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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2014 22:37:43 GMT -5
Day 5 #8
Batman 165DC, cover date August 1964 'The Man who Quit the Human Race' Writer - Gardner F. Fox Artist - Sheldon Moldoff  I was 8 years old when this book came out, and already painfully aware that I didn't really fit in with those around me. My brothers were 10 and 12 years older than me, so aside from comics we didn't have much in common. I had friends at school and kids in the neighborhood I played with, but I always felt different, apart from them. Probably because I was smarter than them, and preferred reading to baseball or hockeyball. (Side anecdote #1 - when I told one friend I liked to read everyday, he announced that he liked to read too, and came over one day to read with me. This was about the time I was reading Shelley's Frankenstein, and he came over with a stack of Dr. Seuss. Now, I've gained some appreciation of Seuss as an adult, but at the time I was just embarrassed for him.) And there was the usual bullying and harassment that come with not fitting in. So at an early age, I decided not only did I not belong, I didn't want to. Alienation? Ego? Whatever. So when I saw the title of this comic, I was like 'Sounds good to me. Where do I sign up?' The book disappeared, and over the years I forgot all the details of the story. A year or so back, I got a copy of the book, and it's actually interesting. The state Governor resigns, because he's learned he's gradually mutating into the next stage of human evolution. He can either have surgery to prevent it, or undergo radiation therapy to speed up the change; he chooses the latter, so scientists can determine if this 'next stage' is friendly or hostile to us. He becomes a super-powerful being who decides to replace all humanity with mutants like himself. But all through the story, he's leaving clues for Batman as to how to defeat him. In the end, he's placed in suspended animation and shot into space, to orbit until humanity catches up with him. Okay, the science is questionable, especially the way he's defeated. But the choice he had to make, the idea of evolution replacing humans as we know them, was pretty cool, and more thoughtful than the usual super-hero story of the time. (Granted, X-Men #1 came out just under a year earlier, but this vision of mutation, flawed as it was, seemed more scientifically accurate, at least for comic book science.) (Side anecdote #2 - the Japanese Batman comic adapted this story just a couple of years later. That version was longer, developed Warner more, and added a touch of human drama with the character of Warner's daughter, also mutating. Good stuff. ) But as I said, it wasn't the story that stuck with me. What puts this book on my list was that title, and how it resonated with me through the years. |
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Post by cattysquaw on Dec 18, 2014 23:43:40 GMT -5
Richie Rich #5
Richie Rich or any Harvey Comic was a part of my youth I loved reading them, Richie, Wendy, Dot, Little Lotta, Hot Stuff, Casper, I loved them all, my mom got me reading them, because she was a fan of Sad Sack, I enjoyed that one also. I always got excited when I found a new one in the stores. These comics never failed to make me laugh. I really liked it when they did cross overs and I got see all my favorites in one issue! I would love to see a compilation of these comics come out so I could share them with my niece and nephew.
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Post by hondobrode on Dec 19, 2014 0:05:48 GMT -5
I never had all the funds to keep up with superheroes, but my brother got quite a few Harveys and they were always enjoyable.
In fact, I think I'd get an even bigger kick out of reading them now, kind of like Archie.
