This issue of HERCULES was another book that I got out of the Modern Comics 3-Bags of comics that I purchased at the local Two Guys discount department store. And like the earlier issue that I spoke about, it wasn't a comic book that appealed to me, but figuring that Hercules was an Avenger over … Continue reading BHOC: HERCULES #10
As I've mentioned in the past, not only did the Modern Comics 3-Bagged reprints of past Charlton titles include a wide swath of their super hero and adventure material, but they also contained a number of titles in other genres; war, martial arts and mystery/suspense being chief among them. Most of those books were of … Continue reading BHOC: THE MANY GHOSTS OF DOCTOR GRAVES #12
Whoever was responsible for selecting which old Charlton comics would be reissued in the 3-Bags put out under the Modern Comics imprint made some baffling selections. Take JUDOMASTER for example. Modern reissues four issues of the series: #93, #94, #96 and #98. Why not consecutive issues? Who knows? It may have been that these were … Continue reading BHOC: JUDOMASTER #96
There were other comic books that I got in those Modern Comics 3-Bags as well as the aforementioned super hero titles. The company also reprinted a smattering of suspense, martial arts and heroic fiction books. And as you probably know by now if you've been reading this feature consistently, those were of only limited interest … Continue reading BHOC: HERCULES #11
From the mid-1960s all the way through the earliest days of the 1980s, Warren Publications provided a bit of an alternative to the mainstream comic book marketplace dominated by Marvel and DC (as well as Archie and Harvey and Gold Key, etc.) Warren's particular forte was in doing horror magazines, very much influenced, at least … Continue reading Forgotten Masterpiece: EERIE #32
One of the more overlooked pioneers of what would come to be called the Direct Sales comic book market was Mike Friedrich. He'd started his career as a writer for DC and Marvel, among others, and eventually became first Marvel's first executive in charge of Direct Sales and thereafter an artists representative. But in-between, he … Continue reading Brand Echh: Star Reach #1
I'm pretty certain that it was Fred Hembeck who turned me on to this super-cool short story buried in this obscure issue of Charlton's mystery anthology series THE MANY GHOSTS OF DOCTOR GRAVES. Series such as this one were plentiful in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s, each issue filled to the brim with … Continue reading Forgotten Masterpiece: THE MANY GHOSTS OF DOCTOR GRAVES #5
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
As the 1960s turned into the 1970s, two things were going on in the world of comics. Upstart publisher Marvel was gaining ground on its rival, the massive DC Comics, then known as National Periodical Publications. And a new generation of creators was coming into the field, one that had grown up reading comics as … Continue reading 5BC: Five Best Unofficial Marvel and DC Crossovers
Over the course of eighty years, DC Comics has introduced any number of great super heroic characters, many of whom have gone on to have long and lasting careers in comics. But alas, some others were struck down before their prime, managing only a few, or even a single solitary appearance before retreating back to … Continue reading 5BC: Five Best Forgotten DC Super Heroes
The Tom Brevoort Experience 