‘Lost in the Longbox’ with Brad Gischia, Episode 8

“Web of Spider-Man” #1
(Marvel Comics, 1985)

WRITTEN BY:  Louise Simonson
ARTWORK BY:  Greg LoRocque & Jim Mooney
COVER ARTWORK BY:  Charles Vess

Greetings from the Wasteland!

As a comics fan, I can hardly discount the profound impact that Spider-Man has had on my comic reading experiences.  I’ve always looked to old web-head for an enjoyable read, and I have for the most part seldom been disappointed.  (The clone thing was confusing for everybody.)  I found this copy of Web of Spider Man #1 at the comic shop for a buck, and it was worth it.

‘Lost in the Longbox’ with Brad Gischia, Episode 7

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Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #13, #14, #15
(Dark Horse Comics, 2007)

Writer – John Jackson Miller
Artist – Dustin Weaver, Brian Ching
Colors – Micheal Atiyeh

I first saw Return of the Jedi sitting next to my brother, with my little sister screaming at the top of her lungs when the Rancor monster tried to floss with Skywalker sinew. As if that wasn’t enough to cement my love of the Star Wars franchise, I was recently in a comic shop and looked over to see a quiet, unassuming man perusing the boxes.  “Do you read Star Wars comics?”  The owner asked me.  “My son is totally in to them”, I said to him.  He pointed to the quiet guy and said, “He writes for Dark Horse.”

‘Lost in the Longbox’ with Brad Gischia, Episode Five

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Giant-Size Super-Villain Team-Up #1
(Marvel Comics, 1974)

WRITERS:  Roy Thomas, Larry Leiber
ARTISTS:  John Buscema , Joe Sinnott, Frank Giacoia, and Larry Leiber

Greetings from the Wasteland!

The tag line on this book says it all.  “3 Titanic Tales of the World’s Greatest Super-Foes”.  The cover is a dramatic shot of Dr. Doom and Prince Namor locked in combat.  A bolt of energy sizzles past the Sub-Mariner’s ear.  Turn the page if you dare true believers, and enter the world of Giant-Size Super-Villain Team-Up #1.

‘Lost in the Longbox’ with Brad Gischia, Episode Four

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“Vault of Horror” #26
(EC Classic Reprints, 1974)

WRITERS:  Al Feldstein, Bill Gaines
ARTISTS:  Johnny Craig, Jack Davis, Sid Check & Graham Ingels

Greetings from the Wasteland!

Between 1989 and 1996 the world of cable television was in the white-knuckled, hysteria-inducing grip of Tales from the Crypt.  HBO had great success with the series, though I never watched it when it was televised.  My first experience with Tales was when a friend taped an episode and we watched later. (To this day it remains one of my favorite episodes, “Top Billing” Season 3 Ep. 5, in which John Astin (the 60’s Gomez Addams) plays an eccentric casting director and…I’ll not spoil the ending here, it’s too sweet.)  It was only later that I realized it was a popular comic in the early fifties, and that led me to read more about their demonization (how appropriate) and the development of the CCA.

‘Lost in the Longbox’ with Brad Gischia, Episode Three

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“Ghost Rider” #50
(Marvel Comics, November 1980)

SCRIPT:  Micheal Fleischer
ARTWORK:  Don Perlin

Greetings from the Wasteland,

I’ve loved westerns since I was ten and Young Guns came out.  The next year Young Riders premiered on ABC and I sat rapt as Stephen Baldwin and Josh Brolin shot it out and carried the mail from town to town.  Naturally I would be drawn to cowboy comics as well, right?  Not so.  Until recently (pre-Shaolin Cowboy) it seemed to me, that most cowboy-themed comics were lame compared to the exploits of everyone’s favorite mutants and the wall-crawling exploits of Spider-Man.

‘Lost in the Longbox’ with Brad Gischia, Episode Two

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Doc Frankenstein #3 and #4
(Burlyman Entertainment, 2005)

WRITTEN BY:  The Wachowski Brothers
CREATED BY:  Geof Darrow and Steve Skroce
ARTWORK BY:  Steve Skroce
COLOR ARTWORK BY:  Jason Keith and Shannon Blanchard

Greetings from the Wasteland!

Every local comic shop has a discounted box.  Be they .50 centers or $1 books, these are the ones that never sold, that sat on the shelves past the date when their followers were long gone.  I often miss out on good books.  The beauty of the comic store is that they miss very little, and their huge back stock often forces them to sell at a discounted price just to be rid of the excess.  I imagine this is how I came by these two issues in a .50 box at the comic shop.

‘Lost in the Longbox’ with Brad Gischia, Episode One

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Greetings from the Wasteland!

As much as I like to read new books, which are few and far between here in the far northern wasteland, I often forget that I have long-boxes full of old books that I haven’t read, due to time constraints and the ever-present call of “other things to do”.  So this column, if I can humbly call it that, will make me comb the boxes for gems and make me look at them anew, with fresh, older eyes.