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Post by Nowhere Man on Aug 8, 2017 9:04:24 GMT -5
The only way I can see mainstream comics ever seeing a resurgence is if Marvel and DC abandons the high-price, collector market and embraces a "disposable" digital focused publishing agenda. Basically, try to bring back the old newsstand and spinner rack impulse buying habits by making sure their comics are on platforms that kids frequent, not just Comixology and Marvel Unlimited. They're going to have to abandon the specialty shops, I'm afraid. At this point, they're little more than a hindrance when you can buy all your back issues and trades online.
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Post by Nowhere Man on Aug 4, 2017 3:37:42 GMT -5
Maybe I should put this in the John Byrne thread but it's relevant here too: I find his artwork of the late 70s very aesthetically pleasing: it's just really nice to look at. If I had to analyse it, I'd say his style was unusual in that it managed to combine some relatively cartoonish elements with the Neal Adams-style comic book realism. That juxtaposition is part of why I love his work so much. Also, Byrne's backgrounds were always spacious and realistic, particularly in outdoor environments, which brought an extra sense of reality to the Marvel universe in my eyes. Looking back, his art started changing for the worse after his underrated Namor run.
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Post by Nowhere Man on Aug 3, 2017 19:54:00 GMT -5
Today, I'd go with Perez hands down, but Byrne circa 1977-1990 was the better of the two in my eyes. I think he was a better visual storyteller and I'd give him the edge as a writer. I also think Byrne was more polished and dynamic out of the gate while Perez's early stuff was fairly generic until he hit his stride around 1980. That said, Perez continued to improve as an artist while Byrne seemed to regress.
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Post by Nowhere Man on Aug 1, 2017 0:40:31 GMT -5
I think Marvel and DC have been in denial about what they have traditionally done best: inventive all-age comics. That's what Stan and Jack did and I'd even argue that something like Miller's Daredevil would fall under that umbrella, at least by today's standards. Watchmen and DKR's were exceptions that should have never been the rule, but too little too late, as they say.
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Post by Nowhere Man on Jul 29, 2017 11:00:28 GMT -5
I hate the idea that some writers hold that the "Hulk Smash!" Hulk is a boring character to write and a dead end. All you have to do is read the Len Wein and Roger Stern runs to see that this isn't the case at all. Stern even managed to show that the Hulk could retain this personality while still being clever and not some child-like idiot. I think this is a failure of certain writers who are just more comfortable writing generic soap operas. That era of the Hulk was unique in many ways, not the least of which the fact that the main character has a completely different personality compared to 99.9% of the other superheroes out there.
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Post by Nowhere Man on Jul 28, 2017 17:53:16 GMT -5
If I had to pick the "best" eras to have gotten into mainstream comics, I'd say 1959-1969 followed by 1977-1987.
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Post by Nowhere Man on Jul 27, 2017 19:40:58 GMT -5
Anyone else who got into comics in the 80's (or later) envious of the members who's first comics were classic Silver and Bronze Age issues? To be honest, I've never been able to understand how any "kids" got into comics after the mid-80s or so. By that time, it just seemed an expensive, inconvenient way to get entertainment. It seemed the only kids I saw at comic shops or shows were dragged there by their fathers. When I started officially collecting in 1987, comics were still only 75 cents so it was more than affordable. I would usually get around ten issues a month, so you're still only talking about $7.50 for my stack.
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Post by Nowhere Man on Jul 27, 2017 0:39:32 GMT -5
Anyone else who got into comics in the 80's (or later) envious of the members who's first comics were classic Silver and Bronze Age issues? Showcase #22? Conan #1? Rub it in why don't you! I have this fear now that I'm going to learn that my first comic was Crystar or something...
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Post by Nowhere Man on Jul 27, 2017 0:35:57 GMT -5
Here's an idea for DC, to improve their performance: a change in management. It seems the current one isn't getting the job done. Maybe they should try someone else. Yeah, I'm a little puzzled at the job security of the current Marvel and DC regimes. In times past, with a few exceptions of course, line-wide declines in sales usually led to an EIC getting terminated, yet Lee/DiDio seem entrenched to the point that they can't seem to fail. It seems like a similar situation with Quesada/Alonzo. I get that John's is basically heading the movie/TV division, so he's safe as long as those keep on being a success. Either DC Entertainment simply gives the comics publishing division more leeway nowadays, since it's no longer their bread and butter, or those guys are great at politics and have friends entrenched in the right places.
