|
|
Post by Slam_Bradley on Nov 7, 2014 22:23:34 GMT -5
For the 1980s I'd say New Teen Titans #1 would be a contender. The 1984 Baxter series for it and the Legion shows the rise of the Direct Market that would firmly be in control of the North American market by the end of the decade. Will Eisner's Contract with God might be a contender for the 1970s with its status as first graphic novel. Except it wasn't the first graphic novel. First successful one...maybe. |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 7, 2014 22:29:19 GMT -5
1960s-Amazing Fantasy #15- one success is a fluke, two is a cornerstone of something to build on, and while the FF was the first success, the success of Spider-Man was the second cornerstone of the Marvel juggernaut and with 2 cornerstones you have a foundation you can build on. 1950s-Showcase #4-1st Flash, revitalized the flagging super-hero market which would then go one to once again dominate the industry 1930s-Detective #27 for the same reasons I chose AF 15 for the 60s. One success can be a fluke, the second proves the viability of something; Superman was a huge success and created the super-hero, but with Batman we had proof the genre and concept was bigger than a single character and was a viable concept that could grow an entire industry around...-M I like your thought process here (and throughout, actually), but just to be a flea under your collar, why not Showcase #22 in the 1950s column? Or for that matter, Showcase #9? I will throw out that Showcase is the debut of the 2nd Silver Age Superhero at DC then, with Martian Manhunter in Tec 225 being the first, so first Silver Age revival, 2nd Silver Age hero introduced again showing the sustainability after an initial successful debut. -M |
|
|
|
Post by Ish Kabbible on Nov 7, 2014 22:30:26 GMT -5
For the 1980s I'd say New Teen Titans #1 would be a contender. The 1984 Baxter series for it and the Legion shows the rise of the Direct Market that would firmly be in control of the North American market by the end of the decade. Will Eisner's Contract with God might be a contender for the 1970s with its status as first graphic novel. Except it wasn't the first graphic novel. First successful one...maybe. Would this be the first? From the 1950s written by Arnold Drake with Matt Baker art  And then in the 1960s you had Gil Kane's His Name Is Savage followed shortly after by his Blackmark |
|
|
|
Post by Phil Maurice on Nov 7, 2014 22:59:00 GMT -5
I will throw out that Showcase is the debut of the 2nd Silver Age Superhero at DC then, with Martian Manhunter in Tec 225 being the first, so first Silver Age revival, 2nd Silver Age hero introduced again showing the sustainability after an initial successful debut. -M  |
|
|
|
Post by Slam_Bradley on Nov 7, 2014 23:04:26 GMT -5
Except it wasn't the first graphic novel. First successful one...maybe. Would this be the first? From the 1950s written by Arnold Drake with Matt Baker art And then in the 1960s you had Gil Kane's His Name Is Savage followed shortly after by his BlackmarkYep. Well probably. All three definitely pre-date Contact With God. Not to mention European albums about which I'm not qualified to speak. Give the man a ceegar. |
|
|
|
Post by Paste Pot Paul on Nov 7, 2014 23:24:09 GMT -5
 How about a case for this in the 70s. In terms of influence, Adams at his height of power would influence the look of not just Batman, but most male heroes for the next 40 years. You only need to look at Sienkiewicz's Moon-Knight or even Jim Lee's Batman/Green Lantern/Punisher (well every male figure he draws), let alone every Bat-Artist seemingly altering style to emulate overnight (was it mandated?). Then theres the return of the Joker from the depths of the TV series clown, to fulfil his destiny as Batmans distorted mirror image. Hell the 2 of them together are like some bi-polar split in half. (apologies to any persons really suffering from it, I in no way mean to offend, I'm just using my Internet Troll license to spout shit-i-know-nothing-about). But yeah, Adams man..Neal fricking Adams |
|
|
|
Post by Paste Pot Paul on Nov 7, 2014 23:35:26 GMT -5
