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

BHOC: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #172

This was the second issue of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN that came in the SUPERHERO GIFT PACK that I was given for Christmas in 1978. This was another issue where I had read the concluding chapter already, so this set-up part was just a little bit perfunctory. This was the issue that introduced the Rocket Racer, a … Continue reading BHOC: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #172

BHOC: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #171

This was the first of two issues of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN that was in the SUPERHERO GIFT PACK that I received for Christmas in 1978. It was also the second half of a two-part story, but one that had begun in a different title entirely. Unless I miss my guess, this is the first time when … Continue reading BHOC: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #171

BHOC: INCREDIBLE HULK #214

This issue of INCREDIBLE HULK was also included in the SUPERHERO GIFT PACK that I received for Christmas in 1978. The timing on that PACK was very precise, as the issues contained within were mostly all ones that I hadn't seen in the 3-Bags that were used to sell nine month old comics through department … Continue reading BHOC: INCREDIBLE HULK #214

BHOC: THOR #263

This was the second of two issues of THOR that were contained in the SUPERHERO GIFT PACK that I received for Christmas in 1978, and its story picked up where the preceding issue had left off, fortunately. So I rolled right in, interested to see what would become of Thor and his posse as they … Continue reading BHOC: THOR #263

BHOC: THOR #262

This issue of THOR was one of two that I got in my Christmas gift of the SUPERHERO GIFT PACK. While I was reading the series at this point, it wasn't truly one of my favorite. Mostly that was due to the extended periods the book would spend in Asgard, where it often felt more … Continue reading BHOC: THOR #262

GH: SAGA OF THE SWAMP THING #9

As I got older, my tastes in comics began to change, or at least to grow more expansive. And so I wound up trying titles that might have done nothing for me before, like SAGA OF THE SWAMPO THING, The series was a bit of a hybrid, existing in a world halfway between that of … Continue reading GH: SAGA OF THE SWAMP THING #9

GH: BATMAN #359

As I've mentioned often in the past, growing up, I was never all that much of a fan of Batman. I didn't dislike the Masked Manhunter, it was more a question of liking a particular flavor of him. I first encountered the Caped Crusader in daily reruns of the 1966 live action television show, and … Continue reading GH: BATMAN #359