The Fanzine Flashback Thread [Image Heavy - 56k Beware]

[David]

As they get mentioned on the show, I figured a repository might make sense.  And it can be a home for columns, letters, articles, covers, and such that are scanned in.

From the 11OCCe47 thread:

[bean6344]

I miss regularly reading Maximum Rock 'N' Roll.  Sure Livermore and Co. were total elitist and dissed many great bands for very trivial reasons but it was a great 'zine to grow up with.  Rev. Norb, Ben Weasel, George Tabb, so many great columns each month.
 

I agree.  That criticism was made with love.
Personally, I was a bigger fan of Flipside (now Razorcake).  IMO, it was the music equivalent of Amazing Heroes.
Bean

[Clobbertron]

I just got Comics Interview #40 on Ebay for cheap, Awesome Bob Burden interviews, also Bill Marks, and JM Dematties. This book is so good I've got to track down more. It's not often I can read a zine from 87 cover to cover.

[bean6344]

David sent me this link.
http://www.comicsinterview.com/index.html

Check this out if you are interested in the late great Comics Interview.

Bean

[Cam Smalley]

Does anyone remember Overstreet's Fan that was published for a couple of years in the mid-90's. The news that Wizard's magazine was folding reminded me of those days before podcasting and CBR, when I had to get my comics news from Wizard or my preferred choice, Fan. I still have the whole 2-year run and I thought that it was a great alternative for reading about comics culture. I was sad to see it go.

[JohnnyNoPrize]

God, I used to love those old "Comics Readers" back in the day! Somewhere, in an issue in the very early 80's I have a letter published about my local comics shop. It was a small shop that was started by a kid still in high school. I saw an article about him in the local paper and started buying my comics there. We became best friends. We lost touch over the years and I would LOVE to see him again! I wish I could remember the issue # that my letter was published in. Ahhh....comics memories!

[David]

Where are these snippets from?  Stay tuned for future Fanzine Flashback segments on the show.

[bean6344]

In honor of Halloween and David and Jason's power outage, I give you Amazing Heroes 77, Aug 15 1985.  

Wait a minute, this is from August not October, how can it be for Halloween?  Relax and enjoy the ride.  It will be evident as soon as you see this cover.



Special Spooky issue in deed.  Check out the talent from this one cover.  Michael T. Gilbert, Bill Loebs, Steve Bissette, John Totleben (with ken Bruzenak working up a special cover logo).  

O.K. enough of the outside of this fanzine, what does it have to offer?

Well, I hate to start with and add, but I will (due to it's historic importance).



It's just picture of a hand holding 6 bits you say.  Well look closer at the book advertised in the lower right section.  That's right, it's Miracleman #1.  This was for Eclipse's much forgotten "Eclipse Breaks the Buck Barrier".  You see, Marvel and Dc comics of this time were mostly $.75 but most independent comics were $1.25 or more.  Miracleman #1 was the first indy comic for $.75 (even though it was a reprint of stories from Warrior magazine, but we will not discuss this).

Now on to the Table Of Contents.


Mr. Monster, Deadman and a Frankenstein Monster.  Now I see why Bean is doing this for Halloween.  I told you to trust me.

So we have a cover, an add and a table of Contents you say, how about some real content.  Damn, you sure are impatient.  Relax, it's coming.  take this first feature for example.  The winners of the First Annual Jack Kirby Comics Industry Awards (sponsored by Amazing Heroes).



Here are some of the winners and runner ups.  
Best Single issue- Swamp Thing Annual #2, Best artist- Dave Steven for the Rocketeer (other nominees Howard Chaykin, Jaime Hernandez, Steve Rude, Bill Sienkiewicz for New Mutants [yes these would have been my pics also]), Best writer-Alan Moore,  Best Art Team-Steve Bissette and John Tottleben, Best B&W series -Cerebus, Best New Series-Zot!
Not a dog in the list!

What about news?  Didn't AH always have 4 or 5 pages dedicated to news (remember this is pre-Internet).  Yes they did and here are a couple gems from the Newsflashes section.



First an announcement of the upcoming Tim Truman Scout Series.  I don't think Scout has gotten a lot of discussion on the boards but it is a great (and very personal story for Truman).  it is one of the forgotten gems of the 80s.



This one is interesting because it tells of the sneak peak at the Lloyd Llewellyn preview in L&R 13.  LlLl was early Daniel Clowes work prior to him hitting it big with Eightball.  It is trippy and surreal.  Definately ahead of its time.

And now we get into the meat of the issue.



This is a nice 8 page feature explaining who Doc Stearn is, where he came from and Micheal T. Gilbert's future plans for the character.

Here is a cool page from the original Doc Stearne comic via Wow Comics 1940 that inspired Gilbert to update the character.



That's cool, you say, but what does this issue have to offer that I don't know about?  How about a nice and concise 2 page article on the non-EC horror books from the '50s?  It is just a taste of what was out there, but that is the point of the story.



At this point, we are only half way through this fine magazine, so how about a 15 page overview of Deadman.  Who he is, where he came from and why he is important.



