Here's a look at more of the Program Book for the first Mighty Marvel Comic Convention, held on March 22-24 in 1975. This was one of two New York conventions that Marvel put on by itself--thereafter, the company was content to leave the convention organizing to others and simply make appearances as guests. Possibly the … Continue reading MIGHTY MARVEL COMIC CONVENTION Program Book, Part Two
It's no great secret that the relationship between editor and scripter Stan Lee and artist and plotter Jack Kirby had grown fraught by 1969. Having at least co-invented the characters who ad saved the company and done the lion's share of the story work that continued to make the Marvel books he worked on shine, … Continue reading Lee & Kirby: THE TROUBLED BIRTH OF THOR #169
Every once in a while, my mother would go to a more outlying supermarket when she needed something in particular, something that apparently wasn't carried by our local store. In that same shopping mall there was a card store or a candy store that sold comics. And that's where I came across this issue of … Continue reading BHOC: HOWARD THE DUCK #31
We're back with more of this early 1970s reference volume which illustrated points of filmmaking through the use of examples culled from Marvel Comics. I find this chapter interesting, in that it instructs in the use of sound in a motion picture by using examples from a medium that doesn't have any sound. Some George … Continue reading MOVIEMAKING ILLUSTRATED: THE COMICBOOK FILMBOOK, Part Five
Continuing our look through MOVIEMAKING ILLUSTRATED: THE COMICBOOK FILMBOOK, a 1973 release that explained assorted filmmaking techniques and terminology by using visual examples culled from then-recent Marvel comics. A Johnny Craig sequence from IRON MAN opens this chapter. Panels by John Buscema and Jack Kirby Some more John Buscema here. A Barry Smith CONAN sequence … Continue reading MOVIEMAKING ILLUSTRATED: THE COMICBOOK FILMBOOK, Part Four
Continuing on with our survey of this long-lost volume that uses examples from comic books to illustrate points of filmmaking theory. A Don Heck panel there on the lower right. Some Gene Colan here. More Gene Colan. A Steve Ditko panel on the right. A Gil Kane Spider-Man panel. More Gene Colan and a Dick … Continue reading MOVIEMAKING ILLUSTRATED: THE COMICBOOK FILMBOOK, Part Three
Continuing back with our look at this 1973 release that explained elements of filmmaking storytelling and composition by using visual examples selected from contemporaneous Marvel comic books. This was a volume that could be found in many an artist's drawing space during the 1970s. A sequence illustrated by Larry Lieber. Here are two sequences by … Continue reading MOVIEMAKING ILLUSTRATED: THE COMICBOOK FILMBOOK, Part Two
The end of the Golden Age of Comics wasn't especially kind to super heroes. Whereas once they'd been the primary drivers of sales of the colorful magazines, in the postwar period, their appeal among readers dwindled, and other genres such as teen humor, westers, romance, war, crime and horror began to be those that primarily … Continue reading When Captain America Wasn’t In Captain America
There was a relatively brief period of time during which IRON MAN was a crackerjack reading experience. After more than a decade of mostly just floating along not being especially inspired, David Michelinie, John Romita Jr. and Bob Layton made the Armored Avenger into a real player. They put him up against more major threats, … Continue reading GH: IRON MAN #171
The first DC SAMPLER must have proven to be a success, because for the next couple of issues, DC did it again--producing a free comic book-sized magazine promoting all of their upcoming series. You can really see that the switch-over to what DC would become was in full swing by this point, and there's a … Continue reading DC SAMPLER #2
The Tom Brevoort Experience 