This comprehensive list and guide explores the world of public domain characters, from classic literary figures to iconic cartoons and comics. The list includes 10 major cartoon characters entering the public domain over time, including the popular superheroes from the Golden Age and The Interregnum, as well as the fictional superhero Black Marvel (Daniel Lyons).
Public domain characters that originated in other media such as literature, film, cartoons, and more are allowed but must have appeared in at least one comic book, comic strip, or other form of media. Comic books in the Public Domain usually come from the Golden Age and The Interregnum, though some are from the Silver Age.
The ‘Big 4’ of Archie, Jughead, Betty, and Veronica, created by artist Al Gabriele, fall into public domain in 2037-16 years from now. Mystic Comics, published by Timely Publications, ran from March 1940 – August 1942 and included 10 total issues. Copyright for works created by a company, including work-for-hire, covers DC and Marvel, which lasts for 90 years.
This article aims to open up discussion and clear up misconceptions about various companies and characters. It also highlights public domain characters from the Golden Age era that may not have fully fulfilled their potential at the time. Mystic Comics published by Timely ran from March 1940 – August 1942 and is copyrighted for 95 years, making it go public domain in 2033. All files on this site have been researched by staff and users to ensure they are copyright free and in the public domain.
📹 Lost Heroes of the Golden age 52: Red Raven (Timely)
This is a better story than it has any right to be.
What is entering public domain in 2024?
In 2024, several notable works, including Millions of Cats by Wanda Gág, Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Coming of Age in Samoa: A Psychological Study of Primitive Youth for Western Civilization by Margaret Mead, and The Missing Chums (The Hardy Boys, 4) by Franklin W., will enter the public domain. This annual event, known as Public Domain Day, is celebrated on January 1, when a collection of copyrighted work loses its protected status and enters the public domain.
The Center for the Study of the Public Domain explains that copyright law promotes creativity and distribution, but also ensures that these rights last for a limited time. Public domain works can be used as raw material for future authors, without fear of lawsuits.
How to find out if a character is public domain?
The process of determining the date of creation for a copyrighted work involves identifying the original publication date. The applicable law for a work may vary depending on the creation date, with works created after January 1, 1978, following the “life of the author plus 70 years” rule. If the copyright expires after this date, the character is in the public domain. Famous public domain characters include Sherlock Holmes, Dracula, Robin Hood, Frankenstein’s Monster, and Tarzan, all of which have been widely used in various media. Some of these characters have been in the public domain since their inception, while others remain under copyright.
Is Beverly Hillbillies public domain?
The first and second seasons of the TV series, “The Simpsons”, have been released in the public domain due to CBS’s failure to renew copyrights. The episodes have been re-released on home video and DVD by low-budget labels, with the original theme music often replaced by generic music due to copyright issues. The show’s first season was praised by Levi Strauss executive as “more successful for blue jeans sales than cowboys have done in a hundred”. Jed Clampett’s fortune, which was $25 million at the show’s debut, has since risen to $100 million, equivalent to $758, 150, 617 as of January 2024.
What happened to Timely comics?
Timely Comics, the earliest comic book arm of American publisher Martin Goodman, was founded in 1939 during the Golden Age of comic books. The company’s business strategy involved multiple corporate entities producing the same product. The first publication was in 1939, using Timely Publications, based at Goodman’s existing company in New York City. In 1942, it moved to the 14th floor of the Empire State Building, where it remained until 1951.
In 2016, Marvel announced that Timely Comics would be the name of a new imprint of low-priced reprint comics. Goodman, who held various roles including editor, managing editor, and business manager, contracted with Funnies, Inc. to supply material. The company evolved into Marvel Comics by the 1960s.
Is everything public domain after 100 years?
From 1982 to 1994, published works from 1906 to 1918 entered the public domain annually. From 1922, works entered on January 1, 1998. In 1998, Congress passed the Copyright Term Extension Act, extending the terms to ninety-five years for corporate authorship and life plus seventy years for individual authorship. Works began entering the public domain again on January 1, 2019 without further extensions. As of January 1, 2024, all published works from 1928 and before are public domain. Public-domain books in the United States include notable titles that are still widely read and studied.
Who are the big 3 of comics?
The Big Three, consisting of Majestic, Maximum Man, and the High, were a group of Earth’s most powerful superhuman beings who emerged in the 1930s and 1940s. They formed as a team to fight against the Axis Powers during World War II. After the war, the Big Three disbanded as the world did not need them. Maximum Man retired from heroics after forgetting the magic word, while Majestic joined Team One and took temporary solitude from the public.
The High became disillusioned with heroics and human society, leading to a failed attempt to make Earth a paradise free from authority, ultimately costing him his life. The Big Three’s disbandment was a result of the world’s lack of major threats that rivaled their might.
Is Glinda public domain?
Baum’s Oz books, published between 1907 and 1920, were extended by Congress through nine copyright acts between 1962 and 1974. These acts extended the copyright for one or two years each time, ensuring that works published after September 1906 remained copyrighted until the Copyright Act of 1976. The 1976 Act extended the renewal period to 47 years, allowing works to stay copyrighted for 75 years after publication. The rest of Baum’s Oz books did not enter the public domain until the 75-year terms were up.
Ozma of Oz was the first to enter the public domain in 1983, followed by Glinda of Oz in 1996. This allowed other authors to use elements from Oz books in their own works. All of Baum’s non-Oz books, plays, and musicals are also in the public domain since 1995.
Are old comics public domain?
In accordance with the prevailing legislation, all works of authorship created prior to 1928 in the United States are now considered to be in the public domain.
Are Fawcett comics public domain?
This category encompasses superhero characters from Fawcett Publications’ Fawcett Comics series, which was published from 1939 to 1953. With the exception of Captain Marvel and related characters, all of the aforementioned figures are currently in the public domain. The category comprises 13 pages, representing 100% of the total, and may not reflect recent changes.
How many years does a book become public domain?
As of 2023, all materials published before 1928 in the United States are in the public domain. On January 1, works released 95 years earlier will also enter the public domain. If a library user wants to make a copy of a book published in the United States in 1921, they can do so. To check if an item is in the public domain, they can check the HathiTrust database. If the entire item is publicly accessible, library users can download and print it.
Referring library users to the HathiTrust database saves time, effort, and expense by allowing them to access works in the public domain in the United States. Some international items may also be available in HathiTrust.
Will comic book characters become public domain?
Hollywood is facing a series of copyright expirations, with DC characters like Superman, Batman, the Joker, and Wonder Woman set to enter the public domain in 2034, 2035, 2036, and 2037 respectively. Comic book author Chris Sims predicts a flood of unauthorized Batman comics to hit the stands as soon as the copyright expires, with 100 expected to be ready to go. Movie producers will also be able to create their own versions of the characters, similar to how they do with public domain characters like Dracula and Robin Hood.
