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Post by commond on May 28, 2022 21:54:17 GMT -5
Spoon mentioned recently that he doesn't find the Clonezone backup features in Nexus to be very funny. I have similar feelings about the Munden's Bar stories in Grimjack, and I'm working through a stretch of Brubaker's Captain America that has an annoying backup feature. On the other hand, I quite enjoy the backup origin stories in the 60s Doom Patrol comic, which are oftentimes better than the lead feature.
As a kid, I intensely disliked anything that broke up the continuity of the titles I was reading whether it was a guest penciller, a fill-in issue, or a backup story. These days I have a greater appreciation for how difficult it was to put these books out, so I tend not to grumble too much, but I was wondering if anybody had any favorite backup stories, or anybody feels like there was a backup story that added to the overall quality of the book it featured in.
It's been a long time since I read it, but Archie Goodwin and Walt Simonson's Manhunter springs to mind. Tales of Asgard as well. Anything else?
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Post by Deleted on May 28, 2022 22:04:37 GMT -5
From Hulk Magazine, The Moon Knight back-up stories were featured in issues #11–15, #17–18, and #20, featuring some of Bill Sienkiewicz's early work starting in #13.
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Post by berkley on May 28, 2022 22:27:51 GMT -5
I agree with the Moon Knight back-ups in the Hulk mag: I like Sienkiwicz's Neal Adams style artwork in those more than in most of the MK colour series, until the last few issues when he began to get away from the Adams influence.
Tales of Asgard is a great suggestion as well. Better than the main story sometimes and I think it also helped take Marvel's Thor away from being Superman with long hair and into another, more original direction - a lesson sadly lost on many subsequent writers.
That reminds me of another great Kirby back-up: Tales of the New Gods. These short stories added a lot to the "Fourth World" mythos and I think writers of the New Gods should pay more attention to them - one of the Lonar stories is important to an understanding of Orion's character, for example.
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Post by Deleted on May 28, 2022 22:38:18 GMT -5
I’ve been really enjoying the Space Voyagers backup in the first 5 issues of Rima the Jungle Girl (it was mentioned recently in the underrated creators thread).
And Clonezone, ugh. Nexus and Badger are my favorite indies of all time, but I remember when I was buying them new as monthlies feeling very cheated whenever the main story ran short and they’d throw in a Clonezone story.
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Post by Prince Hal on May 28, 2022 22:59:28 GMT -5
A few jump to mind.
Green Arrow and Aquaman in both Adventure and World's Finest.
Elongated Man in Detective.
Detached Service Diary, featuring solo stories of the Blackhawks.
Tales of Asgard.
Manhunter by Simonson in Detective.
Whatever Happened To? in DC Comics Presents.
Steve Trevor, Kept Man in Wonder Woman.
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Post by EdoBosnar on May 29, 2022 6:44:49 GMT -5
I wouldn't necessarily consider some of the examples being mentioned back-up stories, e.g., any of the ones like Manhunter (among the best comic book stories ever) that were appearing in what were at the time anthology titles (Detective, World's Finest).
I think of back-ups as single features tacked onto another series - so two of my suggestions are the Firestorm and then Dr. Fate back-ups in Flash back in the early 1980s. I liked both far better than the lead feature and in fact only kept following the title simply because of them.
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Post by EdoBosnar on May 29, 2022 6:48:37 GMT -5
(...) Whatever Happened To? in DC Comics Presents. (...) I've always had a soft spot for this one. It introduced me to many character's I'd never heard of before, or at best knew very little about. (Although the one with Richard Dragon convinced me it would be a good idea to buy the whole run of his solo series for about $3-4 back then. Not one of my best comics-related investments...) |
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Post by Icctrombone on May 29, 2022 6:55:51 GMT -5
There was a story in the aforementioned DC comics presents book that chronicled how the Crimson Avenger met his end which was quite good.
