These days, the name John Byrne is synonymous with that of the Fantastic Four. His run both writing and penciling the series in the 1980s is held up as a high water mark for the title, and typically regarded as being second only to that of FF creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Byne had … Continue reading The Unused Fantastic Four Sample Story by John Byrne
Now this issue was the beginning of a three-part epic that is probably my favorite DEFENDERS story of all time. That said, it's a story that, by necessity, turns something like a dozen and a half Marvel characters into little more than action figures that do what the plot requires without any concern about the … Continue reading BHOC: DEFENDERS #62
Wrapping up our look at the first SUPERHERO MERCHANDISE catalog that was put together by Ivan Snyder for his mail order operation that eventually transformed into HEROES WORLD. This is the section that transitioned more into published work, books on comics and back issues and the like. And it's worth pointing out that, in 1976, … Continue reading SUPERHERO MERCHANDISE Catalog, Part Three
This issue of AVENGERS was, you guessed it, another book that I bought during my trip to Heroes World in Levittown with my grandparents. It sported a very nice cover penciled by George Perez and inked by an infrequent collaborator, Terry Austin. Terry was at this point making John Byrne's work look its best over … Continue reading BHOC: AVENGERS #174
For no discernable reason that I can figure out, there's been a sudden burst of interest in this obscure Marvel item from 1979--people are amazed that such a thing exists, and want to know more. Well, rest assured, those of us who were around in 1979 for its release were just as befuddled by it … Continue reading The Incredible Hulk & The Amazing Spider-Man: The Gamma Gambit
This issue of THOR was another new book that I picked up on my outing to Heroes World with my grandparents. I didn't do so because I was completely enthralled with the series so much as an overall "no comic left behind" attitude that I had towards books that I would typically have picked up … Continue reading BHOC: THOR #274
Here's the second part of our look at the first SUPERHERO MERCHANDISE catalog, put together for entrepreneur Ivan Snyder by several moonlighting freelancers from Marvel and available through the mail. SUPERHERO MERCHANDISE eventually transformed into being HEROES WORLD, an outlet of which was the very first comic book store that I ever encountered, so I … Continue reading SUPERHERO MERCHANDISE Catalog #1, Part Two
In addition to picking up back issues on that trip to Heroes World in Levittown, New York with my grandparents, I also purchased a bunch of brand new books that hadn't quite made their way to my area yet, such as this issue of MARVEL TRIPLE ACTION. I wasn't the type of kid who could … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL TRIPLE ACTION #43
This is a weird bit of serendipity, but sometimes that's the way the ball bounces. I only just got done writing about the reprint of this story in MARVEL COLLECTORS' ITEM CLASSICS #22 a few moments ago, and the source for that reprint is the next book up in my survey of the books I … Continue reading WC: FANTASTIC FOUR #30
An entry from my old Marvel blog about Stan Lee friending me on Facebook back in the day. I believe the collection of Stan's Soapbox columns is still available through the Hero Initiative and can be ordered here: https://www.heroinitiative.org/shop/books/stans-soapbox-the-collection/ My Friend Stan November 21, 2008 | 1:00 AM | By Tom_Brevoort | In General A … Continue reading Blah Blah Blog – My Friend Stan
The Tom Brevoort Experience 