Blah Blah Blog – Comic Tutorial, Part 1

A post from my Marvel blog of the last decade, the first part of a sequence breaking down how a comic book is produced. Comic Tutorial pt. 1 April 28, 2007 | 1:00 AM | By Tom_Brevoort | In General We've got an all-day editorial meeting scheduled for the middle of this week (so there'll … Continue reading Blah Blah Blog – Comic Tutorial, Part 1

BHOC: DOCTOR STRANGE #29

I seem to recall that I got this issue of DOCTOR STRANGE at some non-regular comic buying location, a candy store or stationary store in the same mall as a far-off grocery store that my Mother went to in order to get something specific. I expect that the pickings must have been pretty slim for … Continue reading BHOC: DOCTOR STRANGE #29

Blah Blah Blog – My Unknown Greats, Part 6

A post from my long-ago Marvel blog about comics I edited that flew under the radar a little bit. Though this one has become better remembered since, largely thanks to Benedict Cumberbatch My Unknown Greats pt. 6 April 28, 2007 | 1:00 AM | By Tom_Brevoort | In General Okay, last one of these for … Continue reading Blah Blah Blog – My Unknown Greats, Part 6

Brand Echh – The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves #12

It's well-known that Steve Ditko, the formative Marvel creator, left that company in 1966 after broken promises and worsening relationships with the people at the outfit, notably editor Stan Lee. It's also well-known that, for all that Ditko's most popular and lasting creation for Marvel is Spider-Man, his work on the mystic series Doctor Strange … Continue reading Brand Echh – The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves #12

BHOC: MARVEL COLLECTORS’ ITEM CLASSICS #6

I don't remember at all what prompted it at this late date, but for some reason my family wound up going to the far-off mall that housed the Heroes World store once again. Possibly my father needed to get something he'd left at his office, which was in the same complex. Or maybe I just … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL COLLECTORS’ ITEM CLASSICS #6

Brand Echh – Witzend #3

By 1967, Steve Ditko had become an industry legend. By this point, he had left Marvel and his two best-known creations, Spider-Man and Doctor Strange, behind. But he was on the cusp of revealing the character whose outlook and point of view most closely resembled his own--and he did it in the third issue of … Continue reading Brand Echh – Witzend #3

5BC: The Five Best Comic Books of 1989

1989 was the year in which I entered the field, so this will be the final installment of this topic, as I don't think it's possible to be objective past this point. Grant Morrison begins his revelatory run on DOOM PATROL by hearkening back to the earliest stories and remembering that these characters are more … Continue reading 5BC: The Five Best Comic Books of 1989

BHOC: MARVEL’S GREATEST COMICS #24

At this point, you'd be right to detect a pattern here. We're still talking about the comics I purchased during my very first visit to my very first comic book shop, Heroes World in Levittown. I had bought the earliest issues of FANTASTIC FOUR and FLASH that I could manage, and so I turned my … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL’S GREATEST COMICS #24

BHOC: MARVEL TEAM-UP #50

Shortly after yesterday's entry, I had occasion to be back in the drugstore with my family again and I came across and bought this prior issue of MARVEL TEAM-UP, the penultimate installment in the saga of the Wraith. So, yes, I read this story backwards. This cover is still crowded (as were many of the … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL TEAM-UP #50

BHOC: MARVEL TEAM-UP #51

Here's another book that I pulled out of the drugstore's Big Bin of Slightly Older Comics. I honestly couldn't tell you what possessed me to purchase it--i wasn't really following either Spider-Man or Iron Man at the time. Perhaps I was inspired by having earlier read issue #57. But either way, pick it up I … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL TEAM-UP #51