2. Fantastic Four #51 (1966)

It was inevitable that a comic would end up on this list to represent my love for the Marvel Universe that was built over the course of the 1960s, it was just a question of which one.  Perhaps equally inevitably it would have to be an issue from the legendary Lee/Kirby FF run, and arguably no single issue epitomizes everything that made that run great better than this one.  Yes, Kirby offers one of his most iconic images in that splash page (which is even more effective than the cover, the elements of nature evoking the inner turmoil that poor Ben is enveloped in) and the attendant story is littered with his usual bevy of dynamic bodies in impossible motion.  And he achieves a new level of expressive experimentation with that stunning splash page of Reed entering "the crossroads of infinity" (2001 cosmic consciousness as spectacle before 2001).  But what makes this issue (and this period of the Lee/Kirby collaboration) so special is the absolute synergy between those Kirby graphics and Lee's purple prose (reflexively summed up by Ben's self-admonishment about "sounding like a soap opera").  This issue has it all: danger in the Negative Zone and personal envy bear equal weight on the narrative and, in fact, the former becomes a prop for actualizing a redemption narrative derived from the latter.  Reed almost getting lost in the Negative Zone parallels Ben's own loss within the "negative zone" of his Thing identity; or is it that Ben needs to be the Thing more than he has been willing to admit?  Quite simply, it's a superhero comic book about what it means to be a hero while acknowledging a dramatic ambivalence about being super.  Certainly common Lee themes but perhaps never more poignantly expressed than in the story of "This Man... This Monster!"

X-Factor #87


Why this one?  Because it's a brilliant character study that really speaks to me.

In the aftermath of the X-Cutioner's Song crossover, the members of the X-Factor team have to go to sessions with Doc Samson. Each one has to discuss themselves with him, leading to some humorous and touching moments rarely found in comics. There's no fighting or a world-threatening megalomaniac to deal with,but rather some of the best character studies I've read in any medium, comics or otherwise. Be it Rahne wrestling with her identity, Polaris with her self-image, Guido with his relationship issues, Jamie Madrox with his self-worth, or Havok with his inferiority complex relating to his brother, it's a great one-and-done that holds up after repeated readings.

The one that has the most impact for me is Quicksilver's session, which is probably the one that people remember most if they've ever read this issue.  In his time with Samson, Pietro asks him if Samson has ever been behind someone in a line that can't work an ATM or who wants to know every possible way to mail a package or has to deal with a person cannot comprehend "Whopper, no pickles" and how it made him feel; Samson replies that it makes him impatient, irritated, and angry. Pietro replies that is how everyone on the planet makes him feel, because his life is slowed to a crawl because of the inabilities of everyone else to move at a pace that works for him.

For various reasons that I won't go into, Pietro's story hits home for me. It's about a man who seemingly wants to connect with the world, but he can't, which leaves him frustrated.  However, it's really not the failings of others as he alludes to that frustrates him, but rather his own in not being able to temper his expectations and just live in the world with those people.

Written by Peter David, this is a superhero comic about the people behind the costumes.

Getting ready for holiday spirits with this spooky entry from 1992...

Number 2
THE SPECTRE #1



Year of Release: December 1992
Written by: John Ostrander
Drawn by: Tom Mandrake

Synopsis: The Spectre starts out his new series investigating what role Louis Snipe had in his own murder as Jim Corrigan. His investigation takes him to a hospital where he meets Amy Beitermann. Amy notices Jim change into the Spectre outside the hospital during a drive by. This leads her to find out more about Jim.
 Meanwhile Jim kills the thugs who committed the drive by. He then goes back to the Hospital to find the truth about Louis. When he finds out he shows Louis his own empty soul that kills him.  Also, a regular guy who works close to Amy is secretly the serial killer known as the Reaver. He show up at Sally Hendrickson's home for a blind date and it is very awkward for her. Her awkwardness turns into a nightmare when he pulls out a knife and kills her.

