This is yet another book that my friend Donald Sims traded to me at a certain point, and one of the best issues that I got from him (for all that it didn't make me run right out and start trying to hunt down other issues of IRON FIST.) It probably helped that Captain America … Continue reading BHOC: IRON FIST #12
I've had to clean out my office recently, and in doing so I've unearthed a small treasure trove of interesting items that have been buried for several years. So with the holidays before us, I expect that I'll be posting a bunch of stuff before through the end of the year. Consider it a bonus … Continue reading Making The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man
At the same time that my Uncle Jerry and Aunt Clem bought me the Flash Dollar Comic, they also brought a comic book for my younger brother Ken--this issue of STAR WARS. And like with my book, my Aunt dutifully wrote Ken's name on the cover, so that the world would forever after know that … Continue reading BHOC: STAR WARS #11
A million words must have been written over the decades about this issue of X-MEN, the conclusion to the Dark Phoenix Saga and the high point of the fabled Chris Claremont and John Byrne run. And in the shadow of what would follow in the years to come, perhaps the book has lost some of … Continue reading Perfect Game – X-MEN #137
It's perhaps difficult to see from the vantage point of so many years later, but this issue of X-MEN was a game-changer when it came out, and cemented the popularity of the series at the top of the Direct Market sales charts for a decade and a half. Powerful, unexpected, emotional, this comic generated both … Continue reading 5BC: Five Best Comics of 1980
At around this time, the new season of the hit comedy HAPPY DAYS began, with a three-part opening storyline in which the cast went to Hollywood, and the Fonz wound up in a competition to water ski jump over a caged shark in the bay. This episode was the origin of the now-popular term "Jumping … Continue reading BHOC: X-MEN #108
Possibly the best issue of WHAT IF and certainly one of the best-looking as a young Klaus Janson inks Gil Kane to great effect. Writer and soon-to-be-Editor in Chief Jim Shooter delivers on all fronts with an emotional story that packs a real wallop to it. A tour de force by writer Paul Levitz and … Continue reading 5BC: Five Best Comics of 1977
The next comic I bought was a regular on my list: BATMAN FAMILY. The switch-over to all-new material hadn’t dampened my enthusiasm for big, oversized comics. This lovely Jim Aparo cover is a hair deceptive, though–indicating that Robin, Batgirl and Man-Bat will all be sharing linked stories in this issue, which wasn’t the case. But … Continue reading BHOC: BATMAN FAMILY #12
I picked up this issue of WORLD’S FINEST COMICS, despite its dollar price tag, because its lead story was going to wrap up the ongoing Martian Manhunter storyline that I had been following in recent issues of ADVENTURE COMICS, and that I liked quite a bit. So this was my first encounter with the phenomenon … Continue reading BHOC: WORLD’S FINEST COMICS #245
The next issue of DETECTIVE COMICS wrapped up the saga of the Calculator, which had been winding through the assorted back-up stories for several months. And it looked more like a Justice League adventure than a strictly Batman one, so I bought a copy. The story goes that editor Julie Schwartz took a lot of … Continue reading BHOC: DETECTIVE COMICS #468
The Tom Brevoort Experience 