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Post by spoon on Jan 9, 2015 19:44:18 GMT -5
I received an order from Lone Star Comics in the mail. It included a bunch of impulse post-Christmas buys. Just got the first things that popped into my head.
Blue Beetle (1986) #1-7, 9-11 Daredevil #289 (completing my purchases necessary to read through #300) Hawkworld miniseries #1-3 Fury of Firestorm #2, 4 (so now I have the first four issues) Jazz Age Chronicles #1 (magazine), 1, 2, 4, 5 (comic book) - This series came up in a thread either here or at CBR, so I figure I'd pick it up. Legion Lost miniseries #5, 8, 10-12 (I now have the whole mini) Crisis on Multiple Earths TPB vol. 4
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Post by badwolf on Jan 9, 2015 19:49:37 GMT -5
I loved Legion Lost. That's what got me into the Legion, well that era anyway.
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Post by Hoosier X on Jan 9, 2015 21:33:22 GMT -5
I haven't read much DC Silver Age (except for, maybe, one issue), but I cannot imagine it being much worse than Marvel's Silver Age stuff. Is it? After you read a little more of it, you'll see what we're talking about. A lot of it is fun but incredibly silly. (And there's some great comics here as well!! Superman, for example, was seldom better than the period from the late 1950s to the mid-1960s when the art was by such greats as Curt Swan, Al Plastino, Wayne Boring, Kurt Schaffenbarger and John Forte.)
For me, the main trouble with a lot of DC Comics in that era is how repetitive it was. Flash, Green Lantern, Atom, Hawkman were all kind of interchangeable, with lots of serious-sounding pseudo-science. I admit that I like a lot of those stories, but a lot of the time, it's the same story over and over. (JLA has the same problem, but they shook it up once a year with the JSA cross-overs, so it's not as noticeable.)
Marvel, as the 1960s went on, had more multi-issue stories, plus the characters developed and grew (a little). The longer stories gave Marvel a little space for better plot development when DC was still using the system where the editor came up with a cover - "Look, kids! Supergirl and Batgirl are conspiring against Superman and Batman! And so the World's Finest team has become a couple of hobos living in the Bat-Mobile!" - and then gave it to the writer and said "Make a story out of that!"
That story's probably not a very good example because I love it for its relentless goofiness. But I think everybody on this board who reads Silver Age DC could come up with a DC comic of that era that they can't abide because it was obviously written this way and the end-product makes no sense and has little entertainment value.
Like this one: Detective Comics is one of my favorite comic book series ever. But in its 881 issues, there were some real stinkers, and Detective Comics #364 is my candidate for worst issue of Detective ever. I know some of the guys on this board will say some unkind things about the Schiff era, but I doubt any of them will be defending this issue.
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Post by paulie on Jan 9, 2015 21:43:02 GMT -5
I haven't read much DC Silver Age (except for, maybe, one issue), but I cannot imagine it being much worse than Marvel's Silver Age stuff. Is it? After you read a little more of it, you'll see what we're talking about. A lot of it is fun but incredibly silly. (And there's some great comics here as well!! Superman, for example, was seldom better than the period from the late 1950s to the mid-1960s when the art was by such greats as Curt Swan, Al Plastino, Wayne Boring, Kurt Schaffenbarger and John Forte.)
For me, the main trouble with a lot of DC Comics in that era is how repetitive it was. Flash, Green Lantern, Atom, Hawkman were all kind of interchangeable, with lots of serious-sounding pseudo-science. I admit that I like a lot of those stories, but a lot of the time, it's the same story over and over. (JLA has the same problem, but they shook it up once a year with the JSA cross-overs, so it's not as noticeable.)
Marvel, as the 1960s went on, had more multi-issue stories, plus the characters developed and grew (a little). The longer stories gave Marvel a little space for better plot development when DC was still using the system where the editor came up with a cover - "Look, kids! Supergirl and Batgirl are conspiring against Superman and Batman! And so the World's Finest team has become a couple of hobos living in the Bat-Mobile!" - and then gave it to the writer and said "Make a story out of that!"
That story's probably not a very good example because I love it for its relentless goofiness. But I think everybody on this board who reads Silver Age DC could come up with a DC comic of that era that they can't abide because it was obviously written this way and the end-product makes no sense and has little entertainment value.
Like this one: Detective Comics is one of my favorite comic book series ever. But in its 881 issues, there were some real stinkers, and Detective Comics #364 is my candidate for worst issue of Detective ever. I know some of the guys on this board will say some unkind things about the Schiff era, but I doubt any of them will be defending this issue.
