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Post by Hoosier X on Jan 28, 2023 18:57:27 GMT -5
In the Hulk series, I’m up to Tales to Astonish #96.
These last few issues are the start of one of my favorite long runs in all comics. It starts in Tales to Astonish #89 (with the Stranger) and then continues into Hulk #102 when old Jade-Jaws takes over the whole book and the run doesn’t end until Hulk #200.
In the late 1970s, I was buying old issues of Tales to Astonish (any issue after #75 only cost $1) and also picking up the reprints in Marvel Super-Heroes here and there. Between these two titles, I had almost every issue of Tales to Astonish from #80 to #101. I haven’t read them in a long time, but I read them over and over when I was a kid.
They are still very familiar to me. These images are imprinted on my brain!
Like the Stranger deciding the human race is not worthy, so he decides to use the Hulk to purge the human scourge. Ulp! And then the two-issue story that introduced the Abomination! And the great Gil Kane art!
Then here comes Marie Severin! And almost as amazing as Marie ... the Silver Surfer!
Which leaves the Hulk yearning for the stars. Soon he’s traveling through space to New Earth where everybody is animal men and they are rebelling against the High Evolutionary ... BECAUSE REASONS! The High Evolutionary somehow turns himself into a god and sends Hulk back to Earth.
That’s where we are now. Next issue is Tales to Astonish #97 and the first part of Hulk’s battle with the Legion of the Living Lightning! (Which is a special storyline to me because my first issue of the Hulk was Marvel Super-Heroes #54, reprinting TTA #99, the big showdown between the Hulk and the Living Lightning. It’s so great!)
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Post by spoon on Jan 28, 2023 20:02:40 GMT -5
I'm trying to read my omnibus of the Michelinie/McFarlane run of Amazing Spider-Man. So far I've read #296-300, issues I've read in the past, and I now immediately remember why I struggle with this era. It's not the concept of Venom, and I do like McFarlane's art in general (not above the classic era artists, but still appreciate it for what it is). It's the marriage to MJ. It's just bonkers bad with superficial dialogue that doesn't seem like a real relationship of any depth to me. The super model thing just gets crazy weird as well. When I think in stark contrast of Peter's brief but sweet courtship with Betty Brant, and then the real connection he had with Gwen Stacy, this era feels so painful to read. I might have to bail. In my opinion, this is a matter of Michelinie writing MJ poorly rather than the relationship being inherently bad. I think Mary Jane was a more interesting character in earlier periods, and DeFalco made some efforts at fleshing out her past a couple years before the Michelinie/McFarlane run. I binged my way from around #250-something to #310 about a year back, and it's striking how Michelinie rolled back depth MJ has given to put emphasis on self-absorbing eye candy. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2023 20:11:40 GMT -5
I'm trying to read my omnibus of the Michelinie/McFarlane run of Amazing Spider-Man. So far I've read #296-300, issues I've read in the past, and I now immediately remember why I struggle with this era. It's not the concept of Venom, and I do like McFarlane's art in general (not above the classic era artists, but still appreciate it for what it is). It's the marriage to MJ. It's just bonkers bad with superficial dialogue that doesn't seem like a real relationship of any depth to me. The super model thing just gets crazy weird as well. When I think in stark contrast of Peter's brief but sweet courtship with Betty Brant, and then the real connection he had with Gwen Stacy, this era feels so painful to read. I might have to bail. In my opinion, this is a matter of Michelinie writing MJ poorly rather than the relationship being inherently bad. I think Mary Jane was a more interesting character in earlier periods, and DeFalco made some efforts at fleshing out her past a couple years before the Michelinie/McFarlane run. I binged my way from around #250-something to #310 about a year back, and it's striking how Michelinie rolled back depth MJ has given to put emphasis on self-absorbing eye candy. Yeah, I have to agree with all of this! |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jan 29, 2023 0:17:44 GMT -5
