This week, my Retro Review covers Nexus # 2 & 3 from Capitol Comics. Issue # 2 is dated June 1982 and is printed in a larger magazine size (7 & 3/4 by 10 & 3/4), as are issues # 1 & 3. Each of the original three issues, a mini-series, are printed in this larger…
Part Two: Fall Cons, Past & Present If comic book fandom didn’t originate in Detroit, the city sure helped it take root, as devoted comic book fans like Jerry Bails and Shel Dorf put together the Detroit Triple Fan Fair in 1965. This event gave area fans an official venue to congregate and actually meet various comic…
This week I present DC Comics’ Metal Men # 36, cover dated March 1969. It’s got a terrific Mike Sekowsky/Dick Giordano cover featuring small-sized Metal Men pulling a small cart being driven by a giant Clown! Yes you heard me right, I said a Giant Clown! Enough to cause nightmares to those that find clowns just a little bit…
Part One: Fandom’s Detroit Roots OK, quick: if someone wanted to buy a comic book, where would they go? The answer to that question would be significantly different depending upon the era it was asked. In 1950 or so, near the historical peak of U.S. comic book circulation, the question might have elicited some pretty…
For this week’s Retro Review, let’s take a look at Marvel Comics Group’s The Avengers # 57. This is the comic that introduced the Vision to the Marvel mythos! It’s got a wonderful symbolic cover of the Vision towering over the Avengers, done in a completely red hue, by the great John Buscema! The story is…
Last week, as you’ll remember, I spoke of how, as a youngster, I feared that such stellar comics-related films like Superman III(1983) and TV series like The Amazing Spider-Man (1978) would only further devolve the reputation of comic books. And this was at a time when this teen / young adult was secretly hoping for something from…
This week I would like to offer DC Comics’s All-Star Comics #s 64 and 65, cover dated February and April 1977, for my retro review(s). Issue # 64 features a beautiful Wally Wood cover featuring three members of the legendary Justice Society of America, Superman, the Flash and Hawkman, along with two members of the Super Squad,…
Welcome back! This week it’s time to delve into the independent boxes again and see what we can pull out. From Eclipse Comics, it’s Aztec Ace # 7, cover dated October 1984. It features a beautiful cover by Dan Day and Tom Yeates. The story is entitled: “Murdicide” and it was written by Doug Moench, with…
I’m going to go back a little farther into my collection for this retro review. Way back to Marvel Comics’ Fantastic Four # 16, cover dated July 1963. This issue is entitled “The Micro-World Of Doctor Doom!” and features a special guest star; the amazing Ant-Man! It’s written by Stan “the Man” Lee and penciled by Jack…
I remember when I started regularly reading comics at age 14, I knew that I potentially faced some resistance to the idea. After all, back then at least, most kids read comics at a younger age, and in most cases had given them up before their teen years. And many adults felt that comics weren’t…