Lee & Kirby & Ditko & Everett: The linked stories of X-MEN #1, AVENGERS #1 and DAREDEVIL #1

I've seen different bits and pieces of this story told in assorted places, but I cannot recall anyplace where the entire sequence of events was laid out in a single recounting, so I thought that was worth doing. In the spring of 1963, with the super hero titles that his firm had been producing doing … Continue reading Lee & Kirby & Ditko & Everett: The linked stories of X-MEN #1, AVENGERS #1 and DAREDEVIL #1 →

BHOC: MARVEL SUPER-HEROES #70

My brother Ken also picked up this issue of MARVEL SUPER-HEROES featuring his Marvel character of choice, the incredible Hulk. As I mentioned yesterday, he liked monsters, and ever since the Hulk TV movies had aired, he had begun to peruse the occasional Hulk comic. I have a vague recollection that I helped egg him … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL SUPER-HEROES #70 →

Lee & Kirby: The Mystery of FANTASTIC FOUR #6

In an article printed in THE JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #61, a writer by the name of Michael Breen makes the assertion that FANTASTIC FOUR #6 had not only been penciled and largely plotted by Jack Kirby, but the final lettered script was written by Jack as well. This was at a point before the Marvel … Continue reading Lee & Kirby: The Mystery of FANTASTIC FOUR #6 →

Brand Echh – The Destructor #1

Attempts to tap into the Marvel style weren't limited to only the 1960s. One of the most blatant attempts happened in the 1970s, and represented a tragedy of unfulfilled potential. In 1974, after he had sold Marvel and thereafter his son Chip had been pushed out of the company in favor of Stan Lee, Marvel … Continue reading Brand Echh – The Destructor #1 →

BHOC: MARVEL’S GREATEST COMICS #67, 68 & 69

Continuing to go through the comics I bought during my first trip to my very first comic book store, the Heroes World outlet in Levittown, I also grabbed up these three consecutive issues of MARVEL'S GREATEST COMICS. These were the rest of the story begin in issue #66, which I'd previously bought and represented good … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL’S GREATEST COMICS #67, 68 & 69 →

5BC: The Five Best Comic Books of 1989

1989 was the year in which I entered the field, so this will be the final installment of this topic, as I don't think it's possible to be objective past this point. Grant Morrison begins his revelatory run on DOOM PATROL by hearkening back to the earliest stories and remembering that these characters are more … Continue reading 5BC: The Five Best Comic Books of 1989 →

BHOC: MARVEL’S GREATEST COMICS #24

At this point, you'd be right to detect a pattern here. We're still talking about the comics I purchased during my very first visit to my very first comic book shop, Heroes World in Levittown. I had bought the earliest issues of FANTASTIC FOUR and FLASH that I could manage, and so I turned my … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL’S GREATEST COMICS #24 →

BHOC: FLASH #158

Another similar thing that I did during my first trip to my very first comic book shop, Heroes World in Levittown, was to buy the oldest issue of THE FLASH that I could. As with FANTASTIC FOUR, there were some older releases on the wall--I seem to recall that SHOWCASE #13 with its pirate torpedo … Continue reading BHOC: FLASH #158 →

BHOC: FANTASTIC FOUR #51

As I mentioned earlier, my first trip to an actual comic book store, a Heroes World outlet in Levittown, was a huge game-changing event for me. On the way there, I had intended to purchase the earliest issue of FANTASTIC FOUR that they had. This plan was foiled when the oldest FF issue they had … Continue reading BHOC: FANTASTIC FOUR #51 →

BHOC: SGT FURY #138

Another issue of SGT FURY that my younger brother Ken bought out of the drugstore's Big Bin of Slightly Older Comic Books, likely at the same time he got yesterday's issue. The series had a more attractive logo by this point, but I must confess that, in this era of reprint titles and with SGT … Continue reading BHOC: SGT FURY #138 →