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Post by MWGallaher on Dec 29, 2014 13:19:54 GMT -5
#3. Mister Miracle #7 by Jack Kirby with Mike Royer Another comic that blew my mind at age 11, Mister Miracle was too deep into Kirby's 4th World mythology for me to fully understand, but it was worth my quarter to be awed by Kirby's depictions of life on Apokolips, as Scott Free and Big Barda return home to face Kanto and Granny Goodness. This comic was the first to really overwhelm me, to give me that cinematic feeling of actually being in a fantastic, otherworldly environment, surrounded by slave-drivers hording helpless orphans into transports, under massive statues of Darkseid, beneath black skies lit only by the ubiquitous firepits. Mr. Miracle himself was a unique hero, unlike any I could have imagined, whose specialty of "super-escape" really appealed to my love of magic and related arts. I even loved the reprint of the Boy Commandos...a war comic! Wow...the contraptions, the sets, the costumes, this comic was my first real blockbuster. I'm thrilled to learn that this issue's original art will be featured in the soon-to-be-released Mr. Miracle Artist's Edition. I can't wait for the chance to experience this comic again in a new way.
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,197 
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Post by Confessor on Dec 29, 2014 22:13:30 GMT -5
Day TenYou've seen Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 ... #10 ... Now, I give you...  Amazing Spider-Man Annual #2, "The Wondrous World of Doctor Strange," Lee & Ditko, 1965 While most of the issue is comprised of reprints from #1, 2, and 5, the original 21-pager here, the Spider-Man/Doctor Strange team-up, is quite possibly my single favorite Silver Age comics story. Stan Lee masterfully handles the dialogue challenges of going from the elevated tones of Doctor Strange to the jocular and occasionally self-doubting wordiness of Spider-Man. Steve Ditko, meanwhile, gives us other-dimensional weirdness in a way no other comics artist (save Brendan McCarthy) has yet quite managed to master, all while communicating character through body posture and panel placement: the mysterious Doctor Strange's face is almost always in shadow or partially concealed by his cloak, while Spider-Man is wiry, lean, and lithe instead of fully-muscled like Romita or Andru would later draw him. It's truly delightful stuff, and though my copy is coverless and I own a reprint in the Marvel Masterworks series, I still wouldn't part with it. Great pick! Note to self: read this issue again soon. |
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Post by Reptisaurus! on Dec 29, 2014 22:35:13 GMT -5
Blue Monday Absolute Beginners # 3 April, 2001  Quite possibly my favorite comic in the "girl skips school and is accosted by/hangs out with a giant magic otter" genre, this is legitimately one of my favorite comic stories, despite the fact that nothing much happens. It's a character study, all simmering tension and fart jokes, alternately nostalgic and sad and funny and gross and strange and cool. I keep hoping that women take over the majority of comics writing and art jobs so we get more books like this. This is also one of my most successful comic gifting experiences - 'Cause if you hang out with me enough, I WILL give you comics. I was working at a resort in the middle of nowhere, Minnesota. (I forget the town, but it was on a lake. So THAT should narrow it down.) One of my fellow housekeepsr/waiter types was a girl named Meghan, who had accidentally colored her hair blue in a tragic dying accident. I gave her this comic and said "Hey, here's a book about a girl with blue hair." The next day she came up and hugged me and said "I HAVE to own the rest of these! That was amazing!" Every so awesome I find the right comic for the right person, and that always makes me feel good. And this time I hit a home run. (She was realyl cute, too.) So not only was this one of my favorite comics, but it was someone else's VERY favorite comic. Good for a # 3 spot.
