MISS AMERICA MAGAZINE had started out as simply MISS AMERICA COMICS, solo-starring the patriotic character then being featured in Timely's MARVEL MYSTERY COMICS as well. But buying tastes were beginning to change in the marketplace, and so publisher Martin Goodman switched gears, transitioning MISS AMERICA into a hybrid magazine aimed at girls. The super-heroine would … Continue reading The First Patsy Walker Story
This is a topic that never quite gets exhausted for me. Over this past weekend I had a need to revisit the pieces I had originally devoted to analyzing FANTASTIC FOUR #1 and the assorted art changes and adjustments that I detected therein. And in doing so, a number of new ideas struck me--including one … Continue reading Lee & Kirby: Even More on FANTASTIC FOUR #1
As the 1960s turned into the 1970s, two things were going on in the world of comics. Upstart publisher Marvel was gaining ground on its rival, the massive DC Comics, then known as National Periodical Publications. And a new generation of creators was coming into the field, one that had grown up reading comics as … Continue reading 5BC: Five Best Unofficial Marvel and DC Crossovers
This was another book that came out of my local drugstore's Big Bin of Somewhat-Older Comics. It was bought by/for my younger brother Ken, who had eclectic tastes in what comics attracted his attention. He was never all that involved in the medium, for all that he dabbled with it for many years, likely because … Continue reading BHOC: AMAZING ADVENTURES #37
FANTASTIC FOUR #1 was the beginning of what would grow into the Marvel Age of Comics, where Stan Lee and Jack Kirby revolutionized the field and unleashed a wave of characters and concept that have achieved worldwide popularity and renown in the decades since. So it's now seen as an important issue. And from what … Continue reading Lee & Kirby: FANTASTIC FOUR #1, Part One
For whatever reason, comic book publishers in the 1970s seem to have favored cluttered covers, packed to the gills with blurbs and copy, often to the detriment of the artwork, which was forced into a tiny space. This AMAZING ADVENTURES cover by P. Craig Russell suffers from this, yet the drawing is so delicate and … Continue reading Great Covers – AMAZING ADVENTURES #39
The Tom Brevoort Experience 