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Post by Deleted on May 23, 2015 4:34:11 GMT -5
As a FYI, as best I can remember there was Justice League of America (running 261 or so issues plus annuals ending just before Legends, and predated by a few appearances in Brave & the Bold. The Legends reshaped the DCU supposedly and the new Justice League book launched (Giffen/DeMatteis/Maguire) lasting 7ish issues before being renamed Justice League International. Justice League Europe spun out of that and around that time Justice League International became Justice League America (no of). Sometime later Extreme Justice and Justice League Task Force spun out of those. I think Justice League Europe may have become International at some point to, then they all ended and Morrison's JLA was launched until it was ended around Identity Crisis and a new Justice League of America was launched with Brad Meltzer writing which lasted I believe until Flashpoint when the new52 versions launched... pop quiz sometime in the near future....  -M |
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Post by coke & comics on May 23, 2015 4:44:17 GMT -5
Let's roll the dice! 6: To the bookshelves? Bookshelf 2 Shelf 5, some miscellaneous comics  The 76th book on the shelf is True Story Swear to God vol. 1. This collects 4 issues, so roll a D4 Issue 1 it is! True Story Swear to God vol. 1: Chances Are... AIT/PlanetLar: January, 2003  True Story Swear to God #1 Clib's Boy Comics: June, 2000  "Magic" by Tom Beland The truth is this is one of my all-time favorite comics. The series is in my top 50, and it's mostly on the strength of this single issue, one of my favorite single issues ever. It's a true-life comic, but only technically. Only in the sense that this really happened. This isn't Thompson or Beichdel or Kolchaka. This is a fairy tale. In every sense of the word except the implied fictionality. It's only a fairy tale of course because it's told like one. Really, it's the story of how two people who would eventually marry first met. But Beland makes it seem like fate that brought these two people to the the same bus stop on the same night. And he really makes it seem like it. The story is designed to make you believe in magic, and it works. At least it works on me. Probably my favorite romance comic ever. (The close contender is Ultimate Spider-Man #13) I'm from San Francisco and Tom Beland is from Napa. So he was a near-local artist. I met him a few times at comic stores and conventions. I recall a conversation about a scene in issue 2 where he had mailed Lily his favorite comic, Dark Knight Returns. I have always been a big Batman Year One and felt at the time like everybody but me preferred Dark Knight Returns. But Tom said that today he'd probably go with Year One instead. He also has a good Hulk Hogan story you should ask him if you ever see him. I haven't lived in San Francisco in 11 years, but I really miss it. And the thing I miss most is the comic scene. Everywhere I've lived since has had stores but no scene the way San Francisco did. The shopowners, the customers, the artists, the publishers, the parties. I know Manhattan has its own comic scene. I've seen it, been to a bar after comic con, rubbing shoulders the Manhattan publishers and comic website owners, but it was never mind. I've heard rumors that LA has a good scene. If Baltimore did, I never found it. I'm skeptical that Honolulu will turn out to have one, but we will see. It will never be the same, though. San Francisco was my scene. And through it, I met Tom Beland and read this comic. And the comic was good. Grade: A+ Next: The doctors will see you now... |
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Post by Reptisaurus! on May 23, 2015 17:42:09 GMT -5
Well, THERE'S a book I hadn't thought about in a while...
I remember this one being cute and nice, and I like cute and nice, but cute and nice isn't something you're going to remember much years later, I guess.
They broke up In Real Life, didn't they?
