Here's a book that pissed off both Marvel and DC's brass--both for different reasons. It's also a really good example of the kinds of schlock that started to turn up on newsstands as novice publishers began trying to jump onto the pop art super hero craze that kicked off in the mid-1960s. There are no … Continue reading Brand Echh – Captain Marvel #1
In the mid-1960s, Joe Simon was in the middle of a court battle attempting to recapture the rights to Captain America, an effort which would eventually come to nothing in part thanks to an affidavit made out by his old partner Jack Kirby specifying that he was aware at all times that everything created for … Continue reading Brand Echh – Sick #48
Upon hearing that Captain America co-creator Joe Simon had joined forces with Harvey Publications to release a new line of super hero titles to capitalize on the new wave of costumed hero popularity, both Martin Goodman and Stan Lee were concerned. They both had a ton of respect for Simon's commercial abilities, and feared that … Continue reading Brand Echh – Unearthly Spectaculars #2
For a short period in the mid-1960s, under the editorship of Dick Giordano, bottom-rung publisher Charlton had a very nice line of up-and-coming super hero comics. It didn't last long--the market dip in the post-BATMAN TV show craze put the kibosh on all sorts of super hero aspirations. In this instance, though, we're going to … Continue reading Brand Echh – Thunderbolt #57
Having left Marvel in 1965 because he was unhappy with the way the books were created--where the artist was having to do the lion's share of the plotting as well as illustrating, thanks to the "Marvel method"--veteran artist Wally Wood was recruited by the start-up Tower Comics to help create and launch their new line. … Continue reading Brand Echh – Dynamo #4
I promise, all of these entries aren't going to be cribbed from Radio Comics/Mighty Comics. But this issue does give me the opportunity to present my two favorite Mighty heroes in a single two-part tale: The Shield and the Web. That opening blurb is a pretty good evocation of Stan Lee's bombastic rhetoric. They weren't … Continue reading Brand Echh – Fly Man #36
In their masterful two-issue summation of the WORLD'S WORST COMICS, James Schumeister and Rich Larson gave a particular adroit description of the books put out under the Mighty Comics banner. They said that it was as though Russian spies had smuggled out a copy of a Marvel book and had tried to reverse-engineer it. That … Continue reading Brand Echh – Fly Man #35
Marvel Bullpen Bulletins item - Cover Date March 1966 It has to be said that I love bad comics of a certain type. Not lousy comics per se, but ones that are just a little bit clueless, that are trying to hop on board a given trend, or that are just so weird that they're … Continue reading Brand Echh – Introduction
The Tom Brevoort Experience 