Another similar thing that I did during my first trip to my very first comic book shop, Heroes World in Levittown, was to buy the oldest issue of THE FLASH that I could. As with FANTASTIC FOUR, there were some older releases on the wall--I seem to recall that SHOWCASE #13 with its pirate torpedo … Continue reading BHOC: FLASH #158
The final appearance of the stories Marvel Family during the golden age was in MARVEL FAMILY #89, the final issue of that title. That story's been reprinted at least once over the years. But it got me thinking: what was the last solo Captain Marvel story to see print? And so, here is the result … Continue reading The Last Captain Marvel Story
Here's a book that pissed off both Marvel and DC's brass--both for different reasons. It's also a really good example of the kinds of schlock that started to turn up on newsstands as novice publishers began trying to jump onto the pop art super hero craze that kicked off in the mid-1960s. There are no … Continue reading Brand Echh – Captain Marvel #1
One of the many things that fascinates me about the history of comics is the manner in which these stories and characters were exported around the world--the mad, slapdash, haphazard manner in which the Marvel super heroes made their way across the globe. It was typical that color guides might not be provided, resulting in … Continue reading Great Covers: Marvel Around the World
The first entry in Marvel's line of European-style albums, released under the sobriquet "Marvel Graphic Novels", THE DEATH OF CAPTAIN MARVEL remains as effective and affecting today as it was when it was first published. A good deal of that is down to the subject matter, which sees the titular Mar-Vell dying not in battle … Continue reading 5BC: Five Best Comics of 1982
I've been thinking about this for a while now, pointed in this direction by having watched TOKUSATSU GAGAGA, where they make this sentiment overt: what is the purpose of super hero stories? On the surface, it would seem to be obvious. Like any other story, the primary purpose is to entertain. But with super hero … Continue reading The Purpose of Super Heroes
This is another book that I think was purchased by my grandmother, in this instance for my younger brother Ken. I can see her feeling as though if she was buying a comic book for me, she would have to bring one for him as well. At this moment, SHAZAM was an occasional read for … Continue reading BHOC: SHAZAM #33
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
This is going to be kind of a weird one. The upcoming SHAZAM movie looks like a lot of fun, and I'll no doubt be there on opening weekend to watch it. But it does complete the character's transformation from his original conception as Captain Marvel into something else. Based on everything we've seen so … Continue reading SHAZAM! Captain Marvel and Billy Batson
SUPERMAN #276 gave the comic book reading world something it had been lusting for since around 1940, a battle between the Man of Steel and his publishing arch-rival Captain Marvel. Except that this issue cheated--despite having recently licensed the Big Red Cheese from Fawcett for the new SHAZAM series, here an equivalent stand-in, Captain Thunder, … Continue reading 5BC: Five Best Comics of 1974
The Tom Brevoort Experience 