Post by Ditch Fahrenheit on Sept 10, 2017 11:45:26 GMT -8
What a fun collection this would make!
Those “Go-Go Checks” on the covers of many mid-1960s DC comic books were the creation of onetime DC Editorial Director Irwin Donenfeld. In an interview published in TwoMorrows’ COMIC BOOK ARTIST, Donenfeld explains,
“In those days, comics were on the newsstands with vertical slots for the magazines. I wanted to have something that showed DC Comics were different than anything else. So I worked it out with Sol Harrison and out that checkerboard across the top. So wherever these magazines were displayed, you could always see a DC comic from way back. It was to distinguish us from anybody else.”
Known as Go-Go Checks, the checkerboard pattern that ran across the top of every issue for a year and a half was not simply a reflection of the era’s pop-art movement. Since some newsstand racks displayed comics vertically, revealing only the upper portion of a book, the pattern was intended to make DC’s comics stand out and thus, theoretically, increase sales. “What a ridiculous thing,” Carmine Infantino declared. “It was the stupidest idea we ever heard because the books were bad in those days and that just showed people right off what not to buy.” But Donenfeld disagreed: “I was trying to find a way of making DC Comics pop out on the newsstand. It wasn’t a bad idea; it just didn’t work the way I wanted it to. It didn’t add anything, but I thought it might.” In fact, total sales for the entire DC line during this period were at their peak for the 1960s, sales for Batman-related titles increased dramatically, and DC was outselling all of its competitors. The checks were most likely cancelled as a waste of precious cover space, and interestingly, sales did begin to stall about a year later.
Several classic covers have the checkerboard at the top of the cover, covers like Detective #357 & Batman #181. The checkerboard appeared the most on Action comics, a total of 20 issues. Three titles started with checkerboard covers on them, including Swing with Scooter, Plastic Man, and Inferior Five. In all, 535 issues carried the innovative design on the cover.
Action Comics #333-352 (20)
Adventure Comics #341-358 (18)
Adventures of Bob Hope #98-106 (9)
Adventures of Jerry Lewis #93-101 (9)
All-American Men of War #114-117 (4)
Aquaman #26-34 (9)
Atom #24-32 (9)
Batman #179-193 (15)
Blackhawk #218-234 (17)
Brave and the Bold #64-72 (9)
Capt. Storm #12-18 (7)
Challengers of the Unknown #49-57 (9)
Detective Comics #348-365 (18)
Doom Patrol #102-112 (11)
Falling In Love #82-92 (11)
Flash #159-171 (13)
Fox and the Crow #96-104 (9)
G.I. Combat #117-124 (8)
Girls’ Love Stories #117-128 (12)
Girls’ Romances #115-126 (12)
Green Lantern #43-54 (12)
Hawkman #13-20 (8)
Heart Throbs #100-108 (9)
House of Mystery #157-168 (12)
House of Secrets #77-80 (4)
Inferior Five #1-3 (3)
Justice League of America #43-54 (12)
Metal Men #18-26 (9)
Metamorpho #5-13 (9)
Mystery in Space #106-110 (5)
Our Army at War #165-183 (18)
Our Fighting Forces #98-108 (11)
Plastic Man #1-5 (5)
Sea Devils #28-35 (8)
Secret Hearts #110-120 (11)
Showcase #61-69 (9)
Star Spangled War Stories #126-133 (8)
Strange Adventures #185-202 (18)
Sugar and Spike #64-71 (8)
Superboy #127-140 (14)
Superman #185-198 (14)
Superman’s Girl-Friend Lois Lane #63-75 (13)
Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #91-103 (13)
Swing with Scooter #1-7 (7)
Tales of the Unexpected #94-101 (8)
Teen Titans #2-10 (9)
Tomahawk #103-111 (9)
Wonder Woman #161-171 (11)
World’s Finest Comics #156-167 (12)
Young Love #54-62 (9)
Young Romance #141-148 (8)
Those “Go-Go Checks” on the covers of many mid-1960s DC comic books were the creation of onetime DC Editorial Director Irwin Donenfeld. In an interview published in TwoMorrows’ COMIC BOOK ARTIST, Donenfeld explains,
“In those days, comics were on the newsstands with vertical slots for the magazines. I wanted to have something that showed DC Comics were different than anything else. So I worked it out with Sol Harrison and out that checkerboard across the top. So wherever these magazines were displayed, you could always see a DC comic from way back. It was to distinguish us from anybody else.”
Known as Go-Go Checks, the checkerboard pattern that ran across the top of every issue for a year and a half was not simply a reflection of the era’s pop-art movement. Since some newsstand racks displayed comics vertically, revealing only the upper portion of a book, the pattern was intended to make DC’s comics stand out and thus, theoretically, increase sales. “What a ridiculous thing,” Carmine Infantino declared. “It was the stupidest idea we ever heard because the books were bad in those days and that just showed people right off what not to buy.” But Donenfeld disagreed: “I was trying to find a way of making DC Comics pop out on the newsstand. It wasn’t a bad idea; it just didn’t work the way I wanted it to. It didn’t add anything, but I thought it might.” In fact, total sales for the entire DC line during this period were at their peak for the 1960s, sales for Batman-related titles increased dramatically, and DC was outselling all of its competitors. The checks were most likely cancelled as a waste of precious cover space, and interestingly, sales did begin to stall about a year later.
Several classic covers have the checkerboard at the top of the cover, covers like Detective #357 & Batman #181. The checkerboard appeared the most on Action comics, a total of 20 issues. Three titles started with checkerboard covers on them, including Swing with Scooter, Plastic Man, and Inferior Five. In all, 535 issues carried the innovative design on the cover.
Action Comics #333-352 (20)
Adventure Comics #341-358 (18)
Adventures of Bob Hope #98-106 (9)
Adventures of Jerry Lewis #93-101 (9)
All-American Men of War #114-117 (4)
Aquaman #26-34 (9)
Atom #24-32 (9)
Batman #179-193 (15)
Blackhawk #218-234 (17)
Brave and the Bold #64-72 (9)
Capt. Storm #12-18 (7)
Challengers of the Unknown #49-57 (9)
Detective Comics #348-365 (18)
Doom Patrol #102-112 (11)
Falling In Love #82-92 (11)
Flash #159-171 (13)
Fox and the Crow #96-104 (9)
G.I. Combat #117-124 (8)
Girls’ Love Stories #117-128 (12)
Girls’ Romances #115-126 (12)
Green Lantern #43-54 (12)
Hawkman #13-20 (8)
Heart Throbs #100-108 (9)
House of Mystery #157-168 (12)
House of Secrets #77-80 (4)
Inferior Five #1-3 (3)
Justice League of America #43-54 (12)
Metal Men #18-26 (9)
Metamorpho #5-13 (9)
Mystery in Space #106-110 (5)
Our Army at War #165-183 (18)
Our Fighting Forces #98-108 (11)
Plastic Man #1-5 (5)
Sea Devils #28-35 (8)
Secret Hearts #110-120 (11)
Showcase #61-69 (9)
Star Spangled War Stories #126-133 (8)
Strange Adventures #185-202 (18)
Sugar and Spike #64-71 (8)
Superboy #127-140 (14)
Superman #185-198 (14)
Superman’s Girl-Friend Lois Lane #63-75 (13)
Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #91-103 (13)
Swing with Scooter #1-7 (7)
Tales of the Unexpected #94-101 (8)
Teen Titans #2-10 (9)
Tomahawk #103-111 (9)
Wonder Woman #161-171 (11)
World’s Finest Comics #156-167 (12)
Young Love #54-62 (9)
Young Romance #141-148 (8)
