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Post by codystarbuck on Dec 16, 2019 12:27:48 GMT -5
9. Marvel Two-in-One #53-58July, 1979  Like it's colleague, Marvel Team-Up, MTIO had its share of turkeys (though, for my money, it had a much better batting average). This is most definitely not one of them. This is the legendary Project Pegasus storyline, that finds Ben Grimm visiting a research facility/prison, to check up on Wundar, and ends up embroiled in a conspiracy to take over/wreck the place. In the process, he works with Quasar and Giant-Man, faces off against Deathlok and Thundra, and sees Wundar become the Aquarian. The basic concept was a shameless swipe from Michael Crichton's The Andromeda Strain; specifically, the Project Wildfire facility, depicted in the movie version of the story. They copied the idea of an underground high security facility, but switched it to alternate energy research, a hot topic in the Carter years. Previously, Thing had visited the facility, where his alien buddy Wundar had been taken, as his energy absorption powers had becomes dangerous and he was comatose. He runs afoul of Captain America, but smooths things over. Now, he arrives with PEGASUS' blessing, taking a temporary job with their security force, to spend time looking in on Wundar.  The first and second issues featured John Byrne on art, but George Perez would handle the remainder, so it enjoyed the images from two of the top artists of the period. Story was from Mark Gruenwald and Ralph Macchio. The basic plot has various agents of the Nth Command trying to infiltrate the complex, creating havoc. This includes a reprogrammed Deathlock and a manipulated Thundra and the Grapplers. The Nth Command has an insider who also creates chaos, which leads to the release of super villain prisoners Solar and Klaw, as well as Nuklo. The backers of the Nth Command are only revealed at the very end, a group which ties into other MTIO stories, especially those involving the Serpent Crown. This was a terrific romp, with Ben's personality really bringing the story alive, while weaving in various characters and building to a big conclusion. We see Ben playing poker with his buddies, when alarms go off, a frequent image used in the 80s and beyond. The former Black Goliath takes the less racially motivated name Giant-Man, and also is irradiated, leading to a future storyline, where he is dying of radiation poisoning. Wundar's transformation from alien manchild to cosmic messiah also appears, though the Aquarian identity is one of the lesser elements of things and one that probably made Shooter and the other editors skittish, as he wasn't used much after. This is probably the pinnacle of Marvel TIO and was good enough to be one of Marvel's early trade collections, in the late 80s.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Dec 16, 2019 12:28:16 GMT -5
I've never heard of the fly but that art looks great
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Post by codystarbuck on Dec 16, 2019 12:32:17 GMT -5
I've never heard of the fly but that art looks great The Fly was one of the 1950s creations by Simon & Kirby, for Archie. It was revived in the 60s and Fly-Girl was added and it became their longest running title of their Mighty Comics superhero line, which would be revived again in the 80s, as the Red Circle imprint. Since Simon maintained the copyright on the character, Archie continues to use Fly Girl, but cannot use the Fly without permission from Simon & Kirby's estates. |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Dec 16, 2019 13:40:21 GMT -5
#9 Thor and the EternalsFrom The Mighty Thor #300, 1980 (Marvel comics). Although the merits of bringing the Eternals into the Marvel Universe proper can be debated, once such a decision is taken it should be handled with care and in a way that enhances the overall story. And boy, does this comic deliver! Intricate retroactive continuity (or the fine art of making readers believe that things we have just decided recently had been planned all along) is a staple of comicdom, but it rarely works in a satisfactory manner. Retcons often feel forced, gratuitous, just plain stupid or all three at once. But here? Here we have a textbook case of how to weave separate stories into one seamless tapestry. Thor #300 is the climax of several storylines; some from comics almost a decade old ( The Eternals, Thor #203), some belonging to classic literature ( The Volsunga saga), and some harking back to the first appearances of Thor in the pages of Journey into Mystery. Perfect for a landmark anniversary issue! It's written by Mark Gruenwald and Ralph Macchio, but the hand of Roy Thomas is also obvious here. The artwork by Keith Pollard has some pretty good scenes, like this panoramic shot of the Fourth Host:  So... what happens? Well, since the Eternals got cancelled before we could find out what the Celestials, those silent and scary space gods, would do to Earth, we get the answer here. The hour of judgement has come! That's what Ragnarok is about! And Odin knew about it all along. That Destroyer armour that he made so long ago? It was meant to stop the Celestials. (We learn that this contingency plan was developed after the Celestials' prior visit to our planet). The Odinsword, that giant blade that was prophesised to signal Ragnarok if it was ever pulled from its scabbard? Well, it was the other way around: it would be pulled from its