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Post by MRPs_Missives on Jul 19, 2024 7:28:10 GMT -5
It's that time again, Top Shelf Friday time! So show us a comic that you own that you believe should be on the Top Shelf. It can be because you think the comic is important or valuable, because it's a sentimental favorite or one of your favorite stories, because it's signed and holds great memories for you, just has a really cool cover or strikes your fancy or is just plain cool-whatever the reason show us that comic. Any pic of that comic will do, but bonus points if you can show us the actual copy you own. This week's offering-I am going with another of my signed comics, this time Phantom Stranger #1 with art by Mignola and P. Craig Russell, one of the handful of books I had signed by Craig when I met him at Gem City Comic COn a few years ago, and it is Gem City Comic Con weekend again, so I hope to add a few books worthy of the top shelf this weekend.  -M What else is on the Top Shelf? 3/1/24 Son of Sinbad
3/8/24 Brave & Bold #35
3/15/24 Piracy #1
3/22/24 Conan the Barbarian #1
3/29/24 Hawk #9
4/5/24 SSWS #126
4/12/24 It Rhymes with Lust
4/19/24 Avengers #162
4/26/24 1st Issue Special 8
5/3/24 Bat Lash #2
5/10/24 Straight Arrow #3
5/17/24 Frazetta ghosted Spirit Section
5/24/24 Green Arrow: Longbow Hunters #1 signed
5/31/24 Daredevil 47
6/7/24 Batman Black and White #4
6/14/24 Daredevil 158
6/21/24 King Kong #1
6/28/24 Hellrider #1
7/5/24 Michael Golden's Doctor Strange Portfolio
7/12/24 Barbarian Comics #1 |
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Post by Icctrombone on Jul 19, 2024 8:08:42 GMT -5
I'm tempted to make most of my top shelf books Avengers issues , but I'm holding off. Until this week. This week I'm highlighting Avengers # 12
 The story appeals to me because of the words exchanged between Giant man and Thor at the beginning of the story. Hank calls the Avengers to assemble because of mysterious activity by ants. This highly pisses Thor off and they almost come to blows. After the Assemblers leave thinking Giant man is nuts , It turns out that there WAS something to be worried about and the Avengers have to rescue Hank. I especially like the way they react when they find out Hank might be in danger. Even Thor feels terrible. Great character work showing that even the earths mightiest heroes can be wrong.  previous choices {Spoiler: Click to show}
Avengers #4
Flash ( 1987) 1
Thor #126
Kamandi #10
What if? v1 #3
JLA v1 # 91
Marvels Greatest comics # 31
Master of Kung Fu ( Special Marvel edition) 16
Iron Man # 150
Alpha Flight #12
Superman #227
Marvel Treasury edition #28/ Superman and Spider-Man #2
Badger #1
World’s Finest 211
Flash #201
Groo #1 ( Epic)
Avengers 211
Mr. Miracle 8 ( 1972)
New Teen Titans 13 ( 1980)
Phoenix 1 ( Atlas)
MRP, have fun at the con this weekend. I hope to make it there one of these years. |
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Post by Ricky Jackson on Jul 19, 2024 8:19:08 GMT -5
This week I'm going with another sentimental favorite/book that has been in my collection a long time. I'm a massive fan of Dick Tracy and have been since the late 80s. I got this book around 1989 I think, at a long since gone comic book store in downtown Calgary called Siege Perilous  |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2024 8:20:12 GMT -5
This is my copy of Action #262. It's a noteworthy issue as it introduces the yellow sun explanation for Superman's powers. But it also holds a little extra significance for me as I love little minutiae like in this case a rare coloring error/inconsistency with "red skirt" Supergirl (Superboy #80 is another example of this):  |
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Post by tonebone on Jul 19, 2024 9:16:33 GMT -5
In 1979, after a particularly traumatic trip to the dentist, I was invited to rummage through the "treasure box" to find a trinket to take home. I guess that would make it all better, or something. There, as I parted through the sea of finger puppets, anthropomorphic teeth, and plastic race cars, I saw something in the bottom of the box. It was a book, and upon pulling it out, I saw it was a square-bound THICK comic book! What an unulual beast! I snatched it up, and still have it today. Questar was the collection of the four issues of Starstream published by Western (Gold Key) in the late 70's, riding on the coattails of Star Wars. The original comics were in color, on newsprint, but with card stock covers. (I later came across those comics and added them to my collection.) The collection was what we now call a Trade Paperback, and is 224 pages in length! It contains stories by John Campbell, Asimov, Niven, and others, illustrated by Don Heck, Frank Bolle, Alberto Gioliti, Al McWilliams, and a fresh-faced Jose Louis Garcia Lopez (credited as just "Garcia Lopez"). Every trip to the dentist after that included me digging like I was looking for gold in the treasure box. I always had to settle for a plastic race car, sadly.  |
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Post by adamwarlock2099 on Jul 19, 2024 9:25:16 GMT -5
Well, hell if you are going to bring up Mignola ... probably the best Aliens story ever written. On par with the original Alien movie. Expertly written by Dave Gibbons and featuring two artists that I had no idea where the perfect match for drawing Aliens; Mike Mignola and Kevin Nowlan. And I own A LOT of Aliens comics. I can't think of one better executed than this one shot story. Everyone should read this once if you can get your hands on it.  |
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Post by EdoBosnar on Jul 19, 2024 11:52:17 GMT -5
This week I'm going with Detective Comics Annual #4 from 1991:  I purchased this one as a filler in an order from Lone Star many years ago because I saw a pretty positive write-up about it on some comics blog, and then it ended up becoming something of a favorite. The story was written by Louise Simonson, while art is by Tom Grindberg, who more than usual was really channeling Neal Adams here. I was and am completely uninterested in the Armageddon 2001 event as a whole, but the story here can be read and enjoyed without knowing anything about it - I just look at it as a sort of alt-future Elseworlds.
