Walt Simonson had taken over the reins of FANTASTIC FOUR and propelled it into the stratosphere with a series of expansive stories that drew upon the best of Jack Kirby's era on the title and turned the concepts up to eleven. Graphically, the book looked sweet as well, as Walter was able to channel Kirby's … Continue reading 5BC: The Five Best Comic Books of 1991
NEW MUTANTS was very much an anticipated comic book in 1982. It was going to be a long-in-development spin-off/expansion of X-MEN, which was at that moment and throughout the decade the most popular comic book in the land. NEW MUTANTS started as a way of pushing back at Marvel EIC Jim Shooter, who had been … Continue reading GH: NEW MUTANTS #3
You can't always hit a home run, and so there have been numerous characters all throughout the history of comics that were created with noble intent, but who failed to find a connection with an audience and swiftly were seen no more. Characters that are peculiar, ill-considered or just plain goofy. Here then are Five … Continue reading 5BC: Five More Best Forgotten DC Super Heroes
This issue of AVENGERS was another book that fell into my hands from within the SUPERHERO GIFT PACK that I had been given for Christmas in 1978. And the story in this issue is interesting. It's clearly a fill-in, designed to buy the series back some time on the schedule. But the story had been … Continue reading BHOC: AVENGERS #163
PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN had, for most of its run, been a weak sister second title to the main Spidey series, AMAZING SPIDER-MAN. While there had been some good stories along the way, PPSSM operated in the shadow of ASM, never entirely carrying its own weight, and inevitably staffed by talent that wasn't yet … Continue reading GH: PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #79
MARVEL TEAM-UP had been practically from its inception a meat-and-potatoes sort of a comic book. Which is to say that it's aspirations were rarely higher than just entertaining an audience for twenty minutes with a solid story. It wasn't trying to stretch the medium or produce works for the ages. MARVEL TEAM-UP was a product, … Continue reading GH: MARVEL TEAM-UP #130
During the Silver Age of Comics, it was still a rare thing for a character of any significance to be killed off in super hero comics. Only two decades later, having realized the audience appeal that the demise of a beloved favorite would have, companies would turn death into a revolving door situation more promotional … Continue reading 5BC: Five Best Silver Age Character Resurrections
It was momentum, pure and simple, that kept me purchasing DEFENDERS each and every month through this period. As it was a Marvel team title, on some level I felt as though i "had to" buy it or risk missing something important. Which is crazy, but also a part of the key to Marvel's success … Continue reading BHOC: DEFENDERS #69
This next issue of AVENGERS was also a book that my younger brother Ken bought his own copy of, though in this case that copy vanished somewhere over the years and never made its way to me. It's a well-remembered issue, with the narrative getting back on track after a trio of fill-in jobs due … Continue reading BHOC: AVENGERS #181
I had really enjoyed AVENGERS up to and just past issue #200. Likely a lot of that had to do with the artwork of George Perez and John Byrne. But once Perez left to go to DC, this was a book that took a hard left turn at a certain point, and I just didn't … Continue reading GH: AVENGERS #233
The Tom Brevoort Experience 