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Post by wildfire2099 on Dec 15, 2024 9:50:59 GMT -5
For Day 3, I present my most obscure title (well, maybe....): Deliah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant Sorry to be contrarian but I don't think of Delilah Dirk as obscure as all. I've definitely read it. really? I guess that's good for Tony Cliff then  I've never seen it mentioned here or really anywhere else. I came across it because I like some other stuff the publisher was doing and went to their web site to see what else they did. |
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Post by Jeddak on Dec 15, 2024 9:55:55 GMT -5
Let's throw some more love Diana's way. Wonder Woman 178-203, Oct. 1968 to Dec. 1972  The Sekowsky era, where Wonder Woman loses her powers and costume to become a human adventurer, is dismissed by many as a misstep. But it's my favorite era of Wonder Woman ever. It was a bold move, the rare 'big change' that actually was a big change. Classical WW had never interested me, and the stories I'd read were awful, with random alien attacks, boring villains, and Steve Trevor, the worst love interest ever. Diana as Mrs. Peel, kicking butt with her wits and martial art skills, was a lot more appealing. Maybe the best part of the run was the variety of stories. You could have a street-level drama one issue, then a supernatural mystery, then a globe-trotting adventure followed by an interdimensional sword and sorcery romp. Mike Sekowsky seemed to be having a blast, throwing anything at the reader. Yes, I Ching was cringe. On the other hand, we did get those two covers by Jeff Jones for 199 & 200. Man, did they stand out on the racks.  Bi-monthly status and frequent interruptions for reprints didn't help the book's momentum, and despite crossover appearances by the mod Diana with Batman, Superman and even Lois Lane, the new approach didn't last. Supposedly, part of the reason for DC giving up and going back to the costume was a complaint from noted feminist Gloria Steinem about taking power away from the character. Obviously, she hadn't been reading the book, cause the run before she gave up her powers sucked. So did the one after she got them back. Taking her powers away actually made Diana a stronger character, more confident, more capable, more relatable. And a lot more interesting. The Guilt - still regarded by many as a mistake, a mere footnote in the character's career The Pleasure - still my favorite version of the character. |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Dec 15, 2024 10:05:59 GMT -5
On the third day of Christmas, Penthouse Magazine gave to me...
10. The Bible: Eden
by Keith Giffen, Dave Elliott and Scott Hampton.
This is an adaptation of the few first chapters of Genesis, a tale that helped shape entire civilizations and that still resonates today thanks to its powerful symbolism. A tragic tale about the loss of innocence and Man's place in the cosmos, it is magnificently illustrated by Scott Hampton in a style that evokes old frescoes painted in tempera. It's also rife with beautiful graphic touches, as with the way the Fruit of Knowledge of Good and Evil is depicted: all pure and white on the outside, but hiding an ominous blood-red pulp.
 Adam's reaction to biting the fruit is amazing; the sheer anguish betrayed by his face is heart-wrenching. Yet with the loss of innocence comes a whole new vista of possibilities, both frightening and intoxicating, something else that is beautifully rendered by Hampton. Adam's lips are still stained by the fruit's juices when the two lovers share a kiss that is not as innocent as what may have come before. 
Even though there is very little text, some liberty is unfortunately taken with Scripture (not a big deal, but unnecessary). To wit: Adam and Eve are said to have eaten of the fruit of the Tree of Life right after the lady's birth, which contradicts Genesis 3: 22-33 "And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.". The Serpent also inserts some editorial comments in his temptation spiel: "Can you not see why the Lord would not let you eat of its fruit?"
The book stops after the three first chapters (plus the birth of Cain), and I must say I was moved by the depiction of Adam and Eve's first clumsy attempts at farming and building a new life out of Eden. Harnessing cattle, digging the soil, even facing the very first pregnancy, those are all very human moments.
So... why the guilt?
Well, before being collected by IDW, this was serialized in Penthouse. I guess it can be justified to show the physicality of characters who are just discovering life, but there is a fine line between "showing physicality" and soft born, a line that this book cheerfully crosses. Despite the very real qualities of the book, I'd have been embarrassed to read it when my mother was in the same room! (Dad would have loved it, though, despite having studied in a seminary when he was young!!!  ) Having re-read it for the purpose of this review, I find that the embarrassment has lessened while my admiration for Hampton's work has not. Great stuff, if you don't mind a lot of *ahem* anatomically correct but still pulchritudinous female anatomy. (Which I don't).
