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
This was the second of two issues of PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN that were illustrated by a young Frank Miller, before that name really meant anything. Even more meaningfully, Daredevil, the character he would go on to reinvent, was a guest star in these two issues as well. It almost feels like fate. At … Continue reading BHOC: PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #28
By the fifth issue of Fantaco's CHRONICLES series, the bloom was off the rose in terms of their relationship with Marvel and Editor in Chief Jim Shooter, and so access to materials and permissions had been severed. This would be the final issue of the magazine devoted to Marvel, although Fantaco would publish one more … Continue reading FANTACO CHRONICLES #5: Fred Hembeck interviews Roger Stern
This issue of INFERIOR FIVE doesn't contain a literal crossover at all. It was a parody comic in the same sort of vein as Marvel's NOT BRAND ECHH, albeit with a series of continuing characters. But the depictions of the Marvel characters being parodied in this one are so thin that I think an argument … Continue reading Lost Crossovers: INFERIOR FIVE #10
Eventually, after a week's gap caused by my having bought the new comics for that week while at Heroes World earlier, new comics that I did not already own started turning up at 7-11 again. And so, on my weekly Thursday venture, I bought this issue of PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN. It was a … Continue reading BHOC: PETER PARKER, SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #22
These days, the concept of a crossover between two different fictional characters has become so entrenched in popular culture that it's difficult to come across a pairing that is truly noteworthy. In a world in which everybody is exploring a Multiverse, it seems strange to think that there was a time when the idea that … Continue reading 5BC: 5 Most Unlikely and Unprecedented Crossovers
The Marvel revolution of the early Silver Age took those toiling in the field entirely by surprise. That's entirely due to the fact that, prior to 1961, Martin Goodman's publishing enterprise, whether it was known as Timely or Atlas or Marvel had been producers of enormous amounts of shlock. Goodman's professed publishing strategy was to … Continue reading The First Spider-Man Parody
Well, not really. But that hasn't stopped some dealers from selling this issue as a "prototype" to Marvel's more famous web-slinger. And because of that, there's a bit more interest in this one throw-away one-off fantasy story than pretty much anything else that was put out by Marvel (known as Atlas) that month. So all … Continue reading The First Marvel Spider Man Story
This was another recent back issue that I picked up as part of a plastic-encased 3-Bag in some department store or toy store. For its first year or two, PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN was a title that seemed to drift aimlessly. It felt more akin to MARVEL TEAM-UP, running stories involving Spider-Man that didn't … Continue reading BHOC: PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #12
This was another comic book that I bought in a 3-Bag bundle from a department store or a toy store. The new creative team on MARVEL TEAM-UP, Chris Claremont and John Byrne, had first worked together on IRON FIST, the recently-cancelled martial arts super hero series. Before it went away, they had begun a subplot … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL TEAM-UP #63
The Tom Brevoort Experience 