BHOC: GREEN LANTERN #119

The cover to this issue of GREEN LANTERN bugs my eye in a way that it didn't when I first bought it back in 1979. Having spent time working with John Romita Sr., who was attuned to every discontinuity in spatial relationships on a cover and made me similarly sensitive to them, it bugs me … Continue reading BHOC: GREEN LANTERN #119

Brand Echh: MARK HAZZARD: MERC #1

This next New Universe release was a bit of an outlier, as it didn't truly have anything to do with the overarching concept of the New Universe at all. It featured no super-powers, no White Event, nothing at all extraordinary or beyond the realm of believability. What it was instead was an attempt to do … Continue reading Brand Echh: MARK HAZZARD: MERC #1

BHOC: BRAVE AND THE BOLD #153

BRAVE AND THE BOLD was still a series that I was lukewarm on, though I'd begun to follow it with a certain amount of regularity. Part of this was that at this point I had enough disposable income to drop on a couple of extra comics each week, as well as the fact (unrealized by … Continue reading BHOC: BRAVE AND THE BOLD #153

FSC: 2000 AD 1979 SCI-FI SPECIAL

In addition to the three regular weekly issues of 2000 AD that I picked up during my first foray to Xanadu Comics in Wilmington, Delaware, i also came away with this thicker and slightly more color-laden 1979 Sci-Fi Special. it included stand-alone stories featuring the magazine's regular stars, including a couple that weren't running in … Continue reading FSC: 2000 AD 1979 SCI-FI SPECIAL

BC: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #110

This next book isn't one that I ever actually borrowed from my next-door-neighbor Johnny Rantinella. But it was one that I saw over at his house and flipped through extensively--enough so that I can clearly recall several details about it. I had only begun reading JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA with the preceding issue, and would … Continue reading BC: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #110

BHOC: ACTION COMICS #498

ACTION COMICS continued on in the manner that it had been progressing, seldom my favorite comic that I bought in a given week but always reliable for some basic round-the-bases entertainment. But the fact that editor Julie Schwartz was continuing to target his stories at the same audience that he'd courted since he took over … Continue reading BHOC: ACTION COMICS #498

Brand Echh: NIGHTMASK #1

The New Universe was a bit of a confounding launch in that it is clear that all of the titles that were a part of it were terribly rushed and under the gun, to the point where none of them were bale to keep a steady creative team for more than a couple of issues. … Continue reading Brand Echh: NIGHTMASK #1

BHOC: WORLD’S FINEST Tempo Paperback

The last of the four Tempo DC paperbacks that I wound up buying was this one dedicated to WORLD'S FINEST and the team-ups between Superman and Batman. Again here, I can't quite explain this purchase apart from it probably being an acquisition of opportunity: some point at which the number of available options was limited … Continue reading BHOC: WORLD’S FINEST Tempo Paperback

FSC: 2000 AD #124

This was the third issue of the British weekly 2000 AD that I picked up on my very first visit to Xanadu Comics in Wilmington after my family had relocated to Delaware. This cover image is interesting, in that it doesn't represent any of the material that's actually in the issue. It appears to have … Continue reading FSC: 2000 AD #124

BC: SHAZAM #13

DC was facing the steadily-worsening decay of their circulation in the early 1970s, and one of the ways in which they attempted to combat this was in innovating alternate formats for comic books that would carry a higher cover price and therefore be more attractive to outlets to carry. It was these efforts that led … Continue reading BC: SHAZAM #13