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Polar Bear
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Post by Polar Bear on Dec 19, 2014 17:36:28 GMT -5
 Day Five: Sandman #18, "Dream of a Thousand Cats," Gaiman & K. Jones Mythopoeia is the fictional imitation of and deliberate creation of myth. It's very difficult. Tolkien did it in the thousand-odd page Lord of the Rings, but here, Gaiman manages it in a 22 page comic book. With cats. There's really nothing more I can say except that it's time for me to dig out these issues and re-read them. I feel that the series kind of lost its way in the 40s or so, with only occasional glimmers of its old brilliance, but when it was hot, it was h-o-t. Honorable Mention: Sandman #31, "Three Septembers & a January," the issue about the Emperor of the United States, but there are several that I could mention. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Dec 19, 2014 17:55:57 GMT -5
Day Five: Sandman #18, "Dream of a Thousand Cats," Gaiman & K. Jones Mythopoeia is the fictional imitation of and deliberate creation of myth. It's very difficult. Tolkien did it in the thousand-odd page Lord of the Rings, but here, Gaiman manages it in a 22 page comic book. With cats. There's really nothing more I can say except that it's time for me to dig out these issues and re-read them. I feel that the series kind of lost its way in the 40s or so, with only occasional glimmers of its old brilliance, but when it was hot, it was h-o-t. Honorable Mention: Sandman #31, "Three Septembers & a January," the issue about the Emperor of the United States, but there are several that I could mention. I love Gaiman, but I struggled to really come up with a story by him that was heavily connected to a large sense of nostalgia for me. |
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Post by Calamas on Dec 19, 2014 19:24:02 GMT -5
 Uncanny X-Men #141 Jan 1981 “Days of Future Past” Chris Claremont John Byrne Terry Austin Those were the days. Before the mutant explosion, before dominance of the sales charts, before editorial-mandated storylines. It was a time when Claremont and Byrne were free to explore the world of mutants in any direction their imagination took them. And here imagination reigned. The cold open on a bleak 21st century world was riveting from the start. Concentration camps and tombstones of the dead, mutant and human alike. And the haggard state of those who had survived. And their desperate plan that allowed the story to seamlessly transition to the present. The second part is just as good but I prefer part one. It was one of the few times world-building was more important to me than storytelling. And here I got both. No wonder they used it as the basis for the X-Men movie. The images are too strong to resist. |
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Post by coke & comics on Dec 19, 2014 19:46:08 GMT -5
Day Five: Sandman #18, "Dream of a Thousand Cats," Gaiman & K. Jones Mythopoeia is the fictional imitation of and deliberate creation of myth. It's very difficult. Tolkien did it in the thousand-odd page Lord of the Rings, but here, Gaiman manages it in a 22 page comic book. With cats. There's really nothing more I can say except that it's time for me to dig out these issues and re-read them. I feel that the series kind of lost its way in the 40s or so, with only occasional glimmers of its old brilliance, but when it was hot, it was h-o-t. Honorable Mention: Sandman #31, "Three Septembers & a January," the issue about the Emperor of the United States, but there are several that I could mention. I love Gaiman, but I struggled to really come up with a story by him that was heavily connected to a large sense of nostalgia for me. I think Sandman is one of the best comics I ever read, but I read it all in trade. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Dec 19, 2014 20:17:37 GMT -5
I love Gaiman, but I struggled to really come up with a story by him that was heavily connected to a large sense of nostalgia for me. I think Sandman is one of the best comics I ever read, but I read it all in trade. Same here, which I guess is admissible by the rules, but even so despite loving the stories I don't have any super strong emotional connection to them. |
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Polar Bear
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Post by Polar Bear on Dec 20, 2014 15:18:36 GMT -5
8. Spectacular Spider-Man #189 "The Osborn Legacy" by J.M. Demateiss and Sal Buscema June, 1992 (Marvel)  One of the earliest Spider-Man comics I read remains one of my favorite single issues of all time. This standalone issue can be viewed as the middle bit of the Harry Osborn trilogy which began in The Child Within and reaches its conclusion in Spectacular Spider-Man #200. You can read a great review of the whole saga from Brian Cronin (with a guest paragraph by yours truly) here: goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2012/06/29/50-greatest-spider-man-stories-10-6/I always point to this issue to demonstrate what a masterful storyteller Sal Buscema is. He and Demateiss to my mind make a legendary pairing that delivered consistent excellence in Spectacular Spider-Man. This