This is going to be kind of a weird one. The upcoming SHAZAM movie looks like a lot of fun, and I'll no doubt be there on opening weekend to watch it. But it does complete the character's transformation from his original conception as Captain Marvel into something else. Based on everything we've seen so … Continue reading SHAZAM! Captain Marvel and Billy Batson
Today, there are thousands of books on vintage comics, both collections of material from decades ago or literary tomes discussing those works, how they were created, what impact they had and what they meant. But in the 1970s, the landscape for such volumes was exceedingly scarce. So it was positively an event when a new … Continue reading BHOC: SHAZAM! FROM THE ’40s TO THE ’70s
My Aunt Clementine was my Grandmother’s sister, and she and my Uncle Jerry Blazer shared a house with my grandparents that they’d all purchased in 1955 and remained in for almost 50 years. Because of this, they were very much immediate family, although we didn’t see them as often since Clem didn’t like to travel … Continue reading BHOC: SHAZAM #32
I’m not certain what made me decide to pick up this issue of SHAZAM, though I’d imagine that it has something to do with the return of another Golden Age hero, Fawcett’s Minute Man, in the story. I’m pretty sure I got it while on a visit to my grandparents, so that may have played … Continue reading BHOC: SHAZAM #31
Summer was winding down when the mailman brought me my subscription copy of JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #137. This was the wrap-up to that year’s epic meeting of the JLA with their counterparts in the Justice Society–and this year, the Fawcett super heroes of the 1940s had been added into the mix. But up until … Continue reading BHOC: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #137
The next issue of JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA that arrived in my mailbox continued that year’s regular team-up between the JLA and their historic fore bearers in the Justice Society of America. And this time, as had become the pattern, a third group of heroes was also in the mix. This unnamed band was comprised … Continue reading BHOC: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #136
Summer was upon us. I had finished Third Grade and had another seemingly-eternal vacation stretched out before me. Over at DC Comics, the first moves by new incoming Publisher Jenette Kahn began to appear on the comic book racks. This included the DCTV initiative. There were a number of programs based on properties controlled by … Continue reading BHOC: SHAZAM #25
This was the beginning of the last gasp of regular DC reprint books, which would be phased out over the course of the next year or two as incoming new publisher Jenette Khan focused the company’s fortunes on new material. But this issue of DC SPECIAL was nonetheless a beloved read, filled with three stories, … Continue reading BHOC: DC SPECIAL #18
Another big Treasury Edition was the next book I brought home, from my favorite 7-11 outlet. This SECRET ORIGINS SUPER VILLAINS (no of) contained five stories starring a number of favorite characters of mine, including the oldest Silver Age Flash story I had read up until this time. The first story up was “The Man Behind … Continue reading BHOC: LIMITED COLLECTORS’ EDITION #C-39
I feel like this issue of SHAZAM was probably purchased for my brother before ultimately ending up with me. That said, given that the cover features a reverse version of the hero, it is possible that I selected it myself, given my love of the Reverse-Flash. It’s a pretty solid issue, with two stories both … Continue reading BHOC: SHAZAM #19
The Tom Brevoort Experience 