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Post by Reptisaurus! on May 13, 2019 2:31:01 GMT -5
Why was there no Teen Brigade series? As we all know, Rick Jones is the greatest comic book character ever and it is inconceivable that anyone would disagree with this objective fact.
The Teen Brigade hung out with the Avengers for a while despite never quite fitting in, tonally, with the rest of the cast. It sure seemed like stealth promotion for an eventual series.
Stan was a great teen humor writer. Kirby either loved kid gangs or strongly believe in the sales potential of kid gangs. A Marvel book that aimed at both the Milly the Model and the Fantastic Four fans seemed like a natural.
Also: Spider-Man was Marvel's # 2 book from very early in it's run, and moved up to # 1 when Romita came on board. Isn't a Gwen Stacy/Mary Jane (either or both) spin-off a no-brainer? Wasn't Lois Lane DC's best selling book for a while there? (Source: I might have read that somewhere. Or else my imagination.)
I'm also kinda sad that the Lee/Colan Medusa solo story in Marvel Super-Heroes never turned into a series. Stan write a great New-York-as-character, and he never really wrote an "outsider moves to and lives in New York" story in the superhero books. His heroes were either natives, or they lived somewhere else, like Thor in Asgard. So we have a "foreigner in New Yawk for the first time" type story, unique among Marvel properties. If we add Medusa's history as an Inhuman and her career as a super-villain coming back to haunt her, this seems like more than enough to sustain a solo book.
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Post by Deleted on May 13, 2019 5:20:15 GMT -5
With you on the Gwen Stacy/Mary Jane view!
For me, the obvious answer is Jonah Jameson. A mini-series, at least. Either a prequel (his early days as a reporter) or a tale set in the present showing even more of Jameson.
Perhaps my idea is redundant, given we saw a lot of Jameson in the Spidey comics. But I always wanted more!
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Post by Deleted on May 13, 2019 6:14:38 GMT -5
Why was there no Teen Brigade series? As we all know, Rick Jones is the greatest comic book character ever and it is inconceivable that anyone would disagree with this objective fact. Paging The Captain-M |
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Post by Icctrombone on May 13, 2019 6:46:40 GMT -5
The Captain will burn down Marvel if this happens.
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Post by brutalis on May 13, 2019 9:00:48 GMT -5
Classic Nighthawk in his blue and gold costume from Defenders.
Darkoth the Death Demon from Fantastic Four.
Beast in his bouncing happy go-lucky blue furred form when he was in the Avengers.
A Beast/Wonder Man series when they were in Avengers. Fun and frolic in Hollywood!
A Mimic from X-Men Mini-series.
A Havoc/Polaris series.
A Wolverine/Hercules buddy series of adventuring/drinking their way around the world. Vegas night!
Rawhide Kid/Kid Colt/2 Gun Kid ongoing with them as a "team". Toss in Red Wolf and Ghost/Night Rider on occasion.
Avengers/JLA annual team-up every summer.
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Post by MWGallaher on May 13, 2019 9:24:35 GMT -5
With you on the Gwen Stacy/Mary Jane view! For me, the obvious answer is Jonah Jameson. A mini-series, at least. Either a prequel (his early days as a reporter) or a tale set in the present showing even more of Jameson. Perhaps my idea is redundant, given we saw a lot of Jameson in the Spidey comics. But I always wanted more! In the early 70's, the Bullpen Bulletins teased "news of a Marvel longtimer who'll be getting his very own series in the months to come." It was in the Spider-Man code, but I was able to crack the cryptogram and I was on the lookout for... JONAH JAMESON PRESENTS--MY SON, THE MAN-WOLF! When the series eventually debuted in Creatures on the Loose #30, the concept had evolved, and although JJJ had a minor presence, at least at the start, he didn't get any cover billing, and the Man-Wolf feature wasn't what anyone could reasonably call Jonah's "very own series." |
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Post by MWGallaher on May 13, 2019 9:37:42 GMT -5
When the Joker broke loose into his own series, I remember thinking that Two-Face would have been a more sustainable lead for a solo series, since, like Eclipso before him, he could have been played as "hero and villain in one man".
When the Wonder Woman title was struggling, before the days of the New Teen Titans, wouldn't a Wonder Girl series have been worth a try? I sure thought so. With that memorable Cardy costume, a more youthful "with it" take might have caught a lot of attention from readers who considered WW a bit of a dinosaur.
I remember when X-Men was a reprint-only series, there were some teases of an Iceman solo feature, which never happened. I'd have bought it, but I'd have preferred Cyclops. Yeah, his power set was much more limited, but I always thought the optic blast beams were a strong visual, and Iceman couldn't overcome my suspension of disbelief: you don't have to be a physics expert to realize those ice bridges wouldn't have worked!
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Post by Deleted on May 13, 2019 9:59:45 GMT -5
Yeah, I mean if the Joker can't even sustain a solo series, what hope is there for most?
Didn't Man-Bat have a very short-lived solo title or am I thinking of him having back-up strips elsewhere? He was always a favourite of mine.
