Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,202 
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Post by Confessor on Dec 21, 2023 11:06:53 GMT -5
#4 – Books of Doom #1–6 (2006)  I've always had a real soft spot for Dr. Doom, ever since I first encountered him in a reprint of Amazing Spider-Man #5 which appeared in an issue of Marvel Tales in the early '80s. Terrifying in his cruelty, magnificently skilled in magic, brilliantly clever and wearing a really cool costume, he might well be my favourite ever Marvel villain. Written by Ed Brubaker, the Books of Doom mini-series is a dark and sometimes sympathetic biographical journey through Doom's life. Framed by a rare contemporary interview that Doom has agreed to give to a journalist, the story of an innocent gypsy boy in Eastern Europe who grows up to become a cruel tyrant is told through flashbacks. We see Doom's idyllic childhood before his family is forced to flee Latveria because of an evil nobleman, which leads to tragedy. Then the boy's mother dabbles in black magic, resulting in yet more tragedy. This, in turn, leads young Victor to America where he encounters Reed Richards. Finally, he returns to Latveria to have his revenge on the nobleman who caused so much pain to his family and then assumes the throne of the country himself. The artwork by Pablo Raimondi is fantastic, but where this book really scores is in Brubaker's scripting: this is a fascinating, often rather moving tale that shows us exactly who Doom was, is, and how he came to be. Though fans of the Fantastic Four might think they know the ins and outs of Doom's story already, there are details and revelations aplenty in this brilliantly well-crafted biographic tale.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Dec 21, 2023 13:39:39 GMT -5
And on the Ninth day of Classic Comics Christmas there was... #4: Wesley Dodds The Dead Boy Detectives And so on the fly I'll swap out one Sandman spinoff for another: The Dead Boy Detectives who first appeared in Sandman #25 and had cameos in the Children's Crusade and Books of Magic before getting their own mini-series. Honestly, I don't know why I didn't think of these guys sooner. I grew up devouring school boy mysteries like the Boxcar Children, the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew and supernatural tales have always been my jam so throwing the two together was a sure fire hit. And as if combining storytelling genres I love wasn't enough they tapped Ed Brubaker for the first Dead Boy Detectives mini and latter on Jill Thompson both of which are favorites of mine. I haven't checked out the pair's latest outing but with a set of two ghostly school kids solving supernatural crimes I just can't imagine a scenario where you can go wrong. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 21, 2023 13:49:20 GMT -5
And on the Ninth day of Classic Comics Christmas there was... #4: Wesley DoddsAfter brief cameos in Sandman #1 and #26 it was decided that it was time for the golden age Sandman, Wes Dodds, to get his own series and Matt Wagner, Steven T. Seagle and Guy Davis really delivered the goods. In the place of the original generic superhero they came up with a fantastic play on the Thin Man stories with Wes and Dian stepping in for Nick and Nora Charles but still delivering some truly dark and pulpy mysteries that are definitely some of the best comics ever produced. This would have been my number one. But I ran it by Kurt and it doesn't qualify. Which makes sense as Sandman debuted as a solo feature in Adventure Comics. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Dec 21, 2023 13:57:39 GMT -5
And on the Ninth day of Classic Comics Christmas there was... #4: Wesley DoddsAfter brief cameos in Sandman #1 and #26 it was decided that it was time for the golden age Sandman, Wes Dodds, to get his own series and Matt Wagner, Steven T. Seagle and Guy Davis really delivered the goods. In the place of the original generic superhero they came up with a fantastic play on the Thin Man stories with Wes and Dian stepping in for Nick and Nora Charles but still delivering some truly dark and pulpy mysteries that are definitely some of the best comics ever produced. This would have been my number one. But I ran it by Kurt and it doesn't qualify. Which makes sense as Sandman debuted as a solo feature in Adventure Comics. Darn it, I was hoping that the golden age wouldn't count as this was a separate version that spun off of Gaiman's Sandman. Back to the drawing board then. |
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Post by Cei-U! on Dec 21, 2023 15:18:13 GMT -5
And on the Ninth day of Classic Comics Christmas there was... #4: Wesley DoddsAfter brief cameos in Sandman #1 and #26 it was decided that it was time for the golden age Sandman, Wes Dodds, to get his own series and Matt Wagner, Steven T. Seagle and Guy Davis really delivered the goods. In the place of the original generic superhero they came up with a fantastic play on the Thin Man stories with Wes and Dian stepping in for Nick and Nora Charles but still delivering some truly dark and pulpy mysteries that are definitely some of the best comics ever produced. This would have been my number one. But I ran it by Kurt and it doesn't qualify. Which makes sense as Sandman debuted as a solo feature in Adventure Comics. I love it when people do my work for me. Give yerself a Slammie.
Cei-U! And Sandman actually debuted in the 1939 edition of New York World's Fair Comics!
