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Post by MDG on Oct 25, 2020 10:13:24 GMT -5
Read another Blake & Mortimer, The Francis Blake Affair. A great read: action, suspense, well-written. Sort of like early James Bond movies.
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Post by Batflunkie on Oct 25, 2020 11:24:28 GMT -5
I'm not what you'd call an Alan Moore fan. Watchmen isn't my cup of tea, and I consider The Killing Joke & Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? garbage. But I loved these first seven issues of Tom Strong. I was a 9 or 10 year old when ABC comics first hit the scene. My mom, who was infatuated with anything Moore wrote, bought them and loved them. Tom Strong is a wonderful throwback to pulp heroes and it's easy to see why it was the mascot of the company. Tomorrow Stories and Top 10 are also pretty good if you want to check them out
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Post by tartanphantom on Oct 25, 2020 12:13:07 GMT -5
Finished reading the entire 18-issue run of Death Rattle Vol. 2 published from 1985-1988. First thoughts are that, while it was a pleasant enough read, the series was very inconsistent in terms of quality of writing. Yes, there are good stories here and there, and yes, issue #8 does contain the first appearance of Mark Schultz's Xenozoic Tales, but overall it felt like the book was trying too hard to re-capture the glory days of underground comix & 'zines. I suppose that the anthology format is partly to blame, but even within this there is the Jack Jackson-penned tale of Bulto, which is serialized and runs through most issues to its conclusion. With this tale as the anchor of the title, remaining space is often relegated to O. Henry-style twist tales that simply try too hard for two-to-five page stories. Also, there are several issues containing Basil Wolverton Spacehawk reprints, which are acceptable, but not generally what you expect in a book that touts its own original material. If I had to grade it, I'd give the title a C+ grade based on the entirety of the series.
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Post by Icctrombone on Oct 25, 2020 20:10:23 GMT -5
I've been getting into the backlog of books that I have and just read Warp 1-5. Warp is the series from First comics in the 80's. I believe it might be the premiere comic of the line. It's based on a play from the 70's. Not a bad run of issues which follows the saga of a person who discovers he's not just a regular person on earth working a regular job, but actually a powerful being called Cumulus that is destined to fight against the destruction of the universe. Good writing and art by Peter Gillis and Frank Brunner respectively. I completed the 19 issue series ( along with 3 specials) last year and am hoping to read them all before the end of the year. The only negative is that there were many swipes from the Neal Adams library from Brunner. I know that he's famous for Dr. Strange , but I'm not familiar with his work too much.
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Post by spoon on Oct 25, 2020 20:25:20 GMT -5
I finished reading Essential Marvel Horror vol. 1 which reprints the early appearances of Daimon Hellstrom and Satana. I actually started this while my Doom Patrol binge read was ongoing. Generally, the Hellstrom stories are better written than the Satana art. The Satana stories, many of which come from black & white magazines, have beautifully rendered art, but oftentimes it's static and doesn't flow enough. Also, there were some Satana text stories that tended to be tedious.
The organization of the book is a little weird for me. The Daimon Hellstrom stories all come first in the book, followed by all the Satana stories, even though the characters debuted the same month. I ended up reading through the Hellstrom stories up until a point when Satana made a guest appearance, at which point I read all the Satana appearances that preceded that story. Then, I alternated between the characters roughly by publication date. Satana had much fewer appearances than Hellstrom. Hellstrom starts the volume guest-appearance in Ghost Rider #1 (his first appearance) and #2. He then becomes the starring feature of Marvel Spotlight, taking over the series which Ghost Rider had just vacated to move to his eponymous title. The series picks up when Steve Gerber takes over as writer. Later, he moves out of Marvel Spotlight to his own Son of Satan series. However, new writer John Warner writes less interesting stories.
The Hellstrom portion of the book ends with a team-up with the Thing in Marvel Two-In-One and with the Human Torch in Marvel Team-Up. Oddly, they are printed in reverse chronological order, even though the Thing story makes clear that the Torch story happended first. Also, the table of contents misidentifies the Team-Up story. Also, Hellstrom has some appearances in The Defenders during the time period covered by this TPB, but none of those stories are reprinted in the TPB.
