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Post by Slam_Bradley on May 29, 2014 11:03:26 GMT -5
So far, three issues in, I'd call them pleasantly medicore. The art is nice (occasionally great), but the characters themselves are pretty visually boring... in fact they're pretty boring all around. I think that's a biggest down side.. the Challengers themselves have very little personality. I'm hoping that changes in the issues to come, or reading another 400 pages of them is going to be a trial. My additional material came in yesterday (Atom, Hawkman, and Elongated Man showcases), so I'll start mixing it up when I get back to it this weekend. Sadly, Flash will have to wait until the summer (when the omnibus comes out)... be nice to have it in color, though! Don't get your hopes up. Characterization and personality were not a priority in any way shape or form in the Silver Age DCU. Other than some surface traits. |
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Post by DubipR on May 29, 2014 11:03:55 GMT -5
Challengers of the Unknown,Sea Devils,Cave Carson-besides the halfway decent stories Kirby did of the Challs,I never met anyone who was a fan of these series.You can throw Space Ranger into the same pot.All monster of the month mediocrity *raises hand*
I'm a fan of Sea Devils. While its not the best reads DC had at the time, it was a break from spandex. But like Kurt says the editorial of Schiff was extremely formulaic. The draw for me are the Heath/Adler covers.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on May 29, 2014 11:04:55 GMT -5
Challengers of the Unknown,Sea Devils,Cave Carson-besides the halfway decent stories Kirby did of the Challs,I never met anyone who was a fan of these series.You can throw Space Ranger into the same pot.All monster of the month mediocrity *raises hand*
I'm a fan of Sea Devils. While its not the best reads DC had at the time, it was a break from spandex. But like Kurt says the editorial of Schiff was extremely formulaic. The draw for me are the Heath/Adler covers.
So you're saying beauty really is only skin deep. |
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Post by DubipR on May 29, 2014 11:06:54 GMT -5
*raises hand*
I'm a fan of Sea Devils. While its not the best reads DC had at the time, it was a break from spandex. But like Kurt says the editorial of Schiff was extremely formulaic. The draw for me are the Heath/Adler covers.
So you're saying beauty really is only skin deep. For a majority of Showcase spinoff series, yes.....
with the exception of Inferior Five, The Flash, and The Spectre. Those are freaking good.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on May 29, 2014 11:12:21 GMT -5
I remember the Challengers being a real challenge to get through. But honestly I felt the same way about most of the Silver Age DC books when the early Showcase Presents volumes were coming out. More than one or two issues a week was all I could handle. The Elongated Man back-up I remember being a cut above the rest.
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Post by Hoosier X on May 29, 2014 11:14:26 GMT -5
Challengers of the Unknown,Sea Devils,Cave Carson-besides the halfway decent stories Kirby did of the Challs,I never met anyone who was a fan of these series.You can throw Space Ranger into the same pot.All monster of the month mediocrity And Rip Hunter, Time Master was another one. I've seen some of these reprinted in either Brave and Bold or World's Finest (100 Pages for 60 cents!) and they are pretty bland. I'll re-read these comics for the other stories but I skip over Rip Hunter.
What little I've seen of Viking Prince and The Silent Knight is pretty good.
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Post by Ish Kabbible on May 29, 2014 11:21:31 GMT -5
Challengers of the Unknown,Sea Devils,Cave Carson-besides the halfway decent stories Kirby did of the Challs,I never met anyone who was a fan of these series.You can throw Space Ranger into the same pot.All monster of the month mediocrity And Rip Hunter, Time Master was another one. I've seen some of these reprinted in either Brave and Bold or World's Finest (100 Pages for 60 cents!) and they are pretty bland. I'll re-read these comics for the other stories but I skip over Rip Hunter.
What little I've seen of Viking Prince and The Silent Knight is pretty good.
I didn't include Rip Hunter because it should have been good. But you're right,Jack Schiff could turn an interesting concept into a festering pile of crud |
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Post by Hoosier X on May 29, 2014 11:21:48 GMT -5
I like the Jack Schiff era Batman. Batwoman, Bat-Girl, Bat-Mite, Catman, Clayface (Matt Hagen). "Prisoners of Three Worlds" is amazing. The Joker-Clayface feud. I like the one where the bad guys turn Batman into a genie, but everything is A-OK because Bat-Girl (Betty Kane) shows up to help Robin. And the one where Batman and Robin are captured by aliens (who look like fluffy yellow baby chicks) and are put in an alien circus! And what about Professor Arnold Hugo! He has invisible robots!
I've read quite a few these over the years, and I have about 15 issues of Detective from #289 to #326, so I have merely sampled the wonders of the Jack Schiff regime. I guess I can see how some people would get tired of it after a while. But for me, keep 'em coming!
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Post by Slam_Bradley on May 29, 2014 11:25:08 GMT -5
And Rip Hunter, Time Master was another one. I've seen some of these reprinted in either Brave and Bold or World's Finest (100 Pages for 60 cents!) and they are pretty bland. I'll re-read these comics for the other stories but I skip over Rip Hunter.
What little I've seen of Viking Prince and The Silent Knight is pretty good.
I didn't include Rip Hunter because it should have been good. But you're right,Jack Schiff could turn an interesting concept into a festering pile of crud Rip Hunter is the poster child for a concept with infinite possibilities that was the same damn monster of the month garbage that you could find in a dozen other books. Just an awful awful waste. |
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Post by Ish Kabbible on May 29, 2014 11:27:41 GMT -5
I like the Jack Schiff era Batman. Batwoman, Bat-Girl, Bat-Mite, Catman, Clayface (Matt Hagen). "Prisoners of Three Worlds" is amazing. The Joker-Clayface feud. I like the one where the bad guys turn Batman into a genie, but everything is A-OK because Bat-Girl (Betty Kane) shows up to help Robin. And the one where Batman and Robin are captured by aliens (who look like fluffy yellow baby chicks) and are put in an alien circus! And what about Professor Arnold Hugo! He has invisible robots! I've read quite a few these over the years, and I have about 15 issues of Detective from #289 to #326, so I have merely sampled the wonders of the Jack Schiff regime. I guess I can see how some people would get tired of it after a while. But for me, keep 'em coming! Please Hoosier,take care of yourself.Just like being over-exposed to ultraviolet rays leading to skin cancer,too many Jack Schiff books without proper protection can lead you to a life in a trailer park and watching Ernest Goes To Camp on a continual loop |
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Post by wildfire2099 on May 29, 2014 11:33:51 GMT -5
I couple a week is definitely my plan...I took a few month break from Golden Age stuff after reading a whole lot at once and kinda od'ing a bit  For Challengers, I'm most interested in if one FF comes out, that the comparisons become more clear... so far, other than each group being 4 people in matching outfits, I don't see it. |
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Post by Hoosier X on May 29, 2014 11:39:54 GMT -5
And it's even better if you read Jack Schiff Batman in Detective Comics because you get the J'onn J'onzz back-up stories! It's cute when Zook tries to help. And then there's lady policeman Diane Meade! She cracks me up! And the mountainous Captain Harding. I keep waiting for an issue where he's shown doing something besides sitting at his desk. That man needs some exercise!
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Post by wildfire2099 on May 29, 2014 12:07:42 GMT -5
Is there a Martian Manhunter Showcase? That would be excellent....
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Post by Slam_Bradley on May 29, 2014 12:17:23 GMT -5
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Post by wildfire2099 on May 29, 2014 12:32:11 GMT -5
Cool! I'll keep my eyes open.
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