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Post by tingramretro on May 3, 2017 3:37:22 GMT -5
Captain Britain, Spitfire and Union Jack were all based in or near London, though only the Captain had his own series. The rest of the heroes in the Marvel UK line were either based in America (Night Raven) or outer space or didn't appear until after the Bronze Age.The Invaders were based in Britain for most of their run, albeit Britain in WWII. Shang Chi and Dracula also spent much of their respective series' in the UK, while Alpha Flight were obviously in Canada, and Ka-Zar and Shanna were technically in Antarctica. Rom was based in West Virginia for much of his run.
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Post by tingramretro on May 2, 2017 3:27:10 GMT -5
badwolf
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Post by tingramretro on Apr 30, 2017 1:22:25 GMT -5
That all changed in 1971, though, when publishers Polystyle launched Countdown, a big, glossy. and correspondingly expensive title aimed at slightly older readers (the young readership of TV Comic probably wouldn't have had the pocket money to afford it) which had the interesting gimmick of numbering its pages in reverse order, so that each issue was an actual "countdown" to the last! Most of the new title's content was based on the characters created by Gerry Anderson, such as Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet, but it was evidently felt that the Doctor in his current incarnation would fit in better here than in his traditional home. And with his new, markedly less dumb, adventures now beautifully illustrated by the likes of Harry Lindfield, Frank Langford and Gerry Haylock, the Doctor's comics career entered its first real golden age! ..And I was 12 years old and I bought it from issue one. I passed the complete run of Countdown and TV Action on to a friend when I was in my 20s in exchange for a couple of pints. A decision I have regretted a couple of times over the years as a particular image or story popped into my mind that I wanted to revisit. Ah, the folly of youth...  |
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Post by tingramretro on Apr 29, 2017 5:49:56 GMT -5
This explains why most hero's and villains wear their underoo's on the outside of their costumes in the past so as to avoid embarrassing moments when they couldn't find a bathroom. And now i can't get the Flush Gordon (savior of the plumbing) them song from my mind. Instead of Queen going aahhhaaaahh i hear the sound of a toilet flushing....and Brian Blessed as Vultan shouting out to his hawk-men to fluuuuuuuuuuuush! Speaking of Brian Blessed, has everyone seen his appearance on QI from a few years ago? The man is a living legend! Someone recently sent me an audiobook of him reading his own autbiography, and it's amazing. I've read the book myself, but hearing him bellowing out his life story in his own voice is an experience not to be missed... |
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Post by tingramretro on Apr 29, 2017 1:57:43 GMT -5
I'm still waiting for a twelve issue prestige format Ravage limited series painted by Alex Ross. It has to happen eventually...
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Post by tingramretro on Apr 29, 2017 1:30:06 GMT -5
You know, thinking about it...aside from Jan, Hank Pym never actually had a supporting cast! Nobody at all! Hmmm...
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Post by tingramretro on Apr 29, 2017 1:27:08 GMT -5
I always felt that they really crossed the line by bringing Barry Allen back after 25 years. That was spectacularly pointless. Alive, Barry was just a cardboard cut-out character. Dead, he was DC's one genuine martyr, who was a constant source of inspiration to Wally West, a more engaging Flash by far. Dying was the most interesting thing Barry ever did! |
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Post by tingramretro on Apr 28, 2017 15:51:51 GMT -5
We don't mention the Professor's unfortunate infatuation with Jean! It was a temporary abberation, and the man is (currently) dead. Have some respect!  |
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Post by tingramretro on Apr 28, 2017 11:40:49 GMT -5
Just wondering if, combining our own little pockets of knowledge, we can assemble a close-to-accurate list of Lee and Kirby's favorite and least favorite early Marvel properties. I'm curious if higher interest correlates to higher quality stories. I believe it was in the introduction to the 1980s Silver Surfer one-shot that Lee indicated the Silver Surfer was his absolute favorite character of all time. I'm reasonably sure I've read the same was true for Kirby, but I couldn't tell you where. Maybe even just the fact that their final work together was the Silver Surfer Ultimate Cosmic Experience. I'm assuming the two did not have a lot of love for the X-Men, as that title seemed to be the recipient of a lot less enthusiasm and creativity than their other works. Jack always looked like he was having a ball in the early Agent of SHIELD stories, always introducing some far out new technology each issue. Lee seemed to have