It's an argument that comes up every couple of months like clockwork, especially when some new film or television project is announced. There are always those that espouse that Batman, in order to be treated realistically, should carry and use a gun. And these people inevitably point to the character's earliest days as justification, talking … Continue reading When Batman Used A Gun
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
Crossovers among characters originating in different comic books have become by this point so commonplace as to not even be worthy of notice, and crossovers between characters from different publishing entities have similarly increased to the point where, while they've still got a bit of built-in excitement to them, they're still relatively commonplace. But the … Continue reading 5BC: Five Times Super Heroes Met Real People
This was a noteworthy issue of DETECTIVE COMICS, though not for especially good reasons. Because this was the final issue to be edited by Jack Schiff before the Batman titles were moved over into Julie Schwartz's editorial stable in an attempt to buoy their sinking sales. And one glance at this cover tells you precisely … Continue reading WC: DETECTIVE COMICS #326
This issue of BRAVE AND THE BOLD was the first released under the auspices of the DC Explosion, which saw the line increating its cover price to 50 cents a copy from 35 while adding additional pages of material. Here, the Human Target, a feature that briefly ran in the back pages of ACTION COMICS … Continue reading BHOC: BRAVE AND THE BOLD #143
In the Golden Age of Comics, it was a real rarity for the stars of any two comic book features to meet one another. It happened occasionally, but outside of the regular get-togethers of the Justice Society of America in ALL-STAR COMICS, it was rare to see two different super heroes occupy space in the … Continue reading When the Star-Spangled Kid met the Caped Crusader
During the Silver Age of Comics, there was a prevailing wisdom that it was the cover that sold the magazine, rather than any quality within the book itself. Comics were largely an impulse purchase on the part of numerous casual young readers, so coming up with a cover image that would grab their imagination and … Continue reading WC: WORLD’S FINEST #151
These days, the concept of a crossover between two different fictional characters has become so entrenched in popular culture that it's difficult to come across a pairing that is truly noteworthy. In a world in which everybody is exploring a Multiverse, it seems strange to think that there was a time when the idea that … Continue reading 5BC: 5 Most Unlikely and Unprecedented Crossovers
I only became aware of this story recently, and it has an aspect to it that may have been overlooked to some. So I'm going to feature it here. In the postwar era, the public's taste in comic books shifted away from super heroes towards other genres. Notably, humor comics became quite popular, and like … Continue reading Forgotten Masterpiece: ALL FUNNY COMICS #16
This is a relatively effective cover for an issue of DETECTIVE COMICS in this period, even given that the series tended to look a bit antiquated when placed on the comic racks next to the other contemporary DC titles. That use of the close-up of the Robot Brain with Batman and Robin trapped inside it … Continue reading WC: DETECTIVE COMICS #324
The Tom Brevoort Experience 