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Post by Prince Hal on Oct 1, 2019 14:56:25 GMT -5
October 1969All DC's. I was reading other things now, not just for school, but lots of news and current events. I remember reading Esquire every time I went to the library, for instance. Batman 217 Robin goes off to college and Batman moves to Gotham. The New New Look continues. Brave and the Bold 87 Batman always looked like a little kid squeezed into a highchair in this picture.  Challengers of the Unknown 71 I always had a fondness for the Challs, and though I didn't like those ugly new uniforms or the direction the title was taking, I bought it out of loyalty.  Detective 394 A rare not-so-hot Neal Adams cover. Really, a one-eyed guy wearing a cowboy hat wielding a tomahawk has Batman cringing?  GI Combat 139 needed something to read on the bus ride home. True. JLA 77 Denny O'Neil continues to ravage the Silver Age as Snapper Carr betrays the JLA. It'd be one thing if he'd spent Word One trying to come up with a motive for the poor guy, but since Snapper hadn't appeared in over a year, the sudden switch form Heroes' pal to treasonous catspaw hardly rang true. And when the villain is revealed, it's such a letdown, because again, it was someone far beneath the level of a classic JLA villain. Showcase 87 (Firehair) Kubert wonderfulness  Star-Spangled War Stories 148 (Enemy Ace) More Kubert wonderfulness, this time with pathos from Schatzie. (I'm reaching out to you, Ish Kabbible , old pal!)  World’s Finest 190 For the Robin reprint from Star Spangled. Maybe for those stupid-looking villains, too.  Nine comics, $1.35.
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Post by brutalis on Oct 2, 2019 7:40:44 GMT -5
October 1969 and I still haven't begun to read or collect comics yet since I am only 7 years old. But 18 year old me in the summer of 1980 has begun collecting his favorites from before his time of readings. Avenger 71 Fantastic Four 94 Sadly no Captain Marvel this month in 69 
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Post by Farrar on Oct 9, 2019 19:38:16 GMT -5
October 1969
My DCs that month:  Yep, just these two DCs that month. Adventure #387: part of my subscription. Again two forgettable Supergirl stories, and again nice art by the Mortimer/Adler team and my beloved Schaffenberger. Brave and Bold #87: I bought this because as I have mentioned I was a big fan of Sekowsky's Wonder Woman. The B&B story wasn't that great but at least it was written and drawn by Sekowsky, so Diana's characterization was consistent with how she acted/spoke in her own book (unlike that awful guest appearance in Lois Lane #93 that I mentioned a few months ago). Though then as now I dislike the cover, not just for the wonky proportions that Prince Hal noted but also for the damsel-in distress set-up for Di 
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Post by Farrar on Oct 10, 2019 15:42:23 GMT -5
And as for my Marvels off the stands back in October 1969:  Avengers #71: Eh. Great cover but back then I was less than thrilled by the story, as I had little to no interest in the Golden Age heroes/legacy. And IMO Yellowjacket--despite his cool costume--was a downgrade for Hank Pym. Really, what was the point of having two characters who could shrink down to insect-size? Having Hank as YJ just assured that Jan's similarly-powered Wasp would be pushed even further back into the background. Fantastic Four #94: I was reading a lot of back issues so I knew of Medusa's connection with the Frightful Four and it was great to see it revisited here, I could connect this story to the older Frightful Four issues I was reading at that time (which I considered superior and richer to the most recent FF comics I'd bought off the stands). I remember getting a real kick out of this panel and Paste Pot Pete's--I mean, Trapster's goofy expression and dialogue:  What I didn't like was Kirby and Lee's tendency to leave either Sue or Crystal, who were both full-time active FFers at that point, out of the action. Sue was MIA in the last issue (#93) when the FF fought the Skrulls; and now here, in #94, Crystal was MIA from the action. X-Men #63: some great, illustrative Adams-Palmer art (no surprise, right?). But frankly Ka-Zar has never interested me so the story didn't exactly thrill me. And once again, no Lorna or Alex, my two favorite X characters. Marvel Super-Heroes #24: Bought this for the X-Men #5 reprint, which featured Magneto and the Brotherhood--meaning I got to read about Wanda and Pietro, yay! (Can you tell I missed them in the Avengers comic?) Anyway reading this story and seeing the twins' characterizations and their interactions with the X-Men. Also loved the Kirby-Reinman art. Thank goodness for the MSH mag, because at this time I was getting disenchanted with the new Marvel mags I was buying. The Avengers had a line-up I found boring; Kirby was clearly phoning it in in the FF and Lee's dialogue followed suit; and my two favorite X characters weren't taking part in the action in the X-Men book. So I was buying less than 10 comics a month from the stands. Most of my comic book buying during this period consisted of buying back issues as opposed to new comics. My allowance then was what, 50 cents a week, maybe 75 cents or even a dollar; and I augmented that with any lunch money I'd save up (though most of the time my mother sent me to school with a packed lunch--bummer!). Anyway probably once or twice a week right after school I'd make a beeline for the collectibles store conveniently located right on my block and I'd spend 15 minutes or so sifting through the old DC and Marvel comics. The store owner charged 35 cents for the old comics, and $1.05 for Annuals and Giants. I usually bought 3 comics at a time. Well, that's what I would buy with my $1.05...but I would also, er, get some extra comics as well--and yes, dear reader, I mean without paying for them. You see, the owner would place a big stack of comics on the counter and I'd go through those comics and pull out several I was thinking of buying and make my own smaller pile of those on the counter. Then I'd ask the guy to bring out another stack of comics. When he turned around to get another big stack, I'd quickly slip some comics from my "maybe" pile into my open book-bag. So my routine was to buy 3 comics, but I'd actually come away with a few more in my bag. Sometimes friends accompanied me to this store and even they had no idea what I was doing, that's how smoothly I did the slipping-into-the-book-bag bit. I justified this sordid practice because the guy bought comics for a nickel (I sometimes sold my Archies to him for extra pocket money) but then he turned around and sold them for a whopping 35 cents--what a markup! |
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Post by brutalis on Nov 5, 2019 7:49:04 GMT -5
November 1969: past glorious issues bought in the 1980's. Down to 2 series for filling in back issues now.
