500th Post Extravaganza!

And this makes my 500th post to the blog! It’s been a lot of fun the last two years (well almost two years) doing this. It’s given me an opportunity to be more critical about the comics, toys and cartoons that I love and connecting me with several like-minded people on the inter-webs.

So how will I celebrate?

This post is going to look at comic book covers that celebrate a title passing that milestone! Here are some of my favorite 500th issue covers.

This one is from Action Comics and I love how the image repeats over and over again. The one thing that’s kind of odd about this is Supergirl’s costume. You can so tell this was from the late 1970s, as she’s wearing a long-sleeved v-neck shirt with booty shorts. I think she’s been taking her fashion cues from Three’s A Company-era Suzanne Somers.

These two covers are so indicative of comics in the 1990s, when killing lead characters and having replacements take over was all the rage. Adventures of Superman #500 debuted the four new Supermen after Clark Kent’s apparent death. There were two versions of this; the one pictured and a polybagged one with a Colorform sort of peel off. Again, because it was the early 1990s and I was an impressionable twelve-year-old, I had to have both.To the right is Batman #500, where the Jean Paul Valley Batman avenges Bruce Wayne’s defeat.

This cover from Detective Comics #500 I vaguely remember from my childhood. I think I might have gotten it at a flea market or thrift sale when I was really young.

Uncanny X-Men #500 had two different covers to celebrate, but I really love this one by Alex Ross. Then again, everything Alex Ross does is awesome. Ross does a great job of getting all generations and eras of the X-Men represented on this cover. I would love a print of this.

The cover of Amazing Spider-Man #500 by J. Scott Campbell is really cool, but in the context of the issue it didn’t make much sense. The art is by probably my favorite father and son duo in comics, John Romita Sr. and Jr., so why didn’t they get the cover nod?

Avengers #500 doesn’t have the most exciting cover in the world, but the issue is pretty important for historical purposes. The “Avengers Disassembled  storyline not only began the more modern and prominent role of the characters in the Marvel Universe, but really pushed Brian Michael Bendis and David Finch into the top writers and illustrators in mainstream comics at that time.

So what’s my favorite issue #500?

That would be Thor #500 by Warren Ellis and Mike Deodato. I so loved this era of the character. Ellis’ writing was top-notch and Deodato’s artwork was so bombastic during the period. It’s amazing how much he’s changed over the years. Another personally interesting note about this is that I remember when and where I bought this! It was in May 1995 and I was in Red Bank, New Jersey at the comic book store that was there before Kevin Smith’s Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash opened.