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Post by Web Slinger on Jun 14, 2017 23:51:10 GMT -5
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Post by Web Slinger on Jun 13, 2017 16:33:40 GMT -5
chaykinstevens
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Post by Web Slinger on May 21, 2017 15:31:06 GMT -5
I just finished up the Golden Age Superman Vol. 1 TPB and totally loved it. I'm planning on picking up Vol. 2 and when it comes out in June, Vol. 3. Are there any other Golden Age or Silver Age comics that you'd recommend right off the bat that are must-owns for someone who hasn't been exposed to any comics before the 80s, really? I'm not a big fan of the omnibus format, but if that's what it takes so be it. Thank you. Well, I'm relatively new to reading superhero comics, but I've found myself drawn to the pre-80s time period you mentioned. I tend to mostly focus on the Silver Age because the art of the Golden Age doesn't really do it for me. Anyway, on the topic of the Silver Age, there's a pretty distinct difference between what Marvel and DC were doing. DC started the resurgence of the superhero genre with their relaunch of The Flash, but their books tended to be pretty weak. You need quite a high tolerance for nonsensical plots, silly villains, and almost no consequence or continuity. However, they had some really talented artists working for the company, like Carmine Infantino, Gil Kane, Joe Kubert, and Curt Swan. Unfortunately, the art alone isn't enough for me, and I find reading the comics can be a bit of a slog. Marvel, on the other hand, were writing for an older demographic than DC were, and it really paid off for them. They wrote stories with drama and human interest, and you really got a sense of the characters as people, not just as heroes. Characters grew and changed, and there was a continuity not only between different comic issues, but actually between different comic books. Stan Lee and friends weren't just writing one-off stories--they were creating an entirely new universe from scratch. And their artists were great, albeit less realistic than those working for DC. Of Marvel's two major artists, Jack Kirby had a solid, classic illustration style, and Steve Ditko was a bit more quirky and a master at guiding your eye across a page. As for specific recommendations for Marvel, I tend to go for omnibus, but you can probably find the same material collected in a different format. My first recommendation would be Ditko's work on The Amazing Spider-Man, as those are definitely my favorite, but what follows Ditko's run is great, too. I would also recommend reading the Fantastic Four, although the first 30 or so issues are typically viewed as a warm-up for the later two-thirds of their run on the book. You should also check out Jim Steranko, who was doing some of the coolest comic book art ever. His work on Nick Fury was collected in a trade paperback. I also like the Avengers books--which is made up of characters I don't care much about on their own, but seem to be more fun when they're together--and I'm warming up to Thor, despite (what I think is) questionable, Shakespearean dialogue and questionable inking by Vince Colletta. Recommendations are a little more tricky for DC. Due to the problems I mentioned earlier, I don't have much to offer. I would probably go with Silver Age Superman with Curt Swan, but we're still stuck in the Golden Age for a while when it comes to DC doing reprints on the character. I've also read good things about Legion of Super-Heroes, which is apparently more character-based and utilizes continuity. Some lesser-known titles I've seen praise for include Secret Six, Challengers of the Unknown, Enemy Ace, Haunted Tank, Eclipso, Hot Wheels, Captain Action, Sugar and Spike, Binky, Hawkman, and Plastic Man. These can be a bit more difficult to find, but hopefully we'll see more of them reprinted by DC soon. Also, here's a list of my favorite, pre-1980s artists: Neal Adams; Alex Toth; John Buscema; Steve Ditko; Jack Kirby; John Byrne; Walt Simonson; John Romita, Sr.; Jim Steranko; Gil Kane; Carmine Infantino; Gene Colan; Berni Wrightson; Curt Swan; Ross Andru; Joe Kubert; and Russ Heath. The Bronze Age of comics is also pre-1980 and worth your time. Of course, there's also more to find outside of DC and Marvel, like Zap Comix, Will Eisner's work, and EC Comics.
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Post by Web Slinger on May 20, 2017 13:36:18 GMT -5
I'm a big fan of the omnibus format. In the couple months I've been collecting, I've bought: - The Brave & The Bold BA, vol. 1: A little disappointed by the lack of Batman's universe, but it's mostly fun and has Neal Adams.
