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Post by Icctrombone on Dec 19, 2019 22:54:17 GMT -5
6Crossover: Hitman/ BatmanHitman # 1-3Writer: Garth EnnisArtist; John McreaDc comics1996  This 60 issue series is one of my favorite and prized runs. Hitman ( Tommy Monaghan) was created out of the putrid Bloodlines Dc annuals event from 1993, but he became much more. The event featured alien Monsters biting and infecting people giving them supernatural powers. In his case, he was given mind reading and x-ray vision, but in his ordinary vocation, he was a killer for hire. Ennis always knows how to throw in the twist. He operates out of Gotham city and that makes it a natural for him meeting up with Batman. The story centers around Tommy getting contracted to kill the Joker for a million dollars. He has to get into Arkham asylum to do it and Batman catches wind of the job. Word also gets around the underworld that he’s going to arkham so he gets several side jobs, like kneecapping the Mad hatter and whacking other pedophiles and general murderers, while he’s there. Of course , not all is as it seems because it turns out the true objective is for a group of demons called the arkannone to test and then force him to work for them killing whomever they wished. This series reminds me a lot of Pulp Fiction where the underworld and hitmen have regular personalities which draws you in to their lives, but is also balanced by the trademark over the top violence depicted by Garth’s writing and Mcrea’s artwork. Well, he defeats the demons with the help of Batman and a detective named Tiegel, after all the other officers refuse to go into Arkham. His interactions with Batman are priceless and their first meeting ends up with Tommy throwing up on Batman’s boots. Just great stuff.  This is a great series with many laughs and I highly recommend anyone who hasn’t read this series to track it down. But start with this arc which is collected in an OOP tpb called A Rage in Arkham.
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Post by berkley on Dec 20, 2019 0:32:00 GMT -5
Captain Marvel & the AvengersJim Starlin Captain Marvel #31-33 (Marvel, 1973)  These three issues were the climax of the first big Thanos epic, before the one in Warlock that has sort of eclipsed it. I think it's just as good as the Warlock one and in fact I find the ending to this Captain Marvel story more satisfying in one sense: because it takes place in the pages of the Captain Marvel book instead of being farmed out to other series as the later story was after the Warlock book was cancelled. Captain Marvel is very much at centre stage, sharing it at times with one or another of the Avengers or with Moondragon (not yet an Avenger at the time), but always there. Starlin was really on his game in these early years of his career: his simple but appealing figure drawing and innovative panel layouts, always in service of the story not just showing off, everything was firing on all cylinders.
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Post by MWGallaher on Dec 20, 2019 6:24:45 GMT -5
D eadman & Kara
“Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot”
Christmas With the Super-Heroes #2By Alan Brennart and Dick Giordano Winter, 1989, DC Comics I might as well join in with a vote for this classic. Man, Alan Brennart is really getting some love in both forums this season, isn't he? I’ve said before that of all the mainstream superhero characters, Deadman has the highest “batting average.” For me, anyway, any random Deadman story is more likely to be good than any random Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, Hulk, Fantastic Four, Captain America, whoever story. I don’t know why that is, but it is. I can’t even think of a “bad” Deadman story, and only two or three “blah” ones. And this is one of the best ones. One of the issues with Deadman is that, while he does whine and bemoan his fate endlessly, readers can find themselves thinking, “Well, yeah, sucks that you’re dead, but that power to inhabit other people’s bodies is actually kinda cool. I think I could make the best of that, if it were me.” Brennart, though, is an insightful enough writer to show us some of the aspects we, and writers before him, hadn’t. Deadman hijacks a guy on Christmas Eve, just to enjoy a party and an evening with a beautiful woman. He lingers longer than he should, enjoying himself a lot, but then Brennart makes us realize, along with Boston Brand, just how wrong this all is: what if this was to be that man’s best Christmas? What if it will be his last Christmas? How can you steal that potential from another person? He continues to enrich our understanding of how this operates, as Boston flees the scene to avoid the painful spectacle that inevitably enfolds in his wake, concerns about mental and/or physical health at the very least. Despite having a few “friends” in the living world, Boston chooses to spend the holiday alone, not wanting to inflict his painful situation on those who get too little opportunity as it is to enjoy some normalcy. And then he gets some company. A beautiful blonde woman, another ghost, who can see him, and talk with him, and cheer him with a powerful message about sacrifice in the name of good.  