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Post by coke & comics on May 23, 2015 19:13:12 GMT -5
Well, THERE'S a book I hadn't thought about in a while... I remember this one being cute and nice, and I like cute and nice, but cute and nice isn't something you're going to remember much years later, I guess. They broke up In Real Life, didn't they? Yes, but I think I recall they then got back together. Unless I'm mistaken. Not obvious from Google. |
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Post by coke & comics on May 23, 2015 21:47:29 GMT -5
Let's roll the dice! Rack 1 12: A box of Marvel books from Dr. Strange through Fantastic Four 46: Reaching in near the beginning to find... Dr. Strange: Sorcerer Supreme #34 Marvel: October, 1991  "Is there a doctor not in the house?" by Roy Thomas, Dann Thomas, Dan Lawlis, Jim Sanders III and Chris Ivy I've already mentioned how much I loved Infinity Gauntlet. So of course I read all the crossovers. Though one thing I appreciated about it was how much the main series stood alone. And now that I think about it, most of the crossovers stood alone decently well too. And there weren't that many crossovers, at least when compared with the modern messes of crossovers. A helpful note informs us this takes place during the events of Infinity Gauntlet #4 (that's the one where Thanos kills are the heroes), specifically between the pages of 5 and 34. Dr. Strange was held in reserve to coordinate and evacuate the wounded as the rest of the heroes went off to fight Thanos. We see here he is joined by Dr. Druid, Clea, Rintrah, and Pip the Troll. The issue opens with him rescuing Scarlet Witch and transporting her to earth. It appeared to the reader that Scarlet Witch died in battle with Thanos, but Dr. Strange apparently whisked her away at the last minute, comic-book style. They had already "rescued" Thor and Dr. Doom. Though Thor looks like shattered glass and Dr. Doom is a charred and unmoving statue. Let's see, a bit of clarification of the commonalities of the origin of Drs. Strange and Druid. Must be a Roy Thomas issue. It's interesting to have Doom and Druid meet, and Dr. Doom is likely the reason Dr. Droom's name was retconned to be Dr. Druid. Man, there are a lot of doctors in this issue. Perfect set up for a Big Bang Theory joke. The plot of the issue is that Strange and Druid journey to Tibet, to the cave where Dr. Doom was born, to see him mystically healed. They first have to battle Doom's shadow self, who wants to destroy his physical body. In terms of the larger story, this is the story of how Doom recovered from his injuries shown in I.G. #4 to rejoin the fray in I.G. #6. Grade: C Next: Whatever it is, I hope to X it off before Fall... |
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Post by coke & comics on May 24, 2015 12:27:46 GMT -5
Rack 3 Box 16: We've hit this box before. 35: Let's just do math. This box begins with X-Men #193, so 35 comics back must be... Uncanny X-Men #227 Marvel: March, 1988  "The belly of the beast" by Chris Claremont, Marc Silvestri and Dan Green Fall of the Mutants is a good crossover in that it's barely a crossover. There is a a background thread sweeping across all the titles, this Mutant Registratiojn Act. And there is a consistent theme, that things go badly and characters die. But otherwise it's 3 self-contained arcs in X-Men, X-Factor, and New Mutants. This issue marks the finale of the X-Men part of the arc, where they head to Dallas to battle the Adversary, a Native American demon. The issue opens with the X-Men (Colossus, Wolverine, Havok, Dazzler, Psylocke, Rogue, Longshot, and Madelyne Pryor) inside Forge's skyscraper in Dallas, yet somehow also in a demon-filled Vietnam War. Reporters with them are sending a camera feed outside, where Freedom Force is just able to watch. We learn this is somehow a recreation of actual events, when Forge used his shamanic abilities to open a portal with energy from the souls of fallen comrades, unleashing a horde of demons to kill North Vietnamese soldiers. In a floating citadel above, Forge, Roma, and Storm (who has regained her powers since the last entry in this thread) are prisoners of the Adversary, who seeks to end human life on the earth to usher in a new age. The Claremont/Silverstri era seems to create mixed reactions. I know many who dislike this era of X-Men, but also many who are fans of it. I am certainly a big fan. Claremont and Silvestri seemed quite in sync as far as storytelling goes. And this is one of their strongest issues. In recent issues, Marauders had been attacking at the X-Men through their friends and family, and Storm realized that the only way to keep their friends safe was for the X-Men to die, or at least appear to. In the country, the MRA has anti-mutant fever at a high. But here, the world is seeing the X-Men up close with a cameraman showing their struggle, and their sacrifice. 9 souls were used unwillingly to open the portal. 9 souls must freely sacrifice themselves to close it. The world watches the X-Men be heroes. It's a great "death of the X-Men" issue. From a Muir Isle infirmary, Kitty Pryde, Nightcrawler and Moira MacTaggart learn the X-Men die. Mystique blames Forge for the death of her daughter. But... the X-Men do not long stay dead. Roma restores them to life, claiming the universe needs villains like the Adversary to thrive and grow. "Magnificent though you were as heroes," says Roma, "all a person might wish to be, now you can do much more... because you have become legends!" This issue marks a turning point in the lives of the X-Men, leading them to the Australia years. I love the talk about heroism and legends and the idea that the world at last got to watch and understand the X-Men. I think this is a great comic. Grade: A Next: This comic was all the rage when I first started reading... [/b] |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on May 24, 2015 12:58:44 GMT -5
