Crimebuster
CCF Podcast Guru
Making comics!
Posts: 3,958 
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Post by Crimebuster on Aug 7, 2017 10:51:11 GMT -5
#4. ElfquestElfquest #1-20 as collected in the Donning/Starblaze GN #1-4  One of the most important indy books of all time, and one of the best fantasy comics ever published. For my money, the original 20 issues Elfquest saga is almost impossible to beat, weaving together ten thousand years of storylines into one gripping tale of a visionary leader trying to save his people and reclaim their destiny. This was a seminal work for me personally, arriving in my life when I was 12 years old and quickly becoming one of my favorite stories, one I would read and re-read over and over again. I'm not as big a fan of anything that has been done with the characters since, but the original saga holds up every single time I return to it. It's just timeless. And the art by Wendy Pini! Not only great, but I think its influence has been underplayed, as it really started the trend of bringing Japanese stylistic influences into American comics. 
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Post by Paste Pot Paul on Aug 7, 2017 15:57:27 GMT -5
4. Captain America: The Psychotic 1950's Cap/Bucky issues 153, 154, 155, 156. 1972 Cap takes a vacation. Sharon Carter quits SHIELD. Falcon finds Cap and Bucky in Harlem beating up on the black people of the neighborhood. It is discovered that the 1950's had another Captain America while Steve Rogers was on ice. This phoney loved Cap so much he devoted his life to researching all he could of Cap and found the notes of a German spy who had stolen the Super-Soldier Serum. Taking this info to the US government where they developed it and used it on him and gave him plastic surgery to resemble Steve Rogers. After the Korean war this Cap program is suspended he recruits a Bucky Look giving him a shot of the serum so they both will have super strength they fight throughout the Communist era. Eventually the 2 of them become increasingly violent and the government retires them by placing them into suspended animation. Bringing in current politics to the story a disgruntled loyal patriot annoyed with Nixon helps awaken the 2 pop-sicle twins who continue their rampages just where they left off. Falcon and Sharon stop Bucky and Original Cap versus Fake Cap. Englehart instead of Thomas came up with this baby or retro-continuity and inserted his usual high writing standards and created a story that spoke to the readers and reflected the times and is just as great of a story today as it was then. Both the 50's Cap and Bucky go on later in the Marvel U becoming different characters with new stories to tell. Fake Cap becoming the Grand Director and Bucky to take on the Mantle of Nomad, another identity Steve Rogers took on. This is what a great comic book story does, connect the past inconsistencies, tell a wonderful story while doing so and creates fodder for future stories! Doesnt it look so much prettier with the covers...especially 156. I freaking love this story, the earliest story I can remember reading(and wanting to steal from my friends bedroom). From Engleharts website re. the issues. "153-156: Roy Thomas had been thinking about the Captain America who appeared in Timely (Marvel) books in the 1950s. Marvel's Cap was supposed to have been frozen in ice during that time, so who was that man in the flag suit? He asked me that question as he handed me the book, and I ran with it for my four-issue initial story." Bloody good choice mate, well played. |
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Post by Icctrombone on Aug 7, 2017 19:13:59 GMT -5
4. Captain America: The Psychotic 1950's Cap/Bucky issues 153, 154, 155, 156. 1972Cap takes a vacation. Sharon Carter quits SHIELD. Falcon finds Cap and Bucky in Harlem beating up on the black people of the neighborhood. It is discovered that the 1950's had another Captain America while Steve Rogers was on ice. This phoney loved Cap so much he devoted his life to researching all he could of Cap and found the notes of a German spy who had stolen the Super-Soldier Serum. Taking this info to the US government where they developed it and used it on him and gave him plastic surgery to resemble Steve Rogers. After the Korean war this Cap program is suspended he recruits a Bucky Look giving him a shot of the serum so they both will have super strength they fight throughout the Communist era. Eventually the 2 of them become increasingly violent and the government retires them by placing them into suspended animation. Bringing in current politics to the story a disgruntled loyal patriot annoyed with Nixon helps awaken the 2 pop-sicle twins who continue their rampages just where they left off. Falcon and Sharon stop Bucky and Original Cap versus Fake Cap. Englehart instead of Thomas came up with this baby or retro-continuity and inserted his usual high writing standards and created a story that spoke to the readers and reflected the times and is just as great of a story today as it was then. Both the 50's Cap and Bucky go on later in the Marvel U becoming different characters with new stories to tell. Fake Cap becoming the Grand Director and Bucky to take on the Mantle of Nomad, another identity Steve Rogers took on. This is what a great comic book story does, connect the past inconsistencies, tell a wonderful story while doing so and creates fodder for future stories! Yes, this was in my big list along with 2 other Cap sagas. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 7, 2017 19:34:44 GMT -5
