Five Highlights From The Comics Journal #41

THE COMICS JOURNAL #41 (August 1978)

Executive Editor/Art Director: Gary Groth

Editor/Circulation Director: Kim Thompson 

1. MARILYN BETHKE WATCH:

"I entered the world of comics and fandom as an adult and found only a handful of good writers in the industry. Steve Gerber is one of those, and he is one of the only comic book writers who sees the medium through the eyes of an adult, and who doesn't suffer from the arrested creative development that afflicts most other 'grown ups' in the industry."

This is a change of pace piece from Bethke, as it's both personal memoir and career overview of Steve Gerber's first run at Marvel.

(She quotes a fan letter from future comics writer J. Marc De Matteis to conclude her article. Perfect.)

2. STEVE GERBER INTERROGATED... INTERVIEWED BY GARY GROTH

The above banner headline pretty much says it all about one of my favorite Gary Groth interviews. This serves as a sequel, of sorts, to the earlier Gil Kane interview (TCJ #38). Below is a choice quote about violence in media:

3. STAN SAKAI (USAGI YOJIMBO) FAN ART, DATED 1972!

4. UNDERGROUND COMIX BY BILL SHERMAN 

Bill Sherman reviews a rare Canadian underground comix entry, although it's theme of funny animals was pretty common at the time. Canadian underground legends George Metzger, Rand Holmes, and Brent Boates contribute to...

                                GCD

5. SUSPENDED ANIMATION BY JIM KORKIS

Jim Korkis (August 15, 1950-July 28, 2023) cartoonbrew

Five Highlights From The Comics Journal #39

THE COMICS JOURNAL #39 (APRIL 1978)

5. CLASSIFIED AD from Joel Milke

We featured an advertisement by Milke in an earlier installment of this series, he was a very early comix self-publisher and obviously an original art collector.

Just for fun here's a 1977 comic from Joel Milke (with George Erling) archived on Poopsheet Foundation by Rick Bradford...

4. THE SAN FRANCISCO COMIX SCENE by Clay Geerdes

A three page history of the origins of Underground Comix and how so many disparate artists ended up in San Francisco in the late 60s. Three photos by Clay accompany the article.

Bonus: A Close Encounters of the Third Kind movie review in Blood 'n Thunder...

3. MARILYN BETHKE WATCH

Her savage takedown of Jim Steranko's MEDIASCENE...

2. THE DEATH OF UNCLE WALT by Jim Korkis (1950-2023) 

1. NEWSWATCH

The Alternative Comics Publishers section includes a lot of Underground Comix new releases (presumably information provided by an uncredited Clay Geerdes), undergrounds were at least artistically at a high point in 1978...

images from GCD and lastgasp.com