The Claremont/Silverstri era seems to create mixed reactions. I know many who dislike this era of X-Men, but also many who are fans of it. I wonder how the readers' reaction to that era correlates with the moment they started reading the X-Men. To an older reader like yours truly, who started reading the mag at the start of the Claremont-Byrne period, the Silvestri years were at best sub-par, and at worst a continuous exercise in jumping the spaceshark. Unlike the Smith of Romita years, which had mostly focused on character development, the Silvestri years were about fighting, pain and destruction. It is during that run that the entire supporting cast went on hiatus for years, which was a great pity: Chris Claremont's main strength, I believe, was in creating and handling a great soap opera in the background of the X-Men series. Another reason older readers would have to dislike this run is that with the start of the Silvestri period, it was as if the older (and sacrosanct) stories were no longer aknowledged. In one infamous scene, a mending Colossus has finally gotten over his paralysis (induced during his fight with the Marauders) and he is seen drawing his old friends, the X-Men. That would be Kitty, Kurt, and the gang from before issue 210, right? Nope, he's drawing Longshot, Dazzler and Psylocke, people he barely knows. but who form the current team. Even without the nostalgia-tinged reservations concerning that era, there were things I thought just didn't work: the X-Men pretending to be dead to protect their loved ones? How does that even work? Magneto doesn't have loved ones, Storm has no known friends or family outside of the team, Logan's sole known friend is Heather Hudson, who at the time was playing the role of Guardian, I believe; Psylocke's brother is Captain bloody Britain, Colossus's sister is a demon sorceress... Apart from Stevie, I don't see who really needs to be protected around the X-Men. And it was definitely not worth the pain and anguish caused to all the surviving X-people!!! (It did provide the writers a convenient way not to deal with the Madelyne-Jean situation immediately, though). Then there's the business of being dead and resurrected "legends" who can't be seen by technological means. That turned out to be so unworkable that it was quietly dropped after a few months. I must say that the arrival of Jim Lee on this title was a great relief to me, even if the plots felt a little recycled. At least we had the old supporting cast back again. |
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Post by coke & comics on May 24, 2015 14:17:06 GMT -5
The Claremont/Silverstri era seems to create mixed reactions. I know many who dislike this era of X-Men, but also many who are fans of it. I wonder how the readers' reaction to that era correlates with the moment they started reading the X-Men. To an older reader like yours truly, who started reading the mag at the start of the Claremont-Byrne period, the Silvestri years were at best sub-par, and at worst a continuous exercise in jumping the spaceshark. Unlike the Smith of Romita years, which had mostly focused on character development, the Silvestri years were about fighting, pain and destruction. It is during that run that the entire supporting cast went on hiatus for years, which was a great pity: Chris Claremont's main strength, I believe, was in creating and handling a great soap opera in the background of the X-Men series. Another reason older readers would have to dislike this run is that with the start of the Silvestri period, it was as if the older (and sacrosanct) stories were no longer aknowledged. In one infamous scene, a mending Colossus has finally gotten over his paralysis (induced during his fight with the Marauders) and he is seen drawing his old friends, the X-Men. That would be Kitty, Kurt, and the gang from before issue 210, right? Nope, he's drawing Longshot, Dazzler and Psylocke, people he barely knows. but who form the current team. Even without the nostalgia-tinged reservations concerning that era, there were things I thought just didn't work: the X-Men pretending to be dead to protect their loved ones? How does that even work? Magneto doesn't have loved ones, Storm has no known friends or family outside of the team, Logan's sole known friend is Heather Hudson, who at the time was playing the role of Guardian, I believe; Psylocke's brother is Captain bloody Britain, Colossus's sister is a demon sorceress... Apart from Stevie, I don't see who really needs to be protected around the X-Men. And it was definitely not worth the pain and anguish caused to all the surviving X-people!!! (It did provide the writers a convenient way not to deal with the Madelyne-Jean situation immediately, though). Then there's the business of being dead and resurrected "legends" who can't be seen by technological means. That turned out to be so unworkable that it was quietly dropped after a few months. I must say that the arrival of Jim Lee on this title was a great relief to me, even if the plots felt a little recycled. At least we had the old supporting cast back again. My first X-Men comic was X-Men #1, some years after this. The death always seemed to make sense to