The Unseen MAGNUS, ROBOT RIGHT #29 Script

Last weekend, we posted a piece containing the original artwork to a never-completed 1969 MAGNUS, ROBOT FIGHTER story intended for issue #29. The art had been auctioned off a few years ago, and the Heritage Auction listing indicated that the full script was included with it. However, the listing only showed the first page of … Continue reading The Unseen MAGNUS, ROBOT RIGHT #29 Script

BC: DETECTIVE COMICS #441

There would typically be some specific reason why I asked to borrow a particular comic book from my grade school friend Donald Sims. Usually, it was because I'd gotten interested in a specific character and was invested in learning more about them. So it was with this 100-Page issue of DETECTIVE COMICS, which I borrowed … Continue reading BC: DETECTIVE COMICS #441

BHOC: ACTION COMICS #497

Despite the overwhelming global popularity of SUPERMAN THE MOVIE, DC for years refused to make any but the most cursory moves towards reflecting that iteration of the Man of Steel in the comics. It's really wasn't until Post-CRISIS when John Byrne took over the character that the influence of the film version came to the … Continue reading BHOC: ACTION COMICS #497

The Unseen MAGNUS, ROBOT FIGHTER #29

MAGNUS, ROBOT FIGHTER is a well-remembered adventure series published by Gold Key comics during the Silver Age. Set in the far-off year of 4000 AD, it concerned the exploits of Magnus, a quasi-super hero who used his steel-shattering strength to battle threats to humanity caused by the plethora of robots that had been created to … Continue reading The Unseen MAGNUS, ROBOT FIGHTER #29

BHOC: PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #32

By this moment in time PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN was past its best days--and even at its highest it had never been a great comic book series. Almost by default, the title was dedicated to providing "more" Spider-Man adventures for readers for whom a single AMAZING SPIDER-MAN release wasn't enough. These stories existed in … Continue reading BHOC: PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #32

BC: SHAZAM #5

I was continuing to work my way through the complete run of SHAZAM that I had borrowed from my grade school friend Donald Sims. By this fifth issue, the series had settled into something of a groove, and stresses were beginning to become apparent among the creative team. After an inaugural issue that posted big … Continue reading BC: SHAZAM #5

BHOC: IRON MAN #124

We're at the point where IRON MAN started to get really good under the creative team of writer David Michelinie, penciler John Romita Jr. and inker and co-plotter Bob Layton. The transformation sort of snuck up on me as a reader at the time. I found that I was enjoying IRON MAN more and more, … Continue reading BHOC: IRON MAN #124

Lost Crossovers: AIRBOY v3 #12

Airboy was one of the more popular and long-lasting series of the Golden Age of Comics. Created by Charles Biro in the pages of AIR FIGHTERS COMICS #2, Airboy was young Davy Nelson, the heir to a robotic batwinged plane named Birdie developed by his late father, who used it to fight the Axis in … Continue reading Lost Crossovers: AIRBOY v3 #12

BHOC: FANTASTIC FOUR #208

Eventually, my subscription copy of FANTASTIC FOUR #208 turned up in my mailbox, inevitably a week or two after copies had appeared on the spinner rack, frustrating me. This is about the point where the series started to come off the rails a little bit, in part due to the fact that a space epic … Continue reading BHOC: FANTASTIC FOUR #208

BC: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #134

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN continued to be Marvel's most popular and consistently best-selling title throughout the 1970s, as the character began to have a larger footprint across popular culture. So it wasn't any surprise that my grade school buddy Donald Sims had a number of issues in his comic book collection. Like the couple of Fourth World … Continue reading BC: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #134