Pretty Fly (For a White Gal)

This cover is a meta-comentary of sorts, because from what I know, Fly-Girl remains the property of Archie Comics, but her male counterpart, The Fly, is owned by Joe Simon's estate. Hopefully in the future Archie Comics can use the character again alongside the other Mighty Crusaders. Although because of recent disappointing (sales-wise) attempts at bringing back their superhero universe, they might not be too willing to pay license fees for a character that may not be a financial success.

Electric Bill

Beta Ray Bill is a case of not judging a book by its cover. His first appearance had him smashing the old Thor logo, and his monstrous appearance suggested that he'd be a villain. Although he was at odds with the Thunder God at first, his nobility shone through, and was deemed worthy of wielding Mjolnir. Readers even took to him favorably, and he remains one of the best secondary characters added to the Marvel Thor mythos.

Heavy Mettle

Yeah, this match-up wouldn't really be possible back then, since Magnus, Robot Fighter 4000 A.D. (the original Gold Key series) ended its run in 1977 and The Transformers debuted much later in 1984. But it's such a natural crossover, right? Since Magnus keeps getting revived every now and then, hopefully it happens in the future (pun intended).

And, yes, I know that Megatron is supposed to have his gun and back barrel protrusion on his right side, and I painted this one originally flipped to where Magnus is on the right side of the page. But when I was putting on the masthead, the layout looked better the other way around.

The Boys in Blue

I wasn't too keen on the idea of Superman having adventures in his teen years as Superboy. How long does that last in real time? Seven years? Yet his teen adventures seem endless, not to mention his time with the Legion of Super-Heroes. Heck, even the Legion had to grow up, and when DC wanted to keep them young, they just kept rebooting them.

A Nightmare on Yancy Street

 

Even though the Thing was my favorite FF member, I didn't mind when She-Hulk took over for a while. She meshed well with the rest of the team, no doubt due to John Byrne's excellent writing.

I don't think I've seen the Fantastic Four go up against Nightmare before, or even had much interactions with magical characters in their own title.

Hare vs. Hare Match

My first issue of Captain Carrot and his Amazing Zoo Crew! was the title's last. The Changeling  (from the Teen Titans) was a guest star, and that made me pick up the book. I enjoyed it a lot, so I went scouring for back issues. A TPB collection would be most welcome, DC.

Oh, and Happy Easter to all!

Miracle Misters

I only read parts of Miracleman's story in issues of Warrior Magazine, back when he was still known only as Marvelman. Later reprinted then continued by Eclipse Comics, I never bought those issues since Chuck Beckum/Austen's art didn't appeal to me, neither did Rick Veitch's work. The later John Totleben issues were a masterpiece, though. But Alan Davis is still the single artist I really think of when I see the character (not a knock on Garry Leach, who also did excellent work).

As for Stardust the Super Wizard, I only learned of him a few years ago, and the stories are bat-$#!+ crazy. Give his adventures a read at the Digital Comic Museum.

One Punched Man

This was a confusing title from Red Circle. It started out as Lancelot Strong: The Shield , then became Shield/Steel Sterling then settled on just Steel Sterling for the remainder of its short run. Before Steel Sterling took over as the main character, the Shield was seen fighting Deathstar (it's a wonder Lucasfilm didn't sue) as they plunged into a volcano, never to be seen again. Did they both die? I can't remember if he kept appearing in Mighty Crusaders after that, but it seemed like an unresolved plotline. This is my take on Deathstar re-emerging and Steel having to take him on in the Shield's memory.

The Ghost Who (Cat)Walks

This is obviously a riff on Sheldon Moldoff's cover for Detective Comics 241, featuring "The Rainbow Batman." It's kind of appropriate for the Phantom, since his costume is colored differently across several countries. The most famous one is the iconic purple, but in other countries it's either red or blue, mostly in Europe. I think I've read somewhere that creator Lee Falk intended it to be gray, like how it looks in the daily newspaper strips.