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Thursday, November 01, 2007

Justice League of America Stamp - 1976

sgThis is a super-cool JLA stamp from the series of DC Superhero Stamps put out in the mid-1970s(I believe Marvel put out a few sets of them as well). I don't have any of the booklets, so I don't know how many of them have Aquaman, but someone was selling a sheet of these JLA ones so I picked them up.

The art looks a little Dick Giordano-ish, but some of it looked...familiar. I couldn't quite place it until I realized it was from page two of the
Super Friends treasury comic by Alex Toth:
sg...as you can see, the Hawkman and Elongated Man poses--and just those--are lifted from Toth's work(weird!).

And since I doubt Dick Giordano ever needed to lift someone else's art in his life, I bet this was done by someone instructed to get as close to the DC "House Style" as possible, so it ended up as a kind of Giordano/Toth hybrid.

Picking a JLA-related piece for today has a dual purpose, since today is the opening day for my new(est) blog, called
JLA Satellite, all about the original JLA comic book(head over there for its Mission Statement; I won't bore you all with it here).

Why I need one more blog to add to my daily workload, I'm not sure; all I do know is when I come up with an idea for one I can't wait to start it--this one has been in the works for a while, and I figured now's a time as good as any.

Of course, there will be a lot of back-and-forth between JLA Satellite and the Shrine, since the histories of Aquaman and the JLA are so intertwined. The JLA Satellite's focus is a lot more narrow; at least for now--so was the Shrine's when I started, and yet yesterday I found myself posting pictures of me in an Aquaman costume.

Anyway, it oughta be fun, hope you all like it!

Tomorrow: solo Aqua-Content!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Actually, this could be all Giordano. I have nothing but the utmost respect for the big G, but he's been known to lift artwork before. Much of his solo Batman work is peppered with poses redrawn from pencils by Adams that Giordano had inked previously.

I think Black Canary is lifted from the Toth piece as well.

Sweet stamp though! And I'm beaming over to the Satellite right now!!!

Chris

Plaidstallions said...

Wow, I got real into these stamps for a brief period in the mid seventies. I haven't thought of them much since then.

Anonymous said...

There definitely was an Aquaman stamp. It was a version of the 1976 calendar pose by Adams and Giordano, redrawn by somebody like Dan Atkins or Jack Abel (that heavier style, anyway). I think I remember the background (ocean) being purple. I had it for years, but now have no idea where it ended up...

Luke said...

That's a neat stamp. I would have liked it if DC had included a group shot in their most recent set of stamps. And I love that Alex Toth Wonder Woman. She looks so young and bouncy. Probably inappropriate for the character on her own, but fun for a group shot.

I will definitely check out the new blog!

K.B. said...

I love these treasures you find.