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Post by EdoBosnar on Feb 2, 2023 11:14:57 GMT -5
(...) Ka-Zar #26. Was that the first direct-to-market issue? (...) Oh, hell no. The first direct-market issue was #10 - luckily I had discovered a comic book shop by that time, so I was able to get my monthly Ka-zar fix, which was often hard to find on the spinner racks in any case. However, I ended up buying a subscription a few months later anyway (it kicked in with #17), just because that LCS was about 15 miles away from where I lived.
Yeah, I liked the concept of the Morlocks, but I didn't see why they *all* had to be mutants. I thought it would have been better if just a few of them were mutants, i.e., the ones that were introduced by name, like Callisto, Sunder, Plague, etc., and everyone else normal humans.
Your other question, though, is sort of related to that eternal question about so many super-powered or super-smart characters in comics - why not just use those powers and/or brains to make a bunch of money legally and live comfortably, instead of perpetrating elaborate robberies or plotting to take over the world (or at least do the latter more subtly, like the Hellfire Club did).
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Post by berkley on Feb 3, 2023 0:54:05 GMT -5
February 1983:
Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers #10
Elric #1
New Teen Titans #31
Night Force #10
Saga of Swamp Thing #13
With the departure of Moench I was done with MoKF, so no Marvel comics for me this month in 1983. From memory, Night Force and Swamp Thing were probably my favourite comics this month. I've always thought NF had a lot of potential but like o many series that tried to do something a little different, it was cancelled too quickly to see if it would have ever realised that potential.
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Post by tonebone on Feb 3, 2023 11:19:48 GMT -5
For me, Feb. of 1983:
All-Star Squadron #21
Amethyst #1
Arion #7
Blackhawk #258
Captain America #281
Captain Carrot #15
Captain Victory #10
Detective Comics #526
Dreadstar #3
E-Man #3
Fantastic Four #254
The Fly #1
The Furry of Firestorm #12
Green Arrow #1
Groo the Wanderer #3
Jon Sable Freelance #1
Micronauts #52
New Mutants #4
Nexus #1
Crystar #1
Spider Woman #50
US 1 #1
Warp #4
Notes:
Don't judge me on Crystar and US1... I was a sucker for first issues.
I didn't live near a comics store, so anything on this list that was direct sales only, I must have purchased mail order, probably not in February.
If you think the Firestorm entry is a typo, think again.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Mar 3, 2023 12:20:31 GMT -5
It's March 1983, and I'm buying...
Adventure comics #500, featuring the Legion of Super-Heroes (a natural choice for this anniversary issue). Adventure was published as a digest at the time, and I've said before how I love the DC digests. In fact, I found myself quite miffed when, years later, I bought a Legion Archive for a whole lot more money to read basically the same stories! The digests had the best bang for the buck ever.
Arak #22, continuing the great first two years of this new Roy Thomas creation. Adventure in a historical context with some sorcery thrown in... how could I resist?
Conan #147. Generic, generic. I can't believe that the book was selling so well on account of the Schwarzenegger films... the comic was so much less enjoyable than under the aegis of Roy Thomas!
Daredevil #196, co-starring Wolverine. I should have been overjoyed because i was a massive Wolverine fan in those days (the very early ninja period). There is however something I disliked: it's the first instance of Logan's healing factor turning into an invincibility trump card. Up to then, it had merely been shown that Logan healed quite easily; that meant he could be severely beaten and recover from wounds that would kill a normal man. However, it took time, was painful, and was clearly not a "get-out-of-the-morgue-free" card. Here Wolverine gets machine-gunned... and while he doesn't exactly brush it off, less than an hour later he's good and ready to go. This sorry tendency would get worse and worse over the years, to the point where an arm stripped to the bone would regrow in a matter of seconds.
Doctor Strange #59. I think it had American Native sorcerers... but it's been a long time.
Fantastic Four #255. Is Reed really dead? Or rather, will Reed really be limited in his activities for the foreseeable future? Nah... it'll get fixed wth no explanation within a few issues. (And no, I don't think that "passing through the barrier between the negative zone and our universe restored my mind to my body" is an explanation). Still excellent work by John Byrne.
Indiana Jones #6. Wasn't Howard Chaykin just made for drawing Indy? This is one of my favourite Chaykin comics of all times, in part thanks to the extremely adequate inking style adopted by Terry Austin. (In an interview, Terry said that to properly render Howie's bold lines, he used big felt markers in several places. The result looks really good).
