Back in the days when he was the Editor in Chief of Marvel Comics, Jim Shooter had a particular story that he liked to use as an example when explaining to people what he thought needed to be on the page in a well-crafted Marvel story. It was this one, the Human Torch story from … Continue reading Lee & Kirby: The Narrative Techniques of Jack Kirby
One of the many things that fascinates me about the history of comics is the manner in which these stories and characters were exported around the world--the mad, slapdash, haphazard manner in which the Marvel super heroes made their way across the globe. It was typical that color guides might not be provided, resulting in … Continue reading Great Covers: Marvel Around the World
The early Marvel titles are filled with all manner of mysteries, large and small. The greatest of these concern who among the various contributors were they key creative minds behind the success of the imprint--and that's a conversation that I don't think is ever going to abate, given that every faction has their own favorites … Continue reading Lee & Kirby & Ditko: The Minor Mystery of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #8
This one's one of the more memorable early Marvel comic books that I bought and read. So much so that it's another book where for some reason my younger brother Ken later bought his own copy. As I've mentioned here before, the Marvel of 1977 was having a tough time making its deadlines, leading to … Continue reading BHOC: INVADERS #24
I bought FANTASTIC FOUR #189 at my regular 7-11--I can remember biking home up Granny Road with it. But the book was about to hit a prolonged production snag, as it turns out, and like CAPTAIN AMERICA #216 before it, it was the second seemingly-new Marvel title that would turn out to contain a reprint. … Continue reading BHOC: FANTASTIC FOUR #189
On that same weekly trip to the 7-11 I came across and was delighted by this issue of CAPTAIN AMERICA, a title that I didn't normally read. And it had everything to do with this cover, where, rather than Cap's usual masthead partner the Falcon, the co-star in this particular issue was the Human Torch. … Continue reading BHOC: CAPTAIN AMERICA #216
So, when I bought the previous issue of INVADERS from my local 7-11, it must have been on sale for some time, because before you knew it, the next issue showed up, sooner than the next issue of FANTASTIC FOUR. And again I bought it, at that same 7-11. It was clearly going to have … Continue reading BHOC: INVADERS #22
In January of 1977, I turned ten-years-old. And around that time, I would up getting my second book collection of vintage comic book stories–a book that, up until that point I didn’t even know existed. We found it in the remaindered section at Two Guys, a regional low-rent department store chain, kind of like the … Continue reading BHOC: THE GREAT COMIC BOOK HEROES
The Tom Brevoort Experience 