issue is in someways a thematic follow-up to the classic magazine-sized Spectacular Spider-Man #2, in which Norman Osborn hosted a tense dinner party with his sanity slowly slipping. Now it's Harry's turn to play host to a most awkward dinner party, with mounting tension and inner turmoil. But what am I doing describing the issue already? I completely forgot to preface the review with a rambling story of my introduction to Spider-Man. Here goes. Spider-Man is my favorite character. I was introduced to him in Transformers #3 and Avengers #317. It would take a while to pick up a Spider-Man comic, and the buzz surrounding his 30th anniversary finally motivated me. My first issue of Spider-Man was Amazing Spider-Man #362, the second chapter of the Carnage story. Perhaps not the most auspicious of starts, but it had art my Mark Bagley, who would forever define in my mind what Spider-Man looked like. Lanky and absurdly flexible. I picked up the next couple issues, until finally the 30th anniversary came. All four Spider-Man titles came with hologram covers and I brought the set of all four together from the comic store. Good issues all. Web of Spider-Man was probably the most forgettable, but featured a lot of crazy guest stars (or so it seemed... Mysterio was lurking in the wings); the Spider-Man story was a nice one-off tale of a guy who finds a force field and tries and fails at being a super-villain. The Amazing Spider-Man issue I quite loved and still love. With more context, it's not an entirely original story, but it is a well-told struggle with the Lizard. Gets to the heart of what worked about the best Lizard stories, including a touching ending. And of course... the issue spotlighted here. I was hooked. Great pick! DeMatteis is who I "hear" when I think of Spider-Man. His three runs on Spider-Man--Marvel Team-Up with various artists, Spectacular with S. Buscema, and Amazing with Bagley--are just about my favorite Spidey runs of all time. |
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Post by coke & comics on Dec 20, 2014 15:46:05 GMT -5
8. Spectacular Spider-Man #189 "The Osborn Legacy" by J.M. Demateiss and Sal Buscema June, 1992 (Marvel) One of the earliest Spider-Man comics I read remains one of my favorite single issues of all time. This standalone issue can be viewed as the middle bit of the Harry Osborn trilogy which began in The Child Within and reaches its conclusion in Spectacular Spider-Man #200. You can read a great review of the whole saga from Brian Cronin (with a guest paragraph by yours truly) here: goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2012/06/29/50-greatest-spider-man-stories-10-6/I always point to this issue to demonstrate what a masterful storyteller Sal Buscema is. He and Demateiss to my mind make a legendary pairing that delivered consistent excellence in Spectacular Spider-Man. This issue is in someways a thematic follow-up to the classic magazine-sized Spectacular Spider-Man #2, in which Norman Osborn hosted a tense dinner party with his sanity slowly slipping. Now it's Harry's turn to play host to a most awkward dinner party, with mounting tension and inner turmoil. But what am I doing describing the issue already? I completely forgot to preface the review with a rambling story of my introduction to Spider-Man. Here goes. Spider-Man is my favorite character. I was introduced to him in Transformers #3 and Avengers #317. It would take a while to pick up a Spider-Man comic, and the buzz surrounding his 30th anniversary finally motivated me. My first issue of Spider-Man was Amazing Spider-Man #362, the second chapter of the Carnage story. Perhaps not the most auspicious of starts, but it had art my Mark Bagley, who would forever define in my mind what Spider-Man looked like. Lanky and absurdly flexible. I picked up the next couple issues, until finally the 30th anniversary came. All four Spider-Man titles came with hologram covers and I brought the set of all four together from the comic store. Good issues all. Web of Spider-Man was probably the most forgettable, but featured a lot of crazy guest stars (or so it seemed... Mysterio was lurking in the wings); the Spider-Man story was a nice one-off tale of a guy who finds a force field and tries and fails at being a super-villain. The Amazing Spider-Man issue I quite loved and still love. With more context, it's not an entirely original story, but it is a well-told struggle with the Lizard. Gets to the heart of what worked about the best Lizard stories, including a touching ending. And of course... the issue spotlighted here. I was hooked. Great pick! DeMatteis is who I "hear" when I think of Spider-Man. His three runs on Spider-Man--Marvel Team-Up with various artists, Spectacular with S. Buscema, and Amazing with Bagley--are just about my favorite Spidey runs of all time The Demateiss/Gammill run on Marvel Team-Up is great. MTU #119, "Time Run like a Freight Train" is one of my favorite comics ever, and something I strongly considered for this list. His return to Spectacular Spider-Man with Luke Ross was also pretty solid. And of course there's Kraven's Last Hunt. Easily one of the best Spider-Man writers, probably #3. |
