Post by Hoosier X on Sept 28, 2016 12:59:07 GMT -5
I got a big stack of comics that I'm currently making my way through, involving one 80-Page reprint anthology comic from the 1960s and several runs of five to ten issues. Some of them are very recent and don't fall into the "Ten Years or Older" category, so I won't say too much about them.
Batman Annual #3 (1962) - I got this a few days ago and it's in pretty rough shape! it was advertised as Poor (CGC 0.5), so I knew I might get something like this. The back cover is missing, and the front cover has been taped on with some Scotch tape that is now very old and very yellow and much of it lost most of the adhesive and just sort of waves around when I pick it up and try to read it. When I get a chance, I'm going to see if I can pull this tape off without causing too much damage and replace it with two or three pieces of modern tape so the cover will at least stay on.
But the contents are great! Villains! Villains! Villains! And I've only read two of these stories before! "The Gorilla Boss of Gotham City" is in one of the "Super-Heroes vs. Super Gorillas" reprints of the 1970s and I've had it for a few months.
The other one I've read is the Two-Face story, which is reprinted in the Two-Face TPB from a few years ago, which I got from the library. It's one of the stories where Two-Face is not Harvey Dent. (I'm trying to remember if it was still Harvey Kent when this was published.) And it's my favorite Two-Face story where Harvey isn't Two-Face. I've only read this once and I've never owned anything that had this story in it. So that's fine.
Among the other villains are The Mad Hatter, the Mirror Man and the Human Firefly. There's also a Joker story I've never read! I've read a lot of Joker stories from the Golden Age. I keep seeing some of the same ones over and over, like "The Joker's Utility Belt" and "The Man Behind the Red Hood." Joker stories can be very formulaic, so I assumed that the Joker stories I hadn't seen were probably not that great or maybe kind of average. But in the last few years, I've come across some great Golden Age Joker stories that have only been reprinted a few times or in really obscure and hard-to-get publications. The two most egregious stories in this respect are "The Joker's Millions," which is hilarious, and I came across it in a later edition of The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told, and "The Joker's Journal," which was reprinted in a hard-to-get paperback in the 1960s. (I saw it online, from scans from a comic with weird stains on it. The blogger's commentary was hilarious!) So I'm really looking forward to "The Joker's Aces," from 1952. Written by David Vern Reed!
Devil Dinosaur #1 to #9 (1978) - I read the first four issues last week but I've been waiting for #5 to show up. I got #6 to #9 last week and I decided to read the whole series (I've had #1 to #4 since they first came out) and ordered #5. It arrived yesterday! I read it last night before going to bed. This is one crazy comic book! I love it!
Here's where the more recent stuff starts.
Batgirl #17 to #26 (2013 to 2014) - I find the conflict between Batgirl and James Gordon Jr. to be one of the more compelling comic book antagonisms of the last ten years or so. I don't think I've ever read a bad James Gordon Jr. story. I started picking up these issues of Batgirl over the last year, and they're really good! One of the best runs to come out of the New 52. It's the latest (and perhaps last?) clash of will between Barbara Gordon and her brother. And she's forced to do the unthinkable ... she kills him! This led to the "Wanted!" storyline where Commissioner Gordon has pulled out all the stops to get his son's murderer - Batgirl!
I've had all these issues for six months or more except the conclusion! But I finally got #26 a few days and I've been reading this whole post-"Death of the Family" run for a few days. I'll probably read #23 tonight.
Wonder Woman #32, #35, #37, #38, #40, #41 (2014 to 2015) - I loved the new 52 Wonder Woman (aside from a few dumb things that Azzarello did), and I've been trying to fill the holes in my collection. From what I've seen, it stayed good after Azzarello left. I got this batch a few days ago (and I only have six issues to go!). I have #39 already, so I may toss that in just to have a nice little run from #37 to #41. I have every issue from #42 to the end (and beyond if you include Rebirth) and I really enjoyed them, so I'm really looking forward to these.
I read #32 a couple of nights ago. I've read it before (in the TPB from the library) and it's part of the First Born storyline. So much to love about this series! This issue has some very nice panels for Artemis and Strife. And the First Born! He's awful and scary!
I finally got Dark Knight III: The Master Race #3 (2016) yesterday! So I'm caught up. I've read #1 and #2, but I've been waiting for #3 before reading #4 and #5. I haven't read #3 yet. I've read #1 twice and I've read #2 once, and I'm thinking of starting at the beginning again before going on to #3. So great to see Carrie Kelly again! Each issue has a weird little mini-comic glued into the center. They're really neat!
