Today, there are thousands of books on vintage comics, both collections of material from decades ago or literary tomes discussing those works, how they were created, what impact they had and what they meant. But in the 1970s, the landscape for such volumes was exceedingly scarce. So it was positively an event when a new … Continue reading BHOC: SHAZAM! FROM THE ’40s TO THE ’70s
I bought this issue of ACTION COMICS at my usual 7-11. In fact, this was the summer where, now being allowed to travel to the 7-11 on my own, I buckled down and spent a week determining when the new comics would arrive each week. Rather than simply asking somebody, I instead made a pilgrimage … Continue reading BHOC: ACTION COMICS #476
I think this was another purchase at the little candy store next to the barber where I’d get my hair cut. I know it was an issue that I’d seen and passed up in favor of other fare earlier, so it’s likely that a more limited selection made me take it home in this instance. … Continue reading BHOC: ACTION COMICS #474
The supermarket my mother would sometimes frequent occasionally carried some comics. It was never many, and there didn’t seem to be much rhyme or reason to what ended up on their shelves. One title they seemed to get semi-consistently was SUPERMAN FAMILY, and that’s how I wound up with this issue, one earlier than the … Continue reading BHOC: SUPERMAN FAMILY #176
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a copy of this particular issue of SUPERMAN FAMILY whose cover wasn’t miscut. I wonder if this wasn’t the result of the switch-over from a squarebound binding to traditional end-staples–if the cover has perhaps been set up for the former, and so without that additional bit of space, shifted the trim on the … Continue reading BHOC: SUPERMAN FAMILY #177
I’m not 100% sure where this issue of DETECTIVE COMICS came from. I’m pretty confident that I didn’t purchase it. It may have been bought for my younger brother, which is the most likely explanation, or it may have been a book that I was traded at some point. In any case, it has an … Continue reading BHOC: DETECTIVE COMICS #456
I feel like this issue of SHAZAM was probably purchased for my brother before ultimately ending up with me. That said, given that the cover features a reverse version of the hero, it is possible that I selected it myself, given my love of the Reverse-Flash. It’s a pretty solid issue, with two stories both … Continue reading BHOC: SHAZAM #19
Another 100-Page Spectacular, and a sure call for my money and my attention. By this point the SHAZAM television series had begun airing on Saturday mornings. I watched it dutifully, but found it a bit dull. I could tell that it was trying to teach me things rather than just telling a story. And besides, … Continue reading BHOC: SHAZAM #16
Man, that’s a beautiful cover. It’s a painting of Superman, done in the early 1940s, which hung in the DC offices for years–this was its first actual printing. I bought this Treasury Edition at that regular old 7-11 again, and it’s a pretty good collection of stories. It opens with an extremely early Superman story, … Continue reading BHOC: LIMITED COLLECTORS’ EDITION #C-31
Another 100-Page Spectacular picked up from that regular 7-11. This one wold turn out to be a bit disappointing to me, with a number of back-up features that simply didn’t appeal. But the lead story was pretty good. It’s a team-up between the Man of Steel and his back-up co-feature, Green Arrow. it also includes … Continue reading BHOC: ACTION COMICS #437
The Tom Brevoort Experience 