The school year had ended, and summer loomed before me. It would end up being a significant summer for me, from the point of view of being a comic book reader. At the same time, I was a bit sad to have left fourth grade. I’d had a rough time socially in most of my … Continue reading BHOC: FLASH #254
Boy, that’s an ugly cover. The idea is sound, but the anatomy is all over the place. And the Flash’s weird expression makes the whole thing look comical, and not in a good way. (There’s also a criminal escaping with a bag of money with a dollar sign on it, but I’m going to let … Continue reading BHOC: FLASH #252
The ship week for my two subscription titles was the same this month, so they came in like a one-two punch. First to arrive was this issue of FLASH. Rich Buckler had by this time become very much the go-to artist for super hero covers in the DC stable, a step up from Ernie Chan/Chua. … Continue reading BHOC: FLASH #250
Now that is a cover. You really have to wonder what the folks in charge of some of the comic books of this era were thinking when they commissioned such a piece. It’s certainly attention-getting, but only because it’s so downright weird. I picked up this issue of ACTION COMICS having already purchased and read … Continue reading BHOC: ACTION COMICS #469
Subscription copy time! I can remember bringing this issue of FLASH and the previous one to school not too long after this–I recall it because, after talking them up and showing them around, some other kid wanted to subscribe, so, checking first that it wasn’t against a story page, I dutifully cut out the subscription … Continue reading BHOC: FLASH #249
My subscription copy of FLASH turned up right around this time, and it was a good one. How cold I not like it, given that it featured a young character who drew his own comics and super heroes, just like I did. The cover on this one is by Rich Buckler, who began being used … Continue reading BHOC: FLASH #248
I didn’t get it when I was a kid, but then I was only nine years old when I first bought this issue of DC SUPER-STARS. But it contains perhaps the most wrong-headed and casually offensive Superman story of the Bronze Age. Somebody–a lot of somebodies–were asleep at the switch when they approved this one. … Continue reading BHOC: DC SUPER-STARS #12
Shortly afterwards, my mailman delivered my other subscription title, FLASH, which was also sporting a Neal Adams cover this month. It’s a pretty intense cover for this series not in keeping with the tone of the strip (or even this particular issue.) But it is extremely eye-catching and intriguing, which is the whole point. I’m … Continue reading BHOC: FLASH #246
In 1976, there wasn’t a more popular or elusive artist in all of comics than Neal Adams. I was only nine years old at the time, but even then I was aware of who he was, information gleaned from assorted letters page praise from awestruck fans. But by this point, it was a rare thing … Continue reading BHOC: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #138
Suburban Long Island, where I grew up as a kid, was an extremely whitebread area. There was only one African-American kid in my class during my grade-school years–his name was Alonzo Cook, which I remember solely because of his uniqueness. Consequently, I had (and perhaps still have) a cartoonish understanding of Black culture, formed primarily … Continue reading BHOC: SUPERBOY AND THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #222
The Tom Brevoort Experience 