This particular issue had been spotlighted on the monthly Bullpen Bulletins page, so I was more excited to snap it up than usual. And in the end, it was simply all right--an issue dedicated more to character-building than heroic adventure. This was one of the elements that made this period of UNCANNY X-MEN stand out … Continue reading BHOC: UNCANNY X-MEN #122
For all that the title was still clearly struggling to get itself out of the scheduling hole that it had been trapped in for the past year or so, AVENGERS remained a consistently enjoyable read. I think a strong part of that came down to the book's artists: George Perez, who had left the series … Continue reading BHOC: AVENGERS #184
This next issue of IRON MAN was something of a pause in the run, a fill-in issue albeit one that had been integrated into the ongoing story narratives. It was also something of a throwback, recounting the events of Iron Man's origin and updating them slightly. I had already read Iron Man's origin in SON … Continue reading BHOC: IRON MAN #122
I didn't really realize just how good of a comic book UNCANNY X-MEN was during this time period. I mean, I bought it regularly and enjoyed it every single issue. But it didn't stand out for me particularly. I loved it, but i also loved FANTASTIC FOUR and AVENGERS and AMAZING SPIDER-MAN and a hold … Continue reading BHOC: UNCANNY X-MEN #121
AVENGERS was beginning to get itself back on track after a long stretch of fill-ins and stopgapping, but the book was still running perilously behind schedule. This led to even more stopgapping in the future. But just as a reader, none of this bothered me especially, I simply accepted each issue for being what it … Continue reading BHOC: AVENGERS #183
Now I know that I picked this issue of MARVEL PREMIERE up in a candy store in a distant strip mall that my parents had gone to for some shopping reason. My regular 7-11 didn't seem to carry issues of MARVEL PREMIERE--they had quietly stopped getting all sorts of books, including double-sized issues such as … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL PREMIERE #47
It's pretty plain to see in retrospect that UNCANNY X-MEN was the best ongoing comic book series being produced during this time. It was in the middle of a run that's become legendary over time, the collaboration between Chris Claremont and John Byrne (with editor Roger Stern an important third leg of that triumvirate, and … Continue reading BHOC: UNCANNY X-MEN #120
That week, another issue of AVENGERS appeared at my local 7-11, and I picked it up without even much looking at it, as the book was on my regular buy list. Which is perhaps a good thing, because I don't know that this generic cover would have enticed me into completing the sale on its … Continue reading BHOC: AVENGERS #182
Over the course of comic book history, the fortunes of super heroes as a genre waxed and waned as tastes changed and the marketplace shifted. This led to moments where a series that was once popular had fallen upon hard times or was seen as being out of step with the era, and needed to … Continue reading 5BC: Five Times Two Heroes Were Better Than One
Now this was a comic book that I really liked. So much so that I sent a letter of comment in to the letters page asking that creator John Byrne be allowed to both write and pencil FANTASTIC FOUR. A real case of "be careful what you wish for", as I stopped buying FF under … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #50
The Tom Brevoort Experience 