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Post by brutalis on Jul 19, 2018 8:00:48 GMT -5
These were the halcyon golden days of artists you knew instantly in seeing their work on the cover or insides. Those thin lines spoke to us in their greatness: Kirby, Ditko, Heck, Romita, Plastino, Boring, Forte, Swan, Premiani, Kane, Infantino, Anderson, Andru, Brothers Buscema, Tuska and Colan to name a few. These were some of the artists drawing comic books in my youth that I was experiencing each month. Delivering a monthly dose of excitement and thrills by stimulating my eyes and mind from their exquisite art I learned to appreciate every artist’s efforts from those I liked and those I didn’t. Their individuality and talent jumped off the pages even with poor coloring and printing on cheap paper. I learned each month from these artists with my attempts in tracing and my own free hand copying from them. Each artist brought their own special stylistic differences for inspiring my own creative drawing efforts and mimicry.Beautiful post. The artists you named are the same ones I grew up on too! For me I'd add Sekowsky to the mix; not his Justice League work but I loved his Wonder Woman (the "mod" period) and to a lesser extent his stint on Supergirl in Adventure Comics. And those artists similarly inspired my youthful "creative drawing efforts and mimicry" too. I loved to copy Kirby and J. Buscema in particular. There are some that I didn't mention only for the fact of not seeing their art at the time but learning of them after the fact. Sekowsky, Swan, Kubert, Ayers (whom I saw more of inking not penciling) come to mind. Phoenix had really crazy distribution here and my limited source of stores in my neighborhood until high school made for a large gap in my reading and collecting habits. Never saw any Justice League or Batman issues until i was in the 7th/8th grade, no Kubert Hawkman or war War stuff until high school and the few other artists I knew of I might have only had an old single issue of: like Ramona Fradon on Metamorpho, a Dick Dillin Hawkman, A Curt Swan Superboy and Legion of Superheroes. It wasn't until high school where I went into "town" and suddenly there were used book stores, thrift stores and lots of convenience stores to shop from. Then my artist and writer knowledge began to expand with finding so many other comic books I had never seen or only knew from advertisements in the few comics I did get.
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Post by tarkintino on Jul 19, 2018 9:38:29 GMT -5
Somehow I feel my thoughts on the Archie characters are too informed from my first real exposure to them being watching the 1990 TV movie To Riverdale and Back Again. So glad I missed this at the time and I have no real desire to ever see it at all. Good call. Return to Riverdale is to Archie what Legends of the Superheroes...
...was to the DC's comic history (and the1966-68 Batman TV series). In other words, pure "do whatever" crap designed to cash in on a brand.
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Crimebuster
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Making comics!
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Post by Crimebuster on Jul 19, 2018 9:42:25 GMT -5
The whole Return to Riverdale movie is available on YouTube. It's even worse than it looks.
There's also a comic book adaptation by Gene Colan, sporting a John Byrne cover. So that's something that exists.
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Post by coinilius on Jul 19, 2018 16:34:24 GMT -5
I always thought it was called ‘To Riverdale and Back Again’ but it looks like it had multiple names - I remember seeing an ad for the comic adaptation back in the day lol
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Post by brutalis on Jul 31, 2018 8:12:59 GMT -5
Yo Joe was the battle cry after high school and earning my first paychecks. Not only were there new G.I. Joe figures now available in a smaller size to collect but there was an afternoon TV animated show to enjoy while Marvel was publishing the comic that so many of us followed. It was true pleasure for many of us who Remembered When we played with those original 12 inch figures before they stopped making them. Now there were new comic book adventures for us to collect and follow each month. Something new and special happened here and lasted for 155 issues with spin-off series in Special Missions and Action Force and a digest reprinting the regular monthly Joe comic. Not to mention the yearbooks which highlighted the characters and vehicles helping to sell more toys.
Larry Hama helped recreate the G. I. Joe brand and character with specially trained departments within a military unit focusing on the new world order of ethnic diversity in the ranks and including women in command and capable for fighting beside the men. Hama also created the evil forces of the vocally self proclaimed Cobra Commander which would allow the evil villains to have as much variety as the good guys. I simply loved the Trimpe and Vosburg art of the early issues. It was clean, simple and expressive providing just the right punch of real versus cartooning. Frank Springer kept that feeling going until Rod Whigham and Ron Wagner came along providing a bit more realistic style and tone for the series. Along the way a lot of fill-in and single issue one shots helped keep the artwork interesting and varied.
