Having dedicated themselves to making strides within the new Direct Sales marketplace, an arena in which Marvel had up to this point been overwhelmingly outselling pretty much everybody, DC produced a number of issues of DC SAMPLER, an overview and preview of their line intended to be given out at comic book specialty stores across … Continue reading DC SAMPLER #3
I didn't know it at the time when this issue first came out, but this would be the final issue of JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA edited by its founding editor, Julius Schwartz. He remained the last connection point with the series' origination, and his aesthetic definitely influenced the direction and the flavor of the comic … Continue reading BHOC: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #165
It had happened again. I had missed another issue of THE FLASH. Having never seen nor bought #269, now #271 proved elusive to me. And honestly, ever since my subscription had lapsed with issue #261, I was having the devil's own time following the book regularly. You might think this would have prompted me to … Continue reading BHOC: THE FLASH #272
For almost the entirety of its run, I had been a regular reader of BATMAN FAMILY. But during the famous DC Implosion, in which DC's publishing line was significantly pruned back, BATMAN FAMILY had been merged with DETECTIVE COMICS in an effort to keep the series that the company had been named after alive. Clearly, … Continue reading BHOC: DETECTIVE COMICS #483
Over the course of comic book history, the fortunes of super heroes as a genre waxed and waned as tastes changed and the marketplace shifted. This led to moments where a series that was once popular had fallen upon hard times or was seen as being out of step with the era, and needed to … Continue reading 5BC: Five Times Two Heroes Were Better Than One
Super heroes as a genre were on their way out as the 1960s turned into the 1970s and the super hero fad that had driven success throughout the silver age fell away. But this meant that publishers were more encouraged to experiment than they had been previously in an attempt to stave off cancellation--and every … Continue reading 5BC: The Five Best Comic Books of 1970
Walt Simonson had taken over the reins of FANTASTIC FOUR and propelled it into the stratosphere with a series of expansive stories that drew upon the best of Jack Kirby's era on the title and turned the concepts up to eleven. Graphically, the book looked sweet as well, as Walter was able to channel Kirby's … Continue reading 5BC: The Five Best Comic Books of 1991
If there's one thing that DC did well in the early 1980s, it was producing oversized anniversary issues. They wound up doing a bunch of these, and almost all of them are exceptional in one way or another. This one is no exception, a key moment in Batman history. But still, this was my final … Continue reading GH: DETECTIVE COMICS #526
Like with ACTION COMICS, I had also taken a three-month hiatus from buying SUPERMAN. I don't really remember why--possibly a feeling that my money was better spent on other titles. So there was a little gap in my collection. But as off-handedly as I left, I returned right as 1978 was on the way out, … Continue reading BHOC: SUPERMAN #333
By 1971, Stan Lee's career scripting comic books was winding down. While he'd remain in place as Marvel's Publisher for the remainder of the decade, he ceased scripting pretty much everything he had been working on, except for an occasional and far-between assignment. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #96 is the first part of the last truly great … Continue reading 5BC: The Five Best Comic Books of 1971
The Tom Brevoort Experience 