Underground and independent comics, comix, and graphic. These days, it must be difficult to be an independent comic book creator, even with the advantages bestowed upon them by technology, computers, and the internets. Alternative comics cover a range of american comics that have appeared since the 1980s. The syndicate explains why getting beat up in high school is a good thing. Here are the key issues to look for when youre at garage sales yes, they do turn up. Mar 29, 2019 to self publish a comic book, start by digitizing your finished pages, including a cover design, using software like photoshop. No comic book has done more to push the genre forward, out of the primitive wordsandpictures realm and into something mythic and deeply psychological. As wood of atlas comics explains, bags come in four different comic book size that match the four key periods in comicbook history. A comic book or comicbook, also called comic magazine or simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. This period is known as the copper age of comic book collecting and encompasses one of the most volatile periods in the history of comic book collecting. Four important factors to consider when designing your independent comic book. January, 2017 a list of important comics from the 1980s key comics.
Brad olrich is a comic book writer and artist best known for commodore dinosaur, an indie comic book character that made its way from regional fame, to cats paw comics dragontales, to several years as a web comic. Jan, 2017 with that caveat stated, without further ado, here is a list of 50 important comics from the 1980s. If youre curious, if i had to pick great indie books of the era, id be looking at dreadstar, grendel. Tim tyler is a quarter century veteran of the independent comic book industry, having been inker, artist or publisher on faust inker over tim vigil, razor, blood reign, hades, deviljack, cuda, dreadstar, zero tolerance, djustine, shingas talons, dead crew, manga monthly, engine, and more. If the page appears broken in your browser, perhaps you need an upgrade. The cba is a notforprofit organisation, primarily run by volunteers, dedicated to the promotion of british comic books, graphic novels, webcomics and sequential art in its many forms, and britishbased and expat comic creatorsbe they artists, writers, colourists, letterers or. That would be the basic design for the direct market versus the newsstand market for years, with one major chance a year later. Here are just a few of those that came and went leaving a mark on the comic industry. Top 100 most valuable comic books of the golden age 19381956 the 100 most valuable comic books from each age. Lansdale, hes worked for marvel and dc on different projects. The first such comics included the anthology series star reach, published by comic book writer mike friedrich from 1974 to 1979, and harvey pekars american splendor, which continued sporadic publication into the 21st century and which shari.
After its creation, the character spun off into an independent comic book series in 1988, and gained mainstream popularity through an animated tv series on fox in 1994. Get in on new comic subscriptions and never miss an issue again. As wood of atlas comics explains, bags come in four different comic book size that match the four key periods in comic book history. In the middle of 1983, they finally abandoned their marvel comics group banner which had a much more important role in the days of the spinner rack, when you really needed to be able to identify a comic book right from the top of the book from their books. If the csbg twitter page hits 11,000 followers, ill do a bonus edition of comic book legends revealed that week. Independents a documentary film video dvd of comic book.
With that caveat stated, without further ado, here is a list of 50 important comics from the 1980s. The comic book collection newspaper and current periodical. Although pdf is the easiest format, epub allows for guided view, which lets the reader read panel per panel rather than page by page. In the summer of 2007, book culture became a completely independent company when doeblin bought out his partners. Four fantastically filmable indie comic books from the 1980s saladin ahmed. The major comic book publishers from each decade are listed below. This new way of selling comics meant that comics companies could profitably sell comics that were aimed at the fans of particular writers and artists, or that dealt with subjects that did not have the kind of wide, mass market appeal that the newsstand market required. Weirdo was crumbs lowbrow reaction to the artsier raw, another alternative. Ive also posted more lists of key comic books by year including other decades. Marvel and dc single issues were significantly cheaper than the vast majority of indie comics.
