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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2017 0:11:45 GMT -5
Characters like Superman, Batman, Capt America, Spider-Man & Archie have been popular for decades. Characters like Capt Marvel & Plastic Man & Dr Solar were popular for a time but didn't have the staying power like Superman. Then there are characters like the Black Terror or the Shield that never became popular for an extended time.
What characters are some of your favorites that you wish had been as big as Batman or Spider-Man & were still published?
1940's - Capt Marvel. It still bothers me that he isn't as big as DC & Marvel's heroes are. He was such an important character in comic book history. Plastic Man. This character is so unique & one of a kind. I can not figure out why no one can write a successful series for him.
I also wish the Lev Gleason Daredevil & The Black Terror still had series...just because I think they are cool characters.
1950's - I have a weird fondness for Simon & Kirby's Fighting American. Sometimes I wish he could have been DC's Capt America.
1960's - I am glad DC got the Charlton heroes since Blue Beetle, Capt Atom & the Question have enjoyed some modern day success. I am also happy the Gold Key characters enjoyed success at Valiant. I just wish Solar & Magnus were still at Valiant.
1970's - E-Man & some of the Atlas characters. I wish were still published.
1980's - What a decade. I don't really want these characters revived since outside of their creators I don't think they would be great anymore. That includes most of First Comics (American Flagg, Nexus) & other stuff like Willingham's Elementals.
1990's - With the return of Valiant Comics a lot of my favorites have been revived. I also wish some of the Malibu Ultraverse properties like Prime were still around.
2000's - I really liked DC's version of the Archie heroes & wish they had been able to be integrated into the DCU. Or that Archie could find a way to do right by these books. And I really miss Dark Horse's Capt Midnight series. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2017 0:40:19 GMT -5
I really wish DEFIANT was still being published.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2017 0:51:12 GMT -5
Michael,  I think it was a shame that DC couldn't explore this character more and the problem is I think that he is a copycat of Captain America. I'm speculating that Marvel Comics could start a lawsuit against DC Comics for expanding Fighting American and all that. I just wished that they did that and sadly they decided not to. I just loved this character and I'm glad that you brought him up Michael. |
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Post by Batflunkie on Mar 8, 2017 1:03:30 GMT -5
1940's - Capt Marvel. It still bothers me that he isn't as big as DC & Marvel's heroes are. He was such an important character in comic book history. Plastic Man. This character is so unique & one of a kind. I can not figure out why no one can write a successful series for him. 1990's- With the return of Valiant Comics a lot of my favorites have been revived. I also wish some of the Malibu Ultraverse properties like Prime were still around. Completely agree on both accounts While Power Of Shazam! and Kyle Baker's Plastic Man are fantastic, Captain Marvel and Plas just seem like something DC has absolutely no idea what to do with I was hopeful that Secret Wars would revive the Ultraverse, but I don't think I would even want to wrap my brain around the possibility of all those characters with how Marvel's publishing currently It also seems like Valiant is trying to subtly incorporate elements from Shooter's other line, Defiant. Because 4001 AD War Mother felt like one big homage to Warriors Of Plasm mixed with Mad Max. Hopefully we'll also see some Broadway comics characters incorporated in there at some point or another too |
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Post by berkley on Mar 8, 2017 1:16:49 GMT -5
For me it all depends on the individual creators and what they come up with for the characters in question. Most of my favourite Marvel characters - Dr. Strange, the Black Panther, etc - are being published regularly, but it means nothing to me since I don't care for what the writers and artists are doing with them at the moment.
So even though from one POV it's a shame that nothing's being done currently with such great characters as the New Gods at DC or the Eternals at Marvel, I can't say I wish there were new series for them because odds are, based on past experience, that the new versions wouldn't be my kind of thing.
