Your 94th Co(s)mic ComicBook B'Cast.

When I was growing up many many many moons ago, one of the things I always looked forward to was the school breaks, especially the year end school breaks. After the final exams, it would be a couple months of relative freedom and I had a ritual the day after final exams whether I passed or not. More often than not I failed.  Anyway, the ritual.
I would sit down and look over a catalog from a comicbook shop and start writing down what titles and what issues I wanted. Those days, we didn't have the Internet, so all orders were done by hand and sent via snail mail.
This whole process would take almost 6 months.  Those days comics were not delivered via airmail, no air.  Comics were shipped from the United States to overseas destinations via sea mail. Let that sink in for a while.
Sea. Mail.
Yep and it took a long time for comics to be shipped anywhere in the world. It isn't as expensive as the airmail of today but it meant having a lot of patience. A lot of patience and there's always that chance they would lose your package of comics.
Since I did this once a year, I would save up some cash for the comics and of course for the shipping costs. It would take me a while to save up the money but to me, it was worth it.
So I've write to stores in the United States and ask if they sell and ship comics overseas, some said no, a few said yeah, sure.
And I'd buy in BULK. I mmean a number of titles and issues. Comics I couldn't get locally, favorite issues and just titles I really wanted to read.
Up until this point, I had been a fan of the Uncanny X-Men and the artist at the time, John Romita Jr.
I loved his work.  Followed the issues he drew religiously.
I was disappointed when he left The Uncanny X-Men. I followed him as he started drawing Star Brand and other titles.
Now, it was nearing time for me to buy my comics and I wrote everything down in great detail. I had read through news letters than John Romita Jr was now drawing Daredevil. Up to that point, I had only read a few issues of DD but now that Jr. Jr is the regular artist, I decided it is the perfect jumping on point. So I found out which issue he drew and ordered them. Remember I bought comics in bulk so I could read all these issues.
Well, sometimes these stores ran out on the issues I wanted and I'd miss out on getting a complete run of a particular title.  It was disappointing.
Well, I ordered Jr. Jr's issues of Daredevil and unfortunately I only got a few issues of Daredevil. I remember reading each issue voraciously. I loved the artwork.  Jr. Jr collaborated with veteran artist and inker Al Williamson on Daredevil and the result was something I loved.
One issue that always stood out for me was Daredevil # 252. It was a double sized issue and it was also a Fall of the Mutants tie in. I loved the issue.  I read that issue from cover to cover.

Here's the cover. Beautiful artwork by John Romita Jr and Al Williamson.

There was a sense of realism to the artwork that really stood out to me.  Here's the splash page from issue # 252.

This issue also featured an appearance by the Black Widow. Here's a few pages from this issue.

One thing I love about Jr. Jr's art is how good he is at drawing battle scenes. I guess after drawing the X-Men for so long, he can draw pretty much anything.

Daredevil # 252 was and still is a favorite issue of mine. I believe my copy of this issue is still in my collection. Hope it's still okay.
Now because the store didn't have all the DD issues I wanted, I missed out on a few issues of Daredevil and that was very disappointing.
I was lucky that there were other issues which were available. Like this one.

Daredevil # 259 where Typhoid Mary and the Kingpin gathered a bunch of Daredevil's "friends" and attacked him. Which brings us to another favorite of mine.

The final triumph of Typhoid Mary.  This was Daredevil # 260. Another beautifuly drawn issue. The more I read Daredevil, the more I loved the art of John Romita Jr and Al Williamson.
I could get issue # 261 though. The store didn't have that issue in stock. Never knew what happened in issue # 261. Don't tell me.  I don't wanna know. I figure I'll read it. One day I'll buy a copy. Somehow.

Here's another issue I couldn't get.  Issue # 257 guest starred the Punisher. It was rare in those days to have a guest star and whenever that happened, it was special.

So I didn't get to read this issue. One day.
Thanks for spending your time on the Co(s)mic ComicBook B'Cast. Appreciate any feedback you might have or comments.
I haven't been updating my blog on a regular basis But I'm trying my best to update this site as often as possible.
Thanks for dropping by, see you next time comic fan!

Your 93rd Co(s)mic ComicBook B'Cast

Thanks for dropping by for Your 93rd Co(s)mic ComicBook B'Cast.  You could be elsewhere, doing something else or visiting another blog but you're here, thanks for spending your time here.
Okay, so what am I going to talk about this time around. Well, I'm still going to talk about my favorite covers but for this edition of the B'Cast, I'm also going to touch on the corner box art as well.
Okay, we start off with this issue, the Incredible Hulk # 292.

The Incredible Hulk # 292 by Kevin Nowlan. In this issue, it's the Hulk versus Dragon-Man in a story called Dragon-Night! Bruce Banner is transformed into the Hulk unwillingly under Ringmaster's control.  Now if you notice, on the left hand side of the cover is the cornerbox for this title. If you'll notice, it shows the Hulk dressed up like a scientist. For those of you who didn't follow the adventures of the jade giant in those days, here's a recap.
In the Incredible Hulk # 272, Bruce Banner gains the ability to transform into the Hulk while still retaining his intellect. In other words, he had control over the Hulk. In the next few issues, Bruce/Hulk gets a presidential pardon and gets accepted by the world as a hero. He even turns down an invitation to join the Avengers to venture into scientific endeavors instead.
Eventually however, Banner slowly but surely begins to lose control of the Hulk. This regression to his savage person is clearly shown in the corner box art of the Incredible Hulk # 292 to # 300.
In each issue, we see the Hulk slowly lose control.  A bit more with each issue until we reach issue # 300 when the inevitable happens. Each corner box was drawn by Al Milgrom.  Here, have a look at the rest of the issues.

