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Post by brutalis on Oct 24, 2020 20:41:40 GMT -5
The 70's was a fantastic time for reading Marvel and DC. You got the best of both worlds being able to enjoy current series while experiencing the past in reprints. I was an avid reader/buyer of FF, Avengers & Spider-Man in new stories and their reprint series Marvel's Greatest Comics, Marvel Triple Action and Marvel Tales.
Kirby/Ditko/Heck alongside Romita/Buscema? Wow, talk about fanboy heaven.
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Post by tarkintino on Oct 24, 2020 22:31:19 GMT -5
The 70's was a fantastic time for reading Marvel and DC. You got the best of both worlds being able to enjoy current series while experiencing the past in reprints. I was an avid reader/buyer of FF, Avengers & Spider-Man in new stories and their reprint series Marvel's Greatest Comics, Marvel Triple Action and Marvel Tales. Kirby/Ditko/Heck alongside Romita/Buscema? Wow, talk about fanboy heaven. Although many of the Marvel reprint titles often used re-colored art from the original comics, I did like the practice of creating all new covers reflecting the newer house style, and.o the work of a popular artist. This happened quite a bit on covers of Marvel Triple Action / Marvel Double Feature, along with Marvel Tales.
I really enjoyed the late 70s run of Marvel Super Action (Captain America and The Avengers reprints) and the second series of Fantasy Masterpieces (Silver Surfer) and the 3rd take on Amazing Adventures (original X-Men). At the time, it was so fun to see a good number of Silver Age stories so widely available. Even more fun was the reaction from friends who--unlike me--did not have the original issues, so they were just discovering the classics and they loved most of it. Really fun times.
Curious how Marvel made the decision to end those titles all in 1981. I'm not sure if it was based on sales, or some editorial matter, but it was a letdown to see them cancelled.
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,872
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Post by shaxper on Nov 2, 2020 13:35:52 GMT -5
Comics I acquired as an adult from this on-sale date:
Amazing Spider-Man #93
Avengers #84
Batman #228
Conan the Barbarian #3
Detective Comics #407
Superboy #171
Superman #233
Teen Titans #31
X-Men #68
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Post by kirby101 on Nov 2, 2020 13:57:45 GMT -5
I am still only reading Conan, though in a couple of years as I start collecting, I will buy all the Marvel titles from this month as back issues. I bought Conan #3 from a local drugstore, having missed Conan#2, But I found #2 some months later in another store. buying comics was so different then.
I take it from shaxper's post that we are doing the release date and not the cover date?
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Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2020 14:24:40 GMT -5
I was only 16 months old at this point, so no comics bought at the time, but what I own from this month's releases now includes:
Astonishing Tales #4
Conan the Barbarian #3
Phantom Stranger #11
Tomahawk #132
-M
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Nov 2, 2020 14:29:41 GMT -5
I didn't know there were that many copies of Conan #3 going around!  Really nice issue that helped set the tone for the early days of the series, after the unfortunate talking apes in issue #2. |
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Post by kirby101 on Nov 2, 2020 15:16:33 GMT -5
I didn't know there were that many copies of Conan #3 going around! Really nice issue that helped set the tone for the early days of the series, after the unfortunate talking apes in issue #2. I LOVED the talking apes issue! |
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,872
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Post by shaxper on Nov 2, 2020 15:17:47 GMT -5
I didn't know there were that many copies of Conan #3 going around! I count it if I own a trade reprinting it  |
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 2, 2020 22:29:05 GMT -5
I had this one, 20 years later...  |
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Post by berkley on Nov 3, 2020 0:11:48 GMT -5
I didn't know there were that many copies of Conan #3 going around! Really nice issue that helped set the tone for the early days of the series, after the unfortunate talking apes in issue #2. I LOVED the talking apes issue! Yeah, me too. It was my first Conan comic, so it made a big impression and thus there's a strong element of nostalgia in my feelings towards the issue. But even now, I dn't find the ape-men out of place in the kind of fantasy comic this was. And I do see them as some unknown humanoid race, some unknown relative of homo sapiens, not as actual apes. BWS drew an actual ape, a gorilla, much differently in a later issue of his CtB run. |
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Post by Prince Hal on Nov 9, 2020 16:04:37 GMT -5
November 1970
Aquaman 55All I recall is that as usual, Aquaman was going off in directions that no typical DC superhero comic was going. Great Aparo art, inventive Skeates stories, guest appearances from some of the JLA, interesting characters, and political undertones (a political dissident named “Noxden” wants to overthrow Aquaman), so you know that this title will be canceled after the next issue. 
