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Post by Farrar on Dec 16, 2018 15:49:26 GMT -5
10. Fantastic four #10(Marvel, 1963) It's true that Stan Lee and Jack Kirby only appear briefly in this comic. But This is far more than a cameo. First, the entire plot of the issue hinges on their appearance, as the pair are key to Doom's plot to capture Reed Richards. For that alone, I think this would qualify, and be a perfectly fun choice, as this is a rollicking yarn. More important, though, is the role this story played in turning Marvel Comics into "Marvel Comics," and Stan Lee into "Stan Lee." Plenty has been said about Stan's genius in making fans feel like they were part of something, that they knew the "Marvel Bullpen." Stan turned the previously faceless and nameless creators behind the comic into part of the experience, into cool celebrities. And it really starts here, as he literally adapts himself and Jack, turning the two of them into larger than life figures that can share a page with Reed Richards and Dr. Doom and not feel out of place. So in a strange way, this story is just the start of a much bigger adaptation. Because for the rest of his life, Stan Lee was in a real sense playing the character that he created here, adapting his own life after the comic book version fans believed was real, in order to make it real. Life, imitating art, imitating life. And it a super fun story! Great write-up. Kirby, with Simon, had made appearances in their comics before, just as Lee had; so sometimes I wonder if Kirby just drew himself and Stan into the action, or if Lee suggested/discussed it beforehand? (EDIT: not intended to stir up the old "who did what" debate. Just random musing on my part.) Anyway, since neither Stan nor Jack was a stranger to such in-story appearances, it's not surprising they would do that here--and as you noted, it's not just a throwaway, their appearance really figures into the story. Excellent choice! |
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Post by MDG on Dec 16, 2018 17:19:31 GMT -5
10. Introducing Kafka
David Zane Mairowitz, Robert Crumb, Totem Books, 1996
This book is mainly a graphic biography of Franz Kafka, but within that structure, there are adaptations of several stories. Each of the stories uses, for the most part, Kafka’s words (translated versions, anyway), but, as in the best graphic stories, Crumb’s illustrations add to what is stated through staging and expression. Probably not a substitute for reading the originals, but they convey the repression and paranoia of Kafka’s fiction.
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Post by hondobrode on Dec 16, 2018 17:50:48 GMT -5
I have for years wanted to get this !
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Post by thwhtguardian on Dec 16, 2018 21:45:17 GMT -5
Eh...what the hell. My lists are pretty fluid. I'll just adjust it when I get to the office. 10. The EC adaptations of Ray Bradbury - EC Comics (1950s).  Throughout their publication history EC adapted a large number of stories written by Ray Bradbury. These stories were across genres and across the EC titles. The story behind the adaptations is pretty fun. Essentially Gaines and Feldstein stole a Bradbury story and got called on it by Bradbury. At that time Gaines told Bradbury that he'd been unable to contact him and paid for the story and made arrangements to adapt more. I'm a huge Bradbury fan and a pretty big fan of EC Comics. And while the quality varies from story to story overall these are excellent adaptations of excellent short-stories. <iframe width="33" height="30.339999999999918" style="position: absolute; width: 33px; height: 30.34px; z-index: -9999; border-style: none; left: 12px; top: 147px;" id="MoatPxIOPT0_55006875" scrolling="no"></iframe> <iframe width="33" height="30.339999999999918" style="position: absolute; width: 33px; height: 30.34px; z-index: -9999; border-style: none; left: 1579px; top: 147px;" id="MoatPxIOPT0_12801359" scrolling="no"></iframe> <iframe width="33" height="30.339999999999918" style="position: absolute; width: 33px; height: 30.34px; z-index: -9999; border-style: none; left: 12px; top: 1583px;" id="MoatPxIOPT0_5664116" scrolling="no"></iframe> <iframe width="33" height="30.339999999999918" style="position: absolute; width: 33px; height: 30.34px; z-index: -9999; border-style: none; left: 1579px; top: 1583px;" id="MoatPxIOPT0_91629874" scrolling="no"></iframe> These specifics just missed my list but I have two other Bradbury stories that did. |
