One of the most iconic storylines in superhero comic books is when the hero decides to quit his or her role as a crime fighter. These issues were usually portrayed in an overly dramatic way on the cover with the hero walking away their head either bowed in despair or making an angry gesture and declaring that they have had enough and that they were no longer going to be anyones “whipping boy”. Of course the hero rarely “quit” for longer than a single issue before returning to active duty, but as a teenager I loved these overly dramatic tales and the "I quit" storylines did produce some excellent covers with the above issue of Spiderman #50 being arguably the most iconic of the entire genre. Below are a few of my favourite “I quit” type covers.
Sadly I do not own the above issue of the "Amazing Spider-Man" issues 50 (cover from Marvel Wiki) but I do have issue 44 of the UK "Spider-Man Comics Weekly" (above) from December 1973, which featured this story. The above SMCW cover is a slightly reformatted version of John Romita's original.
Teen Titans #14 - March 1968 - Cover by Nick Cardy
Justice League of America #109 - February 1974 - Cover by Nick Cardy. It was Hawkman that "quit" the JLA.
Iron-Man #21 ~ January 1970 - Cover by George Tuska & Mike Esposito
Avengers #109 -March 1973 - Cover by John and Sal Buscema
Captain America #176 - August 1974 -Cover by John Romita
X-Men #138 - October 1980 - Cover by John Byrne and Terry Austin
The Flash #264 - August 1978- Cover by Joe Staton and Fank Giacoia
The New Teen Titans #39 - February 1984 - Cover by George Perez. Cover from DC Wiki - I don't have this issue but it's such an iconic "I quit" type cover I had to use it.
Superman #201 - November 1967 - Cover by Curt Swan & George Klien
Fantastic Four #191 - November 1978 - Cover by George Perez & Joe Sinnott. A
G.I. Combat #168 - January 1974 - Cover by Neal Adams
I was probably about seven years old when I walked into my local newsagents in Cambuslang (near Glasgow) with my pocket money firmly he...
Following on from my last post featuring some of my favourite Marvel comic book covers from 1973, I thought I would show some of DC's ...
Nearly a half-century on I still consider 1973 to be the year that cemented my destiny in becoming a lifetime comic book fan. It was a yea...
McS - don't quit now - there surely must be more covers in this vein. I've got the SMCW, Superman, and FF issues, so 3 out of 13 ain't as bad as it could be.
ReplyDeleteMy plan was to actually use this as my last "That was then" post when as I though that was quite clever but I when I picked up a copy of Teen Titans issue 14 a few months ago I had to use it now. There must be loads of these types of covers around and I'm sure I have a few in my loft.
ReplyDeleteOf special note are the Nick Cardy cover for Teen Titans and the John Romita cover for Captain America, two filled with emotion. I've always cottoned to the John Buscema image of Hawkeye busting up his bow, it seems so in character and Hawkeye's legs are so durned far apart.
ReplyDeleteThose early Cardy Teen Titans covers are classics. Apart from that cover my own personal favourite is JLA 109, again by Mr Cardy.
ReplyDeleteI think you've hit a motherlode here, McScotty. The "I Quit!" trope must be the most over-used cover-bait in the sixties and seventies. A few extra come to mind immediately. (1) Batman quits the Batcave in Batman #217 (2) Batman quits the Justice League to join the Outsiders (Batman and Outsiders #1) (3) Batman quits the Outsiders thirty-one issues later (Batman and The Outsiders #32) and (4) Batman and Superman jointly quit Earth in World's Finest #234. There must be loads more.
ReplyDeleteRe the SMCW cover #44 ; I actually prefer the UK re-formatting and new colouring choice over the original. That's probably heresy.
Great suggestions, I forgot all about "Batman and the Outsiders" issues 1 and 32, both covers pretty much encompass the "I quit" trope. I don't recall the leaving the Batcave cover\ comic. I think I had Worlds Finest issue 234 at the time (Curt Swan art?).. I prefer the UK SMCW cover as well Ian.
ReplyDeletePaul, this week's Marvel releases include a tribute to John Romita on their covers. They've briefly re-instated the corner box which now includes an image of Romita's "I Quit" Spidey cover!
ReplyDeleteThanks for that info Colin I wasn't aware of that . I will certainly check them out next time I'm in Glasgow. Even better that they have the corner box.
ReplyDelete