Usagi Yojimbo: The Journey Begins  Written and Illustrated by Stan Sakai Usagi Yojimbo Vol.1 #1-31, 1987-91 Albedo #2, 3-4, 1984-85 Critters #1,3, 6-7, 10-11, 14, 38, 50, 1986-1990 Doomsday Squad #3 Usagi Yojimbo Summer Special #1 I was originally going to go with the whole first volume as my pick as it contains a lot of my absolute favorite Usagi stories(The Goblin of Adachigahara, Samurai, Zylla, and a Kite Story) and while the finale of the volume "The Last Ino Story" does provide a logical ending as Ino does appear several times I felt that "Circles" was a much more powerful ending both for Usagi as a character and narratively. Through these early stories we see how Usagi grew up, became a samurai, lost his master and became a wandering Ronin, made some interesting friends, and then grew homesick and tried to go home only to find that he was destined to wander. It's a great journey full of powerful emotional moments, great action, humor and cultural history which is a lot to pack into just a few issues. When I look at Circles in particular I think that it was such a perfect ending that had Stan ended it there his story of a rabbit bodyguard would still be a much loved story but the fact that he's continued on after all these years without a dip in quality just speaks to his supreme skill. |
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Post by hondobrode on Aug 7, 2017 20:09:41 GMT -5
# 4 - X-Men # 131 – 138 and Phoenix : The Untold Story # 1  Who hasn’t heaped this storyline with greatness time and time again ? Cliché as Chris Claremont is nowadays, he was the Master at one time.  He, John Byrne, Terry Austin, Tom Orzechowski, the whole crew. They produced pure comic book magic.  There’s a reason Marvel has revisited this storyline again and again and again. It’s so powerful and it truly made me gasp out loud when Jean died.  I’m including Phoenix : The Untold Story as it’s the original ending before Shooter forced the death of Jean.  Not sure which ending I like better, but it’s nice seeing the pages of Byrne & Austin and knowing what Claremont originally had planned for the issue. Times change, but most of Claremont's run is just so good, though it mostly stopped at # 175 when Paul Smith left, for me. I picked the Dark Phoenix Saga because it's certainly one of the most powerful, memorable stories. |
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Post by Icctrombone on Aug 7, 2017 20:16:28 GMT -5
4. Metamorphosis Odyssey by Jim Starlin (1980-1981)serialized in Epic Illustrated #1-9 (1980-1981) Jim Starlin's cosmic epic of the struggle between life and death with the fate of a galaxy on the line. Aknaton, whose race the Osirosians are the ancestors of all humanoid life in the Milky Way seeds a long term plan to try to save the galaxy from the oncoming destruction at the hands of their long-time enemies the Zygoteans. He returns centuries later to collect the fruits of his efforts, 3 special beings and recruits the stone-cold killer Vanth Dreadstar to be their protector until they can see his plan to fruition. I disocvered these stories in high school and they turned my world upside down. I had been a fan of Starlin's stuff since I first encountered it in the Death of Thanos story running in Avengers Annual 7 & Marvel Two In One Annual 2, and heard about Dreadstar when I finally discovered comic shops, and soon tracked down these stories to see how it all began. This is quintessential Starlin in its pure form, not filtered through the lens of the Marvel mythos. Here you will find all the thematic core ideas he riffs on throughout his oeuvre, all his strengths, weaknesses, tics and tendencies, the pure cosmic mind-trip that is a Starlin story unchecked by the needs of editors to maintain their IP, to keep the illusion of change in their characters/stories while in reality telling a never-ending story that maintains a status quo, or to meet the standards of the Comics Code. This one has it all for the Starlin fan, and for others seeking to go on a cosmic mindtrip of an adventure in comic book form. Find a copy open up to this page... and start reading. -M I just realized that I don't have this anymore. I had the Epic magazines but sold them all years ago. I have to get this when my moratorium on buying comics is over in October. |
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Post by hondobrode on Aug 7, 2017 21:05:26 GMT -5
I'm not 100% sure, but I think it may have been collected.
Edited : I don't think it's happened yet, but I had heard at one time someone, maybe Dynamite ? was looking at it.
It should be.
It was good, and Dreadstar was fantastic.
Hopefully they'll still make the Dreadstar movie.
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,860
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Post by shaxper on Aug 7, 2017 21:37:58 GMT -5
It's been collected twice, I believe, and the original Epic Illustrated issues are still dirt cheap (and full of other amazing content!).
