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Post by Spike-X on Jul 20, 2017 3:57:05 GMT -5
* Superman by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez: Including his Superman issues (just read #309) as well as his three issues of World's Finest and his DC Comics Presents issues. It's a shame that Lopez wasn't faster as an artists, because he draws the best and most iconic looking Superman for my tastes. When he does his own inks...wow. For pure talent and storytelling ability, he's easily in my Top 5. I just wish he did MORE during his career. He's amazing, isn't he?
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Post by Spike-X on Jul 20, 2017 3:58:12 GMT -5
Just finished Criminal vol 1: Coward. Need to pick up the rest ASAP! I should have just grabbed them all when I bought this one; Brubaker + Phillips = guaranteed great comics.
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Post by LovesGilKane on Jul 20, 2017 3:58:57 GMT -5
early Elfquest issues , thank god they survived storage still in good nick!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2017 6:16:01 GMT -5
* Superman by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez: Including his Superman issues (just read #309) as well as his three issues of World's Finest and his DC Comics Presents issues. It's a shame that Lopez wasn't faster as an artists, because he draws the best and most iconic looking Superman for my tastes. When he does his own inks...wow. For pure talent and storytelling ability, he's easily in my Top 5. I just wish he did MORE during his career. He's amazing, isn't he? I totally agree with you on this ... I just dig his work!
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jul 20, 2017 10:44:02 GMT -5
Just finished Criminal vol 1: Coward. Need to pick up the rest ASAP! I should have just grabbed them all when I bought this one; Brubaker + Phillips = guaranteed great comics. Criminal is sooo damn good.
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Post by dbutler69 on Jul 20, 2017 11:57:52 GMT -5
*Aquaman by Jim Aparo: Specifically his second run starting in late 1975 in Adventure Comics. I've read his late 60's run already. I just read the first David Michelinie issue (Adventure Comics #450) and I have to say that the quality of writing was much improved. I've liked everything Michelinie has ever written (particularly his Iron Man run) and feel he's still vastly underrated as a late Bronze Age/early Modern Age writer. Of course the draw here is Aparo's gorgeous art which I seem to appreciate more and more as the years go by. Some of his layouts in #450 were stunning. I agree about Michelinie. He's one of my favorite all time Avengers writers, actually.
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Post by Rob Allen on Jul 20, 2017 12:58:25 GMT -5
* Superman by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez: Including his Superman issues (just read #309) as well as his three issues of World's Finest and his DC Comics Presents issues. It's a shame that Lopez wasn't faster as an artists, because he draws the best and most iconic looking Superman for my tastes. When he does his own inks...wow. For pure talent and storytelling ability, he's easily in my Top 5. I just wish he did MORE during his career. Cei-U! and I met him at the Emerald City Con earlier this year, and he is a delightful man. If you have a chance to meet him, do it.
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Post by Reptisaurus! on Jul 20, 2017 13:56:02 GMT -5
* Superman by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez: Including his Superman issues (just read #309) as well as his three issues of World's Finest and his DC Comics Presents issues. It's a shame that Lopez wasn't faster as an artists, because he draws the best and most iconic looking Superman for my tastes. When he does his own inks...wow. For pure talent and storytelling ability, he's easily in my Top 5. I just wish he did MORE during his career. He's amazing, isn't he? Let's see if I still remember this. # 3 Adam Strange # 4 Metal Men # 19 Green Arrow # 41 Joker # ...17? Firestorm Damn it, I'm pretty sure I forgot at least one. I used to be the king of team-up books!
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Post by Jesse on Jul 20, 2017 17:02:51 GMT -5
Wonder Woman #36"Changes In The Wind" Ive been enjoying this run and it looks like this issue kicks of a new story arc. In Themyscira the Amazons prepare for the Feast of the Five but there are concerns about bringing in outsiders from man's world. Diana meets with Steve Trevor who explains to her that something is very wrong with Hermes. Wonder Woman finds Hermes at his temple which has been destroyed and he attacks her. She subdues him with the lasso of truth and his temporary madness subsides. He explains that he will be unable to bring the U.N. Ambassadors to Themyscira for the Feast of the Five because he is becoming mortal. The last page is a cliff hanger that shows Hermes cutting himself with Diana's tiara and bleeding. This was an entertaining issue. It really delivers on action but there's lots of stuff going on with the supporting cast too.
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Post by Cei-U! on Jul 20, 2017 21:00:49 GMT -5
Let's see if I still remember this. # 3 Adam Strange # 4 Metal Men # 19 Green Arrow # 41 Joker # ...17? Firestorm Damn it, I'm pretty sure I forgot at least one. I used to be the king of team-up books! Not too shabby. The complete list is: #1-2 The Flash #3 Adam Strange #4 Metal Men #17 Firestorm #20 Green Arrow #24 Deadman #31 Robin #41 The Joker Cei-U! I summon one of the best!
