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Post by Nowhere Man on Jul 14, 2019 17:18:26 GMT -5
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Post by dbutler69 on Jul 15, 2019 11:29:55 GMT -5
This story was just ridiculous, as you said, Hoosier; but must admit I love this issue if only for sentimental reasons. Avengers #14 was one of the first back issues I ever bought; it was my oldest Avengers issue back in the day. I also liked the Kirby opening splash (for the stories he laid out for other artists he frequently did complete pencils on the first page, as in this issue). I know what you mean. I have a soft spot for certain old comics that were among my first ever back issues, such as X-Men #20 and Avengers Annual #1.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2019 11:54:32 GMT -5
Batman #309 was reprinted in the UK, circa 1988 (London Editions Magazines were the licensee in the UK - and they published Batman Monthly). Look at this: So that's how I discovered that tale. I've re-read it many times since. It's one of the most poignant and touching Batman tales I've ever read. I'm sure it'd make my top ten.
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Post by beccabear67 on Jul 15, 2019 16:12:28 GMT -5
Read Detective #471-474 (I never did get #469 & 470 as it turned out)... interesting how Englehart is tying in with '40s stories (and even the lettering and him being 'The' Batman a lot also recalls the '40s). I had read the old one with the giant-sized goons in the tabloid Batman #1 reprint from the '70s and I'm betting he and readers of the issue would have it pretty fresh in mind. Didn't realize Deadshot went back to the '40s as well in a very different costume. For his reappearance the old '40s story is recapped. I didn't expect to afford this issue or the Joker ones and strangely enough all three are in top condition where some of the lesser valued issues I've settled for in lower grade, sometimes you win! Now onward to reading #475 & 476 for the first time! I wonder if it will tie in with the Joker story also in that oversized Batman #1 reprint?
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Post by Graphic Autist on Jul 16, 2019 20:11:15 GMT -5
Over the last two days I read The Avengers 89-97, courtesy of the Avengers V4 Omnibus.
Now at age 47, I have finally read the Kree/Skrull war after having heard about it for 37 years or so. I enjoyed it quite a bit, and loved the art by Adams and the Buscema brothers. I consider the time period when this came out to be Marvel’s Golden Age...something about 70s Marvel seems to be what I like best from them.
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Post by Hoosier X on Jul 16, 2019 21:44:42 GMT -5
I bought a digital copy of The Epic Collection that reprints Thor from #175 to #194, and I'm up to #187. (I used the cover to #186 because Hela is AWESOME!) This is part of the Infinity saga, which is well-named because it seems to go on forever! The next chapter is called "The End of Infinity," but I'm not sure I believe them! John Buscema is the penciller and the inker changes a lot. Sam Grainger did a few issues and MAN he is just as good as Sinnott, who also inks a few. I'm making fun of it a little, but it's actually pretty suspenseful and full of cosmic cliffhangers, and makes very good use of the Asgard supporting cast of Sif, Odin, Balder, Karnilla, Loki, Hela , Odin's vizier and the Warriors Three. I bet this was a lot of FUN month by month when it was coming out. And I can hardly wait to find out … THE SECRET OF INFINITY! (If they ever get around to it.)
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Post by Hoosier X on Jul 16, 2019 21:47:32 GMT -5
Over the last two days I read The Avengers 89-97, courtesy of the Avengers V4 Omnibus. Now at age 47, I have finally read the Kree/Skrull war after having heard about it for 37 years or so. I enjoyed it quite a bit, and loved the art by Adams and the Buscema brothers. I consider the time period when this came out to be Marvel’s Golden Age...something about 70s Marvel seems to be what I like best from them. I'm 55 and I started reading The Avengers about #141 and I never got around to the Kree/Skrull War until three or four years ago when I got the TPB from the library! I like it! It's fun, but I'm a little more partial to the Kang Parade a few years later where Steve Englehart was writing it and Kang would attack almost every issue.
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Post by Cei-U! on Jul 16, 2019 22:21:34 GMT -5
Read Detective #471-474 (I never did get #469 & 470 as it turned out)... interesting how Englehart is tying in with '40s stories (and even the lettering and him being 'The' Batman a lot also recalls the '40s). I had read the old one with the giant-sized goons in the tabloid Batman #1 reprint from the '70s and I'm betting he and readers of the issue would have it pretty fresh in mind. Didn't realize Deadshot went back to the '40s as well in a very different costume. For his reappearance the old '40s story is recapped. I didn't expect to afford this issue or the Joker ones and strangely enough all three are in top condition where some of the lesser valued issues I've settled for in lower grade, sometimes you win! Now onward to reading #475 & 476 for the first time! I wonder if it will tie in with the Joker story also in that oversized Batman #1 reprint? Deadshot doesn't date back to the '40s, though he barely missed doing so. He first appeared in Batman #59 (June-July 1950).
Cei-U! I summon the Calendar Man!
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Post by hondobrode on Jul 17, 2019 0:50:45 GMT -5
Re-reading the Lee / Ditko original run of Amazing Spider-Man.
The older I get the harder they are to read; sad to think that if Ditko hit the market now he wouldn't make it in this business.
I still really love the Ditko art, but seriously, not just here but in most of Lee's dialogue, it's got some real painful spots that are hard to swallow.
I respect what he did, which hadn't been done the Marvel way before, and I like Stan and all, and yet, I'm kind of looking forward to finally getting through the series.
Weird ?
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Post by EdoBosnar on Jul 17, 2019 3:49:37 GMT -5
Hard to say - I'm really in no position to judge other people's tastes and preferences. For my own part though, out of all of the material from the first phase of the Marvel Age, i.e., FF, Hulk, Avengers, Thor, Iron Man, Daredevil, etc., I find that the early Spider-man holds up the best for me, and I've gone back and re-read those more than any of the others. Edited to add: the early Dr. Strange, too.