me. The Marauders were relentlessly hunting them and striking at people around them. They had attacked Polaris and Madelyne Pryor. This seemed a good way to get some breathing space and turn the tables. Maddie Pryor wasn't close to any of the current X-Men. She was just a friend generally to the X-Men. So they faked their death to protect all friends of the X-Men. Moira MacTaggart, the Grey family, the New Mutants, etc. etc. The Colossus painting... seems a small thing to be upset by. In story, does it make sense that Colossus would refer to Longshot, Psylocke, and Havok and his "dearest friends". No, it's a gaffe. In context, the purpose of the scene is the sneaky recap. It's an opening page of a comic that has depictions of the current X-Men and their recent battles. Rather than a straight recap, Claremont tries to tie it into the story by saying it was Colossus who drew this. Pointing to it as an example of failing to acknowledge earlier continuity is reading far too much into a recap page. When the X-Men die in the issue just reviewed, we do see Kitty and Kurt mourning. So the history is acknowledged. In story, the scene can be made to make sense. Colossus means the X-Men generally are his dearest friends, and has been drawing several pictures of the team in different incarnations. We pick up at the end of his drawings when he has reached the current team. |
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Post by Reptisaurus! on May 24, 2015 14:59:19 GMT -5
Well, THERE'S a book I hadn't thought about in a while... I remember this one being cute and nice, and I like cute and nice, but cute and nice isn't something you're going to remember much years later, I guess. They broke up In Real Life, didn't they? Yes, but I think I recall they then got back together. Unless I'm mistaken. Not obvious from Google. Oh good! That makes me weirdly happy! |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on May 24, 2015 15:03:48 GMT -5
My first X-Men comic was X-Men #1, some years after this. The death always seemed to make sense to me. The Marauders were relentlessly hunting them and striking at people around them. They had attacked Polaris and Madelyne Pryor. This seemed a good way to get some breathing space and turn the tables. Maddie Pryor wasn't close to any of the current X-Men. She was just a friend generally to the X-Men. So they faked their death to protect all friends of the X-Men. Moira MacTaggart, the Grey family, the New Mutants, etc. etc. I see the rationale behind it, but friends and family had always been at risk, and that probably wouldn't change with the then-current team of X-Men being gone; Maddie wasn't attacked because of her link to the X-Men, but because she was a Mr. Sinister project (which Storm didn't know, granted, but then she should have assumed that Maddie's predicament was due to her being Cyclops' wife); Moira was still close to Charles Xavier, Banshee and the rest of the " living" X-people, so she wouldn't cease to be a target; the Greys were still marked by their being related to the Phoenix ( which is what caused their death in the end, not their being friendly with the X-Men)... all of which made me think that Storm's decision to take the X-Men underground was more of a plot imperative than a natural progression. Hey, we're talking about young comic-book fans, here! Them whippersnappers get upset about anything!!!  Absolutely, and despite its practical aspect that was why the scene annoyed me: the current team was more than replacing the old one (which is fine, as we don't want think to get stale), it was usurping its legacy. That sense of usurpation is often what makes long-time fans scream and shout. Witness recent changes in the Marvel universe: no one minds that Kate Bishop calls herself Hawkeye, because old Clint Barton still gets acknowledged and even gives his blessing to the new kid on the block. Not so with the Kid Nova character, who was introduced out of the blue and treated as if he had always been the one true Nova... no wonder Ryder fans didn't want to give the new kid a chance! To me as a reader, the important point about this whole " legends " business was that the new X -Men team was thought dead, and the big payoff would be when their friends discovered, months later, that they were still alive. But to Chris, it looked just like an opportunity to shuffle the board and keep things fresh. In the end, we never even got that big "you're alive!!! How could you have done this to us!!!" scene, because it was scattered here and there... that's a plot point that just petered out. The one thing I greatly admire about the Silvestri era is that Chris Claremont didn't rest on his laurels and took a great gamble by completly changing the direction of the book. That takes a lot of courage when you write the company's top-selling title. |
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Post by coke & comics on May 24, 2015 15:13:02 GMT -5
Yes, but I think I recall they then got back together. Unless I'm mistaken. Not obvious from Google. Oh good! That makes me weirdly happy! Finally found a reference from his blog around 2008 to confirm this. They had broken up and he moved back to Napa. But they got back together after about a year apart. |
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Post by coke & comics on May 24, 2015 15:13:10 GMT -5
Hmmm... double posting
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Post by Roquefort Raider on May 24, 2015 20:34:31 GMT -5
"All's well that ends well" then? It's even more like a fairy tale! Excellent news!
