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Post by Cei-U! on Dec 9, 2015 8:33:39 GMT -5
I've always been a big Dr. Strange fan. Like pretty much everybody else who's posted, I consider the Lee/Ditko, Thomas/Adkins/Colan and Englehart/Brunner/Colan runs absolutely essential. I, however, would definitely add the Stern runs to that roster, as I feel Rog had as good a grasp of what makes both the character and the series work as any of the others mentioned. The issue he did with Michael Golden, in which the demon D'spayre tries to beat Doc while he's at his most vulnerable emotionally, is one of the two or three best Dr. Strange tales ever. (I also like the Claremont/Rodgers run more than some of my esteemed fellow posters but wouldn't consider it classic by any means.) Not having read any Strange stories since the cancellation of his second series in early '87 so I can't comment on later incarnations.
Cei-U! I summon the Horny Hosts of Hoggoth!
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Post by adamwarlock2099 on Dec 9, 2015 9:04:01 GMT -5
I've always been a big Dr. Strange fan. Like pretty much everybody else who's posted, I consider the Lee/Ditko, Thomas/Adkins/Colan and Englehart/Brunner/Colan runs absolutely essential. I, however, would definitely add the Stern runs to that roster, as I feel Rog had as good a grasp of what makes both the character and the series work as any of the others mentioned. The issue he did with Michael Golden, in which the demon D'spayre tries to beat Doc while he's at his most vulnerable emotionally, is one of the two or three best Dr. Strange tales ever. (I also like the Claremont/ Rodgers run more than some of my esteemed fellow posters but wouldn't consider it classic by any means.) Not having read any Strange stories since the cancellation of his second series in early '87 so I can't comment on later incarnations. Cei-U! I summon the Horny Hosts of Hoggoth! As in Marshall Rodgers that did a, in my opinion, great job on Detective comics?
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Post by Cei-U! on Dec 9, 2015 9:18:30 GMT -5
I've always been a big Dr. Strange fan. Like pretty much everybody else who's posted, I consider the Lee/Ditko, Thomas/Adkins/Colan and Englehart/Brunner/Colan runs absolutely essential. I, however, would definitely add the Stern runs to that roster, as I feel Rog had as good a grasp of what makes both the character and the series work as any of the others mentioned. The issue he did with Michael Golden, in which the demon D'spayre tries to beat Doc while he's at his most vulnerable emotionally, is one of the two or three best Dr. Strange tales ever. (I also like the Claremont/ Rodgers run more than some of my esteemed fellow posters but wouldn't consider it classic by any means.) Not having read any Strange stories since the cancellation of his second series in early '87 so I can't comment on later incarnations. Cei-U! I summon the Horny Hosts of Hoggoth! As in Marshall Rodgers that did a, in my opinion, great job on Detective comics? The very same. And inked by Terry Austin to boot. They were the art team when I was assigned a (never published, thank Oshtur) Dr. Strange fill-in issue to pencil back in the day. Cei-U! I summon the hard act to follow!
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Post by Arthur Gordon Scratch on Dec 9, 2015 10:05:03 GMT -5
The 46 first issues are pretty essential in my book. The later Ennis run was effective then but I've since changed my mind about it, after reading it all and realizing it was more abou te character than his world, which is what is the most interesting to me. So all Delano, the first Ennis arc, issue 51, 77, 84, then Jenkins' run, 144-145, the Azzarelo run (maybe the best thing he ever did), then the great Mike Carey run (my fourth favorite), the Jason Aaron 2-parter 245-246, the Andy Diggle run wasn't bad either, maybe less creepy, still good stuff. And then my third favorite run on it, the last 50 issues by Milligan. I find it amazing , in this day and age, that a non superhero book has an almost 300 issue run. Almost? It had exactly 300 issues, 2 annuals, one special, 3 graphic novels, 7 mini series and plenty of short stories in various anthologies during its initial run. And the decision to reboot it into the DC universe proved a bad one, too bad. I always thought that if I was to only follow one title anymore, that would be it. It had a pretty good concept with its creative teams : you'd give them around 40 issues to tell their stories before moving to a new team, with some guest teams thrown in to keep it exciting PR wise.
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Post by Gene on Dec 11, 2015 8:44:53 GMT -5
I just recently read Fantastic Four vs. X-Men for the first time. I bought years ago, stuck it in a box intending to read it later and proceeded to totally forget about it. I thought it was pretty good. The opening nightmare/ premonition sequence hooked me and added a layer of suspense to the fights between the two teams. That's a tough trick to pull off when the reader knows that both teams are going to kiss and make up by the end.
And speaking of the fights: They're spectacular. The stakes are so high for the X-Men that it doesn't feel out of character for them to go after the FF with such ferocity. This was back when the X-Men were still one of the harder edged Marvel teams and it plays off of the FF's family dynamic nicely. I can honestly say that I was surprised by how viciously the two teams went at it.
In between battles, we get some solid character work as well. The discovery of Reed's college journal and the fallout from reading it doesn't just lead to some strong character beats for the FF, but it also sets up the X-Men to make the figurative deal with the devil to save one of their own. Franklin's scenes with Sue, Reed, and Kitty Pryde add some much needed hopefulness to a book that carries a bleak overtone otherwise.
