Continuing on with comics I bought during my first trip to Bush's Hobbies in Ronkonkoma. I was a huge fan of the Golden Age of Comics and the histories of the assorted characters that I was following--I wanted to know everything, to read everything. In particular, it had been the original Human Torch who provided … Continue reading BHOC: FANTASY MASTERPIECES #7
I think it's no great secret that for a good portion of its run, the Ant-Man/Giant-Man strip in TALES TO ASTONISH was troubled. Struggling, really. More so than any of the other Marvel characters of that era, Hank Pym's series, borne out of a one-off fantasy story, was retooled and reworked far more often than … Continue reading Lee & Ditko & Orlando & Rockwell: the Multiple Car Crash of TALES TO ASTONISH #61
The response to last week's piece on the complicated and complex origins of Spider-Man and all of the behind-the-scenes activity that stretched back for almost a decade before the character would eventually reach comic book newsstands was incredibly well received. In the space of a week, it's become one of the most-viewed posts on this … Continue reading Lee & Kirby & Simon & Ditko & Oleck: The Spider and the Fly Extra
During this time, in loose conjunction with its efforts to get its properties onto television in Live Action and Animation, Marvel was making a concerted effort in the bookstore market as well. The success of the ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS series had proven that there was sufficient interest among book-buyers to make such activities potentially … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL NOVEL SERIES #1
It's one of the big, fundamental questions that lies at the heart of the origin-myth of perhaps Marvel Comics' most popular single character, and its one that has been discussed and debated at length by those with some degree of insider information: how much did Jack Kirby have to do with the development of Spider-Man, … Continue reading Lee & Kirby & Simon & Ditko & Oleck: The Spider and the Fly
A post from my old Marvel blog concerning Fred Hembeck and Steve Ditko. The image below is not the piece I purchased. Fred and Steve April 28, 2007 | 1:00 AM | By Tom_Brevoort | In General I bought a piece of original art from Fred Hembeck the other day, a drawing he had done … Continue reading Blah Blah Blog – Fred and Steve
So the next time my family went to our local pharmacy, I chose to develop my burgeoning interest in Spider-Man by digging through their Big Big of Slightly Older Comics and walking away with two consecutive issues of MARVEL TALES, the reprint series that presented anew stories from AMAZING SPIDER-MAN that were a number of … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL TALES #71
It's well-known that Steve Ditko, the formative Marvel creator, left that company in 1966 after broken promises and worsening relationships with the people at the outfit, notably editor Stan Lee. It's also well-known that, for all that Ditko's most popular and lasting creation for Marvel is Spider-Man, his work on the mystic series Doctor Strange … Continue reading Brand Echh – The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves #12
A post from my old Marvel blog re-presenting a story by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko from TALES TO ASTONISH #26 Dream World! April 28, 2007 | 1:00 AM | By Tom_Brevoort | In General As a little treat/follow up to our coverage of Jonathan Ross's Steve Ditko documentary, here's a five-page story from one … Continue reading Blah Blah Blog – Dream World
I don't remember at all what prompted it at this late date, but for some reason my family wound up going to the far-off mall that housed the Heroes World store once again. Possibly my father needed to get something he'd left at his office, which was in the same complex. Or maybe I just … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL COLLECTORS’ ITEM CLASSICS #6
