On that same trip to Ed's Coins and Stamps in the Sun-Vet Mall courtesy of my accommodating grandparents, I also purchased a back issue of THE FLASH, one of my favorite series. Ed had a decent stock of back issues of the title at reasonable prices, so I flipped through them and landed on this … Continue reading BHOC: THE FLASH #173
As with Hawkman, the Flash's final golden age appearance was in ALL-STAR COMICS #57 in 1950 as part of the Justice Society of America. But we're talking about the Scarlet Speedster's solo exploits here. And by that metric, Jay Garrick's final run in his winged helmet took place in the final issue of FLASH COMICS, … Continue reading The Last Flash Story
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
A while ago, when I ran a piece on the first appearance of Captain Comet, certain fans were upset that I'd labeled it as the first Silver Age super hero. And I get what they're saying--the specific codifications of the different eras of comics are hardly universally agreed-upon, and pieces like that one do make … Continue reading The Last Captain Comet Story
By 1965, DETECTIVE COMICS had become something of a schizophrenic title. Editor Julie Schwartz's revamp of Batman had taken hold and increased sales, saving the series from possible termination. Yet, he was still limited by DC/National's deal with Batman's creator Bob Kane. Kane was to be provided a certain amount of work on the series … Continue reading WC: DETECTIVE COMICS #343
As the 1940s transitioned into the 1950s, the heyday of the typical costumed super hero appeared to be in its twilight. While big marquee characters such as Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman continued to post sufficient sales to continue in their respective titles, all across the field, other less fortunate crusaders were hanging up their … Continue reading The First Silver Age DC Super Hero
During that first excursion to Ed's Coins and Stamps, I did what I always tended to do in these situations: I bought the oldest issue of a key comic book series that I could afford. In this instance, that turned out to be THE FLASH #130, which was my oldest issue of the title for … Continue reading BHOC: THE FLASH #130
It's been well covered over the years that in 1964, with sales flagging thanks to editor Jack Schiff clinging to an outdated approach to the character as the Silver Age blossomed, the reins of the Caped Crusader's two titles were handed over to editor Julie Schwartz, in the hopes that Schwartz, who'd had a lot … Continue reading WC: DETECTIVE COMICS #329
It's an argument that comes up every couple of months like clockwork, especially when some new film or television project is announced. There are always those that espouse that Batman, in order to be treated realistically, should carry and use a gun. And these people inevitably point to the character's earliest days as justification, talking … Continue reading When Batman Used A Gun
This issue of MYSTERY IN SPACE, another book that I got in my Windfall Comics purchase of 1988, sports another of those great halftone covers that DC production man Jack Adler was experimenting with. The added texture does give the piece a nice painterly quality, as well as far more subtlety than the typical DC … Continue reading WC: MYSTERY IN SPACE #55
The Tom Brevoort Experience 