fun waxing nostalgic in Sgt. Fury, as well as subtly introducing subversive messages about diversity that were way ahead of their time. Did Lee's enthusiasm cause Spider-Man to become a sensation, or did Lee speak enthusiastically about Spider-Man because he was a sensation? Fantastic Four was where it all started -- how much did that matter to Stan and Jack? I know a lot less about the early Marvel Universe than most of you here, so I'm looking forward to learning from you all! I would guess you can tell how much Lee loved a property by how long he kept writing it. Fantastic Four and Amazing Spider-Man had more than a hundred issues with his name on them. He got nowhere near that far with his other properties. And it was up to him what he handed over to Thomas and other successors and when. By 1970, he was basically done with writing, essentially forever (he gets his name on the occasional thing, but I suspect he's paid for his name). He returned to only two Marvel properties for significant works. He wrote the Amazing Spider-Man newspaper strip. And he came back repeatedly to Silver Surfer over the next 20 years. Are you suggesting that She-Hulk and Ravage 2099 are not significant!!!?  |
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Post by tingramretro on Apr 28, 2017 10:59:28 GMT -5
I think I read that Lee didn't think much of the Diablo character. I had to go look up who this character was. I've probably read his first appearance before, but I have no recollection of it. Hardly surprising, since poor old Esteban is probably up there with the Metal Master as one of the most forgettable characters Silver Age Marvel ever gave us... |
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Post by tingramretro on Apr 28, 2017 10:50:35 GMT -5
I think I read that Lee didn't think much of the Diablo character. Yes, he said he never really knew what Diablo was supposed to be all about, despite having co-created him. |
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Post by tingramretro on Apr 28, 2017 10:37:34 GMT -5
Sorry, but this is just bizarre. In the UK, the item of clothing you are referring to is called "braces". That's what holds your trousers up. "Suspenders" are what women use to hold their stockings up, and are a fairly common component in many erotic fantasies. To anyone in Britain, the phrase "I like superheroes who wear suspenders" just makes you sound a bit...well...kinky... I actually had to reread your post before I realized what you meant. My initial reaction was to almost choke on my sandwich. Considering Black Canary and Zatanna's fetish for fishnet stockings this is not so kinky as it seems?!? If it works for Tim Curry as that sweet transsexual Transylvanian mad Dr. Frank N. Furter why not? I realize I maybe seeming somewhat old fashioned, sexist and closed minded here, but I still can't help feeling that fashion choices that are acceptable (and, indeed, desirable) for Zatanna might just be a little disturbing for the Angel. And I also cannot help but suspect that had Professor Xavier found any of his male X-Men emulating Frank, the only time warp they'd have been doing was the one that he used to despatch them to the nearest Sentinel overrun dystopian future! Make no mistake, Charles is not Doctor Scott, and the only thing he's wearing under that blanket is a pair of well tailored trousers, not fishnets! |
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Post by tingramretro on Apr 28, 2017 9:58:08 GMT -5
Sorry, but this is just bizarre. In the UK, the item of clothing you are referring to is called "braces". That's what holds your trousers up. "Suspenders" are what women use to hold their stockings up, and are a fairly common component in many erotic fantasies. To anyone in Britain, the phrase "I like superheroes who wear suspenders" just makes you sound a bit...well...kinky... I actually had to reread your post before I realized what you meant. My initial reaction was to almost choke on my sandwich. Isn't that the same country where people go down on a lift It is as possible to lift someone down as it is to lift them up. To elevate something, on the other hand, exclusively means to move it to a higher position. Isn't yours the country where you apparently go down in an elevator? |
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Post by tingramretro on Apr 28, 2017 9:50:45 GMT -5
I like superhero's who wear suspenders! There i said it.   Sorry, but this is just bizarre. In the UK, the item of clothing you are referring to is called "braces". That's what holds your trousers up. "Suspenders" are what women use to hold their stockings up, and are a fairly common component in many erotic fantasies. To anyone in Britain, the phrase "I like superheroes who wear suspenders" just makes you sound a bit...well...kinky... I actually had to reread your post before I realized what you meant. My initial reaction was to almost choke on my sandwich. |
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Post by tingramretro on Apr 28, 2017 7:47:11 GMT -5
Chris Claremont: Never knowingly using one word when twelve will do.
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