I've been thinking about this for a while now, pointed in this direction by having watched TOKUSATSU GAGAGA, where they make this sentiment overt: what is the purpose of super hero stories? On the surface, it would seem to be obvious. Like any other story, the primary purpose is to entertain. But with super hero … Continue reading The Purpose of Super Heroes
This is going to be kind of a weird one. The upcoming SHAZAM movie looks like a lot of fun, and I'll no doubt be there on opening weekend to watch it. But it does complete the character's transformation from his original conception as Captain Marvel into something else. Based on everything we've seen so … Continue reading SHAZAM! Captain Marvel and Billy Batson
We’re about to go into what is perhaps the busiest super hero movie summer of all time, certainly to a degree that I could never have imagined or hoped for when I was a kid. And that, naturally enough, had me thinking this past week about what I considered to be the best super hero … Continue reading Comic Book Movies
The source of a great deal of my vintage Marvel knowledge comes from the George Olshevsky Marvel Comics Indexes which were produced in the late 1970s and early 1980s. These pre-dated the later Official Marvel Handbooks, and the Marvel-produced indexes, and were really the only source of comprehensive information about a given title in those … Continue reading Olshevsky Marvel Indexes
Back in the 1970s when I grew up, your choices for super hero merchandise were fairly well limited. But what little we had, we loved. This is why so many people from that era have such fond memories of the Mego line of action figures–not just the World’s Greatest Super-Heroes line, but also Star Trek, … Continue reading MEGO HALL OF JUSTICE
Before the wide spread availability of comic book retail stores, access to comic book merchandise was very hit-or-miss. While most big stores stocked some things, not every single thing that you might want was readily accessible. Beyond that, you might not even be aware that certain things existed. One operation that closed that gap was … Continue reading Superhero Merchandise
As a kid, when I was first getting into comics in a big way, there weren’t yet any comic book stores, not that I was aware of, not that were anyplace that I could ever get to. So opportunities to come across older comics were slim, limited to stores that might not rotate their stock … Continue reading Smith Haven Mall Crafts Fair
The Tom Brevoort Experience 