Tales From My Spinner Rack! rockets into the new year with Episode 27, “Steranko & Adams: Comic Book Revolutionaries!" which takes a look back at the tumultuous 1960s and the two artists who revolutionized superhero comics in the latter half of that decade, Jim Steranko and Neal Adams! Steranko started first at Marvel on Nick... Continue Reading →
Finishing off the year strong and making my Goodreads goal of 75 books a reality. Here are the final books I read in December that put me over the top for 2025. The Red Shore by William Shaw • 5 Stars on GoodreadsA new book by William Shaw is a cause for celebration any year,... Continue Reading →
Well, it’s that time of year once again, so here I am with my annual Christmas card, which sadly is digital only, because I’m cheap and hate the Post Office. I want to wish each and everyone of you who is reading this a very Merry Christmas and the hope of a Happy New Year... Continue Reading →
MERRY CHRISTMAS! My latest video, “Deck the Halls with Christmas Comics!,” takes a look back at some of my favorite holiday-themed comic books at this most festive time of the year, some of which I own and some of which I WISH I owned. Starring Superman, Batman, the Marvel Superheroes, Archie, Dennis the Menace, Donald... Continue Reading →
It’s time for our yearly exploration of some of the wonderful covers currently residing on my spinner rack. This time, in “My Favorite Spinner Rack Covers, Volume 2,” we look at a whole mess (that’s a technical term, to be sure) of books, both well-known, and obscure, including DC, Marvel, Archie, Dennis the Menace, Tarzan,... Continue Reading →
A newish trio of DC Finest volumes I’ve picked up over the past few months are here for your enjoyment … well, maybe one of them, not so much. But let’s start with the good news. The Spectre: The Wrath of the Spectre by Gardner Fox, Murphy Anderson, and Neal AdamsI think I’m correct in... Continue Reading →
There were plenty of things to be obsessed with for kids growing up in the 1960s: the dawn of the Marvel Age of Comics, James Bond, the Batman TV show, The Beatles, World War II TV shows and movies, and oh yeah, monsters … lots and lots of monsters! So many, in fact, it spawned... Continue Reading →
On July 24, 2025, Tales From My Spinner Rack! debuted a brand-new, graphics-filled presentation at Comic-Con International: San Diego in celebration of the premiere weekend of the new Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, Fantastic Four: First Steps. “Our Favorite Fantastic Four Covers by Jack Kirby” took panel attendees back in time to view all 101 Fantastic... Continue Reading →
My obsession with DC Finest continues with three very different books, including another member of the Superman Family getting the spotlight, a wonky hero from the 1960s when DC seemed to almost pick names and concepts by throwing darts, and a—at times—horribly bad, but fondly remembered Charlton character who really tried to be great but... Continue Reading →
For one brief, shining moment in August 1971, Marvel changed their comics to 48 pages and raised their price to 25-cents. And the books, for the most part, featured NEW, double-sized stories of around 34 pages. DC Comics had raised their price and page-count a couple of months earlier, but used reprints from their extensive... Continue Reading →
It’s hard to believe, but 60 years ago, three of Marvel Comics most famous issues debuted on the very same day, July 2, 1963: Avengers 1, X-Men 1, and Fantastic Four Annual 1. Buying all three issues would set you back 49 whole cents at the time, but you could probably put a child through... Continue Reading →
Jim Shooter died on Monday, June 30 of esophageal cancer. He was supposed to appear at HeroesCon last weekend, but word quickly spread that he was very ill. The one-time editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics was a controversial figure in the industry to say the least, and I’m sure just about every obituary you’ll read about... Continue Reading →
Every time I get a new DC Finest volume, I think of DC’s similar series, Showcase Presents, published from 2005 through 2016. I wonder if the “build” of a DC Finest book was inspired by a similar volume of that earlier series, if someone, somewhere at DC is taking note of those 120+ volumes of... Continue Reading →
With the new Superman movie written and directed by James Gunn about to take off, Tales From My Spinner Rack! Episode 19 takes a loving look back at ten of my favorite Superman artists, influential creators who defined the look of the Man of Steel in his comic book adventures from 1938 through 2000, in... Continue Reading →
DC has announced their publlshing plan for the rest of the year for their DC Finest books, and there are quite a few volumes I’m interested in … but we’ll get to that in a bit. First off, let’s take a look at the latest one I’ve read, Superman Family: The Giant Turtle Man, which... Continue Reading →
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