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Post by Icctrombone on Dec 13, 2014 19:15:32 GMT -5
12 days of Classic Christmas #12
Batman 244
The Demon lives again!
Denny Oneil/ Neal Adams/ Dick Giordano
1972
 GCD has this story coming out on July of 1972. That would make me 11 years old when I saw this masterpiece of art and drama. I had been exposed to Neal Adams before this in his Avengers and Green Lantern runs but there was something special about this Ras/Batman Grudge match and his art was notched up to 11. There was an importance and destiny in this issue and each page was building to what might be Batman’s finest hour. Up until that point , Batman had been fighting silly characters and he needed his counterpart in ability and smarts. Ras provided that in spades. The final fight between them has a tragic , almost, Shakespearian feel to it as, after hours of dueling , Batman is bitten by a scorpion. Left for dead Talia gives Batman something ( perhaps a bit of the Lazarus solution) and he confronts Ras once more beating him with one punch. That panel where he yells out “Ras” has to be one of the most famous Batman Images of all. It was a magical time for Batman during the early 70’s. He was saved from the TV show camp silliness by issues like this. Masterful Storytelling  This look has never been duplicated . Such rage. 
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metarog
Junior Member
Waking up in an alternate universe
Posts: 25 
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Post by metarog on Dec 13, 2014 19:37:08 GMT -5
12. Demon Hunter #1 Atlas Seaboard I remember seeing this on the rack and thinking it looked Marvelish but with a much cooler cover than most Marvels of the time. The main character seemed really interesting so I bought it along with my usual 4 comics a week for a buck. The Buckler art really grabbed me… it was crisp yet eerie enough to give the story a mystical feel. Although I was a pre-teen at the time-the art, story and concept really struck a chord with me and I read this issue about once a year or so and I still have it today. This issue got me to try other companies and other genres of comics rather than just Marvel superhero or an occasional DC. It is one of my favorites for expanding my comic horizons.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 13, 2014 19:40:29 GMT -5
12. Demon Hunter #1 Atlas SeaboardI remember seeing this on the rack and thinking it looked Marvelish but with a much cooler cover than most Marvels of the time. The main character seemed really interesting so I bought it along with my usual 4 comics a week for a buck. The Buckler art really grabbed me… it was crisp yet eerie enough to give the story a mystical feel. Although I was a pre-teen at the time-the art, story and concept really struck a chord with me and I read this issue about once a year or so and I still have it today. This issue got me to try other companies and other genres of comics rather than just Marvel superhero or an occasional DC. It is one of my favorites for expanding my comic horizons. Wow, I had considered this one for my top 12 as well. Never would have thought it would have shown up on another list. Great pick! |
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Post by benday-dot on Dec 13, 2014 19:42:51 GMT -5
I've been reading comics a long time, though not as long as some of our more elderly esteemed members. But it's been over 30 years now. And when you've read comics that long, eventually you start branching out to try new titles, new creators and new genres. Superheroes are a great gateway into the medium - though in fact I started mostly with sci-fi and war genre books - but after a couple decades of watching people wearing pajamas punch each other repeatedly, you want to see what else comics has to offer. Through what no doubt is complete coincidence, I've been in this mode since, oh, just about the time I read the last issue of Marvel's Civil War. Of course, there are always back issues as well, but after collecting so long, I had pretty much hit a wall in terms of reading and buying old superhero comics as well. So several years ago, I started using some of my collecting income to just buy whatever weird and unusual back issues I came across cheaply enough. I wanted to experiment, dip my feet into new areas. Thanks to ebay and dollar bins at comic shows, this is easier than ever. And a few years ago, I ended up landing a cheap ebay lot that would broaden my reading and collecting habits, while opening up a whole new world of artists and stories that I had never even considered before. In this lot were two key books that cemented this sudden and unexpected new love, but the one that most perfectly represents it is... I have that issue as well Scott. Like yourself I eventually started investing myself in the more obscure corners of comics. You are right... there is some interesting stuff to be found lurking about. Like you say... gonzo stories and/or great art. I thought hard about including a romance book on my list (since I have a lot of them), my goal this year being to present a good cross section of my collection, but in the end I whittled them all off the final dozen. I dig 'em but I don't love them, and that's not so good when it comes to the romance book! Anyway I look forward to your upcoming choices! |
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Post by benday-dot on Dec 13, 2014 20:05:02 GMT -5
#12 Bugs Bunny All Picture Comics (Tall Comic Book) #530First off... thank you Kurt. Your spirit here enlivens us all. As mentioned somewhere in the preamble thread I was inspired by Cei-U's notion of desert island comics. I've got thousands and thousands of funny books, and they are all over the map in terms of genre and age. So I figured I'd gather some of my favourites from all those ages and genres to throw into the old steamer trunk to tide me over as I spend my upcoming years alone in my grass hut ensconced by palm, sand and surf. I'll start in the golden age and work my way forward, with the last of the lot thrown in for reasons of unabashed sentiment. There is actually a fair measure of sentiment to do with the first book I pull out of my salvaged trunk as I lay about the sand all too thirsty for the old collection left back in civilization. My late father mentioned on occasions his own vanished collection of comics from the 40's when he was a kid. He talked about Plastic Man's and Captain Marvel's and I guess what would be funny animal comics. All of it disappeared in the sands of time. All save this Bugs Bunny book. It's somewhat akin to a big little book with cardboard cover, except it's taller. It hails from 1943 and is, alas, missing a few pages, but whatever desert island I would end up on I would never part with it. My dad gave it to me, knowing I loved comics some 25 years ago, and it has meant the world to me ever since. 
