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Post by BigPapaJoe on Dec 22, 2014 1:27:05 GMT -5
I've been reading Avengers and X-Men from the beginning along with The Fantastic Four and Thor. Mostly Avengers. I'm about ten issues in or so and I have to admit that due to the time period it's been kind of a chore. Give it a few issues, they get better. Keep in mind Marvel kind of improvised this whole line, the early issues are often really them figuring out how these new comics would work. Really some of the early issues were still pretty much like the monster comics they were making, just every month a new "alien" to fight. I think Doom and Kang really start getting good after a few appearances. It takes a while for the characters and story lines to start to turn over and the mythology expand. Thanks. I'm being patient with it. I just got past the first appearance of Wonder Man. That issue was okay. I'm looking forward to seeing Vision for the first time. |
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Post by Hoosier X on Dec 22, 2014 1:57:44 GMT -5
I'm not saying it was a classic for the ages - and kind of an obvious Fantastic Four/Spider-man knock-off when ya think about it - but Stan's X-men did have distinct voices. Cyclops was the angsty stick-in the mud, Iceman the impusive young'n, Beast the garrolous intellectual with the voluminous vocabulary, Angel was just sort of "there" and Jean Grey was.... a girl who liked Girl things like Romance novels and boys and knitting and OK, ya got me, she was pretty much indistinguishable from any of the OTHER early Marvel female characters under Stan's pen. (But turned into one of the most interesting when Roy Thomas sent her away to college and gave her her own setting and supporting cast.) And Captain America DOES pick up, but it takes a year or two. After the first few "action" stories where the real STORY story was Cap vs. Zemo over in the Avengers and his own feature was just killin' time and some tepid, comics code ruined retelling of awesome Golden Age stories, you have the Sleeper and Cosmic Cube storylines which are legit classics. Fantastic Four and Spider-man were the best of the best, but Cap EVENTUALLY turns quite good. Yeah, Captain America really gets going with the origin of The Red Skull and a few issues later when the series returns to modern times. And then you got two or three years of late Silver Age greatness. (And that was in Tales of Suspense, where the other feature - Iron Man - was the best it would be in its first two decades.) |
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Post by Reptisaurus! on Dec 22, 2014 1:59:48 GMT -5
Silver Age Marvel wise, I'd recommend starting with the Galactus Trilogy and This Man This Monster, the Romita Spider-man, and... yeah, I'll agree with Cold Water on Silver Surfer.
Also remember that they're written for a younger audience, but also written FROM a more adult perspective than most '80s and later superehro comics... Stan didn't quite take superheroes seriously (There's a note in the first issue of Spider-man about how comics types dismiss 'em as "long underwear types.") and since he's writing for a more adult audience than, say, the non-war DC books, he doesn't expect his readers to take them completely seriously either. There'a a lot of ironic distance from the material - And then they turn fairly cutting edge post-modern when Stan starts trying to talk directly to an audience who is aware or the creators presence.
So I see 'em as written for a younger audience, but also quite a bit smarter and artier than, say, what Chris Claremont or Geoff Johns are doing.
Except for Silver Surfer, where he is full on comitted... but the end result is still pretty damn goofy.
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Post by Hoosier X on Dec 22, 2014 2:01:07 GMT -5
Give it a few issues, they get better. Keep in mind Marvel kind of improvised this whole line, the early issues are often really them figuring out how these new comics would work. Really some of the early issues were still pretty much like the monster comics they were making, just every month a new "alien" to fight. I think Doom and Kang really start getting good after a few appearances. It takes a while for the characters and story lines to start to turn over and the mythology expand. Thanks. I'm being patient with it. I just got past the first appearance of Wonder Man. That issue was okay. I'm looking forward to seeing Vision for the first time. There's some bad issues coming up. Avengers #14 is one of my candidates for worst issue of Avengers ever.