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bor
Full Member
Posts: 238
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Post by bor on Jul 17, 2019 4:54:12 GMT -5
Re-reading the Lee / Ditko original run of Amazing Spider-Man. The older I get the harder they are to read; sad to think that if Ditko hit the market now he wouldn't make it in this business. I still really love the Ditko art, but seriously, not just here but in most of Lee's dialogue, it's got some real painful spots that are hard to swallow. I respect what he did, which hadn't been done the Marvel way before, and I like Stan and all, and yet, I'm kind of looking forward to finally getting through the series. Weird ? Its funny, I feel the exact opposite. When I was younger and read the Lee/Ditko stories in reprints they bored me, but now I love them.
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Post by brutalis on Jul 17, 2019 7:27:44 GMT -5
Not necessarily. It kind of depends on what version of Spidey you experience 1st and what version you like most out of all the decades. I came to Ditko later on in my youth with Kane/Romita and Andru/Esposito as my introduction. Ditko really captures the young/new junior high sense of early heroics feeling, while the others present a more maturing teen/adult growth and outlook. Ditko provides the gangly/awkward still learning his abilities guy, where as Romita forward provides us the confident and comfortable with his skills young hero. While those early Ditko/Lee Spidey stories are a bit more 50s/60s in tone (it does stand out at times) it doesn't bother me. A regular dose of it isn't something I really want, but I enjoy going back in time and immersing myself in a few issues/stories at a time.
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Post by Nowhere Man on Jul 17, 2019 21:49:09 GMT -5
Re-reading the Lee / Ditko original run of Amazing Spider-Man. The older I get the harder they are to read; sad to think that if Ditko hit the market now he wouldn't make it in this business. I still really love the Ditko art, but seriously, not just here but in most of Lee's dialogue, it's got some real painful spots that are hard to swallow. I respect what he did, which hadn't been done the Marvel way before, and I like Stan and all, and yet, I'm kind of looking forward to finally getting through the series. Weird ? Not weird. As far as Ditko goes, I'm a huge fan of his 60's work but my main interest is his endlessly inventive designs on Dr. Strange. As great as he was on Spider-Man, I think the series took off visually when Romita Sr. arrived. Of the original three Marvel Age founding father artists, I think it's fair to say that only Kirby evolved and got better over time. Ditko and Heck were both surpassed in talent and dynamism by Buscema and Romita. I agree with other members who think that Lee's best and most readable work was on Amazing Spider-Man. Lee's writing was strongest the more he had the opportunity to be glib and humorous, and seeing as how he knew the publishing business so well, it was magnified anytime he got to write J.J. Jameson and Spidey's Daily Bugle supporting cast. I just finished reading Avengers #10 today and it's plain to see that it was pure generic hack-work compared to his work on FF and Spider-Man. That being said, I think I underrated his writing on X-Men the first time I read those early Lee/Kirby issues. Honestly, most pre-70's writing is an acquired taste that has to be accepted for the fun, often absurd, approach that it took. I'm also reading the Roy Thomas Conan series (currently on #13) and it's very interesting how modern the writing is on that series as early as 1972. In my opinion the dialog, or most of it, would hold up today. Obviously a lot of this had to do with the genre and Thomas not feeling constrained by superhero tropes.
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Post by beccabear67 on Jul 18, 2019 12:41:59 GMT -5
Detective Comics #475 & 476... the Joker 'Laughing Fish' two-part story. Pretty good if not earth-shakingly historic (not that I want that) and it seems Steve Englehart stopped writing comics for awhile after this. I like the subplot about Silver St.Cloud and even imagined a scenario where she decides to become a protector of Batman as 'The Silver Shadow' with a light gun that can be deployed on his foes from a distance at crucial moments. Finally he would recognize who this mystery assistant is and they'd become more formally a team and she wouldn't have to wear an overcoat and big floppy hat to disguise herself from him but wear a grey and black outfit and get some Bats-designed gadgets perhaps. Something that didn't fit so well though was the ghost business. It's one thing that the guilty Rupert Thorne sees and hears him, but for Hugo Strange in ghost form to lead Batman to something he will later need is a bit more than the 'hint of a ghost' in one person's mind...
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Post by Nowhere Man on Jul 19, 2019 9:24:21 GMT -5
Detective Comics #475 & 476... the Joker 'Laughing Fish' two-part story. Pretty good if not earth-shakingly historic (not that I want that) and it seems Steve Englehart stopped writing comics for awhile after this. I like the subplot about Silver St.Cloud and even imagined a scenario where she decides to become a protector of Batman as 'The Silver Shadow' with a light gun that can be deployed on his foes from a distance at crucial moments. Finally he would recognize who this mystery assistant is and they'd become more formally a team and she wouldn't have to wear an overcoat and big floppy hat to disguise herself from him but wear a grey and black outfit and get some Bats-designed gadgets perhaps. Something that didn't fit so well though was the ghost business. It's one thing that the guilty Rupert Thorne sees and hears him, but for Hugo Strange in ghost form to lead Batman to something he will later need is a bit more than the 'hint of a ghost' in one person's mind... I re-read this recently as I was gearing up for my massive--probably till I'm 60+ years old to finish since I have so much on my reading plate--Batman 1979-1992 readathon. Still love this story. Though it was fun to get to read the actual issue this time as opposed to the Strange Apparitions trade. I loved how BTAS combined this story with the classic Denny O'Neil/Neal Adams story "The Joker's Five Way Revenge!"
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