We will say that the golden age begins in 1938 and ends in 1956, when the. How to store your comic book treasures protect america. Book culture was founded as labyrinth books in 1997 by current owner chris doeblin and his partner at the time cliff simms. Chris began his career in the early 1980s with a brief stint selling books for papyrus book store at 114th and broadway, and then as the receiving clerk in the basement of the old book forum which was located across from the main. Founded in 1992 by comic book legend jim lee and his longtime friendwriter brandon choi, wildstorm began as one of the eight independent studios that originally made up image comics. List of important comics from the 1980s rare comics. The unbelievable world of 80s comics sales the beat. As the story goes, the first iteration of eastman and lairds tmnt was designed to be a oneoff gag which parodied some of the early 1980s most popular comic. May 28, 20 the american comic book chronicles continues its ambitious series of fullcolor hardcovers, where twomorrows top authors document every decade of comic book history from the 1940s to today. Examples ive learned over the years include that fact that the superman peanut butter used to generate more revenue for dc comics, than the sale of the superman comic book about 98,000 copies in the 1980s, and the first batman movie generated more money for dc comics than publishing batman as a comic book for fifty years. How to store your comic book treasures protect america home. The rise of comic book specialty stores in the late 1970s createdparalleled a dedicated market for independent or alternative comics in the us. Oct 06, 2017 a similar sentiment is being repeated over and over by collectors of highgrade key issue comic books from the 1980s and 90s. Alternative comics are often published in small numbers as the.
Popular independent comics books meet your next favorite book. Collecting the most valuable comic books of the 80s and. You will learn what is coming out, what we think of the books and even. To self publish a comic book, start by digitizing your finished pages, including a cover design, using software like photoshop. Cyberspace comics is an online comic book store that takes pride in its quick order turn around, safe packaging and its inventory of 100,000 unique issues.
I m apologizing to you, the tumblr audience, who reads this blog and has. Just a quickie this week new job, time consuming, etc. Collecting the most valuable comic books of the 80s and 90s. We will say that the golden age begins in 1938 and ends in 1956, when the silver age began. American comic book chronicles the porpor books blog. This page will deal with the most valuable of all, golden age comic books. Sheena, queen of the jungle was the first female character to have her own comic book title debuting on racks in 1937 just a couple of years before wonder woman was introduced to the world the film adaptation bounced around studios for several years, struggling to get made even with bigtime names like raquel welch and bo derek attached. A similar sentiment is being repeated over and over by collectors of highgrade key issue comic books from the 1980s and 90s. Serious collectors buy protective bags in the correct comic book size.
Just as the themes of comics have changed over the years, so have the traditional size of the pages. That range is driven by the newsstand exclusivity of the variants, coupled with a decline in newsstand sales relative to direct edition sales direct. Alterna comics publishes creatorowned stories distributed all over the world since 2006. Alternative comics present an alternative to mainstream superhero comics which in the past have dominated the american comic book industry. Adolescent radioactive black belt hamsters eclipse, 1986 1 vf 5. Golden from around 1930 to 1960, silver 1960 to 1970, regular 1965. Then, decide which format to use, such as pdf or epub.
And i think after much due consideration i strongly disagree with the idea that the 1990s. To be eligible for this list, a series must have had at least two issues published within the past three months and at least seven. Independents is a feature length documentary that explores the creative process through interviews with two dozen writers and artists of independent comic books and graphic novels. As the story goes, the first iteration of eastman and lairds tmnt was designed to be a oneoff gag which parodied some. Jun 29, 2006 the authority is a really fun comic book that looks and feels like a blockbuster movie something enjoyable like bad boys 2 but not a piece of art, and certainly, not a masterpiece. The amazing stylistic history of comic books 99designs.
Independent publisher image comics was born, and their flagship hero, spawn, received. You will learn what is coming out, what we think of the books and even teach you about the people creating these comics. It showcases comic book artists and artwork from the golden, silver and bronze age. The american comic book chronicles continues its ambitious series of fullcolor hardcovers, where twomorrows top authors document every decade of comic book history from the 1940s to today. This multipart resource covers the full spectrum of this visual art form, from precomics code era works to modern sequential releases from artists the world over. Chris began his career in the early 1980s with a brief stint selling books for papyrus book store at 114th and broadway, and then as the. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and written narrative, usually, dialog contained in word balloons emblematic of the comics art form. When most folks think of frank miller in the 1980s. Instead, comic book specialty stores arose to sell comics.
