shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,860
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Post by shaxper on Jun 24, 2019 23:25:32 GMT -5
Pssst...Make sure to check out the Advance Warning Thread before jumping in with your selection! Absolutely everyone is welcome to participate once you've read-up on the event.5. Spider-Man vs. Green Goblin, second-to-last roundby Gerry Conway, Gil Kane, and John Romita Amazing Spider-Man #122 (July 1973) Everyone remembers the death of Gwen Stacey. Some of us also remember the issue that followed in which a berzerk, grieving Spider-Man went after Green Goblin with no holds barred. The final battle between the two relieves Spidey of any potential guilt, having him snap out of his rage a moment before it is too late and the Goblin inadvertently do himself in instead. Punches pulled in order to keep the comic kid-safe, I suppose. But what I remember best is the struggle that began the issue, well before Peter had regained any control of himself, in which one really had to wonder just how far he was going to take things. It's a savage struggle, The Goblin every bit as cunning as a murderous Spider-Man is shocking. It's a true classic comic slugfest in the best of ways, with the drama and the action furiously working to outdo each other: 
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Post by Deleted on Jun 24, 2019 23:38:16 GMT -5
Ahab and crew vs. Moby Dick by Bill Sienkewicz, First Comics Classics Illustrated #4 one of the classic rumbles in American literature and folklore, superbly depicted by Bill Sienkewicz...    -M (but you can call me Ishmael...) |
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Post by codystarbuck on Jun 25, 2019 1:45:30 GMT -5
Number 5 is Master of Kung Fu #39, Shang Chi, Master of Kung Fu vs Shen Kui, The Cat. Nayland Smith has sent Shang Chi to Hong Kong, protect his agent and retrieve papers stolen from MI-6. The agent, Juliette, has a cover as a singer in the Jade Peacock, where Triad gang members conduct business, and where Juliette's lover, Shen Kuei, plays in Games of Deception, as Shang Chi calls them. There is a brief face off, that is interrupted by the gangsters, allowing Chi to escape, with Juliette. She takes him to the papers; but, refuses to leave Shen Kui. Chi easily fights his way in and confronts a Chinese agent and takes the papers; but, learns that they were never Smith's. He throws them away, tired of the Games of Deception. However, Shen Kui believes Juliette has betrayed him for another and arrives to confront Chi. An epic battle between evenly matched fighters ensues...   After the preliminaries, they attack each other with weapons and savagery. Chi gets an early edge; but, they soon toss away the weapons and fight with their own bodies...  Strike and counter-strike, block and parry; the fight rages on. Finally, Juliette can stand no more. The men are stubborn fools who won't listen to reason; so, she resorts to their methods and plunges a dagger into her own shoulder...  Shen Kui professes his love for Juliette and takes out the dager, tossing it at Chi's feet. He carries off Juliette, to tend to her wound. Chi is left with an annoying Siamese Cat, no papers, and no honor. He returns home, with the cat, to confront Nayland Smith and his lies, oblivious to the fact the papers say that Fu Manchu has been seen in Hong Kong and must have a plan in motion. The fight between Shang Chi and Shen Kui is brief; but memorable, as it is both the finest depiction of actual martial arts technique in comics and it is a spectacular piece of graphic storytelling, with minimal dialogue and narration, once the fight begins. It is a ballet of masters feeling one another out, probing and feinting, advancing and retreating, until they attack each other with abandon. Their emotions override their intellect, until Juliette restores sanity to them. It is a visual masterpiece of violence and combat. Under Gulacy's pencil, Master of Kung Fu was the rare martial arts comic that featured actual martial arts fights, not just Hollywood punches and kicks, with the odd karate chop. Iron Fist could have used a few pointers from Shang Chi. By the by, Juliette is visually based on Marlene Dietrich. Gulacy had several models for characters. Clive Reston was a mix of Sean Connery, with Basil Rathbone's nose. An MI-6 communications officer was David Niven. A disgraced agent was Marlon Brando. Chi was Bruce Lee, Fu Manchu was Christopher Lee, and the loveable robot Brynocki was the Big Boy restaurant mascot. Even Groucho Marx turned up! The series had many great fights; but, this was the one with the greatest sense of drama and choreography. |
