A genuine sucker punch of an ending topped off this issue of FANTASTIC FOUR, as we learn the outcome of Sue Richards' latest pregnancy. Writer/artist John Byrne is in strong form here, at about the middle of his long run on the title. Good use of the rest of the Marvel Universe and a sympathetic … Continue reading 5BC: Five Best Comics of 1984
If I am not mistaken, this issue of GREEN LANTERN represents the first oversized and up-priced anniversary issue that I ever encountered. Up until this point, while a particular title might mention the fact that it had reached the arbitrary milestone of a centennial issue (or, later, a 50th or even 25th issue) the actual … Continue reading BHOC: GREEN LANTERN #100
It was like a little miracle, a book that couldn't and possibly shouldn't ever happen. But happen it did--and SUPERMAN VS THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN was an excellent mixing of the then-contemporary styles of Marvel and DC, very different flavors in that period. The creative team was spot on, anchored by Gerry Conway and Ross Andru, … Continue reading 5BC: Five Best Comics of 1976
This next comic book I know was bought for my brother Ken, as there is no way I would have purchased a comic book based on a television comedy–that’s simply not what I was reading comic books for. But WELCOME BACK KOTTER was a hot show at the time, one that my family watched often … Continue reading BHOC: WELCOME BACK, KOTTER #1
Centennial issues in comics books have for many decades been accorded a special status, an acknowledgment of longevity, a celebration of success. By 1976, it wasn’t enough any longer to simply publish a centennial issue, that issue had to in some way be special, and reflect the fact that this was a significant moment. SUPERMAN … Continue reading BHOC: SUPERMAN #300
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a copy of this particular issue of SUPERMAN FAMILY whose cover wasn’t miscut. I wonder if this wasn’t the result of the switch-over from a squarebound binding to traditional end-staples–if the cover has perhaps been set up for the former, and so without that additional bit of space, shifted the trim on the … Continue reading BHOC: SUPERMAN FAMILY #177
Another folded-in-half subscription copy of JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA showed up next in my mailbox. This one had a decent cover by Ernie Chua/Ernie Chan, though Wonder Woman has a strange torso, and a few of the background figures are a bit weird. I hadn’t been paying much attention to the continuing serial over in … Continue reading BHOC: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #128
I don’t own a copy of this issue of SUPERMAN today, so I’m pretty sure that it was traded to my next door neighbor Johnny Rantinella at some point, as happened occasionally with our comics. But I do know that I bought it from my regular 7-11 when it came out. This was another key … Continue reading BHOC: SUPERMAN #293
It came in the mail, folded in half as was the custom of the time: my subscription copy of the second half of 1975′s team-up between the JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA and their counterparts in the Justice Society of Earth-2. As I’ve mentioned while chronicling the preceding issue, this storyline was, to put it generously, … Continue reading BHOC: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #124
The timing on this issue of SUPERMAN was fortuitous, and couldn’t have been simply a coincidence, as it follows up on a story recently reprinted in the SECRET ORIGINS SUPER VILLAINS treasury I had just read–the origin of Luthor. I can recall comparing panels from this story against their equivalents in the Treasury edition, and … Continue reading BHOC: SUPERMAN #292
The Tom Brevoort Experience 