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Post by paulie on Jun 5, 2014 14:33:44 GMT -5
I laughed when I saw the first 8 issues of the 1988 Wolverine series in one of my long-boxes. I was filing away Power of Warlock #6 in NM condition so don't laugh at me, laugh with me.
But I pulled them out once I remembered that the art was by John Buscema and Al Williamson. I know that some people have disagreed with me that it is the writer-artist team that makes the book and not the character that makes the book. I decided to put that to the test.
You know what? These weren't too bad. Buscema and Williamson had a nice feel for the exotic setting of the series (Madripoor) and Claremont turned in a nice noir-ish script with his typical strong supporting cast.
Granted, there's one to many "I'm the best at what I do and what I do...'s" but it's nice to see Wolvie out of costume in more of an Indiana Jones type role than a superhero. Plus we have three classic comics pro's who seem to be reveling in being free of the superhero genre even if it is just for a brief moment; in this case 8 issues.
I had no problem with these comics at all. The John Buscema-Al Williamson pairing wins the day. (Note- Issue 2 is inked by Klaus Janson who also looks fantastic over Buscema's pencils.)
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Post by Hoosier X on Jun 5, 2014 21:52:28 GMT -5
I got some Essential volumes from the library -
X-Men, Vol. 2 (#25 to #53),
Dr. Strange, Vol. 2 (Dr. Strange #169 to #183 and the Marvel Premiere issues and a few odds and ends),
Hulk, Vol. 5 (#171 to #200)
I read X-Men #25 while I saw waiting for the bus. Oh, dear, it was bad.
I've read most of the issues of X-Men from #1 to #18 and maybe 7 or 8 of the issues from #18 to #50 (and none between there and #66) and I sometimes hear fans talk about how bad the original X-Men was. I always wonder if they're either exaggerating or just repeating some meme that's been going around because some professional said the X-Men sucked in the Silver Age. Because of the issues I've seen, some are pretty good and some are OK.
But, man, I hope #25 is just a stumble. If most of the stories in this volume are like this, Essential X-Men, Volume 2, is going to be a bit of a chore.
(I also got some real books. "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou, and a book about the 2,000 Americans who stayed in Paris during the Nazi Occupation, 1940 to 1944.)
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Post by Nowhere Man on Jun 6, 2014 1:06:30 GMT -5
I'm currently doing a re-watch of all four volumes of Batman: The Animated Series and before I started the last volume, I read Batman Adventures: The Lost Years, for the first time to bridge the gap. (Before that I read all of the Batman Adventure's comics while watching the series.)
I had so much fun doing this, I might do the same thing with Superman Adventures and Justice League Adventures.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 6, 2014 1:22:09 GMT -5
I've been thinking of finishing off my TMNT Adventures series and giving them a readthrough. That's one of the first series I can remember as a kid where a change in one story had a lasting effect on a character. Raphael turning black. I don't have the issue where it happened, but reading the issues I bought here or there I remember realizing the comic was an actual ongoing story where things progressed from one installment to the next, unlike the cartoons if I remember correctly.
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Post by Jasoomian on Jun 10, 2014 15:49:11 GMT -5
Star Wars #96 (1985)
Jo Duffy / Cynthia Martin / Bob Wiacek
I apparently had sorted this into the wrong pile. Going in I thought it was a done-in-one story. But it's not. It opens with a seven-page dialogue-free fight between Luke with his lightsaber and some cyborg lady with a whip made of both metal and laser-type energy strands. Then other stuff happens and it ends with a cliffhanger -- a fleet of "Nagai" appearing in the sky above whatever planet our heroes are on. The Nagai are apparently the chief antagonist in the post-RotJ issues.
I wasn't really impressed with the art. I'd characterize it as a third-rate Sienkiewicz ripoff.
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Post by paulie on Jun 11, 2014 10:22:03 GMT -5
Star Wars #96 (1985) Jo Duffy / Cynthia Martin / Bob Wiacek I apparently had sorted this into the wrong pile. Going in I thought it was a done-in-one story. But it's not. It opens with a seven-page dialogue-free fight between Luke with his lightsaber and some cyborg lady with a whip made of both metal and laser-type energy strands. Then other stuff happens and it ends with a cliffhanger -- a fleet of "Nagai" appearing in the sky above whatever planet our heroes are on. The Nagai are apparently the chief antagonist in the post- RotJ issues. I wasn't really impressed with the art. I'd characterize it as a third-rate Sienkiewicz ripoff. Cynthia Martin wasn't the proper penciller for the Star Wars book. Hers was a loose sketchy style that didn't give justice to the SW universe. (Hey, George Lucas hasn't done that since Empire Strikes Back!)