scabbard when Ragnarok started... to be used as the Destroyer's weapon. Oh, and to weave the threads of continuity even tighter, said Odinsword was forged from the cursed Rheingold, that magic ring that was to bring about the twilight of the gods! (See? It all fits nicely!) The Celestials are however just as powerful as Jack Kirby made them, and they take down the Destroyer without half trying. Who will then save the Earth? Gaia herself, the Earth goddess (and mother of Thor!) who presents to the space gods the paragon of humanity: the new breed of gods that evolved at the end of Thor #203 (back in 1972), an event that at the time had seemed pretty significant but had promptly been forgotten. Old story lines never die, they just wait for someone to remember about them! The Celestials are happy to see that mankind isn't completely worthless after all, and they give Earth the thumbs up. We're saved! All this continuity weaving, rather than feel like bad fan fiction, really gives this story a sense of historical perspective. Even back in 1980 I knew that no, there was no way all of that had been planned in advance... but I was absolutely willing to suspend disbelief and pretend that it was the crowning chapter of a very, very long story line!
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 16, 2019 13:55:21 GMT -5
Christmas with the Super-Heroes #2 (1988, DC Comics) “Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot” On the fourth day of Christmas Brennert and Giordano brought to me, some dead goodies. Let me say that I'm not a Christmas guy. Overall the holiday could go away and I'd be fine. That said, for some reason Christmas themed funnybooks resonate with me. This one could have been higher on the list. But I have a jury trial starting Wednesday and don't have a huge amount of time so I figured I could put this one here because I'm not going to beat the write-up that Prince Hal did on Day One. Read this one along with Astro City's "The Nearness of You." 
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Post by berkley on Dec 16, 2019 19:20:48 GMT -5
9. Moon Knight & the DefendersDavid Kraft & Keith Giffen + Mike Royer Defenders #47-51 (Marvel 1977)  I remember this team-up fondly for a few reasons: a favourite character, Moon Knight, guest-starring in a favourite series; part of one of the better stories of Dave Kraft's Defenders run, 'Who Remembers Scorpio?'; the excellent Kirbyesque artwork by Giffen & Royer; the early version of MK with the glider-cape, etc. Was there something about the Defenders that made for good guest star appearances and team-ups? Maybe the "non-team" concept gave the guest stars more room to play in - and of course the series also enjoyed a string of top-notch writers for a long time - Englehart, Gerber, then Kraft.
I almost called this "Moon Knight & Night-Hawk", since those two characters seemed to form a kind of friendship that was unfortunately never taken up by any later writers. Mike Royer's inks really brought Giffen's Kirby pastiche to another level, far superior to Giffen's more recent efforts in that vein on things like DC's OMAC reboot. Would like to have seen more of that combo, even after Giffen dropped the Kirby imitation.
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Post by rberman on Dec 16, 2019 20:29:28 GMT -5
9. Lois Lane and Batman
Lois Lane #99-100 (DC, 1970)Yes, in this two-part epic, Lois is accused of murdering Lana Lang after their car goes off a bridge. Lois survives, Lana doesn't. Luckily, Lois has a pretty good defense attorney: Batman! On the down side, the prosecuting attorney is Superman. So that's bad. On the plus side, neither of them are actually lawyers, so who the hell knows how this mockery of a sham is supposed to work out. Woah, shades of Chappaquiddick (July 1969). I'm surprised they went there. |
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Post by rberman on Dec 16, 2019 20:34:34 GMT -5
Day Four, #9 Patsy and Hedy team up with The Avengers (Avengers Annual 2000, Kurt Busiek, Norm Breyfogle, and Richard Powell): This Annual helped set the stage for the amazing story of Patricia Walker told in the recent Jessica Jones television series on Netflix. Busiek fits a history lesson and an adventure story all in one issue, starting with a TV interview reminding readers about Patsy Walker’s Golden Age/Silver Age past as a teen idol, and adding an uneasy relationship with her “Mommie Dearest”:  Hedy Wolfe now manages Patsy’s media properties. They return home to Centerville, in a chapter rendered retro-style by Richard Powell. Check out Patsy's cat earrings!  Patsy and Hedy call the Avengers to help defeat a plot hatched in Centerville by the Sons of the Serpent and Salem’s Seven. That’s a lot of “s”! This Avengers Annual was the lead-in to an Englehart/Breyfogle Hellcat mini-series that followed.  Note: Historians among you may wonder whether Hellcat was already an Avenger, and thus not eligible to "team up" with them. According to the cover of The Avengers #144, she was “The most fearsome new member of all”:  She did go on the subsequent adventure to Earth-2, I mean “Other-Earth,” to fight the Squadron Supreme. But she wasn’t considered for official membership until #151, and reluctantly turned it down at Moondragon’s browbeating:  The two ended up in The Defenders. As far as I know, Hedy was never offered membership in the Avengers. For shame! She could have handled their P.R.
