GH: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #215

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA had been one of my favorite comic books when I was younger. It was one of only three series to which I ever maintained a subscription to insure that I didn't miss an issue. But by 1982, the book was feeling tired and a bit stale. Writer Gerry Conway had been … Continue reading GH: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #215

BHOC: BRAVE AND THE BOLD #147

I had a weird love/hate relationship with BRAVE AND THE BOLD throughout almost the entirety of its existence. I bought the book more often than not, the matching up of the Caped Crusader with other stalwarts from across the DC Universe proving too enticing too often. Plus, there was the superlative artwork of B&B artistic … Continue reading BHOC: BRAVE AND THE BOLD #147

Lost Crossovers: The Forgotten Phantom Lady/Spider Widow epic, Part 3

We're just about through the extended crossover between the Phantom Lady strip in POLICE COMICS and the Spider Widow strip appearing simultaneously in FEATURE COMICS. But before we get into these final installments, a moment to point out an interesting aspect of the cover to POLICE COMICS #22 above. Plastic Man creator Jack Cole not … Continue reading Lost Crossovers: The Forgotten Phantom Lady/Spider Widow epic, Part 3

BHOC: ACTION COMICS #492

For some reason that I can't really recall, I had taken a short break of about three months from buying both SUPERMAN and ACTION COMICS. I came back to both titles before too long, and eventually filled in the missing issues with 3-Bagged Whitman copies once they became available. But as for what drove me … Continue reading BHOC: ACTION COMICS #492

When Was Wolverine Wolverine?

At this point, so long after the fact, and with a bevy of films reinforcing the essential ideas of the character, the specifics of who and what Wolverine are have been very well established. But for a very long time, that simply was not the case. And in fact, it would be almost six years … Continue reading When Was Wolverine Wolverine?

GH: THOR #331

Another series that I had been buying for a long time simply out of rote was THOR, so it was a simple matter to put it on the chopping block during my necessary purge. If I'm honest about it, looking back, THOR was a series that suffered throughout the entirety of the 1970s. Jack Kirby … Continue reading GH: THOR #331

BHOC: MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #49

MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #49 was another junky, lifeless issue of what had become a largely junky, lifeless series. There was improvement just around the corner, though, and while I didn't know that at the time, my critical standards at the age of twelve were pretty meager. I liked the Thing and the Fantastic Four, and so … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #49

Lost Crossovers: The Forgotten Phantom Lady/Spider Widow epic, Part 2

As we detailed last week, artist Frank M. Borth, who was working on both strips, created a six-part epic crossover between his two series, Phantom Lady, which ran in POLICE COMICS, and the Spider Widow, which could be found in FEATURE COMICS. There wasn't any promotion for this crossover, so it appears to be something … Continue reading Lost Crossovers: The Forgotten Phantom Lady/Spider Widow epic, Part 2

BHOC: MARVEL SUPER HEROES #79

Now here was an issue of MARVEL SUPER-HEROES that I quite liked. The story was reprinted, of course, from an INCREDIBLE HULK that had gone on sale seven or so years earlier, back when Roy Thomas had taken over the series. And it was a good example of the simple pathos that worked best with … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL SUPER HEROES #79

GH: GHOST RIDER #80

The last regular issue of GHOST RIDER I bought was #80,--literally just one issue away from the series' cancellation with #81. So why did I jump off here, right before the end/ Well, the honest reason is that GHOST RIDER was never a book I was all that interested in. I bought it out of … Continue reading GH: GHOST RIDER #80