RARE PHOTOS AND ART FROM THE COMIC-CON ARCHIVES

Friday Flashback 001: Comic-Con Team-Up!

Jim Steranko and Jack Kirby (early 1970s)

Steranko (left) and Kirby take the stage during a live sketch event at Comic-Con in the early 1970s. Both known for their work on Captain America (Kirby for his co-creation and repeated stories on Cap; Steranko for three mind-bending issues of the shield-slinging hero in the late ‘60s), can you imagine a more awe-inspiring team-up of creators at any convention?

Will Eisner and Gil Kane (1975)

Wouldn’t you like to have been a fly on the wall in Comic-Con’s Dealers Room at the El Cortez in 1975 to hear what these two giants of comic art were discussing at this particular moment? Both Will Eisner (left) and Gil Kane were known for their knowledge and opinions on comics, not to mention their great art and storytelling. Chances are this was one fascinating conversation!

Murphy Anderson and Jerry Siegel (1983)

Here are fan favorite Silver Age artist Murphy Anderson (left) and Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel at Comic-Con in 1983. Anderson, known best for his work on DC Comics’s Hawkman and The Spectre characters, was also part of the “Swanderson” team of him as inker and Curt Swan as penciller on Superman. Together the two of them defined the character for decades. 1983 was the 45th anniversary of Superman; 2013 marks the 75th birthday of the Man of Steel.

Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster (1983)

Possibly one of the last convention appearances of both co-creators of Superman, here they are at the Comics Buyer’s Guide booth at Comic-Con (the gentleman in the back is Bob Schmall, CBG’s ad manager back in 1983). Jerry Siegel (left) and Joe Shuster jump-started an entire industry with their creation of Superman.

Alan Moore and Jack Kirby (1985)

One can only imagine what Jack Kirby could do with a story written by Alan Moore. This photo was taken at the first-ever Kirby Awards at Comic-Con, the predecessor to the Eisner Awards, in 1985. This was Moore’s only appearance at a convention in the U.S.