That is as a good summation is Siver Age DC as I've read. My teenage self hated these comics. As an adult I like their silly charm. Redundant? Yes. So I don't have days where I find myself reading SA DC for hours on end. But boy do I enjoy a couple of World's Finest or Brave and the Bold in small doses.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2015 22:06:06 GMT -5
I haven't read much DC Silver Age (except for, maybe, one issue), but I cannot imagine it being much worse than Marvel's Silver Age stuff. Is it? After you read a little more of it, you'll see what we're talking about. A lot of it is fun but incredibly silly. (And there's some great comics here as well!! Superman, for example, was seldom better than the period from the late 1950s to the mid-1960s when the art was by such greats as Curt Swan, Al Plastino, Wayne Boring, Kurt Schaffenbarger and John Forte.)
For me, the main trouble with a lot of DC Comics in that era is how repetitive it was. Flash, Green Lantern, Atom, Hawkman were all kind of interchangeable, with lots of serious-sounding pseudo-science. I admit that I like a lot of those stories, but a lot of the time, it's the same story over and over. (JLA has the same problem, but they shook it up once a year with the JSA cross-overs, so it's not as noticeable.)
Marvel, as the 1960s went on, had more multi-issue stories, plus the characters developed and grew (a little). The longer stories gave Marvel a little space for better plot development when DC was still using the system where the editor came up with a cover - "Look, kids! Supergirl and Batgirl are conspiring against Superman and Batman! And so the World's Finest team has become a couple of hobos living in the Bat-Mobile!" - and then gave it to the writer and said "Make a story out of that!"
That story's probably not a very good example because I love it for its relentless goofiness. But I think everybody on this board who reads Silver Age DC could come up with a DC comic of that era that they can't abide because it was obviously written this way and the end-product makes no sense and has little entertainment value.
Like this one: Detective Comics is one of my favorite comic book series ever. But in its 881 issues, there were some real stinkers, and Detective Comics #364 is my candidate for worst issue of Detective ever. I know some of the guys on this board will say some unkind things about the Schiff era, but I doubt any of them will be defending this issue.
Thank you! And just so you know, YOU are the main reason I went back and gave Stan Lee's Fantastic Four another chance. And from there, I got into his Silver Surfer (which, I know you didn't much care for, but I LOVE). And now I have a far better appreciation of his writing than I did when I first read his writing.
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Post by spoon on Jan 9, 2015 22:15:31 GMT -5
I haven't read much DC Silver Age (except for, maybe, one issue), but I cannot imagine it being much worse than Marvel's Silver Age stuff. Is it? After you read a little more of it, you'll see what we're talking about. A lot of it is fun but incredibly silly. (And there's some great comics here as well!! Superman, for example, was seldom better than the period from the late 1950s to the mid-1960s when the art was by such greats as Curt Swan, Al Plastino, Wayne Boring, Kurt Schaffenbarger and John Forte.)
For me, the main trouble with a lot of DC Comics in that era is how repetitive it was. Flash, Green Lantern, Atom, Hawkman were all kind of interchangeable, with lots of serious-sounding pseudo-science. I admit that I like a lot of those stories, but a lot of the time, it's the same story over and over. (JLA has the same problem, but they shook it up once a year with the JSA cross-overs, so it's not as noticeable.)
Marvel, as the 1960s went on, had more multi-issue stories, plus the characters developed and grew (a little). The longer stories gave Marvel a little space for better plot development when DC was still using the system where the editor came up with a cover - "Look, kids! Supergirl and Batgirl are conspiring against Superman and Batman! And so the World's Finest team has become a couple of hobos living in the Bat-Mobile!" - and then gave it to the writer and said "Make a story out of that!" I definitely agree about DC repetitiveness versus Marvel development. One of my readings habits is binge-reading the big black-and-white TPBs. I read through many, many Essential Marvel volumes, oftentimes finishing a book within 2 or 3 weeks. I think the only Silver Age DC Showcase Presents TPB I've been able to binge-read through has been Legion of Super-Heroes vol 1. And I was motivated to do that because I was doing a Legion review thread.
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Post by Hoosier X on Jan 9, 2015 22:31:05 GMT -5
But boy do I enjoy a couple of World's Finest or Brave and the Bold in small doses. These are both examples of DC Silver Age comics that I like a lot, especially Brave and Bold. Have you ever read Brave and Bold #78, where Batman is trying to capture Copperhead? And Wonder Woman and Batgirl both pretend to be in love with Batman so that Copperhead will think that Batman is too preoccupied with those crazy love-sick females to worry about Copperhead's next crime? And then Batgirl and Wonder Woman both really do fall in love with Batman and are getting very competitive in showing who loves Batman best?
Hilarity ensues.
And I also like the one with the Flash and the Doom Patrol.
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Post by Hoosier X on Jan 9, 2015 22:41:42 GMT -5
After you read a little more of it, you'll see what we're talking about. A lot of it is fun but incredibly silly. (And there's some great comics here as well!! Superman, for example, was seldom better than the period from the late 1950s to the mid-1960s when the art was by such greats as Curt Swan, Al Plastino, Wayne Boring, Kurt Schaffenbarger and John Forte.)
