Confessor
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Not Bucky O'Hare!
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Post by Confessor on Nov 11, 2014 19:41:30 GMT -5
I'm always a bit hesitant with a lot of Stan Lee's writing. I can dig his later Fantastic Four and love his Silver Surfer, but some of his stuff is a sure bore (his X-Men and earlier FF stuff, imo). Ah, I hear ya. Stan's dialogue isn't for everyone. In that case, you might want to avoid the early Doc Strange stuff, I guess, although I'd argue that Stan's writing on the series is miles better than the Denny O'Neil or Roy Thomas penned stuff that immediately followed the Lee/Ditko period. Personally, I also really enjoyed the early issues of Marvel Premiere in which Stephen Strange appeared.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 11, 2014 19:51:02 GMT -5
I'm always a bit hesitant with a lot of Stan Lee's writing. I can dig his later Fantastic Four and love his Silver Surfer, but some of his stuff is a sure bore (his X-Men and earlier FF stuff, imo). Ah, I hear ya. Stan's dialogue isn't for everyone. In that case, you might want to avoid the early Doc Strange stuff, I guess, although I'd argue that Stan's writing on the series is miles better than the Denny O'Neil or Roy Thomas penned stuff that immediately followed the Lee/Ditko period. Personally, I also really enjoyed the early issues of Marvel Premiere in which Stephen Strange appeared. I will probably add the Dr. Strange stuff to my collection, anyway, eventually. I have earlier Stan stuff, and I know I'll eventually go back to it. When he's good, he's spot-on. But when he's a bore, I'd rather read a grocery list, unfortunately. My son gave me his Captain America stuff, and I fell asleep trying to get through it. My son, however, LOVES his Cap. I just could not get into it.
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Post by berkley on Nov 11, 2014 21:05:04 GMT -5
Claws of the cat #3, or the adventures of Greer Nelson before she became Tigra. I am chagrined that this title didn't have a longer life, because its premise was interesting: like all good superhero origins, the Cat's wasn't too complicated and was different enough from that of other heroes' to make us want to know more. I like the fact that the heroine's secret identity is far less secret than that of other masked characters from the same era. The script here is by Linda Fite and the art by Paty Greer and Bill Everett; it has the charm and naivety of a 1950 Marvel Boy or Venus script. The art was in particular pretty noticeable; I don't think I had seen Ms. Greer's pencils before and they were quite good; Everett's inks, meanwhile, are as enjoyable as usual. The plot could have been silly if treated differently, but somehow here It works quite well. Perhaps because it is intenally consistent within the limits of the comic-book genre, where the reader must simply accept that it makes sense for people with special gifts to don a colorful costume and fight crime and for modern-day pirates to dress like Blackbeard. In any case... Here, the Cat discovers a secret, underwater base located in Lake Michigan; a base she assumes belongs to the US navy after discovering navy uniforms in a closet. The people manning the base, while not hostile, do detain her and want to know what she's doing there... but they don't quite act like actual servicemen, and they wear science-fictiony outfits. The base is then attacked by Commander Kraken (who may or may not be the same guy as Captain Kraken from Iron Man... I haven't checked). Kraken used to be an enemy of the Submariner, but has relocated from the open seas to Lake Michigan after his previous defeat and is now looking for a new base of operations. Short list of smile-inducing silly details: Kraken refers to the water overhead as the big briny, even if he's under Lake Michigan. His henchmen are dressed as XVIIIth century pirates and talk like accordingly. Arrrrrrh! Then there is the nonsensical aspect of his plot: how much sense does it make for a criminal to take over a covert US military base to use as his own? How long does he think the government will let him enjoy it? Anyway. Fighting ensues, and the pirates are defeated. The Cat leaves the base, which then turns out not to have been a US navy base at all, but an alien observation post that takes off and returns to space! The Cat reflects that she has acted with arrogance, thinking she understood everything but not understanding at all (a very Shang-Chi moment, I thought). High marks all around. That was a good 1970s comic. I managed to find these early Cat issues a while ago but haven't read them yet. Glad to hear they're as good as they look. I like Hellcat, but I always thought it was a bit of a waste to change the original Cat into the furry-skinned Tigra. Come to think of it, I must have something against furry superheroes because I never liked the Beast's mutation into his current blue-furred form either.