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Post by Farrar on Dec 16, 2018 22:54:08 GMT -5
Strange Tales #130 (Marvel, 1964) Script: Stan Lee Artwork: Bob Powell/Chic Stone  So, it's specifically the Beatles' fictional appearance in the Human Torch and Thing story in this particular issue of Strange Tales that I'm choosing for today's choice. Published in 1964, the tale is titled, appropriately enough, "Meet the Beatles" (which was also the title of the Fab Four's debut album for Capitol Records in the U.S.). The story sees Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm taking their girlfriends, Doris Evans and Alicia Masters, to see a Beatles' concert in Manhattan. Unfortunately, Johnny and Ben don't actually get to see the concert because they have to chase down some crooks who've robbed the theatre box office, but they do get to briefly interact with the band. The girls, on the other hand, not only get to watch the concert, but they also properly meet the Beatles and get their autographs! In all honesty, this really isn't a great story or anything. I mean, really...it's nothing to write home about at all. Plus, the depictions of John, Paul, George and Ringo leave a lot to be desired. But who cares! It's the Beatles...in the Marvel Universe...interacting with the Human Torch and The Thing. I mean, seriously, THE BEATLES! And half of the Fantastic Four! 'Nuff said!  Great choice! Strange Tales #130 was one of the first back issues I ever bought. I loved this Torch-Thing story, even if it was (as you noted) not exactly earth-shattering. I also liked the continuity from the Fantastic Four comic; a couple of months earlier, in FF #34 (another back issue I had), the Yancy Street Gang sent Ben a Beatles wig.  Ben wears that wig later on in this Strange Tales story.  |
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Post by Reptisaurus! on Dec 17, 2018 4:02:35 GMT -5
3. Ben Thompson's Ka-Zar from Marvel Comics Marvel, 1939-1941 (Red in Tooth and Claw Dept.)So one of my all time favorite superhero-adjacent books is the original Marvel Comics, the Golden Age anthology that introduced such luminaries as Namor, the Original Human Torch, Terry Vance Boy Detective and his pet monkey Dr. Watson, Electro (not that Electro!), the Vision (not that Vision!) and played host to the Patriot and Captain America strips! There was also Ka-Zar! (Not that Ka-Zar!)  The stories in Marvel Comics started as a straight adaptation of the pulps. They are... more than a little Tarzan-y, but brisk reading fun. Thompson's not a GREAT artist but he obviously enjoyed drawing far-from-anatomically-correct jungle animals there is a kind of startling imeddiacy to his work, with the camera lingering just a little too close to it's subjects. And there were some pretty damned good villains in this strip as well. Fat Face the poacher needs to make a comeback! And the comic stories ran far, far longer than the pulp magazines! A couple fun facts. It seems like Ka-zar is the first comic strip ever to feature a double page splash..  And Ka-zar's LAST appearance was a doozy, where he guest starred with the Torch, Toro, the Angel and the Patriot in what couuuuld be argued is Marvel's first large scale mega-crossover. Too bad he was never seen again after!
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Post by brutalis on Dec 17, 2018 8:22:05 GMT -5
10. Kiss: Marvel Super Special #1 1977You wanted the best...and you got the best! Kiss as super heroes! And where else would they be than in a Marvel comic book created with their own blood in the ink? Loud, bombastic, entertaining and exciting as a band, the other fab four make their comic debut as hero's within the MU against one of the biggest and baddest villains around:Doctor Doom (who probably wishes he was going up against his other gang of foursome fantastics) introduces Gene, Paul, Ace and Peter to the action.
Marvel pulled out all the stops on this one. Special larger magazine sized format. Quirky, hip and current writer Steve Gerber. Pencil from Alan Weiss, John/Sal Buscema, Rich Buckler and Al Milgrom. This comic is so over the top and fantastic and is only the tip of the comic book iceberg for Kiss. Fan's created a massive phenomenon of purchasing this bad boy and it is one of the "Holy Grails" of Kiss collectibles.