I have to tell you, that Thor story was all Kirby with Lee scripting the dialog. There is a reason the credits are just Stan Lee and Jack Kirby without reference to story and art. The bad guy sacrificing for humanity was a standard Kirby trope. And almost all the Tales of Asgard were Kirby plotted. Much as I tend to admire Kirby's imagination over Lee's, the self-sacrificing for humanity bit is far more Lee's schtick. The mob boss's death felt very akin to Al B. Harper's, and that was all Lee. Kirby's self-sacrificing characters tend to be more grandeous and less mundane. |
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Post by EdoBosnar on Jan 29, 2023 4:35:38 GMT -5
In my opinion, this is a matter of Michelinie writing MJ poorly rather than the relationship being inherently bad. I think Mary Jane was a more interesting character in earlier periods, (...) Yeah, I also agree with this. MJ has always been my favorite love interest for Peter, and I liked the idea of them getting married - although by that time I was no longer a regular reader of Spider-man. However, I thought it was a bad choice to make her a supermodel and a rather successful actress. In earlier periods, although it was never explicitly stated, one had the impression that MJ was not, in fact, all that successful, rather she just put on a happy, go-lucky, I'm-on-the-top-of-the-world act. |
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Post by kirby101 on Jan 29, 2023 8:55:25 GMT -5
I have to tell you, that Thor story was all Kirby with Lee scripting the dialog. There is a reason the credits are just Stan Lee and Jack Kirby without reference to story and art. The bad guy sacrificing for humanity was a standard Kirby trope. And almost all the Tales of Asgard were Kirby plotted. Much as I tend to admire Kirby's imagination over Lee's, the self-sacrificing for humanity bit is far more Lee's schtick. The mob boss's death felt very akin to Al B. Harper's, and that was all Lee. Kirby's self-sacrificing characters tend to be more grandeous and less mundane. But Harper was a noble guy to begin with, I am thinking of Ricardo Jones, in FF 51, which was Kirby's plot. And I think there was a Challengers story with this, but I can't remember which. The bad guy sacrificing himself was more Kirby. And at this point, many of the plots in Thor were Kirby's. The Rigelians, Ego, The High Evolutionary stories, Kirby Plots. When you say, I loved Lee's story and Kirby's art, that's not how the work was separated. You can say I loved Lee's dialog, or their story, but Lee was not writing the whole thing at the time.
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,845
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Post by shaxper on Jan 29, 2023 9:57:12 GMT -5
In the later Lee/Kirby stories, you can tell that Kirby is doing more of the plotting as it gets far more out there, cosmic and fantastic high imagination to the extreme. I just read Thor #141, which seems like a perfect balance of Lee and Kirby. When you say, I loved Lee's story and Kirby's art, that's not how the work was separated. You can say I loved Lee's dialog, or their story, but Lee was not writing the whole thing at the time. ?? |
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Post by EdoBosnar on Jan 29, 2023 11:08:10 GMT -5
In the Hulk series, I’m up to Tales to Astonish #96. (...) Oh, yeah, just read this recently. Good stuff. |
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Post by kirby101 on Jan 29, 2023 11:32:23 GMT -5
In the later Lee/Kirby stories, you can tell that Kirby is doing more of the plotting as it gets far more out there, cosmic and fantastic high imagination to the extreme. I just read Thor #141, which seems like a perfect balance of Lee and Kirby. When you say, I loved Lee's story and Kirby's art, that's not how the work was separated. You can say I loved Lee's dialog, or their story, but Lee was not writing the whole thing at the time. ?? When you said this "Lee amps up the complex human factor, as a notorious mobster sacrifices himself to save the human race, and a thief with a heart of gold finds himself an unwilling agent of a total fiend." I thought you were giving all the writing credit to Lee. If I misread that, then we don't have a disagreement.
