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Post by Prince Hal on Jul 7, 2020 13:53:25 GMT -5
July 1970 My Marvels, fresh from the stands! Fantastic Four Annual/Special #8: This reprinted the story from FF Annual #1, a long epic by Stan and Kirby-Ayers art. Now this was more like it! I absolutely preferred the old FF reprints, and my back issues, to the current book with its slipshod/slapdash approach and direction. It was interesting to me that the FF Annual, which was usually on sale in August, was all of a sudden on sale in mid-July! It kind of worried me; I was into schedules back then, I knew exactly when "my" comics were on sale; and the fact that this comic came out earlier was a bit worrisome to me. I was worried that schedule rejugglings would cause me to not obtain my usual mags. Also, I remember I had this comic with me during a brief vacation at a friend's summer house, a stunningly beautiful old family house; and despite the bucolic and idyllic surroundings--so different from my usual summer, hot city habitat--this particular comic occupied a lot of my time and imagination. The older FF stories, older comics in general, really captivated me. So often, the comics we really remember and cherish come complete with a provenance: time, place, where you bought it, what you were snacking on, etc., etc. that makes the memory all that more vivid. So true, too, about the shift in art style and tone from Jack to Romita. Not that Romita was Tony Tallarico, but that the FF shouldn't have had the same kind of sheen that Spider-Man did. The roughness of Kirby's style suited the world-shaking aspects of their typical adventures. |
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Post by Farrar on Jul 7, 2020 14:16:12 GMT -5
And as for Avengers #80, well, as I read it I had the nagging feeling I'd read it before. The it hit me--the scenario in #80 reminded me of what had occurred back in 1968's Justice League of America #66 (a book I could never find on the stands but some of friends could, so I'd usually read their copies). Anyway here are some of the panels I was thinking about from Avengers #80, along with some panels from the earlier JLA #66 I really liked (and still do like and admire, re-reading as an adult) how Roy Thomas and Denny O'Neil tried to elevate their stories/comics, and wanted readers think about things. Avengers #80, Roy Thomas   Justice League of America #66 (1968), Denny O'Neil's first JLA issue   |
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Post by Prince Hal on Jul 7, 2020 16:15:41 GMT -5
Nice catch there, Farrar! I recall the JLA sequence, but have no memory of the Avengers' debate. I wonder if this was Step One in a plan by O'Neil to "radicalize" Green Arrow and gradually revamp him; JLA 66 was only a few months before the big reveal of the new GA in B and B 85. Or maybe he simply had an idea for the story and simply chose the least powerful JLAers to go against a few of the most powerful. Perhaps that led to his using GA more prominently and giving him more personality. No matter. As I said, an excellent observation. |
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Post by Farrar on Jul 10, 2020 14:36:30 GMT -5
I wonder if this was Step One in a plan by O'Neil to "radicalize" Green Arrow and gradually revamp him; JLA 66 was only a few months before the big reveal of the new GA in B and B 85. Or maybe he simply had an idea for the story and simply chose the least powerful JLAers to go against a few of the most powerful. Perhaps that led to his using GA more prominently and giving him more personality. Yes, I think what I've boded in your post is what happened for this particular JLA story. But it's fun to look back and speculate,isn't it? I didn't want to include so many panels in my post, but here's part of what I left out from JLA #66 (a year and a half before the GL/GA team-up in GL #76).  |
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Post by Prince Hal on Jul 10, 2020 15:56:03 GMT -5
There you go! Excellent bit of digging, Farrar ! Maybe O'Neil didn't think GA would become such a hit that he'd become the co-star in Green Lantern, but he was at least playing up the obvious range of power within the membership. A quick check of GL stories O'Neil wrote before taking over with #76 shows that he was clearly interested in playing with the idea that GL was the ring and the ring was GL. At least a couple of times, GL is in one way or another denied the power of the ring and has to rely on his wits and natural physical abilities. O'Neil also uses the Guardians almost regularly and the cosmos-spanning authority and power that rests in them and in GL is clearly a focus. Even if GA hadn't come aboard, it's possible that if O'Neil had been the regular scripter (and with the exits of Fox and Broome, that was surely a strong possibility), he might have been sizing up GL for the same kind of reckoning he experienced when GA and the nameless elderly man call him out in #76. PS: You know the Avengers far better than I, but this growing back-and-forth between GA and GL reminds me of the way Marvel's battling Bowman, Hawkeye, took on Cap, Goliath, and probably nearly everyone on the team. I guess archers are naturally bristly and a tad insecure?  |
