MY PERSONAL STERANKO TOP TEN COMIC BOOKS !!!

 Okay, I've yet to do this on my blog previously, but here we go. Here's my top 10 favorite comic books illustrated by Jim Steranko (although not necessarily written by him.)

Batman piece I don't see much!

One Superman #400 spread by Steranko!

 

Our Love Story #5 splash page!

 Jim Steranko is my all-time favorite comic book artist. I've been fortunate to pick up a lot of items he's come out with over the years. Comic books, paperback book covers, trade paperbacks, magazine covers and even a couple of hardback book covers. 

That's Steranko's hand design for Spyman!

#10: Harvey Thrillers' Spyman #1
This is the one that launched a comic book career. Steranko created characters for Harvey Thrillers, with the most notable, Spyman. I still fondly remember being hooked with that great cover.   

Steranko's original cover for Incredible Hulk Special #1!

#9:   Captain America #110 "No Longer Alone!"


Who can forget the power of the rampaging Hulk as lavishly illustrated by Steranko!  Those dynamic hands, the awesome cover to the first Incredible Hulk Special! 
Pure genius. 

#8:   Strange Tales #168: "Today Earth Died!"
One of the scariest Nick Fury stories that still haunts me today! Who can forget the UFO, the alien whose purpose is to "destroy all life-- everywhere"! As Earth's complete destruction begins...
That first page lays it all out!

  #7:   S.H.I.E.L.D. by Steranko Complete Collection:  "The Man Called...D.E.A.T.H."
Now what can I say here, a Steranko try-out? A gem, seeing the first time Steranko draws Nick Fury! You can't find these two pages just anywhere, but you can find it in this collection & the Artist Edition -- which will really knock your socks off!

#6:   Strange Tales #167 "Armageddon"
That glorious four page spread (back in the day you had to buy two copies in order to see the spread in all its splendor!) It's all here! The ultimate climax between Nick Fury and the Yellow Claw we'd been waiting for. 
And how about that gasp at the ending?

   
#5:   Tower of Shadows #1: "At the Stroke of Midnight!"
Steranko takes on horror comics. And how he does! His original cover was rejected. His even pacing and cinematic layouts were outstanding. Breathtaking!
The Gravedigger never looked so good!  

Outland begins in this issue of Heavy Metal!

#4:   Heavy Metal: Outland
This one is a little harder to find, especially since it's not been collected in the states. It's only been serialized in Heavy Metal magazine. Now that's appalling! His artwork has never looked so good. You can find it on the Art of Jim Steranko web site. 
Do yourself a favor, get in there and read it, enjoy it, get excited over it.  

It was exciting when this issue hit the stands!

 

#3:   Nick Fury #1 "Who Is Scorpio?"
This launched a new dynamic to Silver Age of Nick Fury! Scorpio was a new mysterious villain for Fury to match wits with. Few, since Will Eisner, have done styling like Steranko. Silent pages! Nick Fury shot in the back. 
These were the best of times!  

This is the Fiction Illustrated #3 digest, the Fiction Illustrated book title is Chandler instead!

Rumor has it Chandler Red Tide is Steranko's next project!

 #2:   Fiction Illustrated: Chandler
I've only had the pleasure of enjoying the digest, titled Fiction Illustrated. I've never seen the magazine sized edition titled Chandler! Noir has never looked better. I loved getting the Dark Horse Presents featuring Steranko's Chandler: Red Tide. Stunning! 
Cannot wait until the main feature comes along!

How big? That big! Huge! Heavy!

Teaser cover!

Teaser cover!

 #1:   Nick Fury Artist Edition
Now, this is the granddaddy of my Steranko collection. I just had to spring for the Artist Edition and am I glad I did. First of all, it's huge! Man, I was never as excited as I was when I got this in the mail. It's, by far, the best presentation of Steranko's work on Nick Fury from Strange Tales! 
Stunning!  

Painted cover to Nick Fury vs. S.H.I.E.L.D. #1

My favorite pulp hero done by Steranko!

Steranko cover story pushing the boundaries yet again!

Unseen Shadows - showcase of Shadow paperback covers!

I hope you've enjoyed my trip down memory lane. I trust you can see why Steranko is Number One in my book.

Live Large My Friends!

Thank You!

Portland Nova Con 5

Steranko's classic hero - Talon!

Cover & side to Supergraphics Comic Collector box!

The other side of the Comic Collector box!

ATTACK, HARRASS & WREAK HAVOK -- DELL COMICS' THE RAT PATROL !!!

"Let's shake it!," barked Sgt. Sam Troy.  

Dell Comics' Rat Patrol ran 6 issues with photo covers on all. The Rat Patrol was a long-range desert patrol group, in the North African campaign during World War II, armed with jeeps equipped with .50-caliber machine guns. Their mission: "to attack, harass and wreak havoc on Field Marshal Rommel's vaunted Afrika Korps".

Great TV series based on The Immortals sci-fi novel by James Gunn.

Terrific sci-fi movie based on the awesome Colossus novels trilogy by Raymond F. Jones!

 Sergent Sam Troy (as played by Christopher (The Immortal) George lead the Rat Patrol team of Sgt. Jack Moffitt (as played by Gary Raymond), Private Tully Pettigrew (as played by Justin Tarr) & Private Mark Hitchcock (as played by Lawrence Casey.) The enemy was Hans Dietrich (as played by Hans Gudegast [aka Eric (Colossus, The Forbin Project) Braeden.]

Rat Patrol #1  Seek...Find...Destroy! The Mission Into Mayhem
"Hit and Run"
"Head on Collision"
Written by Don Segall with artwork by Joe Sinnott & Vince Colletta. 

Rat Patrol #2

Rat Patrol #2  Tank versus Jeeps  Cannon against Machine Guns  Impossible Odds...Impossible Task...Give it to the Rat Patrol
"Red Ball to Destiny"
The team is assigned to retrieve a courier lost with a downed B-24 on its way to Bengasi.
"Traitor...or Spy?"
Someone in the Long Range Desert Group is leaking Allied secrets to the Germans.
Artwork by Joe Sinnott & Vince Colletta. 
 

Rat Patrol #3

Rat Patrol #3  Assignment: Danger  The Mission That Must Suceed...at All Costs!
"The Day the Tables were Turned"
"And Not a Drop to Drink"
Rat Patrol #3 - #5 artwork by Jose Delbo.

Rat Patrol #4

Rat Patrol #4  The Desert War is Deadly  The Rat Patrol Finds That out the Hard Way
"The Hostage Train to Nowhere"
"Sand, Gas and Bullets Don't Mix"

Rat Patrol #5

Rat Patrol #5  Four Men, Two Jeeps and...Courage!  The Odds Were Never Worse for the Members of the Rat Patrol
"Starve 'em for Gas!"
"The Day Jeeps Went to Sea!" 

Rat Patrol #6 - reprint of #1

Rat Patrol #6 was a reprint of #1.

 

Paperback Library published a series of six Rat Patrol books. The first novel was written by Norman Daniels with the rest written by David King. A Whitman hardback, The Iron Monster Raid, was written by I. G. Edmonds. 

Whitman book complete with illustrations!

 The Rat Patrol TV series is available on DVD by season or in a complete series set. It's great to see it reissued on DVD! Relive the glory!

There were lots of trading cards to choose from, including bubble gum in some of them!

There was even a set of trading cards, with a puzzle on the back and a lunchbox.

I hope you give it a try. Rat Patrol was a good show, I always like Christopher George and Eric Braeden. I didn't follow a lot of war shows, but this one I did. The comics are good, but the books are better.

Live Large My Friends!

Thank You!