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| © Supergraphics and Steranko |
So it’s quite an enjoyable experience to read comics news zines from that period for the first time, fifty or so years after publication. They encapsulate the hopes, dreams, excitement and aspirations we all had for the world of comics, where every tidbit of information about upcoming events was greeted with wonder.
This week I obtained a copy of issue #1 of Steranko’s “Comixscene” from November 1972, Jim Steranko's attempt to create a regular comics-focused newspaper that had high production values and had access to comics professsionals for news of upcoming events, as well as being a platform to promote Steranko’s own Supergraphics publications. I subsequently bought later issues a few years after, once I had visited Dark They Were & Golden Eyed in London, but back in 1972 Comixscene was an unknown quantity to me.
Reading the issue now immediately takes me back to 1972.
The first issue focuses on Doc Savage and other pulp heroes soon to make an appearance in comics at both Marvel and DC. The highlights of this issue (for me) is the publication of Steranko's full-page rendition of The Shadow that he did as a pitch for DC, as well as a two page spread of Doc Savage and his crew as rendered by Steranko and fellow artists. I especially like the Gene Colon version, although the machine gun is out of place.
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| © Steranko. This would make a great poster |
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| © Supergraphics and Steranko |
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| © Supergraphics and Gene Colan |
The cover of this first issue was subsequently used as the cover of the second issue of the Marvel colour comic. I prefer the version published on Comixscene.
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| © Marvel and Conde Nast. Compare this with the Comixscene #1 cover |
Did any of our regular readers collect Comixscene, or have recommendations for old fanzines to look out for?
I picked up a few back issues of Mediascene ( the retitled Comixscene ) in the early 1980s and loved them, as you say they are a great barometer of the time. It was a stunningly designed newspaper style magazine packed with comics info, ads and art. I haven't seen many issues around but would pick them up as they were so much fun. I think Comix/Mediascene eventually moved onto a magazine format called "Prevue" that focused more on movies. Thanks for the reminder off a great magazine,.
ReplyDeleteI think I still have a couple of the Mediascene Prevue magazines lurking around somewhere. I suppose either Steranko's interest moved away from comics, or it was just a financial decision at that point to expand the market, but I do think that the original broadsheet newspaper concept focusing on comics was quite unique (if unwieldy).
DeleteI have a couple of Mediascene issues and a few Prevue issues, but not any of Comixscene, though I'm sure I saw it advertised in some Marvel mags back in the '70s. McS did a fanzine in his younger days I believe, so if he still has a copy, maybe he'll scan it for his blog one day.
ReplyDeleteI think it was a shame that Prevue was discontinued, but I suspect that with the advent of Starlog and its sister magazines, as well as the appearance of glossy Premiere for film coverage, Prevue was squeezed out from the market.
DeleteIf McS still has a copy of his fanzine, I've love to see it on his blog.