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

BHOC: IRON MAN #123

After surviving years when it was at best a second-tier title and at worst an afterthought, things were beginning to look up for IRON MAN. The current creative team of writer David Michelinie, penciler John Romita Jr. and inker and co-plotter Bob Layton built upon what their predecessor Bill Mantlo had done with the strip … Continue reading BHOC: IRON MAN #123

BHOC: IRON MAN #121

IRON MAN was quietly becoming a really good comic book back in 1979, a change that at once seemed both gradual and instantaneous. The creative team of writer David Michelinie, co-plotter and inker Bob Layton and penciler John Romita Jr. transplanted the character to the modern era, dispensing with a lot of the Cold War … Continue reading BHOC: IRON MAN #121

GH: IRON MAN #171

There was a relatively brief period of time during which IRON MAN was a crackerjack reading experience. After more than a decade of mostly just floating along not being especially inspired, David Michelinie, John Romita Jr. and Bob Layton made the Armored Avenger into a real player. They put him up against more major threats, … Continue reading GH: IRON MAN #171

BHOC: IRON MAN #120

By the time this issue of IRON MAN came out, there was no mistaking the qualitative improvement the series had experienced, and it became a title that I really enjoyed every month. Whereas the IRON MAN of most of the prior decade had always felt a bit underpowered, prone to attacks from one medical condition … Continue reading BHOC: IRON MAN #120

BHOC: IRON MAN #119

The change was almost imperceivable, so incremental had it been, at least to me. But starting at around this point, it was difficult to argue that IRON MAN had become a much better title than at any earlier point in recent memory. The new creative team of co-plotter and scripter David Michelinie, penciler John Romita … Continue reading BHOC: IRON MAN #119

GH: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #241

The last regular issue of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN that I bought new was this one, #241. And I know what some of you are thinking already: you dropped ASM in the middle of the Roger Stern and John Romita Jr. run (a run that's generally considered a high water mark, the best the series had been … Continue reading GH: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #241

BHOC: IRON MAN #117

It was immediately apparent once the trio of writer David Micheline, penciler John Romita Jr. and inker/co-plotter Bob Layton came on board the series over the course of two months that something good was beginning to happen in IRON MAN. The series had, for a long while, been a bit out of step with the … Continue reading BHOC: IRON MAN #117

BHOC: IRON MAN #116

This next issue of IRON MAN represented the beginning of one of the most storied runs in the title's history, even though it was the second part to an adventure already in progress. And that's because this issue heralded the arrival of a pair of creators who would leave their mark on the armored Avengers, … Continue reading BHOC: IRON MAN #116

BHOC: IRON MAN #115

This next issue of IRON MAN was the preamble to what would, in time, be considered one of the very best runs that the title had to offer. His arrival had been touted on the Marvel Bullpen Bulletins page all month, and so here was John Romita Jr., the son of Marvel legend and art … Continue reading BHOC: IRON MAN #115