Why This Is A Classic:  The Spectre is my all time favorite super hero character.  I first found out of the Spectre in 1987, with the Doug Moench and Gene Colan run.  From there, I loved this ghostly guy.  I traded comics (remember doing that folks?) with the neighborhood kids to find as much Spectre stuff they had.  I traded for the Adventure Comics Fleischer/Aparo issues and those were so creepy and spooky, I had nightmares for a couple of days. It took me a while to find the Murph Anderson Silver Age books and his Showcase appearances (at least good copies), but finding Spectre was tough.  Finally in 1992, a new Spectre series appeared.  And John Ostrander and Tom Mandrake were on it.  I loved the Ostrich from Suicide Squad and Firestorm, especially their work together so this was a slam dunk.  Channeling the horrors of what Fleischer built up and upping the horrors, I looked forward to each Spectre.

Another reason why this is a classic is because it's my second all-time favorite run of comics.  Ostrander took what basically is the Spirit of Vengeance and gave a ghost some depth.  As I've mentioned in a prior post, Ostrander was a theology major and brought in brevity in understanding religion and humanity, giving Corrigan a true purpose as the confronts and understands the evils of man.  For 63 issues, Ostrander brought in a lot of current events of the time and churned out thought provoking issues.  It was the best Vertigo title that wasn't a Vertigo book.  I cherish this run with all my heart.

2. Metal Men #6 DC


The Metal Men have been some of my favorite characters since I read some reprints back in the early 70’s. I picked this particular issue because although silly and outrageous it was so much goofy fun that I still go back and read it again and again. The gas vs. metal theme was great from the get go and as always the Metal Men somehow come out on top at the end though they often having to be rebuilt. The whole series had a similar vibe but this issue was quintessential Metal Men. I was so enamored by this issue that I went and found every issue the Metal Men appeared in. It is one of my favorites for showing me how much fun over-the-top, ludicrous stories can be.

P.S. I saw an episode of the Brave and the Bold Cartoon series last week on Netflix and this story was featured in one of the shorts.  Although it is a much more serious version it was still fun to watch.

Now I have to go buy a copy of Chrstmas with the Super-Heroes #2. Damn you, Jodoc!

Cei-U!
I update my Emerald City shopping list!

Detective Comics 454 (DC  Dec. 1975)




I went back and forth between this one and number 1.  And they could flip-flop on any given day.  

Some time in the fall of 1975, seven year old Slam Bradley went with his Mom to work.  At the time my Mom worked on Saturdays for a little old lady, Mrs. Pfeiffer, who ran a switchboard.  This was before answering machines were ubiquitous and Mrs. Pfeiffer had a big old-fashioned switchboard in her house and she took messages and off-hours calls for most of the doctors, lawyers, and companies in the area.  She also had a little gift shop that she ran out of her living room.  The switchboard kept her tied to her house most of the time and her husband was no help as he was an alcoholic and an asshole.  So Mom would come in on Saturday mornings and watch the switchboard and the shop while Mrs. Pfeiffer went shopping and ran errands.  And I would frequently come with her.  

On the day in question I guess I'd been useful.  I dunno.  Maybe I dusted stuff.  Maybe I pulled weeds.  Maybe I just wasn't a pain in the ass.  But Mom gave me money and told me I could go to the store.  That would be Harry's Market which was probably four or five blocks away.  My guess is that I planned to buy candy and maybe a soda.  Well I got to the store and I never made it past the spinner rack.  Comics were not foreign.  My brothers and my sisters had read them sporadically.  But that was almost all Archies and funny animal books.  I remember an issue of Gunhawks.  And my brother Jim had a handful of issues of CarToons magazine.  

But up there on the rack was Batman.  The same Batman that I had watched every morning on TV up until I started school.  The same Batman who had made me tie a towel around my neck and run around the house going Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na.  So I bought that comic.  Now...my memory tells me that I also bought an issue of JLA and an issue of World's Finest at the same time.  Because...Batman.  But in retrospect, I'm not sure my memory is right.  But I do know that Detective 454 was the first comic I ever bought on my own.  It started the whole ball of wax.  

2. Zot! #30
"Autumn" by Scott McCloud
March, 1990 (Eclipse)



I stumbled somewhere across the Zot! trade paperback collecting the original series at some point in my early 20s and was enthralled. Fun superhero adventure. Basically all the joy of superhero comics distilled down to an essence.