For me, the main trouble with a lot of DC Comics in that era is how repetitive it was. Flash, Green Lantern, Atom, Hawkman were all kind of interchangeable, with lots of serious-sounding pseudo-science. I admit that I like a lot of those stories, but a lot of the time, it's the same story over and over. (JLA has the same problem, but they shook it up once a year with the JSA cross-overs, so it's not as noticeable.)
Marvel, as the 1960s went on, had more multi-issue stories, plus the characters developed and grew (a little). The longer stories gave Marvel a little space for better plot development when DC was still using the system where the editor came up with a cover - "Look, kids! Supergirl and Batgirl are conspiring against Superman and Batman! And so the World's Finest team has become a couple of hobos living in the Bat-Mobile!" - and then gave it to the writer and said "Make a story out of that!" I definitely agree about DC repetitiveness versus Marvel development. One of my readings habits is binge-reading the big black-and-white TPBs. I read through many, many Essential Marvel volumes, oftentimes finishing a book within 2 or 3 weeks. I think the only Silver Age DC Showcase Presents TPB I've been able to binge-read through has been Legion of Super-Heroes vol 1. And I was motivated to do that because I was doing a Legion review thread. I know exactly what you mean about those black-and-white TPBs. The Marvel ones get read really quickly but the DC ones (sometimes) seem to take forever.
Right now I've got Showcase Presents: Superman, Volume 2, and I'm enjoying it immensely, but I admit I'm not reading it very quickly. I just read the one where Superman becomes a Super-Merman so he can marry Lori Lemaris, but it was just a ruse to fool Lois because REASONS!
One of the greatest Superman stories of all time is coming up soon in this volume! I refer of course to "The Son of Bizarro" in Superman #140, where the Bizarros have a baby who looks normal and they send him to Earth where he ends up at the Fortress of Solitude and Supergirl takes care of him and he accidentally creates a Bizarro-Supergirl and then the Bizarros invade Earth and the madness never seems to end.
I've read it a bunch of times. I always cry when Bizarro-Supergirl dies.
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Post by Pharozonk on Jan 9, 2015 22:41:59 GMT -5
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Post by Hoosier X on Jan 9, 2015 22:47:36 GMT -5
And just so you know, YOU are the main reason I went back and gave Stan Lee's Fantastic Four another chance. And from there, I got into his Silver Surfer (which, I know you didn't much care for, but I LOVE). And now I have a far better appreciation of his writing than I did when I first read his writing. So glad you went back and gave Silver Age Marvel another chance!
Was it me that said I didn't much care for Silver Surfer? Maybe I just phrased it badly. It's true that I prefer Marvel comics earlier in the 1960s but I like that late 1960s Silver Surfer series a lot! Mephisto! Thor! The Watcher back-up stories! He meets the Flying Dutchman and Frankenstein! Satanists conjure up the Abomination somehow! The Spider-Man issue is great! John Buscema! Herb Trimpe!
I still have a really beat-up copy of #6 in my collection somewhere.
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Post by Hoosier X on Jan 9, 2015 22:55:48 GMT -5
OMG! The Invasion of the Super-Ants! This is kind of a Holy Grail comic for me. I think I saw the cover in another DC comic and I've been wanting to read it for a couple of years now. Another one is where Lois crashes in Africa and gets amnesia and runs around wearing a leopard skin and becomes part of a leopard pack. I've read a summary and seen some of the panels in an Internet article, but I've never read the whole story. And I love anything with The Metal Men! That's one of the greatest comics ever and Platinum is the greatest heroine of the Silver Age with the possible exception of pony-tail Wonder Girl.
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Post by Phil Maurice on Jan 9, 2015 23:41:02 GMT -5
OMG! The Invasion of the Super-Ants! Not to be confused with The Super-Aunts!
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Post by Hoosier X on Jan 10, 2015 0:21:22 GMT -5
Hee hee. I have a couple of issues of Comics on Parade. Nancy is HI-LARIOUS!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2015 7:03:27 GMT -5
And just so you know, YOU are the main reason I went back and gave Stan Lee's Fantastic Four another chance. And from there, I got into his Silver Surfer (which, I know you didn't much care for, but I LOVE). And now I have a far better appreciation of his writing than I did when I first read his writing. So glad you went back and gave Silver Age Marvel another chance!
Was it me that said I didn't much care for Silver Surfer? Maybe I just phrased it badly. It's true that I prefer Marvel comics earlier in the 1960s but I like that late 1960s Silver Surfer series a lot! Mephisto! Thor! The Watcher back-up stories! He meets the Flying Dutchman and Frankenstein! Satanists conjure up the Abomination somehow! The Spider-Man issue is great! John Buscema! Herb Trimpe!
I still have a really beat-up copy of #6 in my collection somewhere.
No, no, I have worded it poorly. You didn't claim a super strong dislike of the series, iirc, I think you said that compared to most of his other writings, it just wasn't your favorite. But, yeah, that art! <3
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2015 12:42:30 GMT -5
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