I had sampled the occasional issue of MAD Magazine before this, as well as its nearest knock-off, CRACKED, but I found neither of them so much to my liking that I followed them with any regularity. Now, it has to be said that MAD in particular was a trend-setting publication, and while it was past … Continue reading BHOC: CRAZY #46
It must be said, this is a really striking cover to this issue of CAPTAIN AMERICA. And it showed a sort of novelty of approach that just wouldn't have been done only a few years earlier, not showing potentially sales-driving guest-star the Hulk clearly in the image (though his presence in the story is cover … Continue reading BHOC: CAPTAIN AMERICA #230
The next week brought another issue of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, this one sporting a welcome fill-in art job from John Byrne. Byrne was already becoming a favorite based on his work on X-MEN and elsewhere, and he was fast enough that he could often be called upon Jack Kirby-style to layout a fill-in art job when … Continue reading BHOC: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #189
I bought this issue of MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE like clockwork when it showed up at my regular 7-11 source for comics. While the series had been suffering a bit, running an assortment of fill-in issues and not really having a settled creative team or direction to it, it starred the Thing of the Fantastic Four, and … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #48
I was still sampling different Marvel titles that caught my eye, which is no doubt why I picked up this issue of THE HUMAN FLY under forgotten circumstances. I didn't quite understand from this one issue the tagline on the front cover, about him being a real life super hero. So you aren't similarly confused, … Continue reading BHOC: HUMAN FLY #18
I've always liked the concept of the mystery villain. The notion that there'd be some figure in a story who was pulling the strings and whose identity you might be able to work out if you were clever enough and could make sense of all the clues. This is pretty much the premise behind any … Continue reading BHOC: PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #26
This new week also brought a new issue of IRON MAN, a series whose fortunes were improving by the issue. I've always really liked this cover, as it's a very simple concept with an almost visceral hook to it. And in a relatively rare move for the period, it's devoid of any cover copy explaining … Continue reading BHOC: IRON MAN #118
By the fifth issue of Fantaco's CHRONICLES series, the bloom was off the rose in terms of their relationship with Marvel and Editor in Chief Jim Shooter, and so access to materials and permissions had been severed. This would be the final issue of the magazine devoted to Marvel, although Fantaco would publish one more … Continue reading FANTACO CHRONICLES #5: Fred Hembeck interviews Roger Stern
The next week, a new issue of FANTASTIC FOUR was released, thus reassuring me that my having missed the much-coveted issue #200 was a fluke. This was during the period when a new Fantastic Four cartoon series was running on NBC on Saturday Mornings--this was the version that replaced the Human Torch with HERBIE the … Continue reading BHOC: FANTASTIC FOUR #202
It's interesting how time will change your perspective on something. When this run of UNCANNY X-MEN was coming out, nobody reading it thought that they were following a stint that would become an acknowledged classic. As a reader, I knew that I liked the series, but if you'd asked me then, I don't think it … Continue reading BHOC: UNCANNY X-MEN #117
The Tom Brevoort Experience 