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Post by chadwilliam on Aug 2, 2016 18:29:40 GMT -5
There's a new Tick live action pilot airing later this month and while there are a few elements of what I've seen thus far that leads me to question whether it'll work for me, I can't at the same time think of anyone ever getting the character wrong. I thoroughly enjoy Ben Edlund's original 12 issue run, the follow-ups released through NEC, the animated series was fantastic, and if anything, I feel that the first live action series topped even that. This year also marks the Tick's 30th anniversary and for a guy that's been around that long, he's got a pretty impressive track record.
This isn't to say he's my absolute favorite comic book character, but those I'd rank ahead of the big guy can't boast of possessing such spotless records. As far as I'm concerned, no one's hit the highs of Batman, but at the same time, few have hit his lows either. I'm sure the same can be said of most any character in the history of comics - Superman, Spider-Man, etc - but for you guys, who is that character who if you pick up one of their comics at random, is most likely to guarantee a great story? It doesn't even have to be one of your favorites, but anyone who you've either never or rarely read a bad story about. |
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Post by hondobrode on Aug 2, 2016 20:26:00 GMT -5
This guy  I love the Rebel noble savage, despite not being able to recall any super fantastic stories, but a whole slug of rock solid stories and moments. One of my fav'rites |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Aug 2, 2016 20:35:30 GMT -5
I've never seen a bad version of Warren Ellis' The Authority. Granted, I haven't read anything from the Nu52, but prior to that point, the worst Authority stories were merely adequate. Even Keith Giffen's painfully uninteresting stint on Midnighter did nothing to soil the character or property.
I suppose it would be unfair to count characters that are controlled by their creators? Usagi Yojimbo, Hellboy, Groo, etc etc.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Aug 2, 2016 21:18:22 GMT -5
The question, almost of necessity, doesn't allow for creator owned characters or characters that aren't at least a couple of decades old.
I'm a big Jonah Hex fan, but Hex and the last volume of All-Star Western are both problematic.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Aug 2, 2016 21:31:04 GMT -5
On a related note, I love how protective Stan Lee was of Silver Surfer up through the early 1980s. He was very reluctant to let anyone else write the character and, thus, there were truly no disappointing Silver Surfer stories until volume 3.
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Post by berkley on Aug 2, 2016 21:33:03 GMT -5
The question, almost of necessity, doesn't allow for creator owned characters or characters that aren't at least a couple of decades old. I'm a big Jonah Hex fan, but Hex and the last volume of All-Star Western are both problematic. Yeah, it's against all the odds when so many writers and artists of such widely varying abilities and sensibilities are involved. I thought Doctor Strange had really good luck for about ten years, from the Lee/Ditko through to the Englehart eras, with, if nothing else, consistently outstanding artwork even during some of the less inspired runs in between from artists like Marie Severin and Dan Adkins. But nothing since then has tempted me to read it. |
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Post by hondobrode on Aug 2, 2016 22:11:51 GMT -5
The question, almost of necessity, doesn't allow for creator owned characters or characters that aren't at least a couple of decades old. I'm a big Jonah Hex fan, but Hex and the last volume of All-Star Western are both problematic. I knew someone was going to jump in about Hex  True, if there's a low point, that was it, but I kind of took it as Mad Max Hex. As far as All-Star Western, the last iteration; I liked it. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Aug 2, 2016 22:14:23 GMT -5
The question, almost of necessity, doesn't allow for creator owned characters or characters that aren't at least a couple of decades old. I'm a big Jonah Hex fan, but Hex and the last volume of All-Star Western are both problematic. As far as All-Star Western, the last iteration; I liked it. If I wanted a Batman book I'd read a Batman book, not Jonah Hex. |
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Post by hondobrode on Aug 2, 2016 22:18:23 GMT -5
The question, almost of necessity, doesn't allow for creator owned characters or characters that aren't at least a couple of decades old. I'm a big Jonah Hex fan, but Hex and the last volume of All-Star Western are both problematic. Yeah, it's against all the odds when so many writers and artists of such widely varying abilities and sensibilities are involved. I thought Doctor Strange had really good luck for about ten years, from the Lee/Ditko through to the Englehart eras, with, if nothing else, consistently outstanding artwork even during some of the less inspired runs in between from artists like Marie Severin and Dan Adkins. But nothing since then has tempted me to read it. I agree with you on Dr Strange. Strange Tales was great and Doc's own title was super solid up until Roger Stern left the title just before it got cancelled in '87. That's the clear demarcation point for me. |
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Post by hondobrode on Aug 2, 2016 22:19:36 GMT -5
As far as All-Star Western, the last iteration; I liked it. If I wanted a Batman book I'd read a Batman book, not Jonah Hex. Oh, I get it, and I'm tired of the Bat-Overkill, but I understand why they did it. Nonetheless, it was better than I expected. |
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Post by earl on Aug 2, 2016 23:04:12 GMT -5
I'd file Hex under crazy idea that actually wasn't a that bad a read. It was Michael Fleisher with early Mark Texiera and later on Giffen on the series, so it was some pros. I'd say Hex was like Electric Warrior and a few other series DC tried floating out 2000AD type series to see if they would sell.