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Post by Icctrombone on Dec 13, 2014 20:19:57 GMT -5
#12 Bugs Bunny All Picture Comics (Tall Comic Book) #530First off... thank you Kurt. Your spirit here enlivens us all. As mentioned somewhere in the preamble thread I was inspired by Cei-U's notion of desert island comics. I've got thousands and thousands of funny books, and they are all over the map in terms of genre and age. So I figured I'd gather some of my favourites from all those ages and genres to throw into the old steamer trunk to tide me over as I spend my upcoming years alone in my grass hut ensconced by palm, sand and surf. I'll start in the golden age and work my way forward, with the last of the lot thrown in for reasons of unabashed sentiment. There is actually a fair measure of sentiment to do with the first book I pull out of my salvaged trunk as I lay about the sand all too thirsty for the old collection left back in civilization. My late father mentioned on occasions his own vanished collection of comics from the 40's when he was a kid. He talked about Plastic Man's and Captain Marvel's and I guess what would be funny animal comics. All of it disappeared in the sands of time. All save this Bugs Bunny book. It's somewhat akin to a big little book with cardboard cover, except it's taller. It hails from 1943 and is, alas, missing a few pages, but whatever desert island I would end up on I would never part with it. My dad gave it to me, knowing I loved comics some 25 years ago, and it has meant the world to me ever since. Dude, there's not a dry eye in the forum. |
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Post by Paste Pot Paul on Dec 13, 2014 20:49:17 GMT -5
Do you have a year of publication for Super Adventure #61, pak? I'm tracking publishers, genres and dates for the stats in addition to title and issue number. Cei-U! I summon the dingo datum! From what I can find mate it was published by K.G. Murray circa '73-'75. Sorry I cant get any closer on dates. |
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,860
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Post by shaxper on Dec 13, 2014 20:49:53 GMT -5
12. Giant Size X-Men #1 (1975 Marvel) This is the story of Albert Wong's older cousin. Back in 1993, I was an adolescent building a pretty paltry and lackluster comic collection. By this point, X-Men had become my favorite comic book franchise and, shortly after, they became everyone else's favorite franchise as well. And thus Giant-Size X-Men #1 was that holy grail back issue that snot nosed kids like myself dreamed of owning but never imagined we'd ever actually possess. Oh, I had my share of reasonably impressive $20 back issues and even a few worth more, but the going price for a NM GS X-Men #1 back then was $180, and that was crazy money. I wasn't a particularly sociable kid. In fact, I was self conscious in front of most people and so avoided making friends, but my mother kept pushing me to talk to people, and as I inevitably started talking to some at school through our mutual appreciation of comics, I ended up going to Albert Wong's house after school one day. We'd known each other for years but had never really had much to talk about, and so I pretty much dreaded this appointment we'd made, but we were going to talk comics, and maybe even trade a few. He claimed to have some of the original Magnus Robot Fighter and Solar comics from Gold Key, which I was sure was a lie, but I was certainly curious how he was going to talk himself out of this lie. So I gathered up my highest commodity comics (New Mutants #87, Magnus Robot Fighter [Valiant] #12, Solar [Valiant] #10, pretty much everything that was on Wizard Magazine's Top 10 at the time) to show him that I was serious and out of the faint hope that maybe, just maybe, he actually had these comics and might (gasp!) trade me one. So he pulls out this long box and explains to me that it belonged to his older cousin, but that cousin had gone overseas with the military and had left him his comics. He pops the lid, and it's true! Nearly a third of the box is made up of classic Gold Key superheroes. I can't believe it. I flip through eagerly but carefully, through Magnus, Solar, Space Family Robinson, Silver Age X-Men, Mighty Sa...wait; did