Avengers 72
FF 95
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Post by Prince Hal on Nov 5, 2019 10:01:33 GMT -5
November 1969Not much here. My comics purchases were taking second place to buying books and being involved in school activities, particularly the high school newspaper. Still loved comics, but was starting to read whatever I could about them as well. Comic strips and editorial cartoons had become another interest. The general upheaval in America was also playing a larger part in my young life as politics and the war dominated conversations in and out of school. My history teacher was particularly skillful at tying contemporary politics and events to the eras we were discussing in our survey of the early years of American history. Good man. I hope he knew how much we appreciated him. November 1969 centered around the moratorium and March on Washington on the 15th, where half a million people, many of them students, assembled peacefully to protest the war. It ended with Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie and Peter, Paul and Mary leading everyone in singing "Give Peace a Chance." President Nixon, who had promised to begin "bringing the boys home," had done nothing since he took office the previous January. Asked about his reaction to the demonstration, Nixon said he hadn't noticed; he'd been watching football on TV. I didn't/ couldn't go, but wore a button supporting it both before and after the event; some teachers gave me crap about doing so. I was beginning to feel as if I were on the right side of history. Batman 218 (Giant) No more 80-pagers, though.   DC Special 6 (Westerns) Thrilled to see Westerns get a shot! And a framing story drawn by Gil Kane! However, DC Special had very quickly transformed from a title that was supposedly going to be devoted to the work of one creator into another genre-themed reprint title. Only Infantino and Kubert had ben spotlighted before it changed. Aaargh!  Detective 395 One of the first Adams-O'Neil stories. Weak tea now perhaps to some, but a game-changer then in so many ways. But that huge "trade-dress" didn't help, IYAM. Guess it got the title noticed on the stands...  Our Fighting Forces 123 (first Losers) Glad to see old favorites getting another chance. But such a non-DC logo for the Losers! Talk about an ugly afterthought!  Strange Adventures 222 The return of Adam Strange. And Gil Kane and Murphy Anderson! But O'Neil was no Fox.  Teen Titans 25 Nice Cardy cover (Is that a redundancy?), and a story that tried like hell to capture the Zeitgeist.  Tomahawk 126 Baron von Strucker appears in Colonial America! What's not to like?  $1.40 for seven comics
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Post by Farrar on Nov 6, 2019 17:17:58 GMT -5
^^^ Those DC covers are so striking, Prince Hal. In contrast, I noticed that even as late as November 1969 the Weisinger covers (and the M. Boltinoff-edited Superboy) were still squarely aimed at the younger reader, with each cover depicting an improbable story that would be irresistible to that reader who was not quite ready for comics with more serious themes or darker topics. But such glorious Swan-Anderson art!  |
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Post by Prince Hal on Nov 6, 2019 17:27:54 GMT -5
Agreed, Farrar! Anderson's inks animated Swan's pencils like no other inker's. In fact, as oriented as the Weisinger comics were toward younger readers, the Anderson inks made them look more "mature" than they might have. The moon and the astronauts on the Olsen cover look almost like a photograph. |
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Post by Farrar on Nov 6, 2019 17:37:32 GMT -5
November 1969: while I was buying back issues right and left, in terms of new DCs that month it was just these three:  Adventure #388: part of my subscription. Oh, when would it ever end?! Teen Titans#25: I never had much luck finding the TT on the stands but somehow I did manage to pick this issue up! There was more emphasis on characterization; plus this issue marked Lilith's debut. Obviously the TT book was undergoing changes à la Wonder Woman and some other DC titles at the time. Wonder Woman #186: Still liking the Sekowsky art, even if his writing was getting a bit silly.
