Today, there are thousands of books on vintage comics, both collections of material from decades ago or literary tomes discussing those works, how they were created, what impact they had and what they meant. But in the 1970s, the landscape for such volumes was exceedingly scarce. So it was positively an event when a new … Continue reading BHOC: SHAZAM! FROM THE ’40s TO THE ’70s
My Aunt Clementine was my Grandmother’s sister, and she and my Uncle Jerry Blazer shared a house with my grandparents that they’d all purchased in 1955 and remained in for almost 50 years. Because of this, they were very much immediate family, although we didn’t see them as often since Clem didn’t like to travel … Continue reading BHOC: SHAZAM #32
It might have been the same trip to my Grandmother’s home as when I picked up SHOWCASE #95, it might not–but I know that I bought my copy of BATMAN FROM THE 30s TO THE 70s at a bookstore in the Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream where she lived. It was a big purchase, … Continue reading BHOC: BATMAN FROM THE ’30s TO THE ’70s
The new series of SUPER-FRIENDS hadn’t premiered yet–the show had been in constant reruns since it debuted in the fall of 1973. But over at DC, they knew what was happening, and writer E. Nelson Bridwell took the opportunity to introduce the new characters who’d be featured in the show ahead of time in a … Continue reading BHOC: SUPER-FRIENDS #7
I’m not certain what made me decide to pick up this issue of SHAZAM, though I’d imagine that it has something to do with the return of another Golden Age hero, Fawcett’s Minute Man, in the story. I’m pretty sure I got it while on a visit to my grandparents, so that may have played … Continue reading BHOC: SHAZAM #31
I’m not 100% certain whether it was me or my brother Ken who bought this issue of SUPER-FRIENDS, but I ultimately ended up with it. And I really liked it–so much so that i ripped off its central villain for one of the amateur comics that I was creating at around this time. It’s a … Continue reading BHOC: SUPER-FRIENDS #3
Back at that same far-off stationary store maybe a week later to pick up whatever we had ordered for Cub Scouting, I came across this beauty, which never showed up at my regular 7-11. I’d seen the ads and so I was primed to read it. But to start with, boy, what an ugly mess … Continue reading BHOC: SUPER HEROES BATTLE SUPER-GORILLAS #1
The cartoon had been airing on Saturday mornings for about three years at this point, constantly rerunning the same 16 episodes again and again, but in 1976 DC finally got around to doing a comic book tie-in. And because of the characters it featured, I bought the first issue. I was a regular viewer of … Continue reading BHOC: SUPER-FRIENDS #1
I had missed an issue of BATMAN FAMILY, but was back for the next one that I saw, issue #8. Shrinking page counts on the reprint books were beginning to take their toll on the series–apart from the full-length all-new Robin story, there were only two other reprinted tales in the issue, one featuring co-star … Continue reading BHOC: BATMAN FAMILY #8
For whatever reason, after Len Wein did the Justice League/Justice Society crossover that brought back the Seven Soldiers of Victory, somebody–Julie Schwartz maybe–seemed to decide that it wasn’t enough to simply bring these two venerable teams together, there needed to be a third group. So this year, that group would be comprised of the heroes … Continue reading BHOC: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #135
The Tom Brevoort Experience 