I just see a Silver Age X-Men comic?? I'd never seen one in person before; not even at the local comic shops! I go back and, sure enough, it's the second appearance of Juggernaut. I mean, how is this possible? There are books you get to buy, books you get to touch, and (at least before the internet and before I was old enough to go to shows) books you know about but have as much likelihood of running into as Bono or Eddie Vedder. But here it was. "Oh, you like X-Men? I've got a few more." And, sure enough, at the very back of the box, there's a few more Silver and Bronze Age issues, including #94 and GIANT SIZE X-MEN #1. I stop hyperventilating, attempt to regain my cool, and ask him if he'd be willing to trade for the GS X-Men #1. Here, before me, is the single most impressive comic collection I've ever seen; the only collection I've ever seen, in fact, that wasn't assembled by another snot nosed adolescent like myself nor the generic picked-over ones I'd found at comic shops. This was a true, bonafide, small but well assembled classic comic book collection. Albert Wong's cousin was a GOD. And Albert Wong was a snot nosed adolescent collector. New Mutants #87, Magnus Robot Fighter (Valiant) #12, and Harbinger #4 for the crown jewel of this astounding collection? I try to pretend it pains me to make this decision, all while trying not to burst out into song at the same time. To be fair, these books do mean a lot to me, but I strongly suspect they aren't going to be big forever, and this--this was a piece of history. He then throws in the second appearance of Juggernaut. Deal. Albert Wong was a nice kid and, to this day, I feel a bit guilty telling this story, but I sincerely doubt that comic meant to him what it meant (and means) to me. Perhaps even more importantly, I now associate this comic with that afternoon when Albert Wong's cousin, a man I'd never met and knew nothing about, became my collecting role model. I wanted a collection like his that would breathe the past; not an assortment of whatever was trending at the moment -- Wizard Magazine's flash in the pan back issues that I was buying because that's what everyone else was doing; not books that excited me, took my breath away, and left me with an insatiable appetite to rip them out of the bag and read them right then and there. This was the moment that first opened my eyes to what true collecting was versus the speculating I'd been doing a poor job of prior. Alex Wong's cousin did more for me in absentia than any living dealer or collector I'd met in the four years I'd been collecting comics prior to that fateful afternoon.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Dec 13, 2014 21:07:29 GMT -5
On the first day of classic comics Christmas I gave unto thee...
TMNT: Secret of the Ooze movie adaptation  Script: Dean Clarrain Art: Jim Lawson Colors: Richmond Lewis Letters: Mary Kelleher Summer, 1991 Mirage? As a child of the late 80's/early 90's the Turtles were unavoidably a big part of my life but despite watching the cartoon, eating the cereal and being my very first trip to the cinema this was my first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic and boy was it a doozy. My father was a big comic book fan, so I grew up with his collection which cconsisted mostly of Batman comics from the 60's and 70's...so with that as my idea of what a comic was I think you can understand how a book with art by a guy like Jim Lawson changed my world.as comics went from this:  to this:  It was rougher and sketchier than any other comic I had ever seen and I liked the look immediately. What was really fun though was then going to the store and hunting down the original mirage issues together, sifting through long boxes, and hunting at flea markets then taking them home to read together. We read Batman together each month when it came out, but this was different; my father had been reading Batman books all his life so although the issues were new they weren't exactly new to him where as with the TMNT this was not only something he'd never read but the art was different from what he was used to as well so it was this grand adventure for the two of us. It opened my young eyes to the world of independent comics and I've enjoyed exploring new looks ever since.
