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Post by Deleted on Aug 25, 2014 1:10:39 GMT -5
This is a really tough question for me. My personal "Golden Age" is when I was first reading comics and the first comic I remember buying had a 20 cent cover price (though they were soon 25 cents because I got a quarter a week allowance and could buy 1 comic a week or a pack of baseball cards and a candy bar, so it was a tough choice each week). When my mom told me I couldn't buy comics anymore because I was "too into them and all that fantasy stuff" comics were 40 cents. So that golden age runs roughly '73/'74-'79/'80 for me. When I go to cons or rooting through bargain bins I will pretty much buy anything from these years no matter the publisher if I don't already own it and the price is right, just because I want to read all the stuff I missed as a kid because I either couldn't afford it or my mom wouldn't let me get it. Her ban pretty much coincided with my older cousin (who was into much of the same stuff and who was one of my favorite people to hang out with as a kid though not quite a role model) getting involved with heavy drugs and getting into a lot of trouble, and going into a rehab program of sorts. I think she was afraid I would follow that path because of those demon comics books.
I got back into comics in high school when I had my own money to buy it, and my mom had relented because I just switched from reading comics to reading any and all fantasy/sci-fi stuff I could get from the library instead, and watching as much of that kind of stuff when they aired classic movies on television, or stuff like Dr. Who on PBS, and I had started playing D&D with my friends in the interim, and hadn't gotten hooked on drugs or become a Satanist. This was pretty much my Silver Age, and it ran from late 1984 when I found my first comic shop looking for Dr. Who comics from Marvel until '87-'88 when I had moved off to Boston to attend university and my money was going to other things. I was buying mostly mainstream stuff, but discovering indy books and experimenting more and finding what comics could do besides super-heroes and books like Watchmen and DKR expanding my views of even what super-heroes could do. I still dabbled from '89-'92 but money was tight and I really didn't buy much, but '92 I started earning more and got back in for a bit (and continued the on/off periods due to financial matters or other things going on in my life.
There's books I love form all over the spectrum of years, and picking a favorite range is like asking a parent to pick a favorite child. for me, but if I had to set parameters and could only buy back issue and trades from one set of years it would be '73-'87, and if I absolutely had to narrow it down to a 10 year span it would be '76-'86. But then why would I do that when there are so many wonderful books from so many different periods?
-M
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Post by Cei-U! on Aug 25, 2014 9:02:27 GMT -5
For me, it would have to be 1958-1967. So many wonderful characters and concepts came out of this decade:
At DC, you have Supergirl, the Bizarros, the Legions of Super-Heroes, Substitute Heroes and Super-Pets, the Barbara Gordon Batgirl, Flash, Green Lantern, Atom, Hawkman and Hawkgirl, Adam Strange, the Justice League, Teen Titans, Metal Men, Inferior Five, Metamorpho, Doom Patrol, the Challs, Sgt. Rock, the Haunted Tank, Johnny Cloud, Gunner & Sarge, Mlle. Marie, the Brave & Bold team-ups, and the Earth-Two revival. At Marvel, you have Spidey, the FF, Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, Henry Pym, Wasp, Daredevil, Avengers, X-Men, The Inhumans, Black Panther, Galactus and Silver Surfer, Captain Marvel, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Hercules, SHIELD, Sgt. Fury, Rawhide Kid, Two-Gun Kid, the cowboy Ghost Rider and the awesome-beyond-words Fin Fang Foom. At Gold Key, you have Magnus, Doctor Solar, Mighty Samson, Manning's Tarzan and Korak, and all those Disney, Warner Bros., Hanna-Barbera, Walter Lantz, Terrytoons and Jay Ward titles. At Charlton, you have Captain Atom, Ditko's Blue Beetle, The Question, Peacemaker, Thunderbolt, Konga, Gorgo and Reptisaurus. At Warren, you have Creepy, Eerie, Blazing Combat and Vampirella. At Archie, you have Josie, Sabrina, the Archie books at their peak, The Fly, Jaguar, the Kirby Shield, and the spectacularly awful Mighty Comics Line. Then there's Tower, King, Famous Monsters and its clones, MAD and *its* clones, Dell's impossibly bad super-hero line, and the beginning of underground comics.
