As we mentioned yesterday, this issue of JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA was the first in the title's long history not to be edited and overseen by Julie Schwartz. Julie had innovated the series in 1960 and had stayed with it for 19 years. But for the first time, somebody else was at the wheel. That … Continue reading BHOC: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #166
This issue of THE FLASH is where new editor Ross Andru's vision for the title really crystalized. In essence, this took the form of bring on board a new regular penciler. Longtime FLASH artist Irv Novick had departed one issue after outgoing editor Julie Schwartz, and while Ross had stopgapped for two months, here he … Continue reading BHOC: THE FLASH #273
This issue of MARVEL TALES reprinted the story where the series concluded its transition from the Silver Age into the Bronze Age. The book had been there for several months already at this point, with writer Gerry Conway taking over for Stan Lee. But this was the first issue in forever not illustrated by John … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL TALES #102
It had happened again. I had missed another issue of THE FLASH. Having never seen nor bought #269, now #271 proved elusive to me. And honestly, ever since my subscription had lapsed with issue #261, I was having the devil's own time following the book regularly. You might think this would have prompted me to … Continue reading BHOC: THE FLASH #272
Like with ACTION COMICS, I had also taken a three-month hiatus from buying SUPERMAN. I don't really remember why--possibly a feeling that my money was better spent on other titles. So there was a little gap in my collection. But as off-handedly as I left, I returned right as 1978 was on the way out, … Continue reading BHOC: SUPERMAN #333
This was the second issue of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN that came in the SUPERHERO GIFT PACK that I was given for Christmas in 1978. This was another issue where I had read the concluding chapter already, so this set-up part was just a little bit perfunctory. This was the issue that introduced the Rocket Racer, a … Continue reading BHOC: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #172
This was the first of two issues of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN that was in the SUPERHERO GIFT PACK that I received for Christmas in 1978. It was also the second half of a two-part story, but one that had begun in a different title entirely. Unless I miss my guess, this is the first time when … Continue reading BHOC: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #171
Back at Christmas 1978, I was working my way through the fourth and latest release in the ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS line of Trade Paperbacks from Simon & Schuster: THE SUPERHERO WOMEN. This book was a bit more of a mixed bag than the earlier ones and relied more on material that was more contemporary--the … Continue reading BHOC: THE SUPERHERO WOMEN
The first DC SAMPLER must have proven to be a success, because for the next couple of issues, DC did it again--producing a free comic book-sized magazine promoting all of their upcoming series. You can really see that the switch-over to what DC would become was in full swing by this point, and there's a … Continue reading DC SAMPLER #2
Over the years, both Marvel and DC have built up a steady stream of ancillary income by licensing out their characters for what are known as "custom comics"--comics dedicated to promoting a company, a perspective or an ideal (or sometimes a specific product or individual.) These books are produced to-order for the client, meaning that … Continue reading The Amazing Spider-Man vs The Prodigy
