05:29
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As it's the 50th Anniversary year since POW! first went on
sale in 1967, it's the perfect excuse for me to take the lazy route
andreprint a post which includes not only the cover of the first ish,
but also the first issue covers of the rest of the Power Comics.
And guess what? I'm even thrown in the very first instalment
of The CLOAK! How's that for generosity?
******
The first two didn't begin life as 'POWER COMICS' - that happened
somewhere along the way after they'd started reprinting MARVEL strips,
but the remaining three began their runs with the big bold badge emblazoned
on their covers. For a while, all five titles were published concurrently, but
eventually WHAM! merged with POW!, TERRIFIC with FANTASTIC,
then Pow! with SMASH! and, finally, Fantastic also merged with Smash!,
which became the sole surviving Power comic until it was revamped
and relaunched (without Marvel reprints) in March of 1969.
Here then are all five first issue covers for you to drool over.
THE CLOAK first appeared in POW! #18 on May 13th (dated 20th)
1967, drawn by Birmingham-based artist MIKE HIGGS. It had a different
look to other strips in the comic and, given its spy/mystery/horror-themed
stories (albeit in a comedy vein), proved popular enough to last nearly two
years. It started in Pow!, continued in POW! & WHAM!, then SMASH! &
POW!, and finally ended in SMASH! (Incorporating FANTASTIC) #162,
March 1st (dated 8th) 1969. I remember the strip mainly because I fancied
LADY SHADY, the Cloak's EMMA PEEL-style sometimes sidekick.
(Wotta bod! Makes me want to marry a drawing.)
1967, drawn by Birmingham-based artist MIKE HIGGS. It had a different
look to other strips in the comic and, given its spy/mystery/horror-themed
stories (albeit in a comedy vein), proved popular enough to last nearly two
years. It started in Pow!, continued in POW! & WHAM!, then SMASH! &
POW!, and finally ended in SMASH! (Incorporating FANTASTIC) #162,
March 1st (dated 8th) 1969. I remember the strip mainly because I fancied
LADY SHADY, the Cloak's EMMA PEEL-style sometimes sidekick.
(Wotta bod! Makes me want to marry a drawing.)
Anyway, for all you Cloak fans out there, here's his first appearance
from the swingin' '60s. (POW! #18.) He's turned up at least a couple
of times in recent years - first in the back of a self-published comic by
a former assistant of Mike Higg's, and then in the pages of CRIKEY!,
a (now defunct) mag devoted to British comics and their creators.
from the swingin' '60s. (POW! #18.) He's turned up at least a couple
of times in recent years - first in the back of a self-published comic by
a former assistant of Mike Higg's, and then in the pages of CRIKEY!,
a (now defunct) mag devoted to British comics and their creators.
Posted in: Cartoons
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