?
4 April 1966
Cover: Reed Crandall/Wally Wood
Dynamo: "Master of Evolution" 12
Art: Wood & Adkins/Wood, Adkins & Coleman Story: Len Brown
NoMan: "The Synthetic Stand-ins" 10
Art: Sekowsky/Giacoia Story: Steve Skeates
THUNDER Agents: "The Deadly Dust" (1st Lightning) 10
Art: Sekowsky/Giacoia Story: Steve Skeates
Dynamo: "The Return of the Iron Maiden" 10
Art: Reed Crandall/Wally Wood & Dan Adkins
Menthor: "The Great Hypno" 11
Art: John Giunta/Wally Wood & Tony Coleman
Pin-up: NoMan in Action 1
Art: Wally Wood & Dan Adkins/Wood & Coleman
Pin-up: The Origin of T.H.U.N.D.E.R. 1
Art: Wally Wood & Dan Adkins/Wood & Coleman
Letters 2
T.H.U.N.D.E.R.'s Flash/Whizzer clone makes his debut, Guy from The T.H.U.N.D.E.R Squad puts on the yellow suit, and the goggles aren't a disguise, they're eye protection! Only the slightly screwball scripting of Steve Skeates salvages the sinking strip (how's THAT for alliteration!?!) and by issue 6 takes on a decidedly kooky feel.
5 June 1966 Cover: Wally Wood/Wood & Adkins
Dynamo: "Dynamo and the Golem" 10
Art: Reed Crandall/Wally Wood & Dan Adkins
NoMan: "In the Caverns of Demo" 10
Art: Gil Kane/Wally Wood & Tony Coleman Story: Bill Pearson
Lightning: "Return of Baron Van Kampf" 10
Art: Sekowsky/Giacoia Story: Steve Skeates
Menthor: "Menthor vs. The Entrancer" 10
Art: John Giunta
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents: "Double For Dynamo" 14
Art: Wood & Adkins/Wood & Coleman Story: Steve Skeates
Pin-up: Lightning 1
Art: Dan Adkins
Letters 2
Unused Alternate cover!
6 July 1966
Cover: Wally Wood & Dan Adkins/Wood
Dynamo: "Dynamo & the Sinister Agents of the Red Star" 14
Art: Wally Wood & Dan Adkins/Wood & Adkins
Lightning: "The Origin of the Warp Wizard" 11
Art: Sekowsky/Giacoia Story: Steve Skeates
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents: "T.H.U.N.D.E.R. vs. Demo" 10
Art: Giunta/Wood & Adkins
Menthor: "The Carnival of Death" 10
Art: John Giunta/Carl Hubbell
NoMan: "To Fight Alone" 10
Art: Steve Ditko Story: Steve Skeates
I jus' LOVES me some Steve Ditko NoMan!
Ah, back to Menthor. His series was, to a large extent lacking direction, so when Dan Adkins suggested to Wood that they kill Menthor (really, REALLY kill him stone cold ain't comin' back dead) Woody embraced the idea. Best death in Silver Age comics, mainly because he actually stayed permanently and totally deceased!
7 August 1966
Cover: Wood & Adkins/Wood & Adkins
Dynamo: "Wanted:Dynamo" 10
Art: Wood, Adkins & Ralph Reese/Wood & Adkins
Lightning: "The Warp Wizard's Revenge" 10
Art: Sekowsky/Giacoia Story: Steve Skeates
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents: "Subterranean Showdown" 10
Art: George Tuska
NoMan: "To Be Or Not to Be" 10
Art: John Giunta/Sal Trapani Story: Bill Pearson
Menthor: "A Matter of Life and Death" 10
Layouts: Wally Wood & Dan Adkins Story: Wood & Adkins
Tight pencils: Steve Ditko Inks: Wally Wood & Dan Adkins
Pin-up: The Iron Maiden 1
Art: Wally Wood & Dan Adkins/Wally Wood
Letters 2
8 September 1966 Cover: Wally Wood
Dynamo: "Thunder In the Dark" 10
Art: Wood, Adkins & Reese/Wood & Adkins
NoMan: "The Pyramid of the Warlords" 10
Art: John Giunta/Joe Giella Story: Bill Pearson
Lightning: "The Blue Alien" 10
Art: Sekowsky/Giacoia Story: Steve Skeates
Raven: "Enter... The Raven" 10
Art: George Tuska Story: Steve Skeates
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents: "Final Encounter" 11
Art: Dan Adkins/Wally Wood & Dan Adkins
Pin-up: The Overlord 1
Art: Wally Wood & Ralph Reese/Wally Wood
Letters 2
So Phase 1 of Tower Comics would be up to September 1966 (T.H.U.N.D.E.R Agents Issues 1 - 8, Dynamo 1 and Undersea Agent 1 - 4). Coming tomorrow (Monday), Phase 2 - Boom, Bust....... and Aftermath!
DYNAMO
1 August 1966
Cover: Wally Wood
"Menace from the Moon" 14 Art: Dan Adkins/Wally Wood & Dan Adkins
"A Day in the Life of Dynamo" 10
Art: Mike Sekowsky/Frank Giacoia
"Back to the Stone Age" 10
Art: Reed Crandall/Wally Wood & Dan Adkins
"Dynamo Meets the Amazing Andor" 10
Art: Steve Ditko/Wally Wood & Dan Adkins
Weed: "Wonder Weed, Super-Hero" 10
Art: John Giunta
UNDERSEA AGENT
1 January 1966
Cover: Ray Bailey
"Sink the Carrier Gettysburg" 14 Art: Ray Bailey
"Undersea Agent Meets Dr. Fang" 14 Art: Ray Bailey
"The Adventures of Skooby Doolittle" 9 Art: Ray Bailey
"Food, the Cycle of the Sea" 2 Art: Ray Bailey
"Underwater Exploration" 2 Art: John Giunta
Text 2
2 April 1966 Cover: Mike Sekowsky/Frank Giacoia
"Return of Dr. Fang" 10 Art: Ray Bailey/Sheldon Moldoff
"The Secret of the Flying Saucers" 11 Art: Ray Bailey/Sheldon Moldoff
"Double Jeopardy" 11 Art: Ray Bailey/Sheldon Moldoff (Moldoff splash)
"The Richest Man in the World" 11 Art: Ray Bailey/Sheldon Moldoff
"Buried Beneath the Sea" 10 Art: Mike Sekowsky/Frank Giacoia (even pages), Joe Giella (odd pages)
"Mysteries of the Deep" 1 Art: ?
"Ocean Oddities" 1 Art: ?
3 June 1966
Cover: Mike Sekowsky/Frank Giacoia
"To Save a King" 14 Art: Ray Bailey Story: Steve Skeates
"At the Mercy of Dr. Mayhem" 16 Art: Ray Bailey Story: Steve Skeates
"The Panther Whales" 10 Art: Mike Sekowsky/Frank Giacoia
"The Will Warp" 10 Art: Gil Kane Story: Steve Skeates
"True or False" 7 Art: John Giunta Story: Steve Skeates
"Submarines" 2 Art: John Giunta
4 August 1966 Cover: Gil Kane
"Introducing Dolph" 14 Art: Ray Bailey
"To Save a Monster" 13 Art: Gil Kane Story: Steve Skeates
"The Haunted Shipwreck" 14 Art: Ray Bailey
"Bait-Can Caper" 10 Art: Frank Bolle Story: Steve Skeates
Letters 1
Labels: Androids, Dan Adkins, John Guinta, Manny Stallman, SF Comics, Steve Ditko, Wally Wood
posted by hyperdave at 5:00 PM
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