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Post by rich on Oct 20, 2024 20:03:20 GMT -5
To explain my awkwardly phrased subject- which year of your lifetime offered the best selection of comic books, or the comic books you remain most fond of? Yes, you can even choose the first year of your life if that year had amazing comics you love, despite being too young to appreciate it at the time. I feel like making a rule against saying 1986 because that year was preposterously good!! Comics we are all familiar with. If I discount 1986, then I would probably have to go for 1983. So many awesome comics that that year, especially from Marvel. Here are some of my highlights from 1983: Miller's epic Daredevil run with Janson coming to a conclusion:  Stern and Romita's Amazing Spiderman:  The last of peak John Byrne on FF:  Berni Wrightson illustrating Frankenstein:  GIJoe:  Perez drawing The New Teen Titans:  Uncanny X-Men still kicking ass:  Launch of New Mutants:  Amazing Spiderman Annual 16:  To be fair, looking back through the year, it's really not a patch on 1986! haha. Maybe I should consider some other years. A lot of my favourite years came before my birth... |
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Post by codystarbuck on Oct 20, 2024 21:32:08 GMT -5
To explain my awkwardly phrased subject- which year of your lifetime offered the best selection of comic books, or the comic books you remain most fond of? Yes, you can even choose the first year of your life if that year had amazing comics you love, despite being too young to appreciate it at the time. I feel like making a rule against saying 1986 because that year was preposterously good!! Comics we are all familiar with. If I discount 1986, then I would probably have to go for 1983. So many awesome comics that that year, especially from Marvel. I'll edit this post to add some in tomorrow. 1986 would be the year I would pick, because it was literally the best year for comics, for me. So many great new titles, a booming independent scene, all kinds of genres, top quality products, experimental stuff, outright daring at the Big Two, influx of foreign comics. Barring that, I'd say 1978, the Year of the DC Implosion. If you take that out of the equation, there are a ton of great comics then. My favorite run of Star Wars comics comes in that year, with Archie Goodwin writing. George Perez is drawing Avengers (for some of the year) and the Korvac Saga unfolds. Batman Family has some great stories and DC Special Series features two classics (both from Denny O'Neil, with Michael Golden drawing one and Marshall Rogers the other), Mike Grell's Warlord, some pretty decent Superman comics, DC Dollar Comics, Levitz & Staton JSA, the debut of the Huntress (the good version), Superboy & the Legion (Khund War), Byrne & Claremont on X-Men, Micheline and Romita Jr & Bob Layton on Iron man (with the Justin Hammer/Demon in a Bottle storylines ebuting at the end of the year), a great JLA/JSA crossover, with historical characters, like Enemy Ace, Jonah Hex, Black Pirate, Viking Prince and Miss Liberty;. Carlos Garzon is drawing a revived Flash Gordon, for Gold Key. Charlton reprints a bunch of great comics under the Modern Comics banner, sold in bagged sets. Thomas & Buscema on Marvel's Tarzan, John Carter of Mars chugging along at Marvel, kids comics like Richie Rich and Gold Key's OG Whiz, Micronauts debuts, Archie Comics Super hero Special #1 (reprinting some MLJ hero stories, from the Mighty Comics run, in the 60s, plus some Red Circle horror and the Life With Archie superhero stories, with Pureheart, Captain Hero, Evilheart and Super-Teen), some great Captain America stuff, Spider-Woman solo series debuts, some great Marvel TIO and Team-Up crossovers, Roger McKenzie takes over Daredevil, from Jim Shooter, Master of Kung Fu is doing the China Seas epic, Nova still has his own book, Spidey Super Stories, Super Friends comics (with reappearances by some old heroes), Scalphunter and Jonah Hex, Mark Evanier & Dan Spiegle doing Hanna-Barbera stuff at Marvel, Mad is still strong, Cracked is in there fighting, ......Superman flies in theaters, Challenge of the Superfriends debuts on ABC, in September, unleashing the Legion of Doom, Warren, Gold Key and Charlton are alive, Harvey is thriving, as is Archie, Star*Reach is out there, Heavy Metal is going strong, Simon &Schuster and Fireside Books are reprinting stuff , the Direct Market is starting to blossom...... Original Saturday Night Live, with the debut of The Blues Brothers, Doobie Brothers on What's Happening, The Rutles, Battlestar Galactica, The Incredible Hulk & The Amazing Spider-Man on CBS, Tarzan and the Super 7, WKRP in Cincinnati, Holocaust and Centennial mini-series, Cliffhangers!, Mork debuts on Happy Days, Barney Miller says goodbye to Jack Soo, Soap, Rockford Files, Quincy ME, Columbo wraps up, Hello Larry debuts and concludes, Wonder Woman on CBS, Schoolhouse Rock, Kids Are People Too,...... For the comics, if you stretch to two years, then 1978-1979. Classic stories from both and iconic runs by creative talent, DC rebuilding after the Implosion, but still having some great stuff, Miller, Claremont, Byrne, Perez, Micheline, Golden, etc, etc Eclipse is born, graphic novels start appearing, so much promise taking form. 1986 was kind of the culmination of what was gestating in 1978-1979, with changes brought by Jenette Kahn, at DC, the impact of the growing Direct Market, the rise of independent publishers and creator ownership, sci-fi in theaters and on tv, superheroes on tv and movies..... |
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Post by EdoBosnar on Oct 21, 2024 1:47:00 GMT -5
1979
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Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2024 2:21:57 GMT -5
Considering lifetime years only, maybe 2000 when the Ultimate line started in Marvel, and when the Top Cow line from Image was strong. And we got to....Welcome back Frank, which I believe is my favourite Punisher storyline of all time.
