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Post by commond on Dec 16, 2023 19:02:50 GMT -5
#9 Valkyrie! 1-3 (1987)Spun out of Eclipse's Airboy series.  Described by Chuck Dixon as a "cross between a Milton Caniff siren and Veronica Lake", and "the sexiest character of Golden Age comics bar none," and who am I to disagree? I first stumbled across this in my Eisners thread as it was nominated for two Eisners in the inaugural awards. Read it for the Gulacy art and thought it was pretty cool. I'm not familiar with the Golden Age Airboy stories and haven't gotten around to reading the Eclipse series yet, so the appeal here is mainly Gulacy's artwork. If you look at the cover, it pretty much encapsulates everything that Gulacy was interested in drawing during his late 80s period. There was a second limited series published in 1988 with art by Brent Anderson, which I should probably check out. I'm sure it will be less sexy than Gulacy's work, but I've taken a shine to pre-Astro City Anderson in recent months.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Dec 16, 2023 19:12:40 GMT -5
Why was I never told of this Gulacy series? I want to go back to the '80s!!!
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Post by wildfire2099 on Dec 16, 2023 19:17:39 GMT -5
The Fourth Day of Christmas: The Devil’s in the Details Lucifer spinning off from the pages of the Sandman into his own series by Mike Carey and company Oh, woe is the Morningstar, to have fallen from such heights to rule in Hell. Gaiman’s take in Sandman was masterful, but Carey added even more layers and delicious complexity to the character when he spun off into his own Vertigo series, creating a hell of a ride through its 75 issue run.   -M Apparently I am just following along this year.... Season of Mists was what sold me on Sandman and Neil Gaiman in general... I just LOVED that storyline. Then having the devil run a piano bar? Awesome stuff. I really need to re-read this soon. |
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Post by Jeddak on Dec 16, 2023 21:55:10 GMT -5
#9 – The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Nemo Trilogy (2013–15) The three-volume series covers a roughly 50 year period in Janni's life, as she captains the Nautilus through adventures in Antarctica, Berlin and the Amazon rain forest. During these adventures, she and her crew do battle against Queen Ayesha (from H. Rider Haggard's 1887 fantasy novel She), Adenoid Hynkel (a thinly veiled parody of Adolf Hitler from Charlie Chaplin's 1940 film The Great Dictator), and mad scientist Heinz Goldfoot (from the 1965 comedy spy film Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine), among others. Dr. Goldfoot?!!? Damn, I've got more reading to do. . . |
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Post by foxley on Dec 17, 2023 1:42:51 GMT -5
9. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Nemo Trilogy I loved the concept of LoEG ever since I first heard about it. And the first two miniseries were brilliant. But cracks started to appear in The Black Dossier, and then the wheels came off completely in Century when Alan Moore decided to abandon story in favour of screaming about why he hates Harry Potter. But then the Nemo Trilogy came along and my faith was restored. this felt like the LoEG I knew and loved.
This only just qualifies, with Heart of Ice coming out in 2013. But never before as a spin-off so restored my faith in a franchise I was becoming disillusioned with.
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Post by Icctrombone on Dec 17, 2023 6:08:01 GMT -5
#9
Adam Warlock
First appearance: Fantastic Four #67 ( 1967)
Creators: Stan Lee/ Jack Kirby
Series covered : Marvel Premiere # 1, 2 / Warlock # 1-8/ Hulk 177, 178
Series Team: Roy Thomas / Gil Kane
 Adam Warlock is much more famously known for his Magus and Thanos related stories which led into the popular Infinity Gauntlet series. This storyline was turned into the Avengers movies and made Thanos into a household name. But the series that has me going back to revisit more often these days is the one that made him into a cosmic Jesus on counter Earth. Thomas and Kane, aided by Bob Brown and John Buscema, produced an imaginative compelling story of Adams' fight against forces that sought to further corrupt a parallel Earth created by the High Evolutionary. The stories elements were not lost on the readers as there where many letters debating the Merits of Warlocks eventual walk to the cross. Alas, the series was canceled before this could take place in these pages. It was completed in the Hulk comic along with his resurrection. Beautiful art by Kane at the peek of his powers. 
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Post by thwhtguardian on Dec 17, 2023 9:19:19 GMT -5
Playing a little catch up here on this ::ahem:: fourth day...
