"If ONE hero on a cover sells books, stick a BUNCH of 'em on the cover, and we'll sell even more copies!"
That was the philosophy behind anthology comics like
America's Best Comics, Big 3 Comics, and
4 Favorites.
Originally, comic anthology covers would feature
one
hero in action, with other characters' heads in little inserts along
the side or bottom of the cover. Each hero would rotate as the main
cover character every few issues.
At some point, an editor, trying
to keep track of which character went on which issue, probably said
"Hell, this month put them ALL on it!" and the first multi-hero cover
burst onto the newsstands of America!
Sales skyrocketed, and covers
featuring hordes of heroes became the standard!
Even though these multi-hero
covers featured the characters interacting,
inside the comic, the heroes only worked together in
text stories, if at all!
In
fact, sometimes the covers were just symbolic designs (like the
patriotic one above) to showcase which characters' strips were inside!
The comic stories
inside the book were
individual strips of those cover-featured heroes.
( It wasn't until
All-Star Comics #3, featuring a framing sequence about a meeting of heroes linking the various characters' strips together, that the first
true super-hero group,
The Justice Society of America, was born.)
We at
Atomic Kommie Comics™
have always been suckers for covers showing heroes (and heroines)
working together to defeat a common foe, rescuing innocents, or just
hanging out!
So, we've assembled some of the best multi-hero covers in our
Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™ section!
America's Best Comics, Big 3 Comics, and
4 Favorites featured the top characters of their respective lines, much as
World's Finest featured
Superman and
Batman & Robin, and
All-Winners displayed
Captain America, Sub-Mariner, and
The Human Torch for
DC and
Marvel, respectively. (BTW, most of
America's Best Comics, Big 3 Comics, and
4 Favorites have NEVER been reprinted! Talk about your buried treasures!)
We've
digitally-restored and remastered them directly from the original books
onto a plethora of potential pop culture presents including mousepads,
blank sketchbooks, t-shirts, and other collectibles.
Think
what your graphic-novel-reading loved one will say when he (or she)
finds these kool retro-style tchochkies under the Christmas Tree or in
their stocking!
Plus: think of the
value! A
half-dozen heroes for the price of
one!
It was a bargain 70 years ago; and still is, today!
