BHOC: FANTASTIC FOUR #170

Another older issue of FANTASTIC FOUR that showed up one day in the drug store's big bin of slightly-older comics. This was the oldest issue I had found to date. Reading these stories, particularly in this sequence, was a little bit like putting a puzzle together. There'd be some bit of information presented in one … Continue reading BHOC: FANTASTIC FOUR #170

BHOC: FANTASTIC FOUR #172

The big bin of slightly-older comics at my local drug store chain continued to toss up additional treasures as the summer went on, often ones older and older than the ones that had preceded it. So the next issue of FANTASTIC FOUR I found therein was this one, the oldest I'd yet encountered. That's a … Continue reading BHOC: FANTASTIC FOUR #172

BHOC: MARVEL’S GREATEST COMICS #66

The other issue of MARVEL’S GREATEST COMICS that had turned up in my drug store’s big bin of slightly-older comics was this one, the start of a four-part Doctor Doom sequence inspired by the television series The Prisoner. I hadn’t seen the Prisoner at the time when I first bought this issue, so it seemed … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL’S GREATEST COMICS #66

BHOC: MARVEL’S GREATEST COMICS #65

Also in the big big of somewhat-old comics on this particular trip was a pair of issues of MARVEL’S GREATEST COMICS featuring the Fantastic Four. This was the earlier of the two, a reprint of a classic Stan Lee and Jack Kirby issue (albeit one that had pages edited out of it in order to … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL’S GREATEST COMICS #65

BHOC: FANTASTIC FOUR #176

Back at the Drug Store, I was astonished and elated to find this issue of FANTASTIC FOUR in my latest dive through its big bin of somewhat-older comics. And the reason is that this issue pre-dated all four of the FANTASTIC FOUR issues that I’d previously found there. It was evidence that it was possible … Continue reading BHOC: FANTASTIC FOUR #176

BHOC: MARVEL’S GREATEST COMICS #60

This is the third of the three issues of MARVEL’S GREATEST COMICS I pulled up out of the big bin of affidavit-return comic books in my local drug store after I’d gone back for a second helping of the Fantastic Four. And of the three, it’s the slightest–a pattern that very much mirrored the first … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL’S GREATEST COMICS #60

BHOC: MARVEL’S GREATEST COMICS #59

This was the second of the three issues of MARVEL’S GREATEST COMICS that I bought out of the big bin of comics at my local drug store, having enjoyed the first trio of FANTASTIC FOUR issues that I had read. During this period, Marvel maintained a full line of reprint books, serving up the stories … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL’S GREATEST COMICS #59

BHOC: MARVEL’S GREATEST COMICS #58

So, having read and enjoyed my first three issues of FANTASTIC FOUR, I did what any self-respecting comic book reader would do in that situation: I went back to the drug store just as soon as I could and got more. I had seen that the Fantastic Four were also featured in MARVEL’S GREATEST COMICS, … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL’S GREATEST COMICS #58

BHOC: FANTASTIC FOUR #177

We have reached a momentous moment in my personal comic book history at long last: the point at which I started to buy a Marvel comic. It was a dull day in the summer, I had nothing going on, and so, desperate for some attention, I finally broke down and decided to read the Marvel-related … Continue reading BHOC: FANTASTIC FOUR #177

BHOC: FLASH #254

The school year had ended, and summer loomed before me. It would end up being a significant summer for me, from the point of view of being a comic book reader. At the same time, I was a bit sad to have left fourth grade. I’d had a rough time socially in most of my … Continue reading BHOC: FLASH #254