Supergirl’s sacrifice in Crisis was, without question, the greatest. The Flash died--or, he looped back to relive his heroic career again and again--but Supergirl died and was erased from history. All her accomplishments undone, or performed by the new history’s pinch-hitters, all the ways she touched the lives of other characters forgotten. Surely there were instances of this premise preceding Marv Wolfman’s story, in science fiction stories, on the Twilight Zone...even sitcoms, where the elder Douglas sibling from “My Three Sons” or Richie Cunningham’s brother Chuck could disappear from the TV universe, never to be acknowledged again. But I can’t think of any cases where it would have an effect on the reader like it did in the DC comics universe, where the readers retained a memory of a character’s rich and essential part in an alternate reality in which we were deeply emotionally invested. An alternate reality in which, to play along, we had to accept the new rules of the game--she wasn’t. She wasn’t there, she hadn’t been there, no one remembers, only those of us looking on from outside. It had an eerie, effective impact, different from a character death. It was a daring, infuriating, and shocking move, something we hadn’t expected or experienced before. And that feeling is what Alan Brennart exploits here, in a unique crossover that had to done without ever identifying Kara as the former Supergirl, which drew all of its strength by giving Deadman the strange experience of confronting a character even more a ghost than himself, a ghost of a life that was never lived...but it was, it was, we know it was, and we can’t tell these characters we follow and love that it was. Brennart’s poignant encounter between Boston and Kara consoles the readers, many of whom then, and many of whom are on this forum, rejected and despised Supergirl’s fate in Crisis, by giving us one final meeting, and letting us see that Kara understood and accepted her sacrifice as the selfless heroism we would expect but would never want to really see. It’s painful. Boston can’t be allowed even a trace of genuine remembrance (and I imagine lesser writers couldn’t have resisted giving him just a glimmer of recognition). And you know what? Despite the impression I might have given above, I never really even cared about Supergirl very much...or I didn’t think I did. Until this story. “My name is Kara. Though I doubt that’ll mean anything to you.” Man, that chokes me up. |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Dec 20, 2019 6:47:51 GMT -5
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Post by DubipR on Dec 20, 2019 8:10:36 GMT -5
6Crossover: Hitman/ BatmanHitman # 1-3Writer: Garth EnnisArtist; John McreaDc comics1996 This 60 issue series is one of my favorite and prized runs. Hitman ( Tommy Monaghan) was created out of the putrid Bloodlines Dc annuals event from 1993, but he became much more. The event featured alien Monsters biting and infecting people giving them supernatural powers. In his case, he was given mind reading and x-ray vision, but in his ordinary vocation, he was a killer for hire. Ennis always knows how to throw in the twist. He operates out of Gotham city and that makes it a natural for him meeting up with Batman. The story centers around Tommy getting contracted to kill the Joker for a million dollars. He has to get into Arkham asylum to do it and Batman catches wind of the job. Word also gets around the underworld that he’s going to arkham so he gets several side jobs, like kneecapping the Mad hatter and whacking other pedophiles and general murderers, while he’s there. Of course , not all is as it seems because it turns out the true objective is for a group of demons called the arkannone to test and then force him to work for them killing whomever they wished. This series reminds me a lot of Pulp Fiction where the underworld and hitmen have regular personalities which draws you in to their lives, but is also balanced by the trademark over the top violence depicted by Garth’s writing and Mcrea’s artwork. Well, he defeats the demons with the help of Batman and a detective named Tiegel, after all the other officers refuse to go into Arkham. His interactions with Batman are priceless and their first meeting ends up with Tommy throwing up on Batman’s boots. Just great stuff. This is a great series with many laughs and I highly recommend anyone who hasn’t read this series to track it down. But start with this arc which is collected in an OOP tpb called A Rage in Arkham. Great pick RR! This and the Superman issue are some of the best in Ennis' run. Glad to see it showed up! |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 20, 2019 17:03:18 GMT -5
Random thoughts about day seven so that I can cause consternation among the folks hereabouts.
The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #2. Excellent choice. Great team-up with a great assist by Ditko's art.
What if..? #39. I think I've only read this one once. It seems like a thing I should read.
Incredible Hulk #176-178. I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of Warlock appearances that I've read. These would not be on that hand.
The Superman/Madman Hullabaloo #1-3. I really like Michael Allred's work. And I've not read much Madman and feel I should. But this isn't where I'll start.
Starman #20-23. I think this was the last story to fall off my list. It probably shouldn't have.
Ultimate Spider-Man #6-8. To my knowledge I've never read any Ultimate funnybooks.
