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!)

 

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.

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! 

Prince Street News: The Honorifics

The new BACK ISSUE (#158) is dedicated to the MISTERS of the comic book world, from Freeze to X to Monster to A to Weatherbee! For this issue's comic strip, I did the first in what I plan to be a series of mock-up impossible comic book covers under the PRINCE STREET NEWS PRESENTS umbrella. THE HONORIFICS depicts every comic book & strip Mr., Mister, Miss, and Ms. I could think of (mostly good guys descending on two bad ones). Had I known that BI was going to do a follow up issue using the feminine titles, I'd have maybe made this all dudes, but probably not. 

I also had to put together a guide, of course, but see how many you can name without looking! 

PRINCE STREET NEWS: Muscular Robots, et al...

 The latest BACK ISSUE (#156) is a look at Bronze Age graphic novels, but the Prince Street News inside has nothing to do with that theme! Rather, "Muscular Robots, 3D Paintings, Pristine Footwear, and Perfect Cosplay" is a look at some questionable creative choices that were commonplace among comic book artists of the past. I'm talking about things like costumes looking like they were spray painted onto muscular bodies, with no fabric weight at all, hair that stays in place underwater, and old superheroes looking as fit as when they were in their prime (to name a few, just read the damn thing!). 

The most fun part of doing this one was aping the works of fine artists in delineating comic book characters, in this case Paul Klee painting Green Lantern, Picasso throwing some Spider-Man pottery, Jim Flora drawing Archie, and Henry Moore sculpting Batman & Robin (okay, so maybe Jim Flora isn't exactly "fine art," but you get the point). I'm posting details on those pieces below the strip. Dig! 

Archie Andrews ala Jim Flora (based on a Sauter-Finegan LP cover, 1954)

Green Lantern ala Paul Klee (based on "Error on Green," 1930)

Batman & Robin ala Henry Moore (based on "Two Forms," 1934)

Spider-Man ala Pablo Picasso (based on Moon Face on Blue Ground," 1947) 

Prince Street News: Missing Marvel Merch of the Bronze Age!

 The new BACK ISSUE (#152) celebrates MARVELMANIA and its various merchandising offshoots, so I decided to mock up some "Missing Marvel Merch of the Bronze Age!" All of these are based on actual products, no doubt many of you will recognize at least some of them. This is one of those installments that will not work for the non-longbox crowd, so if you stumbled on this by accident, I apologize! 

Below is the strip (a one-pager) as it appears in the mag, and the individual elements on their own.