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Post by Farrar on Jul 15, 2020 21:09:34 GMT -5
... A quick check of GL stories O'Neil wrote before taking over with #76 shows that he was clearly interested in playing with the idea that GL was the ring and the ring was GL. At least a couple of times, GL is in one way or another denied the power of the ring and has to rely on his wits and natural physical abilities. O'Neil also uses the Guardians almost regularly and the cosmos-spanning authority and power that rests in them and in GL is clearly a focus. ... Yes, absolutely. And regarding O'Neil using GA in the GL book: From what I've read, the fact that GA didn't have his own book or feature at the time was a big plus for O'Neil (and the changes Adams and Haney had made intrigued him (O'Neil) ). In O'Neil's eyes GA was a tabula rasa for O'Neil; there was little baggage so GA could be reshaped to propel the stories O'Neil wanted to tell. And as we've mentioned, GA didn't have "super" powers--a good foil and contrast to people like GL. Same with Black Canary, which is why O'Neil brought her over to Earth 1. Once O'Neil got rid of the baggage--i.e., Larry Lance--she too was a blank slate. O'Neil could play around with these characters. |
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Post by Farrar on Jul 15, 2020 21:32:11 GMT -5
July 1970 - DC
Part 1
By this time I was buying most of my comics as back issues (from the neighborhood collectibles store) and fewer comics off the stands. This month I bought only two three new DCs. One of my July DCs was this: Adventure #397  Sekowsky's debut as the new Supergirl editor/writer/artist. Since I enjoyed his Wonder Woman work I was looking to forward to seeing what he would do for Supergirl, normally a very boring book. I enjoyed the art and in this issue, the story moved along at a fast pace, so it wasn't bad. Certainly a step up from the usual bland Supergirl stories back then. Sekowsky didn't seem to be particularly up on the established Supes mythos; for example here he had Supergirl read someone's mind. Readers wrote in complaining; and DC responded that it was "super female intuition"--smh  -- and pointed out that she'd used it before ( once).  In the second story Nasthalthia Luthor is introduced; a stunning visual creation but it was little annoying to all of a sudden to find out that Lex Luthor had a college-age niece; and that he and Nasty were hellbent on taking down Supergirl. A few issues later in the lettercol it was explained that the Luthors had a daughter (not Lena Thorul); this was an older daughter, who upon marrying against her parents' wishes, had left the family. Update: looks like I forgotten that I'd also bought Wonder Woman #190 off the stands back then. Anyway, this was another story of Di going to visit her mother and Paradise Island yet again and en route becoming involved in a sword-n-(semi-)sorcery adventure. Great art; Sekowsky excelled at drawing warriors and castles and giants and dragons and monsters and grotesqueries. 
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Post by Farrar on Jul 15, 2020 22:05:08 GMT -5
July 1970 - DC - Part 2The other new DC I bought at the time was this one: DC Super Giant S-16
Now, why this particular comic? I wasn't a particularly avid fan of Batman, or Flash, or Metamorpho. No, I bought this issue strictly for the cover-- I was entranced by the Murphy Anderson heads at the bottom. Seeing this in the house ads did something to me and I had to have this comic. I guess I also thought that the characters shown at the bottom would somehow figure into this giant issue, and I liked Starman, Black Canary, and the new Diana Prince/Wonder Woman. Aquaman looked pretty good too. So when I saw it on sale I grabbed this off the stands, and boy, was I ever disappointed. Some silly new panels about Batman looking for B & B stories (for this comic) bookending reprints of a Batman-Flash team-up and the first Metamorpho story. Of all the B & B stories they could have picked, they pick those two -- and neither story really interested me. And then to add injury to insult, there's a pin-up by--no, not Murphy Anderson but Dick Dillin, whose art I normally like but whose pencils are not at all well served by Mike Esposito's inks here. Most of the characters look off. Black Canary looks like she has no neck. Speedy doesn't look like a teen (and is miscolored, he's in GA's colors). What a travesty!  The funny thing is some months ago I saw the cover again somewhere online -- and once again, I was absolutely entranced by the Anderson drawings. I had to have this comic! So I promptly went to eBay, found this issue, and bought it. Well, when I got the comic and looked at its contents I remembered the pin-up and realized, whoa -- I had this comic back then! And I still don't care for the reprints in it, but I still love that cover  , so I'm glad I have the issue again (my original copy had been discarded long ago).