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Post by commond on Dec 21, 2023 15:23:53 GMT -5
#4 Whoa Nellie! #1-3Spun off from Love and Rockets.  I love Love and Rockets. If it's not the greatest comic book series of all-time then it's at least in the conversation. I also love professional wrestling, which makes this three issue spinoff a match made in heaven. I was watching an interview with Gilbert the other day where he talked about watching wrestling with his brothers. Apparently, Gilbert thought it was just okay and that it was Jaime who was taken with it. The attention to detail is what sets this comic apart. There's not much in the way of story for people who aren't pro-wrestling fans, and Maggie barely appears at all for people who are Locas fans, but wrestling fans know. Especially wrestling fans who are familiar with the Los Angeles scene that Jaime grew up watching, as well as the Texas scene that features in the story. The wrestling action is authentically drawn and everything from the hair to the ring attire is perfect for the era. I don't know of a better wrestling comic, not even from Japan. I could have filled out my list with Hernandez Brothers spinoffs, but in keeping with the spirit of the list, this is my perennial favorite.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Dec 21, 2023 17:45:53 GMT -5
oh man... I totally didn't think of either sandman Mystery Theatre or Hitman, both of which probably should have been on my list  Oh well....that definitely happens every year when we do this! I had the Legion on there at one point, but then I decided that the MY Legion (the Triangle/Threeboot era) wasn't really a spin off, it was really a reboot. 4. Steel The whole death of Superman arc was right when I was starting into comics... but at the time I had a Slam Bradley-ish opinion of Superman. The marketing of his death totally worked on me though. My favorite was this guy with the awesome name and awesome hammer... John Henry Irons. The book really became something under Priest, who made Natasha arguable and even more interesting character than her Uncle. I'm stull not sure how I feel about her being a superhero to be honest, but the book was fantastic for a while. ?file=Steel_1.jpg) |
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Crimebuster
CCF Podcast Guru
Making comics!
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Post by Crimebuster on Dec 21, 2023 18:06:14 GMT -5
4. The Losers1st Appearance: G.I Combat #138 Choice Run: Our Fighting Forces #123-181 During the downturn in the popularity of war comics, DC canceled several ongoing strips. And then they had the idea to take those characters and put them all into one team book. The result was The Losers, debuting in a Haunted Tank story in G.I. Combat #138 before graduating to their own title in the pages of Our Fighting Forces, where they would remain until the DC Implosion. This run has a lot going for it, including some great covers by Kubert and Severin among others. The Kirby run is probably the high point, especially the sublime #152, but I love the whole series. 
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Post by DubipR on Dec 21, 2023 18:49:35 GMT -5
4. Steel The whole death of Superman arc was right when I was starting into comics... but at the time I had a Slam Bradley-ish opinion of Superman. The marketing of his death totally worked on me though. My favorite was this guy with the awesome name and awesome hammer... John Henry Irons. The book really became something under Priest, who made Natasha arguable and even more interesting character than her Uncle. I'm stull not sure how I feel about her being a superhero to be honest, but the book was fantastic for a while. Steel was one the last two to fall off my list. I'm in the minority that doesn't care for Priest's run of the book. Felt forced and clunky. I preferred Weezie's stuff. |
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Post by Paste Pot Paul on Dec 21, 2023 21:06:02 GMT -5
4. Warlock In the 80's Marvel reprinted Starlin's masterpiece in these beautiful Special Editions, along with his Captain Marvel and Steranko's Nick Fury and Captain America work. IIRC they are on Baxter paper, slightly heavier and nice shiny white pages. Oh hey, theres some cool story stuff and all that amazing Starliny arty stuff too.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Dec 21, 2023 21:06:06 GMT -5
They were very different books... it was a pretty straight superhero book at first... almost like 80s Iron Man (which is probably why I liked it). Priest's book was more character (and humor) driven. I can appreciate Priest is definitely not for everyone.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Dec 22, 2023 5:47:32 GMT -5
They were very different books... it was a pretty straight superhero book at first... almost like 80s Iron Man (which is probably why I liked it). Priest's book was more character (and humor) driven. I can appreciate Priest is definitely not for everyone. I will always have a fannish debt to Priest for saving Conan the Barbarian in the mid '80s. The way he defined characters and the humour he brought to the book were indeed major points of his tenure. (Actually knowing about Robert E. Howard's work helped a lot, too). |
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Post by Prince Hal on Dec 22, 2023 9:50:28 GMT -5
Day Nine (#4)
Agent of SHIELD (Strange Tales 135-168; Agent of SHIELD 1-7)
