shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Oct 1, 2016 21:05:43 GMT -5
(started a few hours early. Sue me for being excited!) The Long Halloween: Week 1Share your #5 favorite classic comic horror character here. Be sure to include an explanation and (preferably) an image to justify your selection! The rules / guidelines |
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shaxper
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Posts: 22,860
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Post by shaxper on Oct 1, 2016 21:11:28 GMT -5
The SpectreAs portrayed primarily by Jerry Siegel, Bernard Baily, Michael Fleischer, and Jim Aparo  The #5 slot was the hardest for me, as I have four horror characters that I have excellent reasons for loving, and roughly twenty billion that I love for less easily defensible reasons. The Spectre won out at this slot, being an absolute favorite franchise of mine, and yet the stories of his that I love most (from the Golden and Bronze Ages) feature a character with surprisingly little character. The Spectre I love best is a cool visual look, awesome and twistedly imaginative powers, and a sort of blank persona that reads more like an elemental force. There is no subtlety to its depiction, no attempt to make you get to know or empathize with it -- it's an agent of justice that thrashes the bad guys, often cruelly. Not much more to it than that. The look is cool, the powers are cool, and the stories are COOL, but the characterization itself...? Not so much. It's worth noting that there were several attempts to explore the Spectre's character with more depth in the 1960s, 1980s, (most memorably) the 1990s, and beyond, but I was never a fan of those versions. I like my Spectre elemental -- BIGGER than a single human identity. And that necessarily makes him hard to pin down as a character.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2016 21:34:28 GMT -5
5 Jack Kirby - - - THE DEMONOctober 2nd: Our #5 choice
First Appearance – The Demon #1 (August 1972)I'M BOWING OUT OF THIS LONG HALLOWEEN BECAUSE OF PERSONAL REASONSI like this character because he is a pure anti-hero that often shared an alliance with many of the DC Comics Characters especially Batman of which he originated from Gotham City. To me, it was one of the most surprisingly character that Jack Kirby created in the early 70’s and having said that I felt that he should deserved better because I like him more than Hellboy – Marvel Comic Equivalent more because the Demon has better human emotions than Hellboy. I know that he’s a demon from Hell but I don’t think that at all and I also like his alter-ego Jason Blood and another thing that also surprises me that he had some connections to Neil Gaiman’s Sandman and knowing that I did enjoyed the stories that Etrigan worked with him of which I find them engrossing and challenging to read. That’s alone earned him at 5th place in this Long Halloween Countdown. I also like the way Jack Kirby drew him and did a masterful job of doing so. I also consider him a monster because of his grotesque face and horns – and his trademark red eye alone makes him a classic comic monster that I learned to rightfully respect for. 
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Post by foxley on Oct 2, 2016 0:42:09 GMT -5
#5. Madame Xanadu
Madame Xanadu was a late entry to DC's 'mystery' line: first appearing in Doorway to Nightmare in 1978, the last of DC's mystery books which appeared basically as the 70s horror craze was dying. Xanadu was a bit of mixed, essentially serving as both host and protagonist of her book (not unlike the Phantom Stranger). Essentially each issue, someone would present to her with a supernatural problem. However, they would be sent off with some enigmatic advice to largely deal with the problem on their own, until the end when Xanadu would step in and save them. Since then, she has been become a mainstay of the DC supernatural scene; appearing whenever there is a conclave of mystic types to discuss a supernatural. She had a major supporting role in The Spectre series of the 90s, and an excellent Vertigo series in the late 2000s which gave her an origin and showcased her in different time periods. Unlike many stories which give an origin to a character which has never had one, this one did not completely destroy her mystique, so kudos to writer Matt Wagner for that. As to why I like her, there is something exotic and mysterious about her. It's hard to encapsulate, but there is something very enticing about her, with the sense that she always no more about what is going on than she will (or perhaps is allowed to) let on. And those gorgeous Mike Kaluta covers on her original run in Doorway to Nightmare have a lot to do with my fondness for her, too. 
