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 committed to superhero comics, I was all in. I was even proud to put aside the childish comics that had previously commanded my attention, believing that my newfound preference for spandex-clad do-gooders represented a version of growing up. And yet I wasn’t fully able to turn my tiny back on the sort of loose-limbed high jinks that once enthralled me so. Sometimes I wanted something a little wacky, … Continue reading My Misspent Youth: Fantastic Four #176 by Roy Thomas and George Perez

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 look back at the issues of The Avengers that were released across my first few years as a superhero comic book reader, it’s clear to me that I was a fairly fickle consumer of the adventures of “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.” Maybe more than with any other series I read with any regularity back then, my attention was dependent on a cover that, for whatever weird reason, caught my eye. … Continue reading My Misspent Youth: Avengers #221 by Jim Shooter, David Michelinie and Bob Hall

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 buying comic books during my high school years, I mostly opted for the superhero offerings of the big two publishers, Marvel and DC. By that time, it wasn’t a matter of availability. Purchasing new comics from spinner racks in the grocery store or local drugstore had already shifted into a near impossibility, causing me to satisfy my need through monthly orders from a subscriptions service, getting a big … Continue reading My Misspent Youth: Stig’s Inferno by 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. As I’ve acknowledged previously, my youthful commitment to Marvel Comics included a zestful excitement about researching the publisher’s comics from before I became a reader, which happened nearly twenty years into their history, giving me a lot to catch up on. I wanted to know the full scope of the continuity of the fictional tales, but I was also fascinated by the bevy of behind the scenes tales. Unlike their distinguished competition, … Continue reading My Misspent Youth: Iron Man #39 by Gerry Conway 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. I started reading superhero comics at almost the precise time that collecting back issues evolved from something that might be done when the easy opportunity arose (like finding a stack of beat-up old issues at a garage sale) to an integral part of the pursuit, facilitated by the rise of shops specializing in the form. Madison’s Capital City Comics had first opened its door a few years earlier, and it was like … Continue reading My Misspent Youth: What If? #6 by Roy Thomas, Jim Craig, and Rick Hoberg

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. While I was a committed student of the history of Marvel Comics upon devoting myself to their stories at the age of ten, I was shamefully slow to come around to the art of the creator who was arguably the most important figure in the groundbreaking, foundational years of the publisher. Working with writer Stan Lee, artist Jack Kirby was the architect of the early Marvel Universe, officially co-creating almost every … Continue reading My Misspent Youth: Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers by Jack Kirby

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. By the time I started reading Marvel Comics offering in the early nineteen-eighties, there was a clear house style to the art. Looking at the issues from that era now, the figures, no matter who was drawing them or which artists they claimed as an influence, feel somewhere in the sweet spot between the clean clarity of John Romita, Sr. and the potent muscularity of John Buscema. The foundational works from … Continue reading My Misspent Youth: Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. by Jim Steranko

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. I can pinpoint my very first comic book that featured Ultron. Avengers was one of those titles I picked up during my ravenous first feast on superhero comics in the summer of 1980. With limited resources to spread around — even with comics at a mere fifty cents a pop — the title that boasted the inclusion of “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes” was ideal, given the presence of a bevy of Marvel … Continue reading My Misspent Youth: Avengers #202 by Jim Shooter, David Michelinie and George Pérez

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. I acknowledged before that I absolutely craved a veneer legitimacy for the storytelling form I loved so much through my teenage years — and, ahem, beyond — which could and did lead to me developing an outsized enthusiasm for those titles released under the “prestige format” during the latter portion of the nineteen-eighties. These were comics that were printed on heavier, glossier paper and squarebound like a paperback novel (rather than … Continue reading My Misspent Youth: Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters by Mike Grell

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. I had a few particular weaknesses when I was a kid, and Marvel Two-in-One Annual #7 hit a bunch of them. I got a geeky thrill from team-up titles, I felt like I was getting something big and important when I bought one of Marvel’s Annuals (double-sized editions of regular titles that typically arrived in the summer months, presumably when young fans both had more spending money and more time to … Continue reading My Misspent Youth: Marvel Two-in-One Annual #7 by Tom DeFalco and Ron Wilson