I never got into the mid-60’s spy mania. (To this day, the second half of “Goldfinger” is the only Bond film I’ve ever seen any of.) But you couldn’t escape it back then. I did watch “Man from U.N.C.L.E.” a few times and read one of the paperbacks, but that was about it. Other than Agent of SHIELD. I guess it was the comfort and confidence engendered by seeing Fury at the helm. That first episode from Strange Tales 135, which I saw when it was reprinted in the Sgt. Fury Annual a year later had me from Panel One. Within its pages was this genuine Silver Age moment of classic Kirby:  As many of us old b*st*rds recall, you couldn’t always find every issue of every comic on the stands back then, but I was able to see a few SHIELD stories from the Strange Tales run. That all changed with the expansion of the Marvel line in 1968, and thus I was able to find every issue of the Agent of SHIELD book when it came out. I’d only seen little bits of Steranko’s art up till then, so this was a little bit of superspy heaven for me... well, at least till Steranko disappeared and Frank Springer took over. I bagged on SHIELD at that point, eventually was able to cobble together the ST run by buying back issues at bargain prices, and thoroughly enjoyed the over-the-top storytelling and the almost always well above average art. You couldn’t go wrong with guys like Kirby, Severin, and Heck paving the way for the one-of-a-kind Steranko run that started in late 1966. Here's Steranko anticipating the kind of shot that we now take for granted and see in every action move made in the last 20 or 25 years:  As many of us old b*st*rds recall, you couldn’t always find every issue of every comic on the stands back then, but I was able to see a few SHIELD stories from the Strange Tales run. That all changed with the expansion of the Marvel line in 1968, and thus I was able to find every issue of the Agent of SHIELD book when it came out. I’d only seen little bits of Steranko’s art up till then, so this was a little bit of superspy heaven for me... well, at least till Steranko disappeared, first from the interiors and the from the covers, and Frank Springer took over. I bagged on SHIELD at that point, eventually was able to cobble together the ST run by buying back issues at bargain prices, and thoroughly enjoyed the over-the-top storytelling and the almost always well above average art. You couldn’t go wrong with guys like Kirby, Severin, and Heck paving the way for the one-of-a-kind Steranko run that started in late 1966.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 22, 2023 13:27:33 GMT -5
In which I give random missives that aren't very massive.
Silver Surfer - We've seen Silver Surfer before. He's still awful. But now he's awful by Starlin...who I don't like. So that's something.
Inhumans - It's been a long time since I've read that Inhumans series. But I really liked it and kind of forgot about it. Good call.
Balder the Brave - I read this when I was doing a read of Simonson's Thor. It's been quite a while, but I remember liking it.
The Legion of Super-Heroes - I think this is the first time we're seeing the Legion. Which kind of surprises me. I'm not a big Legion fan, but I did read it a bit during the Levitz/Giffen run and it was a solid superhero funnybook.
Hawkeye - We've seen him before too...but I did like that Fraction/Aja run. So...neat.
Impulse - I only vaguely know from Impulse. I just didn't follow those comics (and I wasn't reading many superhero funnybooks at the time anyway). I feel I'd be more interested in Max Mercury in the book than in Impulse himself.
Black Widow - Have we seen her before? I don't remember. I think that as a character she got better as time went on. So neat.
Shade - I'm pretty sure we've seen this before, but I'm too lazy to check. I thought of this book but I haven't read it since it came out.
Books of Doom - I guess it's cool there's a book about his library. I'm not a big fan of Doom...but I do like Brubaker a lot...so maybe.
The Dead Boy Detectives - I love me some Dead Boy Detectives. I thought about this, but I haven't read it in a super long time.
Steel - I guess if I have to have imitation Superman, this is better than most. But it's still too much Superman.
The Losers - I've never read The Losers. I probably should. Sigh.
I think we've seen Warlock and Nick's Furry.
This was shockingly positive. I'm chagrined.
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Post by Jeddak on Dec 22, 2023 18:07:53 GMT -5
Day 9 - Red SonjaFirst appearance - Conan the Barbarian #23 Talking about the Dynamite series by Gail Simone, which luckily for me premiered in 2013 I liked Sonja when she first appeared, but really didn't like the series Marvel gave her back then. I've never really cared for Frank Thorne's art, and I really hated that chain mail bikini. That origin story they gave her, involving rape, a goddess making Sonja strong and good with a sword, and the bit about only sleeping with a man who could beat her in a fight, didn't help. So I gave up on the character for a while. But then I heard good things about the newest series from Dynamite, and I'd liked Gail Simone's work on Secret Six. So I took a shot. First, it's a fun book. Sonja is given a foil in the form of 2 worshipful girls who take their job as Sonja's bodyguards very seriously. She's given a backstory of slavery and loyalty to the one monarch she respects, and a former partner turned enemy. Diagnosed with a plague, she's marked with a bird across the face, which doesn't last but looks cool as hell. There's humor, and violence, and I really looked forward to the next issue.  But even better, this series fixed most of my problems with the earlier versions of the character. The chain mail bikini lasts on the covers, but inside Sonja is soon wearing more appropriate outfits. While her family and village are slaughtered, she survives and avenges them. No rape, no needing the intervention of a goddess, and no stupid vow of chastity. This was a Sonja I could take seriously. 
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Oh well....that definitely happens every year when we do this! I had the Legion on there at one point, but then I decided that the MY Legion (the Triangle/Threeboot era) wasn't really a spin off, it was really a reboot.
