Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,222 
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Post by Confessor on Aug 9, 2014 11:39:09 GMT -5
I've been reading the Lee/Ditko Doctor Strange stories from Strange Tales. Steve Ditko draws the most expressive, anatomically impossible hand gestures! And people who complain about modern comic stories being padded should get a load of this run. "Okay, this issue he'll fight Dormammu, for su...what? Next issue? Sheesh!" I'm currently working my way through the first volume of the Dr. Strange Masterworks collection. I'm loving the moody and quasi-psychedelic art, but I know what you mean about the hands -- Ditko drew very distinctive hands anyway, but on Dr. Strange he was able to really indulge himself due to the various magical incantations that Strange has to conjure. |
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Post by Hoosier X on Aug 10, 2014 16:10:26 GMT -5
I've been reading the Lee/Ditko Doctor Strange stories from Strange Tales. Steve Ditko draws the most expressive, anatomically impossible hand gestures! And people who complain about modern comic stories being padded should get a load of this run. "Okay, this issue he'll fight Dormammu, for su...what? Next issue? Sheesh!" I don't think those Doctor Strange stories were padded. There was more than one antagonist, and Dr. Strange fought a series of battles, followed the clues, and was on a quest with a bunch of steps along the way.
And it's a classic.
The complaint about padding in today's comics is more about stretching the story, with huge panels, many pages that are basically pin-ups and stretching out a single battle into the next issue when it should have been done by page five of the first issue.
There's a HUGE difference between the padding in modern comics and the long storylines in Silver Age comics. Is Nick Fury vs. Hydra a padded storyline because it took 10 or more issues? I don't think many comics fans would agree with that assessment.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 10, 2014 16:44:15 GMT -5
Also remember those installments were only 10-12 pages usually because of the split book format, so any 2 chapters comprised what is 1 modern comic book.
-M
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Post by berkley on Aug 10, 2014 19:42:14 GMT -5
Yeah, when I read them as reprints in the 70s Strange Tales I found the long delay before finally confronting Dormammu himself was exactly the way it should have been played: it felt like a real comic book epic and I would have been disappointwef if the story had jumped right to the final showdown with Dormammu too soon. the whole long sequence where Strange is on the run from Dormammu's or Mordo's minions aded so much suspense and really gave me the feeling that he was in very serious trouble. It's like if you were reading Lord of the Rings you wouldn't the story to jump straight from Frodo leaving the Shire to Frodo braving the terrors of Mordor.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 10, 2014 19:49:42 GMT -5
Yeah, when I read them as reprints in the 70s Strange Tales I found the long delay before finally confronting Dormammu himself was exactly the way it should have been played: it felt like a real comic book epic and I would have been disappointwef if the story had jumped right to the final showdown with Dormammu too soon. the whole long sequence where Strange is on the run from Dormammu's or Mordo's minions aded so much suspense and really gave me the feeling that he was in very serious trouble. It's like if you were reading Lord of the Rings you wouldn't the story to jump straight from Frodo leaving the Shire to Frodo braving the terrors of Mordor. Yes, but theDoc epic definitely would not have been improved if he stopped to have a sing-along with Tom Bombadil songs for 3 issues  -M |
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Post by Spike-X on Aug 11, 2014 0:58:23 GMT -5
Yeah, when I read them as reprints in the 70s Strange Tales I found the long delay before finally confronting Dormammu himself was exactly the way it should have been played: it felt like a real comic book epic and I would have been disappointwef if the story had jumped right to the final showdown with Dormammu too soon. the whole long sequence where Strange is on the run from Dormammu's or Mordo's minions aded so much suspense and really gave me the feeling that he was in very serious trouble. It's like if you were reading Lord of the Rings you wouldn't the story to jump straight from Frodo leaving the Shire to Frodo braving the terrors of Mordor. Yeah, fair point. |
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Post by paulie on Aug 11, 2014 9:17:03 GMT -5
Yeah, when I read them as reprints in the 70s Strange Tales I found the long delay before finally confronting Dormammu himself was exactly the way it should have been played: it felt like a real comic book epic and I would have been disappointwef if the story had jumped right to the final showdown with Dormammu too soon. the whole long sequence where Strange is on the run from Dormammu's or Mordo's minions aded so much suspense and really gave me the feeling that he was in very serious trouble. It's like if you were reading Lord of the Rings you wouldn't the story to jump straight from Frodo leaving the Shire to Frodo braving the terrors of Mordor. Yes, but theDoc epic definitely would not have been improved if he stopped to have a sing-along with Tom Bombadil songs for 3 issues -M Didn't Tolkein say the Tom Bombadil chapters are the most important part of the work? Or the part he liked the most? |
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Post by Action Ace on Aug 11, 2014 13:11:08 GMT -5
Also remember those installments were only 10-12 pages usually because of the split book format, so any 2 chapters comprised what is 1 modern comic book. -M With all the double page spreads and other splash pages, a modern 20/22 page comic is about as hefty as an old 10/11 pager from back in the day. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2014 13:36:50 GMT -5
