The Comic Reader

• 1. The First News Sheet

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  Jerry Bails released On the Drawing Board on the 7th of October 1961. This single-page news sheet debuted as a standalone publication after appearing as a column in his earlier zine Alter Ego. The first issue contained blurbs and news items about upcoming events in professional comics. Bill Schelly later described this moment as the birth of organized fandom. Bails operated from New Mexico to distribute these early copies. He sought to showcase the latest comic news for collectors who had few other sources. The publication ran monthly until it changed its name in March 1962. That change marked the transition to The Comic Reader.

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• 2. A Succession Of Editors

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  Paul Levitz bought the property in early 1971 when he was still a teenager in New York. He revived the title with issue #78 by merging it with another zine called Etcetera. The merged publication carried the name Etcetera & The Comic Reader through issue #89 before splitting again. Previous editors like Glen Johnson and Mark Hanerfeld struggled to maintain schedules. Hanerfeld served as executive secretary of the ACBFC while editing TCR. His workload became too much for him by mid-1969. The organization went defunct that same year. Leviz increased circulation to a monthly schedule after years of eight issues per year. He also expanded the format to typically sixteen pages in length.

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• 3. Professional Artists On Cover

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  Jack Kirby illustrated the cover of The Comic Reader #100 in August 1973. Rich Buckler provided artwork for issues #84 and #85 in March and April 1973. Walt Simonson contributed to issue #99 in July 1973. Howard Chaykin created the cover for issue #94 in February 1973. These professionals began appearing because the fanzine gained popularity and influence. Issue #99 featured TCR's first color cover. Industry figures like these helped legitimize the amateur publication. Their participation signaled that professional creators were willing to engage with fan press. This relationship allowed aspiring comic book creators to publish work within the fanzine as amateurs.

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• 4. Awards And Recognition

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  The publication won an Alley Award for Best Comics Fanzine in 1963. It received another Alley Award for Best Unlimited Reproduction Fanzine in 1969. Staff published ballots for the 1973 Goethe Awards covering comics from the previous year. The magazine also produced the program booklet for the 1973 Comic Art Convention. TCR won two Best Fanzine Comic Fan Art Awards during the Levitz era. Nominations appeared for the Eagle Award in both 1983 and 1984. These honors reflected the growing respect within the industry. The awards validated the effort of volunteers who ran the operation without pay.

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• 5. Competition And Cancellation

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  Fantagraphics Books launched Amazing Heroes in 1981 to compete directly with TCR. Kim Thompson stated they set out to steal The Comic Reader's cheese. The new title ate into TCR's readership significantly. Street Enterprises took over the publication in November 1973 with issue #101. Mike Tiefenbacher became editor under this new management. The format changed to digest size to resemble a professional magazine. The final issue, number 219, arrived in September 1984. This marked the end of a twenty-three-year run. The rise of dedicated competitors made it impossible to sustain the original model.