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Post by Calamas on Dec 19, 2014 18:38:37 GMT -5
The Flash #251 July 1977 “Vengeance on Ice” Cary Bates Irv Novick Joe Giella Anybody who has read this comic would immediately know this could only be a sentimental choice. You’d be right. The comics above were my first. I’d read comics before (Doctor’s offices and such) but this is where I discovered that any three comics were more entertaining than any hour of television. At least until Wonder Woman #233, where I learned there was good and bad in every art form. That afternoon I was looking for characters I had heard of but not the ones everybody knew (Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, etc.) As everybody here could understand, these choices changed my life. Only in terms of how much I’ve spent since, if nothing else. I’ve always listed The Flash first. I believe now it’s because of Story. Michelinie’s Aquaman story was adventure based (perhaps intentionally so; it appeared in Adventure Comics, after all). Pasko’s Wonder Woman was focused on creating a superhero dynamic in the WWII era the Lynda Carter TV show had forced upon the comic. Cary Bates, as best I could tell, loved villains and plot twists. For plot twist to work, there had to a setup, and that meant something had to happen. Story. There was a lack of story in other forms of entertainment at the time. It could be argued there is lack of story in comics today, for better or worse. In 1977 it filled a need that has, for the most part, kept me around to this day. For better or worse.
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Post by Calamas on Dec 19, 2014 18:19:57 GMT -5
Batman #328 Oct 1980 “Double Jeopardy” Marv Wolfman Irv Novick Frank McLaughlin Looking over my choices they tend to fall into one of two categories: sentiment or new and different. This is the latter. Not too different, I’ll admit, but only three years into comics, to me this wasn’t standard superhero fare. It starts with a crime story setup. A man sends Batman a tape admitting he was guilty of a murder for which he was acquitted at trial, invoking Double Jeopardy and daring Batman to bring him to justice. During the ensuing investigation we meet characters with complicated emotional and “real world” entanglements. The second and concluding part was not quite as satisfying, in part due to revelations that required a very particular type of resolution, which in turn required a superhero--or at least a Batman-level superheroic--confrontation. It was still entertaining. In fairness, though, I have to concede that this story may have stuck in my head because it led me into believing I was in for a great run, and the exact opposite came to pass: transparent, blatant, and boring manipulation of the Batman family followed, ending with Ra’s ul Ghul, the Lazarus Pit, and the clichéd “Nope, he’s not dead yet” horror movie finale. But for a story to remain with me over thirty years later, there has to be more to it than what-might-have-been. It was the first time I discovered emotional content in what had previously been entertainment only.
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Post by Calamas on Dec 5, 2014 15:03:04 GMT -5
. . . They threw out us old timers. Or as I think of it, wiped us from continuity with Crisis on ComicBook Resources.
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Post by Calamas on Nov 30, 2014 15:13:04 GMT -5
I may end up passing as well, though for a completely different reason. When remembering comics past, I think more in terms of runs than individual issues. There are a few singles that come to mind but finding 12 seems a lofty ambition. I’m afraid I’ll end up picking the first issues of particular runs because they struck me different or original or just plain good. Which is a valid reaction, I admit. But in doing so I might end up ignoring better issues that came about later as teams jelled and momentum built. And then there’s the opposite effect: concluding issues that depend on what preceded but don’t stand up as well alone. I know it shouldn’t matter; my initial reaction to these stories remain regardless of surrounding circumstances. I am still conflicted.
As stated by others, I've got time to work it out. Plus, it takes more time these days to sift through an increasingly spotty memory. Here’s hoping.
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Post by Calamas on Nov 3, 2014 22:07:35 GMT -5
Lots of reading time today... back to Dick Francis with Whip Hand one of the books with his (AFAIK) only recurring character, Sid Malley. It seemed a little TOO much was piled on the good guys in this one, but a fun read with a surprising (to me) twist at the end that made total sense. Whip Hand--along with the book that immediately follows, Reflex--is among my favorites by Dick Francis. In fairness, though, most do not seem to share my high regard for Reflex. Unfortunately, Twice Shy came next, easily his worst novel, and several lean years followed. Also, yes, a Francis protagonist is going to endure pains, sometimes extremely. Mileage varies. Dick Francis did Sid Halley four times, and since Francis’ death I have heard that his son, who co-wrote some of the final efforts, has brought Halley back. Francis featured only one other character twice, Kit Fielding. I don’t remember them as particularly successful novels.
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Post by Calamas on Sept 25, 2014 20:25:34 GMT -5
I'll throw a few in for now Assimov,Isaac-Foudation Trilogy,Naked Sun . . . . Heinlein,Robert-Past Through Tomorrow,Stranger In A Strange Land,Starship Troopers I only dabble SF/Fantasy when I need a break my norm (which is crime fiction) so feel free to ignore the following if contradicted by a greater authority. That said, I enjoyed Asimov’s Foundation’s Edge more than any one story in The Trilogy. Now “essential” may include historic significance as well as quality, so I may be out of line (though I seem to remember that Edge won the Hugo). In that same vein, Heinlein’s Friday is one of my all-time favorite novels. Again, admitting my preferences, it reads like a secret agent adventure set in the future. It’s much more than that of course, the definition of humanity and other Heinlein themes woven throughout. Just a couple of suggestions from the outside looking in.
