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Post by commond on Mar 5, 2021 17:43:15 GMT -5
I took the plunge and began reading Grant Morrison's X-Men. It was a bit jarring at first as I couldn't relate to how the characters looked or spoke. There's no real explanation as to why this group are the current incarnation of the team, and the art is off-putting, especially the way Quitely draws Cyclops. By the third issue there were enough hooks to keep me interested.
I followed Michael Golden from Micronauts to The 'Nam. I'm not sure what I was expecting from this book, but Golden's cartoony style surprised me. Sometimes it looks like a daily strip about 'Nam. I guess in my mind I associate Vietnam with stark realism. I'm not saying it's bad. It's just different from what I expected.
I also followed Barry Windsor-Smith onto Weapon X. I'm thinking that might have been a mistake. Fantastic art, but there's nothing in the story that rises above the early 90s comics milieu. Not yet, anyway.
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Post by impulse on Mar 5, 2021 17:59:08 GMT -5
Quitely's X-Men definitely takes some getting used to, and some things I don't think he ever drew really well, frankly, but the dude and Morrison have a great creative chemistry, and they can play off each other really well. Once I got used to him and he found his footing, I think he did some really great work.
Sadly, he was far too slow to keep up, so he was not the only artist on the book. The wildly inconsistent artwork is one of the many flaws of the run.
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Post by dbutler69 on Mar 9, 2021 10:12:22 GMT -5
I read Darkseid vs. Galactus: The Hunger. Meh. I was kinda disappointed. I read Batman/Captain America not too long ago and I thought that was great, but Darkseid vs Galactus, not so much, even though they were both written, pencilled, and inked by John Byrne, both around the same time, and both featuring Marvel-DC crossovers.
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Post by Graphic Autist on Mar 9, 2021 12:39:43 GMT -5
I recently read issues 267-285 of Captain America via the Marvel Epic Collection "Monsters and Men." The period covered was 1982-1983 and the issues were written by J.M. DeMatteis and mostly drawn by Mike Zeck.
The stories read well for me, and I really liked Zeck's pencils. I had never noticed before, but Zeck doesn't really draw backgrounds much, does he?
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Post by dbutler69 on Mar 9, 2021 14:07:47 GMT -5
I read Iron Man #68. It’s the history debut of the nose on Tony’s faceplate!! He added the nose to his armor "to allow a bit more expression to the show - and so perhaps increase the fearsome aspects of my character to those who oppose me". Uh, sure thing, Tony. That’ll work, assuming that those who oppose you don’t die laughing first. He also upgrades his armor and allows him to mentally command his suit's equipment and weaponry, (while also making the plexiglass coverings over the eyes and mouth stronger). I wonder if these upgrades were ever followed up? I also found out that his armor is “reinforced steel mesh.” But that’s not all! This issue has the Mandarin! It has the Unicorn! It has Sunfire – who gets duped by two different people! We also get the Yellow Claw next issue! A battle of the racist caricatures, can’t wait! (Not to harp on a theme, but the splash page has a Vietnamese guy with buck teeth. Ouch.) By the way, Sunfire shrugged off a punch from Iron Man. WTF? That blow should have knocked him out, while breaking his jaw. Anyway, a fairly typical Bronze Age Marvel comic. It was entertaining enough, with some so-so Tuska-Espisito art.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Mar 9, 2021 16:34:48 GMT -5
The first issue doesn't quite hit the cut-off, but aesthetically I think it fits better here than as a "modern" comic.
Re-read Sergio Aragones' Funnies which was a 12 issue series by Bongo published in 2011-12. It was pure Sergio, no Mark Evanier providing dialogue. And mostly what you'd expect from Sergio. Three short stories per issue with a number of one page gags. The best part was that in each issue Sergio would do a short story about some part of his life, whether it be a childhood story, one of the infamous Mad Magazine trips, or meeting Toshiro Mifune as a college student (Aragones' father was in the Mexican film industry).
He indicated in the last issue he was shopping the book to another publisher for another 12 issue run, but it seems it never happened. But a fun book.
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Post by commond on Mar 12, 2021 9:01:02 GMT -5
The Jonah Hex stories have greater continuity once he gets his own title. I'm up to the origin story. It was all right. I would have gone in a different direction with the facial scars, but Fleischer's reveal was decent enough.
Conan the Barbarian continues to be a great book. The Conan books were definitely a highwater mark for 70s Marvel. It's amazing how much b*tching went on in the letter column, however. So many complaints about one of the great Marvel books.
I have taken it as my self-appointed duty to find good Marvel books from the 90s. So far, I've started reading the Inhumans mini-series by Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee, Earth X, and Punisher War Zone. I also read Amazing Spider-Man #400.
