In 1988, Eclipse comics was celebrating its ten-year anniversary as a publisher. Founded by Jan and Dean Mullaney, Eclipse was one of the earliest entrants into the nascent Direct Sales marketplace of Comic Book specialty shops. The company was also a proponent of creator-ownership and offered a better publishing arrangement than the mainstream outfits of … Continue reading Brand Echh: TOTAL ECLIPSE #1
I'm not certain what compelled me to pick up this issue of BATMAN on my weekly trip to my local 7-11 for comics. It could simply have been a function of me having a bit more change to my name than usual and deciding to branch out a bit further. At some point during this … Continue reading BHOC: BATMAN #313
If I'm remembering things correctly after all these years, I bought this issue of DOCTOR STRANGE while on a shopping trip to a supermarket, which explains why I might have randomly chosen to purchase this issue of a series that i wasn't otherwise following. I have a dim recollection that the selection of comic books … Continue reading BHOC: DOCTOR STRANGE #34
It was an exciting day when this Fantastic Four-themed MARVEL TREASURY EDITION showed up at my local 7-11. Because of their size, the Treasury Editions were racked with the general magazines rather than by the comic book spinner rack, meaning that you needed to know to go and look for them. As FANTASTIC FOUR was … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL TREASURY EDITION #21
The world of super heroes is never a stationary place, despite feelings among certain fans that nothing ever seems to change. And primary among the places where alteration can be seen is in the attire of classic characters. Giving a lagging hero a costume redesign can sometimes enhance their appeal and help carry them to … Continue reading 5BC: Five Terrible Marvel Super Hero Costume Redesigns
DOCTOR STRANGE was a series that had a hard time retaining me as a reader throughout the late 1970s. I really liked the very early Stan Lee/Steve Ditko stories once I got to read them, but the modern day adventures of the character held little appeal for me. They were a lot more phantasmagoric, a … Continue reading BHOC: DOCTOR STRANGE #34
This issue of MARVEL SUPER ACTION was, I believe, my first real encounter with the work of Jim Steranko. He had done earlier pieces that I had seen--the cover to the Olshevsky FANTASTIC FOUR index for one, and of course his two volumes of THE STERANKO HISTORY OF COMICS. But this was the first comic … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL SUPER ACTION #13
When I did the initial wave of these 5 Best write-ups concerning the best comic books of each year, I confined myself to just the years when I was a fan and a reader, 1973-1989. I didn't think that it was proper for me to go beyond that, as I was a participant in the … Continue reading 5BC: The Five Best Comic Books of 1972
During the Silver Age of Comics, it was still a rare thing for a character of any significance to be killed off in super hero comics. Only two decades later, having realized the audience appeal that the demise of a beloved favorite would have, companies would turn death into a revolving door situation more promotional … Continue reading 5BC: Five Best Silver Age Character Resurrections
I had really enjoyed AVENGERS up to and just past issue #200. Likely a lot of that had to do with the artwork of George Perez and John Byrne. But once Perez left to go to DC, this was a book that took a hard left turn at a certain point, and I just didn't … Continue reading GH: AVENGERS #233
The Tom Brevoort Experience 