📹 The Lost Heroes of Gold Key
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With characters like this, i like hearing their original golden age story’s limits. Any bringing back of a character is often by new writers. Moat things that Roy Thomas added though, was from a mind that was encyclopedic about the golden age. But i think its good for you just to say here is the bare golden age form of the story, anything retconned is of no account here. If someone wanted to start over, it would be best to use the original as the basis and let the original writer’s intent inform a development true to its first conception. I spoke full sentences at eleven months, and made my first pun at that age. I put an eye sticker on my high chair and said, “Look mummy, an EYE chair!” I could read at four and came into grade one able to read every word they taught that year, and the notes to teachers in skill packs, as the books were called in which we wrote our lessons. The only word i learned was family, in which i didnt realuze there was an i making three syllables. Adults often hated me as a baby, because they thought i was a freak. But at two, i would have said i was “scared”, not “frightened”.
Hey Jess . How about coving a couple of characters from golden age that . Have no powers but where so much part of the Shazam comics . One was brought back for Dc comics 70’s revival . I’m taking about that lovable faker uncle marvel . And his niece freckles marvel . I know uncle marvel did show up in young justice . And maybe as a separate article you can do hoppy the marvel bunny . It be a great tie in to the second Shazam movie .
As a little kid in the 60s, Gold Key comics grabbed my attention more than the popular superhero comics of Marvel and DC. Seeing them in later years always sparks intense flashbacks. My favorites were Dr. Solar (I was crazy for anything atomic and he had that visor!), The Phantom (the skull ring!), and Magnus (his white go-go boots… wait… I guess it was the robot designs). Their covers really sparked my imagination, they seemed more “real” than the others on the rack and really made me wonder what was going on inside. They were like sci-fi book covers (I may be mistaken but one of the Solar covers shown here looked like it was done by Richard Powers) and movie posters. I even remember the price increase! I was shocked! I didn’t know yet that prices could change. “What?! FIFTEEN cents?!!” Three cent increase is a lot of money when you’re trying to stretch your 50 cents per week comic book and candy budget at the corner carryout. Made it harder to buy an occasional Top Flite Space Master kite.
My first introduction to many of these characters were through Valiant Comics back in the 1990’s. (Still love the Turok article games to this day. I’m 41 now and was between 15-17yo when they released). However it did cause me to go to my local comic/hobby shop in the day and find out that these characters were far older than I though they origionally were. Glad you mentioned this line. Gold Key had a bigger impact than most people think they actually did
When I was a kid, the spinner rack at the local Woolworth’s (the only store close enough for me to walk to) had only Gold Key comics. I bought Dr. Solar, Mighty Samson and Tarzan, when I had money, but my hands-down favorite was Magnus. This was over fifty years ago, and now I see the situation in Magnus coming true. I can’t help but notice the similarity of Magnus’ upbringing and training and that of Doc Savage. Even after I could lay hands on the coveted Big Two comics, I still had a soft spot for Gold Key. The painted covers were absolutely beautiful. I still have most of them.
Wow, when I was young I grabbed every Gold Key book I could get my hands on. Loved those things, but they were very hard to come by compared to the stuff from the Big Two so I hardly ever managed to find enough issues of any one book to really understand the characters. Always felt like I was looking through a peephole at a much broader story, the mystery of which just made them more appealing to me.
I’m honestly surprised the Tiger Girl stuff never caught on The name is a little bog standard and the costume is a little too garish, but there’s a ton of interesting concepts and character dynamics that would be immensely fun to explore A combative romantic tension between TG and Savage, INFAMY agents (perhaps could be retooled as something just as striking but less cartoonishly sinister like INFINITY), Titan’s unrequited affection for TG, her circus buddies as a supporting cast in general, there’s a lot going on that’s ripe for exploration
The unbelievably prolific George Wilson’s cover art contributed to the success of Gold Key’s books much like James Bama did for Doc Savage. The M.A.R.S. Patrol books had covers that look like movie posters. I liked the Gold Key comics but I used to drool over that cover art, Magnus Robot Fighter in particular. I was an illustrator for 20 years and marveled at the design and composition Wilson put into them. How could anybody look at those covers and not want to know what was going on inside?
You suggestion regarding Doctor Spektor and Lakota reminded me: A HS friend of mine (RIP) and his SO wrote several horror novels focused on native folklore and legend. (So MANY of my books have been packed in storage for so long, I cannot just now recall their joint penname, his birth name was Fast Walker, and Boyd Dolash – a strong, loving and kind human.) One book’s plot revolved around a young Lakota man whose young sister was assaulted and raped by outsiders during a “pow-wow festival” for which general public were welcome to visit (and some gawk, I expect). In his anger and frustration with “ordinary LE efforts,” he employs a ritual from the wealth of knowledge his grandfather had taught him. But he was something of a “sorcerer’s apprentice”: Once he had unleashed the vengeful spirit to punish those involved, he discovers he cannot control it, and the spirit craves more… :-O THAT would be a heck of a film! If duel rights were secured, and the scripted worked correctly, the story of the novel with Dr. Spektor and Lakota arriving to aid in the developing spirit-world issue could work well.
what an unexpected treat! thanks for covering the gold key line fizz, magnus and solar are among my favorite comic heroes of all time. I swear you’re just about the only website I know that pays these older characters the respect and appreciation they deserve. I also have to agree with you in regards to magnus, I’ve been itching for a magnus adaption of any kind for years now. I suppose the closest we’ll ever get is the old will smith adaption of i robot.
As a huge fan of Valiant (both 90s and modern) I have a love for these characters but only recently have had a chance to read some of the originals. The Dynamite stuff is good, but like many of their stories, both crossovers kind of fizzle at the end. The Dark Horse books are also good, in my opinion. Thanks for this. As soon as I saw it I was ready to go. I think I’m going to pull out those 90s Valiant issues this weekend 😀
Turok did get a article game. Acclaim Comics, which was Valient, owns the Gold Key characters. They tried to bring their universe to movies with the Vin Diesel movie Bloodshot with others in the pipeline, but it bombed. I would love to see a article on the Archie Comics superheroes. I remember the 90s revamped DC Comics version under their Impact imprint, but would like to know about the originals.
As a self publish artist I had the pleasure of working with gold key comics on an original title called grim ghost stories it was a one shot deal but I did enjoy that experience of Seeing the book in my hands when it was printed. Your awareness of the superhero genre becoming stale are true . The new Batman movie is not a spectacular film it is just Okay and nothing more than that. I wish you were a publisher so a lot of the community here could submit their stories to you and we could talk about them on this website. Turok is another example of increasing a superhero cinematic universe with diversity and you nailed it right on the head wouldn’t it be nice to see Dr. Spector as a HBOMAX show. All of your articles give me that thrill of being a comic book junkie once again and I look forward to the next article and may be some of the ideas that I have mentioned here could be worked on in the community of artists that self publish their work. Thanks for the great memories and information.
