From the Ah, If Only Dept.

These 2 pages, drawn by Curt Swan, helped usher the Silver Age of DC into the Bronze Age. There's a lot of nostalgia for Gold and Silver Ages, but a lot of that stuff was pretty lame and silly. The Bronze Age of the super heroes was pretty good stuff, still a little silly, but not so obviously.

Ah, if only I could go back to '71, the things I'd do differently. For one thing I would appreciate that time more than I did the first time around. Also I'd spend a little more dough, collecting stuff—and hanging on to it!

Checkerboard Phase

I have sincere nostalgia for DC's 'go-g0' checkerboard phase of the silver age. Comic books were fun and DC books were easily spotted in the spinner racks. At 12 cents apiece I could usually afford to grab most every comic I wanted. But it was usually the Kubert, Infantino and Kane books I wanted. I bought each of these Detective Comics thinking, oh joy, Kubert stories, but oh well, at least he did the covers.

Across the Ages

I have a love/hate attitude toward the Silver Age of comix. Much of it has little appeal for me, but some of it still feels good—none more so than Joe Kubert's take on Hawkman.

Here is an across-the-ages special panel that Kubert drew, during the bronze age, of the Silver Age Hawkman and Hawkwoman battling the Golden Age Gentleman Ghost.

Bridged the Ages

Al Williamson's comix art bridged the ages, bringing Golden Age excitement into the more refined aesthetic of the Silver and Bronze Ages.