Pitting his scalpel-sharp wits and his protean powers of disguise against the forces of mass-murdering fanaticism,…
Column
JUST IMAGINE! November 1951: The Day the Comet Still Stood
In Strange Adventures 14 (Nov. 1951), in an apparent nod to the 1951 film The Day…
JUST IMAGINE! April 1977: The Quatermass Memorandum
Prof. Quatermass: “If we found that our Earth was doomed, say by climatic changes, what would…
INDY SPOTLIGHT: Half-Life
Half-Life The true story of what it’s like to live with prostate cancer. After your initial…
JUST IMAGINE! February 1961: Frankenstein Meets Superman (Sort Of)
Superman editor Mort Weisinger was always alert for the latest child-pleasing trends. He scanned movie posters…
JUST IMAGINE! November 1936: Time for a Mystery Man
Largely forgotten now, he was the first masked hero in comic books. But the Clock’s hour…
JUST IMAGINE! May 1961: The Ghost in the Machine
Writer Robert Kanigher was particularly good at coming up with concepts for fantastic adventure stories that…
JUST IMAGINE! April 1965: Reflections of a Golden Age
They might well have gone in another direction. DC’s popular revivals of its 1940s superheroes had…
JUST IMAGINE! September 1962: The Experimental Hulk
By the third issue of the second title of the Marvel era, The Incredible Hulk, it…
FANTASTIC COMIC FAN: Deadpool the Duck
One of the nice perks of having both a column and a podcast is that sometimes…
Inside the League of Legends: Riftbound Worlds Bundle 2025
Riftbound was released late 2025 and has already proven to be a huge success. Riftbound is…
JUST IMAGINE! May 1960: The First Time I Saw the JLA
The first time I saw the Justice League of America, I was 5 years old, at…
FANTASTIC COMIC FAN: Time to Perk Up for Pep Comics
When publishers convert older comic books into a digital format, I call it archiving. I know…
JUST IMAGINE! June 1973: Talk About Larger Than Life
Ironically, the 1930s pulp superhero Doc Savage had a major influence on comic books, but a…
INDY SPOTLIGHT: Stardrift Odyssey #1
Stardrift Odyssey #1 Earth has fallen. The Galactic Federation’s assault has wiped out humanity’s homeworld, leaving…
JUST IMAGINE! June 1975: In a Mirror Darkly
Battling bodies careering into and right through arcane architecture — this superhero feature was clearly something…
JUST IMAGE! February 1957: The League of Death-Cheaters
If Hollywood had turned Jack Kirby’s Challengers of the Unknown into a movie in the 1950s,…
December 1965: Letting Catwoman Out of the Bag
You frequently see it reported that, because DC was gun-shy about the Comics Code, the Caped…
FANTASTIC COMIC FAN: Exorcism in a Fantastic Way
It’s bad enough to keep track of all the new comics every week when you go…
JUST IMAGINE! May 1965: The Ian Fleming Affair
In 1964, audiences watched the stylish adventures of an Ian Fleming superspy named … Napoleon Solo.…
FANTASTIC COMIC FAN: One Influence on Claremont’s X-Men
In some recent columns, I talked about creators Mantlo, Conway, and Thomas, and how they, at…
JUST IMAGINE: May 1949: The Man with the Automatic Brain
Batman and Robin were always ahead of the curve on technology — but then, so were…
FANTASTIC COMIC FAN: Archie, Antics, and Anti-Heroes: The Minor Threats Review
Right now, many fans are excited that DC and Marvel are doing crossovers again after a…
A Secret Lair x Fallout Rad Superdrop is Releasing Soon
Secret Lair is unlocking the vault with a Rad Superdrop. This release is bringing Fallout’s retro-future…
JUST IMAGINE! June 1951: Comet at Dawn
The conformist Cold War decade of the 1950s had dawned, and the detectives had vanished. They…
October 1940: A Fantasy of Freedom
Flight. We see comic book superheroes doing it all the time, and we ourselves do it,…
INDY SPOTLIGHT: Grimwood Crossing #4
Grimwood Crossing #4 A rabid Werewolf has been set loose in Townsquare. Bobby and the Sheriff…
JUST IMAGINE! September 1966: A Female Who Could Fight for Herself
Fighting females had been around in the comics for a couple of decades before they finally…
JUST IMAGINE! December 1952: The Thing from 400 Newspapers
Here’s a classic monster that traveled from outer space and the far future — and from…
FANTASTIC COMIC FAN: It’s TIIIMMEE! G-Man Campaign
Every year at the end of Halloween, Mariah Carey does her “It’s TIIIIMEEE!” to usher in…
JUST IMAGINE! April 1970: The Amazon and the Clown
Wonder Woman and … Jerry Lewis? Talk about your odd couple. But actually, the comedian had…
FANTASTIC COMIC FAN: Not Conway, Too?
Over the past couple of days, I have been talking about plagiarism by comic creators. All…
JUST IMAGINE! June 1955: Where is that Masked Man?
At right, a cover painting from the Masked Rider Western pulp; at left, Masked Raider art…