Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,197 
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Post by Confessor on Dec 17, 2014 17:54:57 GMT -5
#8 - Scream #1 (March 1984)  Today's pick is issue #1 of the short-lived British horror comic Scream! I've picked this because, really, it was the first British comic I ever got into. Prior to picking up this issue, most of my comic purchases had been various DCs and Marvels, either as black & white UK reprints or else regular U.S. comics. I'd read a few issues of various British war comics like Commando and Battle Action Weekly, along with some random issues of 2000 AD, but I had never picked up consecutive issues of a British series before, for whatever reason. With Scream!, however, I was on-board with issue #1...and what an issue it was! Here we had the inaugural installments of soon-to-be-favourite strips like "The Thirteenth Floor", "The Dracula File" and "Monster" (by Alan Moore), along with "Tales from the Grave" narrated by The Undertaker (who was kind of like a Crypt Keeper lite, if you will). Everything I loved and looked forward to week after week in this comic was here from issue #1. Also, this issue came with a free gift (as was usual for debut issues of British comics at the time): a pair of glow-in-the-dark Dracula fangs that I wore a LOT. I bought Scream! religiously ever week, discussing it with school friends and thrilling to the sinister adventures contained in each issue. Having been on board since issue #1, Scream! really felt like my comic. My special thing. Needless to say, I was absolutely gutted when, after a mere 15 issues, the comic suddenly stopped coming out. No announcement. No fanfare. Nothing. Gone.  I know now that strips like "Monster" and "The Thirteenth Floor" continued a few months later in the pages of the re-launched Eagle comic, but I didn't know this back in the day. To eleven year-old me in 1984, the comic's sudden disappearance was as mysterious and shocking as anything I'd read in the pages of the series itself. Thinking about it now, that's kind of fitting I guess.
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,197
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Post by Confessor on Dec 17, 2014 18:15:44 GMT -5
I discovered the joys of romance as a result of a random ebay purchase Please, this is a family friendly forum.  |
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Post by paulie on Dec 17, 2014 19:14:23 GMT -5
#8. Swamp Thing 46 March, 1986Since Neil Gaiman's Sandman ultimately became the touchstone for mature, adult, orientated comics Alan Moore's Swamp Thing has actually become underrated over the years. It shouldn't be. It is one of the top dozen runs in comics history and better than Sandman I think by a good bit. While Moore's Swamp Thing always stayed true to its roots as a horror comic this was the title that did literary, romantic, sweeping, epic, Vertigo-style, fantasy first. There isn't a single issue that hits a wrong note but I always thought #46 was where the capital E-epic feel of the title came to the forefront. Please let me explain. Here we have Swampy, guided by the mysterious Constantine, trying to determine his place in the on-going 'Crisis'. One of my all-time favorite comics moments is when Constantine provides Swampy with the full gravity of the horrors they are about to face by saying the Crisis pales in comparison to what a group of male witches has in store. I won't provide any spoilers but to get that sense of absolute horror from a comic is quite the trick. This is also the last issue exclusively from the classic Bissette-Totleben team. Simply an amazing issue. Attachments:
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Post by thwhtguardian on Dec 17, 2014 19:33:19 GMT -5
On the fifth day of Classic Comics Christmas I give unto thee...
 "The World Shapers" part 1 Written by Grant Morrison Penciled by John Ridgway Inked by Tim Perkins Doctor Who Magazine #127, Panini Comics 1987 This is another one I first experienced in 1997, as I said I had my first job and was pretty well healed for a kid my age and I was experimenting heavily with all sorts of comics. In the back o my local store there were two sections that were often neglected by me, the manga section and an odd little corner simply labeled "Foreign" that was right by the enterance to the bathroom, which was where I was headed when I spotted the above cover which featured what I though was some kind of mutated Turtle monster from like the only Godzilla movie that I must have missed. Alas, it was not info on another awesome Godzilla movie, it was something called a Sea Devil from a show I had never heard of called Doctor Who but it was cool so I picked it up on a whim. It was just a whim though and only one of many, many books I picked up that day; in fact I didn't even end up reading it. It was just sort of tossed on my dresser and laid there forgotten for some time until I was home sick from school one day and happened upon a weird show on PBS...and there on the screen was that monster again! The episode was great, unlike anything I'd ever seen before with the way it combined humor, action and science fiction. I loved Star Trek, the Outer Limits, Twilight Zone and Sliders but this was special in that it really hit all my taste buds at once. And as the episode ended I rushed upstairs to find that misplaced magazine which I read cover to cover like a dozen times. I didn't really understand most of it, but the pictures were cool and I loved the comic. The strip was very continuity heavy, I had no idea what a Voord or a Cyberman was and the Doctor looked different for some reason but the art was great and though essentially meaningless to me at the time the story had a seriously fun energy to it.  As I grew older and continued to catch more Doctor Who on PBS and collect more issues of Doctor Who Magazine I began to learn a lot more about the series and its rich history and with that growing knowledge my affection grew for that first issue I snagged on a whim. The more I learned, the more I understood the story which really made revisiting it fun as it felt like I was exploring new ground with each rereading. That sense of adventure grew more as I learned who Grant Morrison was and saw that I had a seldom (in the US) seen window into his early career. All in all though, I think it's the serendipity of this discovery that really makes this book for me, it was such a random encounter but it helped spark an interest in me that has stayed with me all these years and developed into one of my favorite shows.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Dec 17, 2014 20:20:09 GMT -5