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Post by Paste Pot Paul on Dec 21, 2014 4:32:44 GMT -5
Uncanny X-Men #141 Jan 1981 “Days of Future Past” Chris Claremont John Byrne Terry Austin Those were the days. Before the mutant explosion, before dominance of the sales charts, before editorial-mandated storylines. It was a time when Claremont and Byrne were free to explore the world of mutants in any direction their imagination took them. And here imagination reigned. The cold open on a bleak 21st century world was riveting from the start. Concentration camps and tombstones of the dead, mutant and human alike. And the haggard state of those who had survived. And their desperate plan that allowed the story to seamlessly transition to the present. The second part is just as good but I prefer part one. It was one of the few times world-building was more important to me than storytelling. And here I got both. No wonder they used it as the basis for the X-Men movie. The images are too strong to resist. Great choice, 30 something years old and still one of the titles best. To be honest I forgot about this otherwise my list may have changed some. |
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Polar Bear
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Post by Polar Bear on Dec 21, 2014 12:59:44 GMT -5
If that's the one with Gargoyle, I strongly considered that one, too. |
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Post by Reptisaurus! on Dec 21, 2014 18:13:47 GMT -5
Great pick! DeMatteis is who I "hear" when I think of Spider-Man. His three runs on Spider-Man--Marvel Team-Up with various artists, Spectacular with S. Buscema, and Amazing with Bagley--are just about my favorite Spidey runs of all time The Demateiss/Gammill run on Marvel Team-Up is great. MTU #119, "Time Run like a Freight Train" is one of my favorite comics ever, and something I strongly considered for this list. His return to Spectacular Spider-Man with Luke Ross was also pretty solid. And of course there's Kraven's Last Hunt. Easily one of the best Spider-Man writers, probably #3. Yeah, OBVIOUSLY I love Marvel Team-Up even when it's not good, and actually-good Marvel Team-Up is (therefore) one of my Best Things Ever. And I'd put Dematties at #2 on my Spider-man writers list, with the Dematties/Buscema run on Spectacular as my # 2 run, just behind Ditko. Dematties really expanded the concept of what Spider-man can be about - His stuff was always focussed on families and how they worked, and he made some really smart (and moving!) points along the way. The Harry Osbourne scene above is the # 1 example of that. |
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Post by coke & comics on Dec 21, 2014 22:46:12 GMT -5
The Demateiss/Gammill run on Marvel Team-Up is great. MTU #119, "Time Run like a Freight Train" is one of my favorite comics ever, and something I strongly considered for this list. His return to Spectacular Spider-Man with Luke Ross was also pretty solid. And of course there's Kraven's Last Hunt. Easily one of the best Spider-Man writers, probably #3. Yeah, OBVIOUSLY I love Marvel Team-Up even when it's not good, and actually-good Marvel Team-Up is (therefore) one of my Best Things Ever. And I'd put Dematties at #2 on my Spider-man writers list, with the Dematties/Buscema run on Spectacular as my # 2 run, just behind Ditko. Dematties really expanded the concept of what Spider-man can be about - His stuff was always focussed on families and how they worked, and he made some really smart (and moving!) points along the way. The Harry Osbourne scene above is the # 1 example of that. While I don't disagree with anything you said per se, I also have a fondness for Roger Stern's run, which explains my low ranking of Demateiss. My top 4 runs in order are: Lee/Ditko Lee/Romita Stern/Romita Jr. Demateiss/Buscema So we may slightly disagree, but can still be friends. |
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Post by Reptisaurus! on Dec 21, 2014 23:44:44 GMT -5
Howard the Duck Treasury Edition, (# 12) January, 1976.  Whaugh. Yesterday I talked about how much I like big comics depth-wise, today we got a big comic leeeeength-and- height wise. The lead story is a fun "two worlds collide" story as the characters from Steve Gerber's funny book (The Defenders) and his more serious examination-of-the-human-condition-book (Howard the Duck.) ... But it's not the lead feature that earns this book a place on my list, although I did enjoy the vacuum-powered villain with the er.. memorable battle cry "I Am the Black Hole! And the Black Hole....Sucks!" It was the (new-to-ME!) reprints of the first few Howard the Duck stories reprinted, oversize and beautiful. These were the Frank Brunner Howard the Duck stories, and his phsychadelic realism (which shouldn't even make sense!) worked better for me on Howard than even Gene Colan. And I lo-o--o-ove Gene Colan. There was less of Gerber's trademark social criticism here, but who needs criticism when you have a giant frog, an evil accountent/wizard, and a COW who is also a VAMPIRE. Surprisingly dark stuff, this, which choreogaphed the next wave of "literary" funny animals, from Maus to Shhh! to Sammy the Mouse.
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