Forgotten Masterpiece: PARTICLE DREAMS #6

Matt Howarth was and remains one of the most splendidly individualistic and iconoclastic creators of comic book stories in the field. While he has in recent years turned his efforts to the worlds of digital self-publishing, Howarth was a bit of a recurring force during the black and white boom years of the 1980s, pumping … Continue reading Forgotten Masterpiece: PARTICLE DREAMS #6

5BC: Five Characters Marvel “Adopted”

Over the years, DC Comics (mostly while still operating under the name National) would occasionally buy out the rights to characters and titles from other publishers who had either gone out of business or were about to. This is how the original Captain Marvel and his family, Plastic Man, G.I. COMBAT, YOUNG ROMANCE, the Blackhawks … Continue reading 5BC: Five Characters Marvel “Adopted”

Blah Blah Blog – Bucky’s Long Road Home

A post from my old Marvel blog concerning the development of the storyline that introduced the Winter Soldier. Bucky's Long Road Home April 28, 2007 | 1:00 AM | By Tom_Brevoort | In General We had a meeting last week, a get-together to discuss the direction of some stuff coming up with one of the … Continue reading Blah Blah Blog – Bucky’s Long Road Home

BHOC: AVENGERS #172

Here's another new comic that I picked up during that first trip to The Batcave, the first true comic book specialty shop that I ever patronized. As I mentioned last week, while I was more interested and attracted by the enormous number of back issues, also of note was the fact that the Batcave had … Continue reading BHOC: AVENGERS #172

Great Covers: WESTERN OUTLAWS #3

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

Brand Echh – Comico Primer #1

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

Blah Blah Blog – Stand and Deliver

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

BHOC: X-MEN #111

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

Super-Heroes With Super Problems

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

Lee & Kirby & Simon: Captain America Before and After 3

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