Just as DC/National Comics and other outfits were still dabbling with super hero characters as the 1940s transitioned into teh 1950s, the same was true of Timely Comics, which would one day become Marvel. The firm has lasting success with three characters throughout the 1940s: the Human Torch, the Sub-Mariner and Captain America. But all … Continue reading The First Silver Age Marvel Super Hero
From a fan engagement point of view, there was probably no more galvanizing comic book at the start of the Silver Age of Comics than JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA. Fans--particular Dr. Jerry Bails, who pretty much founded super hero fandom with his associate Roy Thomas--had campaigned to get a new, updated version of the Justice … Continue reading WC: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #18
As we've spoken about in the past, Charlton Comics never really had a motivated interest in getting into the super hero field. They were quite happy most of the time to produce their line of largely-interchangeable war, romance, mystery, hot rod and western comics. But every once in a while, somebody at the organization would … Continue reading Brand Echh: Son of Vulcan #50
Now this was a cover that captured my attention immediately. Ever since, years before, I had first read FLASH #225 featuring Professor Zoom, the Reverse Flash https://tombrevoort.com/2016/05/29/i-can-remember-the-rush-of-adrenaline-when-i-came/ I had been fascinated by evil twins, dark doppelganger versions of the main hero. And I wasn't the only one apparently, as this particular ersatz Thor would turn … Continue reading BHOC: THOR #276
I still had a real liking for INVADERS and these all-new tales of Marvel's earliest super hero characters set back during the era in which they were initially conceived, World War II. But around this time, my enthusiasm for the series began to wane a little bit, for reasons I wouldn't have been able to … Continue reading BHOC: INVADERS #33
Continuing our look at the first regular issue of MARVELMANIA Magazine, the fan publication put out by the short-lived fan club and merchandising operation of the same name back in 1970. This is a page from the story "Melvin and the Monster" penciled and inked by Tom Palmer and originally intended for publication in SILVER … Continue reading MARVELMANIA Magazine #1, Part Two
Marvel's reprint line was still going strong, providing a companion reprint title for most of the major series the company was putting out. This helped to reinforce the idea that the Marvel Universe was all one single continuous tapestry--these years-old stories were still important and might factor in to new adventures produced today. Or such … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL TRIPLE ACTION #44
As usual, I also picked up this issue of MARVEL SUPER-HEROES, the regular reprint series that dusted off stories that had appeared in INCREDIBLE HULK a few years earlier and put them in front of a contemporary audience. Marvel kept up a full reprint line for most of the 1960s and 1970s, with these earlier … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL SUPER-HEROES #75
In 1982, there was simply no hotter book in the Direct Sales marketplace than UNCANNY X-MEN. Riding off of the tremendous success of the Dark Phoenix Saga, the series was rocketed to the absolute pinnacle of the sales charts, at least in comic book specialty shops. X-MEN was super hot, and so the publishers of … Continue reading THE X-MEN COMPANION #1: Roy Thomas Interview
Charlton was pretty much the bottom rung of the comic book business. Yes, they published a lot of material, but it was always on the crappiest paper, and always had the worst distribution. What's more, it only rarely seemed as though anybody cared about what the content of these magazines was. One notable exception was … Continue reading Brand Echh: Thunderbolt #54
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