It's time once again for another dive into MIGHTY COMICS, Archie's attempt to reverse-engineer the appeal of the Marvel books of the era without understanding them a whit. As before, we're going to be focusing on my favorite of the Mighty creations, the Web. The Web wasn't cast as a Spider-Man knock-off as you might … Continue reading Brand Echh: Mighty Comics #45
Once again, another collection of random old photographs showing either comic books of decades gone by on sale in their native time period or else being read and enjoyed by readers of that era. I know that we occasionally repeat a photograph in this series, an occupational hazard as I'm not keeping all that good … Continue reading Comics in the Wild 16
This issue of SGT FURY was another book that my younger brother Ken purchased for himself on some trip to a local card store or the 7-11 or some such. He had a dalliance with war comics for a few months, and bought a number of random issues along the way. Eventually, all of those … Continue reading BHOC: SGT FURY #148
This issue of JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY was situated right at the transition point between the early Marvel style of storytelling and the more mature and measured approach the firm would take through its glory years. By this point, artist and largely plotter Jack Kirby had received a rate increase that permitted him to slow down … Continue reading WC: JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #115
In 1982, there was simply no hotter book in the Direct Sales marketplace than UNCANNY X-MEN. Riding off of the tremendous success of the Dark Phoenix Saga, the series was rocketed to the absolute pinnacle of the sales charts, at least in comic book specialty shops. X-MEN was super hot, and so the publishers of … Continue reading THE X-MEN COMPANION #1: Roy Thomas Interview
Another new issue that I bought at Heroes World was IRON MAN #114. Not because I was particularly a huge IRON MAN fan, but because I went and bought all of the new books that they had that I didn't yet own before delving into the back issues. In retrospect, that may have been a … Continue reading BHOC: IRON MAN #114
Charlton was pretty much the bottom rung of the comic book business. Yes, they published a lot of material, but it was always on the crappiest paper, and always had the worst distribution. What's more, it only rarely seemed as though anybody cared about what the content of these magazines was. One notable exception was … Continue reading Brand Echh: Thunderbolt #54
Here's a really lovely and iconic pin-up cover of WOW COMICS featuring artist Marc Swayze's rendition of Mary Marvel, who had only taken over the cover position the previous issue. Rather that emphasizing action or danger or drama, Swayze here gives us a beauty shot of the new character, one that he had a hand … Continue reading Great Covers: WOW COMICS #10
I believe I picked up this issue of GREEN LANTERN/GREEN ARROW during that same trip to Heroes World with my father after work. This was the first issue released since the DC Explosion, and much to my approval, a back-up series had been added featuring the original Green Lantern of Earth-2. I was a huge … Continue reading BHOC: GREEN LANTERN #108
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #17 was another issue of the title that I got in that box of Silver Age comics that I purchased for fifty dollars back in 1988. By this time, the formula of the series had largely crystalized, and it was as reliable a product as must anything else being released by … Continue reading WC: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #17
The Tom Brevoort Experience 