Ninja’s became a hot property thank to Hama’s writing of the silent commando Snake-Eyes and his his clan brother dressed in white, Storm Shadow. X-Men’s Wolverine wishes that he was half the real fighter that Snake Eyes is. Snake-Eyes did it all without an added healing ability and unbreakable bones! Hama also created the classic silent issue #21 with Snake-Eyes infiltrating Cobra’s castle in the mountains. The Cobra villainy of Destro, Zartan, the Baroness, and others often won the battle but never the war. Cobra managed to kill many a Joe as well over time. This too reflects the real world as sometimes the bad guys will triumph over good and anyone can die during a war...
With so many figures/characters within the toy and comic line there is no end of story possibilities (proven as Hama still today writes an ongoing series following the original Marvel series) and even room for cross-overs with some Giant Transforming toys along the way in the clash of good against evil. So whether you root for the soldiers of goodness or the henchmen of evil there is something for nearly everyone being created within those pages of G. I. Joe, A Real American Hero the comic book and that’s helped it continue as a cult collector for generations to come.
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Post by brutalis on Aug 15, 2018 8:44:06 GMT -5
I am thinking back to the late 60’s and early 70’s and Remembering When there were only 3 Flashes running around the DCU. There was Jay Garrick the original JSA’er, Barry Allen the Flash as far as most of us were concerned was the #1 speedster and coming in 3rd at the races was young Wally West as Kid Flash. Due to a odd distribution system here in the West I never did see too many Flash comics until later in the mid 70’s. Perhaps this limited exposure of the Flashes helped for quickly (pun intended) making the Flash one of my very favorite heroes.
The iconic Carmine Infantino artwork was of course an instant draw (again with the puns, sorry) striking and magical in every way as he developed and defined the characteristics in detailing the speed and power and skills of Barry which would last a lifetime after the Flash’s death and eventual return. John Broome and Gardner Fox helped to create the science-fiction/fantasy of the Scarlet Speedster’s world’s and foes providing stupendous action filled stories that were all very fast paced (though Barry himself wasn’t at times) and enjoyable. It was all very believable and entertaining thrills to be pored over time and again.
That amazingly designed red suit with yellow bolts of lightning as well as Kid Flash’s simple, yet stylish yellow/red combo drew your attention immediately. And yet the man with the winged and metal Mercury helmet somehow managed to keep pace with these young men and the mystery of his Earth and stories would also captivate a reader. Having a mere handful of Flash issues and Justice League issues which I would pore over again and again yet I was hooked upon the Scarlet Speedster and his friends and villains. Any comic that featured Flash on the cover or insides was something to watch and save for. Everybody may dream of flying in their dreams but mine were always about the fastest men alive and that I would be zipping along at their side fighting crime.
Speaking of villains, The Flash has one of the best groups of villains around, equal to Batman and Spider-Man for their infamy. And they have banded together under the title of the Rogues. You don’t see the Bat crazies hanging together and watching out for one another and bailing each other out. Spidey’s Sinister Six group are much more likely to turn on each other from ego. But these Rogues are united together in their choice of having a criminal code they follow and utilize it in the harassment of any of the Flash’s. The likes of Captain Cold, Mirror Master, Captain Boomerang and others pale though against the lightning evil of Professor Zoom, the Reverse Flash! And does that simple switch from Crimson to Yellow suit catch your attention and scream SUPERVILLAIN or what? For many years Zoom was the only real speed villain of choice unless you want to include the Top. Zoom is capable of going toe to toe in his abilities and speed in fighting Flash and he takes things further in killing Barry’s wife Iris West. That is territory few villains venture into for fear of the heroes’ wrath. Where can you run to or hide in hoping to evade the Fastest Man Alive? Zoom found out the hard way you can’t and he paid for that mistake in judgement with his own life.
