That was then: Favourite covers: Batman - Super Spectacular issue 238

Wednesday, January 4, 2023

Favourite covers: Batman - Super Spectacular issue 238 - Neal Adams 9 (DC-8)-

DC 100 page Super- Spectacular comics were coveted items back in the day with their iconic thick spines and large page count (most standard monthly US comics were around 32 pages). Although Super- Spectaculars were mostly (if not entirely) all reprint editions they always contained some great stories and provided readers with their first view of some classic/historic characters.

I first saw the above issue of Batman #238 (cover dated January 1972) by Neal Adams in my local newsagents around April 1972 and was fascinated by some of the characters on the cover. Some I had never seen before like Sargon the Sorcerer and some I had only heard about but had never read any of their stories like Plastic Man and the Doom Patrol. To add to the mix this issue also featured reprints of my favourite team at this time, the Legion of Superheroes. Despite this it was the stunning Neal Adams cover that attracted me to this issue and it has remained one of my all-time favourite covers to this day.

Above: The splash page to (my first) the wildly wonderful Plastic Man tale by Jack Cole

Above: The splash page to the Sargon the Sorceror strip by a young Joe Kubert

Above: The splash page to part 2 of the Legion tale ( a cracker) by John Forte

Above: The splash page to the first of two Batman reprint tales by Win Mortimer

Above: The contents pages to Batman issue 238.

4 comments:

Rip JaggerJanuary 4, 2023 at 6:02 AM
Those delightful 100-pagers made me a DC fan. I have grand memories of buying a few and finding a cool place under the shade to savor them during some summer vacations from school. So much was new even though it was decades old. And this was when Neal Adams was at his peak as well.
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McSCOTTYJanuary 4, 2023 at 12:38 PM
Hi Rip, I remember the first time I saw a DC 80 page Giant ( a JLA issue) and being immediately struck by the thick spine of the comic, ever since then I have had a soft spot for these 80 and 100 page issues. The excitement of seeing characters that were new to me back them was so exciting to my young mind even although as you note, the strips were in some cases decades old. I recently reacquired a copy of that JLA 80 page giant (which sported another great Neal Adams cover) and as soon as I read it I was taken back to those halcyon days of my childhood! I will need to add this issue here at some point.
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baggseyJanuary 6, 2023 at 4:19 PM
I remember very clearly seeing that 100-page Super Spec Batman #238 for the very first time on the spinner rack in Gardeners newsagents in Albert Rd in Southsea. The excitement was palpable. That book came out slap bang in the middle of the DC 48/52 pagers era, and introduced me to characters I'd never heard of. I loved those reprints. It was a time before I became aware of comic fandom, and had no access to fanzines, so these Super-Specs (and the 80-page Giants of a few years before) were the only way to get a glimpse into the wider DC Universe. And all for 12.5p in the UK! Like you, I loved those square-bound spines.
Is the JLA 80-page giant with the Adams cover you refer to #67?
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McSCOTTYJanuary 6, 2023 at 11:08 PM
That's the very one Ian, a great reprint edition as well. It was always a thrill when I came across characters I had never seen before. I remember Dr Midnight and Wildcat being 2 that really impressed me at the time. DCs 52 pagers were great with a mix of new (at the time) strips and some classic reprints.
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