BHOC: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #131

My younger brother–youngest brother for another month or so then–Joe scribbled all over the splash page of my subscription copy of JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #131 with a black marker. Maybe he was trying to improve the inking, I don’t know. But it was one of those momentary childhood crises that come up from time to … Continue reading BHOC: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #131

BHOC: SUPERMAN #299

Another comic book that was bought for my brother Ken, but which eventually ended up with me. This issue of SUPERMAN was the concluding chapter to a then-unprecedented four-part epic storyline, one that would be collected a couple of times in the intervening years. In addition, it wrapped up a subplot that had ben brewing … Continue reading BHOC: SUPERMAN #299

BHOC: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #130

Another month brought another subscription copy of JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA to my mailbox. I know I keep harping on this point, but boy that’s a weird-looking Ernie Chua/Chan cover. Neither Green Arrow nor Aquaman have legs, and the scratchboard technique on the background is a bit overpowering. Ernie was the regular cover artist for … Continue reading BHOC: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #130

BHOC: FLASH #239

Came the mail, and another delivery of a folded-in-half issue of THE FLASH, always a welcome surprise when it turned up. It has a cover that I really don’t like. The concept and composition is good, but the reproduction of the linework is again shaky, with finer lines breaking up throughout the piece. The baby … Continue reading BHOC: FLASH #239

BHOC: DC SPECIAL #20

The next issue of DC SPECIAL was an all-Green Lantern extravaganza, the second (although I never saw the first) that helped to test the waters for the return of the Emerald Warrior’s own series in a few months. I loved this Mike Grell cover, so much so that my Mother sewed a needlepoint recreation of … Continue reading BHOC: DC SPECIAL #20

BHOC: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #119

There was a supermarket not that far from my home, a Waldbaums. It wasn’t the regular supermarket my mother shopped at, so we only went there when she needed something in particular that she couldn’t find elsewhere. The big appeal of the place for me is that they still carried those 3-Bags of comics, all … Continue reading BHOC: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #119

BHOC: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #124

It came in the mail, folded in half as was the custom of the time: my subscription copy of the second half of 1975′s team-up between the JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA and their counterparts in the Justice Society of Earth-2. As I’ve mentioned while chronicling the preceding issue, this storyline was, to put it generously, … Continue reading BHOC: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #124

BHOC: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #123

I was super-excited when my subscription copy of this issue of JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA turned up in my mailbox, folded in half as was the custom of the time. That’s because it was the first part of the annual Justice League/Justice Society team-up. While I was familiar with the JSA, the only previous team-up … Continue reading BHOC: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #123

BHOC: SUPERMAN #290

Another issue of SUPERMAN, and another cover with some crude and chunky inking on it. For the next couple of years, this would be the look of DC covers, a transition from the clean compositions of Carmine Infantino and the expert draftsmanship of Nick Cardy. This was a sort of average issue of SUPERMAN, not … Continue reading BHOC: SUPERMAN #290

BHOC: SUPERBOY AND THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #208

The switch-over from 100-PAGE SPECTACULARS to GIANTS didn’t have any effect on my purchasing habits–I would inevitably go for a large comic book over other offerings first, even if it was a title that I wasn’t all that fond of, such as SUPERBOY. As I was still getting comic books bought for me infrequently, it … Continue reading BHOC: SUPERBOY AND THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #208