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Post by dbutler69 on Jul 30, 2021 14:45:08 GMT -5
I read World's Finest #204. This is during the period when World's Finest became a Superman team-up book. Wonder Woman, during her powerless "Emma Peel" phase, is the guest star here. I am endlessly fascinated with the Emma Peel Wonder Woman! Anyway, story by Deny O'Neal and art by Dick Dillon and Joe Giella. It's what you might expect from an O'Neal story from 1971 - a bit preachy and a bit weird but still interesting and entertaining. solid if unspectacular art., I can't believe that this is considered a "classic" comic but according to the rules of this forum it is, so I just finished Fables #92. What a great series!!
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Post by arfetto on Jul 30, 2021 18:08:40 GMT -5
Thanks very much for the help with the images, and also thanks for all the replies! Hearing all the positive words about the upcoming archive volumes is exciting.
I did not know about the Legion thread, I will check it out. Should I post my thoughts there instead of this thread?
I have read to page 100 of Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Volume 1. I will likely finish the rest tonight, but I would like to share my thoughts so far.
The foreward by Mike Gold gives some nice information about the era these stories are from. I am sure this is common knowledge for many classic comic fans, but for me it was new info (I am unfamiliar with DC Comics from this era) so I appreciated how this foreward "sets the stage" for the stories that follow.
Gold explains that 1958 was a very creative time for Superman comics. Newly introduced characters and concepts like Supergirl, Brainiac, Bizarro, Red Kryptonite, and Titano the ape are mentioned, but the key point Gold makes is that Mort Weisinger had "recently instituted" letter pages in the comics he edited and it was mainly the positive fan response via these letters that expanded the roles of these characters and concepts so that they were not simple "one-offs".
Gold calls this era "The Time the Fans Took Over", in the sense that future stories were shaped by what the readers were most receptive to.
"By now, it was clear what the fans wanted. We liked time travel stories, we liked seeing a lot of super-heroes together, we liked seeing the birth or the roots of the series...and we liked being in on the ground floor."
Adventure Comics was selling the worst of the Superman comics at the time, but this changed with the release of issue 247. The fan response to this issue, the first appearance of the original three Legion of Super-Heroes members (Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, and Lightning Boy/Lad) was overwhelmingly positive. But the publisher was not prepared for this and so it took 20 issues before the group returned - though once they did they started to reappear at a rapid pace. Well, that is a summary of the foreward and I thought it was interesting info.
As for the stories themselves, I will wait until I finish the whole volume to share my overall thoughts, but I will say that there is something creative on almost each page of these stories. So far I have particularly enjoyed the two-part tale involving Mon-El (who arrives on Earth with amnesia and is suspected by Superboy to be his brother due to him having a handwritten note from Jor-El on his person as well as a medallion with an inscription from Superboy's parents). Besides being broken into two parts (Part 1 ending with Superboy suspecting perhaps Mon-El is not who he thought he was) so the story has more length and weight, I especially enjoyed all the minor ways Superboy and Mon-El use their powers for "everyday convenience" haha. I think this type of thinking should be implemented more in modern comics, rather than just saving powers for fight scenes. For example...
Superboy temporarily keeping a fridge cool until it can be fixed: Mon-El using some quick thinking to give Lana Lang a good deal:
Superboy going back in time to answer a test question haha: I find this type of thing charming. The ending to the Mon-El story was a powerful one, if I was Superboy I would be feeling very guilty haha. I like the idea a lot (Mon-El being trapped in the Phantom Zone until he can be cured in the future, which I am going to guess he is - but will it be by the time Superboy becomes Superman? I don't know much about Mon-El.) but I kind of wish Mon-El got to stay on Earth with his traveling salesman superhero gimmick! I came up with a superhero like that before and seeing it in this story inspires me to try to think more about it. Are there any other traveling salesman disguised superheroes?
