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Post by MWGallaher on Jan 5, 2024 17:45:08 GMT -5
As is typical for me, my thoughts first went to the obscure corners of comicdom, where I considered THE UN-MEN, who were on my 2022 list of villain teams, and SKIN GRAFT: ADVENTURES OF A TATTOOED MAN, a very unexpected spin-off that, alas, didn't focus enough on the original Tattooed Man to feel true to the spirit of the topic.
Dr. Doom and Ka-Zar were on my original list--Doom's first solo (which co-featured Ka-Zar) was the first complete back issue run I bought, and KA-ZAR THE SAVAGE was a tremendous favorite of mine in the 80's--but both seemed to be getting enough tributes this year. Tubby Tompkins was also on my early list, Tubby made my list of Favorite Characters when we did that topic, so long ago. I almost listed RED TORNADO, but his miniseries was just not as good as I wanted it to be; a favorite character, but not a favorite series.
If I'd had it all to do over again, I'd have pled the case for allowing characters who were the subject of graphic novels (of some to-be-negotiated minimum length) to be listed, just so I could have considered (and almost certainly rejected) REVENGE OF THE LIVING MONOLITH, and I was sad the The Patchwork Man didn't qualify, with only two installments published (and only one in America!).
I completely forgot HOWARD THE DUCK was a spin-off. If you weren't there for that original appearance, I can only tell you that it was outrageously funny to see an anthropomorphic duck in the Marvel Universe. That kind of thing seems like no big deal nowadays, but back then? Boy, oh boy, that was a hoot!
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Post by Jeddak on Jan 5, 2024 20:50:00 GMT -5
I didn't really worry too much about ranking this year's picks. The top 3 or 4 were more or less solid, but the rest were basically whoever I felt like writing about that day.
Supergirl is the big omission for me. I was going to include the Sekowsky run (giving me an excuse to mention Adventure #400 for a third year) and the original series in Action, with its more low-key approach, a more relatable Kara, and the Jim Mooney art. But rules is rules, and even though the Grand Dictator gave us an out here, I chose not to include her.
Betty Cooper almost made it, too, being my favorite Archie character. But no particular run stood out for me.
The Silver Surfer would've made it on the strength of that Steve Englehart series that took the character out into space where he belongs. Plus one of the best uses of Reed and Sue outside of the FF's own mag.
Thought about the Teen Titans, Squirrel Girl (too soon), and the early '70's run of Lois Lane that tied in to the Fourth World. Probably could've gone with Alpha Flight, the Kate Kane Batwoman, Radioactive Man, or the Great Lakes Avengers.
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Post by EdoBosnar on Jan 6, 2024 5:33:00 GMT -5
And finally, one that came to mind, also a bit late (so I didn’t even bother ask Kurt about it), is Steve Gerber’s Nevada, although I’m not sure she could really have been considered a ‘character’ prior to the mini-series in the 1990s, as she appeared, unnamed, in the background of a single panel in that infamous all-text issue of Howard the Duck. Good call. That likely would have gotten you a Slammie. Much as I would have liked to win one of those widely-coveted Slammies, I'm still not sure that this would count as a genuine spin-off. Basically, based on this single image in Howard the Duck #16... (I should note that my characterization of her and the ostrich as appearing in the background of that image was obviously incorrect - sorry, but it's been well over 10 years since I last read any of this)
...was spun into a 6-issue mini-series (published by Vertigo) in the late 1990s: Now I'm actually curious, though. So what say you, Cei-U! , would Nevada have counted under the rules? |
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Post by Cei-U! on Jan 6, 2024 6:33:58 GMT -5
It's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. If someone had run it by me first, I'd probably have nixed it. If they just posted it, I'd probably have allowed it.
Cei-U!
Whaddaya want, consistency???
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Post by foxley on Jan 6, 2024 6:35:43 GMT -5
Hellblazer was on my list, but got bumped in favour of Vigilante, as I figured Hellblazer would get a lot of love and I would probably be the only oneto mention Vigilante. I was right.