I could also make a case for 1938-47 or 1977-1986 but I think the Sixties were an incredible time for comics.
Cei-U!
I summon the greatest hits!
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Daryl
Junior Member
Not NOT Brand Echh
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Post by Daryl on Aug 25, 2014 9:36:46 GMT -5
I guess my favorite period is the one where Marvel had the logo banner going across the top of the books, so what- 71-82 or so? When I do shop for back issues, those are the first to catch my eye. Great horror and monster books, even in reprint, MOKF, even Wein/Wrightson "Swamp Thing" for DC, just so much.
Still, while it is my favorite it is not a steep drop off at all to earlier books or many books that came after.
Current comics from the last decade or so tend to be my least favorite time frame, in some cases due to event fatigue and disinterest, and partly from just not being that familiar with them.
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Post by Randle-El on Aug 25, 2014 9:50:40 GMT -5
Going purely by nostalgia-value, the years from roughly 1986 to about 1991 would have be my favorite by default since that was when I started reading comics. Having said that, I include the 10 years or so before that, even though I would have been too young to enjoy comics for the majority of those years. To me, the Bronze Age represents that sweet spot where mainstream comics were still considered children's entertainment but had already begun transitioning into more mature storytelling that could be appreciated by adults.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 25, 2014 10:01:35 GMT -5
For me, it would have to be 1958-1967. So many wonderful characters and concepts came out of this decade: At DC, you have Supergirl, the Bizarros, the Legions of Super-Heroes, Substitute Heroes and Super-Pets, the Barbara Gordon Batgirl, Flash, Green Lantern, Atom, Hawkman and Hawkgirl, Adam Strange, the Justice League, Teen Titans, Metal Men, Inferior Five, Metamorpho, Doom Patrol, the Challs, Sgt. Rock, the Haunted Tank, Johnny Cloud, Gunner & Sarge, Mlle. Marie, the Brave & Bold team-ups, and the Earth-Two revival. At Marvel, you have Spidey, the FF, Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, Henry Pym, Wasp, Daredevil, Avengers, X-Men, The Inhumans, Black Panther, Galactus and Silver Surfer, Captain Marvel, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Hercules, SHIELD, Sgt. Fury, Rawhide Kid, Two-Gun Kid, the cowboy Ghost Rider and the awesome-beyond-words Fin Fang Foom. At Gold Key, you have Magnus, Doctor Solar, Mighty Samson, Manning's Tarzan and Korak, and all those Disney, Warner Bros., Hanna-Barbera, Walter Lantz, Terrytoons and Jay Ward titles. At Charlton, you have Captain Atom, Ditko's Blue Beetle, The Question, Peacemaker, Thunderbolt, Konga, Gorgo and Reptisaurus. At Warren, you have Creepy, Eerie, Blazing Combat and Vampirella. At Archie, you have Josie, Sabrina, the Archie books at their peak, The Fly, Jaguar, the Kirby Shield, and the spectacularly awful Mighty Comics Line. Then there's Tower, King, Famous Monsters and its clones, MAD and *its* clones, Dell's impossibly bad super-hero line, and the beginning of underground comics. I could also make a case for 1938-47 or 1977-1986 but I think the Sixties were an incredible time for comics. Cei-U! I summon the greatest hits! All well & good, but of course cutting things off before 1968 means excluding Brother Power the Geek. (And possibly also Captain Savage, depending on one's criteria; the first issue came out in the fall of '67 but was cover-dated January 1968.) I don't think so. |
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Post by Prince Hal on Aug 25, 2014 11:55:06 GMT -5
For me, it would have to be 1958-1967. So many wonderful characters and concepts came out of this decade: At DC, you have Supergirl, the Bizarros, the Legions of Super-Heroes, Substitute Heroes and Super-Pets, the Barbara Gordon Batgirl, Flash, Green Lantern, Atom, Hawkman and Hawkgirl, Adam Strange, the Justice League, Teen Titans, Metal Men, Inferior Five, Metamorpho, Doom Patrol, the Challs, Sgt. Rock, the Haunted Tank, Johnny Cloud, Gunner & Sarge, Mlle. Marie, the Brave & Bold team-ups, and the Earth-Two revival. At Marvel, you have Spidey, the FF, Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, Henry Pym, Wasp, Daredevil, Avengers, X-Men, The Inhumans, Black Panther, Galactus and Silver Surfer, Captain Marvel, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Hercules, SHIELD, Sgt. Fury, Rawhide