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Post by berkley on Dec 31, 2014 0:15:33 GMT -5
Sorry for taking so long to post this final entry, but a driver update to my video card still has my computer down and we've been on the run out of town. Though Justice League of America # 115 is very near and dear to my heart, and my pick for the Tenth Day of Christmas, as well as my first comic purchase, this issue, while not a comic book per say, but instead a fanzine, became my number one pick because it was my gateway issue to fandom, the history of comics, the business of comics, and the people behind the stories and characters we love. [Comics Journal #70] I guess to some it's kind of weird picking this out as my number 1 pick, but it's lead to hundreds of fanzines and books on comic books, comic strips and comix and an even greater love of the people, from production workers to executives to retailers, fans and more, that contribute to this fascination / obsession I'll never outlive. Some may have noticed I've "liked" just about every posting for this 12 Days of Christmas event. That's because I truly have liked them all and really love the thought and time that everyone contributes, most especially Mr. Kurt Mitchell. I really loved the boards over at CBR and still think Shaxper has helped to elevate it to the next level. Thanks Shaxper and thanks everyone for another great Christmas thread. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to all of you ! Same to you and everyone else here on the Board! (Is there a better phrase I could use instead of "the Board"? It makes me feel like I'm addressing a committee of some corporate bureacracy or something, with all the connotations of deadly dullness, socio-economic repression, and political corruption that that carries with me). I never saw this particular CJ issue before but by the contents - Bhob Stewart's Wally Wood tribute, for example - it's something I'll want to have a look for. An unexpected choice, thanks for sharing it! |
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Post by berkley on Dec 31, 2014 0:32:37 GMT -5
 12) Eightball #22 - 2001 This issue is a collection of short vignettes, focusing on various characters in the town of "Ice Haven". Each one stands alone, but together they form a bigger tapestry. There's a nominal plot, involving the kidnapping of a young boy, but ultimately that's just another element of stress and uncertainty pressing down on the quietly desperate townspeople. It's not all grim and serious; there are a couple of surreal sequences involving a flashback to 100,000 BC, and another where a child's toy bunny comes to life and goes on a shooting spree. Even the obligatory advertisement in the back is narrated "in character" by one of the townspeople. Although it feels like things are going to boil over at any second, they never really do. The missing child turns up alive. Some characters come to important decisions about their lives, while other remain stuck in their unhappy ruts. And that seems to be the ultimate message of "Ice Haven" -- life might be sad, and frustrating, and ridiculous, but the one thing you can say about life is that it keeps going on, regardless. Whether that's a hopeful message or a depressing one is a matter of perspective. Great call! This is a fabulously well-layered and nuanced story. To me this is the last really excellent piece of work Clowes has come up with, but that may be only because I haven't read his more recent stuff. I'm shocked to see that it's been well over ten years since it came out. What have I missed in the meantime, if anything? I have read the last issue of Eightball, which I thought was very good, but not up to the standard of Ice Haven. |
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Post by hondobrode on Dec 31, 2014 13:24:41 GMT -5
Sorry for taking so long to post this final entry, but a driver update to my video card still has my computer down and we've been on the run out of town. Though Justice League of America # 115 is very near and dear to my heart, and my pick for the Tenth Day of Christmas, as well as my first comic purchase, this issue, while not a comic book per say, but instead a fanzine, became my number one pick because it was my gateway issue to fandom, the history of comics, the business of comics, and the people behind the stories and characters we love. [Comics Journal #70] I guess to some it's kind of weird picking this out as my number 1 pick, but it's lead to hundreds of fanzines and books on comic books, comic strips and comix and an even greater love of the people, from production workers to executives to retailers, fans and more, that contribute to this fascination / obsession I'll never outlive. Some may have noticed I've "liked" just about every posting for this 12 Days of Christmas event. That's because I truly have liked them all and really love the thought and time that everyone contributes, most especially Mr. Kurt Mitchell. I really loved the boards over at CBR and still think Shaxper has helped to elevate it to the next level. Thanks Shaxper and thanks everyone for another great Christmas thread. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to all of you ! Same to you and everyone else here on the Board! (Is there a better phrase I could use instead of "the Board"? It makes me feel like I'm addressing a committee of some corporate bureacracy or something, with all the connotations of deadly dullness, socio-economic repression, and political corruption that that carries with me). I never saw this particular CJ issue before but by the contents - Bhob Stewart's Wally Wood tribute, for example - it's something I'll want to have a look for. An unexpected choice, thanks for sharing it! You made me laugh with your Board comments. We're a different kind of welcoming and sharing board ! I love the Comics Journal. Even the stuff that I'm not immediately interested in I find pretty fascinating, like a lot of the international stuff I have little to no knowledge of. It's a serious journal that has a much broader scope than most other things out there with www.comicsbeat.com and www.comicsreporter.com (by Tom Spurgeon, previous Comics Journal editor) notable exceptions. As long as I'm plugging away, I'll mention www.twomorrows.com, the home of great fanzines including The Jack Kirby Collector, Alter Ego, Back Issue, Comic Book Creator and more. |
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Post by spoon on Dec 31, 2014 19:32:45 GMT -5
#1 - Classic X-Men #33 Now, we arrive at the top of my shamelessly X-Men heavy list. I read my older brother's copy of this one, and I'm pretty sure my copy today is that inherited one rather than one I bought myself. I started collecting X-Men a few years after getting into comics. So for a few years, the only X-Men comics in our household were my copy of Uncanny #195, my older brother's Uncanny #244, and Classic #33. With it's Byrne art, the Classic X-Men issue stood out. The X-Men seemed like a strange group compared to some other heroes. It has a pretty cool villain (Proteus). I'm someone who falls squarely on the Cyclops side of fandom's Cyclops vs. Wolverine divide. I always liked the scene where Cyclops messes with Wolverine to snap Logan out of his Proteus-induced anxiety. I haven't read a lot of recent X-Men, but I don't think a writer would get away with that in the era of Wolverine saturation. He's a flawed member of an ensemble. He's afraid. He needs somebody's help to work his way out of it. The new back-up story by Ann Nocenti and John Bolton features Havok and Polaris. As with some of the other issues on my list (Alpha Flight, New Mutants, Web of Spider-Man), that story was interesting to me as a kid because it was creepy and disconcerting. Havok has some sort of hallucination or daydream that, at one point, has him merging him Polaris into one person with no head.
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