ALTER EGO #192

A brilliant new issue with a lengthy, highly detailed look at the imagined super-hero shortage in comics between All-Star #57 and Showcase #4 -- Mark Carlson-Ghost says think again! Here is the mid-1950s super-hero revival featuring The Human Torch, Captain America, Sub-Mariner, Fighting American, The Avenger, Strongman, Nature Boy, Black Cobra, Phantom Lady, The Flame, Samson, Wonder Boy, Tomboy, and Captain Flash, with art by John Romita, John Buscema, Bill Everett, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, Mike Sekowsky, Mort Meskin, Bob Powell, and other comic book greats! Plus FCA looks at Trina and C.C. Beck's close relationship, and Michael T. Gilbert looks closely at Aquaman and Metal Men artist Ramona Frandon. If you thought superheroes were out of style in the 1950s, well, kind of. But it turns out there were a LOT of them in short-lived series, and all the details are here. I've collected most of these for decades, and I found much new to learn from this brilliant feature, which makes up most of this special issue. Here's the inside story of the years between the end of the superhero Golden Age, circa 1949-50, and the beginning of the Silver Age and its formative years, from 1956-60. A LOT was happening in comics, much of it from Atlas but also from many smaller publishers trying to push the envelope and find new winners. Massively illustrated, with wonderful full color reproductions of rare covers and splash pages. And each one accompanied by editor Roy Thomas' own insights, as he was right there buying these books off the newsstand...It doesn't get better than this, if you only buy one issue of AE this year, this is the one (last year it was the special on Angelo Torres, which also got our Highest Recommendation and is fortunately still available! I'm surprised! - Bud