The podcast I mentioned in the article, The Iron Age of Comics, also just covered 1986 in an episode that was released just yesterday:

Enjoy!

Wow, TDKR, Year One and Daredevil: Born Again all in the same year. Miller was on fire in '86, but I guess it's true what they say about "the light that burns brightest." For me, Colan only ever really "worked" when inked by Tom Palmer on Tomb of Dracula. There's an "unfini...

Interesting interview! I had no idea he went through that at Marvel. That page of his artwork for “Jemm, Son of Saturn” was similar to his artwork for “Doctor Strange.” Yep! He got to do cool side projects at DC back then such as Jemm, Night Force, Nathaniel Dusk, fill-in issues of World's Finest a...

I’m not familiar with his later work. I don’t know if I saw anything he did in the 1980s. Nothing I can think of, anyway. From 1981 to 1986 he worked on the Batman books and side projects at DC Comics. He left a pension plan at Marvel in the late 70's, citing being micromanaged by new EIC Jim Shoot...

My take: Robbins tried to be Milton Caniff, but lacked the control, composition, contrast and mood. I have a sentimental spot for Gene Colan’s style. I enjoyed Daredevil as a kid, including the early Wally Wood, but really did not pay attention to Colan’s unique style until I picked up the first Je...

What caught my eye in your article was this image from the “flashback scenes in the first issue.” It struck me as reminiscent of Jim Steranko’s work in Nick Fury #3: “Dark Moon Rise, Hell Hound Kill.” As eye catching as this is in 2026 as an online image, imagine how it looked on the printed page i...

“ACTION COMICS ANNUAL #1 which features a great vampire story guest starring Batman with art by Art Adams which was outstanding.” Great story , and the last page was fantastic, with Batman just holding wooden stakes and a mallet I didn't even know that story existed until a character mentioned it i...

You're certainly not the only former comics reader who felt this way about both Miller and Robbins artwork. As a kid I hated Robbins, after art school and believe it or not many discussions about art and design with Jim Steranko and an exposure to European Comics (which are a different level than A...

1986 might have been the year comics really grew up-- Dark Knight Returns, as much as it's derided here for it's black humor and seeming devolve of Batman into a violent psychopath was a landmark. By '86 I'd given up on comics, the last really "great" comic I'd read was RONIN by Frank Mil...

My first 13th Dimension article of 2026! Enjoy!

https://13thdimension.com/1986-comics-w ... ars-later/

I've always loved Steve's work and was really looking forward to it when it was coming out. I was disappointed in the lack of shadows, everything is so brightly lit it makes Batman seem out of place. It read to me like a Superman story guest starring Batman. Just my opinion. "Dark Knight Over ...

One final 13th Dimension Article by me for the year! Enjoy!

https://13thdimension.com/13-reasons-th ... n-team-up/

Would love a '66 Batcopter in this scale.

Know what would go well with it? A Gary Larson Far Side ornament--like a cow standing like a human! I checked, but there don't seem to be any "Farside" toys or ornaments out there, only licensed mugs, T-shirts and calendars. I do have a standing cow angel, though. https://live.staticflick...

Robin and Black Manta are in wave 4, along with Evil Aquaman, Judge Lex Luthor and a Batman they are calling Version 2 for the best my knowledge I know Scarecrow and Lex Luthor had two very different designs from Lefion Of Doom era to The last couple seasons of the show, but Batman always looked th...