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Post by berkley on Nov 2, 2017 16:44:44 GMT -5
Earlier I said I was a little bogged down in Namor's Bronze Age series (I think it was around #40) but it got better really quickly! I am certainly not sitting here and reading through these books and marking time until the return of Bill Everett in #50. I just read #47 to #49 over the last few days and I have zero complaints. Namor, Dr. Doom and MODOK in a furious battle for possession of the Cosmic Cube! Gerry Conway is doing a great job on the writing. The art has been some wonderful work by Gene Colan, inked by Mike Esposito for two issues and then Frank Giacoia in #49. That Colan/Giacoia team could have been one of the great art teams of the Silver Age! Covers by Gil Kane and Bill Everett! I generally find Gil Kane's covers for Marvel in the 70s aren't nearly as good as his covers for DC in the 60s but I really like this one. Maybe in part because of the simpler, less cluttered composition, but also I think because the inking suits Kane's style.
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Post by Hoosier X on Nov 3, 2017 11:58:29 GMT -5
I took a little break from my regular series to read a couple of comics from this week's cover contest that looked intriguing. I could never read one issue after another of a lot of DC Silver Age comics, the way I do with Silver Age Marvel. They're very formulaic, and three or four issues of Flash or Green Lantern or JLA is quite enough for a while, thank you. But in small doses, they are a heck of a lot of fun! And Green Lantern #48 is no exception! The best thing, though, is the hijinks among the supporting cast. Pie-Face is here, the loyal Eskimo chronicler. And Green Lantern ditches Carol at a fancy dinner to go dancing with a Hollywood actress (named Zuzu; I wonder if she ever worked with Rita Farr?). Pie-Face muses that Hal is playing it smart because Carol will be mad at Green Lantern for ditching her and she'll be more likely to pay attention to Hal Jordan. So don't feel too bad for Pie-Face because his best friend calls him a rather insensitive name. Pie like Hal is a bit of a pig himself for being an accomplice to Hal's mind games. (Is it any wonder Carol lost it from time to time and became Star Sapphire?) I read this pretty late last night and I'm having trouble remembering a whole lot about it. I DO remember wishing Bob Haney had written it. (Though it's not really that bad. There's a lot of interesting bits where Supergirl is watching Batman very closely and making mental notes about what he does because she wants to be a better detective. She's new at this super-hero thing; she's only been doing it for 20 years!) And I also remember being kind of fascinated by this particular Supergirl costume. She's had worse, I suppose, but the cape is held on by a strip of cloth across her throat and yet her upper chest is exposed and it looks really stupid.
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Post by Hoosier X on Nov 3, 2017 12:14:28 GMT -5
And when I went back to my regular series, I read this: Bill Everett returns to The Sub-Mariner, and he's writing it as well as drawing it! The first appearance of Namrorita! The fate of Namora! The return of Byrrah! And at the very end ... Llyra shows up! Bill Everett's 1970s run on The Sub-Mariner is going to be short but oh so glorious!
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Post by Hoosier X on Nov 3, 2017 13:00:57 GMT -5
Well! That was weird! The secret of Zo is revealed! Carol Danvers escapes from the hospital and gets picked up by a car containing ... Yon-Rogg! Ronan the Accuser! The Kree Supreme Intelligence! Hala the Kree Homeworld! Mar-Vell gets his iconic red and blue suit! And I'm loving this Don Heck/Syd Shores art!
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Post by Reptisaurus! on Nov 3, 2017 19:16:11 GMT -5
I read this pretty late last night and I'm having trouble remembering a whole lot about it. I DO remember wishing Bob Haney had written it. (Though it's not really that bad. There's a lot of interesting bits where Supergirl is watching Batman very closely and making mental notes about what he does because she wants to be a better detective. She's new at this super-hero thing; she's only been doing it for 20 years!) And I also remember being kind of fascinated by this particular Supergirl costume. She's had worse, I suppose, but the cape is held on by a strip of cloth across her throat and yet her upper chest is exposed and it looks really stupid. I believe Haney flat-out refused to write Supergirl in B & B. He didn't write the other Supergirl/Batman team-up either. (Although he did an incredibly bizarre Supergirl/Wonder Woman team-up back in the '60s.) Although this was after Haney's last issue, anyway. *Sniff* I don't remember anything about the story, either, but my copy had all the ads chopped out with an exact-o-knife which was annoying. I'll probably replace it one day.
