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Post by Cei-U! on Nov 8, 2022 3:57:55 GMT -5
The Bullpen Bulletin page that ran the month Marvel's first Doc Savage comic debuted noted that "yep, we've got THE SHADOW lined up in weeks to come, also." Obviously, they didn't, as the Kaluta-drawn DC book premiered a year later. I can't help wondering what a Marvel Shadow would've looked (and read) like.
Cei-U! Who knows what evil lurks...?
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Post by Cei-U! on Nov 7, 2022 7:20:02 GMT -5
My pick: the first Justice League / Avengers crossover originally planned in 1979 with Gerry Conway as writer and George Perez as artist. By 1979, Conway was ending a historic decade where his talent contributed to some of the the greatest comics ever published, while Perez was only growing as a fantastic artist, in-between his stellar work on The Avengers and Logan's Run and what was around the corner-- The New Teen Titans. At the time, DC and Marvel's team titles were strong with interesting rosters at the time, although I'd have to assume the crossover teams would have attempted to match characters with similar traits. I'm almost sure a 1979 version of the crossover would have eclipsed 1976's Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man just in terms of scope, story potential, and fulfilling one of the most popular fan ideas. This reminds me of my own attempt at a JLA/Avengers team-up circa 1972 (when I was in 9th grade). I actually drew the first eight pages or so (the only scene I can recall is the Watcher alerting Nick Fury to some impending danger). I don't even remember who the villains were going to be. I *think* they were going to be Kang and the Lord of Time but I may have that confused with the Conway/Perez proposal. At any rate, none of my pages or preliminary sketches survived the Great House Fire of the summer of '77. Still, I can't help wondering where the story --which I was pretty much making up as I went along--was heading.
Another unfinished project was my "What If The Silver Surfer Hadn't Betrayed Galactus?" story . This was a serious proposal concocted circa 1982, one I had completely mapped out. I do have surviving sketches for this that I'll post (along with tons of other art) if I ever A) figure out how to use my scanner, and B) free up enough ime to do the scanning.
Cei-U! I summon the Mitchell Masterworks that never were!
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Post by Cei-U! on Nov 5, 2022 5:58:02 GMT -5
If a spine roll means I get a desired book for $2 instead of $20, I'm totally down with it.
Cei-U! I summon the frugal fanboy!
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Post by Cei-U! on Nov 5, 2022 5:55:06 GMT -5
(...)
The balkanization of law enforcement in the US, with every jurisdiction being a law unto itself (if you'll pardon the pun), is another one of those things that looks very odd to those of us outside of it.
Tell me about it. I didn't think about it much when I was still living in the US, but it became apparent to me how needlessly messy law enforcement in the US is. And it's not just the balkanization that you mentioned, but also the multiple layers and agencies with overlapping jurisdictions, so at the federal level you have FBI, US marshals and specialized agencies like the DEA, ATF, ICE or the Secret Service (who famously tend to disdain each other and often don't coordinate their operations), then at the level of individual states there's, say, highway patrols and also state bureaus of investigation modeled after the FBI (although not every state has one of those, or they're called something else, like the Texas Rangers), and then lower down there's county sheriff departments and city/municipal police departments. That's far from a comprehensive list, but it gives you an idea of how ridiculous it is. ...and just try to get those jurisdictions to cooperate. When I was with the Washington State Attorney General's Office, I briefly worked on the design of the national offenders' database (can't recall the acronym: CODIS or AFIS or some damn thing) and getting them to A) agree on a common set of data to track, and B) conincing them iy would only work if they actally entered each case's data in a timely manner as infuriatingly difficult. I left the AGO before it got very far but I know it drove my friends who stayed with the project up the proverbial wall.
Cei-U! I summon the bureaucratic intaransigence!
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Post by Cei-U! on Nov 4, 2022 5:13:24 GMT -5
RIP to longtime comic inker Danny Bulanadi, who passed away today for chronic heart failure at age 76. -M One of my favorite inkers from the mid-'80s. Sleep well, Mr. B.
Cei-U! I observe a moment of silence!
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Post by Cei-U! on Nov 4, 2022 5:10:36 GMT -5
Had to forego a few Juliuys Schwartz titles in order to pick up a couple of 25-centers but there's no way I'm passing up the chance to buy that Beatles comic!
Amazing Spider-Man #17($.12) Avengers #8 ($.12) Beatles #1 ($.35)
Fantastic Four #31 ($.12) Fantastic Four Annual #2 ($.25) Green Lantern #31 ($.12)
Journey into Mystery #108 ($.12) Justice League of America #30 ($.12) Sgt. Fury #10 ($.12) Strange Tales #125 ($.12) Tales of Suspense #58 ($.12) Tales to Astonish #60 ($.12) X-Men #7 ($.12)
That leaves six cents to apply to next month's offerings.
Cei-U! I summon those lyrical lads from Liverpool!
