BHOC: BRAVE AND THE BOLD #147

I had a weird love/hate relationship with BRAVE AND THE BOLD throughout almost the entirety of its existence. I bought the book more often than not, the matching up of the Caped Crusader with other stalwarts from across the DC Universe proving too enticing too often. Plus, there was the superlative artwork of B&B artistic … Continue reading BHOC: BRAVE AND THE BOLD #147

BHOC: BRAVE AND THE BOLD #145

This is another comic whose contents I barely remember, whose story didn't really make much of an impact on me, and that I likely bought simply because it was there and I had the forty cents to spare. I was still lukewarm on BRAVE AND THE BOLD in general--it still felt "off" to me as … Continue reading BHOC: BRAVE AND THE BOLD #145

BHOC: BRAVE AND THE BOLD #144

I bought a lot of issues of BRAVE AND THE BOLD (or as this cover would have it, THE NEW BIG BRAVE AND THE BOLD) despite the fact that I was never really all that wild about it. I liked the Jim Aparo artwork well enough, and I liked a number of the characters who … Continue reading BHOC: BRAVE AND THE BOLD #144

Great Covers: PHANTOM STRANGER #20

That enormous banner touting the fact that DC's line has shrunk back down to a 32 page package for twenty cents does this piece a little bit of damage--not only does its color scheme not integrate well into the aesthetic of this piece, but it also causes the logo to crowd the head of the … Continue reading Great Covers: PHANTOM STRANGER #20

BHOC: BRAVE AND THE BOLD #143

This issue of BRAVE AND THE BOLD was the first released under the auspices of the DC Explosion, which saw the line increating its cover price to 50 cents a copy from 35 while adding additional pages of material. Here, the Human Target, a feature that briefly ran in the back pages of ACTION COMICS … Continue reading BHOC: BRAVE AND THE BOLD #143

BHOC: HERCULES #10

This issue of HERCULES was another book that I got out of the Modern Comics 3-Bags of comics that I purchased at the local Two Guys discount department store. And like the earlier issue that I spoke about, it wasn't a comic book that appealed to me, but figuring that Hercules was an Avenger over … Continue reading BHOC: HERCULES #10

Making “The Demon Within”

The SHAZAM Award given out by the Academy of Comic Book Arts for Best Dramatic Story in 1972 went to a memorable short piece that ran in HOUSE OF MYSTERY #201. It was written by John Albano, drawn by the great Jim Aparo and edited by Joe Orlando. It was titled "The Demon Within", and … Continue reading Making “The Demon Within”

BHOC: BRAVE AND THE BOLD #142

This one would have been an impulse purchase, I think, when it arrived at my local 7-11. I wasn't reading BRAVE AND THE BOLD religiously, though I had picked up a number of the recent issues. Typically, it would all depend on who the guest star was, because I'd worked out that the style of … Continue reading BHOC: BRAVE AND THE BOLD #142

Perfect Game – DETECTIVE COMICS #500

When I think abut the Christmas season, I'm often put in mind of this issue of DETECTIVE COMICS, the seminal issue #500. I bought it on Christmas eve, 1980, and I don't know that any of the gifts I received the following morning were a match for that reading experience. It's all tangled up in … Continue reading Perfect Game – DETECTIVE COMICS #500

BHOC: BRAVE AND THE BOLD #122

This issue of BRAVE AND THE BOLD was another comic that I wound up with in trade with my classroom buddy, Donald Sims. Even by 1978, those first ten issues of SWAMP THING had gained a bit of a mythical stature among those in the know, so the character still had a bit of an … Continue reading BHOC: BRAVE AND THE BOLD #122