Brave and the Bold 92. I know I've read a reprint of this, but I can't remember it at all. Great Cardy cover though.
Brave and the Bold #30. I had no idea this book existed. Maybe some day.
Daredevil #12-14. I vaguely remember reading this.
Starman Annual #2. I've read the first half of Starman's run two or three times. I've read the second half only once. I kind of buzzed through most of it really quick in prep for this event to see if I wanted any of the books. But I forgot the annuals. I need to just re-read the dang book.
Spider-Man and the Black Cat - The Evil That Men Do. What evil do they do? This is the book that took like 700 years to come out, right? Yeah...I didn't read it.
Robocop Versus Terminator. I can't say I'm surprised this is a thing. But I didn't know it was a thing.
Hitman # 1-3. Hitman was pretty excellent. I didn't think of this. I should have, though it wouldn't have made my list. But I'm glad it's here.
Captain Marvel #31-33. I never bought a single issue of Captain Marvel. Upon further review I think I can say that I just never read Marvel's cosmic books.
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Post by beccabear67 on Dec 20, 2019 21:26:12 GMT -5
 6. Doctor Strange & Spider-ManUntold Tales Of Spider-Man: Strange Encounter (1998, Marvel) Kurt Busiek & Roger Stern, Neil Vokes & Jay Geldhof The first meeting of Strange and Spidey, retroactively disclosed in this comic. It's fun to see both Peter Parker and Stephen Strange early in their careers crossing paths, and working together to foil Baron Mordo, plus some of the supporting cast of Spider-Man reacting to the kind of surrealist dimensions seen regularly in Strange Tales. This is one complete adventure with a lot of the characteristics of Marvel comics circa late 1964 to early 1965. Vokes has a simple but solid light style that fits well with the Steve Ditko versions of these two characters, and the coloring by Matt Hollingsworth is appropriately subdued yet still modern. |
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Post by coke & comics on Dec 21, 2019 2:58:48 GMT -5
6. Doctor Strange & Spider-ManUntold Tales Of Spider-Man: Strange Encounter (1998, Marvel) Kurt Busiek & Roger Stern, Neil Vokes & Jay Geldhof Yet another great choice that completely slipped my mind. I need to spend much longer preparing for these. |
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Post by Reptisaurus! on Dec 21, 2019 5:37:22 GMT -5
We said "favorite" not "best" right? Well, shit. I gotta go with my gut even though I'm 98% sure y'all are gonna judge me for this one. 7. Supergirl & Wonder WomanBrave and the Bold # 63 "Revolt of the Super-Chicks" DC Comics, 1965  Yeah. So. There's this idea that female superheroes signify different things than their spearside counterpoint, tonally and thematically. This has never been more true that in this comic here. If I may be permitted to speculate: 1) I assume that, given the rotating cast of the Brave and the Bold series, some creators might be more sympatico to certain characters than others. Bob Haney, the writer for this particular issue, has gone on record as being less than enamored of Supergirl as a character. 2) I suspect that, given two distaff protagonists , Haney and editor George Kashdan felt like they needed to embrace the perceived genre-based desires of a female readership. And having come to this arguably logical conclusion, they went about making the most horrifically bad choices possible in every facet of the execution of this tale. In a nutshell: Supergirl gives up her heroic career to move to Paris as a fashion model *snicker* because she saved the life of a movie star and didn't feel she got enough attention for her super deeds. " She's not a Superheroine in a Loud Costume! She's not some Way Out Character who's Always Battling Grimy Crooks!" (Grimy. Heh heh.) She's Feminine, Desirable, Adored By Men!... I've HAD IT! Let the Other Superheroes Fight Crime and Evil! Superman is not a fan of this change, and sends Wonder Woman to try to get Cousin Kara to put the tights back on. Whilst trying to talk some sense into Supergirl Wonder Woman is... is kissed by a handsome count and decides to join the ex-Maid of Might and abandon her superhero identity for a life of high fashion and boy toys. (Ha! Ha ha ha!) And then... and then.... they fly off to a deserted isle to spend some quality time with their pair of newly acquired swains. Aaaand the island turns out to be the lair of one Multi-Face.. In what I believe is, shockingly, his only appearance... and Supergirl and Wonder Woman have to (BWAHAHAHAHAHA) keep fighting off rockslides and giant missles 'n other villanous assaults because saving your boyfriend's life would make you seem SO unfeminine, don'tchaknow. No. Really. Swear to God you guys. DO YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS IN THIS COMIC?!?!?  Eventually the two super women (or wonder girls) "come out" as a still-active superheroes, ditch their boyfriends, and head back to the "unfeminine" job of saving the frickin' planet. Sooooo... you ask, why is this on my list? It's a combination of good bones, storytelling wise; I think Haney is - in terms of grasp of pacing and lean, effective plotting - as good a mainstream comic writer as has ever graced the comics page.... And here he is applying his considerable talents to what is (at best) a sexist, patronizing, conceptual train-wreck. If you, like me, enjoy using pop culture as a sociological lens, there is definite entertainment to be had watching Haney et. al trying to SOMEHOW appeal to *gasp* girls... and failing miserably... But, y'know, God bless 'em for trying. But mostly it's novelty. After reading thousands of unmemorable and generic capes 'n tights books it's honestly a pleasure to read one that breaks so thoroughly, hilariously, and ineptly with convention. For better or for worse "Revolt of the Super Chicks" is memorable and uniquely entertaining reading experience. |
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Post by Reptisaurus! on Dec 21, 2019 5:38:01 GMT -5
It's also really bad, but memorable!
