BHOC: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #151

At around this time, the main delivery brought me the next issue of JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA in my subscription. This was the first issue scripted by new regular writer Gerry Conway. Conway would go on to write the series steadily for around 60 issue over the next five years, providing the title with some … Continue reading BHOC: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #151

BHOC: FANTASTIC FOUR #150

This issue of FANTASTIC FOUR was another book that I got from my friend and classmate Donald Sims. We were only tight for about two years, taking up separate paths when we entered junior high school. I haven't seen him in easily 35-plus years. But I hope he's doing well. This was another FF issue … Continue reading BHOC: FANTASTIC FOUR #150

BHOC: FANTASTIC FOUR #144

Don Sims was the first other regular comic book reader that I ever met, and we became fast friends for a few years--easy enough since we were in the same 5th and 6th grade classes. Like me, he not only read comics, but he made his own, a creative compulsion that united us once we … Continue reading BHOC: FANTASTIC FOUR #144

BHOC: ACTION COMICS #479

This was another forgettable issue of ACTION COMICS that I bought on my now-weekly trips to the 7-11 every Thursday for new comics. As elsewhere, there's some dodgy lettering on this cover--that lower balloon was clearly traced of of an oval template. But the cover does have some drama to it. I was reading ACTION … Continue reading BHOC: ACTION COMICS #479

BHOC: SUPERBOY & THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #235

This issue of SUPERBOY & THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES was later disavowed, the revelation it makes concerning the Legion's future discarded and never mentioned again. Even writer Paul Levitz considered it a mistake. But I don't know about that. It definitely cast the world of the Legion in a different light, and perhaps it was … Continue reading BHOC: SUPERBOY & THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #235

5BC: Five Best Marvel/DC Crossovers

It's been bettered but never equaled, the granddaddy of all inter-company crossovers. At a time when a comic book featuring Superman and rival Spider-Man sharing the same pages was a positively shocking idea, this enormous tabloid spent its 100 pages synthesizing the narrative styles of both the DC and Marvel house approaches into a single … Continue reading 5BC: Five Best Marvel/DC Crossovers

BHOC: BATMAN #295

My brother Ken also dabbled around with super hero comics from time to time, which is where this issue of BATMAN came from--it's another that was purchased for him but which I eventually wound up with.I liked Batman well enough, but in this period I found his adventures a bit too colorless for my tastes, … Continue reading BHOC: BATMAN #295

5BC: Five Best Comics of 1981

1981 was a year of many anniversaries, and many anniversary issues as a result. This 25th anniversary issue of FLASH was built around a premise that was even then a bit old: Barry Allen wakes up in a hospital room, his body paralyzed and horribly scarred from the accident when lightning struck his police laboratory. … Continue reading 5BC: Five Best Comics of 1981

BHOC: ACTION COMICS #478

Another month had gone by, and so another issue of ACTION COMICS had shown up at my local spinner rack in the 7-11 I frequented. ACTION was, by this point, a regular buy for me, despite the fact that most of the individual stories in this particular stretch were pretty forgettable--and indeed, I don't know … Continue reading BHOC: ACTION COMICS #478

BHOC: SECRET SOCIETY OF SUPER-VILLAINS #11

However much I may have been beginning to explore the new-to-me world of Marvel Comics, I was still a die-hard DC reader as well, and so when the latest issue of SECRET SOCIETY OF SUPER-VILLAINS showed up, I swiftly purchased a copy. It was, believe it or not, one of my favorite titles during this … Continue reading BHOC: SECRET SOCIETY OF SUPER-VILLAINS #11