Any teen at the time knew of Kiss the rock band with their outlandish costumes and makeup. Here was a way to enjoy the visuals of the band without the blaring music your parents were going deaf from. If any musical group was meant to be in comic books it is Kiss. Each band member's persona unique and having their own special powers: Gene the Demon who flies and spit fires. Paul the Starchild whose eye shoots laser beams and emits emotions. Ace the Space Ace Cosmic Traveler whose hitch hiking thumb transports you where you want to go and emits vibration waves. Then Peter the Catman with his animalistic athleticism. Who can stand against these boys of power whose fame still remains as strong to the Kiss Army of fans today?
This comic was what every Kiss fan hoped for and it was as vibrant and bold and fantastical as the band itself is.
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Post by EdoBosnar on Dec 17, 2018 8:31:28 GMT -5
10. Kiss: Marvel Super Special #1 1977You wanted the best...and you got the best! Kiss as super heroes! And where else would they be than in a Marvel comic book created with their own blood in the ink? Loud, bombastic, entertaining and exciting as a band, the other fab four make their comic debut as hero's within the MU against one of the biggest and baddest villains around:Doctor Doom (who probably wishes he was going up against his other gang of foursome fantastics) introduces Gene, Paul, Ace and Peter to the action.
Marvel pulled out all the stops on this one. Special larger magazine sized format. Quirky, hip and current writer Steve Gerber. Pencil from Alan Weiss, John/Sal Buscema, Rich Buckler and Al Milgrom. This comic is so over the top and fantastic and is only the tip of the comic book iceberg for Kiss. Fan's created a massive phenomenon of purchasing this bad boy and it is one of the "Holy Grails" of Kiss collectibles.
Any teen at the time knew of Kiss the rock band with their outlandish costumes and makeup. Here was a way to enjoy the visuals of the band without the blaring music your parents were going deaf from. If any musical group was meant to be in comic books it is Kiss. Each band member's persona unique and having their own special powers: Gene the Demon who flies and spit fires. Paul the Starman whose eye shoots laser beams and emits emotions. Ace the Cosmic Traveler whose hitch hiking thumb transports you where you want to go and emits vibration waves. Then Peter the Cat with his animalistic athleticism. Who can stand against these boys of power whose fame still remains as strong to the Kiss Army of fans today?
This comic was what every Kiss fan hoped for and it was as vibrant and bold and fantastical as the band itself is.
Never read this, oddly enough, although I did get into the Kiss hype briefly at around that time thanks to that god-awful yet unintentionally hilarious TV movie ("Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park"). The 9 year-old me was so taken by the idea of a rock band who wore costumes and had superpowers! By the way, I thought their hero code-names, besides Gene's Demon, where Star Child, Space Ace and Cat Man. |
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Post by brutalis on Dec 17, 2018 10:08:23 GMT -5
You are correct on the code names EdoBosnar and I have edited. Brain on somewhat work overload and disconnected this morning as very chaotic here in the hospital. |
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Post by MWGallaher on Dec 18, 2018 19:17:58 GMT -5
10. The Prisoner: Shattered Visage issues A-D, DC Comics, 1988-1989 by Dean Motter and Mark Askwith  It looks like I'm "Number 2" today, with Roquefort Raider already listing this miniseries earlier in the thread! As I mentioned on the first day, I dig "WTFiction", and it doesn't get more WTF than The Prisoner. Like Kirby's 2001, this one scratched the itch to get some kind of answers for the inexplicable, but Motter was, I was glad to find, not nearly as explicit in his followup as Kirby was. His story is mostly a sequel to the final two episodes, which featured McGoohan's Number 6 defeating the most "popular" of the rotating Number 2's, played by Leo McKern. Since it's nearly impossible to interpret those final episodes as a literal narrative, Motter was giving himself quite a challenge. To his credit, he succeeds in presenting a valid interpretation that's still shrouded in enough ambiguity to allow the readers' own ideas enough room to co-exist alongside his story. While Motter's art is not generally my favorite type of work, his less bombastic style suits the cerebral, isolated tone very well. The scripting is clever, managing to work in countless call-backs to the television canon without becoming tedious (or at least so I found it). The premise is satisfying--the obvious approach would be to have a new "prisoner" taken to an extant or reconstructed Village, but instead, Alice Drake (actually named!) discovers the long deactivated Village as part of her own investigation, where she finds herself entangled with a new, final confrontation between No. 6 and No. 2. I recall some protests that returning to the Village is the last thing No. 2 would do. Exactly so--this is the "last thing" he would do. Escape alone would never be enough for him, and re-capture would be unthinkable. I haven't seen the recent comic book adaptation of the Prisoner, but of the very few authorized interpretations (along with a novel and a re-interpretation in a tv miniseries), this feels the most like a legitimate heir to the classic original. 
