COMIC BOOK COVER GALLERY: SUPERGIRL appearances on the covers of comics acquired in the '60s, '70s, and '80s

                         

With last week's release of the new Supergirl movie, let's devote a Comic Book Cover Gallery to the Woman of Tomorrow, the one and only Maid of Might, SUPERGIRL!

My introduction to the character was a story in 1966's Superboy # 129, an all-reprint 80-Page Giant that fascinated me when I was a kid (an experience detailed here). Supergirl isn't seen on the book's cover, but her appearance is hyped as a "Special Guest Star." From there, I started reading her backup feature in Action Comics, her occasional participation as a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in Adventure Comics, her subsequent lead feature in Adventure Comics, and various solo titles thereafter. I confess that my eyes stung when I read the story of Supergirl's death in 1985's Crisis On Infinite Earths # 7. Post-Crisis, I was a big fan of writer Peter David's work on the '90s reboot (which falls outside our timeline here, but let's show one cover anyway.)

The 1990s Supergirl was not Superman's cousin, a different character than the one I first encountered when I was six. Later reboots reestablished the Kryptonian connection, but the current Supergirl is also not the pre-Crisis Supergirl of my youth.

I'm okay with that. I very much enjoyed the new Supergirl movie, and Milly Alcock is terrific in the starring role. If you've seen the film and didn't like it, well, dig what you dig. I liked it a lot, particularly an early sequence where an unpowered Kara interrupts her partying to face some bullies bothering a young girl, and Kara takes the bastards down. As a hero should. I'm very much looking forward to Alcott's return to the role in next year's Man Of Tomorrow.

As always, we'll be sticking exclusively to the '60s, '70s, and '80s era of acquisition I've established for these galleries. Today's selections include books I bought new, back issues I acquired after the fact (but within the timeline), and B-stock contraband originally purchased without their covers. These aren't actual photos of comics in my collection; most images are courtesy of the Grand Comics Database, which is grand indeed. But I did have each and every one of 'em at some point in time.

EDIT: It occurs to me that my introduction to Supergirl predates Superboy # 129, and goes back to 1965's 80-Page Giant # 14, a Lois Lane issue that is the first comic book I remember reading (or having read to me).

And now, we return to your Comic Book Cover Gallery, already in progress.

If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider a visit to CC's Tip Jar. You can also become a Boppin' booster on my Patreon page.

My new book of short stories Guitars Vs. Rayguns!! Short Stories And Other White Lies is out now, and you can get autographed copies of the new book and my previous book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) directly from me. You can still get my previous previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.

I compiled a various-artists tribute album called Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes, and it's pretty damned good; you can read about it here and order it here. 

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, streaming at SPARK stream and on the Radio Garden app as WESTCOTT RADIO. You can read about our history here

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1343

This past Thursday was Global Beatles Day, commemorating the 59th anniversary of a June 25, 1967 worldwide television satellite broadcast that included the introduction of a new song by the Beatles: "All You Need Is Love." It closes this week's show (with music by the Dahlmanns serving as encore). Nothing you can do that can't be done, nothing you can sing that can't be sung. It's easy!

My relationship with the song has been as ever-changing as the world in which Paul McCartney later said we live in. Loved it! Liked it. Sort of liked it. Tolerated it. Could do without it...no. Never quite got that far, though I came kinda close. Like its author John Lennon's similarly Utopian tune "Imagine," the earnest plea of "All You Need Is Love" eventually felt too simplistic to me, too...naive? Yeah yeah yeah.

As I age, as everything around us seems increasingly committed to becoming a world without love, the sentiment expressed in "All You Need Is Love" (and in "Imagine") feels almost punk in its pleasantly defiant rejection of hatred, of ill wishes, of the malevolent forces serving as real-life Blue Meanies in a dreary planet-wide remake of Yellow Submarine.

To Hell with those guys.

If it's obvious to say we need love, then it's just as obvious to acknowledge that, sure, we need more than just love. We need strength, we need courage, we need determination. We need a path forward, and we need the will to keep moving on that path.

Yet the Beatles are essentially correct. If love isn't the only thing, it may be the most important thing. Without it, we won't progress at all. Without it, we are nothing.

Is love all we need? No. But it remains a damned good start.