Now if they were in the public domain, so that anyone could try their hand at a New Gods or Eternals comic if they felt so motivated, I would be all for it. I think the chances for a good series would be much greater in that scenario, because the creators would presumably be doing it because they felt some interest in the original Kirby comics and wouldn't have to be ruled by DC/Marvel management, which is mainly concerned with hyping their superhero-universes.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2017 1:57:56 GMT -5
Three that ended before their time and I feel so much more could have been done with them and wished they were/had been published longer... Chance Falconer...  Section Zero...  The Monster Hunters...  -M |
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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 8, 2017 3:02:08 GMT -5
Michael, I think it was a shame that DC couldn't explore this character more and the problem is I think that he is a copycat of Captain America. I'm speculating that Marvel Comics could start a lawsuit against DC Comics for expanding Fighting American and all that. I just wished that they did that and sadly they decided not to. I just loved this character and I'm glad that you brought him up Michael. Well, for one thing, Fighting American wasn't originally published at DC. It was published by Crestwood, while Simon & Kirby still owned a piece of Captain America (per Joe Simon). It had one issue published by Harvey. DC did publish a mini-series, under license from Simon & Kirby, in 1994. It didn't sell particularly well, so nothing more was done with it. Marvel actually published the Fighting American hardcover, in 1989. What you guys may be confusing is Rob Liefeld's Agent America, which was what his unpublished Captain America morphed into, though he made him look like Fighting America, until Joe Simon spoke up and Liefeld ended up licensing Fighting American. Marvel targeted Liefeld, not the character, to force him to alter the story enough that there was no shield-slinging or other Cap trademark elements (metaphorically). Fighting American was most recently reprinted by Titan, as part of their Simon & Kirby library. Fighting American is protected by the First Amendment, as parody, which the Supreme Court upheld in previous decisions. Marvel wouldn't have a legal leg to standon, as long as the character was kept in the realm of parody. Even leaving that out, marvel does not own a trademark on the patriotic hero and challenging on that basis would get them laughed out of court. It would need to be a pretty specific copy, as Liefeld was producing. DC had parody Caps, with General Glory, in Justice League International, a Cap knockoff in the Guardian (original), and patriotic heroes, Like Mr America and a Cap pastiche, the Americommando (actually the Silver Ghost, in disguise) in the 1970s Freedom Fighters comic (when Silver Ghost created the Crusaders, who were pastiches of the Invaders, just as The Invaders comic had a Crusaders team, who were pastiches of the Freedom Fighters). |
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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 8, 2017 3:21:28 GMT -5
I would second the classic Captain Marvel and Plastic Man. What has been missing is the whimsy. The Bronze Age Captain marvel stories were light-hearted; but, not particularly whimsical, even from fan E Nelson Bridwell. The best stories, then, were actually reprints of Fawcett stories (which DC doesn't own and were not included in the Showcase Presents: Shazam volume). Even guys like Joe Staton and Ty Templeton haven't quite captured Plas, though they came closer than most. E-Man was pretty much an updated Plastic Man and is as much missed. it would have been cool to see Nicola Cuti and Joe Staton do Plas, togetehr.
Black Terror didn't have particularly good 1940s adventures, apart from the handful from Jerry Robinson & Mort Meskin. However, it is a great costume that could be a great character (though the Dynamite book left me a bit cold). I'd like to see more of the Chuck Dixon/Beau Smith/Dan Brereton Black Terror, that they did at Eclipse, which todd McFarlane owns. That was a cool book begging for more. Alan Moore's use in Tom Strong and Terra Obscura was pretty darn good.
Along those lines, I'd like to see more Nocturnals, from Brereton and Leave it to Chance, from james Robinson and Paul Smith; more of Jim Owens' Starchild, Martin Wagner's Hepcats (finishing the damn story, for one thing), more Grease Monkey from Tim Eldred, Dynamo Joe from John Ostrander and Doug Rice, the conclusion to the Paul Gulacy-drawn THUNDER Agents story, from Omni Comix and more Crossfire, though Dan Spiegle's death puts a damper on that idea.
Love to see the DC war books revived to do a Greatest Generation maxi series, with all of the characters taken through WW2. Then, I'd love a 1950s series, with the Suicide Squad (the original), the Challengers of the Unknown, and King Faraday, much like what Darwyn Cooke did in New Frontier, only expanded.
Would also like to see more Guns of the Dragon, from Tim Truman, as well as Scout: Marauder, which is way overdue. While we are at it, where is Mage: The Hero Denied?
More Dominic Fortune, in period adventures, more Crash Ryan, some Cody Starbuck and/or Iron Wolf, the Quantum Leap "Sam Leaps into a Baby" story Innovation promised us more Chuck Dixon Sky Wolf stories (continuing the ones he did in the Airboy back-up stories), more Terminal City and American Century, and a continuation of Slave Labor Graphics' Scarlet Thunder (from their Amaze Ink line).