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Post by berkley on Jul 21, 2017 1:47:11 GMT -5
In-story justifications notwithstanding, the real reason for the new look was economic. Sales were not good for the Strange solo book. Stan and Roy decided to see if giving Doc a more super-heroish look would bring in more readers (and, subconsciously at least, R.T. wanted to give Dr. S some of Doctor Fate's mystique). The change made little difference and the title was cancelled after 15 issues. When Strange came back, it was in his classic garb. I liked the new look (I have numerous drawings of it in my surviving sketchnooks) but most didn't. Cei-U! I summon the thaumaturgic tinkering! This sounds familiar, but I'm not sure if I read it somewhere or I just guessed because it's the most plausible explanation. I've been thinking about the low sales that caused Doctor Strange to be canceled after only 15 issues of his solo series. I like the stories in the solo series. And that Gene Colan art and Tom Palmer inking is pretty AWESOME! But, after reading all those post-Ditko issues and marveling to such awesome RANDOM WEIRD DUDES like Kaluu, Zom, the Living Tribunal, Nebulos, Yandroth and Voltorg, I think Doctor Strange #168 to #183 might be a little disappointing. Yes, we got Nightmare and Dormammu (and Umar!) but Doc Strange fans know that we'll be seeing these folks over and over again. And if you look at the longtime foe who popped up in the previous run - Baron Mordo! - you see how he was folded into the ongoing epic storyline, wedged in between Zom and the Living Tribunal and THE JUDGMENT OF ALL THE EARTH! (I'm starting to think it may be my favorite Mordo appearance.) It's just a lot more exciting continuity-wise than the Nightmare and Dormammu appearances. And after Dormammu is done away with, we get ... what's his name Dipstyck? Or something. Dude with a castle. Subtly entraps Strange by ... inviting him to stop by! And then ... the Sons of Satannish! Azmodeus and his little Brain Trust of feeble-minded minions. And he turned out to be ... the dude who was harassing Doc Strange to get him to admit he was a charlatan and to give up magic and become a medical consultant! So there's that. After all those months of dudes like ZOM! the solo series gave readers 20 pages a month of Azmodeus. Also, consider the comic book marketplace as the Silver Age gave way to the Bronze Age. It was a GLUT! Just looking at Marvel, several books like Captain Marvel and Silver Surfer started. And then, all the comics that featured two protagonists - Tales of Suspense, Tales to Astonish and Strange Tales - split into two comics. Of the six new series, three - Captain America, Iron Man and the Hulk - lasted for decades. And Sub-Mariner did OK, lasting well into the Bronze Age. But both features that spun out of Strange Tales were gone within two years. I imagine there were a lot of readers of the double-feature comics that much preferred one over the other, and only bought one comic when the split came. I bet there were a lot of, for example, Tales to Astonish readers who preferred the Hulk and thought the Sub-Mariner was dumb because he always fought Krang and his big spikey submarine-tank and Krang was always tricking Dorma into betraying Namor, and so he was always chasing him. So when the split came, this reader bought the new Hulk book but wouldn't touch the Namor book with a ten-foot pole. Some of these guys were probably ecstatic that they got TWENTY pages of the guy they liked without having to read 10 or 12 pages of the other guy. So Strange Tales was a great comic when it was 12 pages of Steranko Nick Fury and 10 pages of Doctor Strange fighting RANDOM WEIRD DUDES. But you split it into two comics and Steranko doesn't stick around long and Doctor Strange is getting his head handed to him by three jokers in red KKK masks, and suddenly it's not such a great deal for your 24 cents. I love that "return of Dormammu" story, including the first issue with art by Adkins and Palmer (or was it Palmer & Adkins?) but yeah, the rest of the Thomas/Colan Dr. Strange is memorable mainly for the out-of-this-world Colan/Palmer artwork. I think the best of the immediate post-Ditko Strange comics work because they skilfully imitate what made the Ditko stories work, albeit through a different style of art. Same thing happened with Thor and the FF where the best post- Kirby issues were the ones that most successfully imitated the Kirby/Lee era. With Dr. Strange, I think that changed when Englehart took over: he was able to create something new, something more than just a good imitation, though still firmly based on the Ditko/Lee original. Not sure that ever happened with Thor or the FF, though I'm aware that a lot of members here would say the Simonson Thor or perhaps the Byrne FF did just that. After Englehart, I'm not sure what happened: the series changed writers and artists so frequently that I had already given up on it by the time it stabilised again under Roger Stern. One of these days I'll have to give his run a good look, but from the limited amount I've seen or heard of it, it looks a little too much like a conventional MU comic for me - similar to the Thomas/Colan series, only without the mind-blowing Colan artwork that might elevate it to another level. However, I haven't really seen enough to judge, so I'll give it a shot one of these days. In comparison to the current wise-cracking version, even a mediocre incarnation of the traditional Dr. Strange is starting to sound pretty good!