Ah the 80s, so many new and fresh ideas came from that time. Back issue comics find vintage golden and silver age books. Marvels threeyear 1980s break from the comics code cbr. In an effort to highlight the most well received current comic book series, weve set up a real time list of the best indie comic book series of the past three months. Find vintage comics from golden age comics dealers, silver age comics dealers, comic book dealers, and other resources. One of the early students at the joe kubert school, truman worked as an illustrator at tsr before he began drawing grimjack, written by john ostrander. The top 20 comic book stories of the 1980s berkeley place. Keith dallas headlines this volume on the 1980s, covering all the pivotal moments and behindthescenes details of comics during the reagan years. This group is devoted to the alternative and independent comics scene of the 1980s. The comics industry experienced a minirenaissance in the 1980s, where small publishers and even.
Read our blog for our latest thoughts and findings. He is an absurdist spoof of comic book superheroes. While were on the topic of comics in the 1980s, here is a forgotten factoid. Pencil ink comic book artists blog 1950s 1960s 1970s. Truman has collaborated many times over the years with ostrander and joe r. Sep 12, 2017 the comic book collection the largest publicly available collection of comic books in the united states is housed in the newspaper and current periodical reading room. This is the third article in our series, following from most valuable golden age comics and most valuable silver age comics. This web page, about black and white comic books of the 1980s, was created with html5 in mind. We also aim to provide you with fresh content that you can read, enjoy and share. Find a comic book shop near you in the local shops section. A great decade in comics, and featuring one of my favorite categories of price variant comics. This is the third article in our series, following from most valuable golden age comics and most valuable silver age comics here are the key issues to look for when youre at garage sales yes, they do turn up. To get things started, here is the first indie comic i remember buying off.
A shortlived liveaction tv series, video game, and various merchandise have also been based on the character. Fast forward to the 1980s as wonder womans next bigscreen adventure finds her facing two allnew foes. The beat delivers comics and entertainment news for fans, creators, and pros in comics, graphic novels, books, movies, television, games, and more. Comic book styles have evolved to match the stories of the heroes. With director patty jenkins back at the helm and gal gadot returning in the title role, wonder woman 1984 is warner bros. So, im dedicating this article to the best comic book stories 0f the 80s. Saladins post on fantastically filmable indie comic books from the 1980s, about overlooked indie comic series, was a wonderful post and if you havent read. After attending the joe kubert school, tim was discovered by mark hulk pannaccia and hired by. Timothy truman is one of the creators who emerged from independent comics in the 1980s. Marvel, dc, image, dark horse, antarctic, archie, caliber, chaos, fantagraphics, harvey, malibu.
Oct 21, 20 the syndicate explains why getting beat up in high school is a good thing. The basics of designing and selfpublishing your independent. Independent companies produced comics that dealt in other genres than superheroes. The 1980s were a helluva time come see how dc comics tied into all of it. In 1981 crumb launched weirdo, a magazine format anthology featuring his work and that of other alternative artists. A case study of the challenges of independent comic book creation in the 1980s above. The authority is a really fun comic book that looks and feels like a blockbuster movie something enjoyable like bad boys 2 but not a piece of art, and certainly, not a masterpiece. Alternative comics cover a range of american comics that have appeared since the 1980s, following the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. This is the seven hundred and twentyfirst installment where we examine comic book legends and whether they are true or false click here for part 1 of this weeks legends. Golden from around 1930 to 1960, silver 1960 to 1970, regular 1965 to 1980s and current 1990 through today. Use the complete list of all publishers to find smaller publishers and independent comic book publishers not listed here.
Welcome to talking comics, a web site dedicated to covering the latest and greatest in comic book releases. So much so that it was accepted as fact that pricepoint was one of the key barriers to sales for independent publishers. The largest publicly available collection of comic books in the united states is housed in the newspaper and current periodical reading room. The cba is a notforprofit organisation, primarily run by volunteers, dedicated to the promotion of british comic books, graphic novels, webcomics and sequential art in its many forms, and britishbased and expat comic creatorsbe they artists, writers, colourists, letterers or editors. Pulling its name from two of the imprints flagship titles wildc.