While I'm at it, I'd like a pony and world peace!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2017 3:36:40 GMT -5
codystarbuckYou've jarred my memory of Fighting American and thanks for the wrap up! 
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Post by tingramretro on Mar 8, 2017 3:42:21 GMT -5
I loved Infinity Inc back in the eighties. Why don't they write books like that anymore? Better yet, why don't they just get Roy Thomas and Jerry Ordway to do a continuation, picking up from the last issue and ignoring everything since, set in its on little bubble universe. Infinity Inc '88, kind of like Claremont's X-Men '92, but better. They could start by having the team rescue th classic JSA from Limbo...  |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2017 8:42:09 GMT -5
I would like to see Starman (Jack Knight) and the Legion back.
I imagine I just have to be patient and let the overall Rebirth story play out. But it's hard to be patient.
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Post by Icctrombone on Mar 8, 2017 9:05:40 GMT -5
I would second the classic Captain Marvel and Plastic Man. What has been missing is the whimsy. The Bronze Age Captain marvel stories were light-hearted; but, not particularly whimsical, even from fan E Nelson Bridwell. The best stories, then, were actually reprints of Fawcett stories (which DC doesn't own and were not included in the Showcase Presents: Shazam volume). Even guys like Joe Staton and Ty Templeton haven't quite captured Plas, though they came closer than most. E-Man was pretty much an updated Plastic Man and is as much missed. it would have been cool to see Nicola Cuti and Joe Staton do Plas, togetehr. Black Terror didn't have particularly good 1940s adventures, apart from the handful from Jerry Robinson & Mort Meskin. However, it is a great costume that could be a great character (though the Dynamite book left me a bit cold). I'd like to see more of the Chuck Dixon/Beau Smith/Dan Brereton Black Terror, that they did at Eclipse, which todd McFarlane owns. That was a cool book begging for more. Alan Moore's use in Tom Strong and Terra Obscura was pretty darn good. Along those lines, I'd like to see more Nocturnals, from Brereton and Leave it to Chance, from james Robinson and Paul Smith; more of Jim Owens' Starchild, Martin Wagner's Hepcats (finishing the damn story, for one thing), more Grease Monkey from Tim Eldred, Dynamo Joe from John Ostrander and Doug Rice, the conclusion to the Paul Gulacy-drawn THUNDER Agents story, from Omni Comix and more Crossfire, though Dan Spiegle's death puts a damper on that idea. Love to see the DC war books revived to do a Greatest Generation maxi series, with all of the characters taken through WW2. Then, I'd love a 1950s series, with the Suicide Squad (the original), the Challengers of the Unknown, and King Faraday, much like what Darwyn Cooke did in New Frontier, only expanded. Would also like to see more Guns of the Dragon, from Tim Truman, as well as Scout: Marauder, which is way overdue. While we are at it, where is Mage: The Hero Denied? More Dominic Fortune, in period adventures, more Crash Ryan, some Cody Starbuck and/or Iron Wolf, the Quantum Leap "Sam Leaps into a Baby" story Innovation promised us more Chuck Dixon Sky Wolf stories (continuing the ones he did in the Airboy back-up stories), more Terminal City and American Century, and a continuation of Slave Labor Graphics' Scarlet Thunder (from their Amaze Ink line). While I'm at it, I'd like a pony and world peace! Whimsy has been outlawed. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2017 9:09:43 GMT -5
While we are at it, where is Mage: The Hero Denied? |
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Post by kirby101 on Mar 8, 2017 9:18:28 GMT -5
This  |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2017 9:50:39 GMT -5
1950's - I have a weird fondness for Simon & Kirby's Fighting American. Sometimes I wish he could have been DC's Capt America.
Sorry for the confusion. I should clarify this statement. I have the Titan Books collection, the DC mini series & the Awesome issues. For various reasons I wish DC had a decent "patriotic" hero like Capt America. When DC was getting the rights to various properties like Quality, Fawcett, Charlton I thought maybe they could get FA or Archie's Shield instead of trying to "copy" Cap. What better version then the one created by the two guys that also created Cap? I also liked the fact he wasn't tied to WW II but to the Cold War. Oh well. This thread is our "wish lists" for stuff we will probably never see.
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