- Daredevil by Miller & Janson: Still reading McKenzie's stories, but it's a very promising start.
- Doctor Strange, vol 1: Loving the unusual subject matter and the Ditko art.
- Fantastic Four, vol 2: It starts with solid stories, but I'm mostly looking forward to the second half of this one.
- The Amazing Spider-Man, vol 1: This is easily my favorite collection. Ditko was incredible.
- The Amazing Spider-Man, vol 3: Still waiting on this one in the mail.
- Uncanny X-Men 1: I'm not totally sold on this one yet, but I'll keep reading.
I'm thinking about picking up the S.H.I.E.L.D. omnibus with the Steranko cover next.
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Post by Web Slinger on May 3, 2017 18:22:25 GMT -5
I've been reading The Uncanny X-Men to decide if I like it enough to invest in the series of omnibus they've been putting out. I've never read it before, but things seem to take off around the time Claremont takes them to the streets of New York to celebrate Christmas.
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Post by Web Slinger on Apr 24, 2017 20:21:16 GMT -5
I may end up having to work that day, so I'm not sure if I'll be going. There's not too much that I'm interested at this point anyway. The Incal and the Fantagraphics issues are cool, but I don't really need them. What's everyone else looking forward to?
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Post by Web Slinger on Apr 15, 2017 19:51:45 GMT -5
Web Slinger, you're in the right place. That's always nice to hear. Thanks for the welcomes, everyone.
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Post by Web Slinger on Apr 15, 2017 2:02:22 GMT -5
I don't know if these fall within the guidelines for this thread, but these are the two I picked up from a used book store today:
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Post by Web Slinger on Apr 14, 2017 15:24:35 GMT -5
Hello. I'm 20 years old and from Seattle, and I've been exploring my comic interests recently--although it's probably been a long time coming. I was really into Batman when I was younger (I wore the same Batman shirt all the time, I had a Batman lunchbox, I had a Batman-themed cup I drank out of...), and I vaguely remember watching the 90s movies on VHS. At some point not far into the future, I actually started drawing my own comic books about Sonic the Hedgehog. A couple years later, I started taking an interest in Calvin and Hobbes, which lead to my grandmother giving me all of her C&H books and me reading the Sunday comic pages whenever I had the opportunity. Later on, she gave me her Groo comics, which I quickly read all of, and her copy of The Killing Joke, which, in hindsight, probably isn't the best comic for a child. I bought some other random comic books over the next couple years, but it didn't go much further than that. About two years ago, I discovered the Complete Peanuts reprints, which lead me to Fantagraphics, which managed to rekindle a once-faded interest. Most of my collection lies outside of the superhero genre (with cartoonists like Charles Burns, Peter Bagge, Robert Crumb, Daniel Clowes, George Herriman, Art Spiegelman, Jason, Chris Ware, Jaime Hernandez...), but I've found that I enjoy Silver Age comics quite a bit! I'm very taken with Steve Ditko (I just recently got the Amazing Spider-Man, Vol. 1 and Doctor Strange, Vol. 1 omnibuses, which are both so good), and I'm starting to check out more of Jack Kirby's work (the second Fantastic Four omnibus should be on its way to me soon). I'm finding myself drawn much more to Marvel than DC for this time frame because, while both had great artists, I think the writing is much stronger from Stan Lee and friends. I'm still doing a lot of research and looking around, but I do have a list of other artists I like and want to look into more, which are: Gil Kane, Neal Adams, Gene Colan, Jim Steranko, Wally Wood (and the other EC guys), Carmine Infantino, Bernie Wrightson, and the John Romitas. There's also a handful of newer artists I'm interested in, like Tom Scioli, Darwyn Cooke, Evan Shaner, Francesco Francavilla, and Mike Allred. I've mostly stuck to the Silver Age because I tend to have problems with the Bronze Age and the Modern Age (the latter much more so than the former), and the art from the Golden Age seems to be a little rusty. So, that's my story. Sorry if it was long--I figured I would just get it all out there at once. Anyway, I look forward to hanging around and talking with you all.
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