By this moment in time PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN was past its best days--and even at its highest it had never been a great comic book series. Almost by default, the title was dedicated to providing "more" Spider-Man adventures for readers for whom a single AMAZING SPIDER-MAN release wasn't enough. These stories existed in … Continue reading BHOC: PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #32
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Marvel Comics had a thriving business licensing properties from outside of the field--movies, television shows, toy lines and the like--and turning them into comic books. Some of these titles were remarkable successful and functioned as a gateway into the wider Marvel line. Others disappeared quickly when the material they were … Continue reading BHOC: SHOGUN WARRIORS #6
This is something of an underwhelming cover for the conclusion to a long-running story. But I was there for it either way. This extended Carrion sequence in PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN was, I believe, my first experience with a long-running mystery figure plot, and so even though the end result was a just a … Continue reading BHOC: PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #31
After surviving years when it was at best a second-tier title and at worst an afterthought, things were beginning to look up for IRON MAN. The current creative team of writer David Michelinie, penciler John Romita Jr. and inker and co-plotter Bob Layton built upon what their predecessor Bill Mantlo had done with the strip … Continue reading BHOC: IRON MAN #123
In the late 1970s, the Marvel Universe found itself inundated with visitors from the nation's toy aisles, as the company licensed property after property in the hopes of landing on another hit the scale of STAR WARS. They wouldn't quite get there until the one-two punch of G.I.JOE and TRANSFORMERS in the 1980s--by which point, … Continue reading BHOC: SHOGUN WARRIORS #5
I have a vague memory of running across this issue in a candy store far from my usual haunts in a shopping mall where my parents had gone to get something. I was very much invested in the ongoing storyline featuring Carrion--probably the first such "mystery villain" plotline that I'd ever read--so i was excited … Continue reading BHOC: PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #30
Every once in a while, my mother would go to a more outlying supermarket when she needed something in particular, something that apparently wasn't carried by our local store. In that same shopping mall there was a card store or a candy store that sold comics. And that's where I came across this issue of … Continue reading BHOC: HOWARD THE DUCK #31
The next issue of NOVA that appeared at my local 7-11 was also the last, a fact that saddened me. I'd only started reading the book a few months earlier once I realized it was a super hero series, and I'd enjoyed it throughout its short run. Especially concerning was the fact that writer Marv … Continue reading BHOC: NOVA #25
PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN was in the middle of a very good run of stories mainly revolving around the true identity of a mysterious new foe for the wall-crawler, the creepy Carrion. It was clear based upon the assorted clues dropped into the narrative that Carrion was somebody who knew an awful lot about … Continue reading BHOC: PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #29
This issue of MICRONAUTS was purchased by my younger brother Ken. I'm pretty certain that it was bought at the same far-off supermarket where I'd previously gotten SHOGUN WARRIORS #3. And I also have no doubt that he gravitated to this particular book because Baron Karza looked like Darth Vader--which was kind of the point. … Continue reading BHOC: MICRONAUTS #4
The Tom Brevoort Experience 