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Post by kirby101 on Sept 27, 2023 16:08:50 GMT -5
Without the Circus of Crime, we would never have the Clown Hulk, who mysteriously acquires the ability to juggle. ...except that's not the Circus of Crime. It's a legit circus troupe, identified years later in West Coast Avengers Annual #1 as the Kiebler Circus. Cei-U! I summon the big top boo-boo!
Right you are, I was confusing Avengers #1 with the Hulk #3
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Post by Hoosier X on Sept 27, 2023 16:35:35 GMT -5
Has the Blob ever teamed up with the Circus of Crime? That would be great!
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Post by Batflunkie on Sept 27, 2023 19:19:59 GMT -5
Amazing Spider-Man #40-#45
I think the biggest take away from these issues was the introduction of Mary Jane and a certain line of dialogue from Sonny Chiba's "Return Of The Streetfighter", "Nobody trusts anyone who talks that much jive"
I don't mind her "far out" attitude, but it feels like Romita or Stan (but probably Stan most likely) went a little bit overboard trying to make her hip
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Post by kirby101 on Sept 27, 2023 19:54:43 GMT -5
Stan always went overboard trying to make someone hip.
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Post by james on Sept 28, 2023 15:20:07 GMT -5
Stan always went overboard trying to make someone hip. How much ended up not being hip? |
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Post by Cei-U! on Sept 28, 2023 15:27:06 GMT -5
Stan was hipper than Bob Haney, that much is certain.
Cei-U!
Cool beans, daddio!
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Post by spoon on Sept 29, 2023 23:32:26 GMT -5
I read Justice League of America #138-146, finishing my reading of The Bronze Age Justice League of America Omnibus Vol. 2. First there's a meeting between the JLA and Adam Strange. Then, we get Steve Englehart taking over and book expanding to its Giant incarnation. Dick Dillin and Frank McLaughlin provide the art. This is my first time reading any of these issues.
I'm not a real Adam Strange fan, but at least we get a mystery/twist that's more interesting than some of the gimmicks from earlier in the volume. Englehart's arrival marks a dramatic change. Stories are less formulaic and characterizations are more sophisticated. The Manhunter story in #140-141 is what I was looking forward to when I bought this book. It was interesting to see the lore was developed (moreso in other superficial stories earlier in the book) and to see the antecedents to the Millennium event over a decade later. Much of the issues that follow involve a new villain called the Construct. The Construct is sort of a robot and sort of not. It's complicated. He's written in a reasonably interesting fashion. Unfortunately, he drawn like a robot toy marketed to preschoolers, so that undercuts efforts to take him seriously.
I had heard that Englehart created analogues for Mantis with other publishers. Willow is clearly that character. I know some people find the pet character annoying, but I thought she was fine. But the Construct also seems like an Ultron analogue. Englehart divides the roster up to focus on different characters for the Manhunter two-parter and then first issue of the Construct arc. Interestingly, the Manhunter story features a big group of the marquee characters, while #142 allows greater focus by centering on just 3 members left out of the Manhunter arc, but those 3 are the less prominent Atom, Elongated Man, and Aquaman. Englehart does a great job with the Atom.
Part of the Construct arc involves conflict between Wonder Woman and other members. Part of that is due to manipulation, but part is a result of portraying Wonder Woman as overly emotional that doesn't reflect as well on her as one might expect from an innovative writer. We also get some superdickery, part of which is further manipulation and part of it is just how Englehart portrays Superman. Finally, we get the return of Red Tornado (with some interesting undercurrents), a Phantom Stranger appearance, and Hawkgirl dealing with a remarkably stupid League rule. Englehart seems to be subtly jabbing at the gender imbalance on the team.
Also, mixed in there is what seems like a totally unnecessary retcon about how the JLA members first met, which brings the absent Martian Manhunter back to book via flashback. It sounds like Englehart was trying to reconcile an offhand comment in relation to comic book time and real world time that he could've just ignored. But he does bring a bunch of guest stars to the flashback, including some like the Golden Age Robotman and Plastic Man, who I think have complex statuses in pre-Crisis multiverse.
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Post by Icctrombone on Sept 30, 2023 4:50:52 GMT -5
I read Justice League of America #138-146, finishing my reading of The Bronze Age Justice League of America Omnibus Vol. 2. First there's a meeting between the JLA and Adam Strange. Then, we get Steve Englehart taking over and book expanding to its Giant incarnation. Dick Dillin and Frank McLaughlin provide the art. This is my first time reading any of these issues. I recently bought the Engelhart issues and found them to be interesting. I appreciate his work ethic in that he does research into the books that he takes over. He actually reads all the back issues to include canon occurrences into storylines. |
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Post by Icctrombone on Sept 30, 2023 4:51:28 GMT -5
...except that's not the Circus of Crime. It's a legit circus troupe, identified years later in West Coast Avengers Annual #1 as the Kiebler Circus. Cei-U! I summon the big top boo-boo!
Right you are, I was confusing Avengers #1 with the Hulk #3
Hulk like circus ! |
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Post by Icctrombone on Sept 30, 2023 11:10:57 GMT -5
I've been reading horror themed comics lately in preparation for the newest InDept podcast classiccomics.org/thread/8405/episode-3-drops-sunday-evening and I'm very impressed by the Marvel Frankenstein series. Gary Friedrich and Mike Ploog are absolutely sublime in their depiction of the Monster. He's actually written thoughtfully with intelligence and as a sympathetic figure. Every other appearance in the MU had him as a mute mindless beast. Scans from issue # 6    |
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Post by kirby101 on Sept 30, 2023 11:26:00 GMT -5
All the Ploog books were so good!
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Post by Icctrombone on Sept 30, 2023 11:27:54 GMT -5
I heard that Ploog left Marvel because he didn't get along with Shooter. I never heard any specifics.
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Post by Batflunkie on Sept 30, 2023 12:03:18 GMT -5
Out of all the artists on Gerber's tenure on Man-Thing, Ploog was probably my favorite
I also read Amazing Spider-Man #50 and I'm not particularly sure how to phrase my thoughts on it. Out of all the times that Spidey has been branded as a "coward" by the general public (Jameson included), this is one of the few times where I actually sided with them. It seemed both reckless and thoughtless, but I understand how Peter feels like his Spider-Man persona was getting in the way of him having a normal life (well, as much as a life as person could have with the enhanced abilities only a radioactive spider-bite could bring). I think what makes it all the more strange is that Peter decides to dispose of his costume in a garbage bin/trash can, which is later snagged a young boy hoping to collect Jameson's thousand dollar reward. Jameson then thinks he's finally won and goes on numerous talk shows. It was great to see him get beaten down yet again when Peter stole the costume back
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Post by kirby101 on Sept 30, 2023 14:00:03 GMT -5
I heard that Ploog left Marvel because he didn't get along with Shooter. I never heard any specifics. He did. It was over Weirdworld. But Ploog had said he was getting tired of the poor pay for the comics work load. He went on to movies, doing design work for John Carpenter's The Thing among others.
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Post by The Captain on Oct 4, 2023 12:32:34 GMT -5
Just finished the first 33 issues of The Avengers, which took a while. Silver Age is not my sweet spot, as I didn't grow up in that era and I can't read it without imposing my "modern sensibilities" on it. What some folks view as "charming and innocent", I struggle with, as I see it as "simplistic and goofy". Certainly not as bad as Silver Age DC, but it's not the easiest read for me.
On to the next set of issues, because every one I finish gets me that much closer to the 1970s, which is really the period of comics I'm most interested in.
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