CANCELLED COMIC CAVALCADE #1: BLACK LIGHTNING #12

CANCELLED COMIC CAVALCADE was something of a legendary title, in that it wasn't really a published title at all. In 1978, as a publishing initiative designed to restore the health of the division, new DC Publisher Jenette Kahn and her editorial team had made the decision to raise the price of the line from 35 … Continue reading CANCELLED COMIC CAVALCADE #1: BLACK LIGHTNING #12

MARVELMANIA Magazine #1, Part Two

Continuing our look at the first regular issue of MARVELMANIA Magazine, the fan publication put out by the short-lived fan club and merchandising operation of the same name back in 1970. This is a page from the story "Melvin and the Monster" penciled and inked by Tom Palmer and originally intended for publication in SILVER … Continue reading MARVELMANIA Magazine #1, Part Two

MARVELMANIA Magazine #1 (#0)

In 1969, when the Merry Marvel Marching Society was phased out in favor of a new Marvel fan club the rights to which were licensed to a fellow named Don Wallace (as talked about in the piece below:) https://tombrevoort.com/2022/05/28/marvelmania-catalog-1/ one of the new club's endeavors was to put out a regular Marvel-themed fanzine, a subscription … Continue reading MARVELMANIA Magazine #1 (#0)

BHOC: BLACK LIGHTNING #2

The bundles of coverless comic books that had been stripped and were meant to have been pulped but instead were sold at a cut rate at my local drug store we're virtually all Marvel titles. At that time, Marvel and DC were being handled by different distributors, albeit going through the same wholesalers ultimately. So … Continue reading BHOC: BLACK LIGHTNING #2

BHOC: BLACK LIGHTNING #1

The above Rich Buckler cover is something I didn't get to see back in the 1970s. That's because, like other books I've been covering here recently, I got BLACK LIGHTNING #1 in one of the bundles of coverless comics that my local Drug Store chain had begun to sell in lieu of their Big Bin … Continue reading BHOC: BLACK LIGHTNING #1

Brand Echh: Justice Machine #1

As we've spoken about in the past, the establishment of the Direct Sales comic book marketplace provided an opportunity for new publishers to enter the field. Initially, the efforts expended in this new arena tended to be attempting to push the boundaries of what comic books could be in different directions, outside of the oversight … Continue reading Brand Echh: Justice Machine #1

BHOC: PETER PARKER, SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #18

I bought this issue of PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN at my local 7-11. I think I was motivated here in reading about the wrap-up of the Champions, a title whose last issue I had read a few months earlier, and liked well enough. That book had promised a resolution in the pages of AVENGERS, … Continue reading BHOC: PETER PARKER, SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #18

5BC: Five Best Unofficial Marvel and DC Crossovers

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

BHOC: BLACK LIGHTNING #4

I had seen the ads for the new BLACK LIGHTNING series running in DC comics for months before it’s debut–DC really put some marketing muscle behind its launch. However, the first actual issue of the title I would encounter was this one, issue #4, which I bought at my local 7-11. This wasn’t an irregular … Continue reading BHOC: BLACK LIGHTNING #4

BHOC: WONDER WOMAN #225

If I had to guess, it was probably the influence of the Wonder Woman television show that prompted me to pick up this issue of her series. I don’t recall where I got it or under what circumstances–it may even have been bought for my brother Ken as happened on occasion, and I eventually wound … Continue reading BHOC: WONDER WOMAN #225