COMIC BOOK COVER GALLERY: Music-related issues acquired in the '60s, '70s, and '80s (with one side trip to 2016)

Over the course of my 66 years spent here on your (intermittently) charming little planet, my two main passions have been music and comics. My interest in the rock and the roll predates the Beatles' conquest of America in 1964, as my three-to-four-year-old self bopped to Chubby Checker, Sam Cooke, Gene Pitney, Eydie Gorme, and the Four Seasons before Britmania ensued thereafter. I was also into TV superheroes Superman and Flash Gordon (and even enjoyed the occasional Superman comic book) prior to the 1966 Batman TV series making me a dyed-in-the-wool funnybook fan. So why not combine those passions for this week's Comic Book Cover Gallery?

Gaps in my memory and gaps in my collection make this gallery incomplete. For example, I never owned a copy of The Cowsills' Harvey Comics one-shot, and I can't remember which relevant issues of Archie, Mad House Glads, or Josie And The Pussycats I did or didn't have. This LP will have to stand in for those selections:

And, of course, my favorite rockin' comics crossover (a book I talked about here) falls outside the timeline. The 2016 publication of Archie Meets Ramones was one of the very few times I picked up multiple copies of an issue just to own variant covers.

(A few years later, Archie Meets Ramones writer Alex Segura was kind enough to provide a blurb on behalf of my 2023 book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones. Much obliged, Alex!)

As always, 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. 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.

And finally, although it's not evident on the covers, this three-issue 1988 serial from Detective Comics # 587-589 is loaded with music references, from the New York Dolls to the Flamin' Groovies. At one point, Batman angrily switches off the Batmobile's radio when KISS comes on.

Man. Even Dark Knights are critics nowadays.

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My new book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available, and you can order an autographed copy here. You can still get my 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.

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.