BC: DETECTIVE COMICS #411

This issue of DETECTIVE COMICS was another that I borrowed from my grade school friend Donald Sims to read. I wasn't a big Batman reader particularly, but something about this issue evidently made me want to take a closer look at it. I had no idea that it was significant, containing the first appearance of … Continue reading BC: DETECTIVE COMICS #411

BC: SHAZAM #7

I continued over a period of a day or two to delve into the complete run of SHAZAM that my grade school friend Donald Sims had lent to me. By now I was up to issue #7, an issue that I can vaguely remember having seen on the spinner rack at my local 7-11 some … Continue reading BC: SHAZAM #7

BC: SHAZAM #6

I was still making my way through the complete run of SHAZAM that I had borrowed from my grade school friend Donald Sims. SHAZAM #6 featured the series' second photo cover, and it was a bit less successful and convincing than the prior one which had run on issue #2. But there was something appealing … Continue reading BC: SHAZAM #6

BHOC: GREEN LANTERN #118

It speaks to the essential appeal of Green Lantern as a character that I continued to follow his series for long stretches of tie even when I wasn't really enjoying it all that much. And this period that we're in right now is something of a nadir. Hal was still paired up with Green Arrow … Continue reading BHOC: GREEN LANTERN #118

BC: SHAZAM #4

I had continued to read through the accumulated run of SHAZAM that I had borrowed from my grade school pal Donald Sims across the course of a couple of days. The stories never quite captured the flavor of the character's original run, and there was an undercurrent that the creators involved simply didn't buy into … Continue reading BC: SHAZAM #4

BC: WORLD’S FINEST COMICS #211

This issue of WORLD'S FINEST COMICS was another book that I borrowed from my grade school friend Donald Sims to read. I'm almost certain that it wasn't the lead story that made we want to experience it but rather the back-up reprint story. But we'll get there. At this time, WORLD'S FINEST COMICS had transitioned … Continue reading BC: WORLD’S FINEST COMICS #211

BC: SHAZAM #3

SHAZAM #3 was another issue in the complete run of the title that I had borrowed to read from my grade school friend Donald Sims. That's a nice cover in the spirit of a number of Fawcett pieces spotlighting the Marvel Family. It's only undone by how chunky all of the linework seems to be. … Continue reading BC: SHAZAM #3

BC: SHAZAM #2

As I mentioned previously, my grade school friend Donald Sims possessed a complete 35 issue run of SHAZAM, the DC Comics revival of the original Captain Marvel of the Golden Age of Comics published in the 1970s. At one point, I convinced Don to let me borrow the run so that I could read it … Continue reading BC: SHAZAM #2

BHOC: GODZILLA #24

I wasn't used to Marvel titles wrapping up their runs cleanly. In my experience, when a Marvel book would come to an end--such as CHAMPIONS or NOVA--the series would be left in a cliffhanger state with outstanding business left to be wrapped up. That business would generally get tied off in some other Marvel book … Continue reading BHOC: GODZILLA #24

BC: SHAZAM #1

My grade school friend Donald Sims had inherited a bunch of comic books from some older relative who had tired of them and passed them along. He mostly had a smattering of stuff, but there was one complete run among his possessions. And that was SHAZAM, DC's 1970s revival of the original Captain Marvel, a … Continue reading BC: SHAZAM #1