Great work, I was introduced to the line through valiant’s rather meta reboot and the N64 game for Turok, some books in the line I’ve heard are public domain (the captain marvel kind where you can get away with it as long as you don’t use the book title and other trademarks) will you cover the dell heroes next or the Harvey comics superheroes to keep with the website’s Wally Wood and Ernie Colon appreciation?
This was really fun. I was first introduced to Magnus and Solar through Valiant, and yeah that’s how I became a fan originally, plus my dad enjoyed reading about Magnus: Robot Fighter back when he was younger. As I watched this my head was trying to make a new shared universe concept with all these guys (Within reason). Frankly I wish Valiant took advantage of a lot of these concepts, something like M.A.R.S. Patrol would have been neat now that I think about it, but either way they’d be great stand alone stories too. My favorite is easily Magnus: Robot Fighter, but I admit as I watched this I developed an odd fondness for Tiger Girl!!!
Such a great article. Like one huge, connecting, knowledge bomb. As an early fan with a willing mom taking me to conventions and exploring comic stores in downtown Chicago, I remember going through myriad comics boxes and coming across a number of the Gold Key hero titles. I was blown away by those painterly, paperback-type covers, but at the time was discouraged by the difference of the interior art from the covers. Seeing all the sample story pages you show here I now realize how beautiful ALL of it was (Dan Spiegle and Russ Manning, what was wrong with me back then?!). It’s never too late to give those collections and books another try. I feel bad I waited this long but at lleast there’s another untouched treasure-trove of books out there to enjoy. 🙂Your articles are so nostalgic and enlightening. Thank you! 🙏
I definitely read some of the Magnus comics. It always bothered me that he was always punching what looked like steel robots with his bare hands. I realized even as a kid not only how painful that would be, but also how damaging it would be to the bones. I think it’s something most people wouldn’t even try once, and surely not twice. Usually when I bought Gold Key though, it was a movie or TV show tie-in. I think they even had one for the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine film (which I wish I still had).
Yes, I remember a few of these due to Bagged version. Had one or two of Lost in Space, had one of Battle of the Planets (thinking the First issue). But I would be picking them up randomly. It wouldn’t be until the late 70s, early 80s that I’d start actually collecting comics (mainly the Marvel and DC line). Then restart again around the late 80s with Mainly Marvel and a handful of off-brand lines like Boneyard, Image, etc.
These were my first comics when I was a kid in the 1960’s and started a lifelong passion for comics. As a young kid the coloured art on the Hanna Barbara books popped and I was hooked. Also the wonderful photo covers of my favourite TV shows and hinted covers sealed the deal. I spent at least 30 years obtaining a full collection of every title in high grade. I also have most marvel/DC since the silver age, but my heart lies with the Gold Key. I simply don’t care what they are worth but I can say they will be the last books I part with once sell off my collection. Them and the Harvey collection.
Honestly, there are many minor comic universes and characters that companies that want their chance to build their own cinematic universe DC or Marvel style could buy. Zenescope with all the intricate details of their Grimm Fairy Tales universe. Dinamite with their constant crossovers of classic properties like Red Sonja, Vampirella and John Carter. Gold Key is probably one of the most unexpected, but I really like the Doctor Spektor idea, and the Lakota Rainflower character seems to have an interesting design at least
Nice to have you back! Great article I have always wanted to know more about gold key. I wonder if doctor solar is what inspired the Simpsons radioactive man? Also Turok has two article games, I used to play the first one all the time as a kid. I know what you mean about getting burned out on modern super hero movie, last one I saw was the one before end game. I find myself perusal the Tim Burton batman movies more than a modern super hero movie.
WOW!! You never disappoint!! Love perusal your vidz. I read Star Trek/ Solar Man and few other Gold Key line comics. Am a sucker for Golden Age Comics. Love them! Some of them are tongue an cheek fun. And your right, Hollywood needs a change. And these Pulp characters are perfect and right timing. keep on pumping out top stuff Fizz Pop!!👊🙏
The Whitman-Gold Key-Dell triad was a far better line than many assumed. (The same can be said of Charlton, who put a title “Doomsday+1” illustrated by then unknown named John Byrne.) One thing I loved about many of their books was the painted covers. Gorgeous work! Granted, a lot of the interior art was not “I’m doing my best effort,” although I suspect that reflected the likely smaller pay scale. But the work was competent and acceptable. (Also: I read in article once that while no explanation for Turok and pal to be in the SW, wherein they became trapped in the sunken, mixed prehistoric valley, their attire and customs as plains natives was accurately represented. So, for the early 60s, that’s pretty cool.)
Dude, you left of one of the COOLEST facts about those Gold Key Buck Rogers comics. Gold Key had a notoriously long run time between purchasing stories and publication. So while the comics hit stands in 1979, they were written in 1978. Thus the issues J.M. DeMatteis did of Buck Rogers were actually the first comic book scripts he ever sold– not DC’s Weird War Tales #70 as most guides tell you. (Granted DeMatteis has disowned said stories… and can get away with it because he was not credited.)
Gold Key and Dell were rare at stores, as was the Charlton line and the MLJ super hero line. I remember when I was growing up in the Chicago south side, few stores had them. DC and Marvel over took most of the comic book racks. I also liked the Fly and the Shield from MLJ, and still consider both DC and Marvel as poorly written. I consider DC in the 50’s and the 60’s to be their best writing time. Great article, I saw a few comics I used to own.
Great article. Lots of great information. a) One major issue is Dr. Solar didn’t influence Dr. Manhattan. Dr. Manhattan was directly based on the Charlton character Captain Atom (who predated Solar by two years). When Charlton’s characters were purchased by DC, Moore was going to introduce them to the DC Universe in The Watchmen, but doing so would have made them unusable in future stories. Thus, Moore took the characters and changed them, with Captain Atom becoming Dr. Manhattan. b) Three characters were revived in different ways. Turok, besides the comics mentioned, also had some article games. Dr. Spektor was revived by Dynamite in 2013. Magnus has been revived several times, most recently by Dynamite several times beginning in 2013.
I bought Gold Key comics occasionally back in the day when they did TV shows like Wild wild West etc . I bought them . About 13 yrs ago in a comic book shop,I flipped though a bunch of old titles from Gold Key made by Dynamite comics like Doctor Solar, Tarzan many more titles which were quite good with a retro look . One that was my favorite was The Shadow . These comics had arc and sold bi- monthly.
