I think it's no great secret that for a good portion of its run, the Ant-Man/Giant-Man strip in TALES TO ASTONISH was troubled. Struggling, really. More so than any of the other Marvel characters of that era, Hank Pym's series, borne out of a one-off fantasy story, was retooled and reworked far more often than … Continue reading Lee & Ditko & Orlando & Rockwell: the Multiple Car Crash of TALES TO ASTONISH #61
The response to last week's piece on the complicated and complex origins of Spider-Man and all of the behind-the-scenes activity that stretched back for almost a decade before the character would eventually reach comic book newsstands was incredibly well received. In the space of a week, it's become one of the most-viewed posts on this … Continue reading Lee & Kirby & Simon & Ditko & Oleck: The Spider and the Fly Extra
I seem to recall that I got this issue of DOCTOR STRANGE at some non-regular comic buying location, a candy store or stationary store in the same mall as a far-off grocery store that my Mother went to in order to get something specific. I expect that the pickings must have been pretty slim for … Continue reading BHOC: DOCTOR STRANGE #29
I bought this issue of CAPTAIN AMERICA as usual at my local 7-11 convenience store. And while I didn't think much of anything of it at the time, boy, that's a bizarre cover, isn't it? It was executed by Ernie Chan, who had been for several years DC's primary super hero cover artist, during a … Continue reading BHOC: CAPTAIN AMERICA #222
A post from my old Marvel blog detailing early Marvel comics I sampled that didn't hook me. Bad Comics I Bought pt. 1 April 28, 2007 | 1:00 AM | By Tom_Brevoort | In General This is looking to be a busy week, so I need to do something a little bit easier for the … Continue reading Blah Blah Blog – Bad Comics I Bought, Part One
During this time, in loose conjunction with its efforts to get its properties onto television in Live Action and Animation, Marvel was making a concerted effort in the bookstore market as well. The success of the ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS series had proven that there was sufficient interest among book-buyers to make such activities potentially … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL NOVEL SERIES #1
It's one of the big, fundamental questions that lies at the heart of the origin-myth of perhaps Marvel Comics' most popular single character, and its one that has been discussed and debated at length by those with some degree of insider information: how much did Jack Kirby have to do with the development of Spider-Man, … Continue reading Lee & Kirby & Simon & Ditko & Oleck: The Spider and the Fly
Picking up from last week's theme, the creative and editorial team of Denny O'Neil, Jim Aparo and Dick Giordano created another lost gem series in the back pages of the final issue of THUNDERBOLT. It was this strip which replaced the Sentinels, about whom we've spoken before. Unfortunately, there was only a single story ever … Continue reading Brand Echh – Thunderbolt #60
A post from my old Marvel blog concerning how I got into the industry. My So-Called Career In Comics pt. 1 April 28, 2007 | 1:00 AM | By Tom_Brevoort | In General All right, it's Monday, so it's the beginning of another new and exciting week-long series! And for this one, I've scoured my … Continue reading Blah Blah Blog – My So-Called Career In Comics, Part One
The regular INCREDIBLE HULK television series debuted on Friday, March 10, 1978, the week before I would have bought this issue of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN at my regular 7-11 haunt. This was another one of those issues where my younger brother Ken would eventually pick up his own copy as well. He was also a lot … Continue reading BHOC: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #181
The Tom Brevoort Experience 