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Post by masterofquackfu on Nov 4, 2017 10:50:14 GMT -5
I read Champions #17. It was the last issue in the series...the finale for the Champs. Not sure when or where I got the comic, but probably sometime in the late 80's or early 90's from one of the cheapie bins at the LCS. The issue, as finales go, was pretty pedestrian. Nothing really exciting happened that made you want to turn the page. In fact, I think Mantlo/Tuska/Byrne mailed this one in. The Sentinels(or rather, the Vanisher's version) appeared as well as the BOEM...Blob, Unus, Lorelei. The ending of the book was completely rushed...it went from a total Champion defeat by the Vanisher and his crew to the Champs turning the tide in 3 panels(lol). The highlight may have been when Darkstar stopped the Vanisher's teleportation in mid-air. That was pretty cool. I really think the Champs could have been a more interesting book if they had gotten rid of Herc and Ghost Rider and replaced them with Black Goliath and Jack of Hearts. I do like the fact that the Champs were probably the strangest team concept in Marvel(up to that time). I actually like the team quite a bit and have all 17 of their issues. In all, I would give this last issue a C-.
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Post by Icctrombone on Nov 4, 2017 11:34:24 GMT -5
The last few nights I've been reading Master of King Fu 38-45. I really enjoyed the Meonch / Gulacy issues. I was a bit surprised that they had covers by others besides Gulacy. I would think his art would be a selling point.
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Post by pinkfloydsound17 on Nov 8, 2017 19:42:41 GMT -5
About to read this...is the cover implying Pip just hooked up with the blue lady?!
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Post by Paste Pot Paul on Nov 8, 2017 20:32:09 GMT -5
The last few nights I've been reading Master of King Fu 38-45. I really enjoyed the Meonch / Gulacy issues. I was a bit surprised that they had covers by others besides Gulacy. I would think his art would be a selling point. Been reading these too, Gulacy is awesome here, pity it's another year or so till Zeck takes over for good. Then there's the sheer beauty of the much missed Gene Day to come. Looked over some of his interiors this morning, what he could have been if only...
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,057
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Post by Confessor on Nov 9, 2017 3:04:02 GMT -5
I finally read the Heavy Metal magazine adaptation of Alien by Archie Goodwin and Walt Simonson the other night... I've wanted to read this for ages and, I'm pleased to say, it didn't disappoint. Goodwin's script and Simonson's artwork work in perfect synergy together, creating a faithful adaptation that manages to retain the suspense, creepiness and horror of the film and translate them successfully to the comic book page. It's a fairly quick read, but it's anything but lightweight. If you're a fan of the film Alien or Goodwin and SImonson's work, this is well worth your time reading.
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Post by Icctrombone on Nov 9, 2017 7:36:12 GMT -5
The last few nights I've been reading Master of King Fu 38-45. I really enjoyed the Meonch / Gulacy issues. I was a bit surprised that they had covers by others besides Gulacy. I would think his art would be a selling point. Been reading these too, Gulacy is awesome here, pity it's another year or so till Zeck takes over for good. Then there's the sheer beauty of the much missed Gene Day to come. Looked over some of his interiors this morning, what he could have been if only... I have the entire MOKF run and am savoring the experience of going page to page. I like digital but you just don't get the full experience and can tend to skim a bit.
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Post by masterofquackfu on Nov 9, 2017 9:20:29 GMT -5
Today I read....