Memories! I had loads of these comics, growing up in the 1960s. My dad wrote and later drew titles like Donald Duck, Pink Panther, Woody Woodpecker, etc. He must have gotten comp copies for a lot of these. I liked Turok and Magnus the best and of course the Disney Ducks. Still have some of these! Inspired me to try my own comics.
I am your oldest viewer at 72 so I was in prime comic collecting age when most of these comics were new. I started collecting Turock in the late 50s and through back issue comic stores eventually built up a complete set at a nickel to 10 cents a piece. I still have a complete set of Magnus comics. But I found most of the rest of the Gold Key hero comics to be boring, poorly written and only adequately drawn so their appeal quickly faded. I hate to rain on your parade because I can see your enthusiasm but I thought you mightbe interested in a view from a contemporary of Gold Keys golden age but there it is.
Wow, another great article! My first encounter with Gold Key heroes was a free comic I got from Dark Horse featuring Dr. Solar and Magnus. I found their stories intriguing at the time. Is Gold Key Turok the same man in those article games back then? I am not so sure. Dr. Spektor reminds me of Mandrake the Magician with Lothar as a woman. Pretty neat concept. I am most interested on Tiger Girl. Jerry Spiegel wrote her? A band of circus heroes sound like a fun concept. I thank you for work. I learn a lot about old superheroes from your articles and I hope you continue doing so. Take care.
I have Dr Solar 1 7.0 but I need that Magnus, Dr. Spektor and especially Turok which is really a late Golden Age book. I’d like all of these first issues eventually before they blow up. The print runs of 28M/month make alot of sense. Whenever I go to any random comic shop, these always seem to be the most plentiful back issues from the 1940s-60s. Though most are beat up. I love retrospectives like this. Cheers 🍻 fam. Subscribed.
Once again I a top class documentary. I truly love your passionate approach and excellent research. Definitely a kid of the 70s and 80s. I myself was surrounded by my dads Charlton and Gold Key comics and as a child didn’t like their grittiness. Always felt inferior based on the paper stock and price range. My naive small mindedness at the time. Now I realize my dad was on to something and I just love how all these comics and their creators where the underdogs and pushing the limits on controversial topics on their 1970s squeaky clean all Caucasian right wing social and political portrayal of America society. There views were revolutionary and reflected the true grittiness of the social and economic times in the 1970s. Now as an old fart in my late 40s. We looks back and see just how far we have come and see the true value of these underrated comics and their creators who could be said to be poets of their time.
Outstanding to look back at comic book companies that no longer exist. Atlas. Dell. Gold Key. Charlton. Valiant. They have some daring superheroes of their own, as well as bringing back some of the classic superheroes from previous decades. Sure they weren’t in the same league as DC Comics and MARVEL, but it didn’t mean they didn’t tell some exciting adventures with the characters they brought on the ink pages for the comic book fans.
MAGNUS, SOLAR, and SAMSON were my favorites as a kid. I liked those as well as I did anything by DC or Marvel. And I suspect the makers of the 1980 cartoon THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN had a bunch of SAMSON comics in their past, too. The first thing I ever succeeded in drawing in a 3/4 view was a SOLAR monster, Transivac the Energy Consuming Computer. I was very proud of that. Of course, I was only 8.
Sorry that my initial comment was so short but I’m a big fan of the Owl. His comics were interesting to me and I’m so happy with you are still uploading. I always love your articles. Your final comments about the super hero movies is spot on. I loved No Way Home but it wasn’t because of the current characters, instead I was just excited to see Tobey and Willem. The Batman was okay but felt it took too long to get anywhere. The most recent Dr. Strange movie felt like a mess…
As a child in the ’60’s – what struck me about Gold Key were the painting covers and sometimes also put on the back covers as pin ups, sad you did not mention this massive difference between GK and Marvel/DC… I own two original painting Gold Key covers by George Wilson, totally stunning art… anyway, thank you for your article
I didn’t get into comics until we moved from Canada to Pakistan in 1968. We lived on a small WAPDA (Water and Power Development Authority) colony in Sukkur (one of only two Canadian families there; the other two being Pakistani) and were among the few expatriates in the city at that time. There wasn’t a lot to do in Sukkur; we had no library, no TV, not even a phone. But in the local bazaar I discovered a shop that sold Gold Key comics and thus began my love affair with the medium. I soon exhausted the supply of older issues that shop had, but whenever we travelled down to Karachi I’d visit the newsstand in the Intercontinental Hotel and buy as many newer issues as I could get my hands on. It wasn’t until we moved to Iran a couple of years later that I was introduced to Marvel and DC, but even then I continued to collect some of the Gold Key titles. Particular favourites were the SCOOBY DOO issues drawn by Warren Tufts, Russ Manning’s MAGNUS THE ROBOT FIGHTER, Dan Spiegel’s SPACE FAMILY ROBINSON–LOST IN SPACE, the TARZAN line of titles, Paul Murray’s MICKEY MOUSE adventures, and Carl Bark’s UNCLE SCROOGE tales. I’ve always thought the Gold Key comics to be highly underrated–especially titles like the aforementioned. There was some incredibly good art and some great writing in those books (although, admittedly, a lot of dreck as well), and it’s fortunate that some of it has been preserved for posterity in collections issued by the likes of Dark Horse. Sadly, Gold Key ended in the eighties, largely forgotten by most collectors and unknown to most comic readers of today.
When I was a kid I admit I regarded GOLD KEY as simply that “other” comics company that was worthless, I was so into and dedicated to Marvel and DC. So silly looking back and of course I came to appreciate, like many things in life just how great a lot of their titles and adaptations actually were, eventually I came to feel I missed out not considering them more.
I always look forward to your articles and this one didn’t disappoint. Like you, I thought the Gold Key line was crap when I was younger. Today, though, I think I’d be interested in quite a few of these titles. I don’t read many modern comics, so going back and trying to fill out a collection of some of these titles could be a lot of fun. Great article as always!
What a treat it was to watch this. I am very fond of many of these characters, and will pick loose issues up whenever I come across them (just like my attraction to Charlton). Those value bags were always a welcome surprise too! Magnus and Turok are especially fantastic characters. The series/book Gold Key Alliance is definitely worth a read.
Love the Gold Key heroes! Was fascinated by Gold Key as a kid, as you didn’t find them in the usual places, so stumbling on an issue of Magnus or Doctor Spektor at the barber shop or the local drug store was like finding treasure. Valiant’s revival was big and ambitious and a lot of fun and got the Gold Key characters back into the public conciseness. The Dark Horse attempt was not great, but it got us archive collections of the original stories. Having the complete run of Mighty Sampson more than makes up for how bad DH’s Solar was. Dynamite’s stuff was hit or miss, but I did like the team up minis. Would love to see Gold Key cartoons or movies.
