There was a hot moment in the mid-1990s when this issue of COMICO PRIMER was momentarily a highly sought-after back issue. That time coincided with when MTV turned Sam Kieth's Image series THE MAXX into a short-lived but well-remembered animated series. This issue of PRIMER featured Kieth's first published work, and there was a lot … Continue reading Brand Echh: Comico Primer #5
As we've spoken about in the past, the establishment of the Direct Sales comic book marketplace provided an opportunity for new publishers to enter the field. Initially, the efforts expended in this new arena tended to be attempting to push the boundaries of what comic books could be in different directions, outside of the oversight … Continue reading Brand Echh: Justice Machine #1
The opening up of the Direct Sales market in the early 1980s made it possible for anybody with a little bit of money to publish and sell their own black and white comic books. All sorts of new companies popped up, put out a few releases, then vanished without a trace. Comico performed better than … Continue reading Brand Echh: Comico Primer #2
As the Direct Market first established itself as a viable venue in which to sell comic books directly to consumers with mitigated risk, there was a bit of a gold rush from new publishers, all attempting to eke out a slice of the marketplace for themselves. This made it an exciting period in which to … Continue reading Brand Echh: Justice Machine Annual #1
As we've spoken about earlier, the 1980s saw the rise of the Direct Sales Marketplace of Comic Book Specialty Shops as a key force in the continued survival of comic books--as well as a new venue in which enterprising creators could release their own home-grown efforts and meet with some success. The early years of … Continue reading Brand Echh – Comico Primer #1
After fifteen issues in which other artists illustrated his stories, Matt Wagner returned to both write and draw this and the following three issues, a flashback tale to the time of the original Grendel, Hunter Rose. Besting WATCHMEN, Wagner subdivided each page into 25 panel areas, carrying out his story with masterful syncopation. The back-up … Continue reading 5BC: Five Best Comics of 1988
It's impossible to encapsulate how seismic the effect of THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS was on the field of comic books. Not only did it introduce a more prestigious package for comics (and a then-unheard-of cover price of $2.95) but interest in the series also inaugurated the now-common process of repackaging collections of recent storylines into … Continue reading 5BC: Five Best Comics of 1986
The Tom Brevoort Experience 