Back at the drug store, the big bin of somewhat-older comics continued to yield treasures. To my surprise, I came up with this issue of FANTASTIC FOUR, the oldest one I would find there--a good six months older than the previous earliest issue I had, and two years old in general. That doesn't seem like … Continue reading BHOC: FANTASTIC FOUR #164
At around this time, the new season of the hit comedy HAPPY DAYS began, with a three-part opening storyline in which the cast went to Hollywood, and the Fonz wound up in a competition to water ski jump over a caged shark in the bay. This episode was the origin of the now-popular term "Jumping … Continue reading BHOC: X-MEN #108
Ever since I had become interested in the Fantastic Four, I had a burning desire to read the first issue of that series. from having haunted the Humor section in my local bookstores over the years (which is where anything even vaguely related to comics wound up being shelved), I knew that this first story … Continue reading BHOC: SON OF ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS
I'm not 100% certain after all this time where I found this issue of FANTASTIC FOUR. I have a gut feeling that it was in a department store or toy store in the Smithhaven Mall, which my family frequented often. Possibly it was a remnant of one of those 3-Bags of comics that were once … Continue reading BHOC: FANTASTIC FOUR #173
FANTASTIC FOUR #1 was the beginning of what would grow into the Marvel Age of Comics, where Stan Lee and Jack Kirby revolutionized the field and unleashed a wave of characters and concept that have achieved worldwide popularity and renown in the decades since. So it's now seen as an important issue. And from what … Continue reading Lee & Kirby: FANTASTIC FOUR #1, Part One
On that same weekly trip to the 7-11 I came across and was delighted by this issue of CAPTAIN AMERICA, a title that I didn't normally read. And it had everything to do with this cover, where, rather than Cap's usual masthead partner the Falcon, the co-star in this particular issue was the Human Torch. … Continue reading BHOC: CAPTAIN AMERICA #216
Summer was winding down when I bought this issue of INVADERS at my regular 7-11 haunt. It's one of those days that I can recall vividly for no particular reason, biking back up Granny Road with my new purchase. I still hadn't branched out into Marvel any further than the Human Torch, but it was … Continue reading BHOC: INVADERS #23
It was like a little miracle, a book that couldn't and possibly shouldn't ever happen. But happen it did--and SUPERMAN VS THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN was an excellent mixing of the then-contemporary styles of Marvel and DC, very different flavors in that period. The creative team was spot on, anchored by Gerry Conway and Ross Andru, … Continue reading 5BC: Five Best Comics of 1976
I got this issue of INVADERS at the same time as the other two, from the drug store's big bin of slightly-older comics. It's got the best cover of the three for sure (though Tommy Lightning and Spitfire seem like giants in the background there.) And because I bought them both at the same time, … Continue reading BHOC: INVADERS #15
I didn’t know when I pulled up this issue of INVADERS from the big box of slightly-older comic books at my local drug store that the new characters depicted on it, the Crusaders, were meant to be analogues for the Freedom Fighters, characters published in the 1940s by Quality Publications and eventually purchased by DC. … Continue reading BHOC: INVADERS #14
The Tom Brevoort Experience 