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Post by coke & comics on May 25, 2015 0:52:49 GMT -5
To me as a reader, the important point about this whole " legends " business was that the new X -Men team was thought dead, and the big payoff would be when their friends discovered, months later, that they were still alive. But to Chris, it looked just like an opportunity to shuffle the board and keep things fresh. In the end, we never even got that big "you're alive!!! How could you have done this to us!!!" scene, because it was scattered here and there... that's a plot point that just petered out. That's true. I remember the Alan Davis issue of Excalibur that finally dealt with it. It was late in coming and had a bit of a self-referential joke with it. "It's about time you called." |
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Post by coke & comics on May 25, 2015 3:28:09 GMT -5
Shuffle: Avengers Let's roll the dice! Rack 1 Box 3 92: Reaching about 1/3 of the way in, we get... Avengers #333  "Life of the party!" by Larry Hama, Herb Trimpe, Tom Morgan, and Reggie Jones Herbe Trimpe passed away not long ago. One of the giants of Marvel superhero art. This is the first Trimpe issue I'm reviewing since his passing, and it seems a poor choice. The art is later in Trimpe's career, and does not represent Trimpe at his best. In fact, the art looks quite different from Trimpe's earlier work. He seems to be relying heavily on his inkers. And the book having two inkers gives it a very inconsistent feel across. The art, I fear, is not the strong suit of this issue. That said, I must give him/them props for the array of superheroes they draw, making each one look distinct. George Perez would be proud. Anyways, I love this comic. I had started reading comics with Avengers #309 and had read a handful of Avengers up to this point, but started following Avengers on a monthly basis with #329, which introduced a new roster and led to a battle with the Tetrarchs of Entropy. I still have my original copy, though its cover is long gone and it has been, let's say "well-loved". I also have a fresher copy of the issue, cover intact. Dr. Doom is probably my favorite supervillain ever, and that owes in part to the quality of the earliest comics I read with him. This was either the second or third. I'm pretty sure I read Fantastic Four #312 before this, and I read Super-Villain Team-Up #1 around this time in my life. (Obviously issue 14 of that series would forever cement Doom as the greatest super-villain in my mind) My confidence that I read FF #312 first comes from when Thing says to Rage, "you gotta remember that he took on the whole Fantastic Four plus Daredevil once and walked away from it." I found it an odd sentiment. I had not yet read FF#39 (and if I had, I would have found it even odder, pointing to the time he beat a powerless FF to demonstrate his strength), but I had read an issue where Doom fought the entire FF, X-Factor, and Black Panther to a standstill. That was more recent and more-impressive seeming, thought 10-year old me. So why would Thing not bring that up? Either way, both get topped by this issue, where Doom faces off with the Avengers, Avengers West Coast, Fantastic Four, and others! Complete roll call: Sub-Mariner, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye, Quasar, Hercules, Thing, Tigra, Wonder Man, She-Hulk, USAgent, Wolverine, Mr. Fantastic, Rage, Vision, Sandman, Captain America, Spider-Man, Sersi, Dr. Strange, Black Widow, Falcon, Quicksilver, Black Panther, Invisible Woman (I'm guessing; she's kind of in the background), Nick Fury, Black Knight, Captain Marvel, Mockingbird, Human Torch.... lots of heroes, but not enough to stop Doom! I like that Doom is cool and regal. I like that his motivations are complicated: he has a just end in mind (finding his mother) but uses evil means. I like that he doesn't lie, but does mislead. I liked the riddle and that Rage solved it. I like the Doombots. And I like the contrast to his presence and pomp when Rage smashes a cupcake into his face... an "Avengers" cupcake no less, made by his Granny. I loved this comic as a kid, still love it now. Next issue begins the Collection Obsession, the first Harras/Epting story, and my introduction to the Collector and the Inhumans! But there's a continuity annoyance. It's minor. Around this time in the Thor comics, Thor gets replaced by Eric Masterson. Captain America mentions in this issue that Thor has been missing for days, implying strongly that he has already returned to Asgard to deal with his banishing. But he hasn't. Thor must have been missing for days for an unexplained reason. He will then return briefly, then disappear again. Because he is back when the Avengers appear in Amazing Spider-Man #348, which must take place after this issue because Sandman quits the team in that issue, and is still a member in good standing in this. I remember trying to put my comics in chronological order and being really bugged by the evidence that issue of Amazing took place before and after this story. Grade: B+ Next: Two of the last three random comics involved Dr. Doom. What are the odds? |
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