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1960s, 1962, art, George Wilson, graphic novel, Richard Powers, science fiction, Silver Age comic book, superhero
Doctor Solar was a superhero created by writer Paul S. Newman and artist Matt Murphy for Gold Key Comics in 1962, first appearing in Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom #1. Since then he’s been renamed to Solar and been published by Valiant Comics in the 1990s, Dark Horse Comics in the 2000s, and Dynamite Entertainment in the 2010s. But, really, what interests me are the covers. The first two were by Richard Powers, and are (I believe) the only comics covers he ever illustrated. The rest were by George Wilson, one of Gold Key’s best artists; the first few kept some Powers-esque elements, but the covers lose some of their charm when Solar dons his red costume around issue six.
Battered, Tattered, Yellowed, & Creased 
I didn’t know Richard Powers did any comic book covers.Yes, the next two covers are very good indeed and do owe much to Powers influence, but the ones with the costumed superhero, do have a duller generic quality.
What are your favorite 1960s and 70s comics?
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I agree, the later covers (past the Powers style) were very underwhelming, and I didn’t feel the need to go looking for more!
I have not read much from the 1960s, but for 70s comics I really enjoyed Doctor Strange, Hulk, and some of the Marvel superheroes. That said, most of what I read were horror, war, or western comics… Jonah Hex, Tomb of Dracula, G.I. Combat, House of Mystery/House of Secrets, Eerie, Creepy. Vampirella, and early Heavy Metal.
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I discovered Marvel in the British black and white comics in the later 1960s, before I was in my teens.During this period, I went off DC but didn’t feel ready to go over to the actual Marvels yet, and was still reading the British comics, that stopped reprinting the Marvels by 1969.In 1970, in my early teens, I began reading Marvel, which soon became my favorite comics.Among my favorites of these then, was the Silver Surfer, which however only lasted 18 issues, and finished that same year.It was illustrated by one of my favorite artists, John Buscema, whose realistic style impressed me greatly.I was also familiar with Jack Kirby’s art at this time, whose unique style was however rather less impressive to me then.
In 1974, I thought they were better than ever, and included some brilliant writers, including Steve Gerber, Steve Englehart, and Jim Starlin, who was equally an excellent artist.Other Marvel artists, I liked then, included Mike Ploog, Craig Russell, and Frank Brunner.I still felt skeptical about DC but in 1975, I bought the excellent “Swamp Thing”, written by Lein Wein and illustrated by the great Berni Wrightson.
I remember “Tomb of Dracula”.Marv Wolfman wrote an excellent script that was well illustrated by Gene Colan and finely inked by Tom Palmer.I bought an issue of “Heavy Metal” in the 80s.Who are your favorite 70s comic book artists?
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Quite a history, thank you for sharing Richard — a fine trip down memory lane. I really enjoy Kirby, but like his more outlandish designs above all. And Jim Steranko, even though he was more of a ’60s artist. I’ve also grown to become a fan of Barry Windsor-Smith and his Conan work. (I was also more skeptical of DC, though “Swamp Thing” and some of their later titles helped convice me to try them out, and I’d always liked their weird/horror series.)
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Great,really glad you enjoyed it.Kirby had a bold,unusual style that was captivating and was the face of Marvel in the 1960s,even though I never really liked the way he drew people.He had that “real style” though that ensures longevity.However,his way was down when his “News Gods” series finished,when he churned out some quite awful stuff,including what he did when he came back to Marvel,which would prove disasterous for the company.
Steranko did his last work at Marvel in 1970,a romance comic.Not long before that,he did stuff on their then new horror anthology titles.He had been heavily influenced by Kirby,but it isn’t unfair I think to say,he outstripped him.He had a true graphic art style that merged well with more traditional comic book art.He was a true genius.
I wasn’t all that interested in “Conan” when it first appeared in 1970.It would be four more years before I bought my first one,which by this time was drawn by John Buscema,that was pleasing.His work on the Conan magazine though,was more impressive.I remember Barry Smith on Ka-Zar in “Astonishing Tales”,but was more appreciative of him later when “Conan” was reprinted in the British Marvels,and his stuff for the Conan magazine.I also aquired three of his original “Conan” comics.
I continued to buy some DCs,but was not overly impressed with most of them.”The Shadow” wasn’t bad,which was written by Denny O’Neil,and drawn by one of their best artists,Mike Kaluta.
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Oooh, yeah, really like the ones in the first row. Never had heard of any of this!
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