If you're a fan of either team, you should pick this one up. Chris Claremont was at the height of his abilities when he wrote this and Jon Bogdanove's visuals keep pace every step of the way. Recommended.
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Post by dbutler69 on Dec 11, 2015 14:43:24 GMT -5
I just recently read Fantastic Four vs. X-Men for the first time. I bought years ago, stuck it in a box intending to read it later and proceeded to totally forget about it. I thought it was pretty good. The opening nightmare/ premonition sequence hooked me and added a layer of suspense to the fights between the two teams. That's a tough trick to pull off when the reader knows that both teams are going to kiss and make up by the end. And speaking of the fights: They're spectacular. The stakes are so high for the X-Men that it doesn't feel out of character for them to go after the FF with such ferocity. This was back when the X-Men were still one of the harder edged Marvel teams and it plays off of the FF's family dynamic nicely. I can honestly say that I was surprised by how viciously the two teams went at it. In between battles, we get some solid character work as well. The discovery of Reed's college journal and the fallout from reading it doesn't just lead to some strong character beats for the FF, but it also sets up the X-Men to make the figurative deal with the devil to save one of their own. Franklin's scenes with Sue, Reed, and Kitty Pryde add some much needed hopefulness to a book that carries a bleak overtone otherwise. If you're a fan of either team, you should pick this one up. Chris Claremont was at the height of his abilities when he wrote this and Jon Bogdanove's visuals keep pace every step of the way. Recommended. I have this sitting in a long box, and probably haven't read it since 1987. Maybe I'll pull it out and read it again.
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Post by Gene on Dec 11, 2015 17:12:55 GMT -5
I have this sitting in a long box, and probably haven't read it since 1987. Maybe I'll pull it out and read it again. I'm surprised it took me this long to read it. I read a lot of Marvel from around 86-90, X-Men especially. I'll probably pick up X-Men vs Avengers next.
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Post by The Captain on Dec 11, 2015 20:32:46 GMT -5
I read the first 6 issues of volume 1 of Astro City this evening. Just fabulous stuff.
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Post by Spike-X on Dec 12, 2015 5:17:08 GMT -5
Astro City is such a great book.
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Post by Arthur Gordon Scratch on Dec 12, 2015 10:43:46 GMT -5
I've followed and loved Astro City since its inception, yet... I really really hate the art! Its attempt at "realism" doesn't work for me as in the details, it fails. Anderson has a very strange way to draw people, especially faces, almost distorted. He surely comes from the Neal Adams tradition, but, I don't know, I really find it ugly. And the coloring doesn't help! Yet I've read it all, but only despite the art.
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,756
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Post by shaxper on Dec 12, 2015 12:20:43 GMT -5
So I finally obtained and read Druillet's The 6 Voyages of Lone Sloane. The artwork and visual concepts were as brilliant as I expected based upon the cover, and I can clearly see that Druillet was an inspiration for Kirby with his work on New Gods and The Eternals, as well as for other creators of the time period including Tom Sutton's work on Planet of the Apes and even Chris Claremont's work on Starlord. But the writing -- well I really struggled to follow it. Not sure if the fault was with Druillet or the translator, but I barely understood what was going on at any given moment. Glad I read it, but I'm somewhat underwhelmed overall.
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Post by Arthur Gordon Scratch on Dec 12, 2015 19:27:58 GMT -5
So I finally obtained and read Druillet's The 6 Voyages of Lone Sloane. The artwork and visual concepts were as brilliant as I expected based upon the cover, and I can clearly see that Druillet was an inspiration for Kirby with his work on New Gods and The Eternals, as well as for other creators of the time period including Tom Sutton's work on Planet of the Apes and even Chris Claremont's work on Starlord. But the writing -- well I really struggled to follow it. Not sure if the fault was with Druillet or the translator, but I barely understood what was going on at any given moment. Glad I read it, but I'm somewhat underwhelmed overall. Druillet isn't a writer, he's exactly the same as the original Image 6, but on mushroom and peyote.
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,756
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Post by shaxper on Dec 12, 2015 19:35:16 GMT -5
So I finally obtained and read Druillet's The 6 Voyages of Lone Sloane. The artwork and visual concepts were as brilliant as I expected based upon the cover, and I can clearly see that Druillet was an inspiration for Kirby with his work on New Gods and The Eternals, as well as for other creators of the time period including Tom Sutton's work on Planet of the Apes and even Chris Claremont's work on Starlord. But the writing -- well I really struggled to follow it. Not sure if the fault was with Druillet or the translator, but I barely understood what was going on at any given moment. Glad I read it, but I'm somewhat underwhelmed overall. Druillet isn't a writer, he's exactly the same as the original Image 6, but on mushroom and peyote. Well his art is definitely both deeper and better executed than anything the Image 6 ever churned out, but it's good to know I didn't miss anything about the writing.
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Post by hondobrode on Dec 13, 2015 4:53:20 GMT -5
bought early Savage Dragon but haven't read them yet
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,069
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Post by Confessor on Dec 13, 2015 14:46:58 GMT -5
I read the first 6 issues of volume 1 of Astro City this evening. Just fabulous stuff. Astro City is a fantastic series and, of all the comic titles I've collected over the years, probably the most consistently brilliant.
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