CANCELLED COMIC CAVALCADE #2: KAMANDI #61

Continuing on with our look at CANCELLED COMIC CAVALCADE #2, a xeroxed collection of material that had been spiked due to the DC Implosion and intended to secure copyright to these stories for the company. Only 35 copies of this hand-bound edition were initially made, though over the years others have generated their own copies … Continue reading CANCELLED COMIC CAVALCADE #2: KAMANDI #61

BHOC: DAREDEVIL #158

Well, I'd known this day was coming for several months now, but it was somehow always a surprise when it happened--typically because I was used to budgeting against a particular amount, and now all of those calculations were in the wind again. This issue of DAREDEVIL was the first book I bought where the cover … Continue reading BHOC: DAREDEVIL #158

BHOC: DETECTIVE COMICS #483

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

5BC: Five Terrible Marvel Super Hero Costume Redesigns

The world of super heroes is never a stationary place, despite feelings among certain fans that nothing ever seems to change. And primary among the places where alteration can be seen is in the attire of classic characters. Giving a lagging hero a costume redesign can sometimes enhance their appeal and help carry them to … Continue reading 5BC: Five Terrible Marvel Super Hero Costume Redesigns

GH: PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #79

PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN had, for most of its run, been a weak sister second title to the main Spidey series, AMAZING SPIDER-MAN. While there had been some good stories along the way, PPSSM operated in the shadow of ASM, never entirely carrying its own weight, and inevitably staffed by talent that wasn't yet … Continue reading GH: PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #79

BHOC: DEFENDERS #69

It was momentum, pure and simple, that kept me purchasing DEFENDERS each and every month through this period. As it was a Marvel team title, on some level I felt as though i "had to" buy it or risk missing something important. Which is crazy, but also a part of the key to Marvel's success … Continue reading BHOC: DEFENDERS #69

BHOC: HUMAN FLY #19

It was the final issue of the magazine, but I dutifully purchased this issue of HUMAN FLY, having bought the prior one. I don't think I even gave it much thought, I just went ahead and did it. I'd sometimes start following titles simply because I had some additional pocket money that week, and once … Continue reading BHOC: HUMAN FLY #19

BHOC: THE FLASH #268

There's a lot to unpack about this issue of THE FLASH for me. For starters, I bought it not at any of my regular comic book haunts but rather in a far-off stationary store in distant Ronkonkoma where my family had gone for some reason. That store was a supply chain for the Cub Scouts … Continue reading BHOC: THE FLASH #268

CANCELLED COMIC CAVALCADE #1: FIRESTORM #6

Another look at one of the stories written off by DC Comics in the wake of the DC Implosion of 1978 that resulted in a sharp and unexpected contraction of their publishing line and the loss of some of their staff members. When Gerry Conway came on staff at DC after being passed over for … Continue reading CANCELLED COMIC CAVALCADE #1: FIRESTORM #6

BHOC: BATMAN FAMILY #20

This was, it turned out, the final issue of BATMAN FAMILY in its current form. Shortly after this, the DC Implosion would happen, slashing the size of the DC line dramatically and costing a number of people--including this issue's editor Al Milgrom--their jobs. On the chopping block at that moment was DETECTIVE COMICS, as it … Continue reading BHOC: BATMAN FAMILY #20