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Post by Hoosier X on Aug 20, 2014 13:29:01 GMT -5
I might post some more-detailed comments about Showcase: JLA, Volume Two, on the JLA Appreciation Page, but for now, here's some general comments:
I guess I'm getting used to these Silver Age JLA stories because I kinda liked some of these. I read the first four stories in this volume (JLA #17 to #29) and, yes, they're all gimmick stories, including a bizarre Doctor Destiny story, but I think these stories are growing on me. They must have been very hard to write. I guess Julius Schwartz would come up with a cover (The Justice League is exiled from Earth! The JLA is shrunk so small that Atom is a giant!) and then Gardner Fox had to make a story out of it.
I guess it worked for five- to eight-year-olds in the early 1960s. Sometimes, the stories are pretty clever, given the limitations of the format. But it's easy to see why JLA didn't go monthly until 1970s! It was hard enough to do this eight times a year, forget 12! And who was really eager to read this EVERY month?
Another thing that gets me is when they split into teams. Batman will say: "Hey, Green Arrow, me and you and Atom should go check out the disturbance in Chicago." Leaving Green Lantern and Superman and Wonder Woman as one of the teams. It's very silly how often one of the teams is two guys who, alone, can do anything when one of the other teams is Batman, Green Arrow and Atom.
I read about half of the first issue of the first JLA/JSA team-up last night and was too tired to finish. I don't think it's fair of the JSA and JLA to gang up on the bad guys like that! There's 15 JLA/JSA members ... and only six villains! Oh, sure, The Wizard and Felix Faust are powerful, but one of these dudes is just a guy with a magic fiddle! Sheesh!
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Post by pinkfloydsound17 on Aug 20, 2014 14:05:22 GMT -5
Wolverine #2 (Miller series)  Enjoyed this issue. I have never read the series before and, after my brother gave me the first ish for my birthday in June, I picked up the second recently. Behind his Daredevil and Batman TDK, I think this would round out the best Miller stuff that I have read. Justice League of America #136  My first foray into JLA. I am not a big DC fan outside of Batman and the real reason I wanted/read this was because Batman and Joker were front and center. I must say, the story was weird and not in a good way. Not sure I like the different Earths, the story just seemed very corny. I know that can come with the superhero territory but Marvel's corn has always trumped DC in my books. Power Man & Iron Fist #78  Another first for me here, I picked this up a while back because I knew it was an early Sabretooth app, although he only appears with a mask over his face. I liked the story, I have always enjoued Iron Fist and will likely try to read more Luke Cage in the future. |
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Post by Hoosier X on Aug 20, 2014 14:33:59 GMT -5
I bought this brand new off a spinner rack and for a long time (until the JSA/JLA team-up which guest-starred the All-Star Squadron), it was the only issue of JLA I had. I think I got it partly for the Joker on the cover and partly for the JSA (I had seen them in a couple of reprints).
As I recall, it's filled to overflowing with Earth-1 and Earth-2 characters, as well as the Marvel Family and Fawcett oddballs like Mr. Scarlet and Pinky and King Kull! Lots of fun! (But not interesting enough to compel to get the other issues in the team-up or to buy JLA for the next 6 years.)
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Post by paulie on Aug 20, 2014 14:34:08 GMT -5
Wolverine #2 (Miller series) Enjoyed this issue. I have never read the series before and, after my brother gave me the first ish for my birthday in June, I picked up the second recently. Behind his Daredevil and Batman TDK, I think this would round out the best Miller stuff that I have read. Justice League of America #136 My first foray into JLA. I am not a big DC fan outside of Batman and the real reason I wanted/read this was because Batman and Joker were front and center. I must say, the story was weird and not in a good way. Not sure I like the different Earths, the story just seemed very corny. I know that can come with the superhero territory but Marvel's corn has always trumped DC in my books. Power Man & Iron Fist #78 Another first for me here, I picked this up a while back because I knew it was an early Sabretooth app, although he only appears with a mask over his face. I liked the story, I have always enjoued Iron Fist and will likely try to read more Luke Cage in the future. I have all the Power Man and Iron Fist issues but I have not read them. But... I know several people who feel the Jo Duffy era is one of the overlooked gems of the Shooter era. It sounds like you'll be reading more issues in the future. |
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Post by pinkfloydsound17 on Aug 20, 2014 14:40:37 GMT -5
I think I will for sure..looking at the covers from this time frame, they look sweet and I am a sucker for a good cover.
