Blah Blah Blog – Marvel Mystery Comics #1

A post from my old and now gone Marvel blog about the never-published MARVEL RETREAD FUNNIES #1 Marvel Mystery Comics number one April 28, 2007 | 1:00 AM | By Tom_Brevoort | In General Today's entry comes to us from Mike Carlin via Steve Wacker, and is one of the "Marvel Mystery Comics": comics that Marvel produced, but … Continue reading Blah Blah Blog – Marvel Mystery Comics #1

Brand Echh – The Destructor #1

Attempts to tap into the Marvel style weren't limited to only the 1960s. One of the most blatant attempts happened in the 1970s, and represented a tragedy of unfulfilled potential. In 1974, after he had sold Marvel and thereafter his son Chip had been pushed out of the company in favor of Stan Lee, Marvel … Continue reading Brand Echh – The Destructor #1

BHOC: DAREDEVIL #151

I had fallen into becoming a regular reader of DAREDEVIL based on the two previous issues of the title and the stories reprinted in SON OF ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS, so when this new issue arrived at my local 7-11, I snatched it up unhesitatingly. At the time, DAREDEVIL was a title in transition, though … Continue reading BHOC: DAREDEVIL #151

WAP #1 – Words And Pictures

In 1988, creators Steve Gerber, Frank Miller and Steven Grant created the newsletter WAP - Words And Pictures. Supported by like-minded creators in the field, WAP was sort of the Bleeding Cool of its day, giving sensationalized accounts of grievances or bad behavior within the filed, typically on the side of the various publishers. As … Continue reading WAP #1 – Words And Pictures

5BC: Five Best Comics of 1987

The entirety of Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli's BATMAN: YEAR ONE story was must reading, and this final installment wrapped the story up beautifully--a story more of hard-boiled cop Jim Gordon than really of Batman (who doesn't appear in costume all that much throughout it. ) Mazzucchelli channels the best attributes of Alex Toth in … Continue reading 5BC: Five Best Comics of 1987

5BC: The Five Best Comic Books of 1986

It's impossible to encapsulate how seismic the effect of THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS was on the field of comic books. Not only did it introduce a more prestigious package for comics (and a then-unheard-of cover price of $2.95) but interest in the series also inaugurated the now-common process of repackaging collections of recent storylines into … Continue reading 5BC: The Five Best Comic Books of 1986

5BC: Five Best Comics of 1985

After a few false starts and doglegs, Dave Sim found his footing as his long-running Church and State storyline began to build up steam. Now paired with Gerhard, whose elaborate and expressive environments made the Earth-Pig's world more fully realized than ever, Sim was more free to focus on plot, character, world-building and even the … Continue reading 5BC: Five Best Comics of 1985

5BC: Five Best Comics of 1982

The first entry in Marvel's line of European-style albums, released under the sobriquet "Marvel Graphic Novels", THE DEATH OF CAPTAIN MARVEL remains as effective and affecting today as it was when it was first published. A good deal of that is down to the subject matter, which sees the titular Mar-Vell dying not in battle … Continue reading 5BC: Five Best Comics of 1982