The importance of the Flash in the DCU is made evident in Wally as he steps forward taking on the mantle of the Flash, keeping the memory alive and strong after Barry dies during the Crisis. At 1st everyone is rather dismissive of Wally but he quickly (yes, another pun) grows as a hero making the Flash role his own and earning the respect of the adult heroes and even the Rogues. The Flash remains a hero in every way even into the far flung future as others work fast and hard keeping the Title well known and even family race in fulfilling the historic legend of the red and yellow blur we call The Flash…
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Post by EdoBosnar on Aug 15, 2018 14:08:46 GMT -5
You've got me remembering when I was regularly reading Flash - for a while right at the end of the 1970s and a bit after, starting right around the time when Iris was killed. That was a good run of stories, and I liked Don Heck's art for the most part. (I also liked the Flash shorts in Adventure Comics at around the same time - and liked Irv Novick's art in those better than Heck's.) Then there were the cool back-up stories: Firestorm (often drawn by Perez) and then Dr. Fate (by Pasko and Giffen). Some great reading memories.
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Post by brutalis on Aug 23, 2018 8:12:21 GMT -5
I simultaneously discovered them together as a 10-year-old in June of 1972. I Remember When my very 1st visit in the city Book-mobile showed me new spectacular worlds. I speak to you of ERB and REH (or REH and ERB, choose who’s 1st for you) and the exciting worlds of wonder they created. Both writers took me on incredible journeys of fantasy and wonder filling my days with thoughts and my nights with endless dreams from their books and eventually comic series.
Edgar Rice Burroughs fantasy worlds were highly popular as book reading in my early teenage years. Exploring the wilds of Africa in Tarzan or bounding across the deserts of Mars with John Carter or delving into prehistoric Pellucidar beside David Innes were all very spectacular ways to escape from the demands of school and life in expanding my imagination and creativity. These were men of action who stood against villainy and evil in all its myriad or mysteriously demented forms. Whether prehistoric, alien or human, never was there any doubt that Burroughs stalwart heroes would stand tall in their attempts. With the convictions of courage and the strength of sinews and power of their intellects would they fight any and all who dared for bringing evil into their lives.
REH ruled the sword and sorcery world in my youth with Conan, King Kull and Solomon Kane’s flashing swords all slaying men or demons while saving gorgeous damsels in distress. In the world of REH you walked with pride and honor while carrying a large sword or axe which you could live or die by. With the power of conviction and honor in their hearts and minds, the deeds of these strong and courageous warriors inspired and moved many a young reader.
Never able to afford these paperbacks I checked them out every 2 weeks from the City Book-mobile that came to my south Phoenix neighborhood. I would devour every few books I was allowed each visit and could hardly wait for the next books. Never knowing which books might be found kept the reading interesting. Sometimes the books may all be Conan or a mixture of all 3 characters or even to finding NONE of REH or ERB being available and searching deeply and desperately for anything resembling these writers. I explored the worlds of the Green star and Thongor of Lemuria from the pen of Lin Carter. I read through L. Sprague De Camp’s Conan books where he continued REH stories. I ate up Tolkien’s Lord of the Ring books. I stole through the streets with Fritz Leiber’s Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. Michael Moorcook sent the albino warrior Elric walking through my dreams. Leigh Bracket carried me to Skaith. There was no shortage of warriors and wizards to be discovered. Yet each time I searched it was for the works of Howard and Burroughs. These 2 were who I yearned most for finding, even if the books had already been read before, I knew they were worth another reading for a 2nd, 3rd, 4th or umpteenth time.
Then Lo and Behold, there came the comic books. I knew of Tarzan from the newspaper strips I had occasionally seen. I missed out on the DC Joe Kubert Tarzan’s, having never seen an issue with only knowing of them through ads in other DC comics. Then there came Roy Thomas bringing REH and Conan and his friends to Marvel. The issues were always difficult to find in my south side stores. I never saw any of the early BWS issues and found Annuals # 2 and 3 and issue #16 all together in the late summer of 1978. These 3 issues were the only REH comics until high school began that year and I could find Conan, Kull and Kane more regularly at the convenience stores surrounding the school. I could never find issues consistently and managed to build a small collection of various and sundry REH titles Marvel would print.