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Post by driver1980 on Oct 21, 2024 3:17:03 GMT -5
I would say 1984, a most eventful year (aren’t they all, though?).
We got the Star Comics imprint. Titles such as Blue Devil and DC Comics’ Star Trek began. Marvel started titles like Transformers, and Marvel UK did its own version (initially reprints).
We can think about milestones such as the debut of Spidey’s black costume, the debut of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, etc.
So many of my favourite series/issues are from 1984, such as Batman Special #1 (Batman vs. The Wrath) and the Super Powers comic.
A great year, all things told!
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Oct 21, 2024 5:32:11 GMT -5
(Going by cover date) It's a toss between 1972 and 1974.
1972: Barry Smith's second Conan run, including The Song of Red Sonja. Marvel Premiere with Warlock and Doctor Strange. The Severins on Kull the Conqueror. The end of the Kree-Skrull war in Avengers. John Romita's continuing run on Spider-man. Kirby's Fourth World had begun in 71 but was still there. Wein and Wrightson's Swamp Thing, and Gerber's Man-Thing too!
1974: New things like Power-Man, Master of Kung Fu, Killraven... the end of Red Nails in Savage Tales and the birth of Savage Sword of Conan... The mid 70s were a treat.
It's the triumph of nostalgia, even if I wouldn't read those comics until a few years had passed!
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Post by riv86672 on Oct 21, 2024 6:22:20 GMT -5
Barring 1986 I’d have to say, 1996.
I’d spent half of ‘94 and all of ‘95 stationed in Panama w. my only access to comics being whatever sparodically showed up at the Post Exchange, which was not a lot.
I went from about twenty books a month to one; for some reason the only book the PX seemed to receive regularly was Superboy, which had just started out and I’d been collecting before I left the States. It’s one reason Kon-El’s one of my favorite characters to this day.
1996 though, saw me back on US soil, newly married, about to be a dad, living off post and (on topic) free to collect comics en Masse again!
So yeah, 1996 was pretty frikking great comics wise!
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Post by james on Oct 21, 2024 7:02:26 GMT -5
1979. I was 1 year into collecting. I had zero bills or responsibilities. And my mom would drop me off a great little comic shop on rt 202 in West Chester Pa. on her way to The Strawberry Sampler.
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,860
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Post by shaxper on Oct 21, 2024 7:20:12 GMT -5
My favorite year in comics is 1974 by a long shot, but I wasn't born until 1979.
Okay, I'm going to argue 1984.
*My absolute favorite era of Batman, with Doug Moench, Gene Colan, Alfredo Alcala, and Don Newton.
*New Teen Titans hits its absolute high point with Dick Grayson fully breaking away from Batman and The Judas Contract warming up.
*Cerebus at its height.
*Claremont's X-Men hadn't jumped the shark yet.
*Sienkiewicz Era New Mutants.
*Monic Rambeau on The Avengers
*O'Neil and Mazzuchelli on Daredevil. I actually haven't read this yet, but I probably need to.
*Roy Thomas and P. Craig Russell on Elric
*Grendel
*Secret Wars
*Levitz and Giffen on Legion
*Moore on Swamp Thing
*Zot!
*Usagi Yojimbo debuts
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Post by rich on Oct 21, 2024 7:26:43 GMT -5
My favorite year in comics is 1974 by a long shot, but I wasn't born until 1979. Which is your favourite since you were born? ('74 was a solid year, I agree!) |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Oct 21, 2024 7:33:52 GMT -5
My favorite year in comics is 1974 by a long shot, but I wasn't born until 1979. Which is your favourite since you were born? ('74 was a solid year, I agree!) Edited my response to include this  |
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Post by commond on Oct 21, 2024 7:34:24 GMT -5
My favorite year was 1989. That was the year that I discovered comic book shops. I've read a ton of great comics from other years, but if I had to experience 1989 Groundhog day style, I wouldn't complain.
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Post by commond on Oct 21, 2024 7:41:51 GMT -5
My favorite year in comics is 1974 by a long shot, but I wasn't born until 1979. Okay, I'm going to argue 1984. *My absolute favorite era of Batman, with Doug Moench, Gene Colan, Alfredo Alcala, and Don Newton. *New Teen Titans hits its absolute high point with Dick Grayson fully breaking away from Batman and The Judas Contract warming up. *Cerebus at its height. *Claremont's X-Men hadn't jumped the shark yet.*Sienkiewicz Era New Mutants. Never happened!! And Jaka's Story is the height of Cerebus. 1984 was a cool year, though. |
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,860
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Post by shaxper on Oct 21, 2024 7:43:24 GMT -5
And Jaka's Story is the height of Cerebus. 1984 was a cool year, though. Now that is a hot take I've never heard before! |
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Post by commond on Oct 21, 2024 7:53:56 GMT -5
And Jaka's Story is the height of Cerebus. 1984 was a cool year, though. Now that is a hot take I've never heard before! Really? I feel like it used to get more praise back in the day. I remember it being held in the same esteem as Maus and Watchmen. It was the first story he wrote with a graphic novel in mind and was the first time he'd done a human story. I believe he was influenced by Love and Rockets in that regard. It's a shame that Cerebus is thought of so poorly these days, but I can understand today's youth by completely turned off by Dave's misogyny (as were many of his long term readers at the time, to be fair.) |
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