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Post by Cei-U! on Oct 14, 2022 11:49:35 GMT -5
1) The comics that brought back Jean Grey (F antastic Four #numbernumber and X-Factor #1) made me so angry that I gave up comics entirely. Talk about disrespecting fans with any kind of emotional investment in these make-believe characters. Dallas fans must have felt the same way when an entire season ended with "and it was all a dream!" This pissed me off so much that I walked azway from comics completely for eight years. It took Jerry Ordway's Shazam OGN to bring me back.
Cei-U! I summon the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back!
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Post by Cei-U! on Oct 13, 2022 20:01:04 GMT -5
A few other of the era's short run series in my collection: Combat Kelly, The Demon, Doc Savage (comic and magazine), Firestorm, Gunhawks, Hercules Unbound, Kobra, Machine Man, Marvel Feature (second series), Marvel Presents, Marvel Spotlight (second series), Prez, Red Wolf, Steel the Indestructible Man, and the Fourth World books.. I'm still working on xompletinbg runs of Inhumans, OMAC, Plop!, Red Sonja, Shade the Changing Man, Supernutal Thrillers, 2001, Warlock, Weird Worlds, and Worlds Unknown.
Cei-U! I summon the odds 'n' ends!
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Post by Cei-U! on Oct 13, 2022 14:25:31 GMT -5
This is one of my most-loved areas of comics, so I simply can't pick a favorite from among them. But I will list a few that haven't been mentioned yet: Marvel's trio of adventure comics aimed at females--THE CAT, NIGHT NURSE, and SHANNA THE SHE-DEVIL--were all better than I guessed when 12-13 year old me (unsurprisingly) passed them by. NIGHT NURSE was actually the best of the bunch, in my opinion! RIMA THE JUNGLE GIRL: along with SHANNA, I'll be sampling this in my Jungle Gems thread. Beautiful Nestor Redondo art over Kubert layouts with Alex Nino drawing the backup guaranteed that this was a good-looking comic, at least! DOORWAY INTO NIGHTMARE: I recently discovered the joys of this one--it was not what I expected it to be! What I expected was the usual DC spooky short stories with Madame Xanadu as the host, but these are all full-length stories of supernatural romance, with Madame X used sparingly as an in-story character. Interestingly, the claimed editorial mandate was that every issue would be produced by a different writer/artist team, with only Kaluta persisting as the cover artist. KONG THE UNTAMED was part of DC's attempt at a "fantasy" line; this caveman adventure was the best of them, especially if we don't count JUSTICE, INC., inexplicably promoted as a part of this line (along with CLAW, BEOWULF, and STALKER). And then there are the most underachieving of them all, MAN-BAT, SHERLOCK HOLMES, and WESTERN TEAM-UP, each of which I have terrific fondness for! Ah, more series I have complete runs of: Rima, Kong, Justice Inc., Stalker, Man-Bat, and Western Team-Up. I'm still working on Shanna and Claw.
Cei-U! See? I love this stuff!
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Post by Cei-U! on Oct 13, 2022 9:52:32 GMT -5
I actively collect these short run series from the '70s. Of those mentioned, I have complete runs of Black Goliath, Freedom Fighters, Human Fly, Ragman, Secret Society of Super-Villains, The Shadow, Shogun Warriors, Skull the Slayer, and Star Huners and trades collecting The Champions, Godzilla, Omega, and Super-Villain Team-Up.
Cei-U! I summon the ecletic goodies!
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Post by Cei-U! on Oct 13, 2022 4:02:22 GMT -5
I'd already decided on Ragman before I even saw the poll options. It was a great-looking series with a unique premise (costumed champion of Gotham's poorest) hampered by Bob Kanigher's evident disinterest in actually doing something with the character instead of rehashing the same plot every issue. (And Hal, Ragman was originally Irish, not Jewish, and had no connection, even an impicit one, to the Golem legend. That was imposed on the character by Keith Giffen years later.)
Cei-U! I summon the tattered tatterdemalion!
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Post by Cei-U! on Oct 10, 2022 13:27:26 GMT -5
I was reading the Superman Batman Generations Omnibus today, when I came across this.... I was thinking that Alfred was looking a little less scrawny in this story, and a little more like Jarvis from the Avengers... then in the bottom left panel, Byrne mistakenly has Bruce call him Jarvis!! What really surprises me is that this is at least the 4th reprinting of this material. That's not a mistake. That isn't Alfred, it's his father, Jarvis Pennyworth. Byrne is loosely following Silver/Bronze Age continuity, where Jarvis was the Wayne family butler at the time of Thomas and Matha's murders. Alfred didn't join the household until a year or two after Bruce became Dick's legal guardian.
Cei-U! I summon the family business!
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Post by Cei-U! on Oct 10, 2022 10:29:49 GMT -5
I would argue that the '83 revamp didn't work because A) Wolfman was the wrong writer to assign Superman to, and B) much of the art was by a self-inking Gil Kane and therefore butt-ugly but that might just be me.
Cei-U! I summon the miscast creative team!
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Post by Cei-U! on Oct 10, 2022 10:01:50 GMT -5
I have to agree with your friend. There was no valid reason for the Crisis (ignoring for the moment the business justifications) beyond the laziness of those editots and writers who couldn't see the value in the multiple earths paradigm or be bothered to establish and follow certain ground rules.