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,090
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Post by Confessor on Nov 12, 2014 11:05:25 GMT -5
I have earlier Stan stuff, and I know I'll eventually go back to it. When he's good, he's spot-on. But when he's a bore, I'd rather read a grocery list, unfortunately. Amazing Spider-Man is by miles and miles the best of Stan Lee's writing, as far as I'm concerned. The rest of Marvel's Silver Age output just pales in comparison, though clearly it's all pretty good really. My son gave me his Captain America stuff, and I fell asleep trying to get through it. My son, however, LOVES his Cap. I just could not get into it. I have the Stan Lee/Jack Kirby Captain American Omnibus and, yeah...it is hard work.
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
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Post by Confessor on Nov 12, 2014 11:41:41 GMT -5
I read Marvel Team-Up #78 and #83 last night (the former featuring Spidey and Wonder Man, the latter featuring Spidey, Nick Fury and Black Widow). Neither were particularly good or memorable. MTU #78 was a below average story that saw the wall-crawler and Wonder Man face off against The Griffin. Is it just me, or is Wonder Man just one of the shitiest superheroes ever to be offered up by the House of Ideas? I can't stand him...back then or in more recent years. Some pretty uninspired artwork by somebody called Don Perlin definitely makes this a below average issue of the series.
The Chris Claremont scripted MTU #83 was a bit better; with Spidey, Nick Fury and Black Widow facing off against Boomerang, the Silver Samurai and a shadowy female antagonist that we don't get to see in this issue. This wasn't a brilliant issue, mind you, but a solid 5/10 type issue.
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Crimebuster
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Making comics!
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Post by Crimebuster on Nov 12, 2014 11:51:58 GMT -5
Wonder Man's first appearance, in Avengers #9, is an all-time classic which has been homaged and referenced numerous times by writers since.
Of course, he was meant as a one-off character. I agree he hasn't been particularly great since they brought him back in Avengers #151.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 15, 2014 13:53:25 GMT -5
Journey into Mystery #90 - Probably my favorite story so far (done much better in Magnus Robot Fighter 4000 AD #2) but it's still early Thor. Xartans arrive, kidnap people, take on the appearance of said folks and act like idiots to create chaos and make Earth an easy target. Thor chucks one of the Xartans into space and commands those left behind to turn into trees. The Hartley art stinks.
Magnus Robot Fighter 4000 AD #3 - Now this is the stuff; quick-paced, not overly verbose and beatiful, clean art. A giant robot emerges from a strange space craft and starts bustin' up North Am. Magnus learns it is the work of Xyrkol, so he sets off for Planet X to stop him. Magnus succeeds (by smashing the control console), but Xyrkol informs him the robot will now be on a rampage (wasn't he always?) so Magnus has to return to aave North Am. Xyrkol refuses to return with Magnus, opting instead to blow up Planet X and himself. Magnus defeats the giant robot by...wait for it...smashing the control mechanism. He vows to continue fighting any robots that need smashing. I love this damn book.
The Secret Society of Super Villains #2 - Kinda surpised I'm enjoying this as much as I am. Captain Comet returns to Earth and happens upon Green Lantern pursuing Grodd and Hi-Jack. He mistakenly believes Green Lantern to be a villain (because villains are always chasing heroes) and helps Grodd and Jack escape. Grodd uses a mind-shield to keep Comet from learning the SSoSV are bad guys, and Manhunter puts his joining to a vote (it's unanimous with Captain Cold abstaining). Manhunter then follows Comet to a cemetary and lets him know that he is one of many clones of the now deceased original Manhunter. The other clones (since destroyed) were all bad, so this good clone is apparently infiltrating the SSoSV. Manhunter is shocked to learn Comet knew they were evil (Grodd's shield isn't strong enough). Their discussion is interrupted by Mantis who they fend off. Manhunter then takes the SSoV to an underground lab belonging to their secret benefactor who is revealed to be Darkseid. Mantis then busts in with his minions and they make quick work of all but Manhunter, Captain Cold and Star Sapphire. Mantis tells them to surrender or die. What a cliffhanger!
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Post by Hoosier X on Nov 15, 2014 15:14:34 GMT -5
The Secret Society of Super Villains #2 - Kinda surpised I'm enjoying this as much as I am. Captain Comet returns to Earth and happens upon Green Lantern pursuing Grodd and Hi-Jack. He mistakenly believes Green Lantern to be a villain (because villains are always chasing heroes) and helps Grodd and Jack escape. Grodd uses a mind-shield to keep Comet from learning the SSoSV are bad guys, and Manhunter puts his joining to a vote (it's unanimous with Captain Cold abstaining). Manhunter then follows Comet to a cemetary and lets him know that he is one of many clones of the now deceased original Manhunter. The other clones (since destroyed) were all bad, so this good clone is apparently infiltrating the SSoSV. Manhunter is shocked to learn Comet knew they were evil (Grodd's shield isn't strong enough). Their discussion is interrupted by Mantis who they fend off. Manhunter then takes the SSoV to an underground lab belonging to their secret benefactor who is revealed to be Darkseid. Mantis then busts in with his minions and they make quick work of all but Manhunter, Captain Cold and Star Sapphire. Mantis tells them to surrender or die. What a cliffhanger! The Secret Society of Super-Villains is one of my favorite comics of the late 1970s and #2 was my first issue. I got the first issue at a used book store (old comics were unbagged and were priced two for 25 cents) a few months later, and I didn't miss an issue of SSOSV through the rest of its run.
