On the Tenth Day of Classic Comics Christmas, A hero gave to me,
protagonists with humanity...




Claremont seemed to love his characters in a way few other writers ever have. He cared about their hopes, dreams, and insecurities; he cared about what kept them up at night. And when they faced a throw away villain, he understood how that experience tied into the complex web of thoughts and emotions that made them who they were. Characters were constantly growing/evolving, and thus so was the team. Line-ups changed, characterizations changed, Storm could shave off most of her head and become the leader of the Morlocks and it would make sense based on all that she'd already experienced. Sure, it led to favorite characters leaving and/or sometimes becoming unlikable, but it was real. And, regardless of what anyone tries to tell you, it was in play before Byrne got there and was still happening long after Byrne left.

While Claremont is only my third favorite writer, his X-Men are by far my favorite mainstream comic run of all time.

On the tenth day of Christmas, Santa brought to me the works of Kurt Busiek...



Works that garnered Kurt favorite status: Conan, Astro City, Avengers, The Wizard's Tale, Arrowsmith, Shock Rockets, Marvels, Iron Man, Legend of Wonder Woman, Power Man and Iron Fist, JLA/Avengers, Green Lantern in Wednesday Comics, Thunderbolts, Thor: Godstorm, Untold Tales of Spider-Man, and some that are too recent to be eligible for this event

Why I like Busiek's work: Kurt has worked on some of my favorite properties and was the first comic creator I interacted with on a regular basis in the nascent days of the internet when mailing lists (both public and invitation only ones) were de rigeur, so it is difficult for me to be objective, as I have a strong bias here, but that being said, the thing I like most about Kurt's work is the feeling of authenticity in evokes. When he works on other's properties, it feels authentic-his Conan feels like Howard's Conan, his Avengers feel and act like the Avengers for example. He gets the properties and it translates onto the page in his stories. But his creator-owned work has that authenticity too. His worlds feel real and authentic. The world of Astro City feels like a "real" super-hero world and his characters feel like they fit into that world. His world in The Wizard's Tale feels like a real fantasy world, as does the worlds of Arrowsmith or Shock Rockets, etc. His world building and his characters work (this applies even more so to the world of The Autumnlands one of his creator-owned works too recent for inclusion here but it shows as good as he is, Kurt continues to grow and improve as a writer as well).

Single Work I would recommend to someone unfamiliar with Busiek's work: The Wizard's Tale with Dave Wentzel



though there are many you could recommend and not go wrong.

-M

#3 – Kurt Busiek (Marvels mini-series [1993-1994], Untold Tales of Spider-Man [1995-1997], Astro City [1995-2018])




My first encounter with Kurt Busiek's writing was on the mini-series Marvels, which re-tells some of the major events of the Marvel Silver Age through the eyes of photo-journalist Phil Sheldon and culminates in a masterful and moving re-telling of the death of Gwen Stacy. The writing on Marvels is some of Busiek's best. From there he went on to write Untold Tales of Spider-Man, which featured stories set between the issues of the early Stan Lee/Steve Ditko run of Amazing Spider-Man. That could've been a terrible idea, but Busiek's feel for Silver Age Marvel was so spot on that his "untold tales" meshed perfectly with what had come before.

The real wonder of Busiek's writing though wasn't revealed until his own, creator-owned series, Astro City, which I was onboard with from issue #1. It's a close stylistic relative to Marvels and uses the same broad story concept of, "what would it actually be like to be an ordinary person living in a world that is populated by super-powered heroes and villains." But Busiek goes a step further and on occasion also ponders what would it be like to be a superhero living in a world populated by super-powered heroes and villains. While there is certainly meta-commentary on the superhero genre in Astro City, it's also a really refreshing return to the optimistic comic storytelling of old. Busiek has crafted a series of memorable stories and believable characters, in a book that rarely disappoints.

From Astro City, issue #4 (1995)...

William Messner Loebs

A fine artist, Loebs is an excellent writer as well. The standouts for me are his run on Jonny Quest for Comico (with a variety of artists) and the hard-to-find Epicurus the Sage. Jonny Quest played up the family aspect without ever forgetting the adventure part. Epicurus is thoughtful and very funny, beautifully drawn by Sam Keith (an artist I can barely tolerate--though can appreciate—on established characters).

I have to say driver1980, you have introduced me to a lot of UK writers I didn't have the honor of reading or knowing for that matter. Your write-ups have been not only nostalgic, but super informative and has me looking online to order and read. Thank you.

3. Alan Moore

Just messing with you.

3. Charles Biro

I've only read a few of Biro's most famous works in Crime Does Not Pay, Crime and Punishment, and Daredevil Comics. But of course he's making my list for Boy Comics. It's well know that Biro was basically the prototype that Stan Lee patterned himself after. During the Golden Age, Biro was writing the kind of naturalistic, rounded character studies that Lee would later emulate when he created the Marvel Universe. Biro also had an outsized cult of personality in his comics that he fostered aggressively with fans - again, a blueprint for Lee, who reportedly would sometimes call Biro and pester him for advice. At one point in the 60's, Lee considered bringing Biro on board at Marvel, but after a meeting decided they couldn't coexist under the same roof.

Which is too bad, because Biro's writing is head and shoulders above most of his Golden Age contemporaries, at least when it comes to character work. Most of his stories are slow burn studies of crooks and victims. The art is cramped and small, because Biro fills every panel with enough words to make Roy Thomas blanch. But the effect of that is oddly powerful. Major plot events, like murders and maimings and betrayals are depicted in his scripts with the same amount of space and energy as talking heads, or anything else - so instead of feeling extraordinary, the ultra-violence in his stories becomes mundane, which is even worse. There's nothing remarkable about the depravity of human behavior, seems to be Biro's message.

He also had an almost post-modern style that's really only come into fashion in the 00's - none of his characters in Boy Comics ever have thought balloons. Everything is spoken dialogue, so a person's character is revealed through word and through deed.

He also wasn't above making some meta-commentary on comics themsevles, which again feels very modern. Here's a page from one of my favorite issues, Boy Comics #60. This issue came out in 1950, right when all the superhero books were being cancelled. In this story, Crimebuster's mentor Loover and some of his friends stage an intervention to get him to wear pants instead of a silly costume. I have to think this is an intentional commentary on the silliness of the fading superhero genre, which Biro never seemed to really love.