Amazing Heroes Issue #2 Cover

Amazing Heroes Issue #2 Cover

Periodical
Comic Strips

This is the cover of second issue of the periodical Amazing Heroes. It was released in July of 1981 and sold for $1.50. The title “Amazing Heroes” is in red and centered at the top of the page. The titles “Star Wars!” and “Star Hawks!” to the left of the main title are teasing comic strips that are inside the publication. The blurb to the right of the main title is teasing a news story that is inside the publication specifically naming artists Jack Kirby and Mike Grell. Near the bottom-right corner is a yellow circle outlined in white which reads: “Inside: The Teen Titans Hero History & Index”. Nine of the eleven characters on the cover are members of the Teen Titans. The five members in the background (going counterclockwise from under “July 1981”) are: Speedy, Aqualad, Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, and Robin. The four members in the foreground (going left to right) are: Beast Boy, Cyborg, Raven, and Starfire. Beast Boy is crouched next to a stack of comics and holding a comic that is partially in a bag. Raven is holding a comic book open and reading. The signature of comic artist George Perez is in the bottom-right corner indicating that he illustrated the cover.

The five superheroes in the background of the drawing were all part of the original run and the original revival of the Teen Titans. The first team-up was The Brave and the Bold #54 and consisted of Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad, but the “Teen Titans” moniker was not used to denote the group until The Brave and the Bold #60 where the trio was joined by Wonder Girl. Speedy officially joined the team in Teen Titans #19, but he had made guest appearances before then. This original run of Teen Titans was canceled in 1973 after the release of issue #43. Teen Titans was revived in November 1976 with issue #44, but it was canceled again in February 1978 following the release of issue #53. The group was rebooted in November 1980 with the release of The New Teen Titans #1 which was written by Marv Wolfman and drawn by George Perez who also illustrated this cover. This series brought back Beast Boy, who had been rejected from the Teen Titans in the original run, and introduced Cyborg, Raven, and Starfire. Raven reformed the group in order to fight her demon father Trigon. The 1978 cancellation of the original series was due to DC believing that their audience had outgrown the teen heroes. The powers that were at DC changed their tune after seeing the success of Marvel’s X-Men comics. In keeping with this inspiration, the new titans were more diverse in terms of race and gender. This new group proved to be at the center of one of DC’s best-selling comic book series of the decade. The popularity of this new series was such that this issue of Amazing Heroes was sold out in back issues by the release of Amazing Heroes #27.

J. Michael Catron - Executive Editor and Contributing Writer
Peppy White - Art Director
Laura K. Beal - Editorial Assistant
Tom Burkert - Contributing Writer and Research
Gary Kwapisz - Color Separations
George Perez - Cover Illustrator
Todd Klein - Logo

MSU Special Collection Comic Art, PN6725.A47

Zam Inc.

1981-07

Gregory McClure

Rights Restrictions Apply

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

English

Periodical

1981-1992

Periodical

8 3/8" x 10 7/8"