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Post by Icctrombone on Jun 25, 2019 4:42:46 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Jun 25, 2019 5:02:40 GMT -5
5. Superman VS Superboy in Action Comics #591 (1987)I wish I could find better images:   So, John Byrne's Superman reboot (still the definitive Superman for me!) did away with Superboy. Wisely so, I feel. I like Superboy, but it was right to do away with that part of history when it was rebooted. However, that screwed up the Legion of Super-Heroes a tad (who had been inspired by Superboy's exploits). Post-Crisis, there was no Superboy. What to do? Well, Byrne came up with a clever and convoluted way of bringing Superboy back into the post-Crisis universe. It involved the Time Trapper, a pocket universe, etc. I'm sure the esoteric members of this forum know all the details. Anyway, pre-Crisis Superboy and post-Crisis Superman fought. And held nothing back. Misunderstandings aside, there was a logic to their battle. And pre-Crisis Superboy was a lot stronger than Superman. Krypto got involved. As did some gold Kryptonite. And during what was quite a vicious battle, Superman pondered many questions. Who was Superboy? Where had he come from? Who was the dog with the cape? All good fun.
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Post by Icctrombone on Jun 25, 2019 5:12:41 GMT -5
I really liked the Byrne Superman run as well, but all the crossovers from other minis ruined it a bit.
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Crimebuster
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Making comics!
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Post by Crimebuster on Jun 25, 2019 6:43:22 GMT -5
5. Thor vs JormungandThor #380 In Ragnarok, Thor is fated to die fighting Jomungand the World Serpent, a dragon so big he encircles the entire Earth. But in Thor #380, Thor has different ideas about how that fight will go. Walt Simonson puts a capstone on his brilliant run by returning to pencilling duties for a full issue-long battle that is told entirely through splash pages. And the effect is epic, with a massive sense of scale and power.   
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Post by rberman on Jun 25, 2019 8:54:06 GMT -5
5. Reed Richards vs Doctor Octopus (Fantastic Four #267, 1984, John Byrne) In “A Small Loss,” one of the most poignant comic book stories ever, pregnant Sue Richards is about to miscarry, and Reed must convince Otto Octavius (famed obstetrician?) to help. Otto starts the issue imprisoned and separated from his lethal robotic appendages, but they somehow activate and break him free. Reed must first battle the robot arms without Otto, and then under his control – or is he under their control? Brawn will not settle the battle, so Reed turns to a creative solution as depicted below. This issue is a good argument for heroes stepping out of their usual rogue’s gallery on occasion. 
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Post by Deleted on Jun 25, 2019 9:15:01 GMT -5
Byrne wrote and drew some great battles!
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Post by brutalis on Jun 25, 2019 9:15:37 GMT -5
5. Godzilla versus the Super Beasts
by Doug Moench and Herb Trimpe
Godzilla, King of the Monsters #14, June 6, 1978
Marvel delivers something which the Toho movies never did. Godzilla takes on 3 Super Monsters all on his own without any tag team partners like Mothra, Anguirus or Rodan. In this case his tag team partner was the Giant Robot Red Ronin which is decapitated by the monster Krollar. The big G confronts these 3 alien beasts in defense of Earth by 1st destroying the monster Rhiahn with his atomic flame breath. Then good ole Zilla burns the monster Triax from the inside out utilizing his breath of death once more. Finally there is the flying beast Krollar who uses his bladed tail as a rotary propeller enabling him to hover as a helicopter would.