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Post by spoon on May 29, 2022 7:29:13 GMT -5
I agree with the Moon Knight back-ups in the Hulk mag: I like Sienkiwicz's Neal Adams style artwork in those more than in most of the MK colour series, until the last few issues when he began to get away from the Adams influence. I suppose Sienkiewicz wanted to do his own thing, but he was so good at the Neal Adams imitation. I agree regarding Tales of Asgard, the Moon Knight back-ups, and Manhunter, although I didn't experience the latter two as back-ups. I read the Moon Knight stories in the first Essential Moon Knight TPB and the Manhunter stories assembled in a one-shot. I really like a lot of the Classic X-Men back-ups, especially when it was the Chris Claremont/John Bolton team that started out. Before I was really into X-Men, I read my older brother's copy of Classic X-Men #33. It really had an impact on me. The lead story was a reprint of the Proteus arc. The back-up was a very trippy story featuring Havok and Polaris that took place between pages of the main story. A few months ago, I read the Aquaman issues with Neal Adams Deadman back-ups. I think when I discussed him here, there may have been divided opinions, but I really liked how it ended up unexpectedly tying in with the lead feature. |
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Post by Deleted on May 29, 2022 7:50:26 GMT -5
I’m thinking of two: the back-up strips featuring Alfred as an amateur detective, and Commissioner Gordon solving a crime. Two pages for each strip, I think.
I do not know where they first saw print as I only saw them reprinted in UK comics and annuals. I remember one where Commissioner Gordon cracked one case as the killer (in an office block, I think) had wiped his fingerprints off the gun, whereas the secretary of the gun owner hadn’t. Gordon concluded that only someone who had no right to handle the gun would have done that. You know, I can’t promise I am remembering that entirely accurately, but that one came to mind.
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Post by Deleted on May 29, 2022 7:55:52 GMT -5
I thought the young Air Wave backup feature in Action Comics in the early 80's was fun.
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Post by Deleted on May 29, 2022 7:59:30 GMT -5
This might not mean much outside the UK, but from 1986 to 1988, IPC published MASK, based on the toyline which featured MASK (Mobile Armored Strike Kommand) against VENOM (Vicious Evil Network Of Mayhem).
One of the characters working for VENOM was Cliff Dagger, a dolt who drove a Ford Bronco that, like all the vehicles, could convert itself into something else. At one point, the comic did a back-up strip called “The Adventures of Cliff Dagger”, which showcased his off-duty moments, usually involving tomfoolery.
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Post by Cei-U! on May 29, 2022 8:14:27 GMT -5
I’m thinking of two: the back-up strips featuring Alfred as an amateur detective, and Commissioner Gordon solving a crime. Two pages for each strip, I think. I do not know where they first saw print as I only saw them reprinted in UK comics and annuals. I remember one where Commissioner Gordon cracked one case as the killer (in an office block, I think) had wiped his fingerprints off the gun, whereas the secretary of the gun owner hadn’t. Gordon concluded that only someone who had no right to handle the gun would have done that. You know, I can’t promise I am remembering that entirely accurately, but that one came to mind. "The Adventures of Alfred" ran in Batman #22-32, 34 and 36, with some episodes later reprinted in The Batman Family. Batfam #1 reprinted a story from Batman #186 that was slightly altered to make it a Gordon solo story, while BF #11 ran a new story teaming Gordon and Alfred. To the best of my knowledge, these were the only pre-Crisis solo outings for either character.
Cei-U! I summon the answer!
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Post by Prince Hal on May 29, 2022 10:00:17 GMT -5
I wouldn't necessarily consider some of the examples being mentioned back-up stories, e.g., any of the ones like Manhunter (among the best comic book stories ever) that were appearing in what were at the time anthology titles (Detective, World's Finest). I think of back-ups as single features tacked onto another series - so two of my suggestions are the Firestorm and then Dr. Fate back-ups in Flash back in the early 1980s. I liked both far better than the lead feature and in fact only kept following the title simply because of them. The difference was that the Manhunter stories were new, not reprints. I’ll have to dig a little when I have more time, but IIRC, none of the other 100-pagers contained anything but reprints after the lead story. OTOH, to be fair, in the early 60’s, many of the back-up stories in Adventure, Superboy, World’s Finest, etc. were reprints themselves. |
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Post by MWGallaher on May 29, 2022 13:54:11 GMT -5
How about the Black Canary backups with art by Alex Toth and the Zatanna backups with art by Gray Morrow that supported Supergirl in ADVENTURE COMICS in the early 70's? Both outshined the lead by far. Another backup gem from later in ADVENTURE's run was Captain Fear, written by Robert Kanigher with art by Alex Nino (for those who, like @jaska , enjoyed the Space Voyagers in RIMA from the same team).
I've lately been re-reading the Nemesis backup from BRAVE & BOLD. Dan Spiegle's art is a joy no matter what the story, but I'm getting a pretty big kick out of the feature as a whole. Spiegle was also great on the Phantom Stranger backups in SAGA OF THE SWAMP THING, Secret Six in ACTION COMICS WEEKLY, and Mr. E in SECRETS OF HAUNTED HOUSE.
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