I remember getting the Whitman Comic bags as a kid. Mostly they were cartoon character properties. Every once in a while I’d get original material. I recall one of them being twins raised in the jungle after being lone survivors in a plane crash. I wonder if it rings a bell for anyone. Basically if Tarzan was twins.
Great job on the article,Fizz Fop 1,enjoyed it very much. I really liked the old school artwork and painted covers of Gold Key,good stuff.Glad you mentioned super-heroe movies getting boring. I became burned out after ENDGAME,so I didn’t watch Antman& Wasp,2 characters I like from the comics.Do you remember-the WARLORD comicbook series by Mike Grell ??? Talk about a Netflix,AMC,Amazon tv series !!! Or Cadiilacs and Dinosaurs tv series ??? That’s why I’m looking forward to Avatar 2 down the road,something besides super-heroe movies !!! LOL.The super-heroe films have the same plots/storylines and this includes the tv shows. LOL. People critizise Avatar for having a retread storyline(Dances With Wolves,Fern Gully)but superheroe films aren’t critizised for doing the samething. Was really looking forward to John Wick 4,but production got pushed back.
I always loved the Gold Key line for it’s diversity and uniqueness. Their titles always stood out among all the others. I had a majority of their titles when i was growing up ranging from the in-house titles to their TV and cartoon and movie titles. No mention of Tono and Kono the Jungle Twins?? Published from 1972-1975?? There WAS an animated Turok movie ‘Turok: Son of Stone’ back in 2008 which was quite well done, although it was an adult update with blood and gore, but still held true to the original character. I’m kind of glad no movie studio has gotten hold of these properties because they would bastardize them and ruin them like Marvel and DC both have done. My memories of these characters are unsullied and uncorrupted and i prefer they stay that way.
Great article! Your article skills are awesome and you’re very genuine. I was born in the mid-1960s and had the same opinion you did. I loved Star Trek, but the Dell Star Treks were particularly awful. There was almost no effort to be authentic to the TV show. Magnus was pretty cool. I had no idea they sold so well. I guess funny animals were popular.
Magnus Robot Fighter was the first comic I had a mail subscription to, mainly because the store that carried Gold Key comics was a bit hit or miss on getting more than a few copies of the super hero and adventure comics. I loved Russ Manning’s artwork on Magnus and the Aliens backup feature, but about three issues into my subscription, Manning left Robot Fighter to do the Tarzan comics. I also have quite a few Turok and Solar comics that I purchased along with Robot Fighter. M.A.R.S. Patrol was another fun Gold Key comic that I purchased until Wally Wood left the book.
So Valiant had the gold key properties and they were the cornerstone of their universe in the 90s, but later Jim Shooter was able to get the rights to those heroes and Dark Horse published them in 2010. I think the line up consisted of Magnus, Solar, and Turok. The lineup didn’t do too well because they didn’t last more than 4 issues. That was now over ten years so I don’t know if Shooter still has the rights to those characters…..
Do you have a citation for Doc Solar as an inspiration for Dr. Manhattan? I know that Manhattan was primarily based on Charlton Comics’ Captain Atom, but I can see how Doc Solar could have been another inspiration. Btw, did you know that there is an animated movie of ‘Turok, Son of Stone’? This direct-to-video movie is unrated and is extremely violent, but it might be worth your time.
As a german i would pronounce certain names differently, more with an open (aa) for a and (oo) for u (e.g. D(aa) g (aa)r or T(oo)ro (kk) ). I find it fascinating that Don F. Glut (Gl(oo)t) was involved in so many of these comics. I mainly knew him a a writer of pulp horror novels, which i loved as a teen AND as author of “The empire strikes back”. Something new learned …. Greetz from Hamburg
Sci-Fi in TUROK comics was not something first conceived with the modern Valiant Comics. In God Key’s TUROK SON OF STONE #58, Turok and Andor encounter a flying saucer full of alien, so there was some precedence for that sort of thing in the original series. It was mostly about dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures, but sometimes sci-fi elements popped up: storage.googleapis.com/hipcomic/p/fc8a2cda0d528fabc6a6d21f5b58157e.jpg
Love this! In the 60’s when I was a little kid I can remember my older brother and all his cool friends hanging out at the newsstand and ridiculing the Gold Key hero comics. Of course, I joined in, saying “Oh yeah, who would read that crap?!” But my carefully guarded secret was that I would read that crap! Those covers were hitting up like movie theater popcorn and I wanted to read them all! But I couldn’t blow my cool in front of the “big guys” of the neighborhood. 🫣
18:58 and 20:42 Turok was used as the basis for a computer game series by Iguana Entertainment beginning with Turok: Dinosaur Hunter for the N64 in 1997, followed by Turok 2: Seeds of Evil in 1998, Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion in 2000 and Turok: Evolution in 2002 for Playstation 2, X-Box and Gamecube. Propaganda Games released Turok for Playstation 3 and X-Box 360 in 2008. The first two have have been remastered for Windows, X-Box One Playstation 4 and Nintendo Switch and are available on Steam. All of these are based on the Western Publishing property
13:56 omg, the face of that t-rex on the cover in the middle… it lacks a bubble saying “YEE” 😀 I almost never heard of these comics so the only character I recognize is Turok. I’m surprised it’s not seen as the most well known, I’d think with all the article games Turok would be the most popular of the bunch. Also, Trag kinda reminds me of Yor Hunter From The Future..? which was based on an Argentinian comic Yor The Hunter, but the movie deviated from the source material. Maybe some of the guys working on the Yor movie were secret fans of Trag, lol.
I can see one major issue with a Turok movie/show/etc. While there is more focus on indigenous cultures, the focus is either on specific tribes or modern day life for Native Americans. Turok is tricky because they don’t really specify which tribe from where he’s from. Plus as awesome as his fighting dinosaurs is, I don’t think a lot of Native American creators would be interested in something that fantastical starring Native American characters. It would either focus on history and culture of specific tribes or modern day reservation life. Which Turok sadly isn’t either.