Satana goes through different creative teams before Chris Claremont ends up writing a few stories in a row. Satana moves between villain and anti-hero in her stories (with tiny slivers of heroism). It's a difficult storytelling tightrope to walk. The plotter keep on making Satana evil, but try to justify her as a protagonist by making her opponents somehow worse. She's got a really great costume though. The best story of the Satana portion of the book is the Claremont/Vicente Alcazar story from Marvel Preview #7.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 26, 2020 2:39:43 GMT -5
I finished the second half of the Creepy Presents Alex Toth volume. None of the stories in the second half stood out as much to me as those in the first half, but they were still solid stories featuring amazing TOth work. The least interesting were the stories where Toth only did the inking. While interesting to look at Toth's line and use of tone with other artists pencilling, they lacked the Toth touch of layout and design. The mix of Infantino and Toth was one I was looking forward to, but the results were mixed at best. In the first half, there were some run of the mill stories and some standouts, but there weren't many standouts among the second half. Two of the better efforts were Goodwin stories from the early issues of Eerie, but I had read those not long ago when I read the first volume of the Eerie Archives, so there was a little less of the thrill of discovery on those two as I was already familiar with those two. The most visually interesting story in the second half hands down was Survival form the pages of Blazing Combat (later reprinted in the all-Toth reprint issue of Creepy and so collected here among the Creepy/Eerie material). Still overall, an excellent collection of stories and a must-have for fans of Toth's work or for someone who wants to study Toth's techniques.
-M
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Post by MDG on Oct 26, 2020 9:17:55 GMT -5
I finished the second half of the Creepy Presents Alex Toth volume. None of the stories in the second half stood out as much to me as those in the first half, but they were still solid stories featuring amazing TOth work. The least interesting were the stories where Toth only did the inking. While interesting to look at Toth's line and use of tone with other artists pencilling, they lacked the Toth touch of layout and design. The mix of Infantino and Toth was one I was looking forward to, but the results were mixed at best..... I liked the fact that Warren had some A-list artists inking Infantino--Wrightson, Simonson, Nino--but thought this was an odd choice, if only because it meant (I assume) shipping the pages across the country.
On a related note, while the three or so stories Toth did over Kurtzman's layouts for EC are gorgeous, I'm sure that if that went much longer they would've had an acrimonious breakup.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 26, 2020 12:12:14 GMT -5
I finished the second half of the Creepy Presents Alex Toth volume. None of the stories in the second half stood out as much to me as those in the first half, but they were still solid stories featuring amazing TOth work. The least interesting were the stories where Toth only did the inking. While interesting to look at Toth's line and use of tone with other artists pencilling, they lacked the Toth touch of layout and design. The mix of Infantino and Toth was one I was looking forward to, but the results were mixed at best..... I liked the fact that Warren had some A-list artists inking Infantino--Wrightson, Simonson, Nino--but thought this was an odd choice, if only because it meant (I assume) shipping the pages across the country.
On a related note, while the three or so stories Toth did over Kurtzman's layouts for EC are gorgeous, I'm sure that if that went much longer they would've had an acrimonious breakup.
In the Alex Toth in Depth podcast. Fricke implied that Toth stopped doing stories with Kurtzman because of the friction and Kurtzman hated when Toth altered layouts or panel designs, so it may well have been an acrimonious break up, but it happened at a time when the behind the curtain stuff stayed behind the curtain because there was no comics media and social media. We'll probably never know for certain. -M
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Post by beccabear67 on Oct 26, 2020 15:06:30 GMT -5
Alex Toth had a reputation as 'difficult' to work with, but he would have seen it as doing things the right way. I think where he was the letterist it was along those same lines of not wanting someone else doing something wrong. Having just a bit of Toth in a comic seems almost a waste to me when you could have the full Alex Toth involvement. I think the only way to work with him would be to say here's a plot or story, now do it your way Alex. On the other paw, Dick Giordano seemed to be a good inker for Toth, don't know how Toth felt about it though, or if he gave Giordano too much of a critique afterward. Jerry Grandenetti was also quite a good comics creator I see as comparable to Toth. They both start under a Crane/Caniff approach and then get more unique and interesting with time, like Joe Kubert as well! Maybe it's heresy but I would say Sal Buscema and George Tuska were others developing a visual vocabulary... these people would draw pictures like we might write words (or like a B.B.King or Jimi Hendrix might make talk through their guitars). I sure liked that one '70s Champions comic Tuska penciled and Byrne inked, it really brought out the strength in those foundation qualities! Steve Ditko, Gil Kane, Jim Aparo... all these guys amaze me! I read some early Don Heck Iron Man in True Believers form, and while he had his moments he never seemed a perfect fit for super people action comics. Maybe I should see any western or romance comics he did? The bits with happy Hogan and Pepper Potts seem to play to heck's strengths more than scenes with Iron Man. Mostly though it's that transistor-powered nonsense that makes these early comics such a joke, and I just never bought the armor fitting inside a briefcase thing... ever. Communists as enemies is cool with me , but communists plotting to literally just blow up the world is too simplistic. Even the Mandarin thinks them small minded in ambition.
