Publication History

Amazing Heroes was published by Fantagraphics Books from 1981 to 1992 as a hobbyist-friendly alternative to The Comics Journal. As co-publisher Kim Thompson famously stated, the magazine was created partly to "steal The Comic Reader's cheese"—a goal they successfully accomplished.

The magazine's first editor, Michael Catron, was replaced after issue #6 due to chronic missed deadlines, with Kim Thompson taking over thereafter.

Early issues were published under the Zam Inc. imprint through issue #6, then Redbeard Inc. through the mid-1980s, and finally by Fantagraphics Books itself beginning around issue #68.

The magazine shifted between monthly and twice-monthly schedules before settling back into a monthly format in 1989. In total, 204 issues were published before the title folded with a July 1992 flip-book finale featuring issue #203 on one side and #204 on the reverse.

Additional specials included:

• Amazing Heroes Preview Specials (#1–5, 10–11)
• Amazing Heroes Swimsuit Specials (#1–5, plus “Best Of”)
• Hero Histories and themed character retrospectives

In 1993, Personality Comics attempted to revive the magazine after acquiring the rights, but the company folded. By 1994, rights reverted to Fantagraphics.

Format & Content

The first 13 issues were magazine-sized; all subsequent issues were standard comic-book size.

Regular features included:

• Industry news and insider commentary
• Creator interviews
• Character histories and retrospectives
• Reviews and previews of upcoming series
• "Doc’s Bookshelf" column by Dwight Decker (1987–1989)
• "Information Center" Q&A column (1986–1989)

Amazing Heroes Preview Specials were published twice yearly, often square-bound, offering sneak peeks at nearly every U.S. comic scheduled for release over the next six months.

The Swimsuit Special, featuring humorous and pin-up style illustrations of characters, debuted in 1990 but was preceded by three swimsuit-themed regular issues in 1987, 1988, and 1989.

Issue #200 (April 1992) included an extended preview of Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics, which later earned a Don Thompson Award for Best Non-Fiction Work.

The Jack Kirby Award

From 1985 to 1987, Amazing Heroes administered the Jack Kirby Awards, a prestigious honor voted on by comic-book professionals. A dispute over ownership ended the award after 1987.

In 1988, the Kirby Award split into two new honors:

• The Eisner Award (managed by Dave Olbrich)
• The Harvey Award (managed by Fantagraphics)

Awards & Recognition

Amazing Heroes earned multiple distinctions, including:

• Eagle Award — Favourite Specialist Comics Publication (1985, 1986, 1987, 1988)
• Compuserve Comics & Animation Forum Award — Best Non-Fiction Work (1992)