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Post by benday-dot on Dec 13, 2014 21:08:23 GMT -5
Dude, there's not a dry eye in the forum. Thanks sir. BTW, your choice of Batman #244 holds a lot of meaning for me as well. I recall many an occasion when my childhood friends and myself would get together to look over our comics together. One of those friends, the one with the largest and coolest collection, had a copy of Batman 244, and I was very envious. It seemed to exude cool, in the way that more adult or mature things do when you are a kid. It reminded of those 70's crime movies that would be just beyond my viewing purview back then. I finally found an affordable copy of my own some years back, and while I've never been a huge Batman fan I am certainly a fan of that comic. |
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Post by Action Ace on Dec 13, 2014 22:08:12 GMT -5
CLASSIC COMICS CHRISTMAS #12
SUPER FRIENDS #3
"The Cosmic Hit Man"
On sale November 15, 1976 Written by E. Nelson Bridwell Penciled by Ramona Fradon Inked by Robert Smith Edited by Denny O'Neil Cover by Ramona Fradon It all starts with the Super Friends. My love/ addiction/ obsession with superheroes began with that tv show. I could have picked my first comic, Justice League of America #118, but I've got enough JLA comics on this list. I chose this one instead, because this his may be the comic I reread most as a kid. In this story, Dr. Indrom captures dozens of villains, including a couple from right in front of the Super Friends and their young partners Wendy and Marvin. He disintegrates the villains and puts all of their powers into a robot called the World Beater. The World Beater beats all the heroes on Earth, then the JLA, then the Super Friends. Wendy and Marvin figure if the World Beater has all the villains' powers, he has their weakness too. They trick him into using the wrong power and save the day. It's a very DC book. I enjoyed a lot of comics like these from the Bronze Age and discovered a lot more like it as an adult to enjoy from the Silver Age. Up next....a Mark Millar comic from the 2000s? in THIS thread? is Action Ace even more insane than usual???
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Post by Deleted on Dec 13, 2014 23:38:17 GMT -5
Super Heroes #1
"The Origin of the Fab Four" Dell, cover date January 1967 Writer - Don Arneson Artist - Sal Trapani  My brothers got me into comics, but they were strictly DC. But I loved comics, especially super-heroes, and I soon made my way to Marvel. The family feel of Fantastic Four and the original X-Men appealed to me, and they became my favorite characters. And I tried any new super-type I saw - Solar, Fatman, the splitting Captain Marvel. But none of them won me over the way Lee/Kirby had done. And one day I saw this book. I hadn't tried much from Dell; characters like Nuklo and Kona didn't interest me. But this cover spoke to me; ' Here I am, your new favorite,' it said. A cool new super-group to discover, and this time I'd be in on the ground floor, with the first issue. So I eagerly grabbed a copy, ran home and read it. Anyone here ever read this comic? No, of course you haven't; nobody has. And there's a reason for that. It ain't all that good. Derivative characters (named, by the way, El, Hy, Crispy and Polymer Polly), unimaginative costumes, illogical plot and less logical origin. But I was invested in it before reading it, and I wasn't about to give up that easily. So I told myself it was cool, that it had potential, that the bad guy was cool. (Enndo-Man, a robot created to end humanity, did appeal to me. I was kinda down on humanity at an early age. We'll see evidence of that later on in this list.) Years passed, and I was able to convince myself that there was untapped potential in this book; I defended it to anybody who'd listen (not many). I plotted a sequel graphic novel. And I'm still unduly fond of it. Maybe it's a sympathy for the underdog; more likely I'm just stubborn. But I still look at the cover, and something about it still speaks to me. ' Love me,' it says. And I do.
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Post by cattysquaw on Dec 13, 2014 23:42:23 GMT -5
Archie at Riverdale High #7 
The Riverdale High series was different because they were themes for each issue and #7 has always been my favorite, it dealt with the real emotions of the possibility of loosing a friend to them moving, and being a military child that spoke to me. The story was handled very nicely and go to see different sides of the characters. I do not have this issue anymore and wish I did.
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Post by Pól Rua on Dec 14, 2014 2:11:02 GMT -5
#12: Shazam! (July 1982, Murray Publishers Pty.Ltd) I'd been agonizing over this when, suddenly, I see someone posting an Aussie black and white reprint, and my job gets a LOT easier. As a kid, 90% of my comics were Australian B&W reprints from Planet Comics, Murray Comics and Federal Comics. These were GREAT, because at about 100 pages, they'd include the equivalent of 3 or 4 regular size comics, as well as a bunch of short pieces (whatever they had in the archives) to fill in space. This one opens with 'Man and Supermarvel' and 'The Beast that Shouted "Hate" at the Heart of the UN' (reprinted from 'DC Comics presents' #33 & 34), wherein an unholy alliance between Misters Mxyzptlk & Mind, and King Kull the Beast Man threaten the destruction of not one but TWO Earths, requiring the intervention of Superman, Captain Marvel, Mary Marvel, Captain Marvel jr., Uncle Marvel and a surprise guest star* to stop! It's no secret that I'm a big fan of The Big Red Cheese and the Marvel Family and this is the sort of thing that REALLY floats my boat. It's a gorgeous, big, fun slam-bang, all-action slugfest with lots of top-notch superhero fun courtesy of Roy Thomas on script and Buckler and Giordano on Art duties. The rest of this book is full of treasure including a bunch of Captain Marvel stories from the pages of 'Adventure Comics', by E.Nelson Bridwell and the sublime Don Newton. Captain Marvel encounters 'The Captain Marvel of 7,000 BC', Captain Marvel jr. battles 'The Greybeard Gang', Mary Marvel solves 'The Case of the Runaway Sculpture', and then everyone (including the three Lieutenant Marvels) fights off an 'Assault on the Rock of Eternity' from The Monster Society of Evil (Dr.Sivana, Oggar, Mister Atom, Black Adam, Ibac, King Kull and the world's wickedest worm, Mister Mind!). As if that wasn't enough, the World's Finest duo of Superman and Batman battle Mister Freeze in 'Summer Nights, Winter Days' by Paul Kupperberg, Rich Buckler and Frank McLaughlin (that'd be that random filler I may have mentioned earlier). 
