The Eighth Day of Classic Comics Christmas 2020
Dec 20, 2020 9:13:53 GMT -5
coke & comics, Icctrombone, and 9 more like this
Post by shaxper on Dec 20, 2020 9:13:53 GMT -5
On the Eighth Day of Christmas, a hero brought to me
Batman and the death of Gwen Stacey...
Conway is my fifth favorite writer of all time for (1) being my favorite writer for a character I don't care about, and (2) not being my favorite writer for a character I deeply care about.
Let's talk Spider-Man.
I'm not a fan. I get the appeal; I really do, and I've tried to read the Lee/Ditko run three times now and always get too bored to push through it. I also read the issues that were coming out when I was an adolescent in the late '80s and early '90s. I liked the wise-cracking and frequent guest appearances well enough, but none of it wowed me, especially once McFarlane got control.
But the Death of Gwen Stacey, and the Death of Green Goblin – those were stories I truly felt. Those were moments where Peter Parker came alive for me and became a character for whom I truly cared and empathized. I've read probably a hundred Spidey stories in my life (I know that isn't much), and Amazing Spider-man #121-122 (as well as Marvel Two in One Annual #2) are the only ones that have truly stuck with me.
And then there's Conway's run on Batman from 1981-1983. While I consider the run that immediately followed Conway's to be superior (and that writer is coming later on my list), Conway had this magical sense of pacing while he was effectively running the Batman office. A plots, and B, plots, and C plots OH MY! It felt like watching a boxer in the ring, dancing back and forth and striking at the exact right moment each time, never giving you time to prepare for the next punch, and each one connecting expertly. His run included two of my favorite Batman story arcs (the Monk/Vampire storyline in Batman #349-351 and Detective #517, and especially the Haunting of Boss Thorne in Detective #520, Batman #354) as well as one of my favorite stand-alone Batman stories of all time, the death of The Squid in Detective Comics #524.
Conway was an uneven writer, for sure. Even in that Batman run, there were some truly abysmal stories, and his initial concept for Jason Todd was lacking at best, but he gave us so much good.
Oh, and Firestorm—why isn't that character a bigger deal today? It's time for him to get a TV show or Movie. Loved that internal struggle between Ronnie and the Professor mirroring our own conflicts between Id and Superego.
Batman and the death of Gwen Stacey...
5. Gerry Conway
Primarily selected for Batman, Spider-Man, and Firestorm (1972-1983)
Primarily selected for Batman, Spider-Man, and Firestorm (1972-1983)
Conway is my fifth favorite writer of all time for (1) being my favorite writer for a character I don't care about, and (2) not being my favorite writer for a character I deeply care about.
Let's talk Spider-Man.
I'm not a fan. I get the appeal; I really do, and I've tried to read the Lee/Ditko run three times now and always get too bored to push through it. I also read the issues that were coming out when I was an adolescent in the late '80s and early '90s. I liked the wise-cracking and frequent guest appearances well enough, but none of it wowed me, especially once McFarlane got control.
But the Death of Gwen Stacey, and the Death of Green Goblin – those were stories I truly felt. Those were moments where Peter Parker came alive for me and became a character for whom I truly cared and empathized. I've read probably a hundred Spidey stories in my life (I know that isn't much), and Amazing Spider-man #121-122 (as well as Marvel Two in One Annual #2) are the only ones that have truly stuck with me.
And then there's Conway's run on Batman from 1981-1983. While I consider the run that immediately followed Conway's to be superior (and that writer is coming later on my list), Conway had this magical sense of pacing while he was effectively running the Batman office. A plots, and B, plots, and C plots OH MY! It felt like watching a boxer in the ring, dancing back and forth and striking at the exact right moment each time, never giving you time to prepare for the next punch, and each one connecting expertly. His run included two of my favorite Batman story arcs (the Monk/Vampire storyline in Batman #349-351 and Detective #517, and especially the Haunting of Boss Thorne in Detective #520, Batman #354) as well as one of my favorite stand-alone Batman stories of all time, the death of The Squid in Detective Comics #524.
Conway was an uneven writer, for sure. Even in that Batman run, there were some truly abysmal stories, and his initial concept for Jason Todd was lacking at best, but he gave us so much good.
Oh, and Firestorm—why isn't that character a bigger deal today? It's time for him to get a TV show or Movie. Loved that internal struggle between Ronnie and the Professor mirroring our own conflicts between Id and Superego.