Solar Man of the Atom

Thanks to their respective billion dollar movie franchises, people everywhere are familiar with the superhero universes of Marvel and DC. But the Golden and Silver Ages of comics were boom periods for the superhero genre, with dozens of publishers trying their hands at the hot new genre, including Gold Key Comics. The heroes of Gold Key never quite gained a permanent foothold in pop culture consciousness, but they've proved surprisingly resilient, and they're about to be reintroduced once again via Dynamite Entertainment's new series The Sovereigns as well as the recently announced new Magnus series. Here's everything you need to know about the history of the Gold Key heroes.

Frank Barbiere is quickly becoming one of the most prolific and visible writers in comics, having built his reputation working on both original and company-owned properties for a number of independent publishers, including Blackout and The White Suits at Dark Horse, Black Market at Boom Studios, Solar: Man Of The Atom at Dynamite, and the fan-favorite Five Ghosts at Image. Now he's expanding even further, writing an Avengers title for Marvel, inking a deal to develop Five Ghosts in other media, and preparing to re-team with Boom for the launch of his new original series Broken World. In the midst of all this, he's somehow found the time to sit down for an in-depth conversation about his career to date, and his plans for the future, and bring us an exclusive first look at Broken World's characters, and some samples from this week's Five Ghosts #16.

A great comic book cover is an advertisement, a work of art, a statement, and an invitation. A great comic book cover is a glimpse of another world through a canvas no bigger than a window pane. In Best Comic Book Covers Ever (This Month), we look back over some of the most eye-catching, original and exceptional covers of the past month. September's covers include masterclass composition from Genndy Tarkakovsky and Noelle Stevenson, some beautiful uses of light, color, and contrast, and some very different portraits of gods, old and new.