#9: Blade Blade originally appeared in 1973's Tomb of Dracula (issue #10 to be specific) which as a lover of horror comics is an all time favorite comic of mine, and although he had a large presence there it's always been a real head scratcher for me that it wasn't until twenty years later that he got his own series. Sure, he had some good showings in books like Vampire tales, twice in Marvel Preview, and prominently in the team book Nightstalkers but no true solo until Blade: The Vampire Hunter in 1994 by Ian Edginton and Doug Wheatley but even then it was short lived despite it's fantastic mix of action and horror mood, lasting a too short ten issues. Even after the super successful movie series starring Wesley Snipes Blade has been lucky to get a mini series every few years or so. And I don't get it, he's got a fantastic back story (his mother was killed by a vampire while carrying him, giving him vampiric powers and the ability to resist being turned) raised by a jazz musican vampire hunter and a reoccurring foe of the most famous vampire of all time: Dracula. It's a concept that just opens itself up for all kinds of storytelling potential and yet it never seems to catch on.
Oh well, I love you anyway Blade. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 17, 2023 15:03:36 GMT -5
The post in which I say things that may or may not have any meaning about the days entries. But not the entrées. I don't know what you weirdos eat. C'mon.
Kid Flash - I feel like I may have read these if they showed up in the Flash Showcase volume. But I don't remember if they did. Because...old. But I find Silver Age DC pretty much a slog amongst slogs...so I suspect I never will again.
The Watcher - So, here's the thing about Coke & Comics. He'll follow up a truly awful entry...like, say, Thanos or Dreadstar, with a brilliant one like this. So I have to wonder what is going on there. I suspect he's drinking too much on those other days. But this one wins a Slammie.
ELONGATED MAN - Sigh. I didn't remember this one. I really do like Elongated Man...mostly just because of Sue Dibney and their interaction. And Parobeck was probably the perfect feller to draw the couple. The less said about Gerard Jones the better though.
Marvel Two-in-One - I did kind of consider this one because I bought a lot of issues of MTIO back in the day. Not all of them, because that's not how these things worked at the time. But I loved me some Bashful Benjy.
Hercules: Prince of Power - I didn't buy this mini, but I did read a friends copy. But that was 40 years ago. I remember liking it...but who knows. I wasn't nearly as discerning then. I think it had The Recorder. Did it have The Recorder?
Kevin Keller - Dubip pulls a Cheryl Blossom on me. I've never read Kevin Keller. But good for him for being him.
I'm sincerely shocked at how many times Nemo has shown up already.
Jack of Fables - I feel like this was about a year's worth of good stories that then went in a direction that just didn't work for me. But I'm probably not going to re-read it to find out. But I liked that first year or so at the time.
Ka-Zar - Cut-rate Tarzan was pretty good in that Bruce Jones and Brent Anderson series. Otherwise I never really felt he worked in the MU. But what do I know?
Babs & Dick/The Batman Family - I read a lot of the (not all by any means) back in the day. And my memory of them is that I they were pretty dire. The ones in Batman Family, that is. Now I haven't read all of them or read them in a good long time. So who knows? That's some tasty Don Newton art though.
Lucifer shall return. Because I have a sad predictable list.
Valkyrie! - I haven't read this. Gulacy is weird to me. I remember loving his work on MoKF. But he just seems like a poor story-teller. His work feels...poster-y. And now, unfortunately, I know too much about Chuck Dixon. So...I dunno. It's always good to see something from Eclipse though.
Adam Warlock - Have I mentioned that I mostly don't dig cosmic comics. Yeah...I thought I had. Thanks for letting me see up some noses though, Gil.
Blade - I'm not sure I've read a Blade solo story. I've read all of Tomb of Dracula. But I'm not so sure about Blade. Seems like a no-brainer for a series. But sometimes funnybook writers just don't make it work.