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Post by Farrar on Nov 25, 2019 17:44:12 GMT -5
Almost forgot to post my Marvels from the halcyon days of November 1969! No surprises, these were the same Marvel titles I'd been buying for some time now. So that November I picked up Avengers #72; Fantastic Four #95; X-Men #64 (no Neal art, but the Palmer art over Don Heck's layouts/rough pencils gave this issue an Adams-ish look 'n' feel); and Marvel's Greatest Comics #25 (bought for the FF #33 reprint--loved the Kirby-Stone art). By this time I'd found a neighborhood candy store that regularly carried these specific Marvel titles and it became the go-to for my monthly fix. I knew the release schedule too; every third Wednesday of a given month right after school I made a beeline to that candy store. Anyway, one month I went to the store as usual, on the third Wednesday; but to my horror there was no sign of the latest FF, Avengers or X-Men issues!  Had the store stopped carrying them? No, nothing so drastic. I returned the very next day and there they were--my Marvels, nestled as always in the racks. A month later the same thing occurred; Marvels were now delivered to that store on the third Thursday of the month. Meltdown averted!
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Post by Prince Hal on Nov 30, 2019 14:23:31 GMT -5
(I'm jumpstarting this b/c I may not have time tomorrow.) December 1969Action 385  “The Immortal Superman” multi-parter begins. Once in a while Action had a better than average saga-type story, like the “Virus X” story in issues 363-66 the year before. IIRC, I enjoyed this three-parter quite a bit, too. Batman 219  Famous for the “Silent Night of the Batman” back-up. And justifiably so. A unique, timeless story. Brave and the Bold 88 (Batman and Wildcat)  A natural team-up, which Bob Haney and company would use four more times. Check your continuity at the door, of course, but who really cares? I loved seeing a Golden Age hero anytime. (Plus it was a kick to see the classic pre-New Look Batman logo one last time, and one of just two appearances on an issue of B and B!) Detective 396  Nothing to see here, IIRC. Habit prevailed. And white-background covers aren’t a favorite with me. Justice League of America #78  Well, another Golden Age hero at least, even if he was a B-lister. Some version of Vigilante appears for whatever reason (and why he’s an environmental crusader in this incarnation, I’ll never know), but I’m not picky. I love it when DC acknowledges its universe has a history. And I love all of those cool Gil Kane hands, too! The story was heavy-handed Denny O’Neil, which I realized even then. And I was on his side! I mean, “Monsan” is the name of the polluters’ planet, for instance, and their leader is named Chokh and there’s an earth-villain named Jason Crass. Okay, Denny, got it. Our Army at War 215  What you see is what you got, and usually that meant a better-than-average comic book from the Kubert cover to the Heath artwork on Rock, and the great little back-ups, this time from Fred Ray and Ric Estrada. Our Army at War 216 (Giant)  A nice full afternoon of reading here, despite the surprisingly less than attractive Kubert cover. Well, even a genius can have an off-day. Tomahawk 127  Only four issues before Kubert and the Son of Tomahawk replace this venerable series. It began in Star Spangled in 1947! Eight comics for $1.30. Yowzah! |
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zilch
Full Member
Posts: 244 
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Post by zilch on Dec 1, 2019 21:45:31 GMT -5
December '69...
Action Comics #385
Avengers #73 (i know i had this, because i had it coverless)
Captain America #123 (meh... Colan just not doing it for me...)
Famous Monsters #63?
Iron Man #23
Justice League #78 (love the Vigilante!!!)
Marvel Tales #25
Showcase #88
Silver Surfer #13
Sub-Mariner #23 (ORKA!!!)
... and that's all folks!!!
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Post by brutalis on Dec 3, 2019 7:45:35 GMT -5
December 69, oh what a time for buying new comics if I were old enough to have been able to at age 7! Instead jump ahead in time to 1980's and my back issue gathering still continues:
Avengers 73
FF 96
And jump ahead even further to this year summer of 2019 as I am digging around in search for war and western comics:
Charlton's Army War Heroes 36
GI Combat 140
Kid Colt 143
Ringo Kid 2
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2019 10:44:05 GMT -5
Farrar ... What is your thoughts on this issue that you read here. Superman 223? 
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Post by Farrar on Dec 4, 2019 16:01:48 GMT -5
Farrar ... What is your thoughts on this issue that you read here. Superman 223? Sorry, Mecha, but I've never read it. I posted its cover--along with the other Superman-related comics on sale that month--to illustrate what the Superman line was still doing in terms of covers at that time. It looks like a fun story though.  The only Superman-family book I read/had that month was Adventure #388, as I noted in a later post. |
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Had the store stopped carrying them? No, nothing so drastic. I returned the very next day and there they were--my Marvels, nestled as always in the racks. A month later the same thing occurred; Marvels were now delivered to that store on the third Thursday of the month. Meltdown averted! 
