It must be said, this isn't a great cover. The cover copy is doing all of the work of making the image seem interesting. And seeing Spidey entirely from the back, while that might work in certain circumstances, isn't a great choice when our central figure is an old guy in a green lab outfit. … Continue reading BHOC: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #192
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?
The 1970s were a tough time for comic books. The mainstream Newsstand circulation business was shrinking and changing as a result of rising competition and population migration, and comic books with their low cover prices didn't bring in enough revenue to compete for the space--especially as most kids began spending more of their time and … Continue reading BHOC: SHOGUN WARRIORS #4
There's really no question that Bill Everett was the most accomplished and polished cartoonist to be featured in the early issues of MARVEL MYSTERY COMICS, the initial offering from Timely Comics. In general, the quality level of many of the artists of this period was questionable at best. But Everett was already an accomplished master, … Continue reading The Second Sub-Mariner Story
The week brought another issue of MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE, this one featuring an assortment of special guest stars hanging out with Ben Grimm. Part of the reason for that is that this was one of those stories commissioned as an emergency fill-in that could be used in multiple places given the need. So it could have … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #51
MARVEL COMICS #1000 was by far the most difficult editorial and coordination challenge that I've ever undertaken in my 35 years editing comics, and a book that I'm inordinately proud of. It was released in 2019 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Marvel as a comic book publisher, and as such, it was designed from … Continue reading Personal Best: MARVEL COMICS #1000
It was an exciting day when this Fantastic Four-themed MARVEL TREASURY EDITION showed up at my local 7-11. Because of their size, the Treasury Editions were racked with the general magazines rather than by the comic book spinner rack, meaning that you needed to know to go and look for them. As FANTASTIC FOUR was … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL TREASURY EDITION #21
Marvel's first title, MARVEL MYSTERY COMICS (called simply MARVEL COMICS in its first issue--nobody quite knows how or why MYSTERY was added to the title, or for what reason) was something of a surprise success for publisher Martin Goodman. He'd initially printed up only 80,000 copies and the print job was so bad that he … Continue reading The Second Human Torch Story
I picked up the next issue of MARVEL SUPER-HEROES on my next weekly Thursday trip to my local 7-11. This was probably the heyday for this reprint series. While most of Marvel's other reprint titles had fallen by the wayside, MSH continued on without pause, buoyed by the popularity of the Hulk's weekly CBS television … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL SUPER-HEROES #80
MAGAZINELAND, USA was a giveaway comic book designed for the celebration on June 18, 1977, which had been proclaimed World Color Press Day. World Color were the printers for virtually all of the comic books that were then available on the nation's newsstands, including the output of DC, Marvel, Archie, Harvey and others. Accordingly, those … Continue reading Lost Crossovers: MAGAZINELAND, USA #1
The Tom Brevoort Experience 