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This Burger Chef/Coca-Cola promotional poster delved into the dark side in 1977. (#3 of 4)

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Latest coloring project...

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A latest coloring project...

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More coloring in progress...

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Current work in progress. #adultcoloring #coloring

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My first attempt at DC’s adult coloring comic book covers.

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So….this isn’t a GREAT comic by any means, but it was formative in my love of comics. When I was a kid, there were only a few places I would go to buy comics (usually on wire spinning racks). One of them was the Red & White (remember those?) that was a short walk from my grandparents’ house in LaGrange. Armed with a newly-received dollar, I’d head over to pick up a couple of comics and maybe some candy too. Yes, I sound like a true old man now - ‘Back in my time you could buy a lot more for a dollar, by cracky!’ Anyway, I’d flip through comic after comic with abandon until I found something that interested me. Sometimes it would be a Spidey Super Stories. Inspired by Spider-man appearances on the Electric Company PBS show, these were designed specifically for my little kid mind and abilities, but also DID manage to introduce me to many Marvel mainstays, including the Kingpin, believe it or not. And hey - Morgan Freeman’s character on Electric Company, 'Easy Reader,’ endorsed the book, so what could be wrong with that?

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Batman thru the years by Thobias Daneluz

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Here's a series I didn't understand when I read it, and still don't understand today, but that doesn't stop its greatness. This is the Legion of Superheroes at its most inscrutable, and Keith Giffen at his most experimental (and THAT is saying something). What can I say? I read issues. I scratched my head...a LOT...and then I kept reading. This isn't like any other superhero comic you've ever read, and that's a good thing...I think...maybe...

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Thus far I’ve written about comics that (IMHO) are exceptional. Now, I’d like to take a moment to go in the opposite direction. The late 80s were not very good for Marvel’s traditional superheroes in many ways, and Captain America was the epitome of this descent into irrelevance.  Some kind words should be shared about writer Mark Gruenwald, as he did create Squadron Supreme and even one of the very best Cap stories I’ve ever read. Following these landmark achievements, however, he wrote what has to be the single worst run of Cap I’ve ever encountered. Banal, formulaic writing coupled with cheap basic art (and Marvel’s foray into so-called better color production, which resulted in glaring, harsh colors at best) brought Cap to his knees faster than the Red Skull could ever dream. In fact, it was near the end of this run that Marvel announced it might commit heresy and actually cancel Captain America. Fortunately that didn’t happen, and better, more capable writers and artists worked wonders for the character. But for those of us who remember this Cap - the Cap of D-Man, among other atrocities - there can be no lower point.

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A certain photo of Jared Leto has everyone talking about the upcoming Suicide Squad movie, but lost in the shuffle is this great comic from the 80s that, I assume, forms more than a little of the basis for the film. Written by the oft-neglected John Ostrander, this is one of the greatest premises and realizations in DC Comics history, and it gave rise to, among other things, Amanda Waller and an increased interest in Batman B-lister Deadshot. Trades of this long-running series are hard to come by, but if you do get your hands on one don't expect great art. Artist Luke McDonnell often seemed to have a tenuous grasp of human anatomy. No-these are worthy strictly for their writing...something which I doubt will be said for the upcoming Suicide Squad film.

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I had no idea what Infinity, Inc was the first time I bought an issue. The art and layout grabbed me, though, so I started reading. Years later, I’d realize that these issues were the starting point for Todd McFarlane who, love him or hate him, became an industry unto himself.  And while McFarlane’s art style definitely evolved and became more sophisticated, his layouts in Infinity, Inc. were superior to much of what he did later. The whole idea of generations of superheroes (old Flash, old Green Lantern, old Atom) was compellingly confusing to me, so this series led to my discovering others like All-Star Squadron. By today’s standards, the stories are pretty darned silly, and even the art doesn’t hold up all that well, but Infinity was my gateway to the often bizarre DC multiverse.

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Breaking News: Frank Miller returns to the world of Batman with The Dark Knight III: The Master Race.

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Occasionally, something inside the heads of mainstream comics' editors goes wonky just enough for something experimental to escape. Such is Wednesday Comics, an anthology comic from DC that aimed to bring back the one page newsprint comics of decades ago. Rife with great creators (Neil Gaiman, Brian Azzarello, Dave Gibbons and Kyle Baker, among many others) the series proved to be a critical and artistic success, though not an entirely financial one. Those interested can find an oversized hardcover trade of all the issues, though I wish there was some way to purchase this in a digital edition. In a way, though, it's probably best that it's only available in paper form. Consider it the great last gasp of the paper comics industry.

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Superman Unchained #6 variant cover by Michael Cho

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The smartest thing I’ve seen all day http://daily-superheroes.tumblr.com