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Post by berkley on Jul 21, 2020 2:00:29 GMT -5
Yes, the whole set-up at Marvel with the inmates running the asylum might not have been economically sustainable in the long run but it certainly produced most of my favourite comics, as far as the mainstream (or whatever you want to call it) Marvel/DC stuff goes.
BTW, dn't take that metaphor too literally: I know there were lots of restrictions and arbitrary decisions, and probably most of the most innovative series were cancelled before they had a chance to realise their potential, but for a few short years there was some space, some cracks in the system within which creativity could run wild for a moment before it was shut down. And it produced some great work.
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Post by brutalis on Jul 27, 2020 15:15:49 GMT -5
What If First Comics was still going strong today? Imagine crazy long runs for American Flagg, Badger, Dreadstar, E Man, Grimjack, Nexus, Starslayer and others. What might have been? WHO could have taken over some of these titles?
Steve Gerber writing Badger?
Mark Schultz doing Nexus art?
Wrightson doing some Grimjack?
Mike Deodato on Starslayer?
Jae Lee on Starslayer or Grimjack?
Moench/Gulacy having a run on Dreadstar?
Darwyn Cooke writing/drawing E Man?
Bruce Timm animating any First comics series for television?
Oh the possibilities of current writers & artists running wild.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 27, 2020 16:22:14 GMT -5
What If First Comics was still going strong today? Imagine crazy long runs for American Flagg, Badger, Dreadstar, E Man, Grimjack, Nexus, Starslayer and others. What might have been? WHO could have taken over some of these titles? Steve Gerber writing Badger? Mark Schultz doing Nexus art? Wrightson doing some Grimjack? Mike Deodato on Starslayer? Jae Lee on Starslayer or Grimjack? Moench/Gulacy having a run on Dreadstar? Darwyn Cooke writing/drawing E Man? Bruce Timm animating any First comics series for television? Oh the possibilities of current writers & artists running wild. I don't know. All of those series were the product of a single creative vision for the most part, and those that did continue without their creators (Flagg 2nd series, Dreadstar by David, Nexus w/o Rude, Starslayer post-Grell, etc. were all much poorer for it. First may have continued, but those series that did continue past their creators leaving were already on the path of entropy. I would much rather have seen what new material and creative visions First could have brought to market than see those series continue as pale shadows of their former selves. -M |
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Post by berkley on Jul 30, 2020 21:35:56 GMT -5
After being reminded of the Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine, from Steranko's Agents of SHIELD, and her costume by its appearance in a couple threads recently, I have a new one: WHAT IF ... all of Marvel's cut-away swimsuit (not sure this is the right terminology) costumed heroines formed a team?  Unfortunately, I'm having trouble coming up with potential members besides the Contessa and Moondragon. Maybe Shanna the She-Devil? I think one of her early costumes might qualify, though I'm not a fan of the leopard-skin look, myself. If they did a crossover with DC they could team up with Shadow Lass from the Legion. and there's always Vampirella ... Oh well, looks like there might not be enough characters to make this idea work. It could be expanded to the Bare-Midriff Brigade but then there would probably be too many possible candidates. And so another great proposal bites the dust. |
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Post by brutalis on Jul 30, 2020 22:51:57 GMT -5
What if Gene Day had drawn The Shadow? How about Trim Truman on Doc Savage? Some Tom Mandrake Phantom? Ron Randall doing Flash Gordon? Maybe Steve Rude for Mandrake the Magician? A Kubert sons Avenger? With a double shot as alternating artists of Tom Yeates and Steve Bissette and John Totlebon fir a Defenders of the Earth incorporating ALL those heroes. I am drooling thinking of the stories as I type this...
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jul 31, 2020 6:09:41 GMT -5
What if Marvel had kept aging its characters in more or less real time?
Some would still be around, of course: Thor is immortal, and may still be on friendly terms with an elderly Jane Foster, who would be glad to have finally married Dr Kincaid because it could never have worked between her and an an Asgardian. It would have been a good opportunity for papa Odin to say "see, son? your father was right." I would expect Thor and Sif to have had several kids by now, probably friends with the children of Hogun and Hildegarde.
Captain America might still be going strong, on account of the super-soldier serum; whether it kept him at the same age or just slowed down his aging process remains to be seen. I could see him getting married and settling down, however, and coaching the next generation of heroes.
Iron Man would have retired long ago; his temporary replacement over the years (by Rhodey or Riri) would have been more than a stunt but a permanent thing. I hope Stark would have remained involved as a supporting character; he works well as an action hero, but would also do well as the inventor who always comes up with some new gizmo.
I have no doubt that the Fantastic Four would have seen their roster change, hopefully preserving the "first family of the Marvel universe" angle: Franklin and Valeria would have grown up (assuming his eventual sister would have been called Valeria!), replacing their parents at first with an aging Ben and then a mature Johnny heading the team, before new people came aboard. Superpowered girlfriends and boyfriends are always good recruiting material.
Hulk? Imagine a cranky, old "get off mah lawn" Hulk!!! But more seriously, back in the original Hulk Smash! period, I thought the jade giant would eventually grow up. He had been a child prone to tantrums during the Trimpe years, and I thought he might evolve into an adult, given enough time.
