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Rick Senger
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Posted: 24 January 2023 at 2:56am | IP Logged | 1 post reply

Totally agree regarding the Calculator stories by Bob Rozakis, Rogers and Austin. One good series that was "buried in the back" but which pretty heralded was the GL / GA backup story by O'Neil, Adams and Giordano in Flash 217-219 (as well as various other GLs in the 220s... I think Adams returned for 226?) Grell and Austin also chipped in some good GL backups in the 230s-240s again IIRC.

I enjoyed John's brief origin and "early days" Alpha Flight backup stories from his AF run... reminiscent of the vignette backups of solo characters from some issues in the 30s and 40s of the Uncanny X-Men.
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Eric Jansen
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Posted: 24 January 2023 at 8:13am | IP Logged | 2 post reply

"Marvel had hardly back-up features"

John Wickett said: Depends on how far back you go. In the 60s Marvel had several titles that were double features- Amazing Adventures (Black Widow/Inhumans), Strange Tales (Human Torch/Doctor Strange), Tales to Astonish (Giant Man/Hulk), etc.
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Yes, I thought about that when I wrote it, but I really consider those SHARED books!  I never thought Dr. Strange was the back-up to the Human Torch or, later, Nick Fury--or Cap the back-up to Iron Man or Hulk the back-up to Giant Man, etc.  Equal page counts, equal (usually) number of covers, equal billing--that adds up to equal ownership of the book.

And then "Tales of Asgard" was mentioned, and, yes, that was definitely a back-up series--and a good one at that!

And even though DC had a ton more back-up features than Marvel, Marvel still had my all-time favorite back-up feature--Moon Knight in the back of the HULK magazine!  Just amazing for a year and a half or so.


And, as often happens with a good back-up feature, it led to a fun crossover with the main feature--a story that never would have existed if the shorter series had appeared elsewhere.

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Robert Bradley
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Posted: 24 January 2023 at 12:25pm | IP Logged | 3 post reply

I believe Ulysses Bloodstone also had a backup in the HULK magazine for a while.

Also there was the Watcher in TALES OF SUSPENSE.

When I think "back up story" I think of a story with fewer pages than the lead story.  So I wouldn't include the Iron Man/Captain America, Hulk/Hank Pym, Hulk/Sub-Mariner, Inhuman/Black Widow, Doctor Doom/Ka-Zar, Doctor Strange/Human Torch, Doctor Strange/Nick Fury books of the 1960s.

Marvel's thing in the 70's was bringing in a second character alongside the star of the book (Daredevil/Black Widow, Captain America/Falcon, Iron Man/Jack of Hearts, Thor/Hercules).

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Robert Bradley
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Posted: 24 January 2023 at 12:48pm | IP Logged | 4 post reply

Marvel also had a lot of "tryout books" at the time - STRANGE TALES had Adam Warlock, Brother Voodoo and the Golem, AMAZING ADVENTURES had the Beast and Killraven; ASTONISHING TALES had Deathlok; MARVEL PRESENTS had Ulysses Bloodstone and the Guardians of the Galaxy; MARVEL FEATURE had the Defenders, Ant-Man and the Thing; MARVEL PREMIERE had Adam Warlock, Doctor Strange and Iron Fist; MARVEL CHILLERS had Modred the Mystic and Tigra and MARVEL SPOTLIGHT had Werewolf by Night, Ghost Rider and Son of Satan.

Some of these titles led to characters getting their own books and some eventually became single-issue tryouts books (much like MARVEL SUPER-HEROES started out before becomeing a reprint book).


Edited by Robert Bradley on 24 January 2023 at 12:49pm
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John Wickett
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Posted: 24 January 2023 at 4:50pm | IP Logged | 5 post reply

"...but I really consider those SHARED books!"

I agree 100%.  The shared books are among those I was referring to as anthologies; Marvel had a lot of these, whereas DC had more of the giant sized books with 4-5 stories in each issue.

Those Moon Knight stories were awesome.
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Rebecca Jansen
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Posted: 24 January 2023 at 7:05pm | IP Logged | 6 post reply

Had one of those Flashs with Adams GL/GA backup and wondered if it was originally a regular issue of their own title being chopped up for use as a back up due to their title's cancellation? I finally got to read the entire story when DC reprinted all the Adams GL/GA in one of those baxter reprint series (I think those and newer small publishers almost flooding the market then are why I cut back on many regular newsprint series as much as anything).

I suppose Doctor Strange was a back-up at first in Strange Tales, but eventually he was getting full covers, alternating with Nick Fury once he replaced the Torch. A lot of those split feature Marvels were necessitated by some kind of limit in number of titles distributors would take which when it lifted in 1968 resulted in all the split book characters getting full titles. I used to have that Tales Of Asgard one-shot they put out around the same time.

The one comic DC had most like those split titles of Marvel's must be when the Atom and Hawkman merged, although briefly earlier Hawkman had been in the back of Adam Strange in Mystery In Space.

Edited by Rebecca Jansen on 24 January 2023 at 7:06pm
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James Johnson
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Posted: 24 January 2023 at 9:58pm | IP Logged | 7 post reply

I loved some of the backup tales in WHAT IF? that Mark Gruenwald wrote during its first run.


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Bob Simko
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Posted: 25 January 2023 at 2:57am | IP Logged | 8 post reply

Didn't see it mentioned as I scrolled through, but the Perez FIRESTORM
material was reprinted in a TPB that also included the 5 issue original series
and a B&W copy of the unpublished 6th issue that appeared in Cancelled
Comics Cavalcade.
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Steven Myers
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Posted: 26 January 2023 at 2:54pm | IP Logged | 9 post reply

I have the collection of Jack Kirby's Green Arrow, which was a back-up in the 50's I believe,
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Jonathan A. Dowdell
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Posted: 26 January 2023 at 7:11pm | IP Logged | 10 post reply

I was just digging through some comics last night and I came across Marvel Team-Up 100 with a post-it that read - "First Meeting of Storm and Black Panther." Hmmm... This story was co-written and penciled by Mr. Byrne. I did not reread it but flipped through some very nice art (inked by Bob McLeod) and a story that seemed more street level political thriller than super-hero adventure. Interesting back-up for sure. 
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John Byrne
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Posted: 26 January 2023 at 7:16pm | IP Logged | 11 post reply

I was strictly art robot on that job. Not involved in the writing.

Glaring coloring mistake, there, as a White guy is made Black, with blue hair!!!

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Rebecca Jansen
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Posted: 26 January 2023 at 7:31pm | IP Logged | 12 post reply


 QUOTE:
I have the collection of Jack Kirby's Green Arrow, which was a back-up in the 50's I believe.

In Adventure Comics. I was lucky enough to have one of those 10c issues with fantastic Curt Swan art on the main Superboy feature (and cover). I was happy when I finally got the collected edition (credits Roz Kirby on writing) with the text article about the series as it was comic book sized (like a B&B Hawkman Kubert one and a Days Of Future Past one I also have)... I like when these things fit in with the regular sized (except for thickness) comics! If that Firestorm collection is comic books sized I will get it even though I have the original five '70s issue and a virtual copy of #6.
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