#3 - S02Ep31 - "The Man Who Lost" In a number of ways, this episode is the quintessential distillation of writer Harry Julian Fink's approach to his assorted HAVE GUN - WILL TRAVEL assignments. He would drop Paladin down into a murky situation and then ramp up the tension and the stakes, testing the character … Continue reading Best of Have Gun – Will Travel – The Man Who Lost
Another older issue of FANTASTIC FOUR that showed up one day in the drug store's big bin of slightly-older comics. This was the oldest issue I had found to date. Reading these stories, particularly in this sequence, was a little bit like putting a puzzle together. There'd be some bit of information presented in one … Continue reading BHOC: FANTASTIC FOUR #170
It was like a little miracle, a book that couldn't and possibly shouldn't ever happen. But happen it did--and SUPERMAN VS THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN was an excellent mixing of the then-contemporary styles of Marvel and DC, very different flavors in that period. The creative team was spot on, anchored by Gerry Conway and Ross Andru, … Continue reading 5BC: Five Best Comics of 1976
Another older issue of INVADERS that turned up in the drug store's big in of slightly-older comics. I was able to find a few of these over the next couple of weeks as the bin would get restocked--and inevitably, most of them tended to be older the longer this went on, as though the supplier … Continue reading BHOC: INVADERS #2
EPISODE 25 "Even if we do get back to Earth with the Cosmo DNA, it might be too late. There wouldn't be anybody left on Earth. And can the Argo make the return trip? It's pretty beat up. Hey, Chief, if all the people on Earth are already dead, and if we're the only people … Continue reading In Our Next STAR BLAZERS Adventure – Episode 25
The big bin of slightly-older comics at my local drug store chain continued to toss up additional treasures as the summer went on, often ones older and older than the ones that had preceded it. So the next issue of FANTASTIC FOUR I found therein was this one, the oldest I'd yet encountered. That's a … Continue reading BHOC: FANTASTIC FOUR #172
In a time before the British Author Invasion and the rise of Vertigo titles, this issue of GIANT-SIZE MAN-THING was quite possibly the most literate and literary comic book as-yet published. A heartfelt, emotion-driven Steve Gerber story concerning a dead, bullied schoolkid anchors the issue. Gerber experiments with using huge blocks of text on certain … Continue reading 5BC: Five Best Comics of 1975
I got this issue of DC SUPER-STARS while visiting my grandparents in Valley Stream, New York. They were weekly visitors to our home in Farmingville, making the hour drive up virtually every Saturday, but on occasion we would go out to meet them at the home they shared with my Aunt and Uncle--possibly for some … Continue reading BHOC: DC SUPER-STARS #17
#4 - S4Ep18 - "A Quiet Night In Town" In its six years, HAVE GUN - WILL TRAVEL only did a single two-part episode, this one well into its fourth season. I don't know the circumstances that brought it about. The few texts on the subject say that the production team just did it as … Continue reading Best of Have Gun – Will Travel – A Quiet Night In Town
A new issue of what was rapidly becoming my favorite comic book turned up at my local 7-11, and at this point I was clearly an avowed FANTASTIC FOUR reader, if not truly a full-on Marvel convert quite yet. (That event would take place in a few weeks.) A lot of that had to do … Continue reading BHOC: FANTASTIC FOUR #188
The Tom Brevoort Experience 