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Post by Icctrombone on Aug 13, 2020 16:24:02 GMT -5
This is the age of the 6 part- writing for the trade- story in comic books. Before the 90's, comics would have done in one tales and two parters. Name you favorite 2 part stories.
Avengers #56 and Avengers Annual #2.
Captain America is haunted by the thoughts that maybe Bucky survived the drone plane explosion and he has the rest of the Avengers meet him in Dr. Dooms castle in order to go back in time to see what happened. Well, they see that Bucky didn't survive ( Yeah, I know it was retconned) and they return to the present. Well in Annual # 56 it is revealed that they affected time when they went back to 1944 and they go to an earth where the Original 5 Avengers are absolute rulers with the aid of the Scarlett Centurian. They have to defeat a much more powerful team to set things right and return to their earth.
Two Parts and they gave much more story than any 6 part decompressed comic on the stands today.
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Post by berkley on Aug 13, 2020 16:39:25 GMT -5
A few that immediately spring to mind:
Master of Kung Fu #38-39: "Cat" and "Fight Without Pity", introduces Juliette and the Cat. one of the high points of what was one of Marvel's very best series.
Fantastic Four #52-53: introducing the Black Panther and the hidden kingdom of Wakanda..
Fantastic Four #66-67: "What Lurks inside the Beehive?", introducing "Him" who later became Warlock.
Fantastic Four #82-83: Inhumans story I liked as a kid
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Post by Icctrombone on Aug 13, 2020 17:23:29 GMT -5
One of my favorites of all time was FF # 39-40 The Battle for the Baxter Building. The FF lose their powers and while they are coping with what they are going to do , Their headquarters are taken over by Dr. Doom. The powerless foursome are aided by Daredevil to try to overcome Doom.
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Post by beccabear67 on Aug 13, 2020 17:41:01 GMT -5
Avengers #56 and Annual #2 would make near the top of my list.
This is going to be pretty Marvel, and also Byrne, -centric, sorry...
Captain America #253 & 254: Brother Blood/Invaders Stern, Byrne & Rubinstein story.
Ms. Marvel #20 & 21: the new Ms. Marvel versus desert lizard creatures (I also had the plastic slurpee type cup with Cockrum art)!
Marvel Premiere #47 & 48: the new Ant-Man, Byrne & Layton art
Amazing Spider-Man #194 & 195: intro The Black Cat, also #204 & 205 for the sequel!
Fantastic Four #220 & 221: Byrne writing and penciling, Sinnott inking, cool story with great aliens! He might not think so much of it now, I don't know, but at 12-13 years old I thought it was perfect, plus Susan Richards is the MVP here!
X-Men #151 & 152: Kitty has to transfer to Ms. Frost's Academy. Jim Sherman and Bob McLeod!
Spider-Woman #43 & 44: Spider-Woman versus Morgan LeFay by Claremont & Leialoha (inking himself)!
Daredevil #183 & 184: Daredevil drugs story my Frank Miller that was delayed from #167.
X-Men #120 & 121: Alpha Flight revealed, Calgary, snow storm... a major Marvel moment if you were Canadian!
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Post by kirby101 on Aug 13, 2020 18:05:17 GMT -5
Amazing Spider-Man #66 & #67, The Mysterio Amusement Park story. Marvel Two In One Annual #2 and Avengers Annual #7, Starlin's end to the Thanos/Warlock/Captain Marvel story.
Conan the Barbarian #14 & #15, the Elric story.
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Post by Prince Hal on Aug 13, 2020 18:10:49 GMT -5
War in Heaven
Just reread it a few days ago for the first time in a while, and it held up quite well.
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Post by Prince Hal on Aug 13, 2020 18:19:13 GMT -5
A couple of others:
Adventure 355-56
Mordru invades Smallville!
X-Men 141-42
"Days of Future Past"
(That was just a two-issue story, right?)
Detective 475-76
Engelhart/ Rogers/ Austin take on the Joker
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Post by codystarbuck on Aug 13, 2020 19:35:46 GMT -5
The MOKF story of Shang Chi and Shen Kuei (#38-30). One of Doug's best. Also, the return of Carlton Velcro, in #105-106.
Action Comics 401-402-Superman is held prisoner by a Native American group, to stop excavation of a burial site on sacred land, while criminals secretly plot to burrow in and steal treasures inside. Not the best Superman story ever, but it was compelling and dealt with some real world issues, along with the fantasy. Plus...Swanderson!
The Enemy Ace mini, cited above.
JSA: The Liberty Files-pulpy JSA, with Tony Harris on art.
Jon Sable, Freelance #12-13-"MIA." Sable and a friend go back into Vietnam to find evidence of Sonny Pratt's son, a pilot who was listed as MIA. Grell dredged up a lot of his past to inform the story, even though he was stationed in Saigon, and drew charts. Also #48-49 for the Prisoner of Zenda pastiche.
New Teen Titans #26-27-"Runaways."
Marvel Premiere #47-48-Scott Lang debuts as Ant-Man.
Marvel Fanfare #16-17-Dave Cocrums Sky wolf pastiche of Blackhawk; #22-23-Ken Steacy's Iron Man vs Doc Ock
Captain America #273-274-Cap and the Howling Commandos, vs Baron Strucker & Hydra....or so it seems.
Daredevil #124-125-DD vs the Copperhead, a pulp character brought to life-Len Wein and Marv Wolfman
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Post by kirby101 on Aug 13, 2020 20:53:08 GMT -5
Daredevil 56 & 57, Matt reveals his identity to Karen.