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Post by Rob Allen on Aug 20, 2014 15:34:23 GMT -5
More Fun Comics #74 [...] But maybe best of all is an ad for Baby Ruth, advertising that it's "rich in Dextrose food-energy sugar" and even having a doctor (Allan Roy Dafur, MD) certify this. I noticed a similar ad (minus the doctor) for Butterfinger in a 1949 Quality comic. It used the exact same phrase - "rich in Dextrose, food-energy sugar". I guess people in the 40s were impressed by dextrose. |
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,878
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Post by shaxper on Aug 20, 2014 15:37:49 GMT -5
More Fun Comics #74 [...] But maybe best of all is an ad for Baby Ruth, advertising that it's "rich in Dextrose food-energy sugar" and even having a doctor (Allan Roy Dafur, MD) certify this. I noticed a similar ad (minus the doctor) for Butterfinger in a 1949 Quality comic. It used the exact same phrase - "rich in Dextrose, food-energy sugar". I guess people in the 40s were impressed by dextrose. Or just a lot more trusting that companies had their best interests at heart and would never endanger the health of their young ones in order to turn a quick buck. |
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Post by pinkfloydsound17 on Aug 20, 2014 16:49:53 GMT -5
Uncanny X-Men #123
Snagged this from the run of issues I am selling off for a friend. He told me to pick what I wanted here and there and, being that there is a Spidey app, I had to snag it. That being said, Spidey is pretty useless in this ish. He knows Arcade is capturing the X-Men, so he tries to call the mansion only to find he is too late. When Arcade tells Spidey he is next, Spidey yells and smashed the phone booth. But whatever, its a Spidey app.
Captain America #250
Picked this one up a while back, just read it. I like it a lot, and this little run (#248-252) has been a nice read so far. Again, a brief Spidey app and a Spidey "moment" where JJJ curses and swears at Robbie's idea of him possibly running for mayor. I like Cap, the artwork earlier on the covers is more my style than the stuff from later 70's early 80's but the writing is better. Overall a good read and, can you really go wrong with Byrne and Stern? I think not
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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2014 16:52:11 GMT -5
Defenders #1 This is the first Defenders comic I've ever read and I really enjoyed it. I like that it didn't try to establish the team before getting things going, especially since we already know the characters. Good story and next issue Silver Surfer! This made me chuckle.  For some reason Marvel Unlimited only has issues 1-6, 9-11 and 76-77, but hopefully they add more soon, because I really want to read Gerber's run after reading about it in a recent(ish) issue of Back Issue and don't want to buy the Essential only for it to show up on MU the next day.
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Post by gothos on Aug 20, 2014 17:29:07 GMT -5
Johnny Quick lasted WAY into the 1950s, almost all the way to the first Silver Age Flash, and I've seen later Johnny Quick stories (from the 1950s) with much better art and more intriguing stories. Fun fact: Johnny Quick's series went on for years after the demise of the Golden Age Flash! Wow. I did not know this. In some issue of ALTER EGO someone pointed out that even long after All-American had been absorbed, many of the National characters kept going, usually in back-up features. It was implied, I thought, that those who gained control (read: Mort Weisinger, for one) wanted to perpetuate the idea that the characters from National had always been better, simply because they had appeared under his auspices. |
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Post by Pharozonk on Aug 20, 2014 17:32:55 GMT -5
Wow. I did not know this. In some issue of ALTER EGO someone pointed out that even long after All-American had been absorbed, many of the National characters kept going, usually in back-up features. It was implied, I thought, that those who gained control (read: Mort Weisinger, for one) wanted to perpetuate the idea that the characters from National had always been better, simply because they had appeared under his auspices. Johnny Quick also became a supporting cast member during Wally West's tenure as the Flash and served as a mentor of sorts for Impulse along with Max Mercury. |
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Post by Action Ace on Aug 20, 2014 20:58:03 GMT -5
