1977 - Joe Kubert and Magazineland

From Left to Right - Jughead, Hawkman, Casper, Captain America, Archie, Superman
Wonder Woman, Howard the Duck, the Flash, Spider-Man, Thor, Batman, Tarzan

In 1977 comics legend Joe Kubert produced Magazineland, an informational comic magazine used as a sale tool for the company that at the time printed the majority of comics released in North America, World Color Press.


Written with and "starring" World Press executive Jim Broaderick, Magazineland is a great looking book filled with rich details covering the entire process for producing a comic from creation through production, printing and distribution. Being a sales tool the comic is aimed at professionals, and as such gives a much deeper set of details on the process then you get in a normal "tour" setting, and of course this makes for a fascinating read.

And just for fun there are a bunch of cameo appearances from some familiar faces.

The inker prepares the pencil art for printing

I really liked the Spider-Man drawing, as you get the feeling that Kubert was trying to make Spidy look a little like Ditko.

Preparing plates for printing

And it's nice to see that in 1977, World Color believed in equal opportunity.

The presses are ready to roll

Here's another great shot of the presses in action, with Captain America at the helm.

I like Cap's hat

The last page of the comic section is this nice shot giving you a good idea of how many publishers used World Press at the time.

Left to Right, Top to Bottom - The Thing, Superman, Spider-Man, Batman
Veronica, Shang-Chi, Casper, Tarzan, Thor, Howard the Duck, Wonder Woman,
Archie, Captain Marvel, the Hulk, Richie Rich, the Human Torch, Conan the Barbarian
Captain America, Jughead, Iron Man

Magazineland is not only a beautiful looking book, but it is also a great guide for explaining the ends and out of how a professional magazine was produced in the era before computers. In the back there is also a nice photo history of the company itself that is also interesting information for any long time comic fan. This was another one of those items I came across were I really wanted to just post the whole thing simply because of the historical interest. And who knows, someday I just might.

But if you can find a copy of this fine magazine for sale or maybe even online, I highly recommend you take a look, especially if you're a involved in the comic business itself.