They even included this awesome house add for Strange Adventure.  



Nice.

The issues finishes off with reviews of Squadron Supreme #1, Hex#1DC Comics Presents #85 as well as some other books.

I have to include one last ad because it is so great.  This is from Steve Ditko's return to Charleston.  Isn't this great?  Zack, this is for you.



Wow, that was a lot for $2.25.   I hope you enjoyed it.

Bean

[Invader Tim]

Wow, that was a lot for $2.25.   I hope you enjoyed it.

Bean

Very much. Thanks Bean! 

[youngjohn12]

Hey Fanzine-Lovers! Have a look at out Amazing Disturbance show 81 place for protects and some inside tests of the 5-issue FantaCo Stories sequence from 1981 & '82....

Cool products by Byrne, Cockrum, Perez, Gilbert, Hembeck, Fantastic, Romita, Staton and Lady Simons!

[bean6344]

O.K.  Time to step back up to the plate.

Amazing Heroes no. 89 Feb 15, 1986.

I am going to take a slightly different slat on this post.  It will mostly feature the ads in this issue.   The issue heavily an ad for other Fantagraphics books (the publisher of AH), so I have no problem concentrating on the paid ads from this issue.

Here is the cover.


This is the 1/2 of the first ad. 


and the second half.

Lot's of cool stuff there.  Scout, Beanworld, Zot!, Johnny Nemo, Miracleman, etc.

and... the gem of the issue.   I would love to have the OA for this ad.


Dakota North finally got some respect during the Brubaker Daredevil run.  Here is her debut.


O.K., not an ad.  Daredevil 235-236 by Miller and Simonson?   Did this ever see print?  Also, Ann Nocenti and Art Adams on Web of Spider-Man Annual #2.  I think this may have passed me by.  I need to hit the $1.00 bins for this one.


TMNT in color, in Grim Jack by Eastman and Laird.....Yes please.


There was a longish (7 pages) article on the short lived Fantagraphics Magazine "Threat" that I skipped to get to the nice 4 page interview with Jan Strnad by Mark Waid (yes, that Mark Waid).


And here is a nice ad for the Southern Knights OGN.  (enjoy DAP!).


I never met an L&R ad that I didn't love.


Here is where it gets interesting.  Almost all of the reviews are from Fanatagraghics books, but they are not all positive.  In fact R.A. Jones has little nice to sat about Critters #1 (the first appearance of Stan Saki's Usagi Yojimbo.  He confirm that Saki has tallent, but he dismisses most of the other work in the book as sub par.


At one time, Elflord was a HOT title.   Barry Blaire was a force for a short while.


The last great forgotten Alan Moore story?
I loved The Bojeffies Saga back in the 80s.


And one last one for Mike Norton.  I find it odd that this was not in color (it was on the back cover).



So, not a lot of info, but a bunch of great ads.  I hope you enjoyed this.  $2.25 back in the day might have been a bit too much for this, but I love it now!

Bean

[David]

[bean6344]

Thanks for keeping this thread alive David.   I may have to bust out another issue of Amazing Heroes tomorrow.

Bean

[BillyZ]

Two weeks ago at Baltimore Comic Con, I picked up a stack of old (small size, pre-1979) issues of The Comic Reader.



(Sorry for the picture quality, folks - until I finally get my ass over to Home Depot or Lowes, the lighting will remain kind of shitty in the BoomerZ comic den.)

There's some fascinating stuff in here, especially the coverage of the DC Implosion.  I will post shots as soon as I can.

Probably the best grab of the bunch is Issue #100 which covered the same month that I picked up my very first comics.  And it has a Kirby wraparound cover which I had never seen before.

[bean6344]

Two weeks ago at Baltimore Comic Con, I picked up a stack of old (small size, pre-1979) issues of The Comic Reader.



(Sorry for the picture quality, folks - until I finally get my ass over to Home Depot or Lowes, the lighting will remain kind of shitty in the BoomerZ comic den.)

There's some fascinating stuff in here, especially the coverage of the DC Implosion.  I will post shots as soon as I can.

Probably the best grab of the bunch is Issue #100 which covered the same month that I picked up my very first comics.  And it has a Kirby wraparound cover which I had never seen before.

I am so jealous (but yet happy for you).    As you probably know, I love these old fanzines.   They take me back to my golden years of comic book reading/collecting.   Awesome find!

Bean

[BobBretall]

Two weeks ago at Baltimore Comic Con, I picked up a stack of old (small size, pre-1979) issues of The Comic Reader.

I loved those old issues of CR.   I remember discovering them at a comic shop in 1978 or so about a 30 min bus ride from my house & they opened up a whole new world to me.  This was WAY before the internet and they were the closest thing I had to getting any kind of comics news.   I got a subscription & had it for years.  I think I still have my old issues in the garage somewhere.

[RandyG]

These are awesome.... like a tumbler sketch blog before the internets

[zack kruse]

I have to include one last ad because it is so great.  This is from Steve Ditko's return to Charleston.  Isn't this great?  Zack, this is for you.

I love when he plays with text in that way.