I might post some more-detailed comments about Showcase: JLA, Volume Two, on the JLA Appreciation Page, but for now, here's some general comments: I guess I'm getting used to these Silver Age JLA stories because I kinda liked some of these. I read the first four stories in this volume (JLA #17 to #29) and, yes, they're all gimmick stories, including a bizarre Doctor Destiny story, but I think these stories are growing on me. They must have been very hard to write. I guess Julius Schwartz would come up with a cover (The Justice League is exiled from Earth! The JLA is shrunk so small that Atom is a giant!) and then Gardner Fox had to make a story out of it. I guess it worked for five- to eight-year-olds in the early 1960s. Sometimes, the stories are pretty clever, given the limitations of the format. But it's easy to see why JLA didn't go monthly until 1970s! It was hard enough to do this eight times a year, forget 12! And who was really eager to read this EVERY month? Another thing that gets me is when they split into teams. Batman will say: "Hey, Green Arrow, me and you and Atom should go check out the disturbance in Chicago." Leaving Green Lantern and Superman and Wonder Woman as one of the teams. It's very silly how often one of the teams is two guys who, alone, can do anything when one of the other teams is Batman, Green Arrow and Atom. I read about half of the first issue of the first JLA/JSA team-up last night and was too tired to finish. I don't think it's fair of the JSA and JLA to gang up on the bad guys like that! There's 15 JLA/JSA members ... and only six villains! Oh, sure, The Wizard and Felix Faust are powerful, but one of these dudes is just a guy with a magic fiddle! Sheesh! I love so many of the issues that appear in this volume. |
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Post by Action Ace on Aug 20, 2014 21:03:06 GMT -5
Defenders #1This is the first Defenders comic I've ever read and I really enjoyed it. I like that it didn't try to establish the team before getting things going, especially since we already know the characters. Good story and next issue Silver Surfer! For some reason Marvel Unlimited only has issues 1-6, 9-11 and 76-77, but hopefully they add more soon, because I really want to read Gerber's run after reading about it in a recent(ish) issue of Back Issue and don't want to buy the Essential only for it to show up on MU the next day. Does Marvel Unlimited have Marvel Feature #1-3? The Defenders started there before getting their own series. |
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Post by Hoosier X on Aug 20, 2014 23:52:28 GMT -5
I am really enjoying Vol. Two of the Essential Defenders! The best thing about it so far is Valkyrie's search for the secrets of her host body, Barbara Norris. I read the Marvel Two-In-One issues (#6 and #7, and what a great Romita cover on #7!) way back when but I never read these issues of Defenders, so the MTIO issues didn't mean a whole lot to me. (I read them when they were a year or two old; I didn't start MTIO until #12)
I'm a bit angry with my younger self for not reading Defenders more! I did read a few issues when I was first reading comics (1975 or so) and I remember the issue with Tapping Tommy (#30, maybe). I thought it was too weird! (I think I tried it out for a few issues because of the Hulk.) But there were too many comics to spend money on, and any week where I had an extra quarter, I could get a candy bar.
I did get The Defenders sporadically (I remember a few issues with the Red Guardian) but I didn't start getting it regularly until just a few months before the Hulk and Dr. Strange left and the membership was Son of Satan, the Hellcat, the Gargoyle, the Devil-Slayer and people like that.
Many years later, I did get a few more of the early issues, so I have one issue with the Wrecking Crew, two issues with the Sons of the Serpent and a few scattered issues with the Headmen. (The Headmen are so great! What with the success of Guardians of the Galaxy, it would be so great to see Marvel take a chance on the Defenders vs. the Headmen. Can't ya see Arthur Nagan in one of those teasers, at the end of the third or fourth Avengers movie?)
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Post by Hoosier X on Aug 20, 2014 23:57:38 GMT -5
I love so many of the issues that appear in this volume. The first appearance of Queen Bee is coming up soon in my reading. I'm really looking forward to it. I never read a Queen Bee story until a few weeks ago when I saw JLA #60 (I think) reprinted in the Batgirl Showcase volume. It was love at first sight! Queen Bee is such a freak! |
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