My previous picks (not for prying eyes): {Spoiler: Click to show}
01/03/2024: Blackmark (1970s b&w pocketbook)
08/03/2024: Archie’s Superhero Comics Digest #2
15/03/2024: Donald Duck & the Golden Helmet (Whitman, 1978)
22/03/2024: Star Wars #38
28/03/2024: Showcase #100
05/04/2024: Chandler: Red Tide
12/04/2024: Alien, the Illustrated Story
19/04/2024: Amazing Spider-man Annual #10
26/04/2024: Marvel Premiere #32
03/05/2024: Best of DC Blue Ribbon Digest #9
10/05/2024: JLA #200
17/05/2024: Giant-Size Power Man #1
24/05/2024: Batman Annual #8
31/05/2024: Marvel 2-in-1 #51
07/06/2024: Superman #400
14/06/2024: Marvel Team-up #79
21/06/2024: Detective Comics #500
28/06/2024: Avengers #1&1/2
05/07/2024: Batman Special #1 (1984)
12/07/2024: Ismet #1 (Canis Publications, 1981) |
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Post by tartanphantom on Jul 19, 2024 12:26:32 GMT -5
My top shelf entry for this week hearkens back to the late silver age-- Captain Action #1 by DC. I have the entire 5-issue run, but am focusing just on the first issue for today.
One of the earliest intentional toy Tie-in books, the series is actually NOT written to promote the toy line-- go figure. Throughout the series, it's actually a pretty good title. Scripted initially by a fairly young Jim Shooter, and later, Gil Kane, the artwork is absolutely gorgeous throughout the series, but particularly in issue #1, which features Wally Wood/Wayne Howard interiors. Later issues also feature Gil Kane/Wally Wood art.
I was a big fan of the Ideal toy line as a kid, having about 80% of the costume packs for Captain Action. I never owned Action Boy or any of the vehicles, but I did have the parachute pack, which was a lot of fun, even though I usually spent more time untangling the parachute cords after throwing CA w/parachute pack into the air or out of my 2nd story bedroom window.  Nevertheless, whenever I read this, I'm transformed back to my days as a carefree 8-yr old.
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Post by Icctrombone on Jul 19, 2024 13:50:06 GMT -5
This week I'm going with Detective Comics Annual #4 from 1991: I purchased this one as a filler in an order from Lone Star many years ago because I saw a pretty positive write-up about it on some comics blog, and then it ended up becoming something of a favorite. The story was written by Louise Simonson, while art is by Tom Grindberg, who more than usual was really channeling Neal Adams here. I was and am completely uninterested in the Armageddon 2001 event as a whole, but the story here can be read and enjoyed without knowing anything about it - I just look at it as a sort of alt-future Elseworlds.
