I used to have two copies I think I’ve only got one left. If I remember correctly, there were 250 copies printed, and as you note, all unsold copies were destroyed, so between that and the people who lost or threw out their copies after the show, there are doubtless very few left. But it’s noteworthy less for the strength of the story than for the unique circumstances surrounding it, and the specific talent involved. The whole thing is the work of fans, albeit fans who would go on to prominence within the field in the coming decade. I expect he just liked the idea of attending the Pops opening concert of the year, which was a reasonably-prestigious event.” According to Busiek, “He was seated at the same table as Scott, Chris and me, but he wouldn’t talk to us. DC President Sol Harrison was in attendance for the performance–and presumably to make sure that the terms of the deal were met. ![]() Thanks to the reputation of the Boston Pops, both Marvel and DC gave permission for their characters to be used in the joint venture, provided (as mentioned earlier) that all remaining copies were destroyed immediately thereafter. The story concerns the Symphony Orchestra being kidnapped, with the super heroes of both Marvel and DC called upon to locate and recover the purloined musicians. All were fans in the Massachusetts area during this time (Howell worked at the local comic book shop, the Million Year Picnic.) The finished artwork was done by Chris Bing, who didn’t go on to a career in the field, but he became a professional illustrator and a Caldecott Honor award winner for his picture-book adaptation of CASEY AT THE BAT. The pages were laid out by a young Scott McCloud, and lettered by a young Richard Howell. POW! BIFF! POPS! was written by a very young and pre-professional Kurt Busiek. Additionally, during the intermission of the performance, the whole comic was projected on a large screen, with narration, dialogue and FX done by “The Hour of the Wolf Matinee,” a local radio ensemble headed up by Robert Desiderio, who went on to a lengthy TV career. ![]() Accordingly, few fans have ever seen this lost crossover for themselves. The print run was limited to 250 copies, and by contract, all unsold and remaining copies had to be destroyed following the conclusion of the performance–which they were. POW! BIFF! POPS! was a special commemorative comic book produced for a single comic strip-themed performance at the Boston Pops Orchestra, priced at $10.00 a copy–making it the most expensive single-issue comic ever released (at least in the US) when it came out. ![]() ![]() However, within that gap, there was one other project that combined the champions of the two rival companies–one that was obscure at the time, and is all-but-forgotten today, despite boasting some noteworthy talent just at the beginning of their careers. And, of course, it led a few years later to a series of additional team-ups between different DC and Marvel super heroes. Despite being priced at $2.00 as a time when regular comic books were only 30 cents, it sold in huge quantities–enough to make DC look for other ways in which to mimic its success in-house (SUPERMAN VS MUHAMMAD ALI, SUPERMAN VS THE FLASH, etc). SUPERMAN VS THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, the first of the real DC and Marvel crossovers (putting aside the WIZARD OF OZ co-produced Treasury) was an enormous success for both companies.
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