BHOC: GREEN LANTERN #118

It speaks to the essential appeal of Green Lantern as a character that I continued to follow his series for long stretches of tie even when I wasn't really enjoying it all that much. And this period that we're in right now is something of a nadir. Hal was still paired up with Green Arrow … Continue reading BHOC: GREEN LANTERN #118

CANCELLED COMIC CAVALCADE #2

In 1978, plans for a massive expansion of DC's publishing line, which were being promoted as the DC Explosion, crashed and burned as an unusually heavy winter took its toll on comic book sales. The DC line was slashed rather than expanded, and a bunch of staff members were laid off. This became known as … Continue reading CANCELLED COMIC CAVALCADE #2

BHOC: THE FLASH #274

I picked up the latest issue of what had once been my favorite comic book series of all on my weekly excursion to the 7-11 on Thursday. My interest in THE FLASH had started to waver a bit of late, as I'd become more enamored of the Marvel books that were then occupying a lot … Continue reading BHOC: THE FLASH #274

BHOC: GREEN LANTERN #116

My memory of things is that GREEN LANTERN entered into a bit of a doldrums as a series at about this time, one that held on at least until Green Arrow was given his eviction notice from the series and really up until Marv Wolfman began to write it a couple of years later. It … Continue reading BHOC: GREEN LANTERN #116

BHOC: SUPERMAN FAMILY #195

DC's Dollar Comics program didn't wind up being the industry game-changer that new publisher Jenette Kahn had hoped it would, but it was a format that the company pursued for several years and resulted in some decently-crafted anthologies. Case in point is SUPERMAN FAMILY, which was never a great comic book but which was a … Continue reading BHOC: SUPERMAN FAMILY #195

BHOC: THE FLASH #273

This issue of THE FLASH is where new editor Ross Andru's vision for the title really crystalized. In essence, this took the form of bring on board a new regular penciler. Longtime FLASH artist Irv Novick had departed one issue after outgoing editor Julie Schwartz, and while Ross had stopgapped for two months, here he … Continue reading BHOC: THE FLASH #273

BHOC: GREEN LANTERN #115

I was still regularly following GREEN LANTERN (co-starring GREEN ARROW) but to be honest I was enjoying it less and less. I'd first encountered the character as a back-up strip in THE FLASH where his adventures were galactic in nature. But in this book, it was clear that the writers and editors weren't entirely comfortable … Continue reading BHOC: GREEN LANTERN #115

BHOC: GREEN LANTERN #114

I continued to purchase GREEN LANTERN (co-starring GREEN ARROW) every month, even though the quality of the series varied wildly. Writer Denny O'Neil had been in place since the early 1970s, when the title's dip into confronting real-world issues got it a lot of public attention and notoriety. But I get the sense that Denny … Continue reading BHOC: GREEN LANTERN #114

BHOC: GREEN LANTERN #113

Back in the days when comic books were a mainstream impulse purchase rather than a medium largely focused on the tastes and desires of a dedicated hardcore fanbase, it was pretty well guaranteed that every winter season would bring at least one or two holiday-themed stories. These tales tended to stress sentiment over story logic, … Continue reading BHOC: GREEN LANTERN #113

BHOC: GREEN LANTERN #112

This issue of GREEN LANTERN (co-starring GREEN ARROW) was one that I looked forward to after reading the first chapter of this story in the preceding issue. It featured a team-up between the regular Earth-1 Green Lantern Hal Jordan and his Golden Age Earth-2 counterpart Alan Scott. What's more, the story tied Scott into the … Continue reading BHOC: GREEN LANTERN #112