From Syracuse, with love. And this is what rock 'n' roll radio sounded like on another Sunday night in Syracuse this week.

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, streaming at SPARK stream, and on the Radio Garden app as WESTCOTT RADIO. 

You can read all about this show's long and weird history here: Boppin' The Whole Friggin' Planet (The History Of THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO). You can follow Carl's daily blog at Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do).

TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATIONS are always welcome.

Carl's new book Guitars Vs. Rayguns! Short Stories And Other White Lies is available! Read about it here. Autographed copies of Carl's previous book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) are available here, and you can still get Carl's previous previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.

The many fine This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio compilation albums are still available, each full of that rockin' pop sound you crave. A portion of all sales benefit our perpetually cash-strapped community radio project:

Volume 1: download
Volume 2: CD or download
Volume 3: download
Volume 4: CD or download
Waterloo Sunset--Benefit For This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio:  CD or download

Volume 5: CD or download

TIRnRR # 1343: 6/28/2026

TIRnRR FRESH SPINS! Songs we think we ain’t played before are listed in bold

PAUL COLLINS: Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again (Jem, VA: Jem Records Celebrates Bob Dylan)

THE KNACK: Terry & Julie Step Out (Omnivore, Zoom)

MONOGROOVE: Back To School (Kool Kat Musik, Anthology)

R.E.M.: Get Up (Warner Brothers, Green)

THE GREENBERRY WOODS: Very Good Year (Big Stir, It's All Good, Sugar)

THE BANGLES: Dover Beach (Columbia, All Over The Place)

--

BETH PEABODY: Out And About (single)

THE CYNICS: All About You (Get Hip, Here We Are)

JIM BASNIGHT: Get It Out (Kool Kat Musik, Under The Rock)

THE SMALL FACES: (If You Think You're) Groovy [backing track--mono] (Immediate, Small Faces [Remastered 2-CD Edition])

THE HALF/CUBES: The Ghost At Number One (Jem, single)

THE MONKEES: I Love You Better [single version] (Rhino, The A's, The B's & The Monkees)

--

SUNBUZZ: Together As One (n/a, Songs From The North Shore)

AIRPORT 77s: Bad Together (Jem, We Realize You Have A Choice)

JOHNNY JOHNSON AND THE BANDWAGON: In The Bad, Bad Old Days (Before You Loved Me) (Kent Soul, Breakin' Down The Walls Of Heartache: The Best Of 1968-1975)

THE MIAMIS: Dancin' Together (Omnivore, We Deliver: The Lost Band Of The CBGB Era [1974-1979])

DEAN LANDEW: Tear Up The Night (single)

TONY AND TANDY WITH THE FLEUR DE LYS: Two Can Make It Together (Countdown, LES FLEUR DE LYS: Circles: The Ultimate Fleur De Lys)

--

THE HOLLYWOOD STARS: I Survived 27 (single)

KID GULLIVER: Susie Survived Chemotherapy (Red On Red, Kismet)

THE NUMBERS: Deception (Kool Kat Musik, My Beautiful Distance)

WRECKLESS ERIC: Hit And Miss Judy (Salvo, Hits, Misses, Rags & Tatters)

THE WELL WISHERS: Dangerous (n/a, Expected Outcomes)

THE JETSET: Judy's Toy Box (Tangerine, The Best Of The Jetset)

--

ORBIS MAX: Falling Through The Cracks (single)
TAMAR BERK: Skipping The Cracks (n/a, The Restless Dreams Of Youth)

THE SPONGETONES: Inevitable You (Loaded Goat, Scrambled Eggs)

THE PRIMITIVES: Crash [1985 demo] (Cherry Red, Lovely [expanded edition])

STUPIDITY: BBC (Wicked Cool, Beyond Stupidity)

GIAN MARCO Y NICOLE ZIGNAGO/ELVIS COSTELLO AND THE ATTRACTIONS: Crawling To The USA (Universal, Spanish Model)

--

ADAM WALTEMIRE: Mr. Dolphin (Pop Garden Radio, single)

THE OSMONDS: Crazy Horses (Curb, 21 Hits)

HEADGIRL: Please Don't Touch (Lemon, GIRLSCHOOL: The Singles)

THE PRETENDERS: Back On The Chain Gang (Sire, The Singles)

THE EQUALS: Police On My Back (Ice, First Among Equals)

