Mike Kaluta Shadow Sketch

Continuing the creepy sketch theme, here's a beauty by the great Mike Kaluta that I got in 2002. The Shadow was one of the greatest comics of the 70's and this sketch demonstrates why. The simplicity of it blows me away. He did this in about 30 seconds. It was one of the first sketches in my book and is still one of the best ones in there.

William Stout Frankenstein Sketch

I don't have a lot of Halloween themed sketches but this one is by far the coolest one I have. Legendary fantasy artist William Stout did this sketch of the Frankenstein Monster several years ago and it really rocks. I should get a horror themed sketchbook going.

More Kid Art

I recently found some more of my childhood art in a how to draw comics book I had when I was 9 or 10 years old. Needless to say, I didn't take up art as a career thank goodness.

Sugar & Spike

There were several great Halloween themed covers of the classic Sheldon Meyer created humor title Sugar & Spike. The first one is #25 from October/November, 1959.



It seemed like they had a Halloween theme issue almost every year. This is from #31 from October/November, 1960.



I really like this one from #37, October/November, 1961.



1962's effort is from #43.



Six issues later came the 1963 Halloween issue.



1964's cover cracked me up.



1965's offering was from #61.



#67 was the last Halloween themed issue for a couple of years for unknown reasons.



The Halloween themed issues came back with the last issue of the series, #98 from 1971.



Hope you enjoy this great look at Halloween in the 60's, DC humor style.

Treasure Chest Of Fun & Fact

Not much is known about this gem from 10/19/48 but the cover by Graham Hunter is great. It portrays a classic takeover of the streets by the candy seeking mob that was a vital part of post war America. Great stuff!

Adventure Comics #294

Surprisingly, I've never read this issue of Adventure from March, 1962. It promises to be great since it involves the Bizarros. In the main story, Halloween Pranks Of The Bizarro-Supermen, different Bizarros celebrate Halloween by dressing up like Earth celebrites like Marilyn Monroe, Jerry Lewis, JFK, and Mickey Mantle. Written by Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel and drawn by John Forte, this story promises to have lots of Halloween laughs. Cover by the awesome Curt Swan. This story is reprinted in the trade paperback Tales Of The Bizarro World.

Our Gang Comics

Not much is known about this Golden Age Our Gang cover but it's very cool. It captures the spirit of those innocent times quite well. I always liked the simplicity of that time. Halloween was quite different then. Good stuff!

Comic Cavalcade #12

From Fall 1945 comes this beauty from one of the more overlooked anthology books of the Golden Age. Comic Cavalcade had the coolest theme covers, with Flash, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern frolicking through some crazy activities. It's nice to see that even these intrepid members of the Justice Society can enjoy Halloween. Cover by EE Hibbard.

Casper #149

Not much is known about the credits on this 1958 Casper Halloween issue but the cover is a beaut. Nothing says Halloween like a friendly ghost trick or treating.

Flintstones #42

I always enjoyed reading Charleton's Flintstones series when I was a kid. This particular issue from December, 1975 is one of the cooler ones. The cover is by Ray Dirgo, who I'm not very familiar with but it's typical of the humorous style of the book. A great Halloween cover.

Crazy #15

From 1973 comes this great Halloween themed cover of Marvel's great black and white humor mag Crazy. There aren't any credits given in the Grand Comic Book Database but it's a beautiful cover nonetheless.

Flash Comics #78

Over the next few days or so, I thought I'd post some various Halloween themed comic covers that my buddy Neato Coolville found on the Grand Comic Book Database pertaining to this great time of the year. He wasn't going to use them so he graciously offered them to me to use. This first beauty from December, 1946 portrays the Fastest Man Alive and his buddies Winky, Blinky, and Noddy surrounded by witches, black cats, and pumpkins. Both the cover and interior art on the main story, "Haunted Halloween" were by regular Flash artist E.E. Hibbard.

Kubert And Romita

I was captivated by this fantastic video from the 2007 Baltimore Comic Con of two of the greatest comic book artists doing what they do best.



Both of these fantastic artists still have it and are emblematic of the companies they did most of their work for. Aside from perhaps Jack Kirby, Romita's work symbolized the Marvel look for much of the 60's and 70's. Twomorrows recently put out a fantastic book on Romita written by his fellow Bullpener Roy Thomas. I was lucky enough to get a sketch inside the book by the jazzy one himself. It's one of my favorite sketches.



There's also a new Kubert book coming book by comic book historian Bill Schelly. It looks great and promises to be one of the most comprehensive books yet on this legend. To pre-order, click here. If you enjoy great comic art and aren't familiar with these guys, you need to check them out. There aren't much better.

The Voices Of Marvel Comics 1965

In 1965, as part of their Merry Marvel Marching Society membership kit, the Marvel Bullpen put together a cheesy record telling how they did what they did.



It's great hearing these comic legends being goofy. It was the first time a lot of these people got recognition for their work although it was tongue in cheek. Jack "King" Kirby is especially good in this.

Secret Wars Re-enactment Society

Check out this fantastic video parodying the Civil War re-enactors but with a great twist.



I love the cheesy Ultron costume. I remember being a little disappointed in Secret Wars when it came out but this makes me want to read it again believe it or not.