One of Alter Ego’s great S&S issues. — One of *Alter Ego*’s great S&S issues.

TwoMorrows Publishing has been the premier outlet for quality journalism and historical retrospectives about the American comics industry ever since 1994, when John and Pamela Morrow put out the first issue of The Jack Kirby Collector. By 1999, the redoubtable Roy Thomas strode onboard with his excellent magazine of comics history, Alter Ego. Other fine mags like Draw! and Back Issue soon followed. A more detailed history of the company can be found here.

Now, after a quarter-century of success, storm clouds loom ahead. I’ll let John Morrow tell the tale:

“Things are topsy-turvy at TwoMorrows right now in light of Diamond Comic Distributors temporarily shutting down, but here’s where things stand for us. Basically, for the short term at least, our survival will rely on mail order and digital sales. That’s why I’ve just launched a 40% Off Magazine Sale, to boost mail orders and get us through the difficult next few weeks. We’re fully operational, and any in-stock items listed on our website will be shipped immediately. So if you’re able, please place an order online to help us weather the crazy days ahead.
For easier ordering, download our new 2020 Digital Catalog by clicking here. Copies of our World of TwoMorrows 25th Anniversary book are scheduled to arrive here within a week, at which point we’ll immediately start shipping them to everyone who directly ordered from us and through Kickstarter. The Limited Hardcover Edition of WOT is only available from us, not through comics shops, but we’ll also have plenty of softcover copies available.
Like other publishers, we rely on Diamond and comics shops for the majority of sales of our new releases, so the shutdown is really going to hurt us (as it will comic shops). Diamond’s copies of World of TwoMorrows, Alter Ego #164, Back Issue #120, BrickJournal #62, and RetroFan #9, won’t get to stores until the shutdown is over. But just like the WOT book, our mail order customers won’t miss out on those—we will fill webstore orders as soon as our copies arrive in the next three weeks, and subscribers will also get their copies on schedule, as long as the post office stays open.
Lastly, we have several publications ready to go to press as soon as Diamond is ready to receive new shipments. We will adjust our upcoming release dates then, but know that work continues here on all your favorite books and magazines, thanks to our dedicated editors and contributors.
For 25 years, we’ve had the most loyal, supportive fans in the industry, and when this storm passes (and it will soon), with your help, we’ll still be here producing the industry’s best publications about comics, Lego, and pop culture.”

Corona-chan strikes again. I would support TwoMorrows if all they published was Roy Thomas’ Alter Ego, but they do much, much more than that. Each of their magazines is excellent in its own way. TwoMorrows preserves the proud history of comics in America at a time when most of the current employees at the major comics publishers seem hell-bent on forgetting, memory-holing and destroying everything that came before.

The July 2020 issue of Back Issue, featuring the unpublished cover for Conan the Barbarian #9. — The July 2020 issue of *Back Issue*, featuring the unpublished cover for *Conan the Barbarian #9*.

Getting back to Roy Thomas and the 40% Off Magazine Sale that John Morrow mentioned… Besides doing numerous issues dealing with the superheroes of the Golden, Silver and Bronze Ages—a subject which he is undeniably expert in—Roy Thomas has put out four issues of Alter Ego devoted to sword-and-sorcery/heroic fantasy comics. Each issue was and is a goldmine of info on the topic. I’ve kept track of such things since I was a kid and Roy had plenty of surprises for me. The text isn’t the only cool thing, since each issue is packed with great artwork. Some of those issues are out of print, but all of them are still available as PDFs.

In addition, the newest issue of Back Issue—edited by Michael Eury—celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of Conan the Barbarian #1. Roy, as might be expected, is a major contributor to the issue, but other notables such as Chuck Dixon, Mike Grell and Timothy Truman will be making an appearance.

So, follow this link and give some love to TwoMorrows. Just put “conan” in the search bar.