My crowning achievement during this time was with the summer of 1977 when Marvel began publishing ERB’s Tarzan and John Carter, Warlord of Mars. Don’t ask me how but I managed in finding every issue of Warlord of Mars for the years Marvel printed it. My Tarzan hunt was much more difficult. I found the 1st and 2nd issues, then annual 1, issues 10, 13, 16 finishing out with annual 2 collected. It was these along with the REH issues I could find in making up my small fantasy collection in reading over and over these comic book adventures. My afternoons and nights spent reading the comics intermixed with the novels whenever I could find them in the Book-mobile. So, began my sojourn into fantastic realms with larger than life heroes whose adventures were the stuff of which dreams are made of. Over the years during college and later I’ve managed to purchase the novels in various forms which to this day I read from time and again. Every new reading delivers the same excitement and thrills for me as the very 1st time I read them. Each reading I can find new things to explore and appreciate from these 2 great writers. I can only say thank you to both ERB and REH for being such a magical part of my youth and my adult life…
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Post by EdoBosnar on Aug 23, 2018 12:00:55 GMT -5
Yep, Burroughs and Howard. I'm guessing those two authors and their works are a common touchstone for a bunch of us comics fans of a certain age. Interestingly, I came to the Tarzan, and then John Carter of Mars, Pellucidar, etc. books via the Filmation Saturday morning Tarzan cartoon and the Marvel Comics. I started by devouring the Tarzan books (devouring them initially, but burning out by no. 16) and the Barsoomian books almost simultaneously - looking back on it, I still have a great fondness for the latter. And I had the opposite problem with the comics: the Tarzans were always readily available, but I hardly ever saw the Warlord of Mars books. With Howard's Hyborian world, I actually started reading the books before the comics - initially I stayed away from the comics because I though Conan, as rendered by John Buscema, looked too mean, like a bad guy (hey, I was a preteen, what did I know?). But at about the same time I started reading the books, I came across the pocketbooks that reprinted the earliest stories drawn by BWS. I found his Conan more aesthetically pleasing and that led me to start reading the more current comics, and Savage Sword - borrowed from a school buddy who was way into Conan and actually got me into him. Naturally, looking for those books in the library or in the SF/fantasy section of bookstores led me to discover so much other stuff...
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Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2018 12:17:36 GMT -5
Tarzan was first for me. The 1966 Ron Ely TV show followed by the ERB's novels & Gold Key comics and then Kubert's DC Tarzan. Conan came later with the comics and then the books.
I also dove right into the rest of ERB's creations. After Tarzan John Carter was my favorite. With REH I only liked his Conan.
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Post by Rob Allen on Aug 23, 2018 15:32:36 GMT -5
I found Tolkien first, from mentions in Marvel Comics letters pages. I was out of comics for about 2 years spanning junior high and high school. I spent that time reading Tolkien, PG Wodehouse, Mary Stewart's Arthurian books, and some murder mysteries. When I got back into comics, Conan had been around for a year or so. I was lucky enough to live in an area with good distribution, so I was able to buy them all as they came out. Around the same time, DC picked up the ERB license. I'd never read the Gold Key comics or the newspaper strip, but I got every one of the DC issues. And I started haunting bookstores looking for REH and ERB books. In 1973 I went on a school-sponsored trip to London, and I discovered that REH, ERB, and fantasy in general were much more widely available there. I bought a lot of paperbacks over there.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2018 16:05:15 GMT -5
I found Tolkien first, from mentions in Marvel Comics letters pages. I was out of comics for about 2 years spanning junior high and high school. I spent that time reading Tolkien, PG Wodehouse, Mary Stewart's Arthurian books, and some murder mysteries. When I got back into comics, Conan had been around for a year or so. I was lucky enough to live in an area with good distribution, so I was able to buy them all as they came out. Around the same time, DC picked up the ERB license. I'd never read the Gold Key comics or the newspaper strip, but I got every one of the DC issues. And I started haunting bookstores looking for REH and ERB books. In 1973 I went on a school-sponsored trip to London, and I discovered that REH, ERB, and fantasy in general were much more widely available there. I bought a lot of paperbacks over there. We had similar histories too; I read the Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Rings, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King back in Junior (in the early 70's) High for an English Class that I had to write up book reports for all of these books. I also read Murder Mysteries, Mary Stewart, and Arthurian books as well; I did went to London in 1980 and discovered REH, ERB books, and various fantasy books that appealed to me at the time and read a lot of them until I started working for Boeing in 1985. I've even shipped home 20-30 London Paperbacks and my parents was surprised to see them ... got them dirt cheap too. After 1985, I stopped reading them and they did not hold any interests in me because I got bored with them altogether. I gave away those paperbacks to friends that wanted them badly and did not regret letting them go at the time that I did that.
