In 1978, plans for a massive expansion of DC's publishing line, which were being promoted as the DC Explosion, crashed and burned as an unusually heavy winter took its toll on comic book sales. The DC line was slashed rather than expanded, and a bunch of staff members were laid off. This became known as … Continue reading CANCELLED COMIC CAVALCADE #2
MAGAZINELAND, USA was a giveaway comic book designed for the celebration on June 18, 1977, which had been proclaimed World Color Press Day. World Color were the printers for virtually all of the comic books that were then available on the nation's newsstands, including the output of DC, Marvel, Archie, Harvey and others. Accordingly, those … Continue reading Lost Crossovers: MAGAZINELAND, USA #1
Well, not quite. For the members of the Justice Society of America, most of them made their final appearance of the Golden Age of Comics in the last JSA adventure, published in ALL-STAR COMICS #57 in December of 1950. But before that, many of the heroes' home anthology series came to an end, and with … Continue reading The Last Hawkman Story
By 1983, DC was on a creative upswing. The arrival of new President and Publisher Jenette Kahn had coincided with efforts to expand DC's efforts into the growing Direct Market of comic book specialty shops that had sprung up across the country. At this time, DC's fortunes on the mainstream Newsstand weren't looking all that … Continue reading DC SAMPLER #1
This was the latest issue of DETECTIVE COMICS that I wound up with in my 1988 Windfall Comics purchase, where I bought a box of close to 150 Silver Age comic books for $50.00. And it represents a bit of a quantum leap forward from the earliest one that was in that purchase, the strongest … Continue reading WC: DETECTIVE COMICS #349
Another look at one of the features that was spiked and written off by DC Comics in the midst of the line contraction and round of layoffs that came to be known as the DC Implosion. THE DESERTER was a new western series created by writer Gerry Conway. It had originally been commissioned to run … Continue reading CANCELLED COMIC CAVALCADE #1: THE DESERTER #1
A further look at CANCELLED COMIC CAVALCADE #1, the home-printed volume comprised of stories that DC Comics was writing off as their line was dramatically downsized in 1978 in what became known as the DC Implosion. CLAW THE UNCONQUERED, one of DC's more successful series in capturing a percentage of the market for barbarian sword … Continue reading CANCELLED COMIC CAVALCADE #1: CLAW THE UNCONQUERED #14
This was, it turned out, the final issue of BATMAN FAMILY in its current form. Shortly after this, the DC Implosion would happen, slashing the size of the DC line dramatically and costing a number of people--including this issue's editor Al Milgrom--their jobs. On the chopping block at that moment was DETECTIVE COMICS, as it … Continue reading BHOC: BATMAN FAMILY #20
When it came to the organized comic book fandom of the early Silver Age of Comics, there was no character that hardcore audience was more behind than Hawkman. The Winged Wonder had been a favorite of both Dr. Jerry Bails and Roy Thomas during their youth decades earlier as part of the Justice Society of … Continue reading WC: HAWKMAN #2
Like FOOM over at Marvel, THE AMAZING WORLD OF DC COMICS was an in-house fan magazine produced by DC/National Periodical Publications throughout much of the 1970s and made available by direct mail order only. It was an irregular publication, put together initially largely by interns (nicknamed "woodchucks") at the company; interns who would almost to … Continue reading THE AMAZING WORLD OF DC COMICS #1
The Tom Brevoort Experience 