COMIC BOOK COVER GALLERY: Multiple-feature anthology books acquired in the '60s, '70s, and '80s

Today's cover gallery expands its focus beyond our previous spotlight on double- and triple-feature books to cast its bright, bright light upon anthology books with multiple characters engaging in multiple adventures. 

Anthology comic books were commonplace during comics' Golden Age in the 1940s, when page counts were greater. Really, anthology books were more common than books devoted to a single superstar. Sure, there were a lot of solo books--Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel Adventures, Captain America Comics, Plastic Man, Sub-Mariner, The Spirit, Sheena Queen Of The Jungle, Human Torch, All Flash, Ibis The Invincible, Green Lantern, Blackhawk, Spy Smasher, Blue Beetle, Green Hornet, among many, many others--but even that large number was dwarfed in volume by anthology titles like Flash Comics, Whiz Comics, Marvel Mystery Comics, Police Comics, Pep Comics, All-American Comics, Sensation Comics, All Winners, Master Comics, Silver Streak Comics, Detective Comics, Action Comics, All Select, Famous Funnies, Wow Comics, Smash Comics, America's Greatest Comics, World's Finest Comics, Mystic Comics, Adventure Comics, More Fun Comics, Crack Comics, Blue Ribbon Comics, Startling Comics, Star Spangled Comics, Feature Comics, Daring Mystery Comics, Nickel Comics, Super Comics, Boy Comics, Big Shot Comics, Air Fighters Comics, Zip Comics, Thrilling Comics, Jumbo Comics, Hit Comics, etc., etc., etc., and that isn't even a thumbnail listing. Viva variety!

By the time li'l me started plucking funnybooks from the spinner rack in the '60s, page counts had shrunk more drastically than Hank Pym downsizing into Ant-Man (if not quite to the sub-atomic level of Ray Palmer becoming the Atom). You couldn't squeeze more than two or three features into a normal-sized twelve-cent book.

But! An investment of twenty-five cents could net the eager reader a bigger book with more features. These giants were usually (if not quite always) all-reprint, but they provided a bounty of delight. Single-character giants like T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents and Fatman The Human Flying Saucer are outside the parameters of today's gallery, but Marvel Super-Heroes in the '60s presented a new lead feature backed by reprints. DC's 100-Page Super Spectaculars began including new material in front of the reprints toward the end of their tenure in the '70s, and a few all-new anthology books appeared in the '70s and '80s.

Reprint and sporadic (then-) new stuff alike, let's dive into some anthology comic books, along with a couple of books that anthologized older comics. We'll be sticking exclusively to the '60s-'80s era of acquisition I've established for these galleries. Today's selection includes books I bought new, back issues I acquired after the fact (but within the timeline), and B-stock contraband originally purchased without their covers. As always: These aren't actual photos of comics in my collection. But I did have each and every one of 'em at some point in time.

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