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Post by tarkintino on Aug 13, 2020 21:01:22 GMT -5
This is the age of the 6 part- writing for the trade- story in comic books. Before the 90's, comics would have done in one tales and two parters. Name you favorite 2 part stories. Avengers #56 and Avengers Annual #2. Captain America is haunted by the thoughts that maybe Bucky survived the drone plane explosion and he has the rest of the Avengers meet him in Dr. Dooms castle in order to go back in time to see what happened. Well, they see that Bucky didn't survive ( Yeah, I know it was retconned) and they return to the present. Well in Annual # 56 it is revealed that they affected time when they went back to 1944 and they go to an earth where the Original 5 Avengers are absolute rulers with the aid of the Scarlett Centurian. They have to defeat a much more powerful team to set things right and return to their earth. Two Parts and they gave much more story than any 6 part decompressed comic on the stands today. Absolutely. Cap's Bucky arc would not necessarily end with the Avengers stories, as he buy into the idea of a Bucky robot (created by Dr. Doom, and used by Modok and Baron Strucker) in Captain America #131 (11/1970) and #132 (12/1970), but the Avengers stories was the culmination of a long arc of Cap's agony over Bucky (including manipulation at the hands of the Red Skull & Dr. Faustus) which started the moment he was freed from the ice. It could be argued that of all of the Silver Age Marvel superheroes, Captain America was the one who carried the most psychological weight on his shoulders, as it was not the stuff of a one-off story, but part of the core of who he was. Some of Marvel's best output.
My selection:
The Amazing Spider-Man #121 - #122.
The comic story that needs no introduction brought the lead's greatest threats on both sides of his life to a head which he would utterly fail to handle or control. Not since Parker's inadvertent inaction leading to Uncle Ben's murder had he been connected to such a spectacularly brutal, personal failure, one which reinforced the idea that his presence / dual identity was the very thing threatening or destroying the lives of those he cared for. In other words, Stacy's death was the seal on the idea that as long as Spider-Man lived, his loved ones would ever be safe. Not the typical superhero by any stretch of the imagination.
One of the grand ironies of this 2-parter's existence goes back to the Ditko disagreement which--according to Lee over the years (and as recent as a 2017 Wizard World panel) played a key role in Ditko's departure from the series; its difficult to imagine the dramatic deep cuts of this story happening if Ditko's argument won the day years earlier. Obviously, the soap opera-esque brilliance of the Goblin being so tied to Parker's personal life (from ASM #39 - forward) proved--right out of the gates--Ditko was on the wrong side of a creative decision (probably one the worst examples in the medium's history) that made Spider-Man one of the hallmarks of the medium, and one of its most daring.
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Post by berkley on Aug 13, 2020 21:21:15 GMT -5
a few random comments on some of the chices so far:
It took a while to sink in which story it was after seeing it mentioned here several times but that Avengers #56 and Annual #2 is a good one, I remember now. I read it when it first came out so it's one of my oldest Marvel memories and was buried pretty deeply.
Don't thnk I knew that Russ Heath had drawn one of those Garth Ennis war comics, might have to look for that myself.
Daredevil 124-125 - Gene Colan drew at least one of those issues, I remember. A nice change from the rather middling artwork the series was getting most of the time around then.
Conan the Barbarian #14-15: I first read this in a Giant-Size reprint a few years later, which is probably why it didn't immediately register as a two-part story when I first saw the theard title, or I would have listed it myself.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 13, 2020 22:00:31 GMT -5
Amazing Spider-Man 229-230. Spidey vs the Juggernaut.
Justice League Of America 107-108. Crossover with the JSA and Freedom Fighters.
Green Lantern 91-92. Hal and Ollie vs Sinestro, and the second issue takes place in a medieval-type world. I don't remember 100% if these two issues are parts one and two of a two-part story (as opposed to two semi-related consecutive issues), but I'm think they should count.
DC Comics Presents 33-34. Superman and Captain Marvel.
Legends Of The Dark Knight 69-70. "Criminals" Batman goes undercover in a prison. By Grant and Zeck
Legends Of The Dark Knight 162-163 "Auterism" The Joker makes a movie with the help of a washed-up comic actor.
Savage Sword Of Conan 31-32. Featuring Olgerd.
There was a two-parter in the The Shadow Strikes where the Shadow takes on the Chicago mob. I don't have issue numbers handy.
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Post by chadwilliam on Aug 13, 2020 22:49:40 GMT -5
Action Comics 507-508 - "The Miraculous Return of Jonathan Kent!" One issue to give Superman his dream come true and another to take it away.
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Post by brutalis on Aug 13, 2020 23:43:15 GMT -5
Some really great choices already mentioned so add a few of my personal other faves.
Avengers 19/20. Swordsman becomes an Avenger to infiltrate and betray but oddly finds himself liking his role as Avenger!
Batman 323/324. Wein and Novick reintroduce Catwoman back into the series. Love the purple dressed catwhip does she love me or not iteration.
Green Arrow 27/28. Ollie meets Travis or if you prefer Emerald Archer meets Warlord or if you prefer Battle of the Beards. It had to happen and it had to be done by Grell!
Certain others will come to mind later.
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Crimebuster
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Post by Crimebuster on Aug 13, 2020 23:54:40 GMT -5
Avengers #161-162 with the Bride of Ultron story is the one that immediately came to mind for me.
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