DAVE EDMUNDS: Crawling From The Wreckage (Rhino, The Anthology [1968-1990])

--

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE RAMONES: Rockaway Beach (Rhino, Rocket To Russia)

THE GO-GO'S: Beatnik Beach (IRS, Vacation)

SPECTRAFLAME: Life Is Fine (single)

KIRSTY MacCOLL: He's On The Beach (IRS, Galore--The Best Of Kirsty MacColl)

SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE: Hot Fun In The Summertime (Epic, Greatest Hits)

THE BABLERS: Walking On A Sunny Beach (Big Stir, Psychadilly Circus)

--

BARRY J. WALSH: Star-Ride (single)

THE HIT SQUAD: Best Of Me (Kool Kat Musik, VA: This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4)

THE FLASHCUBES: Got No Mind (Northside, Flashcubes On Fire)

THE UNDERTONES: (She's A) Runaround (Rykodisc, The Undertones)

THE AMPLIFIER HEADS: A Song Called Sha La La (Rum Bar, single)

THE MOTIONS: For Another Man (Rhino, VA: Nuggets II)

--

THE STEMS: Your Kind Of Love (Cheersquad, single)

THE BEACH BOYS: Darlin' (Capitol. Smiley Smile/Wild Honey)

JOHNNY THUNDERS AND THE HEARTBREAKERS: I Love You (Jungle, L.A.M.F.)

GRAHAM PARKER: Back Door Love (Polygram, Heat Treatment)

THE KINKS: Dandy (Sanctuary, The Anthology 1964-1971)

JIM BASNIGHT: Best Lover In The World (Precedent, Not Changing)

VICKI PETERSON AND JOHN COWSILL: Sound On Sound (Label 51, Long After The Fire)

THE BEATLES: All You Need Is Love (Apple, Magical Mystery Tour)

--

THE DAHLMANNS: Dark Side With You (FABCOM!/Waterside, Life In Reverse)

Tonight On THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO

We herald the imminent arrival of the new tribute album JEM RECORDS CELEBRATES BOB DYLAN with an opening spin of TIRnRR Fave Rave PAUL COLLINS taking on a well-known tune from Bashful Bobby's songbook. We also have new 'n' recent winnahs from BETH PEABODY, JIM BASNIGHT, MONOGROOVE, THE GREENBERRY WOODS, THE HALF/CUBES, DEAN LANDEW, THE HOLLYWOOD STARS, SUNBUZZ, THE NUMBERS, THE WELL WISHERS, SPECTRAFLAME, ORBIS MAX, ADAM WALTEMIRE, STUPIDITY, BARRY J. WALSH, THE STEMS, THE DAHLMANNS, and THE AMPLIFIER HEADS. And that ain't all, as we put the newer stuff within their proper rockin' pop setting alongside THE KNACK, SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE, TAMAR BERK, THE FLASHCUBES, THE RAMONES, THE BANGLES, THE MONKEES, JOHNNY JOHNSON AND THE BANDWAGON, KID GULLIVER, WRECKLESS ERIC, THE SPONGETONES, THE PRETENDERS, THE EQUALS, KIRSTY MacCOLL, VICKI PETERSON AND JOHN COWSILL, THE BABLERS, THE GO-GO'S, THE KINKS, GRAHAM PARKER, THE UNDERTONES, THE BEACH BOYS, and our ever-prerequisite MORE!! It starts with PAUL COLLINS, stuck inside Mobile with bittersweet thoughts of Memphis. Again. And NOW! Sunday night, 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, streaming via sparksyracuse.org, and as WESTCOTT RADIO on the Radio Garden app. The weekend stops HERE!

10 SONGS (plus one): 6/27/2026

10 Songs is a weekly list of ten songs that happen to be on my mind at the moment. The lists are usually dominated by songs played on the previous Sunday night's edition of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl. The idea was inspired by Don Valentine of the essential blog I Don't Hear A Single

This week's edition of 10 Songs draws exclusively from the playlist for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1342

VICKI PETERSON AND JOHN COWSILL: Sound On Sound

I wrote this as part of the playlist commentary for our June 7th show:

"December of this year will mark the 50th anniversary of my first live rock 'n' roll show. I've seen a bunch of other shows since then, and I hope to see many more. On Thursday night [June 4th], Dana and I had the wonderful experience of witnessing Vicki Peterson and John Cowsill in concert at a local high school. It was, in fact, a high school production, with opening mini-sets by two teen bands and one faculty band, preceded by a solo set by the lead singer of one of the teen bands.