Indiana Jones #7. Ron Frenz is also very suitable for Indy. He has a great sense of visual humour.
Ghost Rider #81, final issue. "The end of the Ghost Rider". Oy, vey... continuing the silly strategy of not simply cancelling an underselling book but also putting an end to its main character (see Spider-Woman just a few weeks prior), this comic has the spirit of vengeance stripped from Johnny Blaze and trapped in some McGuffin (some kind of magical jewel? I forget). I hadn't read Ghost Rider for a while when I got that issue and was not aware of the Zarathos thing, an idea that stinks more than the sulphurous pits of Hell. The initial concept for Ghost Rider was so good... a good guy sells his soul to the devil to save someone he loves and ends up cursed to travel the roads as a flame-headed biker. Much better, methinks, than a good guy who sells his soul to an otherdimensional supervillain (Mephisto) who bonds him with the soul of some demon who has a grudge against some other bad guy with whom he's going to spend eternity in a stone. Ghost Rider should have been allowed to just motor his way out of his own comic and head towards the highway of guest spots.
Iron Man #171. I'll admit, I was interested in finding out what would happen to drunk Tony and to Iron Rhodey! (I was especially wondering how Rhodey would deal with his armour being eventually damaged.)
King Conan #17. A really good issue, as Alan Zelenetz was the best Conan writer at Marvel at the time. Pretty soon, this mag would hit its own little golden age.
Kull the conqueror #2. A truly brilliant issue, one of my favourite Kull comic-book stories. Zelenetz is at it again, penning a tale evoking Howard's own Kull stories, more tinged with philosophical themes than your typical Conan yarn.
Legion of Super-Heroes #300. That was quite the Legion month, wasn't it? A beautiful anniversary issue, with a main story produced by the usual team (Levitz-Giffen) and several associated tales drawn by many of the Legion's classic artists, featuring alternate versions of our heroes, including the oft-seen "adult Legion". We learn (and that was a brilliant plot twist!) that such stories were not imaginary stories per se, but visions that the brother of Ferro Lad was afflicted with, visions coming from alternate dimensions. This is all an anniversary issue should be!
Master of Kung-Fu #125, final issue. See above, about Ghost Rider. At least they didn't kill Shang-Chi... but they retired him, and he's now living as a humble fisherman in China, having unceremoniously ditched his girlfriend and abandoned his friends. Not cool, Shang-Chi... not cool at all.
Micronauts #53, and Danny Bulanadi is off the book! Butch Guice's pencils will finally truly shine as inked by Kelley Jones. The comic's renaissance continues, as Baron Karza strengthens his rule and the Micronauts are on the run.
New Mutants #5. A mixed bag. I disliked Viper and Silver Samurai back then, and Sal Buscema's art didn't feel like anything more than perfunctory. Still, the New Mutants were growing on me.
Official Handbook to the Marvel Universe #6. A must-have for serious Marvel fans, no doubt!
Saga of the Swamp Thing #14, co-starring the Phantom Stranger. After the conclusion of the Apocalypse story arc, i was about to drop this title... meaning that I missed Alan Moore's arrival. Stupid, stupid Roquefort...
Savage Sword of Conan #88 and #89. I enjoyed the B&W SSoC much more than the colour comic in those days, which is a bit surprising considering that the same people were usually involved. SSoC didn't feel like a series of fill-ins.
X-Men #170. Another great X-Men issue by Claremont and Paul Smith. I wasn't crazy about the Morlocks, though.
Warlord #70. Quick and fun read. One of the last issues I bought.
What if..? #39. Well, I'll be darned... ANOTHER brilliant comic written by Alan Zelenetz, all in the space of one month! This team-up between Conan and Thor goes WAY beyond the traditional "wouldn't it be fun to pair Suchandsuch with Whatsisname?" It is a truly moving story of friendship and destiny, and I don't even begrudge it its Danny Bulanadi inks! Somehow, he and penciller Ron Wilson made a good team here!
