FANTASTIC FOUR was my favorite series for a long time, and the book that finally got me to take the plunge into the Marvel Universe. So you'd figure that, even in lean times, it would take a lot to dislodge me from following it. And you'd be right. Except that that's totally what happened. This … Continue reading GH: FANTASTIC FOUR #256
BHOC: BRING ON THE BAD GUYS
As I talked about yesterday, for Christmas 1978 I was given the four existing volumes in the Marvel Origins trade paperback collection that up to that point existed. I had read SON OF ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS at my local library, but I was happy to have my own copy to go back to and … Continue reading BHOC: BRING ON THE BAD GUYS
Doctor Who: The Devil’s Chord
Well, that was a right old mess. Before Friday night (and how strange is it to be watching new DOCTOR WHO episodes on a Friday evening?) if you'd asked, I would have predicted that "The Devil's Chord" would be the better of the two opening episodes that Disney+ was dropping in the new season, having … Continue reading Doctor Who: The Devil’s Chord
Doctor Who: Space Babies
Well, a lot to digest about that two-episode premiere of DOCTOR WHO. I'm going to break my thoughts and reactions up into two separate pieces, each one focused more concretely on an individual episode rather than trying to tackle both at once. As always, I don't see these as constituting reviews as such, but rather … Continue reading Doctor Who: Space Babies
BHOC: ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS
Christmas 1978 was a huge comic book windfall for me. Whereas in years past I had filled my wish list with an assortment of toys, starting here, I would instead begin asking for books on comics. ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS had eluded me for months, so much so that I eventually got to read the … Continue reading BHOC: ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS
GH: DEFENDERS #120
As I've spoken about several times as we've looked at assorted issues that I bought over the years, DEFENDERS was a series whose best days were behind it by the time I started reading it. For a long stretch of time, it simply wasn't very good--yet, as a dutiful Marvelite, I kept on buying it … Continue reading GH: DEFENDERS #120
BHOC: PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #28
This was the second of two issues of PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN that were illustrated by a young Frank Miller, before that name really meant anything. Even more meaningfully, Daredevil, the character he would go on to reinvent, was a guest star in these two issues as well. It almost feels like fate. At … Continue reading BHOC: PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #28
Doctor Who: Space Babies/The Devil’s Chord pregame
The wait is almost over. We're less than a week out from the big Disney+ premiere of the new season of DOCTOR WHO--Season One on this new broadcasting platform, of course. And so, as I usually do, I'm going to sketch down a bunch of pregame impressions and desires before we get to the episodes … Continue reading Doctor Who: Space Babies/The Devil’s Chord pregame
BHOC: IRON MAN #120
By the time this issue of IRON MAN came out, there was no mistaking the qualitative improvement the series had experienced, and it became a title that I really enjoyed every month. Whereas the IRON MAN of most of the prior decade had always felt a bit underpowered, prone to attacks from one medical condition … Continue reading BHOC: IRON MAN #120
GH: SUPERMAN #382
By 1983, SUPERMAN was feeling a bit like a product of a different age. While some effort was being made to modernize the Man of Steel, including having Gil Kane provide covers as he does here, the actual contents of the magazine were still very much of a piece with the kinds of stories that … Continue reading GH: SUPERMAN #382