GH: IRON MAN #171

There was a relatively brief period of time during which IRON MAN was a crackerjack reading experience. After more than a decade of mostly just floating along not being especially inspired, David Michelinie, John Romita Jr. and Bob Layton made the Armored Avenger into a real player. They put him up against more major threats, … Continue reading GH: IRON MAN #171

BHOC: THE MIGHTY MARVEL COMICS STRENGTH AND FITNESS BOOK

The ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS line wasn't the only thing Marvel-related that Simon & Schuster published back in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Indeed, there was a whole line of other volumes: a bunch of puzzle books and the like. And there was also this, an exercise book featuring the Marvel characters, presumably in … Continue reading BHOC: THE MIGHTY MARVEL COMICS STRENGTH AND FITNESS BOOK

Doctor Who: Boom

Well, the short reaction that that episode boils down to, "That's more like it." And no real surprise there. Returning writer Steven Moffat, for all that the flaws in his work are often decried by the fanbase loudly remains perhaps the most singular influence on the rebooted era of DOCTOR WHO. Put aside the several … Continue reading Doctor Who: Boom

BHOC: THE SUPERHERO WOMEN

Back at Christmas 1978, I was working my way through the fourth and latest release in the ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS line of Trade Paperbacks from Simon & Schuster: THE SUPERHERO WOMEN. This book was a bit more of a mixed bag than the earlier ones and relied more on material that was more contemporary--the … Continue reading BHOC: THE SUPERHERO WOMEN

GH: FANTASTIC FOUR #256

FANTASTIC FOUR was my favorite series for a long time, and the book that finally got me to take the plunge into the Marvel Universe. So you'd figure that, even in lean times, it would take a lot to dislodge me from following it. And you'd be right. Except that that's totally what happened. This … Continue reading GH: FANTASTIC FOUR #256

BHOC: BRING ON THE BAD GUYS

As I talked about yesterday, for Christmas 1978 I was given the four existing volumes in the Marvel Origins trade paperback collection that up to that point existed. I had read SON OF ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS at my local library, but I was happy to have my own copy to go back to and … Continue reading BHOC: BRING ON THE BAD GUYS

Doctor Who: The Devil’s Chord

Well, that was a right old mess. Before Friday night (and how strange is it to be watching new DOCTOR WHO episodes on a Friday evening?) if you'd asked, I would have predicted that "The Devil's Chord" would be the better of the two opening episodes that Disney+ was dropping in the new season, having … Continue reading Doctor Who: The Devil’s Chord

Doctor Who: Space Babies

Well, a lot to digest about that two-episode premiere of DOCTOR WHO. I'm going to break my thoughts and reactions up into two separate pieces, each one focused more concretely on an individual episode rather than trying to tackle both at once. As always, I don't see these as constituting reviews as such, but rather … Continue reading Doctor Who: Space Babies

BHOC: ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS

Christmas 1978 was a huge comic book windfall for me. Whereas in years past I had filled my wish list with an assortment of toys, starting here, I would instead begin asking for books on comics. ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS had eluded me for months, so much so that I eventually got to read the … Continue reading BHOC: ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS

GH: DEFENDERS #120

As I've spoken about several times as we've looked at assorted issues that I bought over the years, DEFENDERS was a series whose best days were behind it by the time I started reading it. For a long stretch of time, it simply wasn't very good--yet, as a dutiful Marvelite, I kept on buying it … Continue reading GH: DEFENDERS #120