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Post by MDG on Oct 26, 2020 15:58:40 GMT -5
In the Alex Toth in Depth podcast. Fricke implied that Toth stopped doing stories with Kurtzman because of the friction and Kurtzman hated when Toth altered layouts or panel designs, so it may well have been an acrimonious break up, but it happened at a time when the behind the curtain stuff stayed behind the curtain because there was no comics media and social media. We'll probably never know for certain. I missed that if he said it explicitly--I think I assumed Toth's leaving had to do with his entering the service. But they both had such strong feelings about how a story should be told, they couldn't've worked together happily for long. Alex Toth had a reputation as 'difficult' to work with, but he would have seen it as doing things the right way. I think where he was the letterist it was along those same lines of not wanting someone else doing something wrong. Having just a bit of Toth in a comic seems almost a waste to me when you could have the full Alex Toth involvement. I think the only way to work with him would be to say here's a plot or story, now do it your way Alex. On the other paw, Dick Giordano seemed to be a good inker for Toth, don't know how Toth felt about it though, or if he gave Giordano too much of a critique afterward. I don't like anyone inking later Toth besides Toth himself. (In the 50s, Mike Peppe and Sy Barry worked well with him.) Giordano was a little too conventional, though the Hot Wheels books look good. There's a romance story inked by Giacoia that's interesting. Jerry Grandenetti was also quite a good comics creator I see as comparable to Toth. They both start under a Crane/Caniff approach and then get more unique and interesting with time, like Joe Kubert as well! .... Actually, Grandenetti started out as an Eisner almost-clone. A lot of that seemed to have disappeared by the time he was doing a lot of war work. Then in the 60s, he got very stylized and angular, though I really like it, even (especially?) on things like Prez. Pretty soon, chadwilliam should be getting to the somewhat uneasy combination of Grandenetti and Anderson on the Spectre.
(I've got a Warren page by Grandenetti I was able to pick up for $5, back when you could do that kind of thing.)
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Post by chadwilliam on Oct 26, 2020 22:16:05 GMT -5
A lot of that seemed to have disappeared by the time he was doing a lot of war work. Then in the 60s, he got very stylized and angular, though I really like it, even (especially?) on things like Prez. Pretty soon, chadwilliam should be getting to the somewhat uneasy combination of Grandenetti and Anderson on the Spectre. I've owned a copy of the eighth issue of the 1967 Spectre run for a while now and have long remained impressed with Grandenetti's style. There seems to have been this really small window of time during the late 60's at DC when they played a little looser with their house style than they would in later years and had in years prior. Grandenetti's work on that issue (and others which I've glimpsed) doesn't lose any of the flashy POP art sensibilities of the 60's, but he embraces that more moodier, Gothic style which would eventually serve as a sort signpost indicating that a new decade was here before that era even arrives. It's a style which wouldn't look too out of place in, say, 1965, or in 1970. Having Murphy Anderson certainly helps, but even when reading that comic for the first time, I kind of felt bitter that this Jerry Grandenetti guy wasn't better appreciated.