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Post by thwhtguardian on Dec 15, 2024 10:07:10 GMT -5
Sorry to be contrarian but I don't think of Delilah Dirk as obscure as all. I've definitely read it. really? I guess that's good for Tony Cliff then I've never seen it mentioned here or really anywhere else. I came across it because I like some other stuff the publisher was doing and went to their web site to see what else they did. It's definitely new to me, and the art looks pretty good. This might be the first "guilty pleasure" book I try to find. |
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Post by FullMetalJacket on Dec 15, 2024 10:17:44 GMT -5
Day 3 Space Punisher (2012)
At first glance the thought of Frank Castle in space might seem a little silly. But these are comics, they are meant to be sllly. The book assumes his family was murdered in space by the space mafia. He flies around in a sentient spaceship named Maria with a robot clone of his son (that he built) hunting down the mafia, which are re-imagined counterparts of his earthly villains. The painted artwork is quite eye-catching. The series might make many roll their eyes towards the sky....but essential if you're a completist like I am. Like Batman Odyssey, it comes along like a good strong toke from your dealer's weed.
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Post by driver1980 on Dec 15, 2024 10:51:06 GMT -5
Jeddak, you mention variety of stories in that WW book. On and off, I am watching Alias on Disney+, and I feel each season has been varied - and within each season, there are a variety of stories (most of the time), which is good. FullMetalJacket, I think I need to track down that Space Punisher book, I hadn’t heard of it until now.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 15, 2024 12:26:21 GMT -5
On the third day of Christmas, Chaykin brought to me something that wasn't Silver Age-y 10. Twilight - by Howard Chaykin and J.L. Garcia-Lopez (DC 1990)
 Wait...you might say to yourself...Chaykin and Garcia-Lopez, how could that be a guilty pleasure. Well, to be honest, I have zero guilt for liking this book. I'm an unabashed Chaykin fan and I think Garcia-Lopez is one of the best mainstream comic book artists ever. But a WHOLE lotta people hate this book. Why? Because Chaykin took DC's silver age space heroes and updated them in a way that is decidedly not wholesome. I've heard it as described as Millerizing or Alan Mooreing, but I don't really buy that. Really what he did was took space opera characters and moved them in to a more New Wave SF aesthetic. And I can see where that might not sit well with fans of the likes of Tommy Tomorrow or Space Cabbie or Space Ranger and the rest. But I never gave two tugs of a dead dog's...well...about those characters. They had long since moved in to obscurity when I started buying comics in 1975. And, frankly, those DC space books were junk when they were new. So I recognize that a lot of people hated this book. But not I. |
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Post by MWGallaher on Dec 15, 2024 12:41:01 GMT -5
Just to confirm that Slam would be justified in feeling guilty, even though he doesn't, I'll step up as a Twilight-hater. I like Chaykin and Garcia-Lopez just fine but what they did to DC's SF characters (especially my favorites, the Star Rovers) felt like picking on the little guys. I'm not usually one to use the "why don't you just tell this story with original characters" argument, but it really felt appropriate here. While I could easily see readers enjoying this story and art, I couldn't imagine anyone who already knew about characters like Space Ranger getting any kind of pleasure seeing him and his ilk rendered as despicable creeps. And if you're not satisfying a curiosity for seeing a contemporary Tommy Tomorrow story, what's the value added in giving your space Nazi that name?
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Post by DubipR on Dec 15, 2024 12:46:12 GMT -5
On the third day of Christmas, Chaykin brought to me something that wasn't Silver Age-y 10. Twilight - by Howard Chaykin and J.L. Garcia-Lopez (DC 1990)
Wait...you might say to yourself...Chaykin and Garcia-Lopez, how could that be a guilty pleasure. Well, to be honest, I have zero guilt for liking this book. I'm an unabashed Chaykin fan and I think Garcia-Lopez is one of the best mainstream comic book artists ever. But a WHOLE lotta people hate this book. Why? Because Chaykin took DC's silver age space heroes and updated them in a way that is decidedly not wholesome. I've heard it as described as Millerizing or Alan Mooreing, but I don't really buy that. Really what he did was took space opera characters and moved them in to a more New Wave SF aesthetic. And I can see where that might not sit well with fans of the likes of Tommy Tomorrow or Space Cabbie or Space Ranger and the rest. But I never gave two tugs of a dead dog's...well...about those characters. They had long since moved in to obscurity when I started buying comics in 1975. And, frankly, those DC space books were junk when they were new. So I recognize that a lot of people hated this book. But not I. There were fans of Tommy Tomorrow and Space Cabbie? BWHAHAHAHA! A lot of those back-up stories were unreadable. Chaykin was smart enough to make them into a coherent and amazing story. Its his best work from DC, I think. As much as I enjoy Blackhawk and the Shadow, this was a thing of beauty. And Garcia-Lopez is still unmatched. |
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Dec 15, 2024 13:01:39 GMT -5