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Post by Prince Hal on Jul 15, 2020 23:35:54 GMT -5
Interesting insights, as always, Farrar. What you say about O'Neil and GA makes great sense. That is a weird cover for that special, isn't it? I loved the row of heads, too, but it seems as if the assignment to design that cover went to someone with little feel for design. BTW, is that supposed to be Supergirl peeking at the reader from the lower lefthand corner? She had not yet made it to co-star status with Batman, though of course she had appeared in the "classic" team-up with Wonder Woman. You'd never know that was a Dillin drawing, would you? |
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Post by Farrar on Jul 17, 2020 12:40:48 GMT -5
Prince Hal , right, it doesn't look like Dillin at all--which is why I singled out Esposito's inks. What happened??? Should have had Dillin's (then-)usual JLA inker Joe Giella ink this. And yes, that's Supergirl. Also Starman hadn't appeared as a Batman co-star in B & B either. At that time Starman's claim to fame in B & B was his team-up with Black Canary back in #61-2 featuring all that gorgeous Anderson art (that Anderson #61 cover --such a classic! ) I really liked the DC Special cover design; I'm a sucker for any cover that includes other comic book covers, such as those 80 page Giants and early MCICs. What disappointed me was the choice of reprints here. Why a (rather ordinary) Flash-Batman tale? Why Metamorpho, other than keeping him in the readers' minds--he hadn't been around for a couple of years--to gauge reader interest for a possible comeback? There were so many other B & B stories they could have reprinted, such as one of the aforementioned Starman-Black Canary stories (especially since BC was getting a big push at DC, what with her appearances in the JLA and GL/GA books) or any of the really innovative Adams Batman stuff, maybe too recent though, but still a better choice (IMO) than what they ended up with.
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Post by Prince Hal on Jul 17, 2020 13:54:01 GMT -5
Prince Hal , right, it doesn't look like Dillin at all--which is why I singled out Esposito's inks. What happened??? Should have had Dillin's (then-)usual JLA inker Joe Giella ink this. And yes, that's Supergirl. Also Starman hadn't appeared as a Batman co-star in B & B either. At that time Starman's claim to fame in B & B was his team-up with Black Canary back in #61-2 featuring all that gorgeous Anderson art (that Anderson #61 cover --such a classic! ) I really liked the DC Special cover design; I'm a sucker for any cover that includes other comic book covers, such as those 80 page Giants and early MCICs. What disappointed me was the choice of reprints here. Why a (rather ordinary) Flash-Batman tale? Why Metamorpho, other than keeping him in the readers' minds--he hadn't been around for a couple of years--to gauge reader interest for a possible comeback? There were so many other B & B stories they could have reprinted, such as one of the aforementioned Starman-Black Canary stories (especially since BC was getting a big push at DC, what with her appearances in the JLA and GL/GA books) or any of the really innovative Adams Batman stuff, maybe too recent though, but still a better choice (IMO) than what they ended up with. For some reason, Esposito's inks always seemed much better at Marvel. Wish I could tell you why, but you never saw that goofy, empty-eyed look (like Batman's, the New Wonder Woman's and Wildcat's in that pin-up) in his Marvel work. I also caught Starman when I went back to look at it; sloppy editing of the copy. I also love seeing the old covers on a reprint issue, but all of the filigree took away the dramatic effect those old covers have. Did we really need to see those figures of the three heroes? And that awful "trade dress" on top doesn't help, either. You may be right about seeing if Metamorpho could be revived; this issue came out in July of '70 and though he doesn't appear again until B and B 101 in February 1972, that must have been meant as a kick-start to his back-up strip in Action, which began in April of '72 (#413) and ran through #418; he then popped over to World's Finest in February of 1973 for six issues (217-20; 226 and 229, which came out in January of 1975). He got both a First Issue Special and a B and B appearance that same year. With his three appearances in JLA 100-102, Metamorpho would appear in 18 comics in three years; between '64 and '68, when his series ended with #17, he'd appeared in 24, so yeah, I think DC was looking for something from him than trademark protection. It'd be four years before he showed up again, and in the ensuing four, he'd only pop up twice, to team with Batman in B and B 154 and Superman in DC Comics Presents 40, which preceded his gig in the Outsiders by two years! After that, he's a steady presence there for a solid three years. Black Canary had just been in the regular B and B in June, which asa bi-monthly might still be on the stands, so maybe they figured that was enough, given that she was also in JLA and GL/GA. |
