For most of the latter half of the 1970s, DC and Marvel were experimenting with unusual formats for their comics in an attempt to find something that would sell. Comic sales generally were very low, with unsold returns running as high as 70%. One of the most fondly-remembered of these experiments was the tabloid comic. Huge in size (around 10″x15″), these comics are a joy to behold. They were mainly used to reprint existing material but there are a few originals, such as Kirby’s Captain America’s Bicentennial Battles and Superman vs. Muhammad Ali.
Following a tip-off in Back Issue magazine, I’ve happily trawling through this site — a veritable treasure trove of memories:
http://www.treasurycomics.com/index.htm
Oh, man, I loved the tabloid comics when I was a kid. I have the tabloid-sized editions of Marvel’s “Star Wars” and “The Empire Strikes Back” adaptations. The large format was just perfect for the material.
I wish they’d bring the tabloid format back. I’d scarf ‘em up!
It was a great size — especially effective on big super-hero battles. The all-new editions were fabulous: Superman vs Shazam, Superman vs Wonder Woman, Batman vs the Hulk, Superman vs Spider-Man…
And, the Legion of Super-Heroes tabloid is the only place you get to see the wedding of Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl.
Of course, we did recently have the Alex Ross tabloids (Superman: Peace, Batman: War, etc), but they weren’t quite the same. The Bryan Hitch JLA one was lovely, though!
Which Star Wars edition have you got: it came in both a one-volume and a two-volume version.
I part two of the two-volume edition. Man, what I wouldn’t give to have part one… and the single-volume edition.
Well, OK, I guess there’s a lot I wouldn’t give, since I’m sure I could find them on e-Bay if I really, really, really wanted to. But right now there are other things on which I must spend my money.
It’s kind of sad that Marvel never released the Return of the Jedi adaptation in the treasury format. It’d be nice to have the full set at that size.
Thanks for the link – With the help of this site, I’m even more determined now to complete my collection of treasuries. I started posting a few of my favourites on my blog.
- Joseph
I was never a big comic book fan, but the cover of “Superman vs. Muhammad Ali” is one of coolest things I’ve ever seen. I’d love to get that blown up to put on the wall.