POW! BIFF! POPS! Super-rare Batman/Spider-Man DC/Marvel comic

The Comic Collecting Forum

Anyone ever hear of the above titled comic: "POW! BIFF! POPS!"? It is a book that was done as a promotion for the opening of the Boston Pops in 1977 or '78. It was a black and white book, and they sold it in the lobby during intermission and after the performance. Then all copies that weren’t sold were destroyed. And it featured both Marvel and DC Comics superheroes. I’ve not seen one, I’ve only heard about it. The scans above are of the front cover and one of the interior story pages. I received these samples from an acquaintance from Italy who offered to sell me a complete digital scan of the comic. I declined, as I 'd prefer the real thing, but this is one which I don't believe I'll ever get my hands on.

The following information was provided by the writer of the comic, Bostonian Kurt Busiek:

It was a comic done as a fundraiser for the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1978, it was fully-licensed by Marvel and DC and featured Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, Captain America, the Sub-Mariner and the Human Torch coming together to save the BSO from an evil genius who'd kidnapped them.

It was published in a print run of 250, sold for $10 a pop at that year's Boston Pops opening concert, and all copies not sold that night were destroyed, as part of the agreement with Marvel and DC.

It was written by a teen-aged Kurt Busiek, laid out by his pal Scott McCloud, drawn by Scott's neighbor Christopher Bing, who has gone on the be a Caldecott Medal winning children's book illustrator, and lettered by Kurt's friend Richard Howell, now the editor of Claypool Comics.

The whole comic was projected as a slide show during intermission that night, with voices done by a popular local radio troupe, Robert Desiderio (who went on to do TV) and the Hour of the Wolf Matinee. The creative team attended, as did DC's Sol Harrison, who was surly and uncommunicative. Nobody from Marvel came.

If copies still exist, they're in the hands of concert-music supporters who don't know much about comics. Plus the ones the creative team have, if they haven't lost 'em. Busiek says he still has his.

Collectors take note: all copies not sold... were burned! Possibly six known copies exist (Indianapolis Spidey completist collector Todd Adkins has one. He estimates there are between 7-10 existing copies.)

A little known DC/Marvel crossover from 1978 and Kurt Busiek's first published work; a full 5 years before his first formal work on DC's Green Lantern in 1982. I liked his Red Tornado mini-series from 1985 drawn by Carmine Infantino! Damn, my Grail just got a little Holier!

Author	Message
borgo	Posted 4/13/2008 11:59:38 AM
Enthusiast Group: Forum Members Last Active: 1/26/2010 6:10:56 PM Posts: 42, Visits: 63 57	Anyone ever hear of the above titled comic: "POW! BIFF! POPS!"? It is a book that was done as a promotion for the opening of the Boston Pops in 1977 or '78. It was a black and white book, and they sold it in the lobby during intermission and after the performance. Then all copies that weren’t sold were destroyed. And it featured both Marvel and DC Comics superheroes. I’ve not seen one, I’ve only heard about it. The scans above are of the front cover and one of the interior story pages. I received these samples from an acquaintance from Italy who offered to sell me a complete digital scan of the comic. I declined, as I 'd prefer the real thing, but this is one which I don't believe I'll ever get my hands on. The following information was provided by the writer of the comic, Bostonian Kurt Busiek: It was a comic done as a fundraiser for the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1978, it was fully-licensed by Marvel and DC and featured Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, Captain America, the Sub-Mariner and the Human Torch coming together to save the BSO from an evil genius who'd kidnapped them. It was published in a print run of 250, sold for $10 a pop at that year's Boston Pops opening concert, and all copies not sold that night were destroyed, as part of the agreement with Marvel and DC. It was written by a teen-aged Kurt Busiek, laid out by his pal Scott McCloud, drawn by Scott's neighbor Christopher Bing, who has gone on the be a Caldecott Medal winning children's book illustrator, and lettered by Kurt's friend Richard Howell, now the editor of Claypool Comics. The whole comic was projected as a slide show during intermission that night, with voices done by a popular local radio troupe, Robert Desiderio (who went on to do TV) and the Hour of the Wolf Matinee. The creative team attended, as did DC's Sol Harrison, who was surly and uncommunicative. Nobody from Marvel came. If copies still exist, they're in the hands of concert-music supporters who don't know much about comics. Plus the ones the creative team have, if they haven't lost 'em. Busiek says he still has his. Collectors take note: all copies not sold... were burned! Possibly six known copies exist (Indianapolis Spidey completist collector Todd Adkins has one. He estimates there are between 7-10 existing copies.) A little known DC/Marvel crossover from 1978 and Kurt Busiek's first published work; a full 5 years before his first formal work on DC's Green Lantern in 1982. I liked his Red Tornado mini-series from 1985 drawn by Carmine Infantino! Damn, my Grail just got a little Holier!
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WOLFEN	Posted 4/13/2008 1:22:43 PM
Forum Sensation Group: Forum Members Last Active: 1/2/2012 6:27:56 PM Posts: 1,921, Visits: 2,099 2,233	omg! Talk about the find of all finds..as far as Modern Creators go..that would be awesome to have... "Shop smart! Shop S-MART..YA GOT THAT!" "Great Spirit, Maker of all life. Grant me the strength to deal with these unreasonable souls...and the wisdom to not send the flaming arrow of death through their brains..." Me... 9362 post count, BC(Before Change)
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marmat	Posted 4/15/2008 10:24:58 AM
Senior Collector Group: Forum Members Last Active: 1/30/2012 6:18:03 AM Posts: 451, Visits: 1,216 613	Very interesting. MAbye an email to mr Busiek will help find out something more about this book. I lookend in Overstreet but there is no mention of it
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David Buck	Posted 4/19/2008 4:17:36 AM
Serious Collector Group: Forum Members Last Active: Yesterday @ 10:39:13 PM Posts: 127, Visits: 280,102 358	marmat (4/15/2008) I lookend in Overstreet but there is no mention of it That's not surprising as overstreet's coverage of giveaways is notoriously poor - It is however mentioned in the new edition in Doug Sulipa's market comment where he reckons it is a $500 - $1000 book & as scarce as Supergear ( also note his comment that only 25% of giveaways are listed in overstreet! )
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jim1968	Posted 4/19/2008 10:41:24 AM
Serious Collector Group: Forum Members Last Active: 5/4/2011 1:44:01 PM Posts: 280, Visits: 1,812 390	Cool to know about! Scott McCloud still lives in the MidWest as well. (maybe he has a copy........) "I'm Not As Think As You Stoned I Am!"
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borgo	Posted 4/19/2008 6:05:28 PM
Enthusiast Group: Forum Members Last Active: 1/26/2010 6:10:56 PM Posts: 42, Visits: 63 57	It is however mentioned in the new edition in Doug Sulipa's market comment where he reckons it is a $500 - $1000 book Nice catch David! HAHA...After reading your comment, I went to the guide and looked up Doug Sulipa's article and just to show how obscure this book is, Doug refers to it as "BIFF BAM POPS" rather than POW BIFF POPS. Oh well, it's always easy to get those BATMAN sound effects mixed up! Thanks for the further info.
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POW! BIFF! POPS! Super-rare Batman/Spider-Man DC/Marvel comic

POW! BIFF! POPS! Super-rare Batman/Spider-Man DC/Marvel comic

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