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Post by beccabear67 on Aug 23, 2018 17:57:27 GMT -5
I liked ERB but not so much REH. I also liked a lot of H. Rider Haggard and H.G. Wells as far as the old writers go. Later I got into Lord Dunsany, William Morris, and Poe. Burroughs was actually quite modern in style compared to the others I've mentioned so far. I guess he led the way for American pulp writers like Brackett, Williamson, and Hamilton whom I also would look for as good reads.
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Post by brutalis on Sept 19, 2018 7:49:57 GMT -5
Do you Remember When a shining silver beacon of hope against the darkening skies 1st burst upon Earth? No, not the Silver Surfer but a man who chose to give up his biological body and humanity in the interstellar fight for good against evil in his Bionic armored form as ROM Spaceknight. in leaving his home on Galador to destroy the villainous Dire Wraith’s that spread across the Galaxies infesting and destroying worlds. He came across the Cosmo’s alone at first in his struggles but finding a friend here in Earth girl Brandy who helped restore his faith in all of humanity and within himself. Quickly ROM meets other heroes here on Earth while fighting the Wraith hordes and eventually other knights came to us from Galador as well. Here science fiction and fantasy merged as shapeshifting forces seeking to hide itself while destroying us from within is fought by a single brave warrior.
What starts as a simple 50’s science fiction movie plot of a strange visitor and an alien invasion became a classic comic series based upon the cheap plastic toy. ROM the comic is a far stronger memory to most than the undersold and limited action/figure toy ever was and continues to be fondly remembered even today. At the time we lucky readers found ourselves eagerly anticipating each month’s issue from Bill Mantlo and Sal Buscema. We couldn’t wait to see what new horrific struggle would confront our fave shining silver coated warrior (sorry Surfer) as he fought for Earth and his own humanity. This was epic comic book story telling which you were uncertain how it was going to end and wondering how ROM can ever succeed against enemies capable of such magical/scientific capabilities which combined for overwhelming odds.
ROM became one of those must find every issue during my youth in high school. Each issue was exciting, and you never knew what MU hero or villain might pop up during ROM’s struggles against the vile alien Dire Wraith’s. Rom is our shining knight clad in armor, fighting monsters bent on conquering our world for their own evil desire. A lone cyborg warrior battling against overwhelming odds refusing to give up hope of one day winning the war and removing his Bionic’s once and for all for living out his life in peace once more in his own body.
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Confessor
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Posts: 10,069
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Post by Confessor on Sept 19, 2018 8:53:35 GMT -5
Do you Remember When a shining silver beacon of hope against the darkening skies 1st burst upon Earth? No, not the Silver Surfer but a man who chose to give up his biological body and humanity in the interstellar fight for good against evil in his Bionic armored form as ROM Spaceknight. in leaving his home on Galador to destroy the villainous Dire Wraith’s that spread across the Galaxies infesting and destroying worlds. He came across the Cosmo’s alone at first in his struggles but finding a friend here in Earth girl Brandy who helped restore his faith in all of humanity and within himself. Quickly ROM meets other heroes here on Earth while fighting the Wraith hordes and eventually other knights came to us from Galador as well. Here science fiction and fantasy merged as shapeshifting forces seeking to hide itself while destroying us from within is fought by a single brave warrior. What starts as a simple 50’s science fiction movie plot of a strange visitor and an alien invasion became a classic comic series based upon the cheap plastic toy. ROM the comic is a far stronger memory to most than the undersold and limited action/figure toy ever was and continues to be fondly remembered even today. At the time we lucky readers found ourselves eagerly anticipating each month’s issue from Bill Mantlo and Sal Buscema. We couldn’t wait to see what new horrific struggle would confront our fave shining silver coated warrior (sorry Surfer) as he fought for Earth and his own humanity. This was epic comic book story telling which you were uncertain how it was going to end and wondering how ROM can ever succeed against enemies capable of such magical/scientific capabilities which combined for overwhelming odds. ROM became one of those must find every issue during my youth in high school. Each issue was exciting, and you never knew what MU hero or villain might pop up during ROM’s struggles against the vile alien Dire Wraith’s. Rom is our shining knight clad in armor, fighting monsters bent on conquering our world for their own evil desire. A lone cyborg warrior battling against overwhelming odds refusing to give up hope of one day winning the war and removing his Bionic’s once and for all for living out his life in peace once more in his own body. One man's meat and all that...but they used to run ROM as a back-up strip in Marvel UK's The Empire Strikes Back Monthky comic and I always found it deathly dull. It usually featured nice artwork though, I will say that for it.
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