CLASSIC COMICS CHRISTMAS #8
LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES ANNUAL #1
"MONSTER IN A LITTLE GIRL'S MIND"
On Sale May 13, 1982 Written by Paul Levitz Penciled by Keith Giffen Inked by Bruce Patterson Cover by Keith Giffen Edited by Laurie Sutton This is my favorite single issue of my third favorite super hero team. In it, Brainiac 5 takes a restless gamble to save the life of a girl and it all goes horribly wrong. Due to his actions, one of Legion's deadliest villains of all time returns and nearly kills the entire team inside it's own HQ. While the rest of the Legion shows it's courage in fighting off the villain's actions, the child's brother takes an enormous risk to save her life and defeat the villain. At the end of the day, the girl is still alive and her brother is the newest member of the Legion. About a decade later, the girl would also wind up joining the Legion. When people tell me online that they just don't "get" the Legion of Super-Heroes I just want to smack them upside the head with this issue. The Great Darkness Saga immediately follows the events of this issue, but I still think this is their finest hour. Everyone gets a little screen time, the few panels with the retired Duo Damsel are especially gut wrenching. It's an amazing debut for a new hero that shows you everything about what the Legion and super heroes are all about. It's also the best artwork of Keith Giffen's career. The next time I read a Legion story was after Superman supposedly blew up the moon in 1991. There had been a "few" changes in the meantime.  up next...back to the Silver Age for my favorite Mort Weisinger Era Superman story. I just read this a couple weeks ago.. definitely a great story! |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Dec 17, 2014 20:31:51 GMT -5
#8. New Warriors #36 June 1993 Writer: Fabian Nicenza Artist: Craig Brasfield  Plot: A day in the life of prisoner Vance Astrovik, one in which he helps the guard quell a riot, and gives a plant to a plant villain to make him a bit happier. I LOVE this cover... this was the 1st issue of New Warriors I picked up... a super hero in jail? That sure got my attention! The artist was a fill in, but really good none the less (and IIRC, went on to do the Justice mini not long after). It was a great intro to the character, and Firestar, too? I had no idea that she was a 'real' character before this. I quickly sought out and found a trade with the 1st few issues and ended up collecting the series until they annoyed me and made it a Spiderman Title.
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Post by foxley on Dec 17, 2014 20:47:29 GMT -5
8. Detective Comics #526
Synopsis: Worried that Killer Croc is going to steal his thunder by killing the Batman before he has a chance to, the Joker assembles a who's who of Batman's rogues gallery to take out Batman before Croc can. Why I chose it: Batman is my favourite comic book character. One of the (many) reasons for this is that he has the coolest rogues gallery in comics, bar none. What could possibly be cooler for the 13 year old me than seeing all of them assembled to take on Batman? Answer: nothing. This issue even introduced to me to some Batman villains I'd never encountered before, like Black Spider and the Getaway Genius (okay, so they can't all be classics). But 13 year old me will not allow this issue to not be on my list.
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Post by badwolf on Dec 17, 2014 20:49:25 GMT -5
Why I chose it: Batman is my favourite comic book character. One of the (many) reasons for this is that he has the coolest rogues gallery in comics, bar none. What could possibly be cooler for the 13 year old me than seeing all of them assembled to take on Batman? Answer: nothing. This issue even introduced to me to some Batman villains I'd never encountered before, like Black Spider and the Getaway Genius (okay, so they can't all be classics). But 13 year old me will not allow this issue to not be on my list. I may have an anniversary issue of Batman on my list for similar reasons. |
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Post by foxley on Dec 17, 2014 20:52:44 GMT -5
Why I chose it: Batman is my favourite comic book character. One of the (many) reasons for this is that he has the coolest rogues gallery in comics, bar none. What could possibly be cooler for the 13 year old me than seeing all of them assembled to take on Batman? Answer: nothing. This issue even introduced to me to some Batman villains I'd never encountered before, like Black Spider and the Getaway Genius (okay, so they can't all be classics). But 13 year old me will not allow this issue to not be on my list. I may have an anniversary issue of Batman on my list for similar reasons. I think I could even make an educated guess as to what that issue might be.  If this one hadn't come out first, that one probably would have been on my list. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Dec 17, 2014 21:00:44 GMT -5
I didn't choose an anniversary comic for Batman but I do have a Batman issue on my list and a big milestone issue for another important DC character as well.
Heck, I probably could have done an all Batman list.