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Post by tonebone on Jan 30, 2023 9:05:46 GMT -5
In the Hulk series, I’m up to Tales to Astonish #96. These last few issues are the start of one of my favorite long runs in all comics. It starts in Tales to Astonish #89 (with the Stranger) and then continues into Hulk #102 when old Jade-Jaws takes over the whole book and the run doesn’t end until Hulk #200. In the late 1970s, I was buying old issues of Tales to Astonish (any issue after #75 only cost $1) and also picking up the reprints in Marvel Super-Heroes here and there. Between these two titles, I had almost every issue of Tales to Astonish from #80 to #101. I haven’t read them in a long time, but I read them over and over when I was a kid. They are still very familiar to me. These images are imprinted on my brain! Like the Stranger deciding the human race is not worthy, so he decides to use the Hulk to purge the human scourge. Ulp! And then the two-issue story that introduced the Abomination! And the great Gil Kane art! Then here comes Marie Severin! And almost as amazing as Marie ... the Silver Surfer! Which leaves the Hulk yearning for the stars. Soon he’s traveling through space to New Earth where everybody is animal men and they are rebelling against the High Evolutionary ... BECAUSE REASONS! The High Evolutionary somehow turns himself into a god and sends Hulk back to Earth. That’s where we are now. Next issue is Tales to Astonish #97 and the first part of Hulk’s battle with the Legion of the Living Lightning! (Which is a special storyline to me because my first issue of the Hulk was Marvel Super-Heroes #54, reprinting TTA #99, the big showdown between the Hulk and the Living Lightning. It’s so great!) "Jade Jaws" reminds me of something that bothered me as a kid. The Hulk's skin is green... why are his gums, blood, etc. red/pink? |
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Post by Batflunkie on Jan 30, 2023 9:40:44 GMT -5
Started back on Thor again. Read issues #305 and #306
#305: Gabriel The Air-Walker reanimates inside the Machinesmith's barn and goes on a mild rampage trying to find out what happened with Galactus and the FF tell him that they basically left him for dead. Thor gets involved and Gabriel gets torn up and it's revealed that he was nothing more than a automaton
#306: Firelord hears about Gabriel's fight with Thor from his bean bag chair out in the middle of the desert and flies off in anger. He wants revenge, even though him and Thor have always been on good terms. Turns out that both Firelord and Gabriel were part of the Nova Corps and were abducted by Galactus and turned into Heralds. Firelord says that him and Gabriel were like brothers and it just upset him to see him die again
Good couple of issues I thought, Grunewald and Macchio have been just pumping out issue after great issue
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Post by kirby101 on Jan 30, 2023 10:24:21 GMT -5
Gabriel was a robot in FF #121. Was there another story where Gabriel was real?
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Post by badwolf on Jan 30, 2023 10:34:18 GMT -5
The only issue I have with Romita is that he made Parker way too handsome. Unless that radioactive blood was doing something to his features, I have a hard time believing Pete could blossom from the Ditko science geek to Brandon from 90210 simply because he graduated high school. I dunno. I saw that happen to several guys 'n' gals I graduated with: dorky or forgettable in high school, stunning as adults. Sometimes all it took was getting out from under Mom and Dad's (or Aunt May's) thumb.
Just look at Anthony Michael Hall. |
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Post by badwolf on Jan 30, 2023 10:36:33 GMT -5
Started back on Thor again. Read issues #305 and #306 #306: Firelord hears about Gabriel's fight with Thor from his bean bag chair out in the middle of the desert and flies off in anger. He wants revenge, even though him and Thor have always been on good terms. Turns out that both Firelord and Gabriel were part of the Nova Corps and were abducted by Galactus and turned into Heralds. Firelord says that him and Gabriel were like brothers and it just upset him to see him die again This was my first Thor comic (not including "Origins" book reprints). |
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Post by Batflunkie on Jan 30, 2023 10:49:58 GMT -5
Gabriel was a robot in FF #121. Was there another story where Gabriel was real? He might have been? I'm not too far into reading FF (ish 54 to be exact). I think he had died originally and Galactus brought him back as a robot? |
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