SUPERMAN VS. THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 1976 THIS SAYS IT ALL! And it pretty much did. Even though I wasn’t a Marvel Comics reader in 1976 when SUPERMAN VS. THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN was published, I nevertheless recognized it as something important, and so purchased a copy. Printed in the oversized Treasury format, it was a massive 96-pages … Continue reading BHOCOS: SUPERMAN VS THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
THE COMIC-BOOK BOOK 1973 The sequel to the earlier ALL IN COLOR FOR A DIME, THE COMIC-BOOK BOOK was a collection of updated essays about the golden age of comics that had mostly appeared in the early 60s in the pages of the early fanzine XERO. As with most of the available books on comics … Continue reading BHOCOS: THE COMIC BOOK BOOK
THE STERANKO HISTORY OF COMICS Volume 1 1970 Besides lending its name to these very columns, THE STERANKO HISTORY OF COMICS was one of the earliest and one of the best volumes about the Golden Age of Comics, and the creators who made them. A masterful comics artist himself, Jim Steranko gathered his information firsthand, … Continue reading BHOCOS: THE STERANKO HISTORY OF COMICS
THE GREAT COMIC BOOK HEROES 1965 Originally published in 1965, and available remaindered through most of the 70s, THE GREAT COMIC BOOK HEROES was the first book ever published devoted to the comics of the Golden Age. In addition to Jules Feiffer’s vivid recollections of the era, both as a reader and then as an … Continue reading BHOCOS: THE GREAT COMIC BOOK HEROES
SECRET ORIGINS OF THE SUPER DC HEROES 1975 This was DC’s answer to Marvel’s very successful ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS. It was also one of the most highly-awaited books in my household from the time I saw the first house ads for it. Big and expensive, I had to wait for Christmas before I could … Continue reading BHOCOS: SECRET ORIGINS OF THE SUPER DC HEROES
THE FLASH #153 June, 1965 Back in the days before comic book shops were a part of my life–before I could drive, certainly, or even bike to a nearby shop–the one place where I was guaranteed to see back issues of comic books was at annual shopping mall collectibles shows. These events have largely dried … Continue reading BHOCOS: FLASH #153
MARVEL TALES #53 September, 1974 My first exposure to the comic book Spider-Man (I had watched the 1967 cartoon for years on Channel 5. However, as a child of 3, I didn’t quite understand the concept of the web-shooters–I thought that Spider-Man had strung up all of these ropes around the city, so that he … Continue reading BHOCOS: MARVEL TALES #53
THOR #233 March, 1975 Much like CAPTAIN AMERICA #183, which came out at the same time, THOR #233 was one of my early purchases which made me, for a long time thereafter, an avowed hater of Marvel Comics. And, unlike CAP #183, even today it’s not very good. THOR is a series that, in my … Continue reading BHOCOS: THOR #233
CAPTAIN AMERICA #183 March, 1975 CAP #183 is a great comic book, the concluding chapter in Steve Englehart’s Nomad saga. But when it was first published, it was one of a couple of comics that completely put me off Marvel as a company. (THOR #233 and MARVEL TEAM-UP #16 were two others…) As a new, … Continue reading BHOCOS: CAPTAIN AMERICA #183
SWISH INTO ACTION #1 1975 The oldest surviving example of my earliest attempts at creating comics, SWISH INTO ACTION was done in the second grade. It’s a fairly credible attempt for an eight-year-old–and the lettering never did get much better over the years. SWISH INTO ACTION derives much of its entertainment value from its unintentionally-provocative … Continue reading BHOCOS: SWISH INTO ACTION #1