😆Did I enjoy the article? 😆😆💥🤓 I grew up with Gold Key, FF! Turok and Magnus later Doctor Spektor and Dagar were my regular adventure buys along with the cartoon ( Little Lulu, H-B )and tv titles especially Man From U.N.C.L.E., Mighty Samson, Tarzan, Phantom I would get when I could. I met Jesse Santos and Don Glut at a local con, Jesse signed my Doctor Spektor issues featuring The Owl and Doctor Solar. Accompanying Don and Jesse was Don’s 😍beautiful Redhead ( 😍love redheads) companion who was no doubt in my.mind the model for the gorgeous female characters Jesse drew. I discovered Doctor Spektor and Dagar by way of a bubble gum machine ; 4 mini comics encased in a plastic egg for 25 cents each. Turok and Twilight Zone were the other two offerings. Got a dollar in quarters from my m❤m and 💥bingo, got all 4 that day. Where I grew up there were three mom & pop grocery stores ; the larger one had a spinner rack that contained various company publications : DC, Marvel, ACG, Dell, Archie, Harvey,Gold Key…. The furthest one from my house sold Gold Key., Archie and Harvey books and the one in my neighborhood sold Gold Key and Charlton. My 🤗 enjoyment of Gold Key was not only the adventure or humor story it was the in house title checklist, the educational feature on the inside covers and the fan page. No kidding FF this article brought back some deep happy memories of going with my m❤m to not only the mom and pops but also to a local dept store that sold Gold Key comics and Whitman soft cover books, how coincidental for this article to happen on Mothers Day?
these characters that only got one issue (or maybe i only got one issue of them) always sparked my imagination and playtime. My Perseus figure became many of the barbarians until He-Man came along. Most of my star wars figures were NEVER EVER the character they were produced to be, they always had new characteristics and names based on these comics and others, and a little imagination. One example: Meduskull (my 12″ C3PO became a giant robot mythical deity that lived inside the earth and had robotic snake “hair”)
One minor possible correction: The Watchmen’s Dr. Manhattan was Moore’s pastiche for Captain Atom, as DC like the arc idea he had but had other plans for the acquired characters, necessitating his reinventing them and which – I expect – allowed him more liberty for character exploration. It is possible he’s mentioned some Doctor Solar influence in interviews or panels, but Captain Atom was the primary source.
Yo i really dig comics and the western publishing company sounds very important to American culture….i really dig the idea that if you’re not good enough for gold…you can still make a living off of silver…now with all the publishing companies in the United States its always the idea to find the most historic one than build from there yet with the newer ones comes that much needed work force to get the job done….now I’ve just become able to pay off my attorney after five years of networking…but i feel as though owner ship should be coming my way ..what I have to do now is keep expanding my market…but yeah I love alot of comic book stories🤔
If I’m not mistaken Gold Key is already owned by a big media company. NBCUniversal now owns the Gold Key line because years ago they bought Dreamworks that years before that bought a company that had the rights to Gold Key. But because they bought it indirectly the line probably on many big execs minds to actually do something with beside licensing it to comic publishers.
That very issue of Dagar with the fiery dragon skeleton was the one issue I bought back then and have since replaced, along with a few other Dagars. Got the near complete run of Lost In space, with two #1s. A huge collection of Turok as well. Complete eight issue run of Tragg. Both issues of Owl man.
Your conclusion section is great- What makes Dell/Gold Key/Whitman pop for me is that the best comics were about daring adventure and heroes but not necessarily costumed heroes. (Although sometimes). You had cavemen, barbarians, dinosaur-fighters, occult investigators, soldiers, spacemen, etc.. It was really cool.
I had a chance to buy the painting for Dr. Solar #3 at a San Diego Con in the mid-Eighties. It was $300, and that’s all the money that I brought with me for comics, etc. I didn’t buy it. I later learn that the Solar covers were done by George Wilson. It was his cover for the Perry Rhodan series that got me to buy it. His covers for the series were very good.
Nice painty art on those covers, indeed. Too bad the innards come nowhere close to “normal” comics, though. Anyway, no – these non-famous characters are mainly just low rent knockoff versions of previously done heroes from DC and Marvel. I see weak attempts of Thor, Sheena of the jungle, Dr. Strange, etc. I assume the comments about bringing GK back to life in print or article games was a gag, since those other comics company’s lawyers would have a field day with the whole thing. Better to leave semi-well enough alone.
Really? You’re going to Resume Check everything Binder did except his most awesome creation?!! The one involving some powerful teenagers and the clubhouse they live in?!!!! In a the far flung future?!!!!!!!!! Also, while I’m totally being Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons, I think it would have been a nice comprehensive touch to show a few panels from Frank Thorne’s Moonshine McJugs for Playboy?!!!😂🤣😂 She was a real feminist who modern woke “girl power” types would really enjoy 👍😉🤘🤣😂🤣🤣
I remember reading in the 80s what was a DC comic featuring Superman and the Metal Men dealing with Chemo, but had a Whitman logo on the cover. A few years later, I was able to temporarily borrow a classmate’s copy of an old Doctor Solar issue, which was very different from what I’d read from other superhero books. Both were really entertaining reads. In the 90s, I occasionally dipped into some of the Valiant books, but a lot of those early books sold out so fast that I never got a chance to even see if I was interested in them. More recently, I read one of the Doctor Spektor revamps, but it wasn’t a sustainable story, even though it was an interesting read. But then, that’s how most of the Gold Key Hero revamps from the late teens that I had a chance to read. High concept, very interesting, but no real sustainability to the overall stories. With the exception of Turok, most of them were 4-6 issues long, and then they were done, with little chance of continuation.
I did not follow all of the Gold Key books due to their lack of availability. I always liked Gold Key’s Magnus and Man of the Atom. For some reason you did not mention that Doctor Philip Solar was called “Man of the Atom.” in his superhero guise. And most glaring, you didn’t mention the great attraction of Gold Key’s beautiful painted covers. What, no Space Family Robinson, based on Swiss Family Robinson? As for M.A.R.S. Patrol. It’s a “racial slur” to call someone “baldy?” Huh? Isn’t Doctor Spektor, just a later day, less prominent version of DC’s Dr. Thirteen?
Several Gold key books got published here in 7 pockets out the top of my head (after regular comics published before….with Solar mostly and Magnus). These pockets were called ‘The superheroes’ and featured Magnus, Solar, Turok, Dagar, the Robinson family. I read those when I was 9 or 10 something, end 70’s/early 80’s. Because I knew these characters I was immediately there when Valiant started publishing and got all their stuff through the years. American comics as a whole lost my interest in the last 12 years…..no money for woke crap! A Magnus movie or series would be awesome….but only when made retro-futuristic like the original comics…..now THAT I would watch. But if it were to be made now we would get ‘modern’ sci-fi and gay robots fighting for their cybernetic sexual rights and more nonsense that would make it unwatchable. 🤮🤣
First line is something I would normally consider blasphemy, as I loved Gold Key comics with a passion and still have many fond memories of them! 😁Glad they grew on you though. Imho Gold Key comics were one of the best things about being a kid in the 1960s-70s! 🙂My favorite title though was one you didn’t even mention; Space Family Robinson – which was similar to Lost in Space but pre-dated it by four years and outlasted it by ten more (with a 3-year hiatus from 1969-1972), Might not seem like much now but it was Star trek before Star trek itself came along. I need to correct a couple of minor mistakes you made however. 1. Dr. Solar did not increase its cover price to 15 cents until 1967 – at the same time virtually all other comic books from all publishers did. Dr. Solar ended in 1969, but so did all the action line of comics from the 1960s. Its cover price had nothing to do with it. 2. Magnus continued until 1977, but everything since 1969 was a reprint. Many Gold Key series published new stories in the 1970s including Lost in Space and Mighty Samson; but unfortunately magnus Robot Fighter was not one of these.