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Post by EdoBosnar on Mar 3, 2023 12:43:50 GMT -5
Hmm, looking over at the covers of the books that I recall having at the time, I can see that early 1983 was the beginning of the end of my first golden age of comics reading/buying. I see only eight titles that I had this month: Avengers #232  Wasn't really enjoying the art here, but Stern's writing was keeping this book interesting to me, and I was curious about how Eros/Starfox would work with the team. Fantastic Four #255  Still the best thing Marvel was publishing at this point, in my opinion back then at least. Indiana Jones #6  I immediately dropped this series after the first two issues by Byrne and Austin, but this wonderful cover caught my eye and I picked it up, and was pleasantly surprised by the delightful done-in-one story by Michelinie with lovely art by Chaykin and Austin. An added bonus was the reappearance of Marion Ravenwood (who in my opinion was a big reason why 'Raiders' is such a great movie). However, this would be the last issue of this series I ever read. Legion of Super-heroes #300  With hindsight, it's pretty apparent that the Levitz-Giffen-Mahlstedt run on LoSH peaked with the Great Darkness Saga; what followed was good for a time, but never hit its previous heights. This anniversary issue, however, came close I thought. New Mutants #5  Still loving anything mutant, though, and a bonus here is the appearance of one of my favorite do-badder couples, Viper and Silver Samurai. New Teen Titans #32  DC's other powerhouse title was still a must-buy for me. Omega Men #3  Not loving this as much as I thought would, but I stuck around for a few more issues after this one. X-men #170  And, of course, I remained loyal to X-men, even though I had mixed feelings about this Morlocks story (and the whole idea of the Morlocks, as noted last month). |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 3, 2023 13:17:59 GMT -5
Action Comics #544 - Oh what a cover and moment this was, Lex and Brainiac transformed. Famously the likenesses used for their Super Powers figures then. Luthor's battle suit at least was a nod to his historic color scheme, but Brainiac was a whole other matter, and quite a scary looking chap in that incarnation. No pretense of humanity left in his appearance. Adventure #500 - Ditto on everything Roquefort Raider said. This was my most looked forward to title at this point, and while I treasured all the non-Legion material in other Adventure digest issues (it was my gateway to so many great things like the Challengers), this was pretty cool getting an all Legion issue. What a cover as well. All-Star Squadron #22 - I think I did not actually buy this immediately off the newsstand, but it brings me a smile because I know where this is leading up to later in the year with All-Star Sqaudron Annual #2. This was such a great title. I'm pretty sure I didn't pick up ASM that month, the Amethyst issue may have been later as well (ended up really liking that series). Avengers #232 - Yes, I rather liked Starfox along with Monica (one of my favorite Avengers). Time to defend Milgrom again  Captain America #282 - That looks pretty familiar, I remember Nomad appearing here and Constrictor was always a favorite baddie, I think I got this one. I like the look of that DC Comics Presents but I don't think I picked it up (always enjoyed Elongated Man appearances though). Fantastic Four #255 - This was a monthly title for me at this point, the glory days of the Byrne run. I wish I had picked up that Iron Man! Love the Wrecking Crew and Thunderball was always my favorite. That JLA looks familar to me as well, but pretty sure that was picked up later. Legion #300 - Ah...bliss. I also love the gold "Anniversary" header they were using around that time, it somehow felt "special". Browing through the rest, a lot of titles I would soon become a regular reader of, but I wasn't quite the volume reader yet I would become later in the year, so these were mostly after the fact. Lots of good stuff I would discover soon though!