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2016 0:47:01 GMT -5
Week One-Ulysses Bloodstone, Monster Hunter     I first encountered Bloodstone as a back up feature in the pages of The Rampaging Hulk, and later tracked down his appearances in Marvel Presents and delighted to the the Monster Hunters feature in the pages of Marvel Universe (plus his role informing the Bloodstone Hunt storyline in Captain America). The concept of a man made immortal because of a gem lodged in his chest while fighting a Lovecratian horror in prehistoric times now a professional monster hunter was just mind candy for this kid. While a somewhat minor character, his presence has infused the Marvel story through the Bloodstone Gem and through his descendants, creating a deeper mythology that appeals to me, yet at the same time I am disappointed there isn't more stories of Ulysses himself and not those legacy aspects. -M |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Oct 2, 2016 8:34:06 GMT -5
Never heard of Bloodstone. I love being turned on to new titles and characters when we do the Long Halloween each year |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2016 12:49:20 GMT -5
I'm gonna go with a team here. . . the Creature Commandos. I was never much of a fan of the war comic stories, but the idea of putting versions of the classic Universal Monsters into a combat role, really piqued my interest. they first appeared in Weird War Tales, #93, and I remember seeing this cover on the stands and thinking, Frankenstein, Wolfman, and Dracula fighting Nazis ??  I eagerly followed the characters, even tho they didn't really act like the monsters I was used to seeing. But I looked forwards to every issue of Weird War, as they seemed to be in almost every issue for a while. (and I was disappointed when an issue came out they weren't starring in, which happened occastionally). c'mon, what comic geek could pass up a cover with the Commandos performing in a circus for Hitler?? Just look at that cover blurb!  Eventually, they added a female character (Medusa) and started fighting foes other than Nazis / Hitler:   and then they kind of just got "disposed of". . .  and disappeared until relaunching with slightly different concepts over the years. Those never spoke much to me, and although I tried some of the new versions, wasn't much of a fan. so these are my #5 choice. |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Oct 2, 2016 14:22:49 GMT -5
Another property I've never heard of. Definitely got to check it out!
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Post by thwhtguardian on Oct 2, 2016 18:28:50 GMT -5
#5 Skeletor (from the original He-Man Mini Comics) ![]()  These were probably my earliest interactions with comics(though to be honest they started out more as little illustrated stories than true comics but hey who's counting) and the above image of Skeletor has always stuck with me. It's a simple Death's head design but with the long crooked teeth and the yellowed skull just floating in a dark hood it is still striking none the less. I think it's that floating aspect the creeped me out as a kid because it seemed like it would be possible for him to do that in any shadow not just his hood making my young mind think that any shadowy nook in my room could secretly house the dreaded Skeletor. It was a thought that not only had me worriedly biting my own nails but unfortunately my poor He-Man action figure's hands as well(seriously, I wish I still had that figure or a picture of it, the poor guy's hands were chewed down so flat he couldn't hold his sword anymore).  With it's scratchy shadows and dark color pallet these comics were scary stuff to me and although looking back on them now the art is slightly simplistic and the stories just shill for more figures and play sets there is still a fun energy about them that makes me smile in remembering how frightened I was by the evil of Skeletor growing up. |
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Post by foxley on Oct 2, 2016 20:05:53 GMT -5
and then they kind of just got "disposed of". . . and disappeared until relaunching with slightly different concepts over the years. Those never spoke much to me, and although I tried some of the new versions, wasn't much of a fan. so these are my #5 choice. Wait a minute! They were planning on executing a robot by firing squad? WTF? I've read a few Creature Commandos comics and always found them to be fun. I must hunt a few more out. I can't imagine a full run would be terribly expensive. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2016 20:19:57 GMT -5
