Roy Thomas

Please Don't Hate Me, But... I did not like this issue. Not because I was a sour, humorless kid. Indeed, I would say that as an eighth grader, I could giggle with guttural abandon that Beavis and/or Butthead would starve to have. No, my problem with Iron Man #72 had zippo to do with my favorite hero appearing at the San Diego Comic Book Convention and all it's fun cameos and tidbits of humor. Instead, my ire once again zeroed in on missed opportunities and sloppy character

Grab A Bowl of Cereal for a Saturday Morning Adventure! “Spaaaaaace Ghoooooost!” I love Hanna-Barbera Superheroes! Space Ghost! Herculoids! Birdman & the Galaxy Trio! Mightor! Samson and Goliath! Those shows were what first turned me onto comic books as a kid. Indeed, part of the appeal of collecting comics at that time was that they reminded me of those animated adventures that were long gone from the Saturday mornings landscape by the early 70’s. Why am I bringing thi

We Visit A Courtroom in 1974… “Your Honor and members of this jury, I will show to each of you how Marvel Comics violated the copyright and licenses of my client’s character, The Green Lantern. Furthermore, it shall also be made equally clear that this was not a haphazard or careless accident, but instead a totally flagrant disregard of law as their version of the Lantern was prominent in not one or two, but four consecutive issues of Iron Man. Once I have shared with you a

A Painful Crash Back to Bi-Monthly Status Bi-Monthly. Don’t ask me why I looked at the fine print below the splash page of Iron Man #65, but I did and immediately saw that it was now published “bi-monthly.” My favorite hero who I’d started collecting just as he’d crawled out of that poor sales quicksand had stumbled right back into it. Was I all that surprised as a kid? Not really. Collecting a number of Marvel comics by that time, I grimly realized the threat of Dr. Spectr

Blame It on the Booze! At least that’s the story behind Roy Thomas (Marvel) and Denny O’Neil (DC) coming up with the idea of having an unofficial crossover between the Avengers and Justice League of America. What originated at a party with liquid refreshments flowing like the Mississippi spilled over into both series in 1969. Although the JLA was more subtle about it, Roy Thomas dove in headfirst, creating the “Squadron Sinister” to challenge the Avengers. Without going too

Was This Issue Created to Drive Readers Away? Ow! Cramp! Cramp! Oh my! It’s been too many issues since I had to go that deep into the well for a criticism. I’m out of shape. Let’s try a few stretches. Ahh.. That’s better. Where was I? Oh yeah. I was just getting started my review of Iron Man #61. It’s part two of the Masked Marauder’s battle with our hero. I didn’t like either part of this story when I read it as a 12-year-old and it hasn’t aged any better. Not the

Onward & Upward to...Mediocrity? Does anyone remember that scene from “Dirty Dancing” where the dorky grandson of the resort owner tells Patrick Swayze that he wants to change things for the big dance during the final evening? Remember how Patrick Swayze’s character is bursting forth with a multitude of ideas only to have this schmuck swat them all down, instead wanting only the most insignificant of revisions to their musical number? I bring that up because in my mind, I en