I was thinking last night that the most important book of the 1970s might well have been 2000 AD #1. Without that publication, the British invasion that dominated and shaped comic books of the 1980s might never have arrived. That's actually a really good choice, although it would take a year or two for 2000AD to really blossom. (Really after Starlord folded, which merged Strontium Dog and to a lesser extent Ro-Busters to the 2000AD stable.) Even though 2000AD started in 1977, I'd argue that it was 1978 when it really became something special. The popularity explosion of 2000AD may well have been fairly immediate, but I believe that with Brian Bolland they had a superstar artist who got them noticed. I by no means mean to disrespect many other favourites of mine, Im looking at you Mike McMahon, Carlos Ezquerra, and Dave Gibbons, but I think Bolland on the Cursed Earth through later stories like the Jigsaw Man was like a beacon to America...and they saw... |
|
|
|
Post by fanboystranger on Nov 8, 2014 1:18:54 GMT -5
That's actually a really good choice, although it would take a year or two for 2000AD to really blossom. (Really after Starlord folded, which merged Strontium Dog and to a lesser extent Ro-Busters to the 2000AD stable.) Even though 2000AD started in 1977, I'd argue that it was 1978 when it really became something special. The popularity explosion of 2000AD may well have been fairly immediate, but I believe that with Brian Bolland they had a superstar artist who got them noticed. I by no means mean to disrespect many other favourites of mine, Im looking at you Mike McMahon, Carlos Ezquerra, and Dave Gibbons, but I think Bolland on the Cursed Earth through later stories like the Jigsaw Man was like a beacon to America...and they saw... I would agree with that. I don't think people really saw McMahon as a top flight guy until "Sky Chariots" in Slaine, Gibbons was respected but not quite a spectacular stylist, and arguably Ezquerra didn't get his due in America until the '90s when he became a regular collaborator with Garth Ennis. There were a bunch of other guys like Brendan McCarthy and Kevin O'Neill who were doing solid work, but would make their huge stylistic leaps a few years later in the '80s. Bolland was the touchpoint with a nod to Pat Mills' writing. |
|
|
|
Post by Nowhere Man on Nov 8, 2014 2:48:30 GMT -5
I don't really know much about the 40s, but I'd say Archie probably wins.. especially since (I Think) the first Marvel stuff (Captain America, that is) was still in the 30s. Captain America Comics #1 debuted in March of 1941. It was the Human Torch and Sub-Mariner that debuted in 1939. |
|
|
|
Post by wildfire2099 on Nov 8, 2014 7:44:28 GMT -5
Ahhh, I didn't realize it was that much of a time difference... the Masterworks I have are all the later Golden Age. You could definitely make an argument for that one, I'd say.
|
|
|
|
Post by Randle-El on Nov 8, 2014 13:12:30 GMT -5
I definitely don't have the knowledge of Silver/Golden Age books that others on this board have, but if I were to define "significant" to mean "having the greatest impact on the broader culture outside of comics" (instead of merely being important to the comics industry/hobby), I would make a case for these books:
30s: Action #1 is a no-brainer
40s: Cheating a bit here because it's not strictly a single issue comic book -- the first Peanuts comic strip
50s: ??
60s: Amazing Fantasy #15. Although I would view FF #1 as being more significant to comics proper, I would argue that the first appearance of Spidey had the greater impact on the broader culture.
70s: Giant-Size X-Men #1. Another franchise that reaches far beyond comics. Also one of the first multi-cultural superhero teams.
80s: Either TMNT #1 or The Dark Knight Returns or Batman: Year One. TMNT launched a massive franchise that went way beyond comics. And although others did "dark, serious Batman" before Miller, it's Miller that always gets credited by directors and writers that create mainstream adaptations of Batman as informing their interpretation. They are generally regarded as Batman 101 for people who aren't into comics but like Batman, and most outside of the hobby have at least heard of or read those books.
90s: Death of Superman for the interest and coverage brought to comics from mainstream media.
2000s: The Walking Dead #1 is another no-brainer.
|
|
|
|
Post by Ish Kabbible on Nov 8, 2014 15:55:18 GMT -5
40s: Cheating a bit here because it's not strictly a single issue comic book -- the first Peanuts comic strip FYI-Peanuts began in 1950 |
|
|
|
Post by berkley on Nov 8, 2014 20:49:01 GMT -5
I don't know if I could narrow it down to one issue per decade
1930s: ?
