Comic books are a petty business, it must be said. And the same freedom to imagine and play that allows for the creativity in conceptualizing new stories about characters who, let's face it, were designed to appeal to children also somehow invites the darker side of itself--the version where grown-ups behave like petulant children on … Continue reading 5BC: Five More Mean Caricatures of Comic Book Creators
This issue of CAPTAIN MARVEL was another book that I got out of the drugstore's Big Bin of Slightly Older Comics, though this purchase didn't go quite so well. There was something about this comic that I didn't like, that made me vaguely queasy, and I traded it away the first opportunity that I got. … Continue reading BHOC: CAPTAIN MARVEL #40
This next book is something of a forgotten classic, a really strong and memorable single issue story hidden in the middle of a run. It was bought for my brother Ken, who was still a big Hulk fan based mostly on the television show (and the fact that he was more of a "monster" kid … Continue reading BHOC: INCREDIBLE HULK #222
Continuing to follow up on my reading experiences from SON OF ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS, this was the first issue of AVENGERS that I purchased new (I had prior bought one issue of MARVEL TRIPLE ACTION featuring the team.) It's the second part of what would someday become known as the Korvac Saga, a high … Continue reading BHOC: AVENGERS #168
The first entry in Marvel's line of European-style albums, released under the sobriquet "Marvel Graphic Novels", THE DEATH OF CAPTAIN MARVEL remains as effective and affecting today as it was when it was first published. A good deal of that is down to the subject matter, which sees the titular Mar-Vell dying not in battle … Continue reading 5BC: Five Best Comics of 1982
It's perhaps difficult to see from the vantage point of so many years later, but this issue of X-MEN was a game-changer when it came out, and cemented the popularity of the series at the top of the Direct Market sales charts for a decade and a half. Powerful, unexpected, emotional, this comic generated both … Continue reading 5BC: Five Best Comics of 1980
We start off this time with a bit of a forgotten masterpiece (despite the fact that it's been reprinted at least once.) This issue of INCREDIBLE HULK, with its horrifying story of children and cannibalism packed a punch and really stayed with you--top notch work by writer Len Wein and illustrators Jim Starlin and Alfredo … Continue reading 5BC: Five Best Comics of 1978
Possibly the best issue of WHAT IF and certainly one of the best-looking as a young Klaus Janson inks Gil Kane to great effect. Writer and soon-to-be-Editor in Chief Jim Shooter delivers on all fronts with an emotional story that packs a real wallop to it. A tour de force by writer Paul Levitz and … Continue reading 5BC: Five Best Comics of 1977
In a time before the British Author Invasion and the rise of Vertigo titles, this issue of GIANT-SIZE MAN-THING was quite possibly the most literate and literary comic book as-yet published. A heartfelt, emotion-driven Steve Gerber story concerning a dead, bullied schoolkid anchors the issue. Gerber experiments with using huge blocks of text on certain … Continue reading 5BC: Five Best Comics of 1975
A very cool and intricate WARLOCK cover by Jim Starlin. This would be the final issue of the series.
