Carmine Infantino

Of Mysteries And Martians: The Best Silver Age Sci-Fi Covers Ever
Of Mysteries And Martians: The Best Silver Age Sci-Fi Covers Ever
Of Mysteries And Martians: The Best Silver Age Sci-Fi Covers Ever
While the Golden Age established comics as a medium, the Silver Age was when comic book art really came into its own. And it's worth noting that comics' Silver Age corresponded with a wider cultural fascination with science fiction. The actual Space Race was in full swing, and everybody was thinking about rocket ships, alien monsters, and the wonders of science. This gallery collects some of the best sci-fi comic book covers of the Silver Age, featuring strange invaders, curious tech, and multiple threats to life as we know it.
Bizarro Back Issues: How The Joker Invented Netflix (1967)
Bizarro Back Issues: How The Joker Invented Netflix (1967)
Bizarro Back Issues: How The Joker Invented Netflix (1967)
You know how every now and then, you'll see a cover on an old comic, and it'll stick with you even if you don't actually read the issue? That happened to me with Detective Comics #365. Ever since I spotted it on the wall at the comic book store where I used to work, I've held on to that image of that Carmine Infantino image of Batman and Robin attacking a house shaped like the Joker's face, a brick facade shaped into the ramshackle rictus of their arch-nemesis, with guns emerging from his eyes and mouth. It's an amazing image, but it wasn't until I saw it floating around Tumblr the other day that I realized I should actually read the comic --- and it turns out that it's one of the weirdest stories with one of the most fun ideas that I've ever seen in a Silver Age Batman comic.
Star-Crossed Lover: A Tribute To Adam Strange
Star-Crossed Lover: A Tribute To Adam Strange
Star-Crossed Lover: A Tribute To Adam Strange
In the late 1950s, science fiction was a big deal, so it made sense when DC editorial director Irwin Donenfeld asked two of his editors, Jack Schiff and Julius Schwartz, to each create a new sci-fi hero: one from the present and one from the future. Schiff chose the future hero and created Space Ranger, who was a fun Silver Age concept, but ultimately not that big a deal. But Schwartz, along with artist Murphy Anderson and writer Gardner Fox, created Adam Strange, an interstellar hero who endures to this day.
Celebrating The Anniversary Of Barry Allen's Comics Debut
Celebrating The Anniversary Of Barry Allen's Comics Debut
Celebrating The Anniversary Of Barry Allen's Comics Debut
Superhero comics were big business during wartime, with circulation numbers reaching six figures for popular titles like Captain Marvel, but in the following years their popularity began to wane until only a few were left standing. However, on this day in 1956 a new hero with a familiar name seemed to burst straight off the cover and reinvigorated the entire genre for a new generation. Created by Robert Kanigher and Carmine Infantino, Barry Allen was a police scientist with a reputation for being slow and late, until one day a lightning strike doused him with chemicals and he gained the power of super-speed. Donning a red and gold costume with the iconic lightning bolt, Barry Allen took his name from the comic book hero he’d read as a child, and became The Flash.
Fists and Fishnets: Celebrating the Golden Age Black Canary
Fists and Fishnets: Celebrating the Golden Age Black Canary
Fists and Fishnets: Celebrating the Golden Age Black Canary
You'd never have known the Black Canary was going to be so important. On June 11, 1941, a new character appeared in Flash Comics. She wasn't introduced in the "Flash" strip that gave the anthology it's name, or the co-headliner "Hawkman." She made her debut in a six-page "Johnny Thunder" story, by Robert Kanigher and Carmine Infantino. Canary is introduced as a femme fatale to play off of the hapless Johnny. She's a criminal, but she only steals from other criminals, putting her in a morally gray area that makes Johnny a little uncomfortable, and for which his magical Thunderbolt genie (who was always smarter than Johnny himself) has even less patience.
