WC: JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #120

It really is something to look at the development of the Marvel line during the formative years between 1961 and 1965. It's pretty amazing how all of the key strips would take these sudden surges in quality, that the material kept getting better, stronger and more polished, and the ambition got greater and greater as … Continue reading WC: JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #120

(Not So) Great Covers: THOR #153

You'd see this happen from time to time in the mid- to late-1960s on the Marvel books. There's be a cover like this one that somebody--either editor Stan Lee or publisher Martin Goodman--didn't like, feeling that it was too cluttered and difficult to read from a distance, and it would get colored in a horrific … Continue reading (Not So) Great Covers: THOR #153

WC: JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #118

By the time this issue of JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY was published, he series had crystalized into its final form. The short one-off adventures of the Thunder God Thor now gave way to an impressively long serialized story that ran consistently from issue to issue without a break for several years. In addition, the character's background … Continue reading WC: JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #118

BHOC: THOR #276

Now this was a cover that captured my attention immediately. Ever since, years before, I had first read FLASH #225 featuring Professor Zoom, the Reverse Flash https://tombrevoort.com/2016/05/29/i-can-remember-the-rush-of-adrenaline-when-i-came/ I had been fascinated by evil twins, dark doppelganger versions of the main hero. And I wasn't the only one apparently, as this particular ersatz Thor would turn … Continue reading BHOC: THOR #276

WC: JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #115

This issue of JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY was situated right at the transition point between the early Marvel style of storytelling and the more mature and measured approach the firm would take through its glory years. By this point, artist and largely plotter Jack Kirby had received a rate increase that permitted him to slow down … Continue reading WC: JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #115

BHOC: THOR #275

This week brought out another issue of THOR, a title that I had only recently begun to get into and enjoy. New writer Roy Thomas had decided to lean into the genuine Norse legends for his first big epic, which saw the Gods of Ragnarok once again facing the approaching threat of Ragnarok, the end-of-the-world … Continue reading BHOC: THOR #275

WC: JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #101

This issue of JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY represents the beginning of the fully-formed period of Thor's adventures. While launched over a year before in issue #83, the strip was swiftly handed over by editor Stan Lee to other creators to write and draw--Jack Kirby's talents were needed elsewhere, it seemed--and consequently, the series wasn't working as … Continue reading WC: JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #101

Blah Blah Blog – Ten Years Ago This Month (Then)

A post from my old Marvel blog, this one another look back at what my office had put out a decade prior to the time at which I wrote it. Today, this was 23 years ago. Ten Years Ago This Month April 6, 2009 | 1:00 AM | By Tom_Brevoort | In General It’s been … Continue reading Blah Blah Blog – Ten Years Ago This Month (Then)