By 1969, with comic book sales beginning to fall as the 60s fad for super heroes ran its course, enterprising creators began to look for greener pastures, to get out from under the thumb of often-unscrupulous publishers and to be their own bosses and make their own way. One of these creators was Wally Wood, … Continue reading Brand Echh – Heroes, Inc. #1
A post from my old Marvel blog concerning the comics purchases that turned me into a regular Marvel reader. These are being well-covered in the BREVOORT HISTORY OF COMICS section, but I'm reposting this anyway. The Ones That Did It pt. 4 April 28, 2007 | 1:00 AM | By Tom_Brevoort | In General So … Continue reading Blah Blah Blog – The Ones That Did It, Part 4
Bought this issue of MARVEL TRIPLE ACTION featuring the Avengers at my regular 7-11. This cover has always amused me--Hawkeye somehow swinging in with a rope wrapped loosely around his leg so that he can take an upside-down arrow-shot--it's truly a bizarre choice. In this instance, the choice wasn't directly Ernie Chan's, who drew this … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL TRIPLE ACTION #42
I think it's no great secret that for a good portion of its run, the Ant-Man/Giant-Man strip in TALES TO ASTONISH was troubled. Struggling, really. More so than any of the other Marvel characters of that era, Hank Pym's series, borne out of a one-off fantasy story, was retooled and reworked far more often than … Continue reading Lee & Ditko & Orlando & Rockwell: the Multiple Car Crash of TALES TO ASTONISH #61
The response to last week's piece on the complicated and complex origins of Spider-Man and all of the behind-the-scenes activity that stretched back for almost a decade before the character would eventually reach comic book newsstands was incredibly well received. In the space of a week, it's become one of the most-viewed posts on this … Continue reading Lee & Kirby & Simon & Ditko & Oleck: The Spider and the Fly Extra
I seem to recall that I got this issue of DOCTOR STRANGE at some non-regular comic buying location, a candy store or stationary store in the same mall as a far-off grocery store that my Mother went to in order to get something specific. I expect that the pickings must have been pretty slim for … Continue reading BHOC: DOCTOR STRANGE #29
I bought this issue of CAPTAIN AMERICA as usual at my local 7-11 convenience store. And while I didn't think much of anything of it at the time, boy, that's a bizarre cover, isn't it? It was executed by Ernie Chan, who had been for several years DC's primary super hero cover artist, during a … Continue reading BHOC: CAPTAIN AMERICA #222
A post from my old Marvel blog detailing early Marvel comics I sampled that didn't hook me. Bad Comics I Bought pt. 1 April 28, 2007 | 1:00 AM | By Tom_Brevoort | In General This is looking to be a busy week, so I need to do something a little bit easier for the … Continue reading Blah Blah Blog – Bad Comics I Bought, Part One
During this time, in loose conjunction with its efforts to get its properties onto television in Live Action and Animation, Marvel was making a concerted effort in the bookstore market as well. The success of the ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS series had proven that there was sufficient interest among book-buyers to make such activities potentially … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL NOVEL SERIES #1
It's one of the big, fundamental questions that lies at the heart of the origin-myth of perhaps Marvel Comics' most popular single character, and its one that has been discussed and debated at length by those with some degree of insider information: how much did Jack Kirby have to do with the development of Spider-Man, … Continue reading Lee & Kirby & Simon & Ditko & Oleck: The Spider and the Fly
The Tom Brevoort Experience 