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Post by badwolf on Mar 3, 2023 13:24:34 GMT -5
In March 1983 I bought:
Daredevil #196
Defenders #120
Fantastic Four #255
New Mutants #5
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #6
Rom #43
The Saga of Crystar #2
The Thing #1
Thor #333
X-Men #170
I think I was following Avengers at this time but missed this month's issue.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Mar 3, 2023 13:31:41 GMT -5
Still the best thing Marvel was publishing at this point, in my opinion back then at least. Indiana Jones #6 I immediately dropped this series after the first two issues by Byrne and Austin, but this wonderful cover caught my eye and I picked it up, and was pleasantly surprised by the delightful done-in-one story by Michelinie with lovely art by Chaykin and Austin. An added bonus was the reappearance of Marion Ravenwood ( who in my opinion was a big reason why 'Raiders' is such a great movie). However, this would be the last issue of this series I ever read. HEAR, HEAR!!! Indy's romantic bond with Marion (and the associated guilt) gave him much more depth that he was allowed to have later on. Marion's return in Crystal Skull almost made up for all its faults. Not quite, but consider how tall the order was! I am utterly dismayed to hear that Marion won't be in the next film. It's good that she remained in the comic, though! |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 3, 2023 13:40:15 GMT -5
Action Comics #544 - Oh what a cover and moment this was, Lex and Brainiac transformed. Famously the likenesses used for their Super Powers figures then. Luthor's battle suit at least was a nod to his historic color scheme, but Brainiac was a whole other matter, and quite a scary looking chap in that incarnation. No pretense of humanity left in his appearance. It’s a travesty that that Brainiac look didn’t go the distance. Is it around in any form now? |
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Post by EdoBosnar on Mar 3, 2023 15:51:58 GMT -5
HEAR, HEAR!!! Indy's romantic bond with Marion (and the associated guilt) gave him much more depth that he was allowed to have later on. Marion's return in Crystal Skull almost made up for all its faults. Not quite, but consider how tall the order was! (...) Yeah, Marion was the only positive check that utterly execrable movie gets from me; however, even that is ruined by the fact that we learn that she and Indy pretty much never saw each other after the events of Raiders, and that Indy is in fact an absentee father. (Also, their son is Shia LeBeouf?!) |
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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 3, 2023 16:19:30 GMT -5
     The dawn of my indie-buying days, though you could say I read indie comics before the Big Two, if you include Gold Key, as an indie. However, I had only just discovered that a local bookstore was getting their comics through a direct market distributor, rather than a newsstand distributor. Suddenly, I was seeing not only DC, Marvel, the odd Archie or Harvey (Western was selling in the three-packs, with the Whitman brand name, only, by this point); but, also the Red Circle revival, from Archie, Pacific Comics, First Comics, Capital Comics, and saw ads for Cerebus, Elfquest and First Kingdom. I had read about the MLJ/Archie heroes, in the World Encyclopedia of comics, then got my first glimpse with the first Archie Super Hero Digest, which reprinted stories from the 60s revival (Mighty Comics), including Black Hood, The Web, Jaguar and, especially, The Double Life of Pvt Strong (aka the new Shield). I had just seen an issue of the Comics Collector, which talked about the John Carbonaro THUNDER Agents revival and the Archie revival of the Mighty Crusaders. I bought issues 1 and two this month, as the store had both (I also got Jon Sable 1 and 2, at the same time). This second issue really caught my eye, with Rich Buckler's excellent wraparound cover, with the Crusaders battling the Malevolent Legion of Juggernauts, aka the other MLJ heroes. Thee, in one image, was just about every MLJ hero, with a few minor exceptions (did anyone really care that The Wizard, Dusty the Boy Detective or Roy the Superboy weren't there? Maybe Mr Justice...). Sadly, it illustrated that the Redf Circle revival had the same problem that the Mighty Comics revival had: too few villains. There was the Skull, Black Hood's nemesis, and that was about it, for the 40s. Brain Emperor was there, but he was created in the 60s revival. Dumb name, but not a bad look, though his costuming needed updating. Eterno, the ruler of Atlantis, was another, who also dated from the 60s. That left a gap. There had been villains in the 40s, but most didn't reappear. They turned a few of the second string heroes into villains, in the 60s, and this was more of the same (they turn out to be robots). Still, great cover. I later got the THUNDER Agents comics and they proved disappointing too, for similar reasons. Carbonaro didn't get much mileage out of it. Dave Singer, with his copyright/trademark violation, actually achieved more. Still later, I got the original Tower THUNDER Agents and found that the best stuff came early on and some of it sounded much cooler on paper, than in the execution (The Thunder Squad sounded much better in the World Encyclopedia article than the reality, mainly because of a lack of imagination. Jon Sable has his second issue, which was more of a private detective tale than the first issue, demonstrating the origin of the concept, before Grell expanded it to include some spy/men's adventure elements. The Legion of Superheroes was always a book that I read sporadically, depending on access, the story and the art. I'd read a run of issues, then drift away for a while, then pick up another cool issue or two. After the Great Darkness Saga, I drifted away; but, I had to be there for Legion #300, even