There was no greater success story in the world of comic books in the 1950s as MAD Magazine. Even in the world of magazine publishing, the only thing that perhaps bettered it was the rise of PLAYBOY. When Harvey Kurtzman and Bill Gaines switched the dying EC line's breakout hit from a comic book to … Continue reading Forgotten Masterpiece: LUNATICKLE #2
Here's another interesting novelty sent my way by Mark Waid. It's got a bit of an interesting history to it, which is why I'm featuring it. We're going to look at a 1940s Captain Marvel story the way it saw print in Canada back in 1942. As you'll see, this wasn't a straight reprint of … Continue reading The Canadian Captain Marvel Comics #10
Here's a strip from the past that even I have little information on. In fact, I don't know where I got it from, where it might have seen print. Hopefully, some curious reader of this blog page will help us in that regard. But I saved copies of this amazing little two-page story when I … Continue reading Forgotten Masterpiece: The Silencing of the SHAZAM Sayer
I haven't posted one of these in a long time, but this cover is just too good not to share. It's the work of Mac Raboy, the regular artist on Captain Marvel Jr. and the subject of a recent biographical book put out by TwoMorrows. And it's a scream. The expression on Hitler's face in … Continue reading Great Covers: MASTER COMICS #29
The final appearance of the stories Marvel Family during the golden age was in MARVEL FAMILY #89, the final issue of that title. That story's been reprinted at least once over the years. But it got me thinking: what was the last solo Captain Marvel story to see print? And so, here is the result … Continue reading The Last Captain Marvel Story
This is another book that I think was purchased by my grandmother, in this instance for my younger brother Ken. I can see her feeling as though if she was buying a comic book for me, she would have to bring one for him as well. At this moment, SHAZAM was an occasional read for … Continue reading BHOC: SHAZAM #33
I was regularly haunting the section of the Sachem Public Library that contained books on or about comics, not just for that elusive copy of ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS (which I never did find there) but also for anything else of interest. I took out and read a bunch of books from that section, many … Continue reading BHOC: ALL IN COLOR FOR A DIME
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
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
Summer was winding down when the mailman brought me my subscription copy of JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #137. This was the wrap-up to that year’s epic meeting of the JLA with their counterparts in the Justice Society–and this year, the Fawcett super heroes of the 1940s had been added into the mix. But up until … Continue reading BHOC: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #137
