Lee & Kirby: More Discarded Pages from INCREDIBLE HULK #4

We'd previously devoted a piece to spotlighting and examining two of the lost pages from a story intended for INCREDIBLE HULK #4 that Marvel mainstay Larry Lieber had fished out of the trash after an irate Jack Kirby had torn them in half and discarded them back in 1962. https://tombrevoort.com/2026/08/01/lee-kirby-the-discarded-pages-from-incredible-hulk-4/ They turned up in an … Continue reading Lee & Kirby: More Discarded Pages from INCREDIBLE HULK #4

BHOC: PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #34

PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN had settled into a nice rhythm. It wasn't a great comic book, but it was solid and reliable. In the hands of its now-regular creative team of Bill Mantlo and Jim Mooney, it had built up a cast of characters around mainstay Peter Parker, a cast that existed in addition … Continue reading BHOC: PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #34

FSC: SPECTRUM COMICS PREVIEWS #1

The early 1980s was a wild time to be a comic book reader, in that the establishment of the Direct Sales marketplace as a viable alternative to mainstream Newsstand distribution for comic books opened up the floodgates, with all sort of publishers with big dreams of finding success pouring through. On any given visit to … Continue reading FSC: SPECTRUM COMICS PREVIEWS #1

BC: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #67

As I've mentioned before, my friend David Steckel had inherited a chunk of his comic book collection from older cousins who had outgrown comics, so he owned a handful of issues that dated back to the 1960s. He didn't have many of them, and they were a bit scattered, but they represented a bit of … Continue reading BC: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #67

BHOC: MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE ANNUAL #4

One of the immediate benefits of having switched my shopping for new comics to the recently-opened Stationery store was that I once again had access to Marvel's upsized titles and Annuals. The 7-11 that I had been getting most of my comics from had long since stopped carrying any non-regulation formatted comic books, and so … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE ANNUAL #4

Lee & Kirby & Steranko & Lieber: The Birth of S.H.I.E.L.D. and The Man Called D.E.A.T.H.

Marvel veteran Larry Lieber has been divesting himself of portions of his collection, and the bounty, listed at Heritage Auctions, has uncovered some amazingly wonderful things. Most recently, a heretofore-undiscovered third penciled page for Jack Kirby's pitch story for what became the NICK FURY, AGENT OF S.H.I.E.L.D. strip in STRANGE TALES. The first two pages … Continue reading Lee & Kirby & Steranko & Lieber: The Birth of S.H.I.E.L.D. and The Man Called D.E.A.T.H.

BHOC: IRON MAN #126

Quietly and without fanfare, IRON MAN had become one of the most reliably entertaining comics in the Marvel line. This was all down to the efforts of the creative team, writer David Michelinie, penciler John Romita Jr., and inker and co-plotter Bob Layton. It was also a reflection of the changing times; Micheline and Layton … Continue reading BHOC: IRON MAN #126

FSC: E-MAN #2

One of the new mainstay players in the emerging Direct Sales market comprised of comic book specialty stories in the 1980s was First Comics. An outfit out of Chicago, First boasted an initial eclectic line-up but slowly and surely crystalized into a reliable player in the field. Debuting in 1982, among the series First published … Continue reading FSC: E-MAN #2

BC: SHAZAM #34

Now this next issue of SHAZAM was something of a shock to the system, and one that was only slightly blunted by the fact that I'd seen this cover in contemporaneous house ads when it had come out. This was right towards the end of the complete run of SHAZAM that I had borrowed from … Continue reading BC: SHAZAM #34

BHOC: FANTASTIC FOUR #210

It was at some point around this time that my local postal carrier delivered my subscription copy of the latest issue of FANTASTIC FOUR--though not before it had already gone on sale and was available at my local outlet. Not buying the book and waiting for my copy proved to be difficult, especially after other … Continue reading BHOC: FANTASTIC FOUR #210