An Entire Stable of Characters in One Issue
May 22, 2015 10:49 PM   Subscribe

Wham-O (previously) revolutionized the circle, the torus and the sphere, but they once did something innovative with the humble rectangle: Wham-O Giant Comics (alternate ad here), intended to be a quarterly magazine but ultimately the only issue released by the company. You can read it in its entirety here and read critiques of its contents here. It's an anthology whose contents run the gamut of genres, so if you don't like a story, you can just skip to the next. Of particular note are Radian and Goody Bumpkin, drawn by Wally Wood (previouslies).
posted by BiggerJ (13 comments total) 20 users marked this as a favorite
 
The interesting thing is that for some reason, anthologies just don't do well anymore in the US market. It's something specific to both the time and place - anthology titles used to be the norm in the US, and are still a strong format abroad, both in Europe and Asia. But for some reason, the modern US comic market just isn't hospitable to anthologies.
posted by NoxAeternum at 1:58 AM on May 23, 2015 [1 favorite]


Weird but cool!
posted by triage_lazarus at 5:20 AM on May 23, 2015


I still have strong memories of finding a Superball still in the packaging in the alley behind my house the first week they were released in the 60s. Since there was no way I could ever afford to buy one, it was like a lump of gold fallen from heaven. Must have fallen out of some other kid's pocket on the way back from the store. Never even saw this comic, though.
posted by ackptui at 5:41 AM on May 23, 2015 [2 favorites]


Mr hippybear has the cover from this, and I got it framed for him several years ago and it's hanging on the wall downstairs. It's an awesome thing to have hanging on the wall.

It's also awesome to be able to see the what the cover once contained, as I had only seen the cover up until now.

Thanks for posting!
posted by hippybear at 6:22 AM on May 23, 2015 [2 favorites]


Wow, this brings back some memories, as I had this book as a kid but had pretty much forgotten about it. Thanks for posting.
posted by Nat "King" Cole Porter Wagoner at 8:07 AM on May 23, 2015


You know, for kids!
posted by Cookiebastard at 8:15 AM on May 23, 2015 [1 favorite]


The pages are so big...it reminds me of my son's 'Marvel Comics' app he uses on his iPhone. You're just sort of scrolling around on the page so much that you lose a sense of the page as a whole. I'm surprised no one pulled a Kirby and did a ginormous 2 page single panel.
posted by jabah at 8:29 AM on May 23, 2015 [1 favorite]


As the above mentioned mr hippybear, I had a copy of this for the longest time and read it a couple of times. But the contained comics were at best so-so and the panels were small and cramped in overfull pages. But the cover, that was worth saving. So, the cover, worn and creased as it was, is now on the wall and the contents long since trashed.
posted by Death and Gravity at 8:39 AM on May 23, 2015 [2 favorites]


DC did something similar in 2009, Wednesday Comics. It was a 12 issue experiment. Results were mixed, but it hasn't been revived.

(Oh, previously.)
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 9:04 AM on May 23, 2015 [1 favorite]


Yeah, I really wish Wednesday Comics had caught on. I bought all 12 of them, and they're all sitting here, in a pristine pile, unread. Maybe that's part of the problem. (Maybe if Marvel tried something like this?)
posted by jbickers at 2:56 PM on May 23, 2015 [1 favorite]


NoxAeturnum > But for some reason, the modern US comic market just isn't hospitable to anthologies.

Tell that to Spike.
posted by egypturnash at 3:46 PM on May 23, 2015 [1 favorite]


I bought all 12 of them, and they're all sitting here, in a pristine pile, unread.

Read the Supergirl story, at least. Anything with Streaky is a win.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 8:36 PM on May 23, 2015


You know... For kids!

edit: Dammit cookiebastard!
posted by jpdoane at 4:43 PM on May 24, 2015


« Older Small Things Considered   |   Unreal Food For The Real World Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments