One of the more overlooked pioneers of what would come to be called the Direct Sales comic book market was Mike Friedrich. He'd started his career as a writer for DC and Marvel, among others, and eventually became first Marvel's first executive in charge of Direct Sales and thereafter an artists representative. But in-between, he … Continue reading Brand Echh: Star Reach #1
A post from my Marvel blog of long ago, part of a series discussing my early Marvel purchases which failed to make me a fan. Bad Comics I Bought pt. 4 April 28, 2007 | 1:00 AM | By Tom_Brevoort | In General Continuing our exploration of Marvel books I sampled in the 70s but … Continue reading Blah Blah Blog – Bad Comics I Bought, Part Four
I was sampling all sorts of random Marvel books out of my drugstore's Big Bin of Slightly Older Comics. Since they were selling these treasures at five for a dollar, it was always fiscally advantageous to pull five books at a time--if you went to the register with fewer than that, the outcome would depend … Continue reading BHOC: INHUMANS #9
This is a really pretty romance cover by Tony DeZuniga, one that draws upon larger influence in pop culture and the sorts of op art approaches that had garnered attention. It seems very sophisticated, way more so than the standard romance comic material that fills the insides of the book. But covers such as this … Continue reading Great Covers: FALLING IN LOVE #121
We've spoken before about the launch of Captain Atom in the pages of Charlton's SPACE ADVENTURES series at the very beginning of the 1960s. The character failed to catch on at that point, and was eventually pulled from the series. That perhaps should have been the end of things. But the super hero fad just … Continue reading The First New Captain Atom Story
A post from my old Marvel blog of days gone by talking about the constant renumbering of long-running comic book series. Renumbering April 28, 2007 | 1:00 AM | By Tom_Brevoort | In General I was having a discussion the other week with assistant editor Aubrey Sitterson about a topic that I thought might make … Continue reading Blah Blah Blog – Renumbering
This was another book that I picked up out of my local drugstore's Big Bin of Somewhat Older Comic Books. It wasn't my usual fare on the surface of it--at the time, Marvel had a full line of monster/horror titles, to say nothing of reprints of 1950s Atlas suspense tales and their 1960s giant monster … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL CHILLERS #7
Another batch of vintage photographs of comic book creators taken in years past. As usual, there are a number of these that revolve around Stan Lee, probably the most photographed creator of the era. Roy Thomas wearing the first Spider-Man personal appearance costume at a comic convention in 1966 A sleepy Herb Trimpe in the … Continue reading Comics Creators in the Wild 5
The opening up of the Direct Sales market in the early 1980s made it possible for anybody with a little bit of money to publish and sell their own black and white comic books. All sorts of new companies popped up, put out a few releases, then vanished without a trace. Comico performed better than … Continue reading Brand Echh: Comico Primer #2
A post from my Marvel blog of the previous decade, this one discussing how some of the series spinning out of HOUSE OF M were conceived. Crossing Over April 28, 2007 | 1:00 AM | By Tom_Brevoort | In General Continuing from this morning, on the development of a crossover.After our initial document went out … Continue reading Blah Blah Blog – Crossing Over
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