Captain America #321. I bought this on a military base in Germany in '86. This is probably the first time I've read it since that time. Not a fan of the good Captain any longer, but I did like Gruenwald's time with him. He really made the book dialogue heavy and Flag Smasher was pretty good in it. I also liked the Zeck cover. Rating: B
Avengers #289. This involved the Avengers(She-Hulk, Sub-Mariner, etc.) and Marrina taking on Heavy Metal. Sentry 459, Tess-One, and the Mad Thinker's android. Also, Machine Man joined initially, but turned traitor. They were led by the Super-Adaptoid. A nice unit that, if properly used, would have been very formidable and a lasting group. Yet, Marvel, as did happen with many villain teams, dropped the ball and they pretty much, to my knowledge, never appeared again. I liked this issue a lot because it was filled with action and pretty much intimated what was on the cover. Great battle issue. Wish we could have seen the evolution of Heavy Metal, but, oh well... Rating: B
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Post by Deleted on Nov 9, 2017 11:10:26 GMT -5
I finally read the Heavy Metal magazine adaptation of Alien by Archie Goodwin and Walt Simonson the other night... I've wanted to read this for ages and, I'm pleased to say, it didn't disappoint. Goodwin's script and Simonson's artwork work in perfect synergy together, creating a faithful adaptation that manages to retain the suspense, creepiness and horror of the film and translate them successfully to the comic book page. It's a fairly quick read, but it's anything but lightweight. If you're a fan of the film Alien or Goodwin and SImonson's work, this is well worth your time reading. I read this a year or so ago when I stumbled across a copy of the trade at a Second and Charles. I went into it as more of a fan of Goodwin and Simonson than of Alien (which I liked too but wasn't a "fan" of) and really enjoyed it. The offshoot was it raised my appreciation of the movie and inspired me to rewatch it and I liked it a lot more that time around than I had previously. I have watched it again since and most of the follow ups this summer/autumn (I petered out after the first AvP film, I still have the second on my DVR and Prometheus). -M.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 10, 2017 0:50:00 GMT -5
As I noted elsewhere, with November being the month of Thanksgiving, I am trying to revisit some of the comics I am thankful for, ones that were watershed moments in shaping me as a comics fan. Most haven't been read in at least a decade. Last night and tonight, I broke out the 30+ year old Warner Books edition of Dark Knight Returns (the first printing of the collected edition done before DC even had a graphic novel program and put out by Warner, the parent company, not DC itself. It had been 15+ years since I read it (last time I was still living in CT) and though it was a seminal book for me when I first read it (and reread it, and reread it, that 30+ year old tpb is in rough shape form all the rereadings in the first 15 years I owned it) it had dimmed in my estimation by the beginning of the 21st century, so had sat on the shelf for years without getting another reading. That has changed. I read it coming in with fresh eyes and an open mind, having been reminded by a couple of creators I know of just how influential the book had been and how it changed perceptions of comics. There's no way to recreate your first experience reading a book, I tried to approach it without the jadedness that had accrued like barnacles on the boat of my comics reading over the years.
Reading it, I remembered why I had liked it so much and why I had reread it so many times before I had put it down finally. I realized my jadedness was not for the work itself, but how badly the pastiche train of "Miller's Dark Knight" had derailed quality story telling and original voices in comics. Miller had a clear vision, a story to tell, and a voice at its peak of confidence and ability and crafted a masterful tale that still stands up (maybe reading it again in a world where nuclear tension is real again for the first time since the end of the cold ware gave it more verisimilitude and made it feel less dated than it did the last time I read it, I don't know). I still dislike the poorly crafted pale imitations that followed in its wake and that it became a Bible on how to do Batman, but the story itself, the book itself, the craft in the book are all outstanding. I am glad I revisited it.
-M
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Post by Icctrombone on Nov 10, 2017 4:23:43 GMT -5
I had a similar experience with the Jim Starlin Magus saga. I have read it many times and got a bit tired of it until I read the Masterworks HC edition. Somehow, the format with the fresh colors popped out at me and it was a refreshing read.
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