Another week brought another raft of new comic books at my regular 7-11's spinner rack, and I was right there on Thursday as I was every week to pick them up. First book this week was this month's issue of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, a title that I had been enjoying more and more thanks to the … Continue reading BHOC: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #191
In the years to come, anime would become an important part of my life. Through anime fandom, I would meet some of my closest lifelong friends, and also develop the skills that allowed me to succeed during my internship at Marvel Comics. But in 1979, all of that lay ahead of me. I had no … Continue reading BHOC: SHOGUN WARRIORS #3
For the first couple of years of its existence, WHAT IF was a really good comic book. Creators seemed to come up with premises that allowed them to tell stories that took familiar characters in wild new directions, and the outcomes of those stories were all over the map. So it was a fascinating series … Continue reading GH: WHAT IF #38
Now this was a comic book that I really liked. So much so that I sent a letter of comment in to the letters page asking that creator John Byrne be allowed to both write and pencil FANTASTIC FOUR. A real case of "be careful what you wish for", as I stopped buying FF under … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #50
This issue of MARVEL SUPER ACTION was, I believe, my first real encounter with the work of Jim Steranko. He had done earlier pieces that I had seen--the cover to the Olshevsky FANTASTIC FOUR index for one, and of course his two volumes of THE STERANKO HISTORY OF COMICS. But this was the first comic … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL SUPER ACTION #13
If there's one thing that DC did well in the early 1980s, it was producing oversized anniversary issues. They wound up doing a bunch of these, and almost all of them are exceptional in one way or another. This one is no exception, a key moment in Batman history. But still, this was my final … Continue reading GH: DETECTIVE COMICS #526
Like with ACTION COMICS, I had also taken a three-month hiatus from buying SUPERMAN. I don't really remember why--possibly a feeling that my money was better spent on other titles. So there was a little gap in my collection. But as off-handedly as I left, I returned right as 1978 was on the way out, … Continue reading BHOC: SUPERMAN #333
I had sort of fallen into the habit of buying SUPERBOY AND THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES after having sampled the previous issues. It was a series that I always wanted to like--it seemed right up my alley, with a large and diverse cast of cool super heroes. But the stories often felt "off" to my … Continue reading BHOC: SUPERBOY AND THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #249
This was actually a really good issue of ALL-STAR SQUADRON, yet it became my last, at least for a short while. Why? I can't really say. I maintained my pull list for other titles, but somehow this one didn't make the cut. Which seems strange to me today, as the book was just about in … Continue reading GH: ALL-STAR SQUADRON #20
I continued to purchase GREEN LANTERN (co-starring GREEN ARROW) every month, even though the quality of the series varied wildly. Writer Denny O'Neil had been in place since the early 1970s, when the title's dip into confronting real-world issues got it a lot of public attention and notoriety. But I get the sense that Denny … Continue reading BHOC: GREEN LANTERN #114
The Tom Brevoort Experience 