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Post by Cei-U! on May 13, 2019 10:14:54 GMT -5
I'm also kinda sad that the Lee/Colan Medusa solo story in Marvel Super-Heroes never turned into a series. Stan write a great New-York-as-character, and he never really wrote an "outsider moves to and lives in New York" story in the superhero books. His heroes were either natives, or they lived somewhere else, like Thor in Asgard. So we have a "foreigner in New Yawk for the first time" type story, unique among Marvel properties. If we add Medusa's history as an Inhuman and her career as a super-villain coming back to haunt her, this seems like more than enough to sustain a solo book. FYI, that Medusa story in Marvel Super-Heroes #15 was written by Archie Goodwin, not Stan Lee.
Cei-U! I summon the proper attribution!
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Post by Reptisaurus! on May 13, 2019 11:52:34 GMT -5
I'm also kinda sad that the Lee/Colan Medusa solo story in Marvel Super-Heroes never turned into a series. Stan write a great New-York-as-character, and he never really wrote an "outsider moves to and lives in New York" story in the superhero books. His heroes were either natives, or they lived somewhere else, like Thor in Asgard. So we have a "foreigner in New Yawk for the first time" type story, unique among Marvel properties. If we add Medusa's history as an Inhuman and her career as a super-villain coming back to haunt her, this seems like more than enough to sustain a solo book. FYI, that Medusa story in Marvel Super-Heroes #15 was written by Archie Goodwin, not Stan Lee.
Cei-U! I summon the proper attribution!
Thank you! I totally mis-remembered. I know the artists for the whole (non-reprint) series but the writers are a total blank. |
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Post by chadwilliam on May 13, 2019 12:44:38 GMT -5
Yeah, I mean if the Joker can't even sustain a solo series, what hope is there for most? Didn't Man-Bat have a very short-lived solo title or am I thinking of him having back-up strips elsewhere? He was always a favourite of mine. He had his own series for two issues (with the first pencilled by Steve Ditko) and then it was cancelled. I can't imagine that sales played a part in its downfall since figures wouldn't have come in for the first issue that early, but the DC Implosion was still about two years in the future so I don't think you can blame that either. He did move over to Detective Comics/Batman Family thereafter so maybe it was an attempt to strengthen Detective while not spreading your characters too thin. It seems odd that Man-Bat is the only other Batman villain - perhaps even the only other villain period over at DC - to get his own series. M.W. Gallagher's Two-Face suggestion though - about a villain and hero in one - might explain the decision to go with Man-Bat who was sort of both. Kirk Langstrom was a good enough guy that I don't think the writers would have to find a way for him to go to jail at the end of every issue which O Neil said was a stumbling block with The Joker series. I think if Two-Face had his own series, the same concern (which I don't actually believe is that much of a problem) would come into play. For all the talk about Two-Face being half good/half bad he's always been presented more as an outright bad guy who on certain occasions might put off trying to kill you until tomorrow as his concession to being good. |
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Post by pinkfloydsound17 on May 13, 2019 13:26:32 GMT -5
I would have totally read a MJ/Gwen spin off. Told from their persepctive, less a Spidey book and more a teenage romance title. Romita drawing, of course. Argh, we were robbed! Someone should do some fan art for such a series...
Only thing I could think of was Elf With A Gun. Imagine Gerber did something on his own for a couple issues explaining this oddity. Granted, I don't think it was ever meant to be fully explained but I still think he could have drummed up something crazy and fantastic.
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Post by dbutler69 on May 13, 2019 13:29:23 GMT -5
I'm sure all Legion of Super-Heroes fans are wondering Why a Heroes of Lallor series never materialized.
I wouldn't have minded seeing a Hawkeye series back in the day. I know he got a miniseries in 1983 (as did every character in Marvel in 1983-1984) and I guess he got some series in the 90's after I stopped collecting comics but something earlier would have been cool.
Apparently, an occult investigation series (with humor) starring Daimon Hellstrom and his wife Hellcat was pitched to Marvel but never happened. Too bad.
A Paul Kirk Manhunter series out of the pages of Detective Comics would have been cool.
I liked the side story of the Red Tornado with the war orphan he adopted and his sort of girlfriend. I know there was a limited series that explored this a bit, but I'd have liked to have seen more continuation of this story line.
I'd have gone for an "Elongated Man solves mysteries along with his wife" (ala The Thin Man) type of series.
Since brutalis mentioned a Beast/Wonder Man buddy series (great idea, by the way) how about a Booster Gold/Blue Beetle buddy series. Or did one eventually come out? Maybe after I stopped collecting comics.
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Post by The Captain on May 13, 2019 13:37:27 GMT -5
Why was there no Teen Brigade series? As we all know, Rick Jones is the greatest comic book character ever and it is inconceivable that anyone would disagree with this objective fact. Paging The Captain-M I guess Reptisaurus! and I will just have to agree to disagree on his "objective" fact. My POV is that Rick Jones is a worthless lucksack who bumbled his way into every success he ever had and wound up ruining not one, not two, not three, but in fact every book his miserable personage ever showed up in. |
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Post by brutalis on May 13, 2019 13:53:45 GMT -5
I guess Reptisaurus! and I will just have to agree to disagree on his "objective" fact. My POV is that Rick Jones is a worthless lucksack who bumbled his way into every success he ever had and wound up ruining not one, not two, not three, but in fact every book his miserable personage ever showed up in. But without good ol' stupid only care about myself dumb-ass Rick Jones there would be no Hulk. Can we at least give him that double-edged sword of a moment?!? |
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