Back Issue #71 April 2014 (magazine review).
Oddly, I selected this issue of ‘Back Issue’ because of Clea, as drawn by Arthur Adams, on the cover. You do have to wonder where are the hairdressers in the Dark Dimension for the niece of Dormammu?
Actually, this ‘Back Issue’, as the bottom of the cover indicates, is a look at tryouts, one-shots and one-hit wonders comicbooks from the Big Two. If you know your titles, from Marvel, this is ‘Marvel Spotlight’, ‘Marvel Feature’, ‘Marvel Premiere’ and the second series of ‘Strange Tales’. Back in the day and low prices, they were automatic buys so covers familiar ground. I would raise one question from ‘Marvel Spotlight’ and the Nick Fury ‘Infinity Formula’ story as it was all very arresting his aging but what about the equally aged Dum-Dum Dungan and Gabriel Jones? I tended to think Fury would have had to share the formula even if he didn’t tell them what with.
Looking at all four comicbooks here, I do have to wonder why they didn’t merge them into just one title which might have given the material a longer life.
For DC Comics, ‘1st Issue Special’, the revived ‘Showcase’ before and after the Implosion as well as ‘New Talent Showcase’, is a lot more chequered with only established characters like Power Girl and the revived Doom Patrol getting out. There’s also a reminder that DC Comics played with Sherlock Holmes and Dick Tracy for a month or issue.
From there, it’s a sprinkling of various types of stories and characters as well as Marvel’s experiments with the ‘No-Prize Book’ and ‘Fumetti Book’, which I did wonder when ‘Back Issue’ would have a look at and a reminder that the company had a time when they didn’t treat themselves so seriously.
There’s mention of a lot of what would become throwaway characters here as well as gauging sales, assuming they went more than an issue, as to whether they could get their own sales. It was also a means to test out new artists and writers which even the pros from that period think is missing today.
In many respects this is an odd issue but it does cover several titles that couldn’t be covered in any other way.
GF Willmetts
April 2020
(pub: TwoMorrows Publishing, 2014. 82 page illustrated magazine. Price: $ 9.95 (US). ISSN: 1932-6904. Direct from them, you can get it for $ 5.37 (US) including a 40% discount now)
check out websites: www.TwoMorrows.com and https://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=98_54&products_id=1097&zenid=5ddc6c7b1368a8aa6b16f19452155d11