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Post by berkley on Jul 17, 2020 17:24:01 GMT -5
July 1970 My Marvels, fresh from the stands! Fantastic Four #103: Ugh. This was the great Romita, whom I'd read so much about in the Bullpen Bulletins, where he was known as the Spider-Man artist nonpareil? Okay, maybe he could do Spidey but the FF? Fughedaboudit. After Kirby-Sinnott, this art looked so simplistic. The less said about Romita's FF pencils the better. Fantastic Four Annual/Special #8: This reprinted the story from FF Annual #1, a long epic by Stan and Kirby-Ayers art. Now this was more like it! I absolutely preferred the old FF reprints, and my back issues, to the current book with its slipshod/slapdash approach and direction. It was interesting to me that the FF Annual, which was usually on sale in August, was all of a sudden on sale in mid-July! It kind of worried me; I was into schedules back then, I knew exactly when "my" comics were on sale; and the fact that this comic came out earlier was a bit worrisome to me. I was worried that schedule rejugglings would cause me to not obtain my usual mags. Also, I remember I had this comic with me during a brief vacation at a friend's summer house, a stunningly beautiful old family house; and despite the bucolic and idyllic surroundings--so different from my usual summer, hot city habitat--this particular comic occupied a lot of my time and imagination. The older FF stories, older comics in general, really captivated me. X-Men Special #1: I remember I had this one because it contained the X-Men vs. Avengers battle from X-Men #9 (which I didn't have), along with the story from X-Men #11, which I did have as a back issue. Back then X-Men #11 was my oldest X-Men comic; it was the story of the dissolution of Magneto's original Brotherhood, with Wanda and Pietro leaving but not before they dramatically announce that they "may return someday!" Well, they didn't waste any time as they showed up in that month's Avengers comic (#16)...another back issue I had. As I have noted many times, for me the real thrill was buying back issues. For the most part, by this time the new comics I was buying off the stands weren't all that appealing to me, they weren't doing it for me any longer.
These were all pretty big comics for me too, as an 8-year old kid. I didn't mind the Romita art in FF#103, though I could see it was different from the usual FF artwork. I don't think I paid much attention to the names of the artists or writers at this stage of my comics reading, IIRC.
The FF Annual reprint was another level, though. I think this issue had a plan of the Baxter Bldg in it or was that another Annual? Everything about it really swept me away, the characters, the epic story ... I'm glad I was able to read some of the older FF stories from before my time at a relatively early age in reprints like this.
X-Men Special: it's funny, but the sotry with the Stranger made a much bigger imoression on me than the Avengers vs X-Men one, even though I was a big Avengers fan (missed this month's issue, #80, though). I remember all kinds of scenes and panels from the former but almost nothing from the latter.
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Post by Farrar on Jul 18, 2020 12:51:37 GMT -5
... The FF Annual reprint was another level, though. I think this issue had a plan of the Baxter Bldg in it or was that another Annual? Everything about it really swept me away, the characters, the epic story ... I'm glad I was able to read some of the older FF stories from before my time at a relatively early age in reprints like this. X-Men Special: it's funny, but the story with the Stranger made a much bigger impression on me than the Avengers vs X-Men one, even though I was a big Avengers fan (missed this month's issue, #80, though). I remember all kinds of scenes and panels from the former but almost nothing from the latter.
