BHOC: EC CLASSIC REPRINTS #6

To a very great degree, most of the assorted EC anthology titles resembled one another. The only difference between them was genre. So WEIRD FANTASY ran the same sorts of shock ending stories that SHOCK SUSPENSTORIES did, however theirs were played out against a science fiction background. The same was true of THE HAUNT OF … Continue reading BHOC: EC CLASSIC REPRINTS #6

Lee & Kirby: The Firsthand Account of Jack Kirby

As the 1970s turned into the 1980s, powerhouse artist and creative genius Jack Kirby was becoming increasingly disillusioned by the way the history of the creation of the Marvel characters was being recounted for the public. Beginning particularly with the publication of ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS in 1974, Kirby found his role in events diminished, … Continue reading Lee & Kirby: The Firsthand Account of Jack Kirby

Lee & Kirby & Simon & Ditko & Oleck: The Spider and the Fly Extra

The response to last week's piece on the complicated and complex origins of Spider-Man and all of the behind-the-scenes activity that stretched back for almost a decade before the character would eventually reach comic book newsstands was incredibly well received. In the space of a week, it's become one of the most-viewed posts on this … Continue reading Lee & Kirby & Simon & Ditko & Oleck: The Spider and the Fly Extra

Lee & Kirby & Simon & Ditko & Oleck: The Spider and the Fly

It's one of the big, fundamental questions that lies at the heart of the origin-myth of perhaps Marvel Comics' most popular single character, and its one that has been discussed and debated at length by those with some degree of insider information: how much did Jack Kirby have to do with the development of Spider-Man, … Continue reading Lee & Kirby & Simon & Ditko & Oleck: The Spider and the Fly

BHOC: WEIRD WAR TALES #59

My brother Ken continued to intermittently read assorted war comics, most of which eventually ended up with me, This issue of WEIRD WAR TALES was the next. In the 1970s, DC had some success with the word WEIRD, cross-breeding their supernatural/mystery titles with other genres--WEIRD WESTERN TALES has given the world Jonah Hex, for example, … Continue reading BHOC: WEIRD WAR TALES #59