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Post by Cei-U! on Dec 21, 2019 9:22:09 GMT -5
I couldn't have predicted that if I were the freakin' Delphic Oracle. Well played, Repti!
Cei-U!
I summon the jawdropper!
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Post by Farrar on Dec 21, 2019 12:29:23 GMT -5
6. Sub-Mariner, Hank Pym and the WaspTales to Astonish #77-78 (Marvel, 1966)
Note: Hank and Wasp story continues in Avengers #26 and #28 (Marvel, 1966)Remember when Giant-Man and the Wasp first left the Avengers ( Avengers #16, 1965) and then within a couple of months their slot in Tales to Astonish was given to Sub-Mariner? So they were MIA from Marvel for some months until they suddenly popped up in--you guessed it--Subby's feature in Tales to Astonish #77 (1966). I always got a kick out of their appearance here because they show up about halfway into the story and they're not in costume and are just referred to by their civilian names, Dr. Henry Pym, Janet Van Dyne. There's no caption or dialogue or blurb referring to them as Giant-Man and the Wasp; they're just two characters who are supervising "the operation of the gigantic drill" that is disrupting the ocean floor and Namor's Atlantis (score one for ecological awareness). This sort of guest appearance may be commonplace now, but back then it seemed innovative and unusual. There's no expected fight between Hank and Jan and Namor; instead, Namor's fighting the military forces who are protecting this government-backed research initiative. Namor finally comes face to face with Hank and Jan in the last panel of #77. The story continues in #78 and here's the opening splash, with great Colan art.  In #78 Namor grabs Hank but there's no real fighting between them and again, halfway through this story, someone else is introduced--the Puppet Master--and Namor wanders away. Hank and Jan decide they have to warn the Avengers and they finally refer to their hero identities of Giant-Man and the Wasp. In particular Jan is eager to get back into action and thinks she must have been "mad" to have wanted to retire her Wasp identity. The Hank-Jan subplot now moves over to Avengers #26 (on sale the same time as TtA #78), with the Wasp prominently featured in the story. Hank doesn't actually resume as Giant-Man (now Goliath) until Avengers #28. It was this kind of pacing and crisscrossing that made Marvel seem so improvisatory and exciting back then. Left: Tales to Astonish #78 (Colan); right: Colan's Wasp is used for the retold scene in Avengers #26. 
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Post by beccabear67 on Dec 21, 2019 13:23:38 GMT -5
I remember having high hopes for that Brave & Bold (especially with John Rosenberger, from The Fly & Fly Girl, art) but have spent decades blocking the story out of my memory since.
I do remember the Adam Austin pen name for Colan, I forget if I ever knew why he used that at first.
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Post by Reptisaurus! on Dec 21, 2019 13:35:18 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Dec 21, 2019 13:37:53 GMT -5
I remember having high hopes for that Brave & Bold (especially with John Rosenberger, from The Fly & Fly Girl, art) but have spent decades blocking the story out of my memory since. I do remember the Adam Austin pen name for Colan, I forget if I ever knew why he used that at first. Because he was moonlighting at Marvel and didn't want to lose his primary gig if his editor found out, so he used a pen name. I believe he switched once he was getting enough work at Marvel to give up that other gig, but my memory could be faulty. -M |
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