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Post by Calamas on Sept 23, 2014 19:09:39 GMT -5
My father really liked The DA Draws a Circle, but I've never read it. . . . That’s kind of funny. The only reason I went back to Gardner after some fifteen, twenty years is that The D.A. Draws a Circle is the basis of a 1971 TV movie I like a lot. A low-budget movie of the week, They Call It Murder could hardly be considered great, but some talented actors fashioned some very good performances out of these limited characters. It starred Jim Hutton as D.A Doug Selby, and also featured Leslie Nielsen, Jessica Walter, Lloyd Bochner, Vic Tayback and Nita Talbot. Only Ed Asner, saddled with the role of blowhard Otto Larkin, threw his hands up played it loud and over-the-top. Nothing earthshaking, like I said, but it succeeded at what it set out to be: a lighthearted whodunit. I wanted to compare it to the Gardner novel.
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Post by Calamas on Sept 23, 2014 12:53:36 GMT -5
Ok, I'm officially a Joe Lansdale fan. Two-Bear Mambo was very close to the best book I've ever read where the good guys lose (right up there with the Red Wedding in Game of Thrones and Empire Strikes Back). I don't think I'd want to read them in large doses, as I suspect he charm of his over the top humor would lose something if you get used to it, but Hap and Leonard are really amazingly well done characters, I'll definitely visit them again before too long. I could really believe this author if he delivered a 'the characters write themselves' sort of line.. .I suspect they probably do. For a different reason I have yet to expand past Hap and Leonard. You could say that F. Paul Wilson ruined it for me. The one time I did stray from The Adversary Cycle/Repairman Jack series, the novel was terrible, even if it still contained a few of his warped but completely believable characters. I think closer to the truth: readers of crime fiction are just more comfortable within a series (unless it’s someone who doesn’t specialize in series, like Dick Francis or Ken Follett). My next Lansdale, however, will probably be Cold in July because I want to read it before I see the movie. My favorites are Mucho Mojo and Rumble Tumble. My least favorite is Captains Outrageous, still interesting but takes a while to get started.
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Post by Calamas on Sept 23, 2014 12:50:41 GMT -5
. . . At the beach today was Flying Finish ... one of the Dick Francis horse racing mysteries. I've only read a couple of them, but it amazes me every time that the author manages to tell good stories with engaging characters EVERY time in such a narrow scope. . . . The ending wasn't entirely satisfactory (it really could have used 1 last chapter/epilogue), but that's just because I want to know if everyone lived happily ever after or not. Early in his career--his first dozen novels or so--Francis was most concerned with suspense. We got a lot of: Man strung from a barn’s rafter, stripped naked and splashed with cold water; man handcuffed to a steering wheel of a dead car abandoned in the jungle; man hunted through an empty building by a gang of thugs while a boiler is set to “accidentally” blow up. And, in this case, man trying to land a plane at night without navigation and while running out of fuel. It was called Flying Finish, after all. Only later in his career did the emphasis shift more to who and how “dunit” Like you, I felt the ending a little lacking. Francis snuck in some thought within the hero’s relief, something about how he “knew” Gabriella would be okay and they would live happy ever after. Luckily, by then I was familiar enough with Francis’ work that it didn’t ruin things for me.
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Post by Calamas on Sept 23, 2014 12:48:11 GMT -5
Over a month ago I posted a version of the following at our former and/or concurrent home:
The “In Progress” are still in progress. I had a thought concerning The Maltese Falcon that sent me to my library, which is what I call a selection of about two dozen books of favorites and often-referenced works that I keep close at hand. I quickly ended up in re-read mode, which included the following:
The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett The Dreadful Lemon Sky by John D. MacDonald Meet Me at the Morgue by Ross MacDonald The Three Coffins John Dickson Carr
. . . and am about to finish:
To the Hilt Dick Francis.
I do not count these in books read for the year and have promised myself to get back to unread material next.
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Post by Calamas on Jul 24, 2014 14:54:32 GMT -5
Thanks, guys
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Post by Calamas on Jul 23, 2014 17:39:56 GMT -5
By Bizarre Hands by Joe Lansdale. Another collection of Lansdale's short stories. I'd read maybe a third of them fairly recently, so I skipped them. But a very good read. Lansdale was great in short work and there is a nice diversity of theme and genre. I’ve only read his Hap and Leonard novels. If you’re familiar his other work, what recommendations can you make?
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Post by Calamas on Jul 23, 2014 17:22:29 GMT -5
Through his Bat-Time was brief, Michael Golden made a great impression on me.
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