In addition to now being able to regularly get my hands on Annuals and other oversized comics such as Anniversary issues or WHAT IF and the like, my new Stationery Store outlet also gave me access to titles that I didn't even know existed, such as this revival of MACHINE MAN. I had sampled one … Continue reading BHOC: MACHINE MAN #11
We'd previously devoted a piece to spotlighting and examining two of the lost pages from a story intended for INCREDIBLE HULK #4 that Marvel mainstay Larry Lieber had fished out of the trash after an irate Jack Kirby had torn them in half and discarded them back in 1962. https://tombrevoort.com/2026/08/01/lee-kirby-the-discarded-pages-from-incredible-hulk-4/ They turned up in an … Continue reading Lee & Kirby: More Discarded Pages from INCREDIBLE HULK #4
PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN had settled into a nice rhythm. It wasn't a great comic book, but it was solid and reliable. In the hands of its now-regular creative team of Bill Mantlo and Jim Mooney, it had built up a cast of characters around mainstay Peter Parker, a cast that existed in addition … Continue reading BHOC: PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #34
As I've mentioned before, my friend David Steckel had inherited a chunk of his comic book collection from older cousins who had outgrown comics, so he owned a handful of issues that dated back to the 1960s. He didn't have many of them, and they were a bit scattered, but they represented a bit of … Continue reading BC: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #67
One of the immediate benefits of having switched my shopping for new comics to the recently-opened Stationery store was that I once again had access to Marvel's upsized titles and Annuals. The 7-11 that I had been getting most of my comics from had long since stopped carrying any non-regulation formatted comic books, and so … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE ANNUAL #4
Marvel veteran Larry Lieber has been divesting himself of portions of his collection, and the bounty, listed at Heritage Auctions, has uncovered some amazingly wonderful things. Most recently, a heretofore-undiscovered third penciled page for Jack Kirby's pitch story for what became the NICK FURY, AGENT OF S.H.I.E.L.D. strip in STRANGE TALES. The first two pages … Continue reading Lee & Kirby & Steranko & Lieber: The Birth of S.H.I.E.L.D. and The Man Called D.E.A.T.H.
Quietly and without fanfare, IRON MAN had become one of the most reliably entertaining comics in the Marvel line. This was all down to the efforts of the creative team, writer David Michelinie, penciler John Romita Jr., and inker and co-plotter Bob Layton. It was also a reflection of the changing times; Micheline and Layton … Continue reading BHOC: IRON MAN #126
It was at some point around this time that my local postal carrier delivered my subscription copy of the latest issue of FANTASTIC FOUR--though not before it had already gone on sale and was available at my local outlet. Not buying the book and waiting for my copy proved to be difficult, especially after other … Continue reading BHOC: FANTASTIC FOUR #210
My family were big fans of the Muppet Show every since it first premiered in 1976. We watched it with alarming regularity every Sunday evening at 7:30. So when Jim Henson and company brought their chaotic creations to the big screen, we were sure to be there. And so we were when The Muppet Movie … Continue reading BHOC: DEFENDERS #75
Just as he was an enormous fan of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, my friend David Steckel was also a hardcore acolyte of STAR WARS, and he purchased each monthly issue of the Marvel comic based upon that storied film with almost religious zeal. It's a bit alien to think of from the vantage point of today, but … Continue reading BC: STAR WARS #10