Death: The High Cost of Living & The Time of Her Life was on my list, but I dropped it in favour of Batwoman, for similar reasons as above.
Queen & Country didn't make my final list because it wasn't a spin-off. I vaguely remembered Greg Rucka describing it as a spin-off of Whiteout. Fortunately, I double-checked, as I discovered that Rucka had changed his mind and Tara Chace was a different character to Lily Sharpe. (Adding to my confusion was that Rucka had said in the same interview where he was discussing Queen & Country, he mentioned that Lily Sharpe was not her real name. I think his original idea that Lily Sharpe was an alias Tara was using during Whiteout: Melt.)
Catwoman. As I mentioned in my write-up, I considered her back-up series from Detective Comics in the 80s. I also considered the 2002 series, but ultimately settled on the 90s run.
Legion of Super-Heroes was considered, but I couldn't narrow it down to a specific run.
Hawkeye. The 2012 series missed inclusion by a hair's breadth.
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Post by berkley on Jan 7, 2024 18:45:51 GMT -5
Tales of Asgard was the big one that totally slipped by me. I kept thinking, "It was only one issue!"
I could easily have picked a few more Love & Rockets books but one each from Gilbert and Jaime seemed a fair representative sample.
Ka-Zar could have been there for the Moench/Mayerik run and the BWS run in Astonishing.
Silver Surfer I forgot all about. The Lee/Buscema series, for all its flaws, would have gotten some consideration from me if I'd remembered it in time.
The Inhumans could have been there, even though to my mind none of their solo series have been really great. But a few were pretty good - e.g. the Amazing Adventures first by Kirby, then by Neal Adams; the one Moench did with various artists - and I like the characters a lot.
Simonson's Orion would have been a strong contender had I thought of it.
Son of Satan was a spin-off? What from? I would have tried to find space for the Gerber run.
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Post by MRPs_Missives on Jan 7, 2024 19:17:13 GMT -5
Tales of Asgard was the big one that totally slipped by me. I kept thinking, "It was only one issue!" I could easily have picked a few more Love & Rockets books but one each from Gilbert and Jaime seemed a fair representative sample. Ka-Zar could have been there for the Moench/Mayerik run and the BWS run in Astonishing. Silver Surfer I forgot all about. The Lee/Buscema series, for all its flaws, would have gotten some consideration from me if I'd remembered it in time. The Inhumans could have been there, even though to my mind none of their solo series have been really great. But a few were pretty good - e.g. the Amazing Adventures first by Kirby, then by Neal Adams; the one Moench did with various artists - and I like the characters a lot. Simonson's Orion would have been a strong contender had I thought of it. Son of Satan was a spin-off? What from? I would have tried to find space for the Gerber run. Son of Satan appeared in Ghost Rider #1 & 2 before he appeared in Marvel Spotlight #12 -M |
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,197 
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Post by Confessor on Jan 7, 2024 23:29:00 GMT -5
I didn't really have any near-misses -- I really struggled to get 12 spin-offs that I like together!
One that I did run past Kurt and which was allowed, but which I ultimately decided against was the evil Scarecrow from the '90s Caliber Comics "Oz" series. He had a three-issue spin-off series, but when I re-read it, the Scarecrow wasn't really the star; it was more like 3 supplemental issues of the main Oz series, rather than a mini focusing in on the Scarecrow himself. So, I decided it wasn't really a spin-off in the way that I remembered it.
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Post by foxley on Jan 8, 2024 20:16:17 GMT -5
foxley's near-misses, part 2After listening to the podcast and looking back over the entries, I decided to add a fewmore to my list. The P.I.s: Ms.Tree and Michael Mauser was one of my first thoughts, but it was ineligible because Ms. Tree debuted in her own title. Squadron Supreme is a favourite of mine and was strong contender, but ultimately I didn't like it enough to displace any of my obscure picks, like Bar Sinister, that I knew would not be on anyone else's. Shado: Song of the Dragon. I have fond memories of this mini, but it had been too long since I last read it, and being in the middle of moving house during the event, the majority of my collection is currently packed and in storage. The Elongated Man miniseries was fun, but a trifle too slight to earn a slot on my list. Glad to see it get some love, though. I also toyed with his back-up feature from Detective Comics. Omaha the Cat Dancer. In retrospect, I really wished I'd checked with Kurt is this qualified. But I'd forgotten the character debuted in Vootie and by the time I remembered I was already well into posting my list. Psi-Judge Anderson probably would have made my list if I'd thought of it in time. For some reason, my mind did not go to British comics when drawing up my list.
