Here’s a site with scans of every Spider-Man cover. Good Lord, there’s something like 5000 scans here. And he even offers the scans for sale on CDs, which I’m sure Marvel would be thrilled about.

(via Boingboing.net)

I was going to post my thoughts on The Slings & Arrows Comic Guide, 2nd Edition, a really addicting 800-page review collection for darn near any comic you can think of, when in a Google search I came across Alan David Doane’s review which covered essentially all the same points I was going to make. I even dug out my copy of the FantaCo’s Chronicles Series Super Sized Annual, a 1983 version of this same project, for comparison…which Doane also covers. Rats. So, anyway, go read his review.

Here’s a page of sample articles from the book, giving you an idea of the amounts of information, critical assessment, and snarkiness, all in the correct proportions.

Special thanks to NeilAlien, who, unlike me, actually knows how to use a graphics program, and sent me a significantly brighter scan of the panel I posted here.

I wish I had more to say about Julius Schwartz…I grew up with his Superman comics, so it certainly saddens me to see him go. Take a visit to Flat Earth for a good round-up of articles about Julie, and of course Mark Evanier has lots to say…it starts with the post I linked, and occupies most of his weblog to date. Evan Dorkin relates his memories of the man as well.

Speaking of Dorkin, he confirms the Wizard story on the Metal Men series he’s doing with Mike Allred. Well, good…I’m all for more fun comics. (As opposed to More Fun Comics, which…well, actually, I’m all for those, too, come to think of it.)

I loved Mad Magazine as a kid…I’d buy all the monthly issues and the specials as they were released, and I had an uncle that gave me his Mad collection from the late 60s/early 70s. The very first thing I’d ever mail-ordered was a handful of Mad paperbacks I couldn’t find at any of the local bookstores…I remember heading over to the local liquor store to buy a money order for this purchase with my allowance.

Anyway, that was in the late 70s/very early 80s when I was in my prime Mad Magazine reading age. Near the end I had stopped buying the specials since they were beginning to be mostly reprints of material I already owned…and it was only a matter of time before I dropped the regular magazine as well. No particular reason for this that I can think of…bored, other interests? Mad for some reason just became a less essential read.

Since then, I have bought an issue or two…I bought the six issue series of specials reprinting the original Mad comics, and I bought that one special reprinting their old Star Wars parodies in color. Last month, though, glancing at the then-newest issue (#438) with the superhero parodies, I decided, just on a whim, to buy it.

Yes, I already knew Mad has color in it now. And yes, I know that, literally over William Gaines’ dead body, the magazine now features advertising. It’s still jarring, even with the knowledge that it was probably necessary to keep Mad in business. And, like when I was a kid, I tend to gloss over the TV show and movie parodies that begin and end the magazine…though I will say that #438’s School of Rock parody features an absolutely spot-on caricature of Jack Black by artist Tom Richmond.

The rest of the magazine is generally entertaining…the centerpiece of the mag is the always-excellent Sergio Aragones with one of his insanely-detailed panoramas (this time focusing on the Super Bowl), not to mention his regular contributions of Marginals. “Spy Vs. Spy” is still around, drawn in a dramatically different style by Peter Kuper, and Al Jaffee is still laying the Fold-Ins on us. One of the most interesting differences, in term of content, is the 3-page Fundalini Pages section, featuring short gags and cartoons with work by Evan Dorkin, Drew Freidman, and others.

“Monroe,” another new regular feature, made absolutely no impact on me whatsoever, despite nice cartooning by Bill Wray…most likely because it was a parody of Survivor, a TV show I’ve never seen and have no intention of doing so in the future.

As for the article that actually got me to pick up the mag again in the first place…the superhero parodies were amusing, and well drawn. The best was Art Adams’ “Apathenia, Queen of Not Giving A Damn,” but they were all nicely done.

I enjoyed that issue enough to pick up the newest one, though I haven’t had enough time to really read too much of it. Pal Dorian did note to me the odd prescience of an Aragones gag from the “A Mad Look at The Oscars” article, in which a woman plans to “accidentally” lose the top of her dress in front of the cameras for the resulting publicity.

To sum up my apparently completely random collection of sentences that comprise this weblog entry…thank goodness Mad is still around. The parodies and satires are still pretty blunt and broadly drawn, but if it can still get some kid somewhere to question the attitudes of the world around him, Mad is still doing its job.

Still a shame about the ads, though.

ADDITIONAL LINKAGE:

Here’s a great site featuring Mad Magazine cover scans, a dictionary of Don Martin sound effects, and an article detailing what was left out of that “Totally MAD” CD-ROM set.

Peter David reports that comics legend Julius Schwartz has passed away.

1 John Byrne has been dropping hints on his message board about a forthcoming project of his from DC Comics, referred to only as “Title Withheld.” And, since the Title will apparently be Unwithheld real soon now, a series of threads have popped up with fans making their final guesses before the big reveal. (Someone guessed Challengers of the Unknown…uh, it’s taken, thanks.) Actually, this is a relatively clever method of drumming up some excitement in the fans for what probably is just going to be another DC superhero book…a method that’s even more impressive given how hard it is to keep this sort of thing under wraps.

One of the more amusing results is this thread, in which one of the gag guesses results in mock-up covers of DC’s greatest series – Batman’s Moon Patrol, and Monkey!

2. In case anyone’s wondering, I happen to like John Byrne’s superhero comics (with an exception or two, of course). I think he does perfectly acceptable superhero comics in the “classic” tradition…not groundbreaking stuff, but it’s not meant to be, either. Hey, it can’t all be Acme Novelty Library (another favorite of mine).

2a. Mentioning Chris Ware and John Byrne in the same sentence violates some kind of natural law, I’d imagine.

3. Comics Burrito clears up that whole Halle Berry/Catwoman hoax, once and for all. Whew!

4. Okay, most of you call them “comic books.” A few of you call them “floppies,” some use “pamphlets.” Does anyone out there still use “funny books,” or am I the last holdout? (I mean, do any actual comic fans call them “funny books” – your comic-hating parents don’t count.)

5. This weblog hereby promises to stop using the words “interest,” “interesting,” and “hoot” (as in “it’s a hoot!”). The word “ahoy” will, however, be retained, and in fact used to even more excess than before.

Here’s an interesting behind-the-scenes look at the production difficulties on the Complete Peanuts hardcovers. If you have access to Peanuts strips from late 1954, help those folks out!

Just learned about The Nostalgia League directly from its webmaster today…the front page is “javascript ahoy!” but it’s got an interesting look to it. Of interest to this weblog would be the Comic Rack section, with a focus on books from the 70s and earlier (as you might imagine from the domain name)…”HUH?” is fun (here’s a good example), and there’s lots of pictures of completely random items (comics, pulps, toys, etc.) in the Gallery section.

Instead of finishing up reading today’s new comic acquisitions, I ventured into the vast Comic Archives and pulled out my run of Enigma by Peter Milligan and Duncan Fegredo for rereading. Sometimes you just get the urge, you know?

I did read the new issue of Cerebus, however…so finally it’s become readable and compelling again, and, of course, the series ends next month. Ah, well. Pal Dorian and I were lamenting the fact that there’s been no return visit from the Groucho Marx stand-in Lord Julius (as Sim’s take on the elderly Groucho would have been quite interesting), but that doesn’t seem likely. I’m still holding out for a last page appearance, though!