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Post by Cei-U! on Dec 18, 2021 4:50:25 GMT -5
Since several people have already cited today's selection, I don't need to go into repturous detail about the appeal of 7. Ralph and Sue Dibny, Detective Comics et al
Mr. and Mrs. Elongated Man have been favorites of mine since waaay back in 1964 when I first discovered their back-up strip in an issue of Detective. The affection and respect they held for each other, the teasing, the easy acceptance of each other's quirks and faults provided a breath of fresh air in a comics universe full of Loises, Lanas, Vickis, and Jeans. It's no coincidence that my Showcase collection of EM's original series—autographed by co-creator Carmine Infantino—is one of my prized possessions. What DC did to them in Identity Crisis is a crime I would never forgive if I hadn't persuaded myself it never happened, Ralph + Sue 4 ever! Cei-U! I summon the big ol' case of denial! |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2021 5:36:28 GMT -5
#7 - Cerebus and JakaCan an aardvark barbarian and a human dancer make it together in this crummy world? And why did that become such a fascinating topic? Trying to answer that or otherwise simplify the mystique of the Cerebus series (a long and tumultuous run of good, bad, and sometimes quite ugly) can't be given justice in a few sentences so I won't attempt it. Those who know Cerebus know this relationship well, and it's a fascinating one to me that was quite unlike anything else I was reading back in the day.  
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Post by EdoBosnar on Dec 18, 2021 5:46:55 GMT -5
7. Misty Knight and Danny Rand (Iron Fist)One of my favorite couples bar none back in my early days of comics reading. I first encountered them in the pages of Power Man & Iron First when they were already established, and I thought they were so cool. They’re a classic power couple: she’s a badass with a bionic arm and he’s a badass with a fist that mystically becomes stronger than steel when needed.  I actually gained a new appreciation for them more recently, when I read the Iron Fist Epic Collection (as well as the PM & IF Epic volumes). I’d never read those original Iron Fist stories in which they had first met, and really enjoyed the gradual way they went from trying to punch each other out during their first meeting to becoming friends and then professing their love for each other (in the Marvel Team-up two-parter that wrapped up the loose ends from IF’s cancelled solo series).  And I totally agree with Mister Spaceman , who noted in his write-up about them yesterday that their relationship sounds like the basis for a Jack Hill flick. In fact, I think I’ve mentioned it on this forum before, but I still wish the MCU had done a period-piece Heroes for Hire film, set in the 70s and featuring Misty, Danny, Luke and Colleen (paying homage to that era’s Blaxploitation and martial arts movies). Where I’ll disagree with my esteemed colleague is that I do think of them as a timeless couple – one of my favorites from my personal golden age of comics reading.
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Post by coke & comics on Dec 18, 2021 6:38:33 GMT -5
7. Jenny & Zot
Zot! #1-36 by Scott McCloud Eclipse, 1984-1991  At first, they went on crazy adventures together in Zot's world. Jenny started to realize she liked Zot's world better than her own reality. Then he came into our world. In our world there was also Woody, Jenny's perhaps-boyfriend. Jenny and Woody finally gained clarity and Woody moved on. Then there was Jenny and Zot. Zot lived in a tardis box in Jenny's room. After a long conversation about what they were and weren't ready for, Jenny joined Zot in his interdimensional bedroom box.  The issue ended there. Readers are divided over what did or didn't happen in that box, and the author won't say.
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Post by foxley on Dec 18, 2021 6:46:42 GMT -5
7. Tristan and Isolde (Camelot 3000) @supercat did an excellent write-up of this yesterday, so I have little to add. I will add there is a brilliant scene where Guinevere forces Tristan to confront the fact that she is a woman, and that is is not a bad thing, and that the final scene between Tristan and Isolde is possibly the most romantic I've ever seen in a comic.
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Post by Icctrombone on Dec 18, 2021 7:55:51 GMT -5
#7 Mr.Miracle and Big BardaToday's choice caught me by surprise. The relationship sort of snuck up on the reader because of the nature of their partnership in the Mister Miracle series. Big Barda is first introduced in issue # 4 when she appears on earth looking for Scott Free. It is obvious that she knows him but it’s only revealed in issue #9 that she met him as he was escaping from apokolips , something unheard of before then. Her warrior education doesn’t give space for developing romantic feelings for another, or so it seems. But time and again she accompanies him in dangerous adventure after dangerous adventure. My more innocent self just thought of it as a partnership like Robin or Falcon, but there is a reason she hangs around him. It’s love. They reveal their feelings for each other in the final issue and get married. I guess the clues were all there but my 13 year old mind didn’t quite get it. Maybe it was the macho qualities that Barda had as opposed to all the feminine females depicted up to this point in comics that threw me off. In any case their declaration of love was sweet and I dare say, that this is one of the comic book marriages that has actually survived the years. They meet in Apokolips and her arrival on earth  The First time they declare their love for each other. It was sweet. 
