|
|
Post by tolworthy on Aug 28, 2014 13:47:22 GMT -5
Sadly, 90 percent of British humour comics of the 1970s. There are a few notable exceptions, but it pretty much lives up to the stereotype of kids' comics.  I can't say I've read much Beano or Dandy since I was a kid, but my initial response to the question posed by this thread was "any number of Commando war comics that I read as a kid in the late '70s or early '80s." I've been slowley reacquiring some of the issues of Commando that I loved and read over and over as a child, but without exception they do not hold up well to adult eyes. They all invariably have nice artwork, of course, but the plots and dialogue are cringe inducing. So much so, that it's a bit of a head scratcher how D.C. Thompson have managed to have such success in the adult market in recent years with "nostaligia repackagings" of these stories. They really are pretty shitty. Now you're getting me thinking of the Trigan Empire. I'm scared to go back to that, as I thought the early stories were the greatest thing ever, but the last reprint I read was pretty poor IMO. The art is still spectacular of course, and maybe I was just unlucky. And I know it's heresy, but classic Dan Dare grabs me less and less. I can see the appeal as weekly instalments, but after a few years it sort of never goes anywhere. This really came home to me when reading Spaceship Away, the modern continued stories. The production quality is superb, but it's safe nostalgia for the sake of safe nostalgia, and that's isn't really my thing. Now early 2000AD on the other hand, that's still a blast! |
|
|
|
Post by Dizzy D on Aug 28, 2014 14:24:54 GMT -5
Trigan Empire has always been dire writing-wise. Storm had the same quality of art with far better writing (depending on the writer in question of course).
|
|
Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,197 
|
Post by Confessor on Aug 29, 2014 9:27:05 GMT -5
And I know it's heresy, but classic Dan Dare grabs me less and less. I can see the appeal as weekly instalments, but after a few years it sort of never goes anywhere. This really came home to me when reading Spaceship Away, the modern continued stories. The production quality is superb, but it's safe nostalgia for the sake of safe nostalgia, and that's isn't really my thing. Ooh, controversial. I have to say that I never tire of reading classic Dan Dare. It always satisfies from a story and art perspective, and the episodic format isn't that off putting to me when I read it in bulk. Dan Dare is about 25 years before my time though, so it has always been anachronistic for me. However, there is a...how shall we say, a cultural nostalgia that I feel for the strip, in that it depicts a British future that today seems hopelessly unrealistic and is shot through with an intrinsically 1950s aesthetic and world view. It shouldn't be possible to feel nostalgia for an age that you've never known, but at least part of the joy of reading classic Dan Dare for me is that feeling of something very close to nostalgia for the 1950s. I can't say I've ever been tempted to pick up any of Spaceships Away, but I've been impressed and intrigued by the authenticity of the artwork that I've seen. |
|
|
|
Post by thebeastofyuccaflats on Aug 29, 2014 15:46:58 GMT -5
In my experience, Action Comics #775 is great until you read The Authority. Mostly because you then realize that if The Elite really are indeed outright just scorching the earth without a care, The Authority would put them in the ground if they met (at least Machester Black).
Yep, in pretty much any iteration of these characters that's appeared, The Elite would be the badguys (probably even in Millar's). Just a goofy strawman; but at least we got that Doug Mahnke & Lee Bermejo art, which is always nice.
