5BC: Five Times Marvel Referenced DC Characters In Interesting Ways

What goes around comes around, and when it comes to the often-fannishly-induced game of dropping in references benign or malicious to a competitor's characters, there isn't any company who is entirely blameless in this endeavor. Here then are five times Marvel referenced DC characters in interesting fashion. ADVENTURE INTO FEAR #17 - Steve Gerber was … Continue reading 5BC: Five Times Marvel Referenced DC Characters In Interesting Ways →

5BC: Five More Mean Caricatures of Comic Book Creators

Comic books are a petty business, it must be said. And the same freedom to imagine and play that allows for the creativity in conceptualizing new stories about characters who, let's face it, were designed to appeal to children also somehow invites the darker side of itself--the version where grown-ups behave like petulant children on … Continue reading 5BC: Five More Mean Caricatures of Comic Book Creators →

5BC: Five More Forgotten Marvel Story Developments

With the sheer number of stories published about some of the characters, it's a wonder that there aren't more stories that feature developments that don't work, don't stick or are simply just plain weird. Here, then, are five more forgotten Marvel story developments. THE FALCON IS REALLY "SNAP" WILSON, LOWLIFE. CAPTAIN AMERICA #186 - There's … Continue reading 5BC: Five More Forgotten Marvel Story Developments →

Perfect Game – X-MEN #137

A million words must have been written over the decades about this issue of X-MEN, the conclusion to the Dark Phoenix Saga and the high point of the fabled Chris Claremont and John Byrne run. And in the shadow of what would follow in the years to come, perhaps the book has lost some of … Continue reading Perfect Game – X-MEN #137 →

BHOC: UNCANNY X-MEN #110

Bought this issue of X-MEN most likely at the same time as I got yesterday's INVADERS issue, at my regular source for new comic books, the 7-11. Every issue of X-MEN in these days was a discovery, as the cast had changed so completely from the team that I had met in SON OF ORIGINS … Continue reading BHOC: UNCANNY X-MEN #110 →

BHOC: DEFENDERS #57

When the cover price on comic books went up to 35 cents, this presented certain new challenges for readers. Primary among them was the fact that a dollar would no longer get you three comics--you needed to be packing an extra nickel. I didn't really yet have a ready source of income at this point, … Continue reading BHOC: DEFENDERS #57 →

BHOC: X-MEN #100

Finally, we come to the last comic that I bought on that fateful first trip to a comic book store--the Heroes World in Levittown. I had only just begun reading X-MEN, but this was both an issue #100 (which I already understood to be a milestone issue regardless of the title) and also had the … Continue reading BHOC: X-MEN #100 →

Brand Echh – Thunderbolt #57

For a short period in the mid-1960s, under the editorship of Dick Giordano, bottom-rung publisher Charlton had a very nice line of up-and-coming super hero comics. It didn't last long--the market dip in the post-BATMAN TV show craze put the kibosh on all sorts of super hero aspirations. In this instance, though, we're going to … Continue reading Brand Echh – Thunderbolt #57 →

BHOC: CHAMPIONS #17

I'm not entirely certain why I bought this issue of CHAMPIONS so early into my time exploring the Marvel books. If I had to take a guess, it's that i recognized Angel and Iceman on the cover from X-MEN #1 in SON OF ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS. having read the current issue of X-MEN, I … Continue reading BHOC: CHAMPIONS #17 →

BHOC: X-MEN #108

At around this time, the new season of the hit comedy HAPPY DAYS began, with a three-part opening storyline in which the cast went to Hollywood, and the Fonz wound up in a competition to water ski jump over a caged shark in the bay. This episode was the origin of the now-popular term "Jumping … Continue reading BHOC: X-MEN #108 →