EDIT: Didn't realize the Beatles was 35 cents, not a quarter, so I put Flaah back and havee eight cents left over.
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Post by Cei-U! on Nov 3, 2022 11:09:33 GMT -5
Has anyone been in touch with mechagodzilla since he stopped posting? Annoying though I occasionally found him, I kinda miss the guy.
Cei-U! I summon the prodigal!
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Post by Cei-U! on Nov 1, 2022 14:18:57 GMT -5
That was a '90s thing, I think. There was nothing like that in their comics of earlier decades.
Cei-U! I summon the filler material!
It must have started sometimes in the '80s, as I recall Jim Shooter's response to "what is your favourite book?" (He replied "does anyone really have a favourite book"? which I think is a pretty good answer). Oh, yeah, I forgot all about those. I sit corrected.
Cei-U! I summon the humble pie!
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Post by Cei-U! on Nov 1, 2022 12:20:13 GMT -5
The one thing I didn’t like in Marvel titles - damn, what was it called? - was that feature where creators were asked quirky questions. Was it “Bullpen Bulletins” or something? If I’m speaking bull, or remembering wrongly, ignore me, but a question might be something like “What’s your preferred Christmas drink?” and various creators would give a quirky answer. Does that ring a bell? That was a '90s thing, I think. There was nothing like that in their comics of earlier decades.
Cei-U! I summon the filler material!
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Post by Cei-U! on Nov 1, 2022 4:49:41 GMT -5
Everything cody just said is correct, except that Bob Haney wrote for DC until 1981, not "the early-mid '70s."
Cei-U! I summon the footnote!
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Post by Cei-U! on Oct 31, 2022 15:42:45 GMT -5
This is not an easy question to answer but here goes:
First, you need to understand that in many ways DC was not one comic book line in the Silver Age but multiple lines, each under the control of and reflecting the personality of its editor. Mort Weisinger edited the Superman titles (Action, Adventure, Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane, Superboy, Superman), Jack Schiff the Batman books (Batman, Detective, World's Finest), Challengers of the Unknown, and some sci-fi/horror anthologies (House of Mystery, House of Secrets, My Greatest Adventure, Tales of the Unexpected), Robert Kanigher edited Wonder Woman and the war books (All-American Men of War, G.I. Combat, Our Army at War, Our Fighting Forces, Star-Spangled War Stories), Julius Schwartz the sci-fi comics Strange Adventures and Mystery in Space plus his super-hero books (Flash, Green Lantern, Justice League), with others handling the romance, funny animal, and teen humor books. Each editor had their own slate of staff and freelance artists and writers, with little overlap between them. Crossovers between different editorial feifdoms were exceedingly rare (JLA and World's Finest being the exceptions).
Second, yes, it was very common for editors to take an active role in plotting the stories in their comics. Schwartz certainly did this, and had ever since joining the company in 1944. Weisinger did, too. And they often initiated new series and characters, working closely with the assigned writer and artist in fleshing out the premise. So Julie's crediting himself with co-creating his Silver Age heroes is legit, if somewhat exaggerated.
Finally, it was standard DC editorial policy in the late '50s and early '60s to create striking covers for their books that would capture the attention of young browsers, *then* create a story to match. They pretty much all did that, but Schwartz and Weisinger were the most adept at it.
Does that help?
Cei-U! I summon the history lesson!
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Post by Cei-U! on Oct 31, 2022 4:11:58 GMT -5
I heart Venture Brothers sooooo much! Like I told my nephew back when he first introduced Rob Allen and I to the show: "venture Brothers mocks everything I loved as a child... and makes me like it!"
Cei-U! I summon the 24-frames-a-second iconoclasm!
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Post by Cei-U! on Oct 30, 2022 14:24:50 GMT -5
I’m thinking about doing a Halloween marathon with my wife. What are your 5 scariest movies you ever saw ? Honestly, I'm the wrong guy to ask. I don't like horror movies but not because I find them scary (I guffawed my way through The Exorcist--so silly and over-the-top). The only films in the genre I ever found (mildly) scary were the original Halloween and the 1960 version of The Haunting. Now Jurassic Park *did* give me nightmares, which no horror flick has ever done.
Cei-U! I summon my missing "horror lover" gene!
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Post by Cei-U! on Oct 30, 2022 8:25:32 GMT -5
I had an FF #1 for years, autographed by Jack Kirby to boot. I sold it in the mid-'80s for $600 in trade at O'Leary's Books.
Cei-U! I summon the lost treasure!
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Post by Cei-U! on Oct 30, 2022 5:07:50 GMT -5
After I finish my work on ACBC '45-'49 sometime in the next few weeks, I'll turn my attention back to two (technically three) long-deferred projects: beginning the research on my history of comic book westerns and completing my Marvel and DC Silver and Bronze Age character indices.
Cei-U! No rest for the weary!
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