"Sound dire? No. It was amazing. Joyous. Life-affirming. Young bands the Killer Pancakes and Clockwork (and Clockwork singer Isabella Destito) displayed talent, poise, and accomplishment, rippin' through an assortment of covers and--wait for it!--ORIGINALS that delighted the enthusiastic crowd. Faculty band After School Special likewise delivered, and John Cowsill hisself joined them onstage for a cover of Tommy Tutone's '867-5309/Jenny,' recreating his own backing vocals from the original hit record. At the very end of the show, the kids joined Vicki and John for irresistible renditions of the Bangles' 'Manic Monday' and 'Walk Like An Egyptian.' Gooseflesh.

"In between all of that, Vicki Peterson and John Cowsill mesmerized the crowd with a sublime performance. The bulk of their set was drawn from their wonderful 2025 album Long After The Fire, which presented the duo's renditions of songs written by John's late brothers Bill Cowsill and Barry Cowsill; the material was just as riveting in live performance as it is on record. The pair dipped twice into the familiar catalogues of their respective rockin' pop alma maters--the Bangles' 'In A Different Light' and the Cowsills' 'Hair'--and the cumulative effect was just...just beyond. Transcendent. I can't convey in words how happy I was to be there...."

In the immediate aftermath of the live show, it felt imperative for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio to program a spotlight on Vicki and John as Featured Performers. Hey! We should do that THIS week! 

And we did, filling half of this week's playlist with tracks that include Vicki and/or John, together or separately, operating within a variety of rockin' pop dbas. And we kicked things off with my favorite track from Long After The Fire, a Barry Cowsill composition called "Sound On Sound." Sound on sound? A worthy goal, and a promise kept. We'll hear "Sound On Sound" again on our next show.

THE BEACH BOYS: Beaches In Mind

John Cowsill was a touring member of the Beach Boys from 2000 to 2023. When original Beach Boys Brian Wilson and Al Jardine briefly rejoined that other guy for the 50th anniversary reunion album That's Why God Made The Radio in 2012, John played drums on two tracks, "The Private Life Of Bill And Sue" and "Beaches In Mind," and we included the latter in this week's tribute show. 

CONTINENTAL DRIFTERS: The Rain Song

Over the course of several records and varying line-ups, Continental Drifters established themselves as indie favorites in the 1990s and early '00s, and the 2024 compilation White Noise & Lightning: The Best Of Continental Drifters is as essential as essential can be. Which is pretty essential. Vicki Peterson and her eventual sister-in-law Susan Cowsill were among this distinguished legion of Drifters, and the group's 1998 album Vermillion included this lovely, wistful gem called "The Rain Song." Written by Susan and Vicki, "The Rain Song" was subsequently redone by Vicki for the Bangles' 2003 album Doll Revolution, and the Bangles' version was my introduction to the song. Both versions are superb.

VICKI AND DEBBIE PETERSON: I Wanna Be With You

From our friend Ken Sharp's fabulous 2025 compilation Play On: A Raspberries Tribute, we have Vicki joining forces with her sister (and fellow Bangle) Debbie Peterson to cover the 1972 hit record that hooked me on the power pop sound of the Raspberries. Vicki and Debbie Peterson covering Raspberries? I wanna be with that.

TOMMY TUTONE: 867-5309/Jenny

From a previous 10 Songs:

"A little Byrdsy, a little Stonesy, a little Tommy Tutonesy. See, this is why Hallmark refuses to hire me. Bastards. 

"But I digress: great song, then and now. And it came up during a recent vacation, when I discovered that my hotel's WiFi password was 8675309. Jenny could not be reached for comment. But I bet she woulda been pissed."

At some point, I probably/possibly/maybe? knew that John Cowsill sang backing vocals on Tommy Tutone's original hit recording of this song, but I had completely forgotten that fact prior to After School Special sayin' so on stage during their set opening for Vicki and John on June 4th. And I certainly shouldn't have been surprised when John bounced on stage to join After School Special in their rendition of sumpin' a little Byrdsy, a little Stonesy, a little Tommy Tutonesy. 