The X-Men would have gone on the way they had until issue #200, I suppose, with members growing older and retiring, others dying, and new mutants joining the team.
Spider-Man... aaaah, Spider-Man. Needless to say, Peter would have been allowed to get married and have kids without any interference from the Devil. He would not have lost a leg, but would eventually have retired anyway, because MJ would point out that his little pot belly looked silly in tights. I fully expect that one or more of their kids would have had spider-powers as well, although passing the mantle to someone like Miles Morales also works quite well.
No need for a reboot, no need for killing people and bringing them back, no need for ultimate lines... just characters changing over time with a legacy worth exploring.
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Post by kirby101 on Jul 31, 2020 7:05:17 GMT -5
Roquefort: They did,  |
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Post by brutalis on Jul 31, 2020 9:29:20 GMT -5
Roquefort: They did, Also done in the MC2 future/alternate universe as the Fantastic Five. 😊 |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jul 31, 2020 9:38:10 GMT -5
True, true, Marvel did that several time for special issues or for a few What if..?, as well as for things like the Spider-girl alternate reality run. I particularly liked the "What if super-heroes grow old?" in issue 38; that's why I think the concept could have been not only fine, but also successful.  For those who haven't read it... Captain America is married to Sharon and has kids, but is still fighting the good fight. The Avengers now count in their ranks an ever-young Thor, a well-maintained Vision, the son of Rhodey as Iron Man, and Wanda is still around, an aged lady with a firy temper. It was good to see that she and Viz were still together. As I recall, Jarvis had been replaced by another member of his family. If not the future I would have wanted to see for those heroes, it was much better than a constant rehash of old material in which characters die, are reborn, are revealed to be traitors, then not, are de-aged, go to war against each other, are best friends again... their aging gracefully is more to this reader's liking! Going back to the concept, though: what I'm talking about is a continuing evolution of the characters, progressively receding hairlines, as it were, rather than series that suddenly go "and now... the adventures of Old Man Logan". |
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Post by kirby101 on Jul 31, 2020 10:32:17 GMT -5
That FF Annual really changed the way I saw the Marvel Universe. The heroes I knew, Spidey hanging out in Greenwich Village, Ben and Reed in WWII (and Nick Fury)Iron Man origin in Vietnam, Bruce B at a nuclear test site and so on had to leap forward to stay their ages. So they stopped being who they were. And the continuity of stories that happened 30 years before still occurring just no longer held together for me. It would take another decade of a slow withdrawal, but that Annual is still a touch stone for me.
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Post by kirby101 on Jul 31, 2020 10:36:54 GMT -5
BTW, The recent Spider-Man Life Story had each issue a decade later, aging everybody in the Spider-verse.
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Post by Duragizer on Jul 31, 2020 19:26:31 GMT -5
What if Marvel had kept aging its characters in more or less real time? Some would still be around, of course: Thor is immortal, and may still be on friendly terms with an elderly Jane Foster, who would be glad to have finally married Dr Kincaid because it could never have worked between her and an an Asgardian. It would have been a good opportunity for papa Odin to say "see, son? your father was right." I would expect Thor and Sif to have had several kids by now, probably friends with the children of Hogun and Hildegarde. Captain America might still be going strong, on account of the super-soldier serum; whether it kept him at the same age or just slowed down his aging process remains to be seen. I could see him getting married and settling down, however, and coaching the next generation of heroes. Iron Man would have retired long ago; his temporary replacement over the years (by Rhodey or Riri) would have been more than a stunt but a permanent thing. I hope Stark would have remained involved as a supporting character; he works well as an action hero, but would also do well as the inventor who always comes up with some new gizmo. I have no doubt that the Fantastic Four would have seen their roster change, hopefully preserving the "first family of the Marvel universe" angle: Franklin and Valeria would have grown up (assuming his eventual sister would have been called Valeria!), replacing their parents at first with an aging Ben and then a mature Johnny heading the team, before new people came aboard. Superpowered girlfriends and boyfriends are always good recruiting material. Hulk? Imagine a cranky, old "get off mah lawn" Hulk!!! But more seriously, back in the original Hulk Smash! period, I thought the jade giant would eventually grow up. He had been a child prone to tantrums during the Trimpe years, and I thought he might evolve into an adult, given enough time. The X-Men would have gone on the way they had until issue #200, I suppose, with members growing older and retiring, others dying, and new mutants joining the team. Spider-Man... aaaah, Spider-Man. Needless to say, Peter would have been allowed to get married and have kids without any interference from the Devil. He would not have lost a leg, but would eventually have retired anyway, because MJ would point out that his little pot belly looked silly in tights. I fully expect that one or more of their kids would have had spider-powers as well, although passing the mantle to someone like Miles Morales also works quite well. No need for a reboot, no need for killing people and bringing them back, no need for ultimate lines... just characters changing over time with a legacy worth exploring. I for one would be more invested in the world/characters, that's for goddamn sure. |
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Post by Calidore on Jul 31, 2020 20:36:46 GMT -5
A switcheroo: Carl Barks on Howard the Duck, and Steve Gerber & Gene Colan on Donald the Duck.
Since Tim Truman is coming up so much lately, I think he'd be perfect for Strontium Dog.
And speaking of 2000 AD, I will forever be sad Philippe Druillet never drew Nemesis the Warlock.
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