I was regularly haunting the section of the Sachem Public Library that contained books on or about comics, not just for that elusive copy of ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS (which I never did find there) but also for anything else of interest. I took out and read a bunch of books from that section, many … Continue reading BHOC: ALL IN COLOR FOR A DIME
It's perhaps difficult to see from the vantage point of so many years later, but this issue of X-MEN was a game-changer when it came out, and cemented the popularity of the series at the top of the Direct Market sales charts for a decade and a half. Powerful, unexpected, emotional, this comic generated both … Continue reading 5BC: Five Best Comics of 1980
Possibly the best issue of WHAT IF and certainly one of the best-looking as a young Klaus Janson inks Gil Kane to great effect. Writer and soon-to-be-Editor in Chief Jim Shooter delivers on all fronts with an emotional story that packs a real wallop to it. A tour de force by writer Paul Levitz and … Continue reading 5BC: Five Best Comics of 1977
For a while here, I became a regular reader of BRAVE AND THE BOLD--and I'm not entirely sure just quite why. B&B still felt "off" to my sensibilities--writer Bob Haney's take on most of the title's guest-stars didn't jibe with what I knew of them in their appearances elsewhere. He also had an odd take … Continue reading BHOC: BRAVE AND THE BOLD #138
1973 was the first year in which i was reading comic books, and only for the back half of the year. But I think i can be forgiven for that--I was only six years old. For the purposes of this survey, however, I've taken into account the entire output for the year, not just those … Continue reading 5BC: Five Best Comics of 1973
Every time my family would shop at the drugstore with the big bin of Marvel comics in it, I would dig around through it. I wasn’t at all interested in the Marvel books at this point, but I thought there was the possibility that some other titles might turn up there at some point. This … Continue reading BHOC: BRAVE AND THE BOLD #121
This was the one and only comic book to be found in a department store toy section that we visited. I have no idea whether it was a remnant of a broken-open 3-bag (there were no other 3-bags in evidence) or if it had come into the store somehow by accident. But beggars aren’t choosers … Continue reading BHOC: DETECTIVE COMICS #458
It might have been the same trip to my Grandmother’s home as when I picked up SHOWCASE #95, it might not–but I know that I bought my copy of BATMAN FROM THE 30s TO THE 70s at a bookstore in the Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream where she lived. It was a big purchase, … Continue reading BHOC: BATMAN FROM THE ’30s TO THE ’70s
I got this issue of BRAVE AND THE BOLD while out on a shopping trip with my Mom and brothers. It came from an unfamiliar and irregular outlet, so my selection was limited, which somewhat explains the choice. I was iffy on B& B (it was still one of those series that read “weird” to me”) … Continue reading BHOC: BRAVE AND THE BOLD #137
DC and its new publisher Jenette Kahn put a strong push behind her new Dollar Comics initiative as a way to change the standard format of comic books, providing more profit for individual outlets and thus hoping to get them better display in more places. And so, I found this copy of FIVE-STAR SUPER HERO … Continue reading BHOC: 5 STAR SUPER HERO SPECTACULAR