Batman Annual #3 (1962) - I got this a few days ago and it's in pretty rough shape! it was advertised as Poor (CGC 0.5), so I knew I might get something like this. The back cover is missing, and the front cover has been taped on with some Scotch tape that is now very old and very yellow and much of it lost most of the adhesive and just sort of waves around when I pick it up and try to read it. When I get a chance, I'm going to see if I can pull this tape off without causing too much damage and replace it with two or three pieces of modern tape so the cover will at least stay on.
But the contents are great! Villains! Villains! Villains! And I've only read two of these stories before! "The Gorilla Boss of Gotham City" is in one of the "Super-Heroes vs. Super Gorillas" reprints of the 1970s and I've had it for a few months.
The other one I've read is the Two-Face story, which is reprinted in the Two-Face TPB from a few years ago, which I got from the library. It's one of the stories where Two-Face is not Harvey Dent. (I'm trying to remember if it was still Harvey Kent when this was published.) And it's my favorite Two-Face story where Harvey isn't Two-Face. I've only read this once and I've never owned anything that had this story in it. So that's fine.
Among the other villains are The Mad Hatter, the Mirror Man and the Human Firefly. There's also a Joker story I've never read! I've read a lot of Joker stories from the Golden Age. I keep seeing some of the same ones over and over, like "The Joker's Utility Belt" and "The Man Behind the Red Hood." Joker stories can be very formulaic, so I assumed that the Joker stories I hadn't seen were probably not that great or maybe kind of average. But in the last few years, I've come across some great Golden Age Joker stories that have only been reprinted a few times or in really obscure and hard-to-get publications. The two most egregious stories in this respect are "The Joker's Millions," which is hilarious, and I came across it in a later edition of The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told, and "The Joker's Journal," which was reprinted in a hard-to-get paperback in the 1960s. (I saw it online, from scans from a comic with weird stains on it. The blogger's commentary was hilarious!) So I'm really looking forward to "The Joker's Aces," from 1952. Written by David Vern Reed!
Devil Dinosaur #1 to #9 (1978) - I read the first four issues last week but I've been waiting for #5 to show up. I got #6 to #9 last week and I decided to read the whole series (I've had #1 to #4 since they first came out) and ordered #5. It arrived yesterday! I read it last night before going to bed. This is one crazy comic book! I love it!
Here's where the more recent stuff starts.
Batgirl #17 to #26 (2013 to 2014) - I find the conflict between Batgirl and James Gordon Jr. to be one of the more compelling comic book antagonisms of the last ten years or so. I don't think I've ever read a bad James Gordon Jr. story. I started picking up these issues of Batgirl over the last year, and they're really good! One of the best runs to come out of the New 52. It's the latest (and perhaps last?) clash of will between Barbara Gordon and her brother. And she's forced to do the unthinkable ... she kills him! This led to the "Wanted!" storyline where Commissioner Gordon has pulled out all the stops to get his son's murderer - Batgirl!
I've had all these issues for six months or more except the conclusion! But I finally got #26 a few days and I've been reading this whole post-"Death of the Family" run for a few days. I'll probably read #23 tonight.
Wonder Woman #32, #35, #37, #38, #40, #41 (2014 to 2015) - I loved the new 52 Wonder Woman (aside from a few dumb things that Azzarello did), and I've been trying to fill the holes in my collection. From what I've seen, it stayed good after Azzarello left. I got this batch a few days ago (and I only have six issues to go!). I have #39 already, so I may toss that in just to have a nice little run from #37 to #41. I have every issue from #42 to the end (and beyond if you include Rebirth) and I really enjoyed them, so I'm really looking forward to these.
I read #32 a couple of nights ago. I've read it before (in the TPB from the library) and it's part of the First Born storyline. So much to love about this series! This issue has some very nice panels for Artemis and Strife. And the First Born! He's awful and scary!
I finally got Dark Knight III: The Master Race #3 (2016) yesterday! So I'm caught up. I've read #1 and #2, but I've been waiting for #3 before reading #4 and #5. I haven't read #3 yet. I've read #1 twice and I've read #2 once, and I'm thinking of starting at the beginning again before going on to #3. So great to see Carrie Kelly again! Each issue has a weird little mini-comic glued into the center. They're really neat!