A fantastic 1954 cover by the terrific Russ Heath for an issue of WESTERN OUTLAWS. It's an amazing piece of work in that Heath uses the reflection in the mirror behind the central gunman to fill in the gaps of the narrative--this single illustration delivers a complete story of action and reaction. Heath's fine linework … Continue reading Great Covers: WESTERN OUTLAWS #3
As we've spoken about earlier, the 1980s saw the rise of the Direct Sales Marketplace of Comic Book Specialty Shops as a key force in the continued survival of comic books--as well as a new venue in which enterprising creators could release their own home-grown efforts and meet with some success. The early years of … Continue reading Brand Echh – Comico Primer #1
A post from my now-defunct Marvel blog of a decade-plus ago concerning online reactions to how I was conducting myself. Stand and Deliver April 28, 2007 | 1:00 AM | By Tom_Brevoort | In General I read a post or a blog entry online last night somewhere on the internet that said something to the … Continue reading Blah Blah Blog – Stand and Deliver
For some reason, my family wound up going to the South Shore Mall, which was a bit of a distance from where we lived. I don't quite know what store they had in that Mall that drove my parents to need to go there, but we would do so semi-regularly for the next couple of … Continue reading BHOC: X-MEN #111
As I did last week, here's another important vintage Marvel-related article which I'm posting in response to all of the conversation concerning Abraham Riesman's new biography of Stan Lee, TRUE BELIEVER. This piece, which ran in the January 9, 1966 issue of the New York Herald Tribune Sunday magazine devoted to the new comic book … Continue reading Super-Heroes With Super Problems
And so we come to the third and final story that Stan Lee and Jack Kirby adapted in the 1960s from one that Kirby with his then-partner Joe Simon had first produced for the inaugural issue of CAPTAIN AMERICA COMICS in late 1940. It should probably be stated right up front that according to the … Continue reading Lee & Kirby & Simon: Captain America Before and After 3
A posting from my long-ago Marvel blog concerning an often-thrown-out fan criticism: that creators aren't respecting the characters they're working on. R-E-S-P-E-C-T April 28, 2007 | 1:00 AM | By Tom_Brevoort | In General One of the phrases that gets tossed around a lot in fan communications is "disrespecting the characters." It's an effective gauntlet … Continue reading Blah Blah Blog – R-E-S-P-E-C-T
I've spoken in the past about how as a kid I was a bit disdainful towards DC's SUPER FRIENDS comic book series, an adaptation and outgrowth of the ongoing Saturday morning cartoon series. Now, mind you, I watched SUPER FRIENDS dutifully every weekend, but I was also aware even then that the story material was … Continue reading BHOC: SUPER FRIENDS #12
This is a pretty stunning GREEN LANTERN cover by series regular Gil Kane. More than anything, it's the posterlike coloring that really makes it pop--those striking blues and magentas. The sketch for this cover was almost certainly done by Carmine Infantino, who had been brought on as DC's cover designer in an attempt to make … Continue reading Great Covers: GREEN LANTERN #61
In 1967, toy manufacturer Wham-O released a single issue of WHAM-O GIANT COMICS not to newsstands, but rather distributed to toy stores and department stores alongside its product line of frisbees and hula hoops .The gimmick here was that this was intended to be the largest comic book ever done in terms of its overall … Continue reading Brand Echh: Wham-O Giant Comics #1
The Tom Brevoort Experience 