1970s DC, you have brought me disappointment.
WHAT I WANTED TO READ:
The story from this cover to The Witching Hour #50 (January 1975, illustrated by Nick Cardy), where the guy’s hand has actually turned into a skull, and, you know, maybe it’d talk to him and torment him and stuff:
THE STORY I GOT:
A guy steals a magic skull from a shop, and finds in short order that 1) it’s bringing him an endless supply of bad luck, 2) it’s permanently attached itself to his hand, and 3) it doesn’t talk:
It’s a fine distinction, certainly, but I found myself somewhat disappointed. I wanted the “talking magic skull that’s replaced the poor sap’s hand” story, but alas, ’twas not to be.
Here’s an interesting artifact from the 1980s black and white boom: issue #2 of The Protectors, published in 1986 by New York Comics, features a history of the creators’ troubles with a particular publisher that runs beneath each story page throughout the entire book:
It makes for compelling reading. And yes, the comic itself is, shall we say, less than professionally polished, but good on them for putting it together and getting it out despite whatever hardships they were facing. It may be extremely amateurish, but in a way it’s a lot more entertaining than, for example, any given Civil War tie-in.
Get a load of this handsome bastard:
This is the “retailer incentive” variant cover for Star Trek Year Four #2, but IDW really missed a bet not making that the regular cover.
Also, looking at that makes you realize, in regards to the forthcoming Star Trek film “reboot” — it’s a fool’s game to recast Kirk. I mean, how do you top perfection?