|
|
|
|
Post by gothos on Aug 29, 2014 21:18:37 GMT -5
America vs. the Justice Society, from the early 80s. I happened to see it when I was cleaning the attic and figured I'd enjoy rereading it. But, oh my gawd! Look, I respect Roy Thomas for all he has done for comics, for Conan and the Kree-Skrull War, and the All-Star Squadron (mostly), and his absolute mad love for the Golden Age, but here was poor OCD/anal/"must... explain... every... little... thing" Roy running amuck in his favorite playground, and he made quite the mud puddle of it. The plot (Batman accuses the JSA of being Fascist sympathizers) was ludicrous; the dialogue (too much of that "Easy, lad" style; and the art was at best mediocre. Though that and the awful 80s print job were not Roy's fault, I can't imagine the story being any more compelling or sensible had both those factors been improved. It was a chore to fight through to the end of the four issues. It can't be much worse than Roy's take on both SHAZAM and JONNI THUNDER-- though these aren't admissible to the thread from me, since I never thought they were good the first time. I think I liked some of the O'Neil/Freidrich stories that followed Fox's long run on JUSTICE LEAGUE; now they'd probably all strike me as pretentius and overly "relevant." |
|
|
|
Post by gothos on Aug 29, 2014 21:28:32 GMT -5
I've noticed in re-reading the Lee-Kirby X-MEN issues that the series never really seemed to gell, though I liked a lot of the characters individually. Kirby brought his trademark inventiveness to every issue, but the team's chemistry wasn't great, while Lee's characterization was sometimes murky.
By contrast, though a lot of the Thomas-Roth issues are mediocre (remember stellar villains like Mekano and El Tigre?), some issues stand out, like the one which pits the Mimic against the Super-Adaptoid.
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2014 21:45:23 GMT -5
I wasn't as blown away by my intial reading of Morrison's Animal Man as most, but I thought it was good. I couldn't finish a recent attempt at a re-read.
|
|
|
|
Post by Prince Hal on Aug 29, 2014 22:01:23 GMT -5
America vs. the Justice Society, from the early 80s. I happened to see it when I was cleaning the attic and figured I'd enjoy rereading it. But, oh my gawd! Look, I respect Roy Thomas for all he has done for comics, for Conan and the Kree-Skrull War, and the All-Star Squadron (mostly), and his absolute mad love for the Golden Age, but here was poor OCD/anal/"must... explain... every... little... thing" Roy running amuck in his favorite playground, and he made quite the mud puddle of it. The plot (Batman accuses the JSA of being Fascist sympathizers) was ludicrous; the dialogue (too much of that "Easy, lad" style; and the art was at best mediocre. Though that and the awful 80s print job were not Roy's fault, I can't imagine the story being any more compelling or sensible had both those factors been improved. It was a chore to fight through to the end of the four issues. It can't be much worse than Roy's take on both SHAZAM and JONNI THUNDER-- though these aren't admissible to the thread from me, since I never thought they were good the first time. I think I liked some of the O'Neil/Freidrich stories that followed Fox's long run on JUSTICE LEAGUE; now they'd probably all strike me as pretentius and overly "relevant." Oh, even then I couldn't stand the Friedrich stories. As for O'Neil and the whole relevance trend, I think you just have to read them knowing what the zeitgeist was and just how different it was to see all this in mainline comic books. Now most of it seems heavy-handed, but in those days it really was unique. |
|
|
|
Post by December on Aug 30, 2014 9:08:58 GMT -5
America vs. the Justice Society, from the early 80s. I happened to see it when I was cleaning the attic and figured I'd enjoy rereading it. But, oh my gawd! Look, I respect Roy Thomas for all he has done for comics, for Conan and the Kree-Skrull War, and the All-Star Squadron (mostly), and his absolute mad love for the Golden Age, but here was poor OCD/anal/"must... explain... every... little... thing" Roy running amuck in his favorite playground, and he made quite the mud puddle of it. The plot (Batman accuses the JSA of being Fascist sympathizers) was ludicrous; the dialogue (too much of that "Easy, lad" style; and the art was at best mediocre. Though that and the awful 80s print job were not Roy's fault, I can't imagine the story being any more compelling or sensible had both those factors been improved. It was a chore to fight through to the end of the four issues. That series is actually being released in TPB early next year. Despite your description, I'm still interested in reading it because I really like a lot of the characters featured. It is an odd choice for a collected edition, though. I wonder what DC's reasoning is? |