For total quality, it is hard to compare with the Mignola/Hellboy line.
For the big franchises, I'd say Batman has been better than most although I think it is a bit of a prisoner of it's own success and they have watered down the line over the years. They are probably painting it more into the corner, but Batman seems less weighed down by it's past comics as much as say the X-men or Spider-man, which have big messes that are seemingly always being worked around.
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Post by dupersuper on Aug 2, 2016 23:23:43 GMT -5
The question, almost of necessity, doesn't allow for creator owned characters or characters that aren't at least a couple of decades old. I'm a big Jonah Hex fan, but Hex and the last volume of All-Star Western are both problematic. Those were fine, but the OP included other media in the Ticks track record...
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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2016 23:27:18 GMT -5
I'm the opposite of all you Jonah Hex fans, I was never was a fan of this character and I tried and tried to read him and every time I read him I come away very disappointed because he never was the character that I wanted him to be. If he had a good track record how come his movie that came out in 2010 failed miserably at the box office?
Budgeted at 47 Million and it's only made under 11 Million total gross.
I know a dear friend of mine that saw the movie and he was crying afterwards of how awful it really is and he's a huge Jonah Hex fan himself.
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Aug 3, 2016 6:05:28 GMT -5
I'm a big Jonah Hex fan, but Hex and the last volume of All-Star Western are both problematic. Totally agree with this. |
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Post by MWGallaher on Aug 3, 2016 14:08:20 GMT -5
Deadman.
Out of all the corporate-owned characters who have been shuffled through many creative and not-so-creative hands, I can't think of many who can beat this one for consistently above-average quality stories--assuming you like the character and concept in the first place, I guess.
The Drake/Infantino debut was novel and pretty bold (I mean, seriously, a superhero called Deadman?). Neal Adams' continuation in Strange Adventures (and Aquaman) is legendary. Deadman's appearances in Brave & Bold were always among the most popular and entertaining. His run in Adventure Comics with art by the likes of Aparo and Garcia-Lopez were a cut above most other short back-up features. If there's a weak spot in this period, it's probably in Boston Brand's handful of World's Finest appearances, but even those were bizarre enough to be fun (Bruce Wayne's unknown brother Thomas?). Heck, even Jack Kirby's attempt at revitalizing the character made for a heck of neat guest shot in Forever People, with Kirby putting an interesting visual on this typically more "realistically" depicted character.
The Garcia-Lopez and Andy Helfer miniseries that brought him back to his roots was terrific, and I enjoyed the very different take from Mike Baron and Kelley Jones in their pair of miniseries that had more of a horror comic feel.
A 2001 miniseries gave us one more issue of Aparo Deadman in a pretty cool run of comics revisiting significant deaths in the DCU, followed by a short ongoing by Steve Vance that holds up well.
I even liked the almost-related Deadman series from Vertigo written by Bruce Jones--even if you were a Boston Brand fan who picked this up under mistaken presumptions, you got a decent, self contained mind-bending saga.
While his participation in Justice League Dark from the New 52 wasn't always terrific, his solo run (in DC Universe Presents) was pretty solid.
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