I think the weirdest part for me in the book so far is that the Legion group Supergirl is interacting with are, at least according to the first Supergirl/Legion crossover, the sons and daughters of the Legion group that Superboy interacts with. Since the Legion are from the future and can time travel freely, I wonder why this was introduced since it makes things more convoluted haha. Couldn't for example, the "Cosmic Boy" that interacts with Superboy ("past Superman") just be the same one that interacts with Supergirl (in the "present day") with little trouble? I am sure there was a reason for this though, I just don't know what it is. It is not mentioned in the second Supergirl/Legion crossover, so maybe they abandoned the idea? Or perhaps it is mentioned again soon.
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Post by Hoosier X on Jul 30, 2021 18:12:34 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2021 18:30:26 GMT -5
As for the stories themselves, I will wait until I finish the whole volume to share my overall thoughts, but I will say that there is something creative on almost each page of these stories. So far I have particularly enjoyed the two-part tale involving Mon-El (who arrives on Earth with amnesia and is suspected by Superboy to be his brother due to him having a handwritten note from Jor-El on his person as well as a medallion with an inscription from Superboy's parents). Besides being broken into two parts (Part 1 ending with Superboy suspecting perhaps Mon-El is not who he thought he was) so the story has more length and weight, I especially enjoyed all the minor ways Superboy and Mon-El use their powers for "everyday convenience" haha. I think this type of thinking should be implemented more in modern comics, rather than just saving powers for fight scenes. For example...
Superboy temporarily keeping a fridge cool until it can be fixed: Mon-El using some quick thinking to give Lana Lang a good deal:
Superboy going back in time to answer a test question haha: I find this type of thing charming. The ending to the Mon-El story was a powerful one, if I was Superboy I would be feeling very guilty haha. I like the idea a lot (Mon-El being trapped in the Phantom Zone until he can be cured in the future, which I am going to guess he is - but will it be by the time Superboy becomes Superman? I don't know much about Mon-El.) but I kind of wish Mon-El got to stay on Earth with his traveling salesman superhero gimmick! I came up with a superhero like that before and seeing it in this story inspires me to try to think more about it. Are there any other traveling salesman disguised superheroes?
I think the weirdest part for me in the book so far is that the Legion group Supergirl is interacting with are, at least according to the first Supergirl/Legion crossover, the sons and daughters of the Legion group that Superboy interacts with. Since the Legion are from the future and can time travel freely, I wonder why this was introduced since it makes things more convoluted haha. Couldn't for example, the "Cosmic Boy" that interacts with Superboy ("past Superman") just be the same one that interacts with Supergirl (in the "present day") with little trouble? I am sure there was a reason for this though, I just don't know what it is. It is not mentioned in the second Supergirl/Legion crossover, so maybe they abandoned the idea? Or perhaps it is mentioned again soon. Love hearing your thoughts so far! Brings back similar memories enjoying these stories for the first time I totally agree the Mon-El conclusion was indeed a powerful one when you think of the implications (I would love to say more since I think you will enjoy some future stories on this topic, but I don't want to spoil anything!) And yes, isn't that funny how they introduce themselves as the sons/daughters of the original Legion in the Supergirl story? This will not be a spoiler to mention they did quickly abandon it, there were some "inconsistencies" on occasion during these early tales!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2021 18:39:50 GMT -5
I am endlessly fascinated with the Emma Peel Wonder Woman! I feel the exact same way! On one hand I was so glad she returned as a regular costumed super-hero, but there's something so compelling about that era. My wife bought collections of her during that Emma Peel phase, and I have to admit I enjoyed borrowing them
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Post by Hoosier X on Jul 30, 2021 19:38:23 GMT -5
I am endlessly fascinated with the Emma Peel Wonder Woman! I feel the exact same way! On one hand I was so glad she returned as a regular costumed super-hero, but there's something so compelling about that era. My wife bought collections of her during that Emma Peel phase, and I have to admit I enjoyed borrowing them A few years ago I lived near a small local library that left a lot to be desired when it came to comics. It was a branch library so I could get some good stuff if I waited. However. The local branch had all four volumes of the Mod Wonder Woman era. Just amazing. Bondage covers. I Ching. Catwoman. All sorts of nutty stuff. I was able to read them all and I love that stuff.
