The advent of World War II and the patriotic fervor that hit the nation swiftly became a driving force behind comic books. It was clear almost immediately that young readers, with no other real way of engaging the enemy and helping with the battle effort, wanted to live those experiences vicariously through stories. Consequently, all … Continue reading The Other Captain America
This next issue of MARVEL'S GREATEST COMICS, #82, presented a bit of a problem for me. MGC reprinted earlier issues of FANTASTIC FOUR from the past, and consequently was very much a must buy title for me at the time. But by the point when this issue hit the stands, I already owned a copy … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL’S GREATEST COMICS #82
As I've mentioned before, I was never a huge fan of the Hulk during my initial foray into the Marvel Universe. And in fact, it was my younger brother Ken who started buying issues of his comic before I did--though I read those issues and eventually ended up with them, and kept carrying on buying … Continue reading GH: INCREDIBLE HULK #283
Well, there's a cover that you probably wouldn't see today, as we're all just a little bit more sensitive to this stuff. This issue of CAPTAIN AMERICA, purchased on one of my weekly trips to the 7-11 for new comics, was the start of a six-part epic that I'd wind up really enjoying--even if I … Continue reading BHOC: CAPTAIN AMERICA #231
As we've touched upon a couple of times in the past, while Jack Kirby's innovation of turning the mythological figure of Thor into a super hero in the early days of the Marvel Age was undoubtedly a bit of inspiration on his part, it wasn't a thing that happened in a vacuum. In fact, Thor … Continue reading When Batman Fought Thor
After a few shaky months following the successive departures of both writer Len Wein and artist Ross Andru, AMAZING SPIDER-MAN finally felt like it was back in the groove again. New writer Marv Wolfman had started up a number of running subplots in Peter Parker's life, making it feel nuanced and textured again, and the … Continue reading BHOC: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #190
I had really enjoyed AVENGERS up to and just past issue #200. Likely a lot of that had to do with the artwork of George Perez and John Byrne. But once Perez left to go to DC, this was a book that took a hard left turn at a certain point, and I just didn't … Continue reading GH: AVENGERS #233
So last month I had backed into buying SUPERBOY AND THE LEGION OF SUPER HEROES, purchasing the most recent two issues, albeit in reverse order. In my head, I never made a specific decision that I was going to continue to follow the series, but when this next issue turned up at the 7-11, I … Continue reading BHOC: SUPERBOY AND THE LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #248
While the early days of Marvel Comics were explosive and ultimately game-changing for the field, on a conceptual level they were not always quite as revolutionary as they sometimes seemed. A lot of the appeal of the line came down to the manner in which familiar ideas were executed, rather than the ideas themselves being … Continue reading The First Watcher
Back in the days when comic books were a mainstream impulse purchase rather than a medium largely focused on the tastes and desires of a dedicated hardcore fanbase, it was pretty well guaranteed that every winter season would bring at least one or two holiday-themed stories. These tales tended to stress sentiment over story logic, … Continue reading BHOC: GREEN LANTERN #113
The Tom Brevoort Experience 