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Post by Nowhere Man on Jul 25, 2017 7:34:33 GMT -5
I just re-read JIM #103 a few days ago. I think this is the issue when the Lee/Kirby Thor run really starts to take off. When Kirby starts creating his own original Asgardian gods, things just seem to get better and better. As great as the Thor feature remains for the rest of the decade, Tales of Asgard has always been my favorite aspect of the Lee/Kirby era. I mean, take the Boar god Hoosier X points out. Is he worshiped by actual boars? Does this mean that boars in Asgard possess the ability to make abstractions allowing them to develop organized religion? Just another reason why Tales of Asgard should have gotten its own series!
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Post by Nowhere Man on Jul 24, 2017 11:24:43 GMT -5
Yesterday I read Jonah Hex #1 by Michael Fleicher and Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez. Right now my plan is to only read the Garcia-Lopez issues, but I was impressed with the story, particularly seeing that it was approved by the Comics Code Authority in 1977. Obviously the CCA gave westerns more leeway back in the day. I'm assuming it was the perception that fewer kids would be picking up Jonah Hex as opposed to Superman or Batman. Why do you think the CCA gave westerns more leeway? I'm a big fan of Bronze Age Jonah Hex, but I can't say that I've ever noticed anything in those books that seemed to be sailing close to the wind of what the CCA would allow. I'm genuinely curious about what it is in Jonah Hex #1 that you think might not have been allowed, had it been depicted in a Superman or Batman comic? It has been a while since I read Jonah Hex #1, admittedly. The story involved a kids fighting ring and showed the death of two kids in the story, plus Hex allowed the two guys responsible for the ring to fight to the death and was directly responsible for killing the winner of the fight.
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Post by Nowhere Man on Jul 24, 2017 6:55:37 GMT -5
Yesterday I read Jonah Hex #1 by Michael Fleicher and Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez. Right now my plan is to only read the Garcia-Lopez issues, but I was impressed with the story, particularly seeing that it was approved by the Comics Code Authority in 1977. Obviously the CCA gave westerns more leeway back in the day. I'm assuming it was the perception that fewer kids would be picking up Jonah Hex as opposed to Superman or Batman.
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Post by Nowhere Man on Jul 24, 2017 6:48:35 GMT -5
First comic I read that got me interested in collecting: The first comic I bought after deciding to become a collector/regular reader: Of course I was reading comics before 1985, but for the life of me I cant remember my very first. If we can ever take a pill to enhance our memories, that will be on my bucket list.
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Post by Nowhere Man on Jul 23, 2017 18:23:41 GMT -5
One of my favorite Alan Moore Swamp Thing issues and arguably the most ambitious mainstream issue ever.
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Post by Nowhere Man on Jul 23, 2017 8:30:00 GMT -5
Wow. I don't think I've ever seen so many glaring missed deadlines in a row before, and Conway sure threw Englehart under the bus as they threw him off the title. Is there a story to this, or was Englehart just hopelessly tardy? It was a combination of factors, including Englehart's habitual lateness (supposedly due to his massive marijuana intake in those years) and Conway's decision as EIC to claim certain titles for himself (remember, he threw Gerber off Defenders as well). He held the position for all of two months, making more than a few enemies at Marvel along the way, before scurrying back to DC. I'm working from memory here, though, so you might want to check out Sean Howe's Secret History of Marvel Comics to corroborate the preceding. Cei-U! I summon the bullpen scuttlebutt! There is a very good podcast call The Epic Marvel Podcast which showcases the new Epic collection releases by interviewing the creators who's work is featured in them. They go into this in these two podcasts, one interviewing Conway and one featuring Shooter. There are also two Englehart interviews about his FF and Silver Surfer runs. Shooter interviewConway interview
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