Coming after some 40 add issues of really lush inks from Tom Palmer the Martin/Wiacek team just didn't look 'right'.
There is one final flourish though. #98 is a full art job from Al Williamson and it looks great.
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Post by Nowhere Man on Jun 11, 2014 10:24:21 GMT -5
I'm reading Jim Aparo's complete run on The Brave and the Bold.
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Post by Hoosier X on Jun 11, 2014 11:14:08 GMT -5
I'm reading Jim Aparo's complete run on The Brave and the Bold. All hail the Haneyverse! Let the King Hell Capers commence!
Have you got to the one where the Atom goes into the brain of comatose Batman and controls his bodily functions by stimulating the parts of the rain?
I saw Bob Haney at a panel at San Diego Comic-Con (late 1990s) and he singled out that story as his favorite of everything he ever worked on.
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Post by Nowhere Man on Jun 11, 2014 11:55:35 GMT -5
I'm reading Jim Aparo's complete run on The Brave and the Bold. All hail the Haneyverse! Let the King Hell Capers commence!
Have you got to the one where the Atom goes into the brain of comatose Batman and controls his bodily functions by stimulating the parts of the rain?
I saw Bob Haney at a panel at San Diego Comic-Con (late 1990s) and he singled out that story as his favorite of everything he ever worked on.
Not yet, but I'm looking forward to it. My last issue was #112, his first team-up with Mister Miracle. My favorite so far is his team-up with Sgt. Rock where Batman apparently had access to the infinity formula. Gotta love that Bob Haney. |
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Post by The Captain on Jun 12, 2014 6:09:26 GMT -5
Started reading Black Panther's solo series by Jack Kirby last night. The art is pretty good (caveat: I'm not a huge Kirby fan, particularly after 1970), but the story is weird, with relics from King Solomon's tomb that are actually flying chariots and time machines, aliens from 6,000,000 years in the future, and midget treasure hunters. It's just an odd take on BP, as he is almost a supporting character in his own book for at least the first 4 issues, and there are virtually no super-hero aspects to the book; he's just along for the ride with the treasure hunters, helping the one and trying to stop the other.
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Post by fanboystranger on Jun 12, 2014 8:48:59 GMT -5
Started reading Black Panther's solo series by Jack Kirby last night. The art is pretty good (caveat: I'm not a huge Kirby fan, particularly after 1970), but the story is weird, with relics from King Solomon's tomb that are actually flying chariots and time machines, aliens from 6,000,000 years in the future, and midget treasure hunters. It's just an odd take on BP, as he is almost a supporting character in his own book for at least the first 4 issues, and there are virtually no super-hero aspects to the book; he's just along for the ride with the treasure hunters, helping the one and trying to stop the other. I've come to really enjoy those Kirby BPs, but man, if they didn't seem like a slap in the face after the brilliant McGregor/Graham run back in the day. |
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Post by Rob Allen on Jun 12, 2014 10:23:10 GMT -5
I've come to really enjoy those Kirby BPs, but man, if they didn't seem like a slap in the face after the brilliant McGregor/Graham run back in the day. Yeah, that was a particularly jarring transition. |
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Post by Cei-U! on Jun 12, 2014 10:47:11 GMT -5
Just finished the 1965 issues of Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman and JLA. 35 years down, 5 to go!
Cei-U!
I summon the multi-decade marathon!
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Post by MWGallaher on Jun 12, 2014 10:47:27 GMT -5
All hail the Haneyverse! Let the King Hell Capers commence!
Have you got to the one where the Atom goes into the brain of comatose Batman and controls his bodily functions by stimulating the parts of the rain?
I saw Bob Haney at a panel at San Diego Comic-Con (late 1990s) and he singled out that story as his favorite of everything he ever worked on.
Not yet, but I'm looking forward to it. My last issue was #112, his first team-up with Mister Miracle. My favorite so far is his team-up with Sgt. Rock where Batman apparently had access to the infinity formula. Gotta love that Bob Haney. So next is #113--that's a special one in my life, announcing my first stab at organizing Aparo fandom (see the letters page if you're reading the originals)! The Fan Club wouldn't really take off until letterhack Chris Khalaf wrote a response to me 20 years after the letter was published! |
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Post by paulie on Jun 12, 2014 10:58:10 GMT -5
Just finished the 1965 issues of Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman and JLA. 35 years down, 5 to go! Cei-U! I summon the multi-decade marathon! Is it tedious to read all those Silver Age DCs right in a row?
I've come to appreciate the charms of Silver Age DC in my advanced age  but that is a lot of Silver Age DC to tackle all at once.
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but that is a lot of Silver Age DC to tackle all at once.