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Post by Farrar on Dec 16, 2019 20:50:21 GMT -5
9. The Fly & Fly Girl Adventures Of The Fly #14 (September 1961, Archie) Art by John Rosenberger I don't know who wrote this comic, possibly Robert Bernstein, or R. Berns when he worked at Marvel. Yes, it was Robert Bernstein. Love Fly Girl! I always found it interesting that Fly Girl debuted in 1961, a couple of years before the Wasp (1963). And lol, with a few tweaks that cover wouldn't have looked out of place on Tales to Astonish  (Ant-Man and the Wasp feature) |
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Post by Icctrombone on Dec 16, 2019 21:10:59 GMT -5
#9
Crossover: Superman/ Flash
World’s Finest # 198, 199
Writer: Denny O’neil
Artist: Dick Dillin
Inker: Joe Giella
DC Comics
1970
 I admit that this is one of those picks that are purely for Nostagia’s sake as the story is so so and the art is by one of my least favorite teams ever ( Dillin / Giella). But this was my first exposure to the classic Superman/Flash race series and it features one of the best covers of all time , IMHO. Anyway, Earth is experiencing time anomalies and the Guardians of the Galaxy charge Superman and the Flash with stopping some beings called anachronids , who are passing into the galaxy moving faster than the speed of light, thus disrupting the orderly flow of time. Whew! Supposedly, if two beings moving in super speed go the opposite path it would create a balance fixing the problem. You gotta love comic science. The Guardian give Superman a medallion powered by the Lantern batteries to protect the Flash from harm , increase his endurance and create a running path for him to run through space. They decide to make a race out of it and off they go. Of course they face challenges such as attacks from their opponents, red sun etc. Despite my sarcastic recap, it’s quite a fun ride as they discover that some Phantom zone prisoners created the anachronids in order to break them out of the zone. They happen to be on a planet where the zone gives access to materials to enact their plan. Well, the Flash/ Superman team overcome them but are seriously injured where they are literally crawling to turn off the machine powering the faster than light villians before there’s permanent damage. They both crawl to the switch and one of them pulls the lever ending the threat and winning the race.  Who won ? Cmon, that would be telling.
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Post by DubipR on Dec 16, 2019 21:36:08 GMT -5
9. The Conflagration Man"- The Shadow & Doc SavageThe Shadow Strikes #5-6 Doc Savage 17-18 Written by: Gerard Jones & Mike W Barr Drawn by: Rod Whigham & Eduardo Barreto DC Comics 1990  When a gangster kidnaps a scientist, who's invented a special detonator "ray" gun, the scientist's daughter enlists the help of Doc Savage and his crew. However, unknown to Doc, the Shadow was already on the case as a disguised gangster named "Al Ombra." When the two met, Doc knocked out the disguised Shadow and took him back to his Crime College to operate on his brain... *da-da-da-dunnnnnnn* In the 1990s, DC had rolled out a fun Doc Savage mini with the Kubert Brothers which led into a new monthly starring Clark Savage Jr. From a moderate success of the mini and monthly, DC brought out The Shadow Strikes! and had a mild underground hit. Just seemed like time for the two to team up. Writers Mike W Barr and Gerard Jones wrote a little fun pulpy story that made for a fun crossover. The real draw for me of these two books was the late Eduardo Barreto's artwork on The Shadow. Whigham's Doc was a good art, both Jones and Barr wrote strong books. It's a fun crossover, not spectacular but if you enjoy these two characters, definitely give it a read. 
