Flo Steinberg came to the notice of comic book fandom during the early 1960s, during the initial flowering of what became the Marvel Age of Comics. As Marvel's corresponding secretary, she was, among other things, charged with answering the volumes of fan mail that came in for editor Stan Lee, and so the various active … Continue reading Forgotten Masterpiece: BIG APPLE COMIX #1
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Marvel Comics had a thriving business licensing properties from outside of the field--movies, television shows, toy lines and the like--and turning them into comic books. Some of these titles were remarkable successful and functioned as a gateway into the wider Marvel line. Others disappeared quickly when the material they were … Continue reading BHOC: SHOGUN WARRIORS #6
And now we come to what is generally regarded as the strongest period in the 100-issue run of MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE's history. With this newest issue, #53, the six-part Project: PEGASUS Saga kicked off, signaling the arrival of the writing team of Mark Gruenwald and Ralph Macchio. Macchio had created the titular Project; PEGASUS for an … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #53
There was something in the air in the late 1960s and early 1970s that made the idea of a swampy muck-monster a thing that several different people were simultaneously thinking about. This sort of thing tends to point to some influence from the mainstream media, but I'm not sure just what that might have been … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL SUPER-HEROES #81
I had no way of knowing it at the time, but we were heading into what is largely considered the best, most significant run on DAREDEVIL of all time. I had been enjoying the series just fine since I first started reading it several months previously, and I didn't really sense a shift in the … Continue reading BHOC: DAREDEVIL #159
It was at about this point that my family went to see the film BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25th CENTURY at the local movie theater. We didn't realize it at the time--well, I didn't, at least--but this film was actually the pilot movie for a new television series that would debut in a couple of … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL NOVEL SERIES #5
This is something of an underwhelming cover for the conclusion to a long-running story. But I was there for it either way. This extended Carrion sequence in PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN was, I believe, my first experience with a long-running mystery figure plot, and so even though the end result was a just a … Continue reading BHOC: PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #31
I don't remember where I picked up this issue of MARVEL PREMIERE featuring the second half of the two-part debut of the new Ant-Man, Scott Lang. But it wasn't at my regular 7-11 haunt; they weren't carrying MARVEL PREMIERE, and their selection in general had been pulled back to tried-and-true sellers. So I must have … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL PREMIERE #48
After surviving years when it was at best a second-tier title and at worst an afterthought, things were beginning to look up for IRON MAN. The current creative team of writer David Michelinie, penciler John Romita Jr. and inker and co-plotter Bob Layton built upon what their predecessor Bill Mantlo had done with the strip … Continue reading BHOC: IRON MAN #123
My year of frustration continued with FANTASTIC FOUR #207, another issue of my favorite title that I first saw out in the world in spinner racks the week that it came out. But having won a free subscription to the series, I had to wait until my copy finally made its way to me through … Continue reading BHOC: FANTASTIC FOUR #207
The Tom Brevoort Experience 