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2021 7:58:35 GMT -5
#7 - Destro and Baroness  I can’t find a decent comicbook image from crappy Google Images (and why do WebP images give me problems; screw my life, eh?). So it’s a cartoon image. But, I like the couple. I often think evil people are incapable of love because they are self-absorbed and would sell out anyone (the nature of evil, eh?). But somehow, the writers made Destro and Baroness totally believable. And their relationship was never easy. It’s always more credible when a couple aren’t necessarily always on the same page. That’s life.
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Post by DubipR on Dec 18, 2021 8:41:41 GMT -5
Today's Song: "Nothing Came Come Between Us"- Sade #7- Redlance & Nightfall Richard and Wendy Pini's epic comic of a world of elves, trolls and humans is one I go back to every now and then. Throughout the years of re-reading the original 4 hardcovers I have, I have always go back and look at the role of Redlance and Nightfall in the original WaRP Graphics run. I've always liked this couple since I was a kid. Two different worlds within the same tribe and yet the two compliment each other well. In the realm of elves, there's a lifemate and a soulmate, where their inner powers of telepathic communications will find their partner. The coupling of Redlance and Nightfall fall into the former; their bond of love is physical but inner isn't complete. Nightfall, who is a fighter in the Wolfriders, is strong and vocal and expresses her love for Redlance as much as possible. Redlance, a pacifist and plant shaper, who is bonded to the earth, anchors her aggression and passion by loving her back. Throughout the original books, Nightfall searches for Redlance's soul-name so they can truly bond. It took a battle between trolls to finally recognize that the two of them are inseparable. The Pinis do an amazing job on making characters fall in love with each other that is tender and caring. It's not just outer love, it's the complete package.  |
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Post by commond on Dec 18, 2021 8:42:14 GMT -5
You guys are doing a fantastic job with this. Shout out to the Zot pick. I've always loved the relationship between Mr. Miracle & Big Barda, and Destro and the Baroness is a great pick as well. Jaka's Story is one of my favorite graphic novels of all-time, but looking at that pic, Jaka's proportions seem wildly off. I really need to read Camelot 2000 and 1970s Iron Fist.
My question is how you guys feel about the Giffen/DeMatteis' take on the Dibnys' relationship where Sue makes sarcastic jokes about Ralph all the time (despite still loving him)?
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Post by DubipR on Dec 18, 2021 8:45:01 GMT -5
You guys are doing a fantastic job with this. Shout out to the Zot pick. I've always loved the relationship between Mr. Miracle & Big Barda, and Destro and the Baroness is a great pick as well. Jaka's Story is one of my favorite graphic novels of all-time, but looking at that pic, Jaka's proportions seem wildly off. I really need to read Camelot 2000 and 1970s Iron Fist. My question is how you guys feel about the Giffen/DeMatteis' take on the Dibnys' relationship where Sue makes sarcastic jokes about Ralph all the time (despite still loving him)? Commond, have you watched The Thin Man? If you have seen that, you know the banter between Nick and Nora is pretty much Ralph and Sue. |
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Post by commond on Dec 18, 2021 8:53:56 GMT -5
I've seen the original Thin Man but not the sequels. I don't recall Ralph being as clever as William Powell in the Giffen/DeMatteis stuff. I recall him having a Blue Beetle/Booster Gold vibe to him.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2021 8:57:09 GMT -5
Jaka's Story is one of my favorite graphic novels of all-time, but looking at that pic, Jaka's proportions seem wildly off. I like the earlier art as well, but picked this one just to have a nice shot of them looking like a "happy couple". |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Dec 18, 2021 9:13:24 GMT -5