Scott McCloud would later return to the character with a new series. When the comic store I worked in closed, I bought out the remaining inventory (because why not). I sold most of it to a guy opening a new comic shop in town, but kept a bunch, including most of that second series of Zot! There were a couple gaps, so I was very pleased when a new collection was released collecting the entirety of the second series. I picked it up and devoured it. There had been older collections, but I had never tracked them down. I don't think the original series is currently in print, which is a shame.

The early issues of this new series offered something a little more sophisticated and complicated than the original issues. This is best seen in Zot's epic 3-part battle with 9-Jack-9, one of the coolest supervillains of all time (The Ghost in the Machine from Zot! #23-25). 9-Jack-9 is basically an unstoppable assassin, responsible we learn for the death of Zot's parents. The struggle to beat the unbeatable is a key part of the issue. But so are the questions about revenge. Zot is the essence of heroism and cannot bring himself to hate 9-Jack-9. He only wants to stop him to protect others, and this confuses him. He feels like he has every reason to hate this man, but does not. All of this is touched off by the oddest line of the entire series. When Max explains that they know who Jack is in his secret identity. He comes over sometimes and plays in their band. Max says something to the effect of, "He's not such a bad guy, all things considered".. The morality on display is complicated, confusing, and fascinating.

Then, after telling some of the most joyful superhero stories ever, to some of the most complicated, Scott McCloud seemed to grow tired of superhero stories and relegated Zot to a background character in his own series, moving the spotlight to people on earth living their "normal" lives.

This issue focuses on Jenny's mom, reflecting on her life and the choices and mistakes. She and her husband gave up idealistic dreams in their youth to be practical and sensible. They traded ambition for stability, to afford a house and a family. Now, years later, the price for those choices is divorce. She reflects on what she's lost, her youthful desires. And all seems to revolve around her memories of autumn. They used to burn leaves in the yard, but no longer do. And she misses the smell.

I had never seen an autumn when I read this comic. Where I come from, the trees didn't change much. When I left California after 30 years, this comic took on a particular significance. I was moving across the country, starting what could be my lifetime career, considering buying a house... I was 30 years old and the adulthood I'd avoided so adeptly was quickly approaching. I've always feared adulthood and this comic expresses those fears.

I'm now 33, leaving for a new state, just as far from home as Maryland, but in the other direction. I ended up not buying a house in Maryland, but just might buy one here in Hawaii. And the old fears resurface. It's quite a financial commitment. I am at this moment fairly financially unburdened. If I wanted to suddenly quit my job and go travel the world for a couple years to try to understand the criminal mind and master my own fears, I could do that. A house would require me to maintain my steady income. On the other hand, if the house I owned had a cave under it...

I never really liked Maryland. Summers too hot, winters too cold. The suburbs of Baltimore where I lived desperately lacked infrastructure. Byzantine alcohol laws meant I couldn't get good cheap scotch at Costco or Trader Joe's.

But the autumns were lovely. I had never seen anything like it. Maryland has so many trees, and they were all orange or red or yellow, stretching as far as the eye can see. At the time, I'd been reserving one shelf for a "themed display" of comics, and an autumn display seemed appropriate for my first October. Two entries from this Christmas list were included in the display, this entry, and my day 4 entry, The Fall. Both such beautiful covers. Experiencing the season for the first time gave me new appreciation for this issue I already loved.

I still don't know what burning leaves smell like, though. Maybe I'll do what Jenny's mom did, and burn a leaf in a kitchen, to experience it.

I'm curious what Scott McCloud thinks of this issue today. He was younger then, and as an indy comic artist, I can imagine the issues at hand hit close to home for him. But he is older now, and has had a successful career in comics and gotten himself a house and wonderful family. So it is possible to balance the "grown-up goals" with "childhood dreams".

But it remains scary. A house. Family. Stability. It's hard to tell if these are my dreams of everybody else's dreams for me. Sometimes I think I'd be perfectly content to live out my days sitting on the beach, with a glass of whisky and a good comic in hand. Sometimes I'm not so sure.