But I was surprised. And thrilled! They got my number, all right. They didn't know me, but it made me so happy.

SUSAN COWSILL: River Of Love

My God. This is heartbreaking...but magnificent.

"River Of Love" was written and first recorded by Barry Cowsill, who lost his life in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The sadness attached to this real-life context makes the song's tale of goodbye even more devastating. In the version recorded by Susan Cowsill (for her 2010 album Lighthouse), the effect is no less haunting, yet somehow its own sense of loss and sorrow finds comfort in beauty, love, and determination.

It also secures strength in family. All of the other surviving members of the Cowsills--John, Bob, and Paul, plus Vicki Peterson Cowsill--sing behind Susan's lead vocal, and Susan plays her late brother Barry's guitar on the track, as well. 

Another day goes rolling through my heart

As if it was another empty cup

And though I’ve wandered through these fields I’ve known before

I will never give up ‘til I see you again

I may never give up at all

And so I will take my precious time to hang around

And I’ll count the beats of my heart one by one

And even if it’s just some silly game I’m playing

Deep down I know it isn’t just for fun

‘Cause when there’s a will then there’s a way

And if I have to kneel and pray

Then I’ll kneel here and pray away

A family band. Family will endure. We'll meet again on the other side.

"River Of Love" written by Barry Cowsill, Bug Music BMI

THE BANGLES: Live

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE BANGS: Getting Out Of Hand

The Bangles' Ground Zero. In 1981, the group was still called the Bangs when they released their first single, "Getting Out Of Hand"/"Call On Me." The A-side was written by Vicki Peterson, with lead vocal by fellow Bang/Bangle Susanna Hoffs. Following a name change, things would start getting out of hand in due time. The Bangles' legend starts here.

THE SMITHEREENS: Now And Then

The Cowsills sang back-up on "Now And Then," a track by Carteret, New Jersey's phenomenal pop combo the Smithereens. "Now And Then" appeared on 1991's Blow Up, the Smithereens' fourth album, the first album following their commercial breakthrough with the 1989 album 11 ("Smithereens 11" coined as a play on the title of the Rat Pack film Ocean's Eleven).

At this point, the Smithereens were running up respectable numbers at retail, and the Cowsills had recently regrouped with an intention to record new material. The 'Reens were fans, and believed they could help the Cowsills score a record deal.

It was not to be. Smithereens guitarist Jim Babjak told me of his frustration with this situation ("...This was at a time when we were selling hundreds of thousands of records. I thought I had a little more clout."). Unable to sign with a label, the Cowsills wound up self-releasing their album Global in 1998.

Global is my favorite album of the 1990s. Major labels are swine.

THE COWSILLS: She Said To Me

ALSO The Greatest Record Ever Made! 

*BONUS TRACK!*

VICKI PETERSON WITH JOHN COWSILL AND JONNY POLONSKY: Sheena Is A Punk Rocker

On this show, we play the Ramones just about every week. The American Beatles! The greatest American rock 'n' roll band of all time! Alas, this week's wham-packed playlist did not allow time for even the concise brilliance of da brudders--the Ramones-Paley Brothers collaboration covering the Ritchie Valens classic "Come On Let's Go" was The Last Track Out--but we did carve out a slot for our Featured Performers Vicki and John (with Jonny Polonsky) covering the Ramones. And not covering just any Ramones song; the Ramones' "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker" is the literal record that changed my life, and I do not get to my own history as writer or DJ without the specific impact that 1977 45 rpm single had on seventeen-year-old me. It is such an absolute kick to close our celebration of the magic of Vicki Peterson and John Cowsill with this particular blast of pure Carbona-fueled pop. Vicki and John really have it all. Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh YEAH! 

If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider a visit to CC's Tip Jar. You can also become a Boppin' booster on my Patreon page.

My new book of short stories Guitars Vs. Rayguns!! Short Stories And Other White Lies is out now, and you can get autographed copies of the new book and my previous book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) directly from me. You can still get my previous previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.

I compiled a various-artists tribute album called Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes, and it's pretty damned good; you can read about it here and order it here. 

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, streaming at SPARK stream and on the Radio Garden app as WESTCOTT RADIO. You can read about our history here