As the 1970s turned into the 1980s, powerhouse artist and creative genius Jack Kirby was becoming increasingly disillusioned by the way the history of the creation of the Marvel characters was being recounted for the public. Beginning particularly with the publication of ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS in 1974, Kirby found his role in events diminished, … Continue reading Lee & Kirby: The Firsthand Account of Jack Kirby
In the mid-1960s, thanks to the way that copyright law was set up at the time, Captain America co-creator Joe Simon filed legal paperwork in an opportunity to win back the rights to the Star-Spangled Avenger and the work that he and Jack Kirby and a variety of other hands had performed in the first … Continue reading Lee & Kirby: The 1966 Testimony of Jack Kirby
Feels like it's been quite a while since I put together one of these surveys of absurdity. So what say we take a look at five more Marvel villains from the past who tried their hardest, but who somehow failed that ineffable test towards being legitimately dangerous--and who instead came across as ridiculous, absurd, and … Continue reading 5BC: Five More Dopey Marvel Villains
One of my regular stops whenever my family would make a weekend shopping trip to the Smith Haven Mall was one of a number of book sellers. It's hard to imagine today, when finding locations that are devoted to selling nothing but books is a difficult proposition in a lot of places, but in the … Continue reading BHOC: INCREDIBLE HULK POCKET BOOKS
Continuing our sequence looking at Marvel's in-house production stats for FANTASTIC FOUR #1--the closest thing that still exists to the original artwork--and studying them up close to see if they can tell us anything about how the book was put together. So let's go! We're moving into the back half of the issue now, a … Continue reading Lee & Kirby: THE STATS OF FANTASTIC FOUR #1, Part 3
Here's another book that came out of my longbox haul of Windfall Comics, costing me, as i repeatedly keep saying, only 33 cents each in 1988. There was always something a bit fascinating and mysterious about these early issues of DAREDEVIL to me--they had a mystique, a sense of a thing not quite being fully … Continue reading WC: DAREDEVIL #6
Here's a second portion of our look at Marvel's archived stats for FANTASTIC FOUR #1, as close to looking at the original artwork as we can get. As with last time, there isn't a whole lot new that's revealed here. But having the ability to get up real close on some of these pages does … Continue reading Lee & Kirby: THE STATS OF FANTASTIC FOUR #1, Part 2
As those who have been following this page for some time are aware, there are a bunch of mysteries wrapped up in FANTASTIC FOUR #1, the seminal publication that kicked off the Marvel revolution in the 1960s. There have been several theories as to how this book may have been put together--whether it was all … Continue reading Lee & Kirby: THE STATS OF FANTASTIC FOUR #1
Another awesome assemblage of photographic images of comic book creators taken in years and decades past. Stan Lee with presentation board, circa 1976 John Romita, early 1970s John Romita and Stan Lee, circa 1970 Herb Trimpe, circa 1972 Mark Gruenwald at home, circa 1994 Not 100% certain who this is in the Marvel offices with … Continue reading Comics Creators in the Wild 7
Here is yet another early and key Marvel book that I wound up with a copy of thanks to my Windfall deal. It was 1988, and I paid 33 cents for a copy of AVENGERS #6. I believe that by this point I had previously read the story contained herein in its reprint in AVENGERS … Continue reading WC: AVENGERS #6
The Tom Brevoort Experience 