BHOC: IRON MAN #124

We're at the point where IRON MAN started to get really good under the creative team of writer David Michelinie, penciler John Romita Jr. and inker and co-plotter Bob Layton. The transformation sort of snuck up on me as a reader at the time. I found that I was enjoying IRON MAN more and more, … Continue reading BHOC: IRON MAN #124

GH: UNCANNY X-MEN #171

By 1982 when I was forced to pare back my comic book buying due to a lack of income, there was no more popular series in the land than UNCANNY X-MEN. Following the enormous reaction to the "Dark Phoenix Saga" by Chris Claremont and John Byrne a year or two earlier, the title simply exploded, … Continue reading GH: UNCANNY X-MEN #171

BHOC: NOVA #23

In the space of just a few issues, I had really connected with NOVA. From the original house ads that I had seen and the name of the series, I had assumed at first that it was some science fiction thing, like JOHN CARTER, WARLORD OF MARS, in which I'd have little interest. But when … Continue reading BHOC: NOVA #23

BHOC: NOVA #21

Another week back at the 7-11 brought another issue of NOVA, a title that I'd only just begun to follow, having enjoyed the pair of coverless issues I'd gotten sometime previously. NOVA was an attempt on the part of writer Marv Wolfman to create a new young Spider-Man-like super hero for the Marvel Universe. And … Continue reading BHOC: NOVA #21

BHOC: INCREDIBLE HULK #227

Another book that I picked up on that first post-5th Grade trip down to my local 7-11 was this issue of INCREDIBLE HULK, a series that I kinda fell backwards into reading--though, if I hadn't been a regular consumer of the book at this point, this cover's appearance of the original Avengers likely would have … Continue reading BHOC: INCREDIBLE HULK #227

BHOC: IRON MAN #113

This issue of IRON MAN was a bit more like it. After a pair of issues that were concerned with a war in deep space that I found it difficult to care about (the influence of STAR WARS was all over those issues, at least broadly) with #113 we were back in Earth, with grounded … Continue reading BHOC: IRON MAN #113

BHOC: INCREDIBLE HULK #225

Here's another issue of INCREDIBLE HULK that I bought new from my regular 7-11 supplier, now that I had gotten on board with following the series. I seem to recall that my younger brother Ken eventually bought his own copy as well, possibly the last issue of INCREDIBLE HULK he picked up. But what was … Continue reading BHOC: INCREDIBLE HULK #225

BHOC: AVENGERS #173

Another month had gone by, and so the subsequent issue of AVENGERS arrived at the spinner rack at my local 7-11 where I bought my new comics. I picked it up on one of my weekly Thursday trips down there for that purpose, Thursday then being the day when new comics arrived in those days. … Continue reading BHOC: AVENGERS #173

Forgotten Masterpiece: THE SPIRIT #30, Part Three

This is the third and final part of our look at the "Spirit Jam" story published by Kitchen Sink Press in THE SPIRIT Magazine #30 and overseen by publisher Denis Kitchen and associate editor Cat Yronwode. This was the first new full-length Spirit story produced since the reprint editions of the 1960s, and the first … Continue reading Forgotten Masterpiece: THE SPIRIT #30, Part Three

Great Covers: SUPERMAN #145

Saw this cover the other day for the first time since it was originally published and was struck by how simple and how powerful the image here is. It's really a case where less is more, and the juxtaposition of the background American flag and the burning Superman cape forge an inescapable connection. Great use … Continue reading Great Covers: SUPERMAN #145