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Post by Jesse on May 2, 2014 15:27:11 GMT -5
I really enjoyed all three volumes especially the original run drawn by Gene Colan who sets the mood with his artwork so perfectly. It also feels like one continuous story throughout the three volumes because it's not really bogged down by all the silly Universe reboots that DC is so fond of. I like that you see Professor Caine at different stages in his life throughout the volumes while the Baron never seems to age. Some really creepy Tom Mandrake artwork in volume 3. I wonder if we'll ever see the Baron and his pet Leopard Merlin or Wintersgate Manor in the pages of Justice League Dark or Constantine's solo title. Baron Winters is mentioned by John Constantine in one of those titles but has yet to appear. Here are some of my favorite pages from the original Gene Colon's run. and here are some of Gene Colon's character designs featured in Night Force #3
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Post by Jasoomian on May 2, 2014 15:30:25 GMT -5
Is this basically a continuation / new take on TOMB OF DRACULA?
I recently picked up the recent $8 four-issue reprint for $1, but I haven't read it yet. From what i can tell, it seems like every issue leads straight in to the next so I almost feel like I need to have the whole run before I can read any.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on May 2, 2014 15:38:12 GMT -5
I picked up most of the first run in quarter bins a long time ago, and enjoyed them a lot. The mood was pretty good, and different from what I expected (like Jasoomian, I thought it might be a DC version of Tomb of Dracula) but it was in fact much closer to what the X-Files would later be like.
I also enjoyed how Alan Moore used Winters in his Swamp Thing run; he had fun with the character without damaging it. The interactions between John Constantine and the baron were priceless.
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Post by the4thpip on May 2, 2014 15:45:55 GMT -5
I first became aware of the Baron in the original Books of Magic mini and picked up cheap back issues of NF later. Also got the Nu52 version, which were some of the better comics coming out under that imprint. Naturally, they sold so badly we probably won't see the franchise again unless Wolfman makes a deal to publish it elsewhere.
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Post by DubipR on May 2, 2014 16:10:00 GMT -5
I love this run. Not because I'm a huge Colan fun, but it was the next step on their TOD evolution. I have all the first run signed by Gene and Marv. I didn't read the 2nd volume with Brent Anderson and I sort of skimmed the third with the Mandrake artwork.
I did appreciate Grant Morrison using Baron Winters in his SSOV: Zatanna mini.
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Post by Jesse on May 2, 2014 21:24:47 GMT -5
Is this basically a continuation / new take on TOMB OF DRACULA? As much as I enjoy Wolfman and Colan together I still have not read The Tomb of Dracula I thought it might be a DC version of Tomb of Dracula) but it was in fact much closer to what the X-Files would later be like. Speaking of X-Files I would love to see Night Force developed as a TV series. I also enjoyed how Alan Moore used Winters in his Swamp Thing run; he had fun with the character without damaging it. The interactions between John Constantine and the baron were priceless. I haven't read them yet but I have them in my "to read" pile. Are they part of the six Saga of Swamp Thing volumes?
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Post by Roquefort Raider on May 3, 2014 8:33:45 GMT -5
Very likely; Baron Winters was there at the end of the "American gothic" story arc.
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,874
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Post by shaxper on May 3, 2014 8:51:52 GMT -5
This is towards the top of my "To Acquire" list. I really hope to get to it within the year. Thanks for starting this thread!
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Post by Ozymandias on May 4, 2014 4:51:05 GMT -5
One thing is clear, Colan topped himself here.
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Post by Jesse on Mar 29, 2015 15:22:47 GMT -5
I also enjoyed how Alan Moore used Winters in his Swamp Thing run; he had fun with the character without damaging it. The interactions between John Constantine and the baron were priceless. I finally read these issues and was ecstatic to see Baron Winters show up. Thought I'd share those pages from Swamp Thing #49. I especially love this pose of Winters in the top left corner by drawn by Stan Woch and inked by Alfredo Alcala.
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,874
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Post by shaxper on Mar 29, 2015 15:23:38 GMT -5
This is next on my reading list after I finish reading Elric: Stormbringer (4 issues left)
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Post by berkley on Mar 29, 2015 18:51:15 GMT -5
Haven't read it since it first came out but I quite liked the original series at the time. They found an inker in Smith who as compatible with Colan and understood his unique style, which didn't always happen.
Those Alcala inks in Swamp Thing surely could have used some more subdued colouring. Reading that scene, it reminds me that I don't remember if it was ever divulged where Winters was from - what was he Baron of, exactly?
Don't recall how Morrison wrote Baron Winters in SSoV. I loved his dialogue for the Phantom Stranger cameo, though.
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Post by dbutler69 on Mar 30, 2015 14:23:46 GMT -5
I've only got the preview that was contained in New Teen Titans #21, and I enjoyed that. To be honest, I didn't love the art, but it seemed like a cool supernatural type comic.
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Post by fanboystranger on Mar 30, 2015 15:37:04 GMT -5
This is actually my favorite Marv Wolfman series. The original series was so ahead of its time. It was also a real career renaissance for Gene Colan, too-- he was bascially run out of Marvel by Jim Shooter, and he turned in two of his best works in Nathaniel Dusk and Night Force, both of which saw Gene adopting some of the technological advances of the period to enhance his art.
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Post by fanboystranger on Mar 30, 2015 15:41:57 GMT -5
. Reading that scene, it reminds me that I don't remember if it was ever divulged where Winters was from - what was he Baron of, exactly? It's never been revealed. It's actually one of the things I love about the character-- other than some links to Adam and Eve, he's pretty much a total cypher. I like to think that he's actually not a true baron at all, but a total charlatan that has convinced the world that he is. That's why he's able to peg Constantine so precisely.
On the other hand, Georgetown property is not cheap.
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