The Incredible Hulk # 293 by Bret Blevins.

The Incredible Hulk # 294 by Ken Steacy.

The Incredible Hulk # 295 by Bill Sienkiewicz.

The Incredible Hulk # 296 by Bill Sienkiewicz.

The Incredible Hulk # 297 by Bill Sienkiewicz

The Incredible Hulk # 298 by Kevin Nowlan.

The Incredible Hulk # 299 by Frank Cirocco.

The whole storyline by Bill Mantlo together with Sal Buscema and Gerry Talaoc culminated in this issue.  The Incredible Hulk # 300 with a cover by Bret Blevins.
What made the 9 covers unique is how the sad but inevitable story of Bruce Banner who had finally gained control of his alter ego was told not only in the covers themselves but also in the corner box art.

We  can see with each passing issue, slow change that Bruce Banner has to deal with. Each issue, we get to see how the Hulk slowly turns into a savage monster again.

What makes this unique is the corner boxes became a flip book where you could see the slow changes innthe Hulk.

Looking back at these covers and the corner box art, I'm reminded of the days when Marvel's corner box artwork was something to behold.  It was unique to the company although DC did try something similar. The corner box was a unique trademark for each issue and also Marvel.
This has got to be one of the best uses of the corner box by Marvel.
I'm a little sad the corner box has practically disappeared from Marvel Comics. I miss those corner boxes.
Thanks for dropping by and spending some time with me. I'll be back with more musings and comics related stuff for you next. Take care Co

Your 92nd Co(s)mic ComicBook B'Cast.

Welcome to your 92nd Co(s)mic ComicBook B'Cast. For this edition, I've got more favorite covers to share with you on the B'Cast.
After I posted a few of my favorite covers a few weeks ago, I actually got some response on Twitter and I got a few suggestions. I'm going to look for the suggested covers and post them in a future B'Cast.
But for this edition, a look at three great covers which were part of a crossover event which took place from January to March of 1988. This event spanned 3 issues of 3 different titles. The event wasn't your usual crossovers because this one wasn't intertwined. They were linked as each title showed the characters going through some drastic changes in their status quo.
Okay here it is, my three favorite covers from The  Fall of the Mutants in The Uncanny X-Men.

Okay, just to be clear, this isn't a cover. It was the Marvel In-House As for Fall of the Mutants with art by Alan Davis.
For the Uncanny X-Men, the Fall Of the Mutants spanned three issues with the covers showcasing the art of Marc Silvestri and Dan Green.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I first saw this beautiful cover by Silvestri and Green.  Love the detail in this cover. I personally think both Silvestri and Green worked very well together and both took their artwork to a different level.
This issue was titled : False Dawn. What an issue it was. The X-Men are trying to locate Storm by heading to Dallas where they clash with Freedom Force.
Their work was excellent and they continued doing great work with the next cover.

This issue was titled: Go Tell the Spartans. Another beautiful cover by Silvestri and Green.
In this issue, the X-Men form an uneasy alliance with Freedom Force in order to stop the attack of Adversary as both teams take refuge in Eagle Plaza, Dallas.
The art from the cover to the interior was excellent. Great job by the creative team, which continued in the next issue as the X-Men and Adversary face off in their final showdown.

This issue was titled: The Belly of the Beast. Another beautiful Silvestri and Green cover.
If you haven't read this issue or the issues before it,  then I highly recommend it. The artwork alone is worth the price of admission. The story by Chris Claremont is a well crafted story which makes you believe this is the end of the X-Men (you're gonna have to read this, no spoilers)
Suffice to say, Claremont crafted a story that will turn the page in anticipation. This is what comics are meant to be. A perfect combination of art and story,  well for me anyway.
I know I said this B'Cast is about the covers but I'm going to share a few pages from all three issues. This is to show just how good Silvestri and Green's art is and just how good Claremont's writing was for these three issues.

I remember when I first saw Marc Silvestri on the Uncanny X-Men and I have to admit,  I was like, he's okay but my opinions changed when I saw how his work just kept getting better and better and it appealed to me with each issue, each page and panel.

Here's a great example of just how good Silvestri is. These two pages with Spiral giving Dazzler a "new look" was so shocking, I remember rereading the pages again to see what happened. At the time, that was a holy crap moment.

I really love the work and effort put in by Marc Silvestri and Dan Green in these issues.
Again, if you have the chance, have a look at The Fall of the Mutants storyline. You won't regret. I'm won't regret as you'll definitely be caught up in a comicbook that will grab you and take you along for a great ride as you read about the X-Men and their efforts to save a world that fears and hates them.

For the next edition of the B'Cast, I'll have another look at more of my favorite covers. I hope you enjoyed this edition of the B'Cast. If you have a favorite cover you'd like to share, then let me know.  Leave a comment or join me here again on the Co(s)mic ComicBook B'Cast.
You take care and I'll see you again next time.