BHOC: DOOM PATROL #91

I've mentioned before that my father worked at Chase Manhattan Bank out of a branch in the same Levittown Mall location that housed a Heroes World store. And so, needing somebody to perform a massive data-sorting project, one day he made a deal with me: if I would go to work with him on a … Continue reading BHOC: DOOM PATROL #91

BHOC: UNCANNY X-MEN #113

Now this was a good issue all around, one that catapulted the new X-MEN into the upper tiers of my favorite comics of the era. I'd been growing more enchanted by this strange new team for a couple of issues now, having had to work out who everybody was on the fly a little bit … Continue reading BHOC: UNCANNY X-MEN #113

5BC: 5 Most Unlikely and Unprecedented Crossovers

These days, the concept of a crossover between two different fictional characters has become so entrenched in popular culture that it's difficult to come across a pairing that is truly noteworthy. In a world in which everybody is exploring a Multiverse, it seems strange to think that there was a time when the idea that … Continue reading 5BC: 5 Most Unlikely and Unprecedented Crossovers

WC: SGT FURY AND HIS HOWLING COMMANDOS #10

There were more than a few early issues of SGT FURY AND HIS HOWLING COMMANDOS in that box of about 150 Silver Age comics that I purchased for fifty bucks back in 1988. And the reason for that no doubt was that it wasn't a super hero series. While all of these books have appreciated … Continue reading WC: SGT FURY AND HIS HOWLING COMMANDOS #10

BHOC: MARVEL SUPER ACTION #4

I was strangely super-excited when I got this issue of MARVEL SUPER ACTION in a 3-Bag at a department store or a toy store. I don't know what motivated Marvel after three issues featuring reprints of Captain America stories (which the title would return to the following issue) to devote this one to reprints of … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL SUPER ACTION #4

BHOC: DEFENDERS #53

This issue of DEFENDERS was another book that I got out of a 3-Bag at either one of my local department stores or toy stores. It had a nice George Perez cover, but it wasn't an especially memorable issue. This was another book that had run into deadline troubles, and so the main story this … Continue reading BHOC: DEFENDERS #53

WC: SGT. FURY AND HIS HOWLING COMMANDOS #9

The series was only nine issue old, and already somebody--presumably editor/scripter Stan Lee--felt it necessary to raise the stakes even further. This SGT FURY AND HIS HOWLING COMMANDOS cover promises something unbelievable--and without even reading the story, you can likely intuit the outcome. SGT FURY was a weird title. It was created in response to … Continue reading WC: SGT. FURY AND HIS HOWLING COMMANDOS #9

BHOC: X-MEN #112

Dealer and comics historian Bob Beerbohm was recently talking about how the sales of X-MEN skyrocketed in his shop when artist John Byrne came on board the title with issue #108. He indicates that his guess is that the series might have been cancelled otherwise, though I find this difficult to believe. Based on what … Continue reading BHOC: X-MEN #112

BHOC: INCREDIBLE HULK #226

I think I bought this issue of INCREDIBLE HULK during that same trip to Heroes World with my grandparents. As I've related previously, I wasn't really all that interested in the character to start with, but my brother had begun picking up the book, spurred on by the live action television series that was then … Continue reading BHOC: INCREDIBLE HULK #226

Brand Echh: Codename: Danger #1

Comic books attracted the attention of some pretty colorful people, especially when it came to the ranks of would-be publishers. One of the most colorful was David Singer, who for a short period of time in the mid-1980s presided over both Deluxe Comics and Lodestone Comics, and operated as a publisher looking to carve out … Continue reading Brand Echh: Codename: Danger #1