Also remember those installments were only 10-12 pages usually because of the split book format, so any 2 chapters comprised what is 1 modern comic book. -M With all the double page spreads and other splash pages, a modern 20/22 page comic is about as hefty as an old 10/11 pager from back in the day. I don't know, I'd say Kirby's 70's output made more use of those than any 4-5 current comics combined. -M |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Aug 13, 2014 11:12:53 GMT -5
I decided I wanted to read some Marvel (somehow most of my big runs to read are all DC) so I took a break from Starman to read Inferno. I was defending the story a bit to people back on the old board, and I still think it's pretty good... at least the New Mutants issues. I also maintain it's a great example of how a crossover can be used to effect a shared universe without being too intrusive. The drama with Maddie Pryor and such... yeah that's pretty bad. Also read Power Man and Iron Fist (Kurt Busiek's first 3 issues)... I think that's Busiek's first Marvel work (perhaps his first work, period). It's definitely rough. Love that 70s shaft-like Power Man stuff, though  . I picked them up to get the story on Chemistro, who poped up in Iron Man and seemed to have a cool back story. It wasn't great, but it was a pretty solid story. I wouldn't mind getting more of the series. |
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Post by Pharozonk on Aug 13, 2014 11:15:15 GMT -5
I've been reading more into Paul Levitz's run on Tales of the Legion of Superheroes. I liked that it's comprised of several smaller stories, though I'm sad that the format ends once it starts reprinting the Baxter series.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Aug 15, 2014 10:42:16 GMT -5
Read New Teen Titans: Games yesterday... and it had me feeling nostalalgic and waxing poetic Comics are a funny thing. Things change, but then they often go back to the way they were... new authors change teams, characters, settings, etc. Everyone has their favorite heroes, writers, artists, etc. The Wolfman/Perez Titans (sort of as seen on TV) is one of mine, and having new material, set back in their heyday, is very much like meeting an old friend you'd not seen in a long time. Some things are very familiar, others make you wonder 'is that really how it was' and sometimes you think.. 'you've changed'. I had all those things going on here... I think the part that was a bit grating was the focus on Danny Chase, whose addition to the team late in the run was pretty much universally hated (me included)... Wolfman says in the afterword he wanted to give the poor guy a good story, and he did, but I don't really hate him any less. Still, these old friends are always great to visit... makes me want to take out the comics and read them again (which I surely will soon). |
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Post by DE Sinclair on Aug 15, 2014 13:52:44 GMT -5
Read New Teen Titans: Games yesterday... and it had me feeling nostalalgic and waxing poetic Comics are a funny thing. Things change, but then they often go back to the way they were... new authors change teams, characters, settings, etc. Everyone has their favorite heroes, writers, artists, etc. The Wolfman/Perez Titans (sort of as seen on TV) is one of mine, and having new material, set back in their heyday, is very much like meeting an old friend you'd not seen in a long time. Some things are very familiar, others make you wonder 'is that really how it was' and sometimes you think.. 'you've changed'. I had all those things going on here... I think the part that was a bit grating was the focus on Danny Chase, whose addition to the team late in the run was pretty much universally hated (me included)... Wolfman says in the afterword he wanted to give the poor guy a good story, and he did, but I don't really hate him any less. Still, these old friends are always great to visit... makes me want to take out the comics and read them again (which I surely will soon). I actually just got that a couple weeks ago too. I picked it up while passing through Madison, WI, stopping in at Westfield Comics. All they had was the hardcover, so I asked the clerk if it had come out in paperback. He said that it had, but they were out. He then offerred the hardcover for the paperback price, saving me about $8. So here's a plug for them for great customer service. On the book itself, I wasn't as thrilled with it as I thought I would be. It was indeed fun reading something "new" from classic creators and characters, like hanging out with old friends. Unfortunately, they didn't seem to have anything all that interesting to say. The villains created were forgetable, and the plot not all that exciting. And I still can't stand Danny Chase either. The excess focus on his character dragged it down as well. But on the plus side, the art was beautiful and I got it cheap(ish). |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Aug 15, 2014 17:28:08 GMT -5
Yeah, the art was definitely the highlight. I got it for a good deal too... Newbury Comics is doing it's buy 2 get 1 free sale (as the do about 1/3 of the time), and it was marked down anyway, so I got that (in Hard Cover) the Fallen Angels Hardcover, and an Emily the Strange TPB for $23 Total.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Aug 15, 2014 17:30:02 GMT -5
I've been reading more into Paul Levitz's run on Tales of the Legion of Superheroes. I liked that it's comprised of several smaller stories, though I'm sad that the format ends once it starts reprinting the Baxter series. I got a good Legion run to read soon I'm lookin' forward to, from the Great Darkness Saga almost up to 1990 or so |
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. I picked them up to get the story on Chemistro, who poped up in Iron Man and seemed to have a cool back story. It wasn't great, but it was a pretty solid story. I wouldn't mind getting more of the series.