Mr. DC Comics: How Carmine Infantino Saved Superheroes
Mr. DC Comics: How Carmine Infantino Saved Superheroes
Mr. DC Comics: How Carmine Infantino Saved Superheroes
It's not an exaggeration to say that Carmine Infantino is one of the most significant and influential figures in the history of comics. On the surface, it's easy to point out his role in the creation of Barry Allen, Wally West, Barbara Gordon, Black Canary, Deadman, Elongated Man, the Human Target, Detective Chimp, and many more as a sign of his influence. But on a macro scale, his streamlined, mid-century modern style determined the aesthetic of what would prove to be the renaissance of the superhero genre in the Silver Age, and his bold editorial direction would usher in comics' next great era, the Bronze Age. Indeed, without Carmine Infantino, comics as we know them would not exist.
The Strange History Of Marvel's Original 'Star Wars' Universe
The Strange History Of Marvel's Original 'Star Wars' Universe
The Strange History Of Marvel's Original 'Star Wars' Universe
We’re more than three years into the Disney era of Star Wars. Since 2012, when Disney purchased Lucasfilm for $4 billion and change, we’ve seen a new canon take the place of the old Expanded Universe, with two seasons of the animated Star Wars: Rebels; the release of the most successful movie in the franchise, Star Wars: The Force Awakens; multiple new novels and short stories; and the launch of a new line of Star Wars comics from Marvel. But Jedi and Sith have tangled in the Mighty Marvel Manner before. Marvel was the original publisher of Star Wars comics. Starting in April 1977 --- a month before the original film’s release --- and running until June 1986 for 107 issues and three annuals, the original Star Wars comic book was many things: zany comedy, thrilling adventure and, in its final years, a meditation on soldiers in peace time, all written and drawn by some of the greatest writers and artists in the industry. But before all that, it was a logistical problem.
Batman: Black and White Finally Pays Tribute to Carmine Infantino
Batman: Black and White Finally Pays Tribute to Carmine Infantino
Batman: Black and White Finally Pays Tribute to Carmine Infantino
Numerous artists have had a crack at DC Collectibles' Batman: Black and White series over the years. The long roster of creators to have their styles translated into sculptures is filled with both classic and current favorites, though there is always room for that roster to expand. While we've seen some of the true masters of the form take their crack at the series, one of DC's brightest silver age stars is only now seeing his style make the leap. That's true of the characters included in the statue series as well. Where once Batman: Black and White was solely focused on the Dark Knight, recent years have seen the line grow to include the rest of the Bat-cast, such as the Joker, Batgirl, Harley Quinn, and now Robin as well. Announced this week (via MTV), the Batman: Black and White statue series will soon see Carmine Infantino's Batman and Robin join the team. Previously, we'd seen the likes of Dick Sprang, Frank Miller, David Mazzucchelli and Neal Adams get statues based on their immediately recognizable styles, but Infantino's interpretation of Batman had largely gone unappreciated in the line. Now, not only will his Batman be celebrated, but his Robin, too.
Bizarro Back Issues: Supergirl Vs. Five Tiny Supergirls (1983)
Bizarro Back Issues: Supergirl Vs. Five Tiny Supergirls (1983)
Bizarro Back Issues: Supergirl Vs. Five Tiny Supergirls (1983)
Now that Supergirl's a big hit on TV, it's only a matter of time before they start riffing on some of the classic Supergirl stories of the comics, right? I mean, Flash had Jay Garrick showing up in a pie-tin helmet to re-enact the cover of "The Flash of Two Worlds," and Arrow had... well, I'm sure there was some Green Arrow story they did a TV version of between fighting Batman villains and having the best match at SummerSlam. Point being, it's all but inevitable that they'll turn their attention to some specific moments from the source material. And when they do, I hope it's the story where someone actually says the phrase "What use could we possibly have for 12-inch Supergirls?!"
Batman Battles The Scourge Of Elephant Crime (1964)
Batman Battles The Scourge Of Elephant Crime (1964)
Batman Battles The Scourge Of Elephant Crime (1964)
Like a lot of people who started reading comics at an early age, I learned a lot of things from superheroes. Most of it was trivia, like all the Army slang that you can pick up from back issues of GI Joe --- and a lot of it was completely wrong, like that thing about only using 10% of your brain --- but comic books have always been full of weird little facts that creators decided to build entire stories around. Like, say, the time that Batman devoted his considerable resources to finally battling the most pressing scourge of 1964: Elephant Crime. No, not crime involving elephants, like, poaching or illegal ivory smuggling. This is crime committed by elephants. And that's not the weirdest thing about this story.

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