Except for the last few issues of The Joker, SSOSV was the only DC comic I bought regularly between 1975 and 1980 when I was almost exclusively a Marvel fan. I wasn't a big fan of any of the DC super-heroes, but some of their villains were fascinating to me, and SSOSV was a great place to see Grodd and the other Flash villains (I knew about them because my brother read Flash for year) without reading Flash! And SSOSV was probably the first place I saw Sinestro, Manhunter, Darkseid, the Wizard, Felix Faust, Shadow Thief and a bunch of others.
I remember SSOSV #2 very well. I sympathize with Captain Comet. Who wouldn't immediately take the side of a cuddly gorilla and a guy dressed as a card over a sinister green, white and black clad ruffian like Hal Jordan? (I eventually warmed to Hal, I started reading GL around #151.)
Maybe it's mostly nostalgia talking, but I still find the whole SSOSV series to be a very enjoyable read that I pull out every two or three years. It's too bad that they never finished that JSA storyline. (I have read the black and white stories in the SSOSV reprint volumes (Yay Freedom Fighters!) but it still never ends! Though they did explain what happened to that incarnation of the SSOSV in the Justice League.)
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Post by Deleted on Nov 15, 2014 15:26:31 GMT -5
I have the TPB of that Joker series, but I couldn't get into it. I only bought the two SSoSV HC last week because they were on sale for $20 for the pair (retail $80). So far, I'm pleased with the purchase.
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Post by Hoosier X on Nov 15, 2014 18:14:47 GMT -5
I have the TPB of that Joker series, but I couldn't get into it. I only bought the two SSoSV HC last week because they were on sale for $20 for the pair (retail $80). So far, I'm pleased with the purchase. I love that Joker series! The first issue I saw in a spinner rack was #7, guest-starring Lex Luthor, and it's STILL my favorite Lex Luthor story. (except for that Golden Age story where he gets the Powerstone and uses electricity to be as powerful as Superman and takes away Superman's power. That's a good one too!)
I picked up most of the rest of the issues of Joker when they weren't too old. I LOVE the Green Arrow/Black Canary story in Joker #4. It was probably the first story ever read with Green Arrow and Black Canary. I read it again recently and I was a little disappointed that Black Canary (in her civilian guise the entire issue) is so helpless! I still like the story, but it really doesn't stack up well against the many characterizations of the Black Canary (going back to the 1940s) where she's NOBODY'S damsel in distress.
I like #5 a lot too. First time I ever saw the Royal Flush Gang. I love the Royal Flush Gang! Putting them up against the Joker was a natural.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 15, 2014 18:20:18 GMT -5
I think I got to #3, although if a bridge figures into #4 I read it too.
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Post by Hoosier X on Nov 15, 2014 18:26:19 GMT -5
I think I got to #3, although if a bridge figures into #4 I read it too. YES! The Star City bridge. The Joker kidnaps Dinah Lance (not knowing she's Black Canary) and then holds her as hostage and I think he also plans to steal the giant star for some reason.
Fortunately Ollie is there to save the day because we can't expect Dinah to get out of this herself. It's not like she's been around since 1948 or anything.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 15, 2014 18:29:54 GMT -5
I may pull that TPB back out tonight and see if it strikes me differently.
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Post by Hoosier X on Nov 15, 2014 22:00:05 GMT -5
The Joker series is pretty dopey, but it's some awesome Bronze Age dopiness. In the Creeper story, I think the Charles Schulz/Peanuts parody is pretty funny, where the Joker kidnaps the cartoonist because he hates the cartoon and then persuades the cartoonist to draw cartoons where the Joker is kicking the cartoon character. And it turns out the cartoonist has grown to hate the character and enjoys the drawings!
And #6 has a strange Sherlock Holmes homage.
I know a lot of people who like Bronze Age DC in general but don't enjoy the Joker series. Maybe you had to be 12 years old in 1976 to get it.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 15, 2014 22:13:33 GMT -5
And #6 has a strange Sherlock Holmes homage. I'm going to find that book right now.
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