In 2021, comics creator and hacker Robert Willis obtained the trademark. Later that year the trademark was purchased by the newly-formed Gold Key Entertainment LLC. The new ownership consists of comic book enthusiasts Lance Linderman, Adam Brooks, Mike Dynes, and Arnold Guerrero. Gold Key Entertainment is currently working with creators to produce new titles as well as reviving some familiar titles, all staying true to the classic Gold Key aesthetic. (
Another good posting. I was into several of these titles. I got Magnus, Space Family Robinson, some Dr Solar, Tragg, etc. I got their Golden Comics Diget, Mystery Comics Digest, and Walt Disney Comics Digest. I got the reprints of these when DH did them and hoped for more. A correction. Big Little Books were NOT QUITE strip reprints. These 4×4 books did one page of text, with the opposite page of artwork. While some were based on the comic strips, they did original stories based on a LOT of characters: comic strips, comic books, radio, pulps, movie/movie serials etc
Fun fact since you brought up Turok: Film Roman (Garfield and Friends, Bobby’s World, that Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer Special (Ugh, god!), etc) in conjunction with Gold Key (in name only) produced an animated Turok movie. It was quietly released theatrically in early 2008, but nobody saw it. This was no advertising or promotions for it. It was only in theaters for 3 or 4 days and then it was quietly pulled due to poor box office sales. There were other reasons it didn’t fair that well on the big screen: The demand for Comic Book Movies was not quite there yet. Iron Man and The Dark Knight were a few months away, so there was nothing to fill that void. That, and eventually, it wouldn’t help that the movie was produced by Harvey Weinstein years before he was literally caught with his pants down in the Me Too Movement. On top of that, Comic Book Critics sealed the movie’s fate into obscurity as the worst thing to happen to the franchise. It’s out on DVD but even the DVD runs for serious dough with how rare it is. As far as I know, I’m one of only two people on the planet who saw that movie. And for what it was, I liked it. Sure, it strayed from the original source material some, but what comic book to movie adaptation hasn’t done that? And until we get a better adaptation to sweep the franchise off its feet (which I doubt will happen. DC and Marvel have the Comic Book Movie Genre cornered with 0 room for competition), that iteration of Turok as a movie will do for now.
One slight error in this, surprised no one caught yet. It was mid 1968 that gold key went to 15 cents, and yes, it was very shocking at the time! I recall putting lost in space 29, I believe, back on the rack after seeing that price. Gold key made the same mistake that dell had made, about seven or so years beforehand, going up to 15 cents, before the rest of the competition did. If they had managed to stay at 12 cents, another two or so years, they would have had a much better chance on the racks. I still have almost every hero title /adventure title they put out, even their final efforts.
Great article! My only remaining Gold Key comics are the first 5 Star Trek issues. Sadly, all my Turok’s & Mighty Sampson’s are long gone. I never knew the Gold Key connection to Whitman. In 1967, I wrote to Whitman telling them of an exciting TV series that I thought would make a wonderful coloring book. I still have their kind response of -thanks, but no thanks – on the concept of a Star Trek coloring book.
Another great article. One thing you might want to point out is that Gold Key’s superhero titles were usually published quarterly at the most, were sometimes sporadic, and often included full reprints, cover and all. For example, while it’s true that Magnus lasted from 1963-1977, there were only 46 issues published during that time, and only 27 were original! That probably explains why there were no issue numbers on the cover. When you approached the spin rack at your local 7/11, you never knew what you were going to get from Gold Key, and that was perfectly all right.
21:44 Pretell what the woke crowd sort of do? Cause you really don’t know what that word really means. 22:12 No, I don’t watch that stupid show and plus, I don’t have cable. And besides, the comic book has nothing to do with Ancient Aliens. 22:33 Gee, thanks for telling me that Dagar is a poor man’s Conan.😒 The comic book series on the other hand isn’t Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings. 23:34 Um..what? 21:16 That wouldn’t work. 20:54 Survivor meets Jurassic Park? Are you crazy? I don’t know about your ending but you have lost me. I don’t think all that was necessary, including your woke crowd swipe. Now that wasn’t necessary at all. That was uncalled for. Please don’t bring your screwed up brand of politics into your articles. It’s not necessary.
Gold Key basically gave me a career. As a kid, their “hero” line was not my favorite, I had very few. The tv spinoffs were fun, but the cartoon stuff, both new and Dell reprints, were my life’s blood. That and Harvey comics. They made a little kid sitting at his desk in his room in the sticks who dreamed of being a cartoonist, practice his drawing even more. Those cartoon comics were a sanctuary of humor and creativity. Thank you, Western Publishing.
The original first four volumes of Doctor Solar by Gold Key are some of the very best ever written during the Silver Age of Comics. Also, not to mention the beautifully illustrated painted covers for each issue. To me, that’s one of the most appealing aspects to any of the Gold Key characters and comics is the gorgeous cover art. I highly recommend picking up an original volume of Doctor Solar, you can definitely see where Stan Lee got some of his influence when he brought Marvel back into the fold in the early 1960s.
Bizarre reality behind Whitman Books: During the 1970-80’s comic dealers considered those bagged Whitman DC comics to be reprints and wouldn’t buy them. Only in the late 1990’s was it suddenly realized these books were printed at the same time as the regular DC books. They just printed different covers with the Whitman logo on them. Which means these Whitman covered books have a lower print run making them rarer. Now a lot of collectors are trying to find the damn things. And good luck finding them excellent condition. Since many dealers who did get them when buying collections just threw them in the quarter pile.
I occasionally fell into a Gold Key comic back in the 60s. Except for Star Trek, I don’t think I actually ever bought one off the rack and they only sold them in drugstores. You’re being very kind in your assessment of where superhero movies are at right now. But being older, I’ve come to realise that Disney/Marvel has been working to cultivate their own teen/twenty-something crowd and only time will tell who’s right. But the quality of storytelling is declining rapidly. I very much doubt after reading the comments section on many articles that many MCU fans know what good writing and ideas are from bad. And Hollywood no longer takes creative chances. They’ve become WAY too much into identity politics driven to just do these stories without a lot of race–swapping. Native American Indian characters carry no appeal to the virtue signaling crowd. Turn her into a strong black woman and then they’ll give you a meeting. This stuff is too subtle and good for Hollywood as it is today. But thanks for an enjoyable, nostalgic article.