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Post by Batflunkie on Oct 28, 2020 8:33:26 GMT -5
Been re-reading my Judge Dredd Complete Case Files collection. volume 1 was really good, remember getting it for my birthday when it first came out. Volume 2 however... I'll be honest, I really didn't care for the Cursed Earth (same goes for the Judge Child Quest). While I'm sure that it's great for the lore building alone, it really didn't do much for me. Re-reading it now just gave me the same impression. I do love it's follow-up epic though, The Day The Law Died. Still have a sliver of it from my old Eagle/Fleetway/Quality collecting days
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Post by Deleted on Oct 29, 2020 8:58:53 GMT -5
I've been playing a lot of Red Dead Redemption 2 lately, which got me in the mood for western comics. I remember enjoying the Gray/Palmiotti N52 Jonah Hex, so I grabbed that and their first run. I'm only about twenty issues in, but I'm really enjoying it. It's mostly done-in-one stories with one two-parter and three-part origin (which felt like it could've been done in a single issue), which I wasn't expecting. If I had one complaint, it would be the art. They tend to pick a lot of artists that do really dark/muddy/wet work, which is a style I've never liked. I wouldn't say it's bad, though, and it does fit the tone.
Overall, it's good enough that I've since picked up the minis and Hex, and I'll eventually try to put together his first solo series (I have the omni that collects the stuff from All Star Western).
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Post by tartanphantom on Oct 29, 2020 9:55:15 GMT -5
I've been playing a lot of Red Dead Redemption 2 lately, which got me in the mood for western comics. I remember enjoying the Gray/Palmiotti N52 Jonah Hex, so I grabbed that and their first run. I'm only about twenty issues in, but I'm really enjoying it. It's mostly done-in-one stories with one two-parter and three-part origin (which felt like it could've been done in a single issue), which I wasn't expecting. If I had one complaint, it would be the art. They tend to pick a lot of artists that do really dark/muddy/wet work, which is a style I've never liked. I wouldn't say it's bad, though, and it does fit the tone. Overall, it's good enough that I've since picked up the minis and Hex, and I'll eventually try to put together his first solo series (I have the omni that collects the stuff from All Star Western). I personally think that the first Jonah Hex solo series is one of the finest ever put to paper. Not everybody can get into westerns. but if you do, it's a great place to start.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 30, 2020 23:48:02 GMT -5
Some Halloween themed reading of a sorts... Marvel Spotlight #5-11, our first meeting with Johnny Blaze, the Ghost Rider... Written by Gary Friedrich art by Mike Ploog and Tom Sutton. I hadn't read the Spotlight issues of Ghost Rider before, I've read some of the early issues of Ghost Rider in his own title but hadn't had access to the Spotlight issues. I only own #6, and up until fairly recently, these weren't available on Marvel Unlimited (they were added late last year but I hadn't noticed until just last week), so I hadn't had the opportunity to delve into these. I have very much become a mood reader lately, reading what the mood strikes me to, and when the mood passes moving on to a different genre, creator, character, or what have you. I haven't been in the mood to read much by way of super-heroes recently and especially not in the mood to read Marvel super-heroes, so I hadn't checked in a while to see if these had been added, which is why I never noticed them becoming available. With the recent gift of some Danny Ketch Ghost Rider issues from our very own The Captain, and with All Hallow's Eve almost upon us, I was getting an itch to read some Ghost Rider, so I finally checked Unlimited to see what was available and found the Spotlight issues. Between last night and tonight I read the 7 issues in the run. For the most part they are enjoyable. A lot of what I had come to associate with Ghost Rider though, wasn't there, and his powers and abilities were fairly minimal in these early appearances (which is not a bad thing). The portrayal of Satanism and Satanists by Friedrich in these early issues is very ham-fisted and cliche-ridden, which drags the issues down a bit, but it was fairly typical of pop culture portrayals in B-list pop culture of the early 70s, so at the time it was probably a draw, just not an aspect of these issues that aged well. Johnny Blaze in these issues is also full of angst and whine, also portrayed somewhat heavy-handedly by Friedrich. That seems a lot of negative for something I just said was mostly enjoyable, but these issues are enjoyable despite the shortcomings of Friedrich's work here. The stories themselves are still mostly engaging, the action sequences work really well, and Ploog and Sutton execute these stories very, very well so they are a visual treat. The visual storytelling is top-notch despite the clunkiness of some of the dialogue and captions and Friedrich's tics. I plan on delving into the main Ghost Rider series and ossibly sidetracking into the Spotlight issues featuring Son of Satan as well. -M
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