Inhumans was decent, but the art isn't fluid. I guess it doesn't matter since there's so much narration over the top of it. Earth X was a slog. Amazing Spider-Man #400 was okay, but I prefer the work J. M. DeMatteis did on Spectacular Spider-Man and thought SSM #200 was a better anniversary story. Punisher was probably the most fun of the lot. It helps that I like early 90s JRJR artwork, but like a good genre flick, it's not trying to be anything more than what it is.
I also started reading Comico's Jonny Quest since so many folks here talk about it. That second issue. Wow. A tearjerker that early?
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Mar 12, 2021 9:46:51 GMT -5
I read Iron Man #68. It’s the history debut of the nose on Tony’s faceplate!! He added the nose to his armor "to allow a bit more expression to the show - and so perhaps increase the fearsome aspects of my character to those who oppose me". Uh, sure thing, Tony. That’ll work, assuming that those who oppose you don’t die laughing first. The story of the nose's origin, as told by Jim Shooter in the pages of Marvel Age, was a pretty funny one! Its addition was apparently due to a misunderstanding following a comment by Stan Lee. Stan had seen a picture of Iron Man with a completely flat faceplate leaving no room for Tony's nose inside; his off-hand comment "shouldn't he have a nose?" was taken literally by the staff, and thought to refer to Shellhead himself. When next Stan noticed a nose on Iron Man, he said "what is that thing, whats it doing there? Doesn't it look odd"? and people thought that he sure changed his mind often. I didn't mind the nose too much, but was glad when it went away.
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Post by Hoosier X on Mar 12, 2021 10:12:37 GMT -5
I read Fantastic Four #44 and #45 over the last few days. I love these issues, but it’s been a while since the last time I read them. I’d forgotten how much it looks like they were making it up as they went along. Maybe it’s just Lee’s scripting.
Such nice Sinnott inking! The girls look as pretty as the text and dialogue say they are!
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Mar 12, 2021 10:29:24 GMT -5
I read Fantastic Four #44 and #45 over the last few days. I love these issues, but it’s been a while since the last time I read them. I’d forgotten how much it looks like they were making it up as they went along. Maybe it’s just Lee’s scripting. Such nice Sinnott inking! The girls look as pretty as the text and dialogue say they are! That's because they were making it up as they went along.
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Post by profh0011 on Mar 12, 2021 10:58:29 GMT -5
I’d forgotten how much it looks like they were making it up as they went along. Maybe it’s just Lee’s scripting. IT WAS.
You gotta remember... JACK KIRBY was writing the series. With ZERO input from his editor. He would then include heavy story notes in the margins, as a guide to let his boss know WHAT THE HELL was going on, and often even include dialogue suggestions, KNOWING that his boss was going to write whatever the hell he wanted, often with no regard to the actual story Kirby was writing.
The whole Frightful Four / Medusa / Inhumans / Galactus sequence is filled with bits that frankly, make NO SENSE... because the editor had no idea what was going on, and frankly, didn't care.
I had a real shock some years back when my best friend sent me a few episodes of the FANTASTIC FOUR tv cartoon from the early 1990s. I told him, I didn't like the designs... the animation... the costumes... the music... the dialogue... the voice-acting... but in the midst of all that AWFULNESS... something amazing had happened.
They adapted the Frightful Four / Inhuman sequence. And... THEY WERE PAYING ATTENTION. They actually FIXED the plot-holes caused by the original editor's lack of caring. And here's the thing. It DIDN'T EVEN REQUIRE that much work.
If only Marvel's endless reprints could do the same.
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Post by Hoosier X on Mar 12, 2021 11:21:18 GMT -5
My favorite dialogue: She makes Dorrie Evans look like a boy!
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Post by dbutler69 on Mar 12, 2021 15:39:20 GMT -5
I read Fantastic Four #44 and #45 over the last few days. I love these issues, but it’s been a while since the last time I read them. I’d forgotten how much it looks like they were making it up as they went along. Maybe it’s just Lee’s scripting. Such nice Sinnott inking! The girls look as pretty as the text and dialogue say they are! This is where the FF really takes off and becomes something great.
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Post by dbutler69 on Mar 12, 2021 15:41:27 GMT -5
I read Iron Man #71. Sort of a meh conclusion to the multi-part "epic" with the Mandarin and the Yellow Claw (with Sunfire thrown in for good measure). The George Tuska art isn't doing it for me, either.
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Post by Hoosier X on Mar 12, 2021 20:33:33 GMT -5
I read Iron Man #71. Sort of a meh conclusion to the multi-part "epic" with the Mandarin and the Yellow Claw (with Sunfire thrown in for good measure). The George Tuska art isn't doing it for me, either. I’m holding my hands over my ears. La la la la la la la la! My first issue of Iron Man was #80, but I loved the whole idea of a War of the Super-Villains, so I picked up most of the issues of IM from #60 on pretty quickly from used bookstores and the occasional convention. I still have a soft spot for the War of the Super-Villains and I like the Tuska art quite a bit. Also ... Roxie Gilbert! Marvel needs to bring her back!
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