WC: SHOWCASE #40

Among the more memorable strips DC launched during the Silver Age of Comics was Metal Men. The brainchild of writer Robert Kanigher and artists Ross Andru and Mike Esposito, the Metal Men was a team of robots, each one crafted out of a particular element, who battled super-scientific menaces under the direction of their creator, … Continue reading WC: SHOWCASE #40

BHOC: CAPTAIN AMERICA #215

Here's another book that came to me out of a 3-Bag purchased at a toy store or a department store. It was the first issue of CAPTAIN AMERICA following the departure of the character's co-creator Jack Kirby as writer, artist and editor, and it gives every indication of having been something of a rush job. … Continue reading BHOC: CAPTAIN AMERICA #215

BHOC: AVENGERS #165

A new crop of 3-Bags started turning up at the department stores and toy stores in my area, though they were beginning to become harder to find as more and more outlets used the space for something else that was presumably easier to keep in order and also brought in more revenue for the square … Continue reading BHOC: AVENGERS #165

WC: SGT. FURY AND HIS HOWLING COMMANDOS #9

The series was only nine issue old, and already somebody--presumably editor/scripter Stan Lee--felt it necessary to raise the stakes even further. This SGT FURY AND HIS HOWLING COMMANDOS cover promises something unbelievable--and without even reading the story, you can likely intuit the outcome. SGT FURY was a weird title. It was created in response to … Continue reading WC: SGT. FURY AND HIS HOWLING COMMANDOS #9

BHOC: ACTION COMICS #486

Another Thursday, another opportunity to ride my bike down into the center of town to our 7-11 after school to pick up the new comics. The conveyance and the distance has changed, and even the day of the week, but the process remains the same even today. There isn't much overt to say about picking … Continue reading BHOC: ACTION COMICS #486

BHOC: FANTASTIC FOUR #107

So as I've related before, it came out at some point that the branch of the Chase Manhattan Bank that my father worked out of was situated in the Levittown Mall--the same Mall that contained the first comic book shop that I ever went to, Heroes' World. What this amounted to in practice is that, … Continue reading BHOC: FANTASTIC FOUR #107

WC: MYSTERY IN SPACE #55

This issue of MYSTERY IN SPACE, another book that I got in my Windfall Comics purchase of 1988, sports another of those great halftone covers that DC production man Jack Adler was experimenting with. The added texture does give the piece a nice painterly quality, as well as far more subtlety than the typical DC … Continue reading WC: MYSTERY IN SPACE #55

BHOC: GREEN LANTERN #107

I picked up this new issue of GREEN LANTERN (CO-STARRING GREEN ARROW) on my regular trip to 7-11 on Thursday, new comics day. As it turned out, this was a fill-in issue of sorts, its contents likely initially commissioned for some other purpose and then burned off here. But that didn't mean that I didn't … Continue reading BHOC: GREEN LANTERN #107

BHOC: PETER PARKER, SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #21

It was business as usual back at my 7-11's spinner rack that Thursday, the day when new comic books would be put out for the week. Having jumped aboard the Spider-Man train, I picked up this issue of PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN. SPEC SPIDEY was decidedly the second tier Spider-Man title for virtually all … Continue reading BHOC: PETER PARKER, SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #21

WC: SUPERMAN’S GIRL FRIEND LOIS LANE #28

This was another issue of SUPERMAN'S GIRL FRIEND LOIS LANE that I got in my Windfall Comics purchase of 1988 and for which I paid 33 cents--more than three times the original cover price! This was another good example of where the series was at this time--it's worth keeping in mind that all of the … Continue reading WC: SUPERMAN’S GIRL FRIEND LOIS LANE #28