(* - psst. It's Hoppy, the Marvel Bunny... because OF COURSE IT IS! And people wonder why I prefer Pre-Crisis DC!)
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Post by Deleted on Dec 14, 2014 2:19:05 GMT -5
#12: Marvel Two-In-One Annual #6 (Marvel, 1981)  The nostalgia factor came into play in making my selections. What comics ultimately defined my love for the medium? As a six-year old long-haired son of a pair of traveling hippies, in 1981 few things were more important than Star Wars, The Incredible Hulk, and 7-11 Slurpees. The ma and pa loved to travel the far out west, and I pretty much lived in the back of our 1975 Chevrolet Caprice Estate Wagon during these long road trips. We'd travel out of California and into Nevada, up through Idaho to stop at Yellowstone and then into Montana, where we'd visit places such as Glacier National Park and Museums full of giant Dinosaur fossils. Then we'd travel back through Oregon, and visit the Enchanted Forest, a theme park full of rides based on various fairy tales. During these road trips, we'd stop at quick stops for food and bathroom breaks. It was during these stops that my Dad would usually let me pick out a couple of comics off the spinner rack. All of that bronze age goodness, hanging off the racks. Boy did I love when my Mom had to stop to pee! Anyways, for this particular pick we stopped at a quick stop and my Dad went into grab some snacks. He came back and handed me a coke, and this annual saying "This should keep you busy for a while". I've always loved comics that were double-sized and featured more than one character. This one had the Thing, Ka-zar, the Klaw and a new character called American Eagle. The story revolves around an ancient Indian legend that may have something to do with a recent land dispute between mining contractors and an Indian tribe that owns the land in the Southwest. Two Indian brothers, Jason and Ward Strongbow, have gone missing inside the mining cavern during the dispute. Wyatt Wingfoot seeks help and finds a bored Ben Grimm at the Baxter Building and the two head off to the Savage Land. The American Eagle was pretty much the star of the show in this one. He was a pretty fascinating character to my once young eyes. His costume was red, white and blue like Captain America, except he wore a long indian headress and wields a crossbow, and can throw giant boulders and rip trees out of the ground like the Hulk. He gives a good whipping to Ka-zar, leaving the Lord of the Hidden Jungle cowering like a frightened animal. Ka-zar thought the American Eagle was hunting a Unicorn, but once that is cleared up they become allies. They meet up with the Thing and Wyatt Wingfoot, and it is determined that the Klaw has resurfaced behind a vibranium poaching scheme in a Dinosaur graveyard, where they are keeping a bunch of giant, angry Dinosaurs in cages while excavating a vibranium mine nearby. The group heads to the graveyard and battles Klaw and the poachers, who unleash the horde of savage Dino's amongst the melee. It ends up being a free for all as the Thing takes on Klaw, Ka-zar handles the Dino's, and the Eagle battles his brother who had been working with the poachers.  The rampaging Dino's trample the poachers in a blazing stampede of saurian glory!  Then there is the Project Pegasus cleaning lady, who basically started this whole mess by bringing Klaw back to life in the first place! The comic ends on a sad note with the death of Eagle's brother. What's even more sad about this? Aside from a few blink-and-you-missed-it cameos, we never see American Eagle ever again during the Bronze Age era of Marvel comics. The character, created by Ron Wilson, definitely showed a lot of promise in this issue, which makes the mystery that much more perplexing. I don't plan to go this in depth with the rest of the picks, but I felt this first one lays the ground work for my choices, and defines what I love about comic books. |
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