Forgotten Masterpiece: EL SORPRENDENTE HOMBRE ARANA #150 and AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #8

At this point, I expect that most of you know the drill here. But to hastily recap for those who do not: in the early 1970s, demand for Spider-Man stories was so strong in Mexico that the Mexican publisher of Spidey's translated adventures, La Prensa, got permission from Marvel to produce all-new adventures of the … Continue reading Forgotten Masterpiece: EL SORPRENDENTE HOMBRE ARANA #150 and AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #8 →

The Imaginary Spider-Man Episodes of the Grantray-Lawrence Marvel Super Heroes 1966 Cartoon

As many know, and as we've talked about here in the past, the Marvel characters first came to television in 1966, in the form of a syndicated animated series produced by Grantray-Lawrence. The series ran five days a week and featured five Marvel characters: Thor, Iron Man, the Hulk, Captain America and the Sub-Mariner. But … Continue reading The Imaginary Spider-Man Episodes of the Grantray-Lawrence Marvel Super Heroes 1966 Cartoon →

BHOC: MACHINE MAN #3

The distribution of new comic books in the late 1970s wasn't so wonderful. Only a couple of years earlier, it was possible to find comics in several local locations, and the number of titles available were plentiful. But somewhere along the way, comics began to lose their status, and disappeared from a lot of storefronts. … Continue reading BHOC: MACHINE MAN #3 →

Comics Creators in the Wild 2

Well it just goes to show: you never know what is going to resonate with an audience. Last week's kickoff installment of Comics Creators in the Wild received more notices and attention than I ever would have thought it would. So that being the case, I figured I ought to follow up on it sooner … Continue reading Comics Creators in the Wild 2 →

Brand Echh: Space Adventures #33

At the beginning of the Silver Age, super heroes were making a comeback. This trend would blossom into a full-on fad mid-decade thanks to the release of the BATMAN television show--positively everybody went super hero crazy there for a year or so. But even before that, there was a sense throughout the industry that costumed … Continue reading Brand Echh: Space Adventures #33 →

Comics Creators in the Wild 1

Just like with our sequences on vintage comic books seen out and about in the world, so too do I have a relatively large collection of vintage photographs of writers, artists and editors either at work, in public or just generally goofing around. So why not show some of these vintage pictures off? Collected from … Continue reading Comics Creators in the Wild 1 →

BHOC: T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS #1

I first encountered the THUNDER Agents in the pages of Maurice Horn's WORLD ENCYCLOPEDIA OF COMICS, a two-volume set of books chronicling all sorts of comic book series from around the world. My local library had them in stock, though for some reason they weren't kept with the other books on comics, but rather over … Continue reading BHOC: T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS #1 →

BHOC: TALES OF SUSPENSE #30

I picked up this issue of TALES OF SUSPENSE during that selfsame first visit to The Batcave, the comic book specialty shop located just off of the South Shore Mall, the first ever genuine comic book shop that I had been to. And I bought it for a singular reason: its age. I could tell … Continue reading BHOC: TALES OF SUSPENSE #30 →

BHOC: X-MEN #87

This was another comic book that I came into possession of through swapping with my buddy Donald Sims, and it was an acquisition of some great interest. In general, for me during this period, any comic book with a 20 cent price tag seemed old somehow, vintage--even though I had started reading during the last … Continue reading BHOC: X-MEN #87 →

BHOC: MARVEL’S GREATEST COMICS #50

This is yet another book that I got in trade from my comics-reading buddy Donald Sims, and it was a welcome addition to my collection. FANTASTIC FOUR was at this moment my favorite comic book series, and so any opportunity to experience another story from its long history was greatly welcome by me. And in … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL’S GREATEST COMICS #50 →