Amazing Heroes Issue #5 Cover

Amazing Heroes Issue #5 Cover

Periodical
Comic Strips

This issue of Amazing Heroes, published in October of 1981, primarily features content about Ka-Zar, additionally containing fan letters and Star Wars adventures, a reminiscence of Spider-Man, and comics news. This cover page, illustrated by Brent Anderson, depicts the hero Ka-Zar kneeling before a lavishly dressed, standing man with a cape (named Belasco). The bearded Belasco additionally has a sword tied around his pelvis in front of him, pointing down, and purple tights on his legs. He stands tall above Ka-Zar, being elevated further by a platform under his boots, and his hand is held out and flexed menacingly. While Belasco's face is clearly visible, the long-haired Ka-Zar is facing away from the reader, gripping his own small weapon as he kneels, shirtless and bare-legged. His shadow appears in front of him, despite the implied light source of a fire at his anterior. This large yellow and red flame stretches, rising up the page, twisting on its way up and containing the words, “Ka-Zar goes to Hell!” The cover promises a look at Lee and Ditko’s Spider-Man and the return of the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. agents in addition to this feature story, but few other words are present on the page.

The creation of the Amazing Heroes fanzine in 1981 speaks to the state of fandoms at the time. As a print medium, these fanzines were not as easily circulated as the online media content of later years, creating an aura of exclusivity within some already elusive fandoms. For the fans to have this method of exchanging information with each other is empowering; with the creation of these fanzines, fans have the opportunities to participate in the works they appreciate and love. This is the beginning of fans’ cultural movement from the margins to the mainstream, giving fans a procedure for participating in a cultural production. While this particular issue exists at the boundary between the bronze age and the modern age, at the time of publication, the internet has not yet allowed for instantaneous communication between fans across far distances. However, Amazing Heroes allows for a form of collective expression and collective appreciation. This issue’s focus on Ka-Zar shows this collectivism for a hero that is far from Marvel’s most popular in the mainstream (despite his frequent usage). Ka-Zar could additionally serve as a symbol of the fans’ transformative use of existing source material by existing as a reworking of a previous story himself (especially when considering that Shanna, Ka-Zar’s wife, is a clear imitation of Sheena of the Jungle).

Executive Editor: Michael Catron
Art Director: Peppy White
Contributing Writers: Bob Sodaro and David M. Singer
Contributing Artists: Willie Blyberg, Rudi Franke, Mark Heike, Sam de la Rosa, Mark Lamport, Jim McGreal, Mike O'neil, Dan Reed, and Brian James Riedel
Cover Art: Brent Anderson

MSU Special Collection Comic Art, PN6725.A47

Zam, Inc.

1981-10

Rowan Giffel

Rights Restrictions Apply

Amazing Heroes Issue #5 Table of Contents
Amazing Heroes Issue #5 Pg. 34

8 3/8" x 10 7/8", color

English

Periodical

1981-1992