But it gets a lot better really fast with the next issue and then #16. And then it's mostly pretty good for a really long time.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 22, 2014 10:29:55 GMT -5
This is how I am, too, however, Stan Lee's writing of X-Men is just not something I can enjoy. He didn't set them apart as individuals, imo. He could do so with their powers, but not their personalities. His Captain America is pretty damn awful, too, imo. I know a lot of people here adore his writing, but it wasn't until his later Fantastic Four (not too late) and then his Silver Surfer, that I could actually start to enjoy his writing. His writing style, imo, was perfect for Silver Surfer. I'm not saying it was a classic for the ages - and kind of an obvious Fantastic Four/Spider-man knock-off when ya think about it - but Stan's X-men did have distinct voices. Cyclops was the angsty stick-in the mud, Iceman the impusive young'n, Beast the garrolous intellectual with the voluminous vocabulary, Angel was just sort of "there" and Jean Grey was.... a girl who liked Girl things like Romance novels and boys and knitting and OK, ya got me, she was pretty much indistinguishable from any of the OTHER early Marvel female characters under Stan's pen. (But turned into one of the most interesting when Roy Thomas sent her away to college and gave her her own setting and supporting cast.) And Captain America DOES pick up, but it takes a year or two. After the first few "action" stories where the real STORY story was Cap vs. Zemo over in the Avengers and his own feature was just killin' time and some tepid, comics code ruined retelling of awesome Golden Age stories, you have the Sleeper and Cosmic Cube storylines which are legit classics. Fantastic Four and Spider-man were the best of the best, but Cap EVENTUALLY turns quite good. I don't know, it's just my opinion, to me, he didn't give them truly separate personalities. I get what you're saying, it's just not what I really got from it. I didn't FEEL his X-Men.  I mean, granted, I didn't stick it out through his entire run of X-Men, so he may have done this later on, but it was a hard-go to get through the first 11 issues. I didn't even try much after until it got to way later in the series and Roy Thomas and Neal Adams were on it. |
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Post by MDG on Dec 22, 2014 12:27:29 GMT -5
Silver Age Marvel wise, I'd recommend starting with the Galactus Trilogy and This Man This Monster, the Romita Spider-man, and... See, I think post-Ditko the series ossifies. It's like Stan saying, "OK, we know what sells now. Let's so that for the next 10 years." |
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Dec 22, 2014 13:12:38 GMT -5
I started reading funny books in the early stages of the silver age so those are all nostalgic favorites. I've also enjoyed many 1940s and 50s comics as well. Amongst my favs would be Spirits, ECs, Plastic Man, Lev Gleason books, JSA, Archie and on and on. The 1930s were a golden age for newspaper stripes like Dick Tracy, Flash Gordon, Terrry and The Pirates, Prince Valiant, Popeye, Ally Oop, Blondie, Captain Easy, Joe Palooka, Little Abner, Mandrake and so many more.
The 1920s would be a bit harder to get into. There were some great strips like the Katzenjammer Kids but many were cruder or would significantly improve by the 30s |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2014 7:29:37 GMT -5
I'll also read things just for the fact that they're really old. It just fascinates me.
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Post by Hoosier X on Dec 23, 2014 13:59:06 GMT -5
I'll also read things just for the fact that they're really old. It just fascinates me. Check out the first year of The Spectre in More Fun Comics. They are so crazy! |
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Post by Hoosier X on Dec 23, 2014 14:06:25 GMT -5
I'll also read things just for the fact that they're really old. It just fascinates me. I couldn't find any of the really early Spectre stories online, but here's a rarity.
From 1947, I give you Liberty Belle, from Star-Spangled Comics.
Some of you may remember her from All-Star Squadron. She didn't wear a mask in the original series. She just combed her hair over half her face and somehow nobody recognized her.
"Voyage Down the Styx"
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Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2014 14:53:31 GMT -5
I like every decade. My favorite is the 70's. Then in order:
60's
30's/40's
80's
50's
90's
2000's.
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Post by Phil Maurice on Dec 23, 2014 16:47:34 GMT -5
From 1947, I give you Liberty Belle, from Star-Spangled Comics. Some of you may remember her from All-Star Squadron. She didn't wear a mask in the original series. She just combed her hair over half her face and somehow nobody recognized her. That's a fun little story. 1947 is the year actress Veronica Lake debuted her "peek-a-boo" hairstyle, which Liberty Belle is likely emulating. 50 years later, Kim Basinger would win an Oscar playing a Veronica Lake look-alike in "L.A. Confidential."
Veronica Lake:
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Post by Hoosier X on Dec 23, 2014 17:01:23 GMT -5
From 1947, I give you Liberty Belle, from Star-Spangled Comics. Some of you may remember her from All-Star Squadron. She didn't wear a mask in the original series. She just combed her hair over half her face and somehow nobody recognized her. That's a fun little story. 1947 is the year actress Veronica Lake debuted her "peek-a-boo" hairstyle, which Liberty Belle is likely emulating. 50 years later, Kim Basinger would win an Oscar playing a Veronica Lake look-alike in "L.A. Confidential."
Veronica Lake:
Good catch, Phil Maurice. I meant to mention Veronica Lake but I guess it slipped my mind while I was typing. (Did you read the Liberty Belle Story? It's been a while since I read it but I remember it as being a lot of fun. I should link to the better Golden Age stories more often. Maybe some Robotman later?) |
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Post by Cei-U! on Dec 23, 2014 17:17:58 GMT -5
Liberty Belle debuted in Boy Commandos #1 (Winter 1942-43), several years before Veronica Lake hit the big time.
Cei-U!
Maybe *she* got the look from Libby!
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Post by Phil Maurice on Dec 23, 2014 18:54:11 GMT -5
Liberty Belle debuted in Boy Commandos #1 (Winter 1942-43), several years before Veronica Lake hit the big time. Cei-U! Maybe *she* got the look from Libby! My bad. Apparently, it was during the filming of 1941's "I Wanted Wings," her first starring role that Lake hit upon her signature hairstyle. It quickly became her trademark and was imitated by scores of women as she enjoyed greater popularity in subsequent films, including "I Married A Witch," the only one of her films I've seen.
Digging into her career, I 'm pleased to say that 1942's "This Gun for Hire," co-starring Robert (The Music Man) Preston is definitely a film I plan to watch this holiday season. Thanks, Kurt!
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I mean, granted, I didn't stick it out through his entire run of X-Men, so he may have done this later on, but it was a hard-go to get through the first 11 issues. I didn't even try much after until it got to way later in the series and Roy Thomas and Neal Adams were on it.