#10 – Justice (1986–89)  The whole New Universe line was pretty critically reviled, right? Well, regardless of that, I liked the Justice series a lot back in the day. I was on board from issue #2 in 1986 and I felt sure that this was gonna be the next big comic book phenomenon.  Truth is that the series is a mess. I mean, it started off reasonably strong, if a little slow moving, but it took a left-turn into Bobby Ewing "it was all a dream"/"none of this happened" territory mid-way through the run. That seemed like a ludicrous creative misstep at the time and it still does now. After that, there are some very weird issues, with some butt-ugly artwork from Keith Giffen, which are followed by a tie-in with "The Pitt" event, in which Pittsburgh gets nuked. But despite how flawed it is, there are elements of this comic that I really enjoy. For one thing, the lead character Tensen is kinda cool and his light "sword" and "shield" powers are pretty neat. Those weird, feverish issues drawn by Giffen mid-way through the run, which I hated so much as a kid, are actually quite interesting as an adult; I sort of dig the hallucinogenic weirdness of it all. So, this is a guilty pleasure because I know in my heart that it is a mess. The story is all over the place, as far as the plotting goes, and it's a rather forgettable series all in all. But nevertheless, it's a comic series that is dear to my heart and always enjoyable – warts and all! – whenever I re-read it.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 15, 2024 13:07:39 GMT -5
Just to confirm that Slam would be justified in feeling guilty, even though he doesn't, I'll step up as a Twilight-hater. I like Chaykin and Garcia-Lopez just fine but what they did to DC's SF characters (especially my favorites, the Star Rovers) felt like picking on the little guys. I'm not usually one to use the "why don't you just tell this story with original characters" argument, but it really felt appropriate here. While I could easily see readers enjoying this story and art, I couldn't imagine anyone who already knew about characters like Space Ranger getting any kind of pleasure seeing him and his ilk rendered as despicable creeps. And if you're not satisfying a curiosity for seeing a contemporary Tommy Tomorrow story, what's the value added in giving your space Nazi that name? You're one of the people I was thinking of. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Dec 15, 2024 13:31:05 GMT -5
On the third day of Christmas, Chaykin brought to me something that wasn't Silver Age-y 10. Twilight - by Howard Chaykin and J.L. Garcia-Lopez (DC 1990)
Wait...you might say to yourself...Chaykin and Garcia-Lopez, how could that be a guilty pleasure. Well, to be honest, I have zero guilt for liking this book. I'm an unabashed Chaykin fan and I think Garcia-Lopez is one of the best mainstream comic book artists ever. But a WHOLE lotta people hate this book. Why? Because Chaykin took DC's silver age space heroes and updated them in a way that is decidedly not wholesome. I've heard it as described as Millerizing or Alan Mooreing, but I don't really buy that. Really what he did was took space opera characters and moved them in to a more New Wave SF aesthetic. And I can see where that might not sit well with fans of the likes of Tommy Tomorrow or Space Cabbie or Space Ranger and the rest. But I never gave two tugs of a dead dog's...well...about those characters. They had long since moved in to obscurity when I started buying comics in 1975. And, frankly, those DC space books were junk when they were new. So I recognize that a lot of people hated this book. But not I. This makes two guilty pleasures I might need to track down, I honestly didn't think I'd be adding to my "To-Read" pile with this years theme but here we are. |
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Post by Jeddak on Dec 15, 2024 13:39:25 GMT -5
Jeddak , you mention variety of stories in that WW book. On and off, I am watching Alias on Disney+, and I feel each season has been varied - and within each season, there are a variety of stories (most of the time), which is good. Thinking about it more now, that very variety that I enjoyed may have actually hurt the book. 26 issues, 3 of which were reprints, on a bi-monthly schedule, is hard enough to stay invested in. Maybe a more consistent tone would have helped keep in the casual readers. Maybe once sales were better, the more outre stuff could be tried. Or maybe not. Whatever the run was, it wasn't your typical superhero book, and that's where the market was increasingly focusing. |
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Post by Confessor on Dec 15, 2024 13:40:08 GMT -5
10. Todd McFarlane's Amazing Spider-Man This is one of those entries that have me going, "Huh? What's guilty about that pleasure?" I have a lot of time for McFarlane's run on ASM, which, while it's not perfect, is very good overall, I think. I always thought it was reasonably well liked by most fans too, though I know it does have its detractors (especially here in the CCF). |
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Post by Jeddak on Dec 15, 2024 13:40:52 GMT -5
I didn't hate Twilight, mostly cause I refused to buy it. Count me as another Star Rovers fan. Maybe I should add them to my list.
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I've never seen it mentioned here or really anywhere else. I came across it because I like some other stuff the publisher was doing and went to their web site to see what else they did.
)
