As 1949 started, it seemed as though Timely's attempt to spark renewed interest in its super hero titles through the addition of new shapely female sidekicks for its heroes really hadn't gotten the desired effect. Sales hadn't increased--if anything, they continued to slide--and so at least in the case of Captain America, the decision was … Continue reading The Last Bucky Story
As I mentioned yesterday, on this particular forage into the drug store's Big Bin of Slightly Older Comic Books, I came upon two issues of DAREDEVIL that I bought. The first, covered yesterday, introduced the Torpedo. This second issue also featured the Torpedo, as well as Spider-Man's old enemy the Chameleon--the first time I'd run … Continue reading BHOC: DAREDEVIL #134
As I've mentioned previously, all throughout this period I would semi-regularly check back in at the Big Bin of Slightly-Older Comics that my local drugstore chain kept, pretty much any time my family went there. The way this would typically work is that I'd have developed an interest in a particular title, and so I'd … Continue reading BHOC: DAREDEVIL #126
People sometimes wonder about the fact that it took me so long to become a fan of Spider-Man and a regular reader of his adventures. Considering that he was immensely popular and the flagship character of the Marvel line, to say nothing of one of the best characters ever conceptualized, it does seem strange. But … Continue reading BHOC: PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #15
It was one of the most exciting days of my young comic book collecting career. I found it in the bookstore in the Smithhaven Mall, a regular stop whenever my family went out shopping there, which was often. I had no idea that it was coming out--which is strange, because ads for it appeared in … Continue reading BHOC: FANTASTIC FOUR POCKET BOOKS
The entirety of Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli's BATMAN: YEAR ONE story was must reading, and this final installment wrapped the story up beautifully--a story more of hard-boiled cop Jim Gordon than really of Batman (who doesn't appear in costume all that much throughout it. ) Mazzucchelli channels the best attributes of Alex Toth in … Continue reading 5BC: Five Best Comics of 1987
After two months of reprints and hastily-assembled album issues, the storyline in FANTASTIC FOUR once again began to move forward with the release of this issue. I have to say, I didn't particularly mind those diversions, since the reprint was new to me, and the information contained in that album issue gave me a greater … Continue reading BHOC: FANTASTIC FOUR #191
Continuing in our look at the final Golden Age adventures of the assorted Marvel mainstay characters, here's the final Sub-Mariner story presented in 1949. There were two stories presented in SUB-MARINER COMICS #32, so the second of these would have been the final Sub-Mariner story of the era. As it turns out, this story continues … Continue reading The Last Sub-Mariner Story
I was wholly in the tank for the Fantastic Four by this point, and my interest in them led me to purchase a copy of this Big Little Books release from a local Stationary store. It had been issued several years previously, during the period when the first FANTASTIC FOUR cartoon was airing on Saturday … Continue reading BHOC: FANTASTIC FOUR IN THE HOUSE OF HORRORS
This was another book that came out of my drugstore's Big Bin of Slightly Older Comics and was purchased by my brother Ken during his brief Hulk phase. This issue eventually wound up with me, as most all comics did. And this issue of HULK I genuinely enjoyed, its time travel story really grabbing me. … Continue reading BHOC: INCREDIBLE HULK #204
