Tales to Astonish #93 – Marvel Comics, July 1967 – Artist: Marie Severin.
Such an iconic cover from Marie Severin. TTA #93 has always stood out in piles of Marvel Silver Age. Today in the Marvel U there are few hotter properties than Hulk ans Silver Surfer. Certainly one of the must have covers of the Marvel Silver Age.
I also liked Adventure Comics with the Kirby monster on it (I know a certain commentor with a really nice copy). The old Marvel Tales is great and how about that Lone Ranger #93!
A great comic book cover matching each day of the year, 1 through 365. Please chime in with your favourite corresponding cover, from any era.
Absolutely! I agree with your assessment, that this comic stands out as one of the most eye-catching covers among the many great Marvel Silver Age covers.
The color choices have always made this cover stand out as well.
You are not going to convince me. Yes TTA #93 is a standout like Action #89, but if you just want flash, why stop there?
To say that I am not impressed by the artistry is putting it extremely kindly.
As Walt gave a shout-out to Adventure #93 I am not going to un-follow this exercise (yet). Similar to TTA #93, I looked at Marvel Tales but that issue is too crude for me. Lone Ranger is another matter – I really debated about this one, but I continue to look for a cover that tells a story, and there is almost no story in that Lone Ranger cover. There are many many covers with exquisite figure drawings, so if that were the only criterion there would be a laundry list of choices for every issue. IMNSHO (“not so humble”) that is a big problem with current covers, e.g. the Artgerm covers. Yes they are beautiful pieces of comic art, but only in extraordinary circumstances am I going to classify them as “great” covers. Comics are about action and storytelling, so I am looking for that in the cover as well. (To continue to abuse TTA #93, it tells precious little story as well.)
No problems finding #94 candidates. I really struggled with the top pick, but I will go with X-Men. As I said before, this exercise has really sensitized me to how great Gil Kane’s covers were. I still don’t appreciate his interior art much – lots of Farrah Fawcett hairdos and as, somebody else put it, looking up peoples’ noses – but his cover compositions and big action poses are fantastic. #94 is chock full of action and story, as I have declared necessary.
Other candidates:
All American Men of War
A-1 (White Indian)
G. I. Combat
House of Secrets (if you want a Wrightson that is way better than #92)
Marvel Tales
To Chris: Please don’t un-follow this exercise! Your nominations for your pick of the day have been one the best aspects of the “Cover of the Day” column. One of the most engaging parts for me has been looking at Walt’s honorable mention list of candidates, and your nominations for the next day. A recent example was Walt’s selection of Brave & the Bold #91 – it led me to take a look at other covers in the run and I am hooked. I am planning to attend a ComicCon this weekend and several of the B&B issues are my now on my list to acquire and display . And although I am not a collector of ‘horror” comics, your nomination of HofS #94 is spectacular in its effect, and those covers are some of the most artistic in comics.
And although I disagreed with Walt’s choice of Green Lantern #85, I certainly appreciate it more now than I did before.
I am a superhero collector, so I think X-Men #94 is a very worthy choice and it holds a special place in my own collection. Another #94 that I always really liked, but my may not meet all your criteria, is Detective Comics #94, maybe because it steps away from dramatized covers and focuses on the character with Batman so close you can almost touch him. (a similar effect to Lone Ranger #93)
Derrick, nothing works better on me than ego stroking, so I am in it for the duration.
The problem with B&B #91 and some others is that they are really cool and _really_ hard. You will have to prepare yourself to come away with a copy with a less-than-pristine black background if you really want one.
Detective #94 is cool but I am sticking with my “tells a story” requirement. The only story I can see is “once again, Batman and Robin are down in the sewers”, which is a pretty common story for GA Batman. Poor Alfred.
Thanks for reeling Chris in Derrick, these posts are as good as the community they create and Chris is like that stuff that makes the rice stick together in Sushi, I’m not sure what it is or even whether it’s good for me but I do know my dish ain’t the same without it.
Chris, your story telling criteria is rubbing off on me to a degree as it it one of the ingredients I look for when I look at covers. I’m not putting it as high up the importance scale as you but you’ve got me thinking on it each time.
Chris, thanks for tip on the B&B issues. I am collector only, so I acquire issues I like to display on the wall board at home, and with black covers I can imagine those issues will be tough to find in high grade.