BOYS’ RANCH January, 1992 The BOYS’ RANCH collection represents the one and only time I ever worked with the legendary Jack Kirby–and, even then, I never so much as spoke to him on the phone, communicating instead through his steadfast wife Roz. BOYS’ RANCH is considered by many to be the pinnacle of the many … Continue reading BHOCOS: BOYS’ RANCH HARDCOVER
FUN BOYS SPRING SPECIAL April, 1991 Jeff Bonivert’s wonderfully nostalgic FUN BOYS one-shot had perhaps an unexpected effect on me. The tale tells of a trio of kids who make the weekly pilgrimage to Pop’s Comic Book Shop for their weekly fix, and who run afoul of the local bully on the way home. Said … Continue reading BHOCOS: FUN BOYS SPRING SPECIAL #1
DEATHLOK #1 July, 1991 DEATHLOK was the first regular comic book series I got to edit–and I botched the hell out of it. Now, mind you, I had some help. The limited series that resurrected the character had been edited by Bob Budiansky, who would continue to be associated with the book as “supervising editor.” … Continue reading BHOCOS: DEATHLOK #1
SUPERSNIPE COMICS Vol. 2 #5 October, 1944 Billed as “The Boy With The Most Comic Books in America”, Supersnipe was actually young Walter Mitty-ish Koppy McFad. Not content merely to follow his favorite comics–a tag line tells us Koppy “reads ‘em, eats 'em and sleeps 'em”–Koppy indulges in an ongoing fantasy life in which he’s … Continue reading BHOCOS: SUPERSNIPE COMICS v2 #5
CRIME DETECTIVE COMICS #6 January-February, 1947 Not to tread on Scott Shaw’s territory, but this issue of CRIME DETECTIVE COMICS features one of the most oddball covers in the history of crime comics–the sole reason I picked it up. Sadly, it’s also an entirely misleading cover, as none of the stories contained herein features a … Continue reading BHOCOS: CRIME DETECTIVE COMICS #6
ALL- FLASH COMICS #1 Summer, 1941 This is, I believe, the oldest comic book I own–I have a few pulp magazines and such that are older, but no comics. And I paid a grand total of $3.00 for it, which, even in the dilapidated state it’s in, was quite a bargain. ALL-FLASH COMICS–so named because … Continue reading BHOCOS: ALL-FLASH QUARTERLY #1
FANTASTIC FOUR #1 November, 1961 I saw this book at a New York show in the early months of 1991. I’d already spent all of the cash I’d put aside for the weekend when I spied it on a dealer’s wall across the way. It had a post-it on it identifying it as a “beaten, … Continue reading BHOCOS: FANTASTIC FOUR #1
DOONESBURY I read the entire run of DOONESBURY to date over the course of one week in the early 1990s, after coming across this second oversized collection in my local used bookstore. I’d been too young to really start following the strip when it first debuted, and had never before been able to get into … Continue reading BHOCOS: DOONESBURY
COUNT DUCKULA #14 November, 1990 COUNT DUCKULA #14 was the first professional comic book I ever wrote (or co-wrote, as was most often the case, with Mike Kanterovich.) It also represented my first regular Marvel assignment–one that only lasted until #15, when the book, based on the British animated series then running on Nickelodeon, was … Continue reading BHOCOS: COUNT DUCKULA #14
ALL- FLASH #8 January-February, 1943 ALL-FLASH #8 was the first Golden Age comic I ever purchased. I picked it up in 1990, on my first trip to the San Diego Comic Convention. Ever since reading the Jay Garrick story reprinted in FLASH #DC-22, I’d been a big fan of the work Gardner Fox and E.E. … Continue reading BHOCOS: ALL-FLASH COMICS #8
The Tom Brevoort Experience 