Jack of Fables and Fairest both got serious consideration but didn't quite crack the top twelve.
Seven Soldiers: Zatanna would have made my list if the 2010 Zatanna series had never happened.
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Post by Rob Allen on Jan 8, 2024 22:25:43 GMT -5
If I'd known that Radioactive Man was a spinoff, he would have been on my list. If I'd remembered that Son of Satan was a spinoff, he would have been seriously considered.
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Post by DubipR on Jan 9, 2024 9:54:23 GMT -5
foxley's near-misses, part 2After listening to the podcast and looking back over the entries, I decided to add a fewmore to my list. Omaha the Cat Dancer. In retrospect, I really wished I'd checked with Kurt is this qualified. But I'd forgotten the character debuted in Vootie and by the time I remembered I was already well into posting my list. I thought of her about Day 3 into the countdown and I PM'd Kurt but never got a reply. I wasn't sure if fanzines would count |
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Post by Icctrombone on Jan 9, 2024 10:11:18 GMT -5
The Invaders- I wasn’t sure if they first appeared in Avengers 71 or they were the All Winners Squad from the 50’s.
Deadpool- I don’t like him that much but he’s important because he was a throw away character but achieved a lot of fame.
Angela- her creation started so much sh#t, lawsuits and is now part of Marvel. I find that all interesting.
Hercules - he was fun in his 80’s mini series.
Hard Corps- I enjoyed this Valiant comic.
Prophet- because of the proposed movie , but i didn’t want people to flip on this forum by picking 2 Liefeld creations.
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Post by MWGallaher on Jan 9, 2024 11:22:12 GMT -5
Another I considered, but didn't have any genuine love for, was THE PHANTOM BLOT. I just love the very idea that a Mickey Mouse villain got his own title. I read a few issues, and they weren't bad, if you like Mickey adventures. I guess Western realized that the Phantom Blot was a favorite, so why not give the kiddies nothing but PB vs. Mickey stories for a while?
A couple of series that I loved felt like spin-offs (and of course would be under other standards), but didn't meet our topic definitions. Gerber's FOOLKILLER miniseries had a new character adopting the identity, so it wasn't a qualifying spin-off of MAN-THING or OMEGA THE UNKNOWN. CHRONOS did have the Atom's arch enemy appearing in the first issue to hand-off the time tech, but Gabriel Walker was the lead of the ongoing, and he debuted in his own first issue.
I only thought of BLACK GOLIATH just now, and I might have considered slotting him in. His wasn't a great series, so it probably wouldn't have made my cut, but I've got a lot of fondness for anything Hank Pym-adjacent.
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Post by EdoBosnar on Jan 9, 2024 13:19:23 GMT -5
(...) I only thought of BLACK GOLIATH just now, and I might have considered slotting him in. His wasn't a great series, so it probably wouldn't have made my cut, but I've got a lot of fondness for anything Hank Pym-adjacent. Black Goliath was one I thought of almost immediately and just as quickly discarded, because - as much as I like Bill Foster and the fact that he was given his own series - it really wasn't all that great, as you noted. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jan 9, 2024 14:36:23 GMT -5
Another I considered, but didn't have any genuine love for, was THE PHANTOM BLOT. I just love the very idea that a Mickey Mouse villain got his own title. I read a few issues, and they weren't bad, if you like Mickey adventures. I guess Western realized that the Phantom Blot was a favorite, so why not give the kiddies nothing but PB vs. Mickey stories for a while? I half considered The Phantom Blot, Super Goof and the Beagle Boys. But it's been over 45 years since I've read any of those stories. |
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