On June 23, 1960, a new and different comic book appeared on newsstands. And while giant-sized comics costing 25 cents were nothing new—Dell, Archie, and Harvey had been doing them for years—Giant Superman Annual 1 was something very different for DC Comics, it’s first-ever, 80-page, all-reprint issue, and the first giant-sized issue to star comics’ favorite genre, the superhero. If you bought this comic book off the newsstands in the summer of 1960—like I did—it was one of the most memorable comics you’ve ever owned. Tales From My Spinner Rack Episode 31, “This Superman Annual Changed Comics Forever!” explores all that and more!
Giant Superman Annual 1 jump-started the comic book industry’s love of reprint books, pioneering the way for more Annuals and the eventual coming of DC’s 80-Page Giant line, which brought us monthly doses of giant-sized reprints for years to come, the precursors of the graphic novel collections of today. We’ll take a look at all of DC’s early 1960s Annuals, plus the start of their 80-Page Giant line and more, including how these early books provided the inspiration for other companies—like Marvel—to publish their own giant-sized reprint titles.
Join me as I explore this amazing run of DC Annuals in the Silver Age of Comics! You can watch Episode 31 right here, right now or click on the video below and see it in all its full-screen glory on YouTube! Please subscribe to the official Tales From My Spinner Rack! channel on YouTube, where you’ll get my latest episodes a day earlier than here on my blog! And while you’re there, check out all of our other numbered episodes of Tales From My Spinner Rack, collected in the “Complete” playlist.
Tales From My Spinner Rack! Episode 31: This Superman Annual Changed Comics Forever!
Click here for more than 30 Tales From My Spinner Rack! posts featuring nostalgic essays loaded with art and info about the comics, creators, and characters I loved growing up in the 1960s and ‘70s!
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