and then they kind of just got "disposed of". . . and disappeared until relaunching with slightly different concepts over the years. Those never spoke much to me, and although I tried some of the new versions, wasn't much of a fan. so these are my #5 choice. Wait a minute! They were planning on executing a robot by firing squad? WTF? I've read a few Creature Commandos comics and always found them to be fun. I must hunt a few more out. I can't imagine a full run would be terribly expensive. General Paul Levitz commanded! and they came back YEARS later in a Superman story, when they showed up captured in Brainiac's "zoo" after he had found them floating in space. The later versions of the characters in the 2000's were only So-So, and I HATED the Nu52 version. . but Frankenstein: Agent of SHADE (a completely DIFFERENT Frankenstein from Creature Commandos version) was kind of interesting.  |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Oct 2, 2016 21:15:58 GMT -5
The SpectreAs portrayed primarily by Jerry Siegel, Bernard Baily, Michael Fleischer, and Jim Aparo  The #5 slot was the hardest for me, as I have four horror characters that I have excellent reasons for loving, and roughly twenty billion that I love for less easily defensible reasons. The Spectre won out at this slot, being an absolute favorite franchise of mine, and yet the stories of his that I love most (from the Golden and Bronze Ages) feature a character with surprisingly little character. The Spectre I love best is a cool visual look, awesome and twistedly imaginative powers, and a sort of blank persona that reads more like an elemental force. There is no subtlety to its depiction, no attempt to make you get to know or empathize with it -- it's an agent of justice that thrashes the bad guys, often cruelly. Not much more to it than that. The look is cool, the powers are cool, and the stories are COOL, but the characterization itself...? Not so much. It's worth noting that there were several attempts to explore the Spectre's character with more depth in the 1960s, 1980s, (most memorably) the 1990s, and beyond, but I was never a fan of those versions. I like my Spectre elemental -- BIGGER than a single human identity. And that necessarily makes him hard to pin down as a character. I've always liked the concept of the Spectre and like you I always found myself drawn to the more elemental versions of the character but it wasn't until the version that was in the recent Gotham by Midnight that I found a version that truly lived up to the concept I held in my head and unfortunately that's too recent to be listed here so he just misses my list. |
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Post by brutalis on Oct 3, 2016 7:29:38 GMT -5
#5 for me: Andrew Bennett, I Vampire from House of Mystery. Please Google for art and you won't be disappointed
This was full on the only reason i was buying any House of Mystery at the time. A fun updated tortured vampire story which carried the history well while being current. Exquisite Tom Sutton Artwork that was vibrant and eerie. Good Scary Pleasure. 24 stories running sporadically within HoM and popular enough they used it at times on the cover and title.
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shaxper
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Posts: 22,860
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Post by shaxper on Oct 3, 2016 9:58:08 GMT -5
#5 for me: Andrew Bennett, I Vampire from House of Mystery. Please Google for art and you won't be disappointed This was full on the only reason i was buying any House of Mystery at the time. A fun updated tortured vampire story which carried the history well while being current. Exquisite Tom Sutton Artwork that was vibrant and eerie. Good Scary Pleasure. 24 stories running sporadically within HoM and popular enough they used it at times on the cover and title. I've bought a few of these issues, as they are always in ten cent bins, and I love the covers, but I haven't read any of them yet. Now I'll have to! |
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Post by brutalis on Oct 3, 2016 11:26:44 GMT -5
#5 for me: Andrew Bennett, I Vampire from House of Mystery. Please Google for art and you won't be disappointed This was full on the only reason i was buying any House of Mystery at the time. A fun updated tortured vampire story which carried the history well while being current. Exquisite Tom Sutton Artwork that was vibrant and eerie. Good Scary Pleasure. 24 stories running sporadically within HoM and popular enough they used it at times on the cover and title. I've bought a few of these issues, as they are always in ten cent bins, and I love the covers, but I haven't read any of them yet. Now I'll have to! I think DeMatteis delivers some good writing as these are short stories, so he was forced into working quickly to establish things being concise and not indulgent in dragging out the stories overly long. Enjoyable light quick reads in a horror setting perfect for a cold night and a hot cup of tea with the wind howling outside your window  |
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