On the Sixth day I give you... The Power Couple of Caiera and Hulk  When my list was originally going to be comprised wholly of beauty and the beast pairings Hulk and Caiera from Greg Pak's brilliant Planet Hulk and even though I ultimately moved away from that theme they definitely still belong here. What makes Caira and Hulk's pairing so great is that despite physically looking like you're typical Beauty and the Beast type relationship they are actually equals physically which is a big change for the Hulk. Through the course of the comic you see Caiera and Hulk move from grudging enemies to allies and then lovers...and it feels so natural. So many of the relationships around the Hulk are women who actually love Bruce Banner and not the Hulk(even Jarella only learned to love the Hulk when her sorcerors allowed Banner's mind to control the Hulk) but here the Hulk is just the Hulk and Banner has zero influence so Caiera truly loves the Hulk warts and all. She sees his strength, his range and his simple views of the world and she loves him for all of that. And rather than needing to be the protector Hulk learns to love an equal and forge a true partnership of equals which is something he's never done. All of which makes it so tragic when the pair is torn asunder. I'm not usually a fan of writers killing off a love interest just to provoke feelings from the hero and the audience...but I just can't get myself to hate it. The follow up World War Hulk wasn't as good as Planet Hulk, but his rage certainly felt justified so it atleast felt true.  |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Dec 18, 2021 9:38:07 GMT -5
#7 : Madelyne Pryor and Scott SummersYes, ranked even higher than the Scott-Jean pairing! That's because of the very positive message that this relationship carried. The introduction of Madelyne after the loss of Jean and the hope that Phoenix might rise from the dead told readers that yes, it IS possible to love again after having lost your soul mate. It is possible to find happiness again and to create something new, something as beautiful as what once was, if we accept that it will also be different. There is no need to agonize forever over what we lost and expect some miracle to bring things back to the way they had been before; we can truly move on and find happiness again. That's a lesson we can all benefit from, because life being what it is, we are bound to suffer loss eventually. Heart breaking loss. But it doesn't have to be the end. No amount of retconning will ever change that: Scott understood that perfectly well (after the initial doubts and Mastermind's meddling). He knew that Maddie was not Jean, and he did not want Maddie to be Jean. He had truly moved on, cherished what had been, but was ready to begin a new chapter.  un photoAnd there was even a happier ending to a dark phoenix saga this time around!  I enjoyed Maddie and Scott's time together after the marriage, when the latter had retired from the X-Men and the newlyweds worked as airplane pilots in Alaska. I didn't much like the concept of Maddie gaining superpowers (in the X-Men/Alpha Flight miniseries) but since it was a one-shot deal, it was O.K. The concept of a major superhero retiring to a happy life (without being forced into retirement by a book's cancellation, that is) was also pretty uncommon at the time. Naturally, once X-Factor came around, all that great work was thrown down the garbage chute. Le sigh. Greed and short-sightedness poison everything. But for a short time in comicbook-land, Maddie and Scott were happy.
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Post by shaxper on Dec 18, 2021 9:56:46 GMT -5
Yeah, you all knew this one was going to show up on my list sooner or later. 7. Miyamoto Usagi and Tomoe Ameas written by Stan Sakai I'm usually turned off by obligatory couplings in comics, so when Usagi and Tomoe met and hit it off in what was only Usagi's third and fourth appearances, I should have been annoyed. And yet, she was sort of perfect for him; someone who understood the code he lived by better than anyone, but also shared his compassion and idealism beneath it. Both Tomoe and the master she served (Usagi has a standing offer to return and serve him) would have been ideal for Usagi, but (of course) the very premise of the series is the idea that he is wandering and cannot plant roots anywhere while he is on his journey. Over the years, that initial storyline has cast a significant shadow over this multi-decade series. That's where Usagi will ultimately settle, right? And that's who he'll settle with? Stan Sakai has had a lot of fun teasing both ways on this one, as Usagi has certainly met may compelling women since (I'd argue none were even close to being as right for him as Tomoe), but every time Tomoe returns, there's an inevitable tragic tinge to it all; we know Usagi won't be settling down anytime soon. "Chanyou" remains my favorite stand alone Usagi story of all time. In it, Usagi has traveled back to her province for a short while, and Tomoe has decided to host a traditional tea ceremony for Usagi before he departs again, possibly never to return. In the story, Stan pairs his masterful attention to historical detail with an unforgettable display of feudal Samurai discipline; Tomoe performing the ritual with absolute perfection, while perfectly withholding her deep feelings for Usagi as he is about to walk out of her life again, maybe for the last time.  |
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