Kid, Two-Gun Kid, the cowboy Ghost Rider and the awesome-beyond-words Fin Fang Foom. At Gold Key, you have Magnus, Doctor Solar, Mighty Samson, Manning's Tarzan and Korak, and all those Disney, Warner Bros., Hanna-Barbera, Walter Lantz, Terrytoons and Jay Ward titles. At Charlton, you have Captain Atom, Ditko's Blue Beetle, The Question, Peacemaker, Thunderbolt, Konga, Gorgo and Reptisaurus. At Warren, you have Creepy, Eerie, Blazing Combat and Vampirella. At Archie, you have Josie, Sabrina, the Archie books at their peak, The Fly, Jaguar, the Kirby Shield, and the spectacularly awful Mighty Comics Line. Then there's Tower, King, Famous Monsters and its clones, MAD and *its* clones, Dell's impossibly bad super-hero line, and the beginning of underground comics. I could also make a case for 1938-47 or 1977-1986 but I think the Sixties were an incredible time for comics. Cei-U! I summon the greatest hits! I summon the ditto! What made those years even greater, though, was the crazy quilt that was the distribution network. The thrill of the hunt - hell, the quest! - to find any comics, let alone the great issue you'd seen advertised in the back of every book you'd bought last month made collecting a vocation, not a hobby. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 25, 2014 12:57:47 GMT -5
1966-1985 for me. Most of the comics I own (or have bought) came from those years.
If I had a ton of money I would go back & buy stuff from 1938-1949 & 1958-1966.
I sold most of the stuff I bought from 1986-1996. From 1997 on I find my list of new books plummeted.
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
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Post by Confessor on Aug 25, 2014 15:26:05 GMT -5
Tough question, especially if we're going to limit it to a 10 year span. I sort of have two favourite eras really, the Bronze Age comics that I grew up with, say from 1976 through to 1986, but I also really, REALLY love Silver Age comics (especially Marvels). I guess if there was a gun to my head, I'd have to go with 1976-1986, but I really do love the 1963-1973 timeframe of Marvel comics too.
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Post by paulie on Aug 25, 2014 16:39:37 GMT -5
I'm going to go broad and say 1955 - 1985. Cop out? Sure.
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Post by chadwilliam on Aug 26, 2014 15:35:01 GMT -5
Can you narrow most of what you love about comics down to a specific span of time? I'm going to cheat a little and focus on this part of your original post. If we're talking about the genre of superhero comics itself as opposed to any particular golden era for my favourite characters, I'd have to go with 1938-1949. I think comics work best as a volatile medium and it was during this period that nothing seemed really settled about what a superhero was. Likely, that was because no one fully understood what it was kids were latching onto. Superman was a instant hit with Action Comics 1, but DC didn't figure this out until after the seventh issue came out and realised that issues with him on the cover sold more than those without. With this lag time, I'm surprised at how many potentially great characters and even titles got tossed away before a company knew whether or not they were working. I'm currently reading the first Dr Fate archives collecting his every Golden Age appearance outside of All Star Comics. It's a four year span during which he adopts two separate origins, three different looks, and so many multiple personalities that he might bury you at the centre of the Earth (More Fun 56), leave you in shadow form for the rest of your life (More Fun 69), sing to you as he pummels you (More Fun 74), or exchange jokes (really, any issue once he adopts the half-a-helmet look). These later stories - anathema to who Dr Fate was in his earliest appearances - nevertheless work. There's such an enthusiasm for what they're doing, that it seems as if the industry at the time couldn't conceive of ever running out of innovative ideas. Otherwordly and necromantic villains focused on casting the perfect spell are replaced by gangsters who have clocks for faces or an inventor who looks like an octopus in a suit whose focus is on deathtraps and absuing Dr Fate's archilles heel (his lungs). Perhaps because boundaries had not yet been established, the possibilties for comics at this time, seemed endless. |
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Post by Reptisaurus! on Aug 26, 2014 18:04:06 GMT -5
1939-2014 but I like some older stuff, too.