if it wasn't up to Great Darkness Saga standards. X-Men is counting down to my end with the series, in a few more issues. I liked Paul Smith's art but was already starting to get disenchanted with the story. One Romita Jr came on, with that new look to his artwork (I preferred him on Iron Man), I was done. Finishing high school and going off to college helped, as I bought very few comics during my freshman year of college (took time to find my first actual comic shop and I bought more old comics there than new). Next fall, when this thread talks about September 1984, my lists are going to get pretty dang thin, for most of the next year. I had wanted to read Omega Men, after their appearances in Action Comics and New Teen Titans; but, being a Direct Only book, I didn't see them. I bought #3, later, after Lobo appeared in JLI and had his own mini, since that featured his debut. Thankfully, because the series didn't last long, it wasn't going for much and the price hadn't shot up, because Lobo wasn't quite as overwhelming as he would become, by the second mini. Also, we didn't have an internet fanning the flames and cuing people in that others were selling it for more. Still didn't think much of the story, though, it's hard to think much, without the context of issues #1 & 2. I looked at Action Comics on the stands. I thought the Brainiac redesign was pretty cool; but, hated the Luthor one. Too bulky and it looked like it was meant solely for toy lines, rather than stories. I liked Lex in the jumpsuit, but thought you could jazz it up a bit. Less bulky armor would have helped, not to mention losing those stupid pointy bits on either side of his head. Why would a criminal genius design a suit that limits his peripheral vision? It almost makes Michael Keaton's Batman costume look functional. |
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Post by berkley on Mar 3, 2023 16:50:14 GMT -5
It's March 1983, and I'm buying... Indiana Jones #6. Wasn't Howard Chaykin just made for drawing Indy? This is one of my favourite Chaykin comics of all times, in part thanks to the extremely adequate inking style adopted by Terry Austin. (In an interview, Terry said that to properly render Howie's bold lines, he used big felt markers in several places. The result looks really good). Indiana Jones #7. Ron Frenz is also very suitable for Indy. He has a great sense of visual humour. I think I would have bought the Chaykin issue if I had seen it, but I don't remember ever seeing this series on the stands at all, let alone this particuar issue.[/quote] I'm sorry I didn't see more of these two series at the time. King Conan I did buy the odd issue of for a few years after I had given up on the main series Conan the Barbarian, but it usually depended on how I liked the look of the artwork. I don't think I knew about the Kull series, which is too bad because it sounds like exactly the way I like the character to be written. Missed this issue somehow, though I was a regular with the series. The Phantom Stranger is one of the few DC characters I've always found interesting so another one I'm sorry to have missed. I'm still undecided hether I gave up on SSoC too soon. Looking at the credits in the issues after my time, I'm still not convinced I would have wanted to be a regular, though I certainly did miss the odd issue (e.g. anything with Alcala). Were there other What Ifs with Conan and Thor? If this was the only one, I'm pretty sure I read it, but can't recall any details after all these years. |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Mar 3, 2023 17:32:44 GMT -5
Were there other What Ifs with Conan and Thor? If this was the only one, I'm pretty sure I read it, but can't recall any details after all these years. I'm pretty sure it was the only one, as there were very few What if..? issues featuring Conan. There is of course the one in which he's transported to the XX century and meets Roy's wife (sort of), then a later sequel in which he becomes a street thug and meets Captain America, and an even later issue (in vol. 2) in which he meets Wolverine and manages to get Phoenix to kill everyone (an alternate ending to X-Men #137). Logan manages to end up with Red Sonja in the same issue, because... 80s' Wolverine. |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Mar 3, 2023 17:38:40 GMT -5
Highlander should have only been that one film,(...) Absolutely, although the second film was such a steaming pile of manure that I never bothered with the rest. Truer words may have been spoken in the past, but I can't think of any! |
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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 3, 2023 19:38:05 GMT -5
HEAR, HEAR!!! Indy's romantic bond with Marion (and the associated guilt) gave him much more depth that he was allowed to have later on. Marion's return in Crystal Skull almost made up for all its faults. Not quite, but consider how tall the order was! (...) Yeah, Marion was the only positive check that utterly execrable movie gets from me; however, even that is ruined by the fact that we learn that she and Indy pretty much never saw each other after the events of Raiders, and that Indy is in fact an absentee father. (Also, their son is Shia LeBeouf?!) I see myself in the comment section, there. I think Lucas and Spielberg were the wrong people to give anyone a series of adventures with a couple. Lucas, by almost all accounts has a hard time expressing emotion and affection, which hinders a series where that would be a central point, and Spielberg became gunshy, after his divorce and had to jump a lot of hoops to finally marry Kate Capshaw. I could see Indy and Marion as a sort of pulp adventure Nick and Nora Charles, which is one element of the Mummy sequels that I think they got right, as Rick & Evie had a similar chemistry (deliberately, though reversed). |
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