Today, there are thousands of books on vintage comics, both collections of material from decades ago or literary tomes discussing those works, how they were created, what impact they had and what they meant. But in the 1970s, the landscape for such volumes was exceedingly scarce. So it was positively an event when a new … Continue reading BHOC: SHAZAM! FROM THE ’40s TO THE ’70s
My Aunt Clementine was my Grandmother’s sister, and she and my Uncle Jerry Blazer shared a house with my grandparents that they’d all purchased in 1955 and remained in for almost 50 years. Because of this, they were very much immediate family, although we didn’t see them as often since Clem didn’t like to travel … Continue reading BHOC: SHAZAM #32
I’m not certain what made me decide to pick up this issue of SHAZAM, though I’d imagine that it has something to do with the return of another Golden Age hero, Fawcett’s Minute Man, in the story. I’m pretty sure I got it while on a visit to my grandparents, so that may have played … Continue reading BHOC: SHAZAM #31
In January of 1977, I turned ten-years-old. And around that time, I would up getting my second book collection of vintage comic book stories–a book that, up until that point I didn’t even know existed. We found it in the remaindered section at Two Guys, a regional low-rent department store chain, kind of like the … Continue reading BHOC: THE GREAT COMIC BOOK HEROES
It was an unimaginable 41 year ago today, on Christmas day of 1976, that I finally got my hands on this much-desired beauty, a gift from Santa Claus. And actually, having asked for it specifically on the Christmas list that my mother would demand that each child write (usually sourced out of the Sears Christmas … Continue reading BHOC: SECRET ORIGINS OF THE SUPER DC HEROES
Summer was winding down when the mailman brought me my subscription copy of JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #137. This was the wrap-up to that year’s epic meeting of the JLA with their counterparts in the Justice Society–and this year, the Fawcett super heroes of the 1940s had been added into the mix. But up until … Continue reading BHOC: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #137
The next issue of JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA that arrived in my mailbox continued that year’s regular team-up between the JLA and their historic fore bearers in the Justice Society of America. And this time, as had become the pattern, a third group of heroes was also in the mix. This unnamed band was comprised … Continue reading BHOC: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #136
For whatever reason, after Len Wein did the Justice League/Justice Society crossover that brought back the Seven Soldiers of Victory, somebody–Julie Schwartz maybe–seemed to decide that it wasn’t enough to simply bring these two venerable teams together, there needed to be a third group. So this year, that group would be comprised of the heroes … Continue reading BHOC: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #135
Summer was upon us. I had finished Third Grade and had another seemingly-eternal vacation stretched out before me. Over at DC Comics, the first moves by new incoming Publisher Jenette Kahn began to appear on the comic book racks. This included the DCTV initiative. There were a number of programs based on properties controlled by … Continue reading BHOC: SHAZAM #25
SUPER-TEAM FAMILY was becoming a regular purchase, a cool grab-bag of classic reprints every issue with no particular rhyme or reason save for a loose adherence to the concept of team-ups. I say loose because a World’s Finest story with Superman, Batman and Robin wasn’t difficult to come by, nor was a Marvel Family tale … Continue reading BHOC: SUPER-TEAM FAMILY #6
The Tom Brevoort Experience 