I've long maintained that the best way to rejuvenate a tired character is not a full-fledged reboot but the approach used by David Michelinie and Bob Layton when they first took over Iron Man: keep the stuff that's working, ignore (not retcon) what doesn't, explore new aspects of the lead's personality/psyche/backstory, bring in a fresh new supporting cast (James Rhodes, Bethany Cabe, Mrs. Arbogast), create new villains (Justin Hammer), revamp the older ones, and keep the storylines moving forward instead of rehashing the past.
The ironic part of all that is that DC did try this approach with Superman in '71: they kept the stuff that was working, ignored the stuff that wasn't (Bizarro World, the Sduper-Pets, Big Blue's army of robot Supermen, the constant threat of kryptonite, most of the super-dickery), explored new aspects of Kal/Clark's personality (such as his loneliness and his eaction to having his power level reduced), added fresh new characters to his supporting cast (Morgan Edge, the WGBS crew, Clark's neighbors), created new villains and revamped some of the older ones. Unfortunately, they almost immediately began ignoring everything they'd done except Clark's switch from newspaper reprter to TV anchorman) until within a couple of years the Silver Age status quo had been almost completely restored.
So, my answer to your question is yes, it should've been possible to update Superman for a new generation of readers without throwing the baby out with the basthwater. They simply chose not to.
Cei-U! I summon the early morning musings!
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Post by Cei-U! on Oct 10, 2022 5:19:01 GMT -5
I don't know if anyone else has been keeping rack of their acquisitions but I've built up quite the little collection in the couse of this game. Here is all my loot to date:
Action Comics #285 Amazing Fantasy #15 Amazing Spider-Man #1-16 Aquaman #1-2, 4, 16 Atom #1, 3-13 Avengers #1-6 Batman #164 Beany and Cecil #1, 3, 5 Brave and the Bold #41-42, 44, 50, 53-54 Bullwinkle (Dell) #1 Bullwinkle (Gold Key) #1-2 Bullwinkle Mother Moose Nursery Pomes #1 Capt. Storm #1 Cave Kids #1 Daredevil #1-2 Detective Comics #327-29 Doctor Solar #1, 3-5 Doom Patrol #86-87 Fantastic Four #1-29 Flash #124-129, 132-138, 141-145 Four Color #1275 Fractured Fairy Tales #1 Frankenstein #1 Green Lantern #9-22, 24-30 Hawkman #1-2 Herbie #1 Huckleberry Hound #14 Incredible Hulk #1-6 John Carter of Mars #1 Journey into Mystery #83-106 Justice League of America #7-28 Korak, Son of Tarzan #1-3 Lone Ranger #143, 145 Magilla Gorilla #1 Magnus, Robot Fighter #1-4, 6-7 Mighty Samson #1 Mystery in Space #75, 89-90 Phantom #1, 6 Popeye #61-62, 64-65, 67-69, 73 Quick Draw McGraw #8, 10-11 Rawhide Kid #40 Rocky and His Fiendish Friends #1-2, 4 Scarecrow of Romney Marsh #1 Sgt. Fury #1-8 Showcase #35-36, 38-39 Space Family Robinson #1 Strange Tales #101-123 Tales of Suspense #39-56 Tales to Astonish #27, 35-58 Tarzan #128, 141, 143 Two-Gun Kid #60-61, 69-70 World's Finest Comics #122-124, 126 X-Men #1-6
Assuming I kept them all in tippy-top condition (unlikely given that I'd have been 6 at the time of the latest round), I could put my child (assuming I had one) through college on the sale of the Marvels alone.
Cei-U! I summon the (imaginary) horde o' treasure!
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Post by Cei-U! on Oct 9, 2022 16:23:16 GMT -5
That Batman Annual #7 has the story where Ace narrates! This annual was the first Batman comic I ever read. That copy disintegrated azround 1967 and I only bought a replacement sometime in the last couple of years.
Cei-U! You never forget your first!
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Post by Cei-U! on Oct 8, 2022 3:25:25 GMT -5
Not sure if anyone mentioned this, MWGallaher , but I think there may have been a Blue Beetle serial. I could be wrong; my memory ain't what it used to be, as I recall. Comic strip and radio series, yes. Serial, no.
Cei-U! I summon the four-color entomologist!
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Post by Cei-U! on Oct 7, 2022 15:06:41 GMT -5
Comedian Judy Tanuta passed away today at the age of 72. She was an acquired taste for a lot of people but she always made me laugh. Rest in peace, funny lady.
Cei-U! I summon the kleenex!
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Post by Cei-U! on Oct 7, 2022 8:00:29 GMT -5
A research question: without looking it up, which American comic book adventure characters can you name who were adapted into movie serials? Not comic strip or radio characters who also appeared in comics (such as Green Hornet and Captain Midnight) but the ones who originated in comic books, like (and here's a couple of gimmes!) Superman and Captain Marvel? Again, from memory only, please, I've got a reason for asking! From memory only, as per your reqest: Superman. Batman. Captain Marvel. Captain America. Spy Smasher. Blackhawk. The Vigilante. Congo Bill. Dick Cole (the Novelty Press character). Hop Harrigan?
Cei-U! I summon the brain calisthenics!
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Post by Cei-U! on Oct 7, 2022 4:47:17 GMT -5
177 Bleeker Street is a real address in Greenwich Village. Roy Thomas and Bill Everett shared an apartment there circa 1966-67.
Cei-U! I summon the street map!
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Post by Cei-U! on Oct 7, 2022 4:44:32 GMT -5
I met Ellispn a grand total of once but he couldn't have been nicer. He was quite complimentary about my art samples (in front of Dick Giordano, no less) and wished me the best of luck in finding work. I knew his reputation but he certainly failed to live up to it on that decades-past summer day.
Cei-U! I summon the happy memory!
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