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 19, 2018 17:54:48 GMT -5
Random thoughts on Day Three that probably aren't worth much (take two...I started once and lost it to a computer glitch).
Batman Adventures - My feelings about Batman almost exactly mirror Kurt's. I haven't read all of this run...but what I've read is spiffy.
Classic Comics 32 - Lorna Doone - at first I wondered why Fillmore East had cookies on his list. But it's a classic comic. I've read neither it nor the novel.
RoboCop - Huh...that's a thing.
The Prisoner - I need to re-watch The Prisoner. Then I should read this.
Star Trek 1-4 - I've talked about Star Trek. I'm now done talking about Star Trek.
Supernatural Thrillers 3 - I haven't read this for eons.
GUMBY'S WINTER FUN SPECIAL & GUMBY'S SUMMER FUN SPECIAL - Gumby means so much to me that I left in the all-caps. I should have thought of these. Wee lil Slam had a Gumby as a teether when he was a baby.
Friday Foster Dell, 1972 - Huh...I got nothing. Except I'm now convinced that Farrar and Phil Maurice are the same person.
Carson Napier Adaptations - I haven't read these in a very long time either. I remember them being good, but not Kaluta's best work.
Doc Savage: Man of Bronze #1 - 4 (Millennium, 1991) - I talked about Doc in my post of The Shadow Strikes. I don't think I've read this one. I probably should.
Strange Tales #130 - The Human Torch was almost unquestionably the worst strip of the early Marvel Age.
Book of Ballads and Sagas #1 - I remember this being really good. But it's been 30 years since I've read it.
Bernie Wrightson's Frankenstein - This was on my list...but I took it off before we started. It's really not a funnybook. It's like picking a novel out of an issue of a pulp because you like the spot illos.
Fantastic four #10 - I remember not being impressed with this issue when I reviewed it for my Marvel thread.
The Adventures of Jerry Lewis - I've never read an issue of Jerry Lewis.
Walt Disney's Zorro - This was one of my picks. Therefor it is right.
Space Ghost! - I don't think it was me that recommended this. Because I really can't remember it...though I know I have it. It does remind me that the Steve Rude one-shot should be on my list and isn't.
The Simpsons - Simpsons Comics are fun. In small doses.
First Comics Ivanhoe - I've not read this. But I loved what First was trying to do.
Introducing Kafka - You should have a doctor look at that Kafka.
Ka-Zar from Marvel Comics - I think I've only read the story that appeared in Marvel #1...if there was one in there.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2018 0:33:06 GMT -5
Day Three...
Batman Adventures-love BTAS, it's my favorite version of Batman, but I only have a handful of issues of this Batman series. Like the ones I have, but I haven't read enough of it to include on my list.
Lorna Doone-I have not read this and not familiar with it.
Robocop-I read the first few issues of the Marvel series when it came out, but didn't like it enough to keep reading.
The Prisoner-I read this when it came out without being familiar with the TV series and was in way over my head. I liked it but had no idea what was going on. I've since managed to see the series and have recently picked up these issues again to give them a reread but haven't gotten to it yet.
Gold Key Star Trek-I vaguely remember reading some of these at the bowling alley my parents bowled at on Sunday Nights when I was in like first or second grade. I picked up a couple of the Checkers collections of the series at a con cheap a wile back but haven;t gotten around to reading them yet (a common theme it seems)
Supernatural Thrillers #3 was on my initial list and several drafts of it to follow, but it eventually got supplanted by some other things. If I was going to include a second REH entry on my list, this would have been it.
Kirby's 2001-I commented on this on the previous days list.
