BHOC: STAR WARS #8

This was the second of three consecutive issues of STAR WARS that we got as a special 3-Bag set months after they had initially seen print. The early STAR WARS books were all reprinted and reissued in tremendous numbers, and it seemed as though every kid of a certain age had at least a few … Continue reading BHOC: STAR WARS #8

BHOC: STAR WARS #7

The popularity of STAR WARS hadn't even slightly begun to abate, and so even after the run of issues of the Marvel comic that adapted the entirety of the film over six issues had been reprinted as special 3-Bags, the program continued on beyond that, with the next STAR WARS 3-Bag containing issues #7-9. These … Continue reading BHOC: STAR WARS #7

BHOC: MARVEL SUPER-HEROES #74

This was a cool surprise to greet me at the 7-11's spinner rack that Thursday afternoon. I had taken to following MARVEL SUPER-HEROES regularly by this point, but a story that guest-starred the Fantastic Four was incredibly welcome. Even though I'd never experienced one firsthand, the concept of a Thing vs Hulk fight being something … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL SUPER-HEROES #74

WC: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #16

This was another issue of JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA that I got in my Windfall Comics purchase of 1988, in which I bought a box of around 150 Silver age comics for the princely sum of $50.00. It was one of six sequential issues, #15-20, that were part of the buy. As JUSTICE LEAGUE had … Continue reading WC: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #16

BHOC: MARVEL TRIPLE ACTION #38

This issue of MARVEL TRIPLE ACTION was another book that I picked up as part of a 3-Bag purchased either at a department store or a local toy store. It reprinted an issue of AVENGERS that was about a decade old at that point. And during that time, AVENGERS was a very different book than … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL TRIPLE ACTION #38

FOOM #1, Part Two

Continuing our look through the first issue of FOOM, aka Friends Of Ol' Marvel, the fan magazine published by the House of Ideas throughout much of the 1970s. The first four issues were put together by artist and graphic designer Jim Steranko, and his visual approach is apparent throughout. Having failed twice under publisher Martin … Continue reading FOOM #1, Part Two

BHOC: MARVEL SUPER ACTION #4

I was strangely super-excited when I got this issue of MARVEL SUPER ACTION in a 3-Bag at a department store or a toy store. I don't know what motivated Marvel after three issues featuring reprints of Captain America stories (which the title would return to the following issue) to devote this one to reprints of … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL SUPER ACTION #4

FOOM #1

FOOM, a.k.a. Friends Of Ol' Marvel, was the successor operation to the haphazard Marvelmania International once teh latter had gone belly-up. Stan Lee, now Marvel's publisher, still saw value in having a fan publication that could further ingratiate the readership with Marvel, as well as a place where the assorted licensing efforts that they'd begun … Continue reading FOOM #1

BHOC: CAPTAIN AMERICA #215

Here's another book that came to me out of a 3-Bag purchased at a toy store or a department store. It was the first issue of CAPTAIN AMERICA following the departure of the character's co-creator Jack Kirby as writer, artist and editor, and it gives every indication of having been something of a rush job. … Continue reading BHOC: CAPTAIN AMERICA #215

Lost Crossover: MASTER COMICS #41

It's one of the great mysteries of the Golden Age of Comics why, after the Justice Society of America proved to be so popular in the pages of ALL-STAR COMICS, other publishers didn't attempt to put together their own teams of costumed crime-fighters to compete with it. There was really only DC's own Seven Soldiers … Continue reading Lost Crossover: MASTER COMICS #41