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Post by coke & comics on Dec 30, 2014 12:56:56 GMT -5
Blue Monday Absolute Beginners # 3 April, 2001 Quite possibly my favorite comic in the "girl skips school and is accosted by/hangs out with a giant magic otter" genre, this is legitimately one of my favorite comic stories, despite the fact that nothing much happens. It's a character study, all simmering tension and fart jokes, alternately nostalgic and sad and funny and gross and strange and cool. I keep hoping that women take over the majority of comics writing and art jobs so we get more books like this. This is also one of my most successful comic gifting experiences - 'Cause if you hang out with me enough, I WILL give you comics. I was working at a resort in the middle of nowhere, Minnesota. (I forget the town, but it was on a lake. So THAT should narrow it down.) One of my fellow housekeepsr/waiter types was a girl named Meghan, who had accidentally colored her hair blue in a tragic dying accident. I gave her this comic and said "Hey, here's a book about a girl with blue hair." The next day she came up and hugged me and said "I HAVE to own the rest of these! That was amazing!" Every so awesome I find the right comic for the right person, and that always makes me feel good. And this time I hit a home run. (She was realyl cute, too.) So not only was this one of my favorite comics, but it was someone else's VERY favorite comic. Good for a # 3 spot. I've always meant to read Blue Monday. Is the right place to start, "The Kids Are All Right" |
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Post by Reptisaurus! on Dec 30, 2014 15:53:50 GMT -5
No!
"The Kids are Alright" is the first mini-series.
"Absolute Beginners" is the second mini-series.
(I never remember this, though. I always assume "Absolute Beginners" was first because it SOUNDS like it was first, and I had already written up this entry and was posting the cover when I noticed I had the wrong title. I'm pretty sure I made the same mistake for the "short run comics" Classic Comics Christmas, where "Absolute Beginners" was my # 1.)
But you CAN start here if you want! "The Kids are Alright" isn't as good.
Also! Try to get original issues if you can. The trades don't have the letter pages, which are basically Chyna Clugston Major and her editor, Jaime Rich ragging on each other and are hilarious.
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Post by berkley on Dec 31, 2014 0:42:03 GMT -5
#3. Mister Miracle #7 by Jack Kirby with Mike RoyerAnother comic that blew my mind at age 11, Mister Miracle was too deep into Kirby's 4th World mythology for me to fully understand, but it was worth my quarter to be awed by Kirby's depictions of life on Apokolips, as Scott Free and Big Barda return home to face Kanto and Granny Goodness. This comic was the first to really overwhelm me, to give me that cinematic feeling of actually being in a fantastic, otherworldly environment, surrounded by slave-drivers hording helpless orphans into transports, under massive statues of Darkseid, beneath black skies lit only by the ubiquitous firepits. Mr. Miracle himself was a unique hero, unlike any I could have imagined, whose specialty of "super-escape" really appealed to my love of magic and related arts. I even loved the reprint of the Boy Commandos...a war comic! Wow...the contraptions, the sets, the costumes, this comic was my first real blockbuster. I'm thrilled to learn that this issue's original art will be featured in the soon-to-be-released Mr. Miracle Artist's Edition. I can't wait for the chance to experience this comic again in a new way. You know, I just realised for the first time that that cover blurb, "Visit Apokolips and die!!", in the upper left-hand corner is probably a play on "See Naples and die." Which I wouldn't have heard of the first time I read this comic but that's no excuse for not noticing it in the 30+ years since then. |
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Post by spoon on Dec 31, 2014 17:36:20 GMT -5
#3 - West Coast Avengers Annual #1 I'm pretty sure I listed this one in a previous CCC. This is another issue from my earliest days reading comics. It's the second half of a two-parter, though I didn't read the first half until years later. The Avengers, both East Coast and West Coast, have been betrayed by a member. They're on the run and trying to figure out who it is. There's a quick history lesson, as the team runs down the list of current, former, and almost members to figure out who the traitor could be. It turns out to be Quicksilver, at the beginning of a several year flirtation with villainy. The Avengers divide up into several smaller teams to combat Quicksilver and his minions, LMD copies of the Zodiac. Pietro memorably mocks one quintet of Avengers as "Thor and the Four Rejects". Like some of my other choices, this issue was an immersion into the history of a series and a universe. It was cool to learn about all these characters and how their lives were intertwined.
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