Gumby-I had and loved these two specials when they came out, but they were among the stuff in the box that got lost in the move out here to Ohio 15 years ago and I never replaced them. Gumby and Pokey made a guest appearance in a cartoon strip I used to do for my freshman year dorm newsletter, so I have a fondness for them.
Friday Foster-new to me.
Carson of Venus adaptations-I haven't read these though I recently picked up the Korak run.
Doc Savage from Millennium-I have and quite like these. The Stelfreeze covers are gorgeous and it features early work by DarylBanks (who signed my copy of #1 of this series at GemCity a couple years back).
Strange Tales #130-I used to own this issue and have read this story, but I had it for the Doctor Strange story.
Wrightson's Frankenstein-love this but I gave my thoughts about it in a separate post.
FF #10 I've read this but didn't consider this.
Jerry Lewis-never read an issue.
John Byrne Star Trek-never read these.
Walt Disney's Zorro-the Toth Zorro was on my initial list of things to consider but didn't make it past my first draft of the list, as there was just too many options, but I do like these and am glad to see it included.
Space Ghost-I really like that mini, but it didn't make my list. Another Space Ghost comics almost made my list though.
Ivanhoe-I've not read that particular version, but I like the source material.
The EC Ray Bradbury adaptations-I've only seen a few of these but was impressed by those I have seen.
The Simpsons-it may get me roasted, but I've never been much of a Simpsons fan-I like them better as a short on the Tracy Ullman show than I ever did in their own series and haven't checked out any of the comics.
Introducing Kafka-this one is new to me.
Ka-Zar-not really familiar with that version of Ka-Zar except for the few strips I read in the Marvel Golden Age masterworks.
Kiss-see previous posts
Prisoner-see above.
-M
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Post by Jeddak on Dec 26, 2018 16:37:44 GMT -5
Day 3 The Adventures of Bob Hope DC, 1950-1968  I had never seen anything with Bob Hope before picking up his comic. Same for Jerry Lewis. All I knew was that they were supposed to be funny. And the comics were, if not classics, entertaining. Silly situations, exotic locales, Hope deadpanning his way through, flirting with any female that came in range, occasionally breaking the fourth wall. I give the edge to Hope over Lewis simply because I liked his character better. Lewis was a child-like buffoon. Hope was more like a grown-up, if one who hadn't quite grown up. Besides, gotta love that Bob Oskner art. (Apparently, Neal Adams did the last four issues. I had given up on the series by then; too many oddball elements had been added to jazz things up. A talking dog, a teen hero called Super-Hip, a school where the faculty were all monsters. Still, that could be worth checking out.) The book made a great change from the super-hero stuff I was so heavily into back then. Oddly, I note that this is not the only time Bob Hope will appear on my list. |
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Post by Mister Spaceman on Dec 28, 2018 22:18:33 GMT -5
The Flash #228 (DC Comics, 1974) As already noted here, Stan Lee was not shy about placing himself in Marvel comics but my introduction to this meta device was Cary Bates's self-insertion into the lead story in this issue of The Flash, "The Day I Saved the Life of the Flash!" In this tale, Bates is brainstorming his next Flash story when he drives through a <ahem> "weird cloud" and finds himself on the other side of it headed toward Central City. He becomes a primary player in the ensuing adventure with Barry Allen and The Trickster. What stayed with me as an eight-year-old reading this story for the first time was the idea of a comic book creator entering his own fiction. I thought it was just brilliant and today I look back on it as a pleasurable symptom of comic books' increasing playful self-reflexivity as the industry was being infiltrated by young writers, artists, and editors who had grown up reading and loving comics. In the 1970s creators such as Roy Thomas, Bates, and Elliot S! Maggin successfully bridged the divide between childhood and adulthood in a manner that realized the inherent fun of superhero comic books. It was a spirit that to my mind was all but obliterated when comics were no longer found on drugstore spinner racks but shelved at specialty comic book shops for an increasingly older and shrinking readership. Playful self-reflexivity gave way to lugubrious self-awareness and something was lost in superhero comics that I've only occasionally seen since (such as Jaime Hernandez's "Return of the Ti-Girls" and a lot of Mike Allred's work). Ah, to return to that simpler time. Where's a weird cloud when you need one?  
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