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
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Post by shaxper on Aug 26, 2014 19:09:35 GMT -5
Can you narrow most of what you love about comics down to a specific span of time? I'm going to cheat a little and focus on this part of your original post. If we're talking about the genre of superhero comics itself as opposed to any particular golden era for my favourite characters, I'd have to go with 1938-1949. I think comics work best as a volatile medium and it was during this period that nothing seemed really settled about what a superhero was. Likely, that was because no one fully understood what it was kids were latching onto. Superman was a instant hit with Action Comics 1, but DC didn't figure this out until after the seventh issue came out and realised that issues with him on the cover sold more than those without. With this lag time, I'm surprised at how many potentially great characters and even titles got tossed away before a company knew whether or not they were working. I'm currently reading the first Dr Fate archives collecting his every Golden Age appearance outside of All Star Comics. It's a four year span during which he adopts two separate origins, three different looks, and so many multiple personalities that he might bury you at the centre of the Earth (More Fun 56), leave you in shadow form for the rest of your life (More Fun 69), sing to you as he pummels you (More Fun 74), or exchange jokes (really, any issue once he adopts the half-a-helmet look). These later stories - anathema to who Dr Fate was in his earliest appearances - nevertheless work. There's such an enthusiasm for what they're doing, that it seems as if the industry at the time couldn't conceive of ever running out of innovative ideas. Otherwordly and necromantic villains focused on casting the perfect spell are replaced by gangsters who have clocks for faces or an inventor who looks like an octopus in a suit whose focus is on deathtraps and absuing Dr Fate's archilles heel (his lungs). Perhaps because boundaries had not yet been established, the possibilties for comics at this time, seemed endless. While I have never been a fan of the Golden Age, this is the most enticing case I've ever heard made for that era. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 27, 2014 0:36:57 GMT -5
I have the Batman Chronicles volume one, haven't cracked it open yet though. Of course I've read the Tec 27 story somewhere when I was a kid. Nothing else though. I'm interested. Not sure if I'll like it or not, but I'll give it a shot when I get around to it.
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Post by Icctrombone on Aug 27, 2014 6:10:42 GMT -5
I almost never reach for a Golden Age stories but I remember reading some reprints of early Spectre stories that were chilling.
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Leo H
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Post by Leo H on Aug 27, 2014 7:30:16 GMT -5
It's interesting reading about everyone's personal favorites.
For me, it would be about 1975-1985. You had Chris Claremont & Cockrum/Byrne/Smith/JR Jr. on X-Men, Claremont on New Mutants, Byrne on Fantastic Four, Walt Simonson on Thor, Roger Stern & JR Jr. on Amazing Spider-Man, Wolfman & Perez on New Teen Titans, and Michelinie, Layton, & JR Jr. on Iron Man.
There was also a streak of classic Avengers stories by various creators, like the Shooter/Buscema Graviton story, the Grim Reaper trial story, Bride of Ultron, Count Nefaria, the Korvac Saga, & Knights of Wundagore lasting up until about issue #200. I even quite enjoy the Fall/Trial of Hank Pym stuff that runs from about #211-230.
Also, less heralded, but which I still want to mention are Bill Mantlo on Incredible Hulk & Spectacular Spider-Man, Denny O'Neil on Iron Man, and John Byrne on Incredible Hulk & Alpha Flight.
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