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Post by DubipR on Dec 17, 2023 16:11:47 GMT -5
The post in which I say things that may or may not have any meaning about the days entries. But not the entrées. I don't know what you weirdos eat. C'mon. The Watcher - So, here's the thing about Coke & Comics. He'll follow up a truly awful entry...like, say, Thanos or Dreadstar, with a brilliant one like this. So I have to wonder what is going on there. I suspect he's drinking too much on those other days. But this one wins a Slammie. Kevin Keller - Dubip pulls a Cheryl Blossom on me. I've never read Kevin Keller. But good for him for being him. I now have to win a Slammie this Christmas Season! Hopefully I can pull out something that'll make this happen |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 17, 2023 16:14:13 GMT -5
The post in which I say things that may or may not have any meaning about the days entries. But not the entrées. I don't know what you weirdos eat. C'mon. The Watcher - So, here's the thing about Coke & Comics. He'll follow up a truly awful entry...like, say, Thanos or Dreadstar, with a brilliant one like this. So I have to wonder what is going on there. I suspect he's drinking too much on those other days. But this one wins a Slammie. Kevin Keller - Dubip pulls a Cheryl Blossom on me. I've never read Kevin Keller. But good for him for being him. I now have to win a Slammie this Christmas Season! Hopefully I can pull out something that'll make this happen This is the initial year for the Slammies. Because I just thought about it on the fly. There are absolutely no criteria whatsoever. Because, why would there be? |
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Post by Farrar on Dec 17, 2023 20:56:33 GMT -5
Day 4/Selection #9: Origin Stories for Robotman and Negative ManFirst appearances: both Robotman and Negative Man debuted in the "The Doom Patrol" story in My Greatest Adventure #80 (June 1963) Spin-Off Series: "Robotman--Wanted Dead or Alive" in Doom Patrol #s 100, 101, 103, 105 and "The Private World of Negative Man" in Doom Patrol #s 106, 107, 109, 111 (Dec 1965-May 1967) I read the 1960s Doom Patrol series a few years ago and fell under the spell of its premise, its art, and its Marvel-like characters. Starting with issue #100, the DP comic included shorter back-up stories that expanded on the origins and backgrounds of Robotman (Cliff Steele) and Negative Man (Larry Trainor) before they joined the Doom Patrol. Far from being filler, these stories deepened--in my view, anyway--the pathos that was an integral part of the Doom Patrol series. For example in Larry's back-up stories it's evident that he was a real mama's boy, in a good sense--and in the lead stories you can see that he retains his essentially sweet nature despite what happened to him and the tragedy of his current life. The characterizations were spot on, thanks to the masterful writing of Arnold Drake. From Doom Patrol #100  And some panels from Doom Patrol #106  After #111 there were some Beast Boy back-ups; from what I gather from the letter columns he was a fan favorite. I have no idea why Elasti-Girl/Rita was overlooked and didn't get similar treatment. Sure, her origin had received the most space in the group's debut in MGA #80, and her erstwhile Hollywood career had been shown in at least one DP story, but still...  Postscript: Cliff's and Larry's DP back-ups/origin expansions started in DP #100, cover-dated December 1965. A couple of years later, guess what other comic had back-up origin stories? That's right, Marvel's X-Men  , starting with issue #38, cover-dated November 1967. In fact in 1968 Arnold Drake was doing some work for Marvel and he even wrote some of the X-Men origin story installments. But as with Elasti-Girl, there was no origin story for Marvel Girl --just a feature about her powers.
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Post by coke & comics on Dec 18, 2023 3:35:16 GMT -5
The Watcher - So, here's the thing about Coke & Comics. He'll follow up a truly awful entry...like, say, Thanos or Dreadstar, with a brilliant one like this. So I have to wonder what is going on there. I suspect he's drinking too much on those other days. But this one wins a Slammie. I'd like to thank the Academy. |
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Post by commond on Dec 18, 2023 16:46:45 GMT -5
I really love the back up stories in Doom Patrol. In most cases, they're better than the lead features.
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Post by Prince Hal on Dec 18, 2023 18:38:38 GMT -5
Farrar , thanks for including the DP mini-sagas in your choices! You brought back great memories, but as you said, becuase those stories were excellent, not just remembered (by me and you, at least) through the mists of nostalgia. I'm ashamed I hadn't remembered them, b/c I loved Doom Patrol!
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Post by Rob Allen on Dec 18, 2023 19:15:23 GMT -5
9. Jimmy Olsen
Decades of weirdness, punctuated by the Kirby issues, which are indispensable.
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, starting with issue #38, cover-dated November 1967. In fact in 1968 Arnold Drake was doing some work for Marvel and he even wrote some of the X-Men origin story installments. But as with Elasti-Girl, there was no origin story for Marvel Girl 