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Post by Deleted on Aug 7, 2017 22:16:17 GMT -5
It's been collected twice, I believe, and the original Epic Illustrated issues are still dirt cheap (and full of other amazing content!). If by dirt cheap you mean in the $15-$30 range per issue is higher grades, sure. The demand and prices jumped when it was announced that Dreadstar had been optioned a couple years back. You may occasionally find them for less, but you have to look. Even the later issues of Epic w/o M.O. are getting pricier and harder to find. I've lucked into some decent;y priced copies of issues I need to fill in, but most of the time when I see issues at shows or at shops they average $10 each or more and places like Lonestar average higher for mid-high grade copies. The first collection done by Slave Labor Graphics is all in b&w, even though the latter parts in Epic were in color. I haven't seen the Dynamite collection to know whether it's all b&w or includes color. -M |
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,860
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Post by shaxper on Aug 7, 2017 22:22:39 GMT -5
It's been collected twice, I believe, and the original Epic Illustrated issues are still dirt cheap (and full of other amazing content!). If by dirt cheap you mean in the $15-$30 range per issue is higher grades, sure. The demand and prices jumped when it was announced that Dreadstar had been optioned a couple years back. I missed that. Can't believe the speculator market is that...speculative. I got mine for $1-4 an issue about four years back. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 7, 2017 22:26:27 GMT -5
If by dirt cheap you mean in the $15-$30 range per issue is higher grades, sure. The demand and prices jumped when it was announced that Dreadstar had been optioned a couple years back. I missed that. Can't believe the speculator market is that...speculative. I got mine for $1-4 an issue about four years back. Well part of it was the speculator bump and part of it was a revival in interest in Starlin's work thanks to the surge in popularity in Thanos and people realizing the MO stuff in Epic is 35+ years old and not all that easy to find because people ignored it for so long a lot of shops/dealers stopped carrying/stocking it, so when the demand did go up, the ready supply wasn't there to meet it, and there was a little bit of a market correction. I don't think the prices will continue to rise on them, but I don't see them dropping back down much either. -M |
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,860
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Post by shaxper on Aug 7, 2017 22:28:46 GMT -5
I missed that. Can't believe the speculator market is that...speculative. I got mine for $1-4 an issue about four years back. Well part of it was the speculator bump and part of it was a revival in interest in Starlin's work thanks to the surge in popularity in Thanos and people realizing the MO stuff in Epic is 35+ years old and not all that easy to find because people ignored it for so long a lot of shops/dealers stopped carrying/stocking it, so when the demand did go up, the ready supply wasn't there to meet it, and there was a little bit of a market correction. I don't think the prices will continue to rise on them, but I don't see them dropping back down much either. -M Yeah, they were just sitting in bargain bins in multiple LCSes when I assembled my run. Back then, only the last few issues featuring The Last Galactus Story were pricey due both to interest and low print run. It's one of the most underrated runs in comicdom, IMO, and certainly one of the most underrated anthology series. Nearly every issue is an absolute gem. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 7, 2017 22:30:11 GMT -5
Well part of it was the speculator bump and part of it was a revival in interest in Starlin's work thanks to the surge in popularity in Thanos and people realizing the MO stuff in Epic is 35+ years old and not all that easy to find because people ignored it for so long a lot of shops/dealers stopped carrying/stocking it, so when the demand did go up, the ready supply wasn't there to meet it, and there was a little bit of a market correction. I don't think the prices will continue to rise on them, but I don't see them dropping back down much either. -M Yeah, they were just sitting in bargain bins in multiple LCSes when I assembled my run. Back then, only the last few issues featuring The Last Galactus Story were pricey due both to interest and low print run. It's one of the most underrated runs in comicdom, IMO, and certainly one of the most underrated anthology series. Nearly every issue is an absolute gem. Shhhh! I still need a handful of issues to complete the run*. -M *(of Epic Illustrated, I have all the MO stuff in Epic and the MO Portfolio Starlin did) |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Aug 8, 2017 14:08:01 GMT -5
V For Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd. Issues 1-10  Moore and Lloyd's meditation on dystopia; anarchism vs. fascism; questions of identity; and ode to Orwell. This is very much rooted in fears of the left in Thatcher-era U.K. But it transcends that time period in the same way that Orwell's works transcend The Cold War. One of the transformative comics of all time...in both good and bad ways.
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Post by hondobrode on Aug 8, 2017 21:07:53 GMT -5
Epic Illustrated has never been easy to find in my experience, esp the latter issues.
I miss it. That was Marvel really doing good stuff back in the heyday.
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