Right, FF Annual #8 included pin-ups and features from FF Annual #1, including the Baxter Building plan. It was great to have that older material available! I agree; X-Men #11 was so much more interesting to me than #9 (with its rather cliched fight between the two teams). In X-Men #11 we get Cyclops in civilian clothes throughout; Magneto was beaten, but not by the X-Men; Wanda and Pietro leaving halfway through the story--a lot of interesting, unexpected touches for a superhero comic book (in my experience). And in case anyone's wondering, X-Men #10 (featuring Ka-Zar) had recently been recently reprinted a few months earlier, in Ka-Zar #1 |
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Post by berkley on Jul 18, 2020 15:50:47 GMT -5
... The FF Annual reprint was another level, though. I think this issue had a plan of the Baxter Bldg in it or was that another Annual? Everything about it really swept me away, the characters, the epic story ... I'm glad I was able to read some of the older FF stories from before my time at a relatively early age in reprints like this. X-Men Special: it's funny, but the story with the Stranger made a much bigger impression on me than the Avengers vs X-Men one, even though I was a big Avengers fan (missed this month's issue, #80, though). I remember all kinds of scenes and panels from the former but almost nothing from the latter.
Right, FF Annual #8 included pin-ups and features from FF Annual #1, including the Baxter Building plan. It was great to have that older material available! I agree; X-Men #11 was so much more interesting to me than #9 (with its rather cliched fight between the two teams). In X-Men #11 we get Cyclops in civilian clothes throughout; Magneto was beaten, but not by the X-Men; Wanda and Pietro leaving halfway through the story--a lot of interesting, unexpected touches for a superhero comic book (in my experience). And in case anyone's wondering, X-Men #10 (featuring Ka-Zar) had recently been recently reprinted a few months earlier, in Ka-Zar #1 Which is where I read that story for the first time (edit: I think. As soon as I posted that statement I started to question my memory). |
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Post by Prince Hal on Aug 10, 2020 14:25:07 GMT -5
AUGUST 1970Nice month. Some fun comics here. Had a little extra money in my pocket thanks to my summer jobs, but was more picky by this time. After all, comics were 15 cents now.    Amazing Spider-Man #90Wasn’t buying it regularly, but the cover got me, and I recall it as a classic melodramatic Spidey story.
Captain America #131Gave this a shot, too after having dropped it just a few issues after Cap got his own book. I’m thinking it was the appearance of Bucky that prompted my interest. Looks like it could have been a Batman cover. Sgt. Fury #81Excellent story from the anti-war phase of the Fury title. Unsurprising, perhaps, but still packed a nice wallop in the midst of the Vietnam War news.
  
Brave & the Bold #92Not a fan-favorite, but the atmospheric Cardy art and a decent mystery made for a nice read. I would suggest that The Bat-Squad is one of the very, very few Silver Age groups or characters that have never been revived, made a cameo or even been referred to in the years since, despite the penchant among “fanboy” writers and writers of note to do so with other one-timers. Challengers of the Unknown #76The reprint phase continues as one of the harbinger titles of the Silver Age gasps to its end. The next issue would be its last (at least for two years, when DC gave it a three-issue run, gain with reprints only) since 1958. With their four Showcase appearances added in, the Challs had been on the stands since 1956. Detective Comics #404What can you say? Batman, Enemy Ace, Adams, Giordano, O’Neill. A delight, with Adams channeling the master, Joe Kubert. The title was perfectly crafted, too: "Ghost of the Killer Skies." Our Army at War #224Virtually never disappointing. This one wasn’t. Superboy #169I liked the Bob Brown-Murphy Anderson art, and was rooting for this title to balance the need for it to move beyond its Silver Age silliness and become a kind of melding of Archie’s teenage stories with a more mature approach to teenage super-heroics, a la Spider-Man. It had its moments, but this version didn’t really catch on. Superman #230A cover right out of the classic years of the Silver Age, and it’s an Imaginary Story! I had to read it. First of a two-parter. Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #133WHAT TH’? Kirby on Jimmy frikkin’ Olsen!? The Newsboy Legion? Superman’s face clearly redrawn by Al Plastino? You bet your @$$ I was on board for this! World's Finest Comics #197Horrors! A 64-page annual! Sixteen fewer pages of reprint gold. The times, they were a’ changin’, and I felt as if I was growing up too quickly. Especially because I’d read one of the reprints at a buddy’s house when it first came out . Wanted it, but couldn’t find it: Green Lantern #80!  This title was one of the few I couldn’t find regularly despite the improvement in distribution that had happened in 1968. Ticked me off, because as a young liberal, I needed my fix of radical talk from Green Arrow!
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-- and pointed out that she'd used it before (once). 
, so I'm glad I have the issue again (my original copy had been discarded long ago).