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Crimebuster
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Post by Crimebuster on Jul 21, 2017 9:11:12 GMT -5
After Englehart, I'm not sure what happened: the series changed writers and artists so frequently that I had already given up on it by the time it stabilised again under Roger Stern. One of these days I'll have to give his run a good look, but from the limited amount I've seen or heard of it, it looks a little too much like a conventional MU comic for me - similar to the Thomas/Colan series, only without the mind-blowing Colan artwork that might elevate it to another level. I love the Stern era, though as you say, it's a bit less out there than the best Ditko or Englehart stories. But you aren't going to get a bad story from Roger Stern. He did some great stuff with Clea, who never really developed over the first two decades or so of her existence. Under Stern, she becomes more of a true equal and partner for Dr. Strange. The dynammic they had a teacher/stundet and lovers always felt like an imbalanced power dynamic, and Stern goes a long way to fixing that. If you want some serious old school Dr. Strange mind blowing craziness, though, the Peter B. Gillis run that follows Stern and extends into Strange Tales #1-18 is a must read. It also uses a lot of elements introduced during the period between Ditko and Englehart to great effect. I personally put the Gillis run right up there in the top 3 Dr. Strange runs ever behind only Ditko and Englehart. The Stern run is really good though!
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Post by berkley on Jul 21, 2017 19:57:11 GMT -5
After Englehart, I'm not sure what happened: the series changed writers and artists so frequently that I had already given up on it by the time it stabilised again under Roger Stern. One of these days I'll have to give his run a good look, but from the limited amount I've seen or heard of it, it looks a little too much like a conventional MU comic for me - similar to the Thomas/Colan series, only without the mind-blowing Colan artwork that might elevate it to another level. I love the Stern era, though as you say, it's a bit less out there than the best Ditko or Englehart stories. But you aren't going to get a bad story from Roger Stern. He did some great stuff with Clea, who never really developed over the first two decades or so of her existence. Under Stern, she becomes more of a true equal and partner for Dr. Strange. The dynammic they had a teacher/stundet and lovers always felt like an imbalanced power dynamic, and Stern goes a long way to fixing that. If you want some serious old school Dr. Strange mind blowing craziness, though, the Peter B. Gillis run that follows Stern and extends into Strange Tales #1-18 is a must read. It also uses a lot of elements introduced during the period between Ditko and Englehart to great effect. I personally put the Gillis run right up there in the top 3 Dr. Strange runs ever behind only Ditko and Englehart. The Stern run is really good though! Yeah, I'll probably try the Gillis issues as well, eventually. One thing that holds me back a little is that the artwork from that whole Stern-Gillis period doesn't really grab me: not that it looks all that bad, just that it doesn't seem a particularly good fit for the title, with the odd exception here and there (e.g. the one issue Michael Golden did; or the one that Tom Sutton inked himself). Even Marshall Rogers, whose work I usually love, doesn't look right to me on Dr. Strange. Agree about Clea and that is one attraction of the Stern issues for me - though, as always, the devil is in the details. But I'm definitely interested in seeing Clea elevated to a stature befitting the character - daughter of Umar, after all.
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Crimebuster
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Post by Crimebuster on Jul 21, 2017 20:57:40 GMT -5
I love the Stern era, though as you say, it's a bit less out there than the best Ditko or Englehart stories. But you aren't going to get a bad story from Roger Stern. He did some great stuff with Clea, who never really developed over the first two decades or so of her existence. Under Stern, she becomes more of a true equal and partner for Dr. Strange. The dynammic they had a teacher/stundet and lovers always felt like an imbalanced power dynamic, and Stern goes a long way to fixing that. If you want some serious old school Dr. Strange mind blowing craziness, though, the Peter B. Gillis run that follows Stern and extends into Strange Tales #1-18 is a must read. It also uses a lot of elements introduced during the period between Ditko and Englehart to great effect. I personally put the Gillis run right up there in the top 3 Dr. Strange runs ever behind only Ditko and Englehart. The Stern run is really good though! Yeah, I'll probably try the Gillis issues as well, eventually. One thing that holds me back a little is that the artwork from that whole Stern-Gillis period doesn't really grab me: not that it looks all that bad, just that it doesn't seem a particularly good fit for the title, with the odd exception here and there (e.g. the one issue Michael Golden did; or the one that Tom Sutton inked himself). Even Marshall Rogers, whose work I usually love, doesn't look right to me on Dr. Strange. Agree about Clea and that is one attraction of the Stern issues for me - though, as always, the devil is in the details. But I'm definitely interested in seeing Clea elevated to a stature befitting the character - daughter of Umar, after all. With his slender, angular figures, I think Paul Smith's work has a hint of Ditko in it. Only... like, when Ditko was inked by Wally Wood on Stalker or something. Otherwise, yeah, I can't even remember who drew the Gillis run.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2017 21:17:56 GMT -5
On Strange Tales Gillis was teamed with Chris Warner to start, then Terry Shoemaker, then Richard Case with occasional fill ins here and there on the entire run. Warner was the primary artist of the Gillis issues on the Doc title that preceded it. I beleive Warner left to do a creator-owned series that launched in the initial issues of Dark Horse Presents around that time (I believe it was Black Cross).
-M
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