|
|
|
Post by Icctrombone on Aug 30, 2014 9:37:21 GMT -5
America vs. the Justice Society, from the early 80s. I happened to see it when I was cleaning the attic and figured I'd enjoy rereading it. But, oh my gawd! Look, I respect Roy Thomas for all he has done for comics, for Conan and the Kree-Skrull War, and the All-Star Squadron (mostly), and his absolute mad love for the Golden Age, but here was poor OCD/anal/"must... explain... every... little... thing" Roy running amuck in his favorite playground, and he made quite the mud puddle of it. The plot (Batman accuses the JSA of being Fascist sympathizers) was ludicrous; the dialogue (too much of that "Easy, lad" style; and the art was at best mediocre. Though that and the awful 80s print job were not Roy's fault, I can't imagine the story being any more compelling or sensible had both those factors been improved. It was a chore to fight through to the end of the four issues. That series is actually being released in TPB early next year. Despite your description, I'm still interested in reading it because I really like a lot of the characters featured. It is an odd choice for a collected edition, though. I wonder what DC's reasoning is? I had the mini til I sold it a few years ago, and I didn't find it so bad. It was a nice story with a twist and to get the twist, you have to know the history that Thomas recounts. |
|
|
|
Post by Cei-U! on Aug 30, 2014 10:56:31 GMT -5
Except the "twist" doesn't make a damned bit of sense. I love the JSA and I work for Roy Thomas but AvJS is underplotted, overwritten, badly drawn and, most unforgivably, boring. When the text pieces on the inside covers are the best part of your series, you've pretty much laid a bomb.* I can't in good conscience encourage anybody to waste their money on a trade collection of this turkey, especially when you can find the entire original run for less than the TPBwill run you.
Cei-U!
I summon the anti-recommendation!
* Though, to be fair, it's a bastion of excellence compared to Thomas and Mandrake's execrable Shazam! The New Beginning
|
|
|
|
Post by Slam_Bradley on Aug 30, 2014 10:59:19 GMT -5
I again agree with Kurt on America v. The JSA. Also Thomas' Shazam was an abomination.
I remember thinking Jonni Thunder was okay at the time. But I've never re-read it.
|
|
|
|
Post by Icctrombone on Aug 30, 2014 11:44:01 GMT -5
Except the "twist" doesn't make a damned bit of sense. I love the JSA and I work for Roy Thomas but AvJS is underplotted, overwritten, badly drawn and, most unforgivably, boring. When the text pieces on the inside covers are the best part of your series, you've pretty much laid a bomb.* I can't in good conscience encourage anybody to waste their money on a trade collection of this turkey, especially when you can find the entire original run for less than the TPBwill run you. Cei-U! I summon the anti-recommendation! * Though, to be fair, it's a bastion of excellence compared to Thomas and Mandrake's execrable Shazam! The New Beginning HAhahah, Now you didn't read anywhere me saying to buy the TPB. I just don't remember it being the abomination everyone is making it out to be. It's okay if you find them in a .50 cent box. |
|
|
|
Post by Prince Hal on Aug 30, 2014 11:59:41 GMT -5
That series is actually being released in TPB early next year. Despite your description, I'm still interested in reading it because I really like a lot of the characters featured. It is an odd choice for a collected edition, though. I wonder what DC's reasoning is? I had the mini til I sold it a few years ago, and I didn't find it so bad. It was a nice story with a twist and to get the twist, you have to know the history that Thomas recounts. I just slogged through tis again a month ago and I can't even remember the twist. "The Most Dangerous Game" it ain't. |
|
|
|
Post by paulie on Aug 31, 2014 7:34:24 GMT -5
I again agree with Kurt on America v. The JSA. Also Thomas' Shazam was an abomination. I remember thinking Jonni Thunder was okay at the time. But I've never re-read it. And here we have Roy at his worst. Agreed. Agreed. Agreed. |
|