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Post by Farrar on Dec 16, 2019 21:39:52 GMT -5
9. Medusa and Spider-Man
Amazing Spider-Man #62 (Marvel, 1968)Never been a Spider-Man fan (though I did watch the cartoons; does that count? Didn't think so). Anyway, I only bought ASM when there was a guest-star I liked, such as Quicksilver, Black Widow, or-- best of all!--Medusa. She was one of my favorite characters and I loved that she was getting some solo sage time away from those then-usually dour Inhumans. Sure, the ASM story was slight and uninspired: Spidey and Medusa are manipulated into fighting each other, realize they've been duped, blah blah blah, very formulaic. And quite frankly I hated Medusa's new green costume (it's like Romita was designing a prototype for the X-Factor costume ); was her regal purple attire at the cleaners?! Well, whatever she wore at least Medusa was imperious and assertive in this story, a welcome change from her usual role (back then) as Black Bolt's spokesperson. Also, this ASM comic was on sale at the same time as another Medusa-headlining comic: Marvel Super-Heroes #15. Her prominence in these two books at the same time seemed to indicate that she'd soon be in line for her own feature (didn't happen; I've since read various reports regarding why her proposed feature got shelved). At any rate, thanks to Medusa ASM #62 earns a spot on my list.  
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Post by Icctrombone on Dec 16, 2019 21:50:57 GMT -5
It annoyed me that Spider-man was usually the sap for these team-ups. She had the upper hand the entire story til the end, if I remember correctly.
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Post by Icctrombone on Dec 16, 2019 21:55:10 GMT -5
My pick today combines elements from my twelfth and eleventh picks: like Dracula and the Frankenstein Monster it has that "what if..." feeling that inspired you as a kid playing with action figures while also tapping into that idea of two disparate creations of the same writer having an unlikely meeting like Conan and Solomon Kane and so with out further ado I give you... That Time Indiana Jones and Short Round Met Han Solo and Chewbacca
"Into the Great Unknown"
Star Wars Tales #19
Dark Horse, 2004
Written by W. Haden Blackman with art by Sean Murphy this imaginary tale(but then again they all, aren't they?) tells the story of how Han and Chewie crash landed on Earth and end up inspiring tales of Bigfoot in the Pacific Northwest. And while it's not my preffered canonical death of Han I love the inherent fan service this story provides in bringing together two of my favorite characters that Harrison Ford has brought to life on the silver screen. Although short, sweet and full of fun Easter eggs for the fan of both characters( the title itself is a play on a line from Temple of Doom) it doesn't feel like a cheap cash grab(not that those can't be fun, but more on that another day!) instead giving us a story that is actually interesting in its own right with a strong emotional core. Dude, I usually never read movie adaptations and their comic series, but knowing this comic existed bummed me out.  |
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Post by Icctrombone on Dec 16, 2019 21:57:12 GMT -5
On the fourth day of Christmas JMS brought to me a Geek brother...Brother Power, the Geek that is! Brave and the Bold #29 (DC; 2009-this one just squeaks in, it is cover dated Jan 2010 and went on sale in Nov 2009) by J. Michael Straczynski & Jesus Saiz So take a DC team up book and put Batman in the lead this time, add in Bother Power the Geek reawakening in the world of 2009 after being dormant since Brother Power the Geek #2 (okay, so it retcons the CCF favorite Brother Power #3 that only members of the super secret CCF Power Brotherhood have read, nothing is perfect in this world), add in a thematic exploration of James Whale's Frankenstein and the other Universal Frankenstein movies juxtaposing those themes with both Batman's and The Geek's stories, and another exploration/juxtaposition of youth culture in 1968 vs. 2009, add some flashbacks to show the Geek's fate in '68 after the assassination of Bobby Kennedy, and tell an otherwise straightforward Batman detective story and you get a sense of what this issue offers. It's not a perfect issue, and it's no Brother Power the Geek #3, but it is a wonderful take on the Brother Power mythos and an enjoyable Batman team up story. Our first look at the Geek in 2009... -M I can't believe this was thing... |
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(Ant-Man and the Wasp feature)
