It had happened again. I had missed another issue of THE FLASH. Having never seen nor bought #269, now #271 proved elusive to me. And honestly, ever since my subscription had lapsed with issue #261, I was having the devil's own time following the book regularly. You might think this would have prompted me to … Continue reading BHOC: THE FLASH #272
1986 was the year in which the wider world began to become familiar with the concept that comic books could be vehicles for more serious and thoughtful ideas than merely slam-bang adventure stories for children. The twin juggernauts of Frank Miller's THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS and Moor and Gibbons' WATCHMEN along with the release of … Continue reading Brand Echh: Hero Alliance graphic novel
This ASTONISHING X-MEN #17 cover by John Cassaday looks simple, but there's a lot of strong thought work going on behind it, and it's an effective and memorable cover. To start off with, that white space is going to stand out on the sales racks like a beacon. And that petrified face of Wolverine peering … Continue reading Great Covers: ASTONISHING X-MEN #17
For almost the entirety of its run, I had been a regular reader of BATMAN FAMILY. But during the famous DC Implosion, in which DC's publishing line was significantly pruned back, BATMAN FAMILY had been merged with DETECTIVE COMICS in an effort to keep the series that the company had been named after alive. Clearly, … Continue reading BHOC: DETECTIVE COMICS #483
The cover to WHIZ COMICS #16 gives no indication of the titanic struggle that was played out within its pages. Inspired clearly by the battle between the Human Torch and the Sub-Mariner in MARVEL MYSTERY COMICS, a fight that made that series a best-seller, Fawcett's creative team decided to do their own super hero vs … Continue reading Lost Crossovers: The Epic Battle Between Captain Marvel and Spy Smasher, part two
This next issue of THOR was the second part of a two-part story designed to help get the book back on schedule as writer/editor Roy Thomas prepared to get into his long Celestials storyline. This was the fourth issue in a row that felt like a bit of a throwaway, so the series was going … Continue reading BHOC: THOR #282
I'd heard about this story for years--I think that I first read about it in the first volume of the Steranko History of Comics when I was a kid. But I'd never been able to locate nor read it--until now. And so, I'm going to share the same opportunity with you all. It's the Captain … Continue reading When Captain America Killed a Million People
It's something of a mystery to me why I picked up this issue of MS MARVEL, what would turn out to be the last one released. I know that I bought it at that far-off supermarket where I'd earlier purchased SHOGUN WARRIORS #3, and it's possible that the smattering of comic books they had available … Continue reading BHOC: MS MARVEL #23
As we've covered in the past, it was a relatively rare thing during the Golden Age of Comics for the heroes of two separate strips to meet one another. Despite the success of the Justice Society of America in ALL-STAR COMICS, no other company ever fielded a super hero team comprised of all of their … Continue reading Lost Crossovers: The Epic Battle Between Captain Marvel and Spy Smasher, part one
This issue of MICRONAUTS was purchased by my younger brother Ken. I'm pretty certain that it was bought at the same far-off supermarket where I'd previously gotten SHOGUN WARRIORS #3. And I also have no doubt that he gravitated to this particular book because Baron Karza looked like Darth Vader--which was kind of the point. … Continue reading BHOC: MICRONAUTS #4
The Tom Brevoort Experience 