Batman 228 (“Giant”) “Only” 64 pages, but with six fun reprints, still a lot of bang for your buck! Never really a fan of the Swanderson Batman, though. They should have stuck with the traditional 80-page Giant design for the cover.  Conan the Barbarian 3Though the cover is not at all appealing, and in fact, pretty ugly, the interiors are far better, as Smith continues to improve at near light-speed, probably aided by Sal Buscema’s inks and Smith’s own moody coloring . ![]() 
Detective Comics #407As I‘ve said before, I’d seen enough of Man-Bat after the first story ended. He character is a tired combination of elements from Dracula, the Hulk, Jekyll and Hyde and the Hunchback of Notre Dame that never had any appeal, IYAM. Somebody was sitting around and said “Batman… Manbat” and thought it would be a cool idea. Did the same person think Girl-Bat or Hound-Bat or Mansuper would work, too? Someone at Marvel must have noticed, because they came up with Man-Wolf and Man-Thing (based on Wolfman and Thing-Man, I guess) a couple of years later. Plus the story’s a flashback to what happened at the end of the story from five months ago when Batman has Man-Bat trapped in the Batcave and swears to cure him. Why didn’t they just do a two-parter then? 
Superboy 171Superboy gets time-tunneled into the 1950s so that his adult version can remain 29 and so that the early days of water pollution can be explored when Superboy meets Aquaboy for the first time. Can’t be sure if it’s the only one, but I can’t think of another Infantino cover featuring Superboy. And to my untrained eye, it loos as if the Anderson inks are primarily confined to Superboy, maybe to keep him on-model? Aquaboy looks like an Infantino inking job. 
Superman 233Ushering in a new era in the Superman saga! The end of Kryptonite as we know it and an even more powerful Superman! Morgan Edge buys the Daily Planet! Clark Kent leaves the Planet for TV news! And a creature that looks like Superman rises from the sand where Superman was thrown during the experiment that somehow transmuted all Kryptonite on Earth to lead! Oy. Who knew that alchemy existed in the DC Universe? Oh, that sand- creature? It will turn out to be something else that weakens Superman, so not such a new era. 
Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #135Meanwhile in the non-Weisinger branch of the Superman Family, Kirby shows how new eras are done. We see microscopic Jimmy Olsens; a giant Jimmy Olsen clone; even more clones (the Hairies) grown in secret labs; the return of the original Newsboy Legion; more secret agents of Darkseid; and the return (kinda) of the Guardian. 
Teen Titans #31Habit buy. As Shax has ably shown us, this title changes tone and direction form issue to issue now. We’re lurching from relevance to horror as soon as this issue ends.
(Son of) Tomahawk #132Forgotten gem, as usual. But where have I seen that cover before?
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Post by Prince Hal on Dec 1, 2020 11:00:59 GMT -5
DECEMBER 1970Batman 229 A rare bad Neal Adams cover. That supposedly scary guy locking the door looks like he was left over from one of Adams’ Jerry Lewis covers. And an inane bit of dialogue: “Welcome, Batman, to the asylum of MADMEN!!” Right. Who ever heard of an asylum for sane people? Brave and the Bold 94
 A nice, moody cover for a completely ridiculous story, and one Haney has been riffing on for years, the old “Wild in the Streets” bit about the under-30s taking over. This one features a teenaged activists called the Society to Outlaw Parent Power, or STOPP. Yes, you read that correctly. I like me some Bob Haney, but ain’t nobody ever called him a subtle social commentator. He’ll be recycling a lot of this stuff in B and B 102. Detective 408 A superb Neal Adams cover, and a mostly decent story follows in which Batman takes on Dr. Tzin-Tzin, an inscrutable Oriental illusionist, necromancer and crime boss (whatever suits the plot) straight out of Sax Rohmer. The evil doctor had only appeared once before, way back in Detective 354, in the go-go checks era. Wolfman hauls him back, offensively stereotypical portrayal intact, as a hired hand of the League of Assassins. Remembered more (and justifiably so) because of the Adams art. Forever People 1
 The King's take on hippies. Let’s all hop on the Super-Cycle and look for America, man. What’s not to like? Especially because “Vykin the Black” (in case you didn’t notice his resemblance to Gabe Jones), arguably DC’s first black super-being is one of them. Gotta love the sheer joy of that cover illustration! Green Lantern 82
 More searching for America, this time for the women’s movement, I guess, because O’Neil gives us such subtle representations of women as Harpies, Amazons, a witch and Medusa. There's a broad range of feminine archetypes for you. This one hits all the high notes for a man writing about feminism. Easily the worst of the Quest for America stories.  Justice League 87