My previous picks (not for prying eyes): {Spoiler: Click to show}
01/03/2024: Blackmark (1970s b&w pocketbook)
08/03/2024: Archie’s Superhero Comics Digest #2
15/03/2024: Donald Duck & the Golden Helmet (Whitman, 1978)
22/03/2024: Star Wars #38
28/03/2024: Showcase #100
05/04/2024: Chandler: Red Tide
12/04/2024: Alien, the Illustrated Story
19/04/2024: Amazing Spider-man Annual #10
26/04/2024: Marvel Premiere #32
03/05/2024: Best of DC Blue Ribbon Digest #9
10/05/2024: JLA #200
17/05/2024: Giant-Size Power Man #1
24/05/2024: Batman Annual #8
31/05/2024: Marvel 2-in-1 #51
07/06/2024: Superman #400
14/06/2024: Marvel Team-up #79
21/06/2024: Detective Comics #500
28/06/2024: Avengers #1&1/2
05/07/2024: Batman Special #1 (1984)
12/07/2024: Ismet #1 (Canis Publications, 1981) I totally enjoyed the Armageddon event. It was like having a what if series for DC comics. |
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Post by Icctrombone on Jul 19, 2024 14:06:19 GMT -5
My top shelf entry for this week hearkens back to the late silver age-- Captain Action #1 by DC. I have the entire 5-issue run, but am focusing just on the first issue for today.
One of the earliest intentional toy Tie-in books, the series is actually NOT written to promote the toy line-- go figure. Throughout the series, it's actually a pretty good title. Scripted initially by a fairly young Jim Shooter, and later, Gil Kane, the artwork is absolutely gorgeous throughout the series, but particularly in issue #1, which features Wally Wood/Wayne Howard interiors. Later issues also feature Gil Kane/Wally Wood art.
I was a big fan of the Ideal toy line as a kid, having about 80% of the costume packs for Captain Action. I never owned Action Boy or any of the vehicles, but I did have the parachute pack, which was a lot of fun, even though I usually spent more time untangling the parachute cords after throwing CA w/parachute pack into the air or out of my 2nd story bedroom window. Nevertheless, whenever I read this, I'm transformed back to my days as a carefree 8-yr old.
Holy cow! You have many of the costumes? I have to visit your home before I kick the bucket. Seriously, as a kid my brother and I had the Captain action and Action boy figures and many of the costumes. We even had the huge Action Silver Streak mobile/Ship . It used to float in our bathtub many a time.  |
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Post by tartanphantom on Jul 19, 2024 14:28:59 GMT -5
My top shelf entry for this week hearkens back to the late silver age-- Captain Action #1 by DC. I have the entire 5-issue run, but am focusing just on the first issue for today.
One of the earliest intentional toy Tie-in books, the series is actually NOT written to promote the toy line-- go figure. Throughout the series, it's actually a pretty good title. Scripted initially by a fairly young Jim Shooter, and later, Gil Kane, the artwork is absolutely gorgeous throughout the series, but particularly in issue #1, which features Wally Wood/Wayne Howard interiors. Later issues also feature Gil Kane/Wally Wood art.
I was a big fan of the Ideal toy line as a kid, having about 80% of the costume packs for Captain Action. I never owned Action Boy or any of the vehicles, but I did have the parachute pack, which was a lot of fun, even though I usually spent more time untangling the parachute cords after throwing CA w/parachute pack into the air or out of my 2nd story bedroom window. Nevertheless, whenever I read this, I'm transformed back to my days as a carefree 8-yr old.
Holy cow! You have many of the costumes? I have to visit your home before I kick the bucket. Seriously, as a kid my brother and I had the Captain action and Action boy figures and many of the costumes. We even had the huge Action Silver Streak mobile/Ship . It used to float in our bathtub many a time.
I HAD them... played with them as a kid. They are long gone, and since I'm not really a toy collector, I haven't bothered to hunt them down. However, Here is a list of the costumes I had--
Phantom Flash Gordon Batman Superman Aquaman Captain America The Lone Ranger Tonto Steve Canyon
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Post by Icctrombone on Jul 19, 2024 15:13:51 GMT -5
Oh , forget it then. I uninvite myself to your home.  |
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Post by MRPs_Missives on Jul 19, 2024 15:54:24 GMT -5
Oh , forget it then. I uninvite myself to your home. I'd go for the Scotch and company, forget the comics themselves. -M |
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Post by DubipR on Jul 19, 2024 16:57:54 GMT -5
Give Me Liberty by Frank Miller & Dave Gibbons While most Miller works are universally praised, its a shame that this series doesn't get the love it should. This, along with Hard Boiled, were Miller's first works at Dark Horse after leaving DC. Its a brutal dystopian series of young Martha Washington, who rebels against the system to become the hero the US needs. Stunningly drawn by Dave Gibbons; its some of their best work in their already legendary careers.  |
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Post by tartanphantom on Jul 19, 2024 17:25:55 GMT -5
Oh , forget it then. I uninvite myself to your home. I'd go for the Scotch and company, forget the comics themselves. -M
I have plenty of each on hand.
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Nevertheless, whenever I read this, I'm transformed back to my days as a carefree 8-yr old.
