I read a lot of comic books as a kid. This series of posts is about the comics I read, and, occasionally, the comics that I should have read. When I was a young, I didn’t know too many other kids who were into comics. I had no one to commiserate with about the latest developments in the Marvel Universe, nor anyone who could turn me on to new and different stuff by sharing issues and titles that they loved to which I’d been previously unexposed. There were rare exceptions, which made them memorable. And if one of those exceptions … Continue reading My Misspent Youth: “Foul Play!” by Bill Gaines, Al Feldstein, and Jack Davis

I read a lot of comic books as a kid. This series of posts is about the comics I read, and, occasionally, the comics that I should have read. As I’ve acknowledged previous in this space, my quest for more, more, more of superhero comics when I was at the peak of my youthful obsession extended past the paneled adventures themselves. Any opportunity to read about the fantastically powered heroes and villains I’d committed to was highly welcome. I read material like that over and over again, hungrily pulling in as much information about the characters as I possibly could. … Continue reading My Misspent Youth: The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe

I read a lot of comic books as a kid. This series of posts is about the comics I read, and, occasionally, the comics that I should have read. It was, I would come to realize, a lucky convergence. When Fantastic Four #232 hit newsstands, I’d been a convert to superhero comic books for less than a year, making the leap from far more frivolous fare. I quickly glommed onto Marvel’s first family as my favorite characters and the their title as the one I’d buy no matter what, making every anxious effort to be sure I didn’t miss an issue. Truthfully, … Continue reading My Misspent Youth: Fantastic Four by John Byrne

I read a lot of comic books as a kid. This series of posts is about the comics I read, and, occasionally, the comics that I should have read. The nineteen-seventies were a weird time, man. Freshly freed from the constraints of the strict content guidelines and emboldened by the surging influence of the counter-culture, American cinema pushed into edgy new territory, and practically every other form of visual storytelling followed suit. In particular, Marvel comic book creators took their cues from what was happening on big screens, especially as the publisher’s bullpen filled up with writers and artists who … Continue reading My Misspent Youth: Hero for Hire by Steve Englehart and George Tuska

I read a lot of comic books as a kid. This series of posts is about the comics I read, and, occasionally, the comics that I should have read. Typically, I devote my reminiscing for this recurring feature to those superhero comic books I devoured through my tween and teen years (and, somewhat sad to type, beyond), with an occasional hat tip to a nineteen-seventies comic that, as the italicizes introduction concedes, I now feel I should have read. Truth is, during the seventies, which was very much my youth, I was collecting comic books with an unstoppable fervor. They … Continue reading My Misspent Youth: Laff-A-Lympics by Mark Evanier and Owen Fitzgerald

I read a lot of comic books as a kid. This series of posts is about the comics I read, and, occasionally, the comics that I should have read. Sometimes I begin one of these posts by conceding that I’m about to abuse the word “youth.” Given the limited series Spider-Man/Human Torch, written by Dan Slott and drawn by Ty Templeton, made its debut in 2005, well past the point I could reasonably claim a fresh-faced innocence, I should probably be offering that sheepish qualifier now. Instead, I’ll note that “youth” can be a relative term. At least, the right … Continue reading My Misspent Youth: Spider-Man/Human Torch by Dan Slott and Ty Templeton

I read a lot of comic books as a kid. This series of posts is about the comics I read, and, occasionally, the comics that I should have read. It started with a hand-me-down. I and my partner-in-all-things were visiting some friends in the bustling metropolis of Milwaukee. One of them, a fellow youthful victim of the comic book siren song, presented a gift. It was a old comic book, clearly well-read as the glossy front had the approximate texture of crushed taffeta. The cover promised to introduce us to “THE MACABRE MENACE OF CAPTAIN OMEN AND HIS UNHUMAN HORDES!” The only … Continue reading My Misspent Youth: Incredible Hulk by Steve Englehart and Herb Trimpe

I read a lot of comic books as a kid. This series of posts is about the comics I read, and, occasionally, the comics that I should have read. One of the first comics I wrote about for the “My Misspent Youth” series was Marvel Fanfare, a periodical exclusive to the direct market, which was still a rarity in the early nineteen-eighties. At the time I bought my first issue of the series, from the dinky upstairs office that was the original home of Stoughton, Wisconsin’s Midwest Books, I was still primarily feeding my superhero story addiction by ruthlessly patrolling the comic book … Continue reading My Misspent Youth: Marvel Fanfare #7 by Steven Grant and Joe Barney