Another issue of SUPERMAN that I bought at my local 7-11. It's got something of a strange cover image to it--I'm not certain how intrigued a potential reader would likely to be by the notion that Solomon Grundy was stealing Superman's cape. It's not exactly a big stakes question, after all. But what do I … Continue reading BHOC: SUPERMAN #320
After a few false starts and doglegs, Dave Sim found his footing as his long-running Church and State storyline began to build up steam. Now paired with Gerhard, whose elaborate and expressive environments made the Earth-Pig's world more fully realized than ever, Sim was more free to focus on plot, character, world-building and even the … Continue reading 5BC: Five Best Comics of 1985
This issue of ACTION COMICS would have been another book that I got from my grade school buddy Donald Sims. It's not a bit of a weird cover on it--Superman is so over-muscled here that he practically looks inflated. And I don't know that the lime green background is helping matters any either. All of … Continue reading BHOC: ACTION COMICS #464
A genuine sucker punch of an ending topped off this issue of FANTASTIC FOUR, as we learn the outcome of Sue Richards' latest pregnancy. Writer/artist John Byrne is in strong form here, at about the middle of his long run on the title. Good use of the rest of the Marvel Universe and a sympathetic … Continue reading 5BC: Five Best Comics of 1984
This was another forgettable issue of ACTION COMICS that I bought on my now-weekly trips to the 7-11 every Thursday for new comics. As elsewhere, there's some dodgy lettering on this cover--that lower balloon was clearly traced of of an oval template. But the cover does have some drama to it. I was reading ACTION … Continue reading BHOC: ACTION COMICS #479
I'm not certain at this late date--memory fades after a while--but I think I got this issue of SUPERMAN FAMILY at the supermarket (an appropriate venue, when you think about it.) I wasn't reading the title regularly, but I'd been pulled into the previous issue by the story teaming up Superman with is older Earth-2 … Continue reading BHOC: SUPERMAN FAMILY #187
One of the many things that fascinates me about the history of comics is the manner in which these stories and characters were exported around the world--the mad, slapdash, haphazard manner in which the Marvel super heroes made their way across the globe. It was typical that color guides might not be provided, resulting in … Continue reading Great Covers: Marvel Around the World
It's been bettered but never equaled, the granddaddy of all inter-company crossovers. At a time when a comic book featuring Superman and rival Spider-Man sharing the same pages was a positively shocking idea, this enormous tabloid spent its 100 pages synthesizing the narrative styles of both the DC and Marvel house approaches into a single … Continue reading 5BC: Five Best Marvel/DC Crossovers
I'm pretty certain that I bought this issue of SUPERMAN at the same time as the MARVEL'S GREATEST COMICS and possibly the MARVEL TRIPLE ACTION. Like the MGC issue, I can recall biking back to my house with it. Having spent a week during the summer working out that new comics were released on Thursdays … Continue reading BHOC: SUPERMAN #319
I was regularly haunting the section of the Sachem Public Library that contained books on or about comics, not just for that elusive copy of ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS (which I never did find there) but also for anything else of interest. I took out and read a bunch of books from that section, many … Continue reading BHOC: ALL IN COLOR FOR A DIME
The Tom Brevoort Experience 