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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 17, 2021 16:22:38 GMT -5
Random thoughts on day three since I have a minute.
Wesley Dodds and Dian Belmont - Anyone who has been paying attention knows that they're showing up again. But...damn...I can't believe Kurt said that about Guy Davis. Madness.
Starman/ Black Canary - Interesting choice. It's been far too long since I've read Starman and I probably should remedy that.
Sportsmaster and Huntress/Tigress - Another cool choice that slipped through my cracks. I likely wouldn't have chosen them, but I'm loving the G.A./E-2 love today.
The Hulk and Jarella - I didn't think of them either. This was probably my favorite period of The Hulk, who wasn't a character I ever really loved.
Popeye & Olive Oyl - Popeye and Olive were on my list for quite a while and maybe should have stayed there. One of the classic comic strip couples.
Hulkling and Wiccan - This is way after my time reading Marvel. But good for them.
Conan and Caollan - I've not gotten around to reading the later runs of Conan, something I should likely remedy. I was always a Belit guy.
Thorgal and Aaricia - I feel like I should read Thorgal. So many comics...so little time.
Bruce Wayne & Natalia Knight - I haven't read this era Batman in eons. It was a great art period for Bats. I wonder how these would hold up lo these many years later.
Ralph and Sue Dibny - Ralph and Sue shall return.
Preston Payne (Clayface III) and Helena - Brilliant. Shaxper wins the interwebs nunc pro tunc.
Horatio Hellpop and Sundra Peale - I completely forgot about Horatio and Sundra. I'm glad they were remembered.
Hawkman and Hawkwoman - Classic. But so many iterations. I prefer mine Golden Age.
Peter Parker (Spider-man) and Mary Jane Watson - M.J. is maybe my least favorite of the major Spidey loves. But I'm difficult.
Swamp Thing & Abby - As we now know...we saw them again.
Bizarro Superman and Bizarro Lois - To be fair, this is a step up from the actual Superman and Lois. But barely.
Jack Knight and Sadie Falk - Again it's been a LONG time since I've read Starman. And I think I've only read the later issues once or maybe twice. So I kind of only vaguely remember them as a couple.
Rich Rider and Namorita - Again...way after I'd stopped reading Marvel comics. That's Nova, right?
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Post by Prince Hal on Dec 18, 2021 14:38:40 GMT -5
#10. Shayera/Shiera and Katar (Carter) Hol/HallMuch of my Silver Age enjoyment of the Hawkman comic book came from the maturity of the relationship between Hawkman and Hawkgirl (as she was known then). This might strike others as odd since I was only ten when I read my first Hawkman story ( JLA 31), but it may be further proof that you really shouldn't write down to kids. Reading about the two alien cops who not only worked together as crimefighters, but also as directors of the Midway City Museum gave me a whole other perspective about men and women superheroes. These two were equally bright, courageous, and (within the culture of the time,the early to mid-sixties) a progressive relationship. Yes, it was stupid that Shiera was even a tad jealous of Mavis Trent and that Carter frequently asserted his leadership of the team, and it would have been nice to see Hawkgirl on more than nine covers of the 40+ on which Hawkman appeared during those early years, there were also plenty of moments when it was clear that the two were perfect teammates: courageous and capable of acting on their own. This sounds patronizing today, I'm sure, but in context, you really didn't see much female agency even in Wonder Woman or Supergirl's strips, where they were forever protecting Steve Trevor and Superman's fragile egos from taking any abuse. Meanwhile, Fly Girl's shtick was being a super-shrew, Jean Loring and Iris West were step-sisters of Lois Lane and Sue Richards was, after all, Invisible Girl! (And no, I haven't forgotten the Dibnys, who will be popping up soon enough as a similar counterpoint.) Thus, even by today's standards, Shayera and Katar brought a far more grown-up take on the very rare concept of married super-heroes. Despite my age and lack of societal awareness, I was really annoyed that the Hawks were not inducted to the JLA at the same time. C'mon, Gardner Fox, get with the new program.
Weak. Although I basically haven't followed the labyrinthine Hawkman continuity since the early Bronze Age (I gave it the old-school try a few times, but nothing grabbed me), I will always think of them as trailblazers on the road to a less stereotyped approach to relationships between spouses.
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Post by Farrar on Dec 19, 2021 10:48:11 GMT -5
#10 Black Widow and Hawkeye Tales of Suspense #57,60,64; Avengers #29-44, especially #38-44 I know that each of them have since gone on to many other paramours, but the 1960s Hawkeye-Widow pairing remains one of my favorite Marvel romances. Their romance was the focus of one of Roy Thomas's earliest Avengers multi-issue arcs--"The Black Widow is a Traitor!" -- from issues #38 through #44. Their love and its complications were the heart and soul of the Avengers comic for what seemed like an eternity (when you're a kid, time moves slowly). Inexplicably after BW starring in several Avengers issues, Marvel had her renounce her costumed Black Widow identity, and after #44 she was reduced to a panel here and there in the typical non-superhero girlfriend role ("Oh Hawkeye! What happened?"). It was so out of character. Then in #76 she dumped Hawkeye (now Goliath), got a makeover, and starred in her own feature in Amazing Adventures; when that ended she went into the Daredevil comic, and the rest is history. But for me, as a young reader of Marvel Comics back then, I'll always have a soft spot for Natasha and Hawkeye. I was always looking for romance between superheroes in Marvel And DC, and Natasha-Hawkeye fit the bill. From Avengers #30. Yes, I know the dialogue is Silver Age-cheesy. But I love Don Heck's Natasha and Hawkeye, both here in the Avengers and in the earlier Tales of Suspense issues. There's something about Hawkeye's expression in that third panel--his eyes, his mouth--that still gets to me. ADDENDUM:They were the first "amorous archer & fishnetted female" couple in superhero comics. Ollie and Dinah who? {Spoiler: Click to show}
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Post by Icctrombone on Dec 19, 2021 17:39:44 GMT -5
For many years Don Heck was my favorite Avengers artist.
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Post by brutalis on Dec 19, 2021 18:32:49 GMT -5
For many years Don Heck was my favorite Avengers artist. Mine too bro! You have good taste. Even if you do like Liefeld😉
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Post by berkley2 on Dec 21, 2021 23:03:05 GMT -5
10. Copper Calhoon and Kroon.
These were characters from Milton Caniff's Steve Canyon, the former recurring, the latter appearing in just the one story - one of the earliest of the strip. Kroon is a bodyguard- actually more of a hired thug - in Copper's employ. Copper is a ruthless businesswoman who hires Canyon as a pilot. Kroon is a badguy mixed up in some conspiracy and an antagonist of the strip's hero. His one redeming quality, as we find near the end, is his loyalty and unrequited love for his boss, Copper, whose life he saves by sacrificing himself to a bullet meant for her. It's a moving scene, and very skilfully done by Caniff, effectively pullingthe rug from underneath the reader and making us rethink our attitude towards the character.
The newsstrips might be better sources than superhero comics for this kind of thing. I could have picked 2 or 3 other examples from Steve Canyon, and probably 1 or 2 from Johnny Hazard as well, but I'll save them for the near misses.
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