Prince Street News: Let's Make a Trade!

It's another off-topic installment of PRINCE STREET NEWS, from BACK ISSUE's "Monkeying Around" issue #163. This month I'm yapping about (mostly) Silver and Bronze Age trade collections of comics (and comics-related material) that I wish would be published, including Superman Christmas stories, Dan DeCarlo pinups, Best-Of collections for Charlton and Atlas, stories from Harvey Comics featuring hippies (yes, there's enough for a book), and more. 

Now, here's the irony... between the time that I completed and sent in the strip and its publication, almost a full year had passed, and a lot can happen in a year! Such as not one, but TWO of these books becoming actual things... well, sort of. THE BEST OF DC'S HOUSES OF MYSTERY was sort of realized as DC FINEST: HORROR: THE DEVIL'S DOORWAY, which reprinted consecutive issues in full of some DC Silver / Bronze Age mystery books. It's not an editorially-selected "Best of," which would've been far preferable, as those books contained more chaff than wheat, but it's still a step in the right direction. Still forthcoming is a book collecting Alex Toth's DC work, but whether or not that'll be what I call for herein remains to be seen. 

Regardless, it's fun to put together wish lists like this, and makes me wish I could get the job of putting them together! I'm posting the strip along with the full covers that I mocked up for each one. Hey, DC! Marvel! Archie! IDW! Fantagraphics! Whoever! Let's do these! 

A humorous footnote: Initially, I laid out, drew, and lettered the strip with a redundancy: I'd put the DC ON SALE NOW book on both pages! It wasn't until I went to scan the artwork that I'd realized my mistake, so I had to go back and come up with another book (it was the SPIRE collection). Here's both panels as originally drawn. Eep. 

Prince Street News: Let Me Spell It Out

BACK ISSUE #162 is an all-MAD issue, but the Prince Street News is another off-topic episode, as it's a look at the nigh-dead art of hand-lettering in comic books! One of the (many) aspects of modern comics that kinda leaves me cold is the fact that almost all lettering is now digital, leaving actual calligraphy primarily left to indie cartoonists and old farts like myself. I get that digital lettering is cleaner and easier, but it lacks the spontaneity and fluidity of putting pen to paper. Some of my favorite comic book artists ever also did their own lettering, adding to their distinctiveness. But I'm getting ahead of myself. 

As I post this strip, I'm currently working on the sequel strip, as teased at the bottom of the final panel (which almost had a different balloon, which I swapped at the last minute... by hand!)

 

Superman Nr.13

 This cover redux of a Danish Superman comic book from 1951 (see original at the bottom) shows the issues with doing artwork in fluorescent inks. Pictured are three different images of the same piece, the top one is from a scan, the second from a photo, and the third a photo under black light. NONE of them properly capture the colors of the original (even after adjusting levels and saturation), but the second one comes the closest. When I sell pieces like this online, I always hope that the buyer is happier when they open the package than when the saw the image on my Etsy page (or wherever). 

Shrouded

 Based on a photograph I saw online (unsure of provenance, anyone know? Tell me, I'll give credit!)

Prince Street News: Super Summer Fashions

The new BACK ISSUE (#160, July 2025) is a "Summer Fun Issue," which gave me the opportunity to return to a theme I've visited a few times in the past in Prince Street News, being the weather feasibility of some superhero costumes. I gave warm weather outfits to Captain America, Batgirl, the Punisher, the Creeper, Betty "Superteen" Cooper, and Wolverine. 
What I didn't know (or had forgotten, as I'd never owned them) is that the 1990s MARVEL SWIMSUIT SPECIALS (covered in this issue) had mined this vein of snark many, many times, so there may be some overlap here. I also acknowledge that Superteen doesn't really need a "summer costume," it was just an excuse for me to draw Betty. 
Here's the strip as it appears in the issue as well as details on each figure (including both hand- and digital-colored Batgirl variations). I'm also posting the sketchbook pages for this installment and a montage of the line art before scanning and cleanup.

Woke Since 1938

 I got so sick of seeing people on the Right trying to deride the new Superman as being "woke propaganda" that I felt I had to draw a response. I knew that when I posted this on my Instagram page, The Daily Superman that I would no doubt lose some followers (I did) and stir up a little conservative ire (I also did). But I'm okay with both of those things. Because one thing you do NOT get to do is claim that "Social Justice Warrior" is a negative thing when it comes to superheroes, and especially Superman. 

Lo-Fi Takes the Streets 2025

 My second year doing the artwork for Lo-Fi Takes the Streets, the music and food festival hosted by Jersey City's Low Fidelity Bar! Here are the poster and tee-shirt designs for the event. Click over to our sister blog for more including alternate logos, preliminary art and a teaser image. 

Prince Street News: Crisis at Julie's Bar

 The new BACK ISSUE (#159, almost sold out already!) celebrates the 40th anniversary of DC Comics' seminal, universe-streamlining maxi-series, CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS. Like many Silver / Bronze Age fanboys, I have very mixed feelings about COIE (as it's known)... while the series was expertly crafted by writer Marv Wolfman and artists George Pérez, Dick Giordano, and Jerry Ordway, and absolutely achieved the epic status for which it aimed... it really wasn't necessary. DC's groundbreaking multiverse (before that was a term) not only allowed for a wide range of storytelling possibilities, it allowed for characters with very different tonalities to exist in the same universe... just on different planes. Also, it really wasn't that hard to follow, despite DC editorial's fears. 

And history has borne that out. DC's infinite earths are back, probably for good. But again, COIE was an exciting comic book event when it came out, and it was a kick to dive into that story for Prince Street News. A lot of inside jokes for the longbox set, so if you've stumbled across this one as a non-fanboy, you won't get most of the gags... but that's okay. The next installment will be for everyone! 

Dani's Dawgs

 Another set of pet portraits! Want some? Reach out! 

Cover Redux International II

 I was commissioned to do another round of foreign comic book cover recreations (see here for the first six pieces), this time all DC characters... I spent almost as much time researching this project as I did drawing them! But it sure was fun. Note that these are photos taken with my camera (phone) rather than scans because the scans cannot pick up the colors properly. So there's that.