Pretty sure that this was another book that my brother picked up that I eventually ended up with. All comics came to me eventually. Despite the fact that it was still being edited by Julie Schwartz, whose editorial style helped to define what I liked in my comic books, I still wasn't following Batman with … Continue reading BHOC: BATMAN #299
Beyond just inspiring mischievous creators to come up with ways to have characters at rival companies Marvel and DC meet, the anarchic and rebellious spirit of the Bronze Age extended beyond the bounds of the immediate industry, prompting writers and artists to come up with ways to appropriate other characters outside of what was permissible … Continue reading 5BC: Five Best Unofficial DC Crossovers
As the 1960s turned into the 1970s, two things were going on in the world of comics. Upstart publisher Marvel was gaining ground on its rival, the massive DC Comics, then known as National Periodical Publications. And a new generation of creators was coming into the field, one that had grown up reading comics as … Continue reading 5BC: Five Best Unofficial Marvel and DC Crossovers
Right on cue, the mailman delivered to me this month's copy of JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA, a title for which I still maintained a subscription. That's a really nice cover my Michael Kaluta, though I don't think the coloring entirely works--the orange hold on Doctor Destiny does make the three heroes pop well, but it … Continue reading BHOC: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #154
This is the single greatest issue of SUPERMAN ever put together in the character's 80 year history. Closer to home, it's the special Anniversary issue that I'm always jockeying against in my own mind when it comes to put together a book of this sort for the Marvel characters. Of course, I fail to clear … Continue reading Perfect Game – SUPERMAN #400
SECRET SOCIETY OF SUPER-VILLAINS was approaching its final days, not that that was known either to me or to the people who were producing it. It would become a casualty of the fabled "DC Implosion" in just a few short months. But for now, it was continuing to be published and it was still a … Continue reading BHOC: SECRET SOCIETY OF SUPER-VILLAINS #14
In any long-running series, there's going to be a magnetic pull among a certain type of writer to want to change things, to make adjustments to details, to eliminate contradictions in the stories that have been told and to introduce new information about foundational events. These ideas can sometimes be additive and sometime be destructive, … Continue reading 5BC: Five Best Forgotten DC Retcons
Another regular issue of SUPERMAN that I bought at my regular 7-11. That's a pretty strong, pretty violent cover for this time period, and it represents the first time in my memory where Superman's heat vision was used as an offensive weapon. Before this, it had typically been used as a tool, for effect against … Continue reading BHOC: SUPERMAN #322
I wasn't ever really a big fan of DEFENDERS. Oh, I bought it dutifully for literally years, but it was never a top title in my firmament--and often, I was continuing to buy it out of rote more than any particular love for it. This is due to the fact that, despite the fact that … Continue reading BHOC: DEFENDERS #48
The Powers-That-Be at DC Comics in the 1960s could see that something was going on over at Stan Lee's new upstart Marvel imprint, but they were ill-equipped to figure out just what. This is largely due to the fact that the editorial and creative staff remained largely unchanged since the halcyon days of the 1940s. … Continue reading Brand Echh – Inferior Five #6
The Tom Brevoort Experience 