BHOC: INVADERS #35

INVADERS was a title that I liked during its initial run in the 1970s, but for a while it had been growing progressively weaker. Ever since the departure of artist Frank Robbins, a succession of fill-in creators had taken the helm with varying results. Even Roy Thomas, who ad conceived the series as a tribute … Continue reading BHOC: INVADERS #35

BHOC: THOR #278

This issue of THOR featured the wrap-up to the long-running Ragnarok sequence begun by writer/editor Roy Thomas, a saga that felt like a saga to me even as it was coming out. Looking back, the story is more of a mixed bag than I had considered at the time, when I was very much into … Continue reading BHOC: THOR #278

Crisis II – The Villain Crossover

We've been looking at some of the ideas that surfaced for what to do as a follow-up to DC's ultra successful 50th Anniversary Crossover limited series CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS, which were being discussed and debated well before CRISIS had itself run its course. In the end, a number of different ideas were explored and … Continue reading Crisis II – The Villain Crossover

BHOC: MARVEL SUPER-HEROES #77

Another week brought more new comic books, including this issue of MARVEL SUPER-HEROES starring the Hulk. Or, as he was billed on the recurring cover blurbs during this period, "Marvel's TV Sensation!" I'd imagine that there were a lot of young readers who picked up their first issue of a Hulk comic book as a … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL SUPER-HEROES #77

FOOM #3, Part Two

Taking a look here at the back half of FOOM #3, the third issue of Marvel's in-house fan club magazine as packaged and produced by Jim Steranko. In the days before formal indexes and Marvel Masterworks volumes and the internet, these Indexes to the major titles were a bit of a godsend for information freaks, … Continue reading FOOM #3, Part Two

Crisis on Captive Earth: DC editors and creators respond

As DC's editorial hierarchy began to develop its ideas for a sequel to the monstrously popular CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS, they ran into a number of false starts and blind alleys. One of those never-was attempts was called CRISIS ON CAPTIVE EARTH, and while some minor aspects of it eventually made their way into LEGENDS, … Continue reading Crisis on Captive Earth: DC editors and creators respond

BHOC: THOR #277

THOR continued to roll along in a storyline that I felt relatively invested in, even though much of it took place in Asgard and began to feel more like a Conan/Barbarian series as a result. This was writer/editor Roy Thomas' big Ragnarok storyline, the first such story I had encountered, and so that gave it … Continue reading BHOC: THOR #277

Crisis II – Roy Thomas’ Ideas

As we saw last week, even as CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS was getting under way in 1985, DC Comics' leadership realized that they had an enormous hit on their hands. And so, even though only the first issue or two had reached the stands, Executive Editor Dick Giordano solicited ideas from both his editorial staff … Continue reading Crisis II – Roy Thomas’ Ideas

BHOC: INVADERS #34

I was still a regular follower of THE INVADERS, Roy Thomas' super hero comic book set in World War II during the Golden Age of Comics. But the bloom was off the rose for me a little bit by this point. I don't know that I realized it at the time specifically, but the departure … Continue reading BHOC: INVADERS #34

THE CLAWS OF THE CAT #5: The Lost Issue

In 1972, Marvel Comics entered its second phase. Editor Stan Lee had been promoted to Publisher and, momentarily, President, and Roy Thomas had been made his successor. What's more, former owner Martin Goodman was gone, as was the limitation on how many releases the company could put out which had been imposed upon them by … Continue reading THE CLAWS OF THE CAT #5: The Lost Issue