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Post by Icctrombone on Jul 31, 2021 4:31:58 GMT -5
I feel the exact same way! On one hand I was so glad she returned as a regular costumed super-hero, but there's something so compelling about that era. My wife bought collections of her during that Emma Peel phase, and I have to admit I enjoyed borrowing them A few years ago I lived near a small local library that left a lot to be desired when it came to comics. It was a branch library so I could get some good stuff if I waited. However. The local branch had all four volumes of the Mod Wonder Woman era. Just amazing. Bondage covers. I Ching. Catwoman. All sorts of nutty stuff. I was able to read them all and I love that stuff. I bought the first TPB about 5 years ago. I really enjoyed it. I haven't been able to get the second one in the wild.
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Post by dbutler69 on Jul 31, 2021 5:42:59 GMT -5
I feel the exact same way! On one hand I was so glad she returned as a regular costumed super-hero, but there's something so compelling about that era. My wife bought collections of her during that Emma Peel phase, and I have to admit I enjoyed borrowing them A few years ago I lived near a small local library that left a lot to be desired when it came to comics. It was a branch library so I could get some good stuff if I waited. However. The local branch had all four volumes of the Mod Wonder Woman era. Just amazing. Bondage covers. I Ching. Catwoman. All sorts of nutty stuff. I was able to read them all and I love that stuff. I added it up once, and I don't remember the numbers, but I'll bet a third of the covers from this era had bondage!
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Post by Icctrombone on Jul 31, 2021 6:03:40 GMT -5
A feel days ago I started to re read Avengers Academy. I forgot how really good this series is. It just sneaks in at 2010 as a classic start date , but I have the entire run and am rediscovering how really well written the book is. Christos Gage writes and the artwork by Mike Mckone is stellar. It follows veteran Avengers like Hank Pym, Tigra, Quicksilver and others as they train 6 young people with powers. The twist is, they have been chosen for the training because the veterans feel that they are at high risk to become supervillains. This series follows the Avengers Initiative series and the era where Norman Osborn was in charge of the government super people.
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Post by arfetto on Jul 31, 2021 13:55:13 GMT -5
I will post my next message about Legion of Super-Heroes in the Legion of Super-Heroes thread, but I think I should post this one here because this concerns an even more amazing hero team: The Legion of Super-Pets.
I've always been a bit fascinated by all the red caped animals involved in Superman's life, but I have not read too many stories involving them.
Things start off a bit grim for super-dog Krypto in this story, however:
Loyal to the tail end.
But, luckily things get better for Krypto as the story advances and he is inducted into a very prestigious group that swiftly repels a brain-alien invasion.
Excited at the prospect of more Legion of Super-Pets stories, I went to comicvine to search for further appearances. I thought they probably would not appear again in the Legion of Super-Heroes archives (since the story seems to set them up as their own independent team so I figured the humanoid Legion connection was just used for their formation story) but luckily I was wrong. It seems they will also make appearances in volumes 2,3,5,6,7,8 and 9 of the Archives .
I also enjoyed the first Sun Boy story, though Sun Boy himself is barely in it.
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Post by profh0011 on Jul 31, 2021 15:50:39 GMT -5
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Post by Hoosier X on Jul 31, 2021 16:31:41 GMT -5
Yeah.
The Super Pets rule.
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Post by arfetto on Jul 31, 2021 17:02:02 GMT -5
In my enthusiasm about the Super-Pets, I forgot some other cool things about Adventure Comics 293.
The second appearance of Mon-El (within the Archives at least, perhaps he reappeared earlier in a tale not collected in the Legion Archives?), and also an appearance by General Zod courtesy of a Phantom Zone mirror. Adventure Comics 293 has it all! The only issue I have with this issue is the cover. While it is cool to see "evil" Legion members (reminiscent of the Legion of Super-Villains from a few tales ago), the Super-Pets are not depicted anywhere or even announced on the cover. I guess they were meant to be a surprise...
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2021 17:11:27 GMT -5
I'm partial to a certain member of the Super-Pets myself
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Post by Hoosier X on Jul 31, 2021 20:16:17 GMT -5
I'm partial to a certain member of the Super-Pets myself Those Streaky stories in the Supergirl series are so great. I love the Midvale Orphanage Years anyway but Streaky is just icing on the cake with paw prints in it 🐾 🎂
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