1940s:
some representative genre (crime/horror/SF) comic from EC
1950s:
MAD #1 - MAD's style of humour was influential on Marvel's new take on superhero comics in the following decade
1960s:
Fantastic Four #1 - inaugurates the new superhero comics that have been so important in American comics ever since
1970s:
I like Shaxper's suggestion of 2001 AD #1; for similar reasons I think I might choose Métal Hurlant #1; for American comics, probably New Gods #1, which opened Kirby's hugely innovative, and still underappreciated, epic storytelling project, though I feel something should represent the creativity of early 70s Marvel, perhaps Gerber's Howard the Duck #1.
1980s:
I think you have to go with one Alan Moore DC comic, probably Watchman #1, which felt like more of a clear step forward than Moore's Swamp Thing to me; and one American independent, probably Love and Rockets #1, the best and longest running of them all
1990s:
again a split - Eightball #1 (or #2, if we insist on an issue that was released in the 90s); and some representative Vertigo comic, probably Invisibles #1, for me, though perhaps something earlier if I'd read more Vertigo. I feel like Planetary #1 should be there too, because it seems to have set the template for the current style of multiverse-oriented superhero team books like Hickman's Avengers and various JLA/DCU series, but it sort of straddles two decades, the 90s and the 2000s.
2000s:
not sure: The Boys #1, starting what I think is Ennis's best work and an important comment on the superhero genre and might even point to where mainstream superhero comics will eventually find themselves, but it's too early to tell if it will be that prescient. And Planetary #1, for the reasons given above and because it feels like a comic 0f the 2000s although it came out in 1999.
|
|
|
|
Post by Randle-El on Nov 8, 2014 21:00:35 GMT -5
40s: Cheating a bit here because it's not strictly a single issue comic book -- the first Peanuts comic strip FYI-Peanuts began in 1950 You are correct -- thanks for catching that. I actually got Peanuts mixed up with its predecessor strip. Charles Schultz's first strip prior to Peanuts started in the 40s. I'd still say that it merits some significance since it was supposedly proto-Peanuts. |
|
|
|
Post by Paste Pot Paul on Nov 8, 2014 23:10:32 GMT -5
I don't know if I could narrow it down to one issue per decade 1930s: ? 1940s: some representative genre (crime/horror/SF) comic from EC 1950s: MAD #1 - MAD's style of humour was influential on Marvel's new take on superhero comics in the following decade 1960s: Fantastic Four #1 - inaugurates the new superhero comics that have been so important in American comics ever since 1970s: I like Shaxper's suggestion of 2001 AD #1; for similar reasons I think I might choose Métal Hurlant #1; for American comics, probably New Gods #1, which opened Kirby's hugely innovative, and still underappreciated, epic storytelling project, though I feel something should represent the creativity of early 70s Marvel, perhaps Gerber's Howard the Duck #1.1980s: I think you have to go with one Alan Moore DC comic, probably Watchman #1, which felt like more of a clear step forward than Moore's Swamp Thing to me; and one American independent, probably Love and Rockets #1, the best and longest running of them all 1990s: again a split - Eightball #1 (or #2, if we insist on an issue that was released in the 90s); and some representative Vertigo comic, probably Invisibles #1, for me, though perhaps something earlier if I'd read more Vertigo. I feel like Planetary #1 should be there too, because it seems to have set the template for the current style of multiverse-oriented superhero team books like Hickman's Avengers and various JLA/DCU series, but it sort of straddles two decades, the 90s and the 2000s. 2000s: not sure: The Boys #1, starting what I think is Ennis's best work and an important comment on the superhero genre and might even point to where mainstream superhero comics will eventually find themselves, but it's too early to tell if it will be that prescient. And Planetary #1, for the reasons given above and because it feels like a comic 0f the 2000s although it came out in 1999. The New Gods suggestion was another I thought hard about. The introduction of Darkseid may be DCs most significant character introduction in 30 years, and for 40 odd years since. I considered Watchmen, but remember being underwhelmed when it came out, whereas Swamp-Thing was a quantum leap from almost everything available then (especially mainstream, and even more so DC at the time). |
|