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Post by benday-dot on Dec 17, 2014 21:08:38 GMT -5
#8 Marvel Treasury Edition #10A last Silver Age pick for me. While this oversized measure of grandeur actually came out as part of a wonderful Bronze Age experiment in format, and I do own all four of the issues reprinted here, there was no way I was only going to chose but one chapter in this extraordinary epic. This is an oversize saga as truly befits an oversize comic. I loved this Treasury to death as a kid. My original copy has much masking tape (I know!?) to thank for it's survival these days. Here was a tale more epic, more explicitly mythic, more awe-inspiring I felt than even the Galactus trilogy which would roughly be the equivalent of the tale in Thor's sister mag the Fantastic Four. This book was my gateway to Norse mythology, and I can still trace in my memory panel by panel the road of the gods from early hint of peril to catastrophic ruin just short of Ragnarok. Now thee is word to chill. Kirby's art in this issue reached an apex that lent the saga an authenticity that seemed to place it (as Mangog among the Jotunn or the wolf Fenrir) in scale and and craft and credibility alongside the original Norse myths themselves. Until 1968 when the story was first told it must have seemed as if comics were hardly capable of such epic storytelling. It was a revelation worthy of the gods. 
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Post by benday-dot on Dec 17, 2014 21:12:20 GMT -5
Wonderful pick Foxley. This mere casual Batman fan happened up to pick that issue when it hit the spinners back in the day and I loved every page of it. It even prompted me to start buying Batbooks month by month for a while. |
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Post by Icctrombone on Dec 17, 2014 21:27:15 GMT -5
8. Detective Comics #526
Synopsis: Worried that Killer Croc is going to steal his thunder by killing the Batman before he has a chance to, the Joker assembles an who's who of Batman's rogues gallery to take out Batman before Croc can. Why I chose it: Batman is my favourite comic book character. One of the (many) reasons for this is that he has the coolest rogues gallery in comics, bar none. What could possibly be cooler for the 13 year old me than seeing all of them assembled to take on Batman? Answer: nothing. This issue even introduced to me to some Batman villains I'd never encountered before, like Black Spider and the Getaway Genius (okay, so they can't all be classics). But 13 year old me will not allow this issue to not be on my list. This is a great issue. Earlier this year I sold off many of the issues surrounding this book. I had to keep this one. |
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Post by DubipR on Dec 17, 2014 21:44:10 GMT -5
This entry, I was going to go against Kurt's rules as I first experienced reading this magnificent comic in a trade, but I'll select the cover in which it pertains to.... we move backwards to 1985 Number 9ELFQUEST #1 Year of Release: April 1978 (trade publication: 1981, Starblaze edition) Written by: Richard Pini Drawn by: Wendy Pini Synopsis: When one of their tribe is taken and tortured by the humans, elf tribe leader, Cutter leads his Wolfriders take him back, at the cost of one human life. The Gotara-worshipping humans, under the "guidance" of their Spirit-Man, burn the forest to clear the Holt of the alien elves. The Wolfriders, unable to reach water, escape to the Troll Caves where they are led to an exit called the Cavern of Golden Light. Why I Think This Is A Classic: Back in 1985, a ripe age of 10, along with Saturday morning cartoons, Little League games and riding bikes and reading comics with the neighborhood kids, we all played Dungeons & Dragons. Our DM, my next door neighbor came over to our house one day and showed me this amazing trade...  He let me borrow it to read and I was amazed. As a fan of playing D&D, I knew what elves and trolls were, but not like this! This was whole new world of fantasy I never seen before. And at the age of 10, it was so adult too! Aside from the mild and tasteful nudity and violence, I thought to myself, this is what adults read if they're reading comics. Sure, I saw R-rated films at the time, but this was an R-rated comic! This was a good 2 years or so before I'd open up an issue of Heavy Metal, but seeing a sword and sorcery world like this that wasn't Skartaris or Pellucidar, in a genre I was getting into was great for a pre-teen DubipR. Looking at the stunning Wendy Pini artwork back then it was a revelation of something that wasn't 24/7 capes, of what I was more into. Her artwork remains to this day one of the finest examples of linework in small press history and in the medium. While she gets awards and love for her work, she really is a true draftswoman that more people outside of us here on the boards old timers should be reading. |
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metarog
Junior Member
Waking up in an alternate universe
Posts: 25
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Post by metarog on Dec 17, 2014 21:50:43 GMT -5
8. Space Ghost #1 Gold Key
 I was a wee lad when I first read this comic. One of my brother’s friends came over with it to trade for some baseball cards and for whatever reason just left it. Now I was a big Space Ghost fan and never missed the cartoon on Saturday mornings way back when. Once my brother was occupied with his buddies I slinked away with it back to my bedroom. Needless to say I devoured the comic reading it from cover to cover before my brother noticed it was missing. It had all the characters from the show including Jan, Jace and Blip in full color (I only had a B&W set back then). All the action, cheesy dialogue, and bizarre villains was right here in my hands to read whenever I wanted as long as I could keep anyone else from noticing I had it! As it turned out I did confess to my brother that it wasn’t mine but he let me keep it anyway for being honest about it. It was a win-win all around as I got to keep it and didn’t have to feel guilty over it. This was one of the first comics I read and although I had read others before this one was special because I was already familiar with the characters and storylines. It started the fascination with floppies that I still have today. It is one of my favorites for showing me the excitement possible in the comic book medium.
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If this one hadn't come out first, that one probably would have been on my list.