Grabbing Krollar by the tail and head, the big green lizard Godzilla slowly twists and turns the monsters body using Krollar's own twirling tail blades to decapitate the monster and thereby winning his fatal 3 way thriller! Godzilla is still the reigning champion and King of the Monsters and retaining his title! The aliens decide to leave Earth and cease their war against each other as the S.H.I.E.L.D Godzilla squad lets our big green giant enjoy his win by letting him go free to try and capture him another time.
Now this is some giant Kaiju monster fighting at it's best. We get to see Zilla strut his stuff taking out not one, not two, but THREE monsters in a row, on single handed. This was pure fun and excitement upon the printed page for any of us lucky enough to have ringside seats at the time. This is what comic book fights are all about: bigger than life threats, overcoming insurmountable odds (3 against 1? How unfair!) and Godzilla doing what he does best: DESTROYING. HRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNK!
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jun 25, 2019 9:25:29 GMT -5
The Incredible Hulk Vs. The Wolverine Leinil Francis Yu Ultimate Wolverine Vs. Hulk #1-3, 2005 It's the battle between the strongest there is and the best there is at what he does(and what he does ain't nice) like you've never seen before, and for my money it's the way it should have always been. Sure, past incarnations were well done but part of me was always slightly disappointed. You've got a guy with giant knives that come out of his hands...but outside of books by Frank Miller he only tends to scratch at people with them before they get better and a giant monster who can level whole city blocks...but nobody ever seems to get hurt. But not in the Ultimate Universe, here the Hulk really is a monster and well the Wolverine really does do stuff that ain't nice and when they clashed it was amazingly brutal!  Sure I get why this wasn't the standard, you can't have these guys scene as heroes by the public if they act like this, but I say, "Who cares?" I don't need the Hulk to be seen as a hero, I like to see him as a force of nature much better. I don't want cheers when he shows u, I want a hushed silence as people wonder exactly what he's going to do, tear you apart or fight the other monster and this story gives that to you. |
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Post by Hoosier X on Jun 25, 2019 14:52:38 GMT -5
5. LEX LUTHOR VS. SUPERMAN
Batman #293 - "The Testimony of Luthor!"
Written by David V. Reed
Art by John Calnan and Tex BlaisdellI didn't want to have ALL Marvel, and I started thinking about the best rumbles involving major DC characters, and I started thinking about Lex and Superman, and BINGO! - this one came to mind. I've had this issue since I was a kid, and for a long time, I thought it was the weakest issue of the legendary "Where Were You The Night Batman Was Killed?" storyline. But as the years have gone by and I've learned more about the evolving Superman/Luthor conflict (which never interested me much as a kid because I didn't care about Superman all that much), I've come to see "The Testimony of Luthor!" as key story for Bronze Age Lex Luthor, and a revealing window into his dark and petty soul. So here's the main story in a nutshell: Batman has disappeared and is presumed dead, and the Gotham Underworld is having a secret meeting to examine witnesses and decide which culprit is guilty. It's quite a feather in the cap for the eventual guilty Batman-murderer. Two-Face is the prosecutor, Ras al Ghul is the judge and the jury is made up of Poison Ivy, the Spook, the Mad Hatter and several other villains. After Catwoman and the Riddler have had a chance to prove their guilt (and failed!), it's now Luthor's turn!  Oh Lex. You're not even a Batman villain. So here you are, slumming in Gotham and acting like god's gift to villainy just because you're the arch-foe of a REAL super-hero! None of this dancing around with a mere costumed vigilante for Lex Luthor! He's such a butt! And then he goes into such a story! His latest plot against Superman involved switching Superman's and Batman's minds! And then Lex was able to beat the snot out of a bewildered Superman as he's flailing around in Batman's relatively useless body! And that's how Lex Luthor killed Superman! The death of Batman was just a side effect! That's how much of a narcissist Lex Luthor is. He just casually destroys the world's greatest detective and it's only an incidental trivial detail to killing Superman! He's such a butt! And it turns out … Lex was wrong! Superman was dressed as Batman and took the Caped Crusader's place and pretended to be pummeled. Ha ha, Lex! Another victim of super-dickery! And Superman and Batman really don't have much of a motive except to humiliate Lex for being such a butt. Remember when Superman and Batman used to have fun together and could play pranks like this on their foes (and Jimmy and Lois, when they got the whim) and you could just enjoy a good comic without having to hear about the death of the Waynes every month? Batman #293 is the best issue of World's Finest ever! Writer David V. Reed had been a Batman scribe in the Golden Age (and he created the Gorilla Boss of Gotham City!) and Calnan and Blaidsell were a couple of longtime comics professionals (Blaidsell goes back to the 1940s!). None of them are modern favorites and you seldom hear any but the biggest fans singing their praises. As a matter of fact, some critics have been really harsh on Reed's late 1970s Batman comeback. But I love this stuff! And they all pulled together for this great storyline and, almost accidentally, produced one of my favorite Luthor/Superman battles
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,860
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Post by shaxper on Jun 25, 2019 15:11:28 GMT -5
5. LEX LUTHOR VS. SUPERMAN
Batman #293 - "The Testimony of Luthor!"