 This looks like a Weisinger World’s Finest cover with the usual batch of unconscious JLA members tossed into the background for local color. It’s a Mike Friedrich story notable mostly for the appearance of these guys, who may look familiar to you:  And with his bit of info in case the similarities were too obscure for you to grasp:  New Gods 1 Now this, from the stunning cover on, is what we were talking about when we first saw the words ”Kirby is Coming!” Like Tales of Asgard on steroids. Myth, epic, legend, world-building, universe-constructing, cosmos-creating grandeur. How could this have been scheduled as a bi-monthly?! Our Army at War 229 (Giant)
 “The Secret Files of the Nazi War Machine”? I was so there! Only disappointment? No appearances by the likes of Johnny Cloud, Jeb Stuart or any of the other stars of the DC war line. The drop from 80 pages to 64 hurts. Star Spangled War Stories 155
Chat Noir, an American soldier turned Resistance leader, first appears in the Unknown Soldier story, the second Black character to debut this month at DC. Enemy Ace is reduced to a reprint, a damn fine reprint, but a reprint. It’s clear that Von Hammer has run out of new adventures. Meanwhile, the logo has grown uglier by the issue. They can’t seem to decide just which character to highlight, and so they they squish them both in there until we’re left with this oblong monstrosity. Super DC Giant S-22 (Top Guns of the West)
Saddle up and let's ride! Who says the Western comic is dead? A lotta six-gun bang for your quarter here. A Kubert cover, two Johnny Thunders, a Nighthawk, a Matt Savage and a Bat Lash! All drawn by Gil Kane, except the Bat Lash by, of course, Nick Cardy. What could be wrong about any of this? Well, the cover copy does sorta imply that the Bat Lash story isn’t a reprint, but what’s a white lie between podnuhs? Superman 234
 The attempt to revamp Superman continues until the next attempt to revamp Superman. A bland and ugly cover. Sorry, Neal. World’s Finest 200
 As a team-up fan, I kept giving this a try. Occasionally it paid off. I don’t recall that this one did. The problem with Superman teaming with a non-super-powered character is that he either hogs the action or he has to be put out of said action. This was a case of the latter. Not a bad cover, though.
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Post by beccabear67 on Dec 1, 2020 14:21:47 GMT -5
Black Canary defender of 'defenseless' men is kind of fun though.  Looking this month up on Mike's Amazing Newsstand I see I only ever had two comics from it, Avengers #85 and Nick Fury #18 (reprints)! I did have an early '80s reprint of Fantastic Four #108 however. Never even heard of any of those M.F. Enterprises titles. I wonder if they had much distribution at the time? |
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Post by Farrar on Dec 1, 2020 15:52:34 GMT -5
^^^ Considering the line only lasted a year or two and comprised a few titles (and was basically created by Myron Fass for the purposes of grabbing the "Captain Marvel" name), I don't think the distribution was all that great Now his Eerie Publications, that's a different story. |
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Post by Farrar on Dec 1, 2020 16:28:34 GMT -5
OMG Prince Hal I saw all those images in your post and thought, wow, he bought soooo many comics that month! Then I realized it was for two months--November and December. I've been so busy I completely lost track of the date!  So I'm playing catch up. First, here's November 1970 for me: Marvel off the stands November 1970 Avengers #84: Great cover of course. And not a bad story, I liked the return of Arkon; and the Enchantress from the last issue. It was also good to see the black Knight with the team again. Big John was in element in this sword and sorcery setting. Fantastic Four #107: And now--Big John! Yes, after 4 issues of Romita valiantly stepping into Kirby's oversized shoes, and IMO failing (sorry everyone-- I know there are a lot of Romita FF fans here, but his FF just didn't do it for me *ducks to avoid tomatoes*) here was an penciler more to my liking. Buscema inked by Joe Sinnott gave the book a more Kirby-Sinnott-feel, at least to me back then. I liked the pacing of this story too, several pages of the earlier story (FF vs. the "Monster") winding down even as it led into another story (Reed giving Ben the ability to regain his pre-cosmic rays form). This was reminiscent of how the FF rolled during the Lee-Kirby glory days. And of course the Buscema-Sinnott team produced some beautiful people. Here's Ben and Alicia.  DC off the stands November 1970Unlike Prince Hal, during this time I couldn't find too many DCs on sale; my neighborhood candy stores didn't stock too many DCs back then. That month the only DC I know I picked up was this POS comic  Adventure #401: I've mentioned my love of Sekowsky's Wonder Woman, Sadly he misfired bigtime on Supergirl. With every issue his art was getting increasingly sloppy and this story was just plain ridiculous; it turns out to be a dream. It's like Sekowsky had run out of story ideas so he took the easy out. To make matters worse there was a new back-up feature by Sekowsky, about some nobody named Tracey Thompson. I mean, the Legion was booted out of Adventure for this drek??? As with the WW comic, Sekowsky was editing--writing--and drawing Adventure. He should've just stuck with the Wonder Woman comic. |
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