BHOC: SUPERMAN #337

I was still routinely buying SUPERMAN and enjoying it for the most part, despite the fact that it was never quite as electrifying as the Marvel books that I was most into during this period, nor also the DC titles that I loved the best. What SUPERMAN had going for it was familiarity. It was … Continue reading BHOC: SUPERMAN #337

BHOC: BATMAN #313

I'm not certain what compelled me to pick up this issue of BATMAN on my weekly trip to my local 7-11 for comics. It could simply have been a function of me having a bit more change to my name than usual and deciding to branch out a bit further. At some point during this … Continue reading BHOC: BATMAN #313

BHOC: SUPERMAN #336

This was another of the assorted comic books that my household ended up with two copies of. Not only did I pick the issue up the week it came out during my regular visit to the local 7-11, but my younger brother Ken also bought his own copy at some later point. I never entirely … Continue reading BHOC: SUPERMAN #336

CANCELLED COMIC CAVALCADE #2: SHOWCASE #105

Continuing on in our survey of CANCELLED COMIC CAVALCADE #2, the hand-printed collection of material created by DC Comics and left unpublished in the aftermath of the business contraction known as the DC Implosion. A scant number of copies were made and provided to contributors as well as the Library of Congress so as to … Continue reading CANCELLED COMIC CAVALCADE #2: SHOWCASE #105

BHOC: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #193

This era of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN is often overlooked but I remember enjoying it tremendously. Part of the reason for that is that once he got his sea legs under him, writer Marv Wolfman began to focus on running plotlines based more around the character's life as Peter Parker than his costumed alter ego. I also … Continue reading BHOC: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #193

Why Did The 1983 JLA/AVENGERS Crossover Not Happen?

The question came up again this week, prompting a bunch of discussion (often blaming one person in specific for perceived slights): why did the announced and eagerly-anticipated 1983 crossover book starring the Avengers and the Justice League of America never see print and remain uncompleted? There are a bunch of fan rumor and innuendo and … Continue reading Why Did The 1983 JLA/AVENGERS Crossover Not Happen?

DC SAMPLER #3

Having dedicated themselves to making strides within the new Direct Sales marketplace, an arena in which Marvel had up to this point been overwhelmingly outselling pretty much everybody, DC produced a number of issues of DC SAMPLER, an overview and preview of their line intended to be given out at comic book specialty stores across … Continue reading DC SAMPLER #3

BHOC: DETECTIVE COMICS #483

For almost the entirety of its run, I had been a regular reader of BATMAN FAMILY. But during the famous DC Implosion, in which DC's publishing line was significantly pruned back, BATMAN FAMILY had been merged with DETECTIVE COMICS in an effort to keep the series that the company had been named after alive. Clearly, … Continue reading BHOC: DETECTIVE COMICS #483

5BC: The Five Best Comic Books of 1971

By 1971, Stan Lee's career scripting comic books was winding down. While he'd remain in place as Marvel's Publisher for the remainder of the decade, he ceased scripting pretty much everything he had been working on, except for an occasional and far-between assignment. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #96 is the first part of the last truly great … Continue reading 5BC: The Five Best Comic Books of 1971

5BC: The Five Best Comic Books of 1972

When I did the initial wave of these 5 Best write-ups concerning the best comic books of each year, I confined myself to just the years when I was a fan and a reader, 1973-1989. I didn't think that it was proper for me to go beyond that, as I was a participant in the … Continue reading 5BC: The Five Best Comic Books of 1972