Written by David V. Reed
Art by John Calnan and Tex BlaisdellI didn't want to have ALL Marvel, and I started thinking about the best rumbles involving major DC characters, and I started thinking about Lex and Superman, and BINGO! - this one came to mind. I've had this issue since I was a kid, and for a long time, I thought it was the weakest issue of the legendary "Where Were You The Night Batman Was Killed?" storyline. But as the years have gone by and I've learned more about the evolving Superman/Luthor conflict (which never interested me much as a kid because I didn't care about Superman all that much), I've come to see "The Testimony of Luthor!" as key story for Bronze Age Lex Luthor, and a revealing window into his dark and petty soul. So here's the main story in a nutshell: Batman has disappeared and is presumed dead, and the Gotham Underworld is having a secret meeting to examine witnesses and decide which culprit is guilty. It's quite a feather in the cap for the eventual guilty Batman-murderer. Two-Face is the prosecutor, Ras al Ghul is the judge and the jury is made up of Poison Ivy, the Spook, the Mad Hatter and several other villains. After Catwoman and the Riddler have had a chance to prove their guilt (and failed!), it's now Luthor's turn! Oh Lex. You're not even a Batman villain. So here you are, slumming in Gotham and acting like god's gift to villainy just because you're the arch-foe of a REAL super-hero! None of this dancing around with a mere costumed vigilante for Lex Luthor! He's such a butt! And then he goes into such a story! His latest plot against Superman involved switching Superman's and Batman's minds (TO BE CONTINUED!) FASCINATING choice, but...where's the rumble? |
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Post by Hoosier X on Jun 25, 2019 15:24:22 GMT -5
5. LEX LUTHOR VS. SUPERMAN
Batman #293 - "The Testimony of Luthor!"
Written by David V. Reed
Art by John Calnan and Tex Blaisdell FASCINATING choice, but...where's the rumble? Sorry! I got called away for a few minutes and I didn't want to lose my work, so that's why I put "to be continued" in the text. The whole thing is there now! |
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Post by codystarbuck on Jun 25, 2019 22:31:28 GMT -5
That Who Killed Batman arc was a great sequence of comics, in a bit of a ho-hum period for Batman. Each villain taking credit for killing Batman, in a court of criminals, presided over by Ra's al Ghul, with Two-Face as the prosecutor. Great stuff!
Blaisdell had a long career in newspaper comics, working on strips for Eisner, Al Capp and Bud Sagendorf. He assisted on prince Valiant and took over Little Orphan Annie, after Harold Gray's death. he worked with Leonard Starr on Mary Perkins and the seminal On Stage (which is a beauty of a strip, artistically). He worked at DC in the 70s and then taught at the Kubert School for many years. His influence in comics was way bigger than most fans will ever know.
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