The Spinner Rack is the wildly popular article series in the CGC email newsletter that offers creative insight and humerous commentary on classic comic book story arcs of the Silver Age and early Bronze Age.
It's authored by Joanna Sandsmark, a former writer for DC Comics and TV’s Weird Science, and the author of a handful of great books.
In her two-part article, "Green Lantern Themes," Joanna explores some of the reoccuring themes including how easily the GL is knocked unconscious: "Green Lantern gets knocked unconscious all the time — and it doesn't take much more than a tickle to do it." In "Just How Fast is the Flash, Anyway?", she discusses how his superspeed is variable and hit or miss.
In some earlier articles including, "Giant Heads and Enormous Bodies," she explored how superheroes have to cope with a sudden endowment of increased brain function: "One would think that having a massive intellect would be a desirable thing. Unfortunately, in the DC Universe, you can't get hyper-intelligent without your head becoming an outsized, egg-shaped bald dome." Also, in the Spinner Rack you'll learn what happens when cover art became more important than the story: "Goofy Covers." For example, she recounts a favorite, Wonder Woman versus The Paper Man (Wonder Woman #165). He was a man made out of a single sheet of newspaper. Now that's menacing!
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Spinner Rack Article Index
| Batman |
| May 2009 | The Mensa Hall of Shame: Gunshy Barton |
| December 2010 | BATman, the BATchelor, Part One |
| January 2011 | BATman, the BATchelor, Part Two |
Green Arrow |
| May 2010 | The Green Arrow Pop Quiz, Part One |
| June 2010 | The Green Arrow Pop Quiz, Part Two |
The Flash |
| February 2010 | Just How Fast Is the Flash, Anyway? |
The Green Lantern |
| January 2010 | Green Lantern Themes, Part Two |
| December 2009 | Green Lantern Themes, Part One |
Superheros and Supertots |
| January 2008 | Giant Heads and Enormous Bodies – Part One |
| February 2008 | Giant Heads and Enormous Bodies – Part Two |
| March 2008 | Imaginary Stories |
| April 2008 | Goofy Covers |
| May 2008 | Invasion of the Tots |
| June 2008 | When Superheroes Cry |
| December 2008 | Dig That Christmas with the Teen Titans |
Superman |
| December 2007 | My Love Affair with 80-Page Giants |
| July 2008 | Dead and Deader! |
| August 2008 | I Do...Sort Of (Part One) |
| September 2008 | I Do... Sort Of (Part Two) |
| October 2008 | Battling Alter-Egos, Part One |
| November 2008 | Battling Alter-Egos, Part Two |
| January 2009 | That Not-So-Secret Identity, Part One |
| February 2009 | That Not-So-Secret Identity, Part Two |
| July 2010 | The Kryptonite Girl, Part One |
| August 2010 | The Kryptonite Girl, Part Two |
| September 2010 | Krypto, the Colossal Superdog! Part One
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| Octber 2010 | Krypto, the Colossal Superdog! Part Two
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| November 2010 | Krypto, the Colossal Superdog! Part Three
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| December 2010 | Krypto, the Colossal Superdog! Part Three
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| February 2011 | Agent Double 5 and the Man from S.C.A.R.
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| March 2011 | Agent Double 5 and the Man from S.C.A.R., Part Two
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| April 2011 | The Superman Bizarro! Part One
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| May 2011 | The Superman Bizarro! Part Two
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Wonderwoman |
| March 2010 | (One of the) Worst. Villains. Ever. Part One |
| April 2010 | (One of the) Worst. Villains. Ever. Part One |
Aquaman |
| June 2011 | Aquaman — The Fish in the Iron Mask, Part One
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