I remember buying 3-packs of these comics back in the 80s. I guess they were reprints since the originals were printed in the 60s. The bags would have the end comics turned so that their covers faced out, but the middle one was always a crap shoot. I liked Magnus, but I also liked the supernatural ones like The Twilight Zone and Grimm’s Ghost Stories as well as U.F.O. I still have some of them. When I was little, my father had a big box of comics in the attic, including what I assume were first editions of Magnus, The Twilight Zone and others, as well as some superhero comics. I’d go up and grab a bunch, bring them down, read them, then go up and get some more. When we moved, I REALLY wanted to bring them with us, but my father no longer cared about them and my mother said that they smelled “mildew-y”. Being 7-8 at the time, my desires didn’t hold much weight. I wish I had those comics now.
I really enjoyed those Gold Key comics. Basically it was the cost of another empty pop bottle turned in for deposit. Or finding a nickel in the sofa cushions. The DC Justice League comics were kind of boring compared to Gold Key titles by this time. Gold Key had lots of TV show tie-ins, which was a great idea. However, Magnus was a favorite. Nothing else like it. A human in hand to hand combat with robots. Great fun. Turok was good for a while, but the stories were limited to the same Indian versus dinosaur story every issue.
This was really well done, super cool!!! I want to go out and find some of these, any of them really. That would be awesome if some movie company would pick up on these characters. Especially since MCU and DC movies have gone down the drain, over the top Hollywoodization, awful woke movement and stupid story lines. I’m still angry how MCU ruined Prince Namor.
“The worst comic book line”…..that would be “Charlton”, the poor quality yellowish paper, stuck together pages and crooked artwork. As a kid I never appreciated the painted covers, as I wasn’t used to them and associated them as being inferior. I don’t ever recall seeing them on the comic racks in stores. I only found out about them from a used book store. They were sold in a three pack for .25 cents. The covers were torn off and they were mixed with different companies. They never gave you the same genre, it would be a mix of superheroes, westerns, war, horror, romance or funnies. “Gold Key” comics always had a generic feel to them, the artwork sometimes came off as stiff but competent and lacked flair.. Although Charlton was poorer in quality they had a appeal to them. Maybe it was because they were so bizarre. Loved the “Doctor Spektor”, always reminded me of “Kolchak The Night Stalker”. That “Owl Man” costume was awful, that alone would’ve turned me off that comic.
I really enjoyed Gold Key as a kid in the 70’s, especially their horror line (Twilight Zone, Ripley’s, Boris Karloff, Grimm’s, etc.) I felt like I had these special hidden gems all to myself. Most people I knew automatically turned their noses up to Gold Key because they were not DC or Marvel so they must suck. Meanwhile I was picking them up (most times at a cheaper price) and nobody else was reading these but me. Ultimately that worked against the company and the comics went away.
We read some Dr solar and robot fighter back in the when dc comes ruled Britain. There were others USA and American comics.. but dc was top. Haven’t read comics for ages. Still trying to catch up 2019 . Last time I read Dr solar, it was great under valiant comics. Turok. Don’t know if they still do it. But had a comic in valiant. After the success in the article games market. Yes I would like to see Dr spector and tiger women /girl get a reboot. Maybe you should get your friends and buy or rent these characters. There so much lost character in the comic world. DC mush up loads of Charlton comics. Who were good in ther day. Good show. I like comic history. 👍😊
Huge fan and collector of the Dell/Gold Key comic books. I’ve also thought for a long time that these characters need to be brought to feature films, television series, or animated DVDs like Time-Warner does so well with their DC comics superheroes. Microbots was a one-issue GK comic that I wish had been successful and run for much longer. The premise was that a group of young people awaken from suspended animation into a dystopian future. Their scientist parents placed them into a cryonic sleep to save them from WW III. When they awake they discover that their parents have created a group of highly sophisticated robots to protect them and help rebuild civilization. I could envision Microbots crossing over with Mighty Samson since they occupy the same kind of setting in a fallen world.
You’re not kidding, the superhero movie genre is now past saturation point and they all look pretty much the same and none of the merch sells, NONE! The Eternals is a perfect example of this, hundreds of pallets of action figures and other merch winds up at Ollie’s and sits there for years as peg warmers yet Disney refuses to acknowledge this fact, NO ONE wants their tired crap. Several years ago I mentioned to a friend that I’d think it’d be neat to see a movie based on Doctor Solar and he laughed at me, saying why should that be, no one really remembers the character. Disney and Marvel Studios has the lion’s share and spend hundreds of millions of dollars on these productions but in 2023 it’s all going down the toilet for them. I also suggested that Magnus and Turok would make for neat movies, again, more laughter and ridicule because those are forgotten characters plus it’s quite the norm in 2023 for movies to have a “strong & independent” female or “girl boss” character shove all the male characters aside and lead the movie, hence the failure of so many movies and TV shows today. It’s all so tired…
Have you considered doing a article on Classics Illustrated? Comic books just didn’t get any more highbrow than this fine line of literature with pictures. What’s that, you say? No “Lost Heroes” here? Well, then, my friend, you haven’t even begun to discover the world of heroes until you crack open one of these beauties.
I was born in December, 1947, so I have fond memories of so many of these comics. After reading my first comic book, a Plastic Man comic, in a barber shop, I was hooked. My first comics were mostly ‘kids’ titles – Supermouse was a fave. I also remember “Atomic Mouse” and “Atomic Rabbit” comics – no recollection of the brand, though. “Sugar and Spike” was an early fave, and “Little Lulu”. “Turok – Son of Stone” became a HUGE favorite, since I was a dinosaur freak since first grade. Let’s see…Oh, yeah – “Superman”, “Superboy”, and “J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars” were faves. I read “Magnus”, and DC’s “Metal Men”. I ‘graduated’ to “Amazing ‘Adult’ Fantasy’ in early teens, and of course, bought the issue with the first “Spider-Man” origin story. From then on, it was Marvel all the way for me. I had First Issues of most of their superhero comics, and Silver Surfer became my fave. But…I also had a little brother who read them in the bathroom, and usually left them under the sink. None of my originals survived. One thing – Don Glut’s name is pronounced ‘Gloot’. Oh, and I can’t believe you said ‘nukyaler’. (Smile face here). LOVED finding your website tonight!
We LOVE Gold Key, and we were obviously VERY inspired by their hero and anthology titles. “Magnus, Robot Fighter 4000 A.D.” remains one of the best comics of all time, and if we were pressed to name the most underrated book ever, we might suggest “The Occult Files of Dr. Spektor”. Both are still so fun to read. And “Tiger Girl”…? We wish there had been a second issue for that “sizzle-tempered cutie”….! Thanks for shining a spotlight on some of the best comics of the Silver and Bronze Ages.