dearlenbaugh wrote:
I propose that on Jan.1, 2014, we all admit that by 1964 DC sucked, Marvel rocked, and we all defect to the Marvel Masterworks Marathon thread, leaving Mr. Peabody here A-L-L alone!
Here, amigos, I must disagree.  DC still had some decent output during 1964 and 1965--although I agree it had peaked in 1963.  The JLA/JSA crossover was the Mt. Everest of the DC Silver Age, and all other comics would be lesser measured against it.  

In absolute terms, we still have two more years of quality art and story coming from Infantino, Kane and Anderson, including Anderson's Golden Age revivals in 1965, Kane expanding his action sequences in GL and Atom, Hawkman getting his own book, and New Look Batman (a big improvement in my eyes; your mileage may vary).  We also got some great Doom Patrol and Challengers stories, and even the New Look Blackhawks had some energy before they descended into camp superhero-parodies.  

By 1966, the success of the Batman TV show coincided with the advent of the dread "Go-Go Checks," and DC went into a serious slide. 

In relative terms, by the start of 1964 Marvel was really starting to get traction with its stories (in January you have the revival of Captain American in Avengers 4, and the start of Kirby's amazingly creative four-year run on FF starting with FF 25), so by the start of 1964 Marvel was getting a lot better than it had been, and was even better by the end of 1964.  By mid-65, comic-for-comic, Marvel was pretty much pulling ahead of DC.    


Last Edited By: Yossarian Oct 27 13 4:01 PM. Edited 1 times.