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
I continued to purchase GREEN LANTERN (co-starring GREEN ARROW) every month, even though the quality of the series varied wildly. Writer Denny O'Neil had been in place since the early 1970s, when the title's dip into confronting real-world issues got it a lot of public attention and notoriety. But I get the sense that Denny … Continue reading BHOC: GREEN LANTERN #114
When I did the initial wave of these 5 Best write-ups concerning the best comic books of each year, I confined myself to just the years when I was a fan and a reader, 1973-1989. I didn't think that it was proper for me to go beyond that, as I was a participant in the … Continue reading 5BC: The Five Best Comic Books of 1972
Green Lantern had been my second-favorite super hero going back to my youth, when I found him occupying the back pages of THE FLASH. Once he got his own series again, I followed it regularly right from the jump. And I was particularly enamored of Marv Wolfman's run on the character which had wrapped up … Continue reading GH: GREEN LANTERN #162
There was a relatively brief period of time during which IRON MAN was a crackerjack reading experience. After more than a decade of mostly just floating along not being especially inspired, David Michelinie, John Romita Jr. and Bob Layton made the Armored Avenger into a real player. They put him up against more major threats, … Continue reading GH: IRON MAN #171
During the Silver Age of Comics, it was still a rare thing for a character of any significance to be killed off in super hero comics. Only two decades later, having realized the audience appeal that the demise of a beloved favorite would have, companies would turn death into a revolving door situation more promotional … Continue reading 5BC: Five Best Silver Age Character Resurrections
Back in the days when comic books were a mainstream impulse purchase rather than a medium largely focused on the tastes and desires of a dedicated hardcore fanbase, it was pretty well guaranteed that every winter season would bring at least one or two holiday-themed stories. These tales tended to stress sentiment over story logic, … Continue reading BHOC: GREEN LANTERN #113
The last regular issue of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN that I bought new was this one, #241. And I know what some of you are thinking already: you dropped ASM in the middle of the Roger Stern and John Romita Jr. run (a run that's generally considered a high water mark, the best the series had been … Continue reading GH: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #241
This issue of GREEN LANTERN (co-starring GREEN ARROW) was one that I looked forward to after reading the first chapter of this story in the preceding issue. It featured a team-up between the regular Earth-1 Green Lantern Hal Jordan and his Golden Age Earth-2 counterpart Alan Scott. What's more, the story tied Scott into the … Continue reading BHOC: GREEN LANTERN #112
This next issue of GREEN LANTERN (Co-Starring GREEN ARROW) guest-starred the original Green Lantern of Earth-2, Alan Scott. I assume that this crossover had been planned before the DC Implosion that cost Scott his back-up series that had been running across the prior three months, but it was a nice way to fold the character … Continue reading BHOC: GREEN LANTERN #111
The Tom Brevoort Experience 