Redartz: 1975; what a year! Marvel was still putting out the "Giant-Size" issues, as well as Marvel Value Stamps. Atlas Comics were trying to make a go of the comic business. DC was debuting numerous new titles and characters. It was an exciting time to be a comic reader, which leads us to our topic today: the best stories of that fine year.
I've pored over loads of issues, and prodded my memory to recall my favorites. So, as always, this subjective list; based upon a combination of personal preference and historical impact. Your list my vary. Order is random. No deposit, no return. Void where prohibited.
Ok, now that the formalities are complete, on with the countdown:
1. Defenders 33- "Webbed Hands, Warm Heart" by Steve Gerber, Sal Buscema and Jim Mooney. Inspired lunacy from Mr. Gerber with 'musical brains', the Headmen and a very angry baby deer.
2. Detective Comics 457- "There is no Hope in Crime Alley" by Dennis O'Neal and Dick Giordano. A nice closer look at the Batman's origins by a couple of his best storytellers. Oh, and uncredited backgrounds by the great Terry Austin.
3. Warlock 11- "How Strange My Destiny, Pt. 2" by Jim Starlin and Steve Leialoha. Starlin's epic tale continues the exploration of Adam Warlock. Great cast, great art, great story, great comic.
4. Tomb of Dracula 41- "Re-Birth" by Marv Wolfman, Gene Colan and Tom Palmer. Dracula returns, in another fine issue of this fine series. Wolfman, Colan and Palmer just keep it rolling.
5. All-Star Comics 58- "All-Star Super Squad" by Gerry Conway, Ric Estrada and Wally Wood. Power Girl debuts in this engaging revival of the classic DC title.
6. Howard the Duck 1- "Howard the Barbarian" by Steve Gerber, Frank Brunner and Steve Leialoha. A very imaginative,enjoyable first issue, Brunner and Leialoha rock visually. A fun guest appearance by Spidey, and a tower of credit cards.
7. Amazing Adventures 34, "A Death in the Family" by Don McGregor and P. Craig Russell. A dramatic high point in this excellent series. Phenomenal art, as usual.
8. Avengers 142- "Go West, Young Gods" by Steve Englehart, George Perez and Vince Colletta.The Avengers in the old West. Absolutely wonderful. Another Kang war, Immortus, the Brand Corp., Thor and Moondragon on a train, and Hawkeye having way too much fun. How did they pack so much into one issue?
9. Giant-Size X-Men 1- "Second Genesis" by Len Wein and Dave Cockrum.There are better stories of the 'new team', but this classic giant introduces us to the group that became a pillar of the Marvel Universe. Wein and Cockrum get things started with a bang.
10. Giant-Size Man-Thing 4- "The Kid's Night Out" by Steve Gerber, Ed Hannigan and Frank Springer; "Frog Death" by Steve Gerber and Frank Brunner. A personal favorite, with a rather emotion-laden lead story. A bit preachy perhaps,but quite impactful to a shy fourteen year old comic fan. And it's offset by the return of Howard the Duck in a Brunner-illustrated short. Loads of fun, the scene in the cigar store is a blast.
Incidentally, if Will Eisner's Spirit stories in the Warren magazine had been 'new', they would certainly have made the list. Those "Spirit"s were high on my buying list all that year. And this year, it seems, was a very solid one for Marvel (and for one Steve Gerber). But, that's just my take. What think you?
Redartz: Good day, everyone, and welcome to another ranking and filing of the best comic stories. Today we shall look back to some fine comics, vintage 1977. Once again, I've rifled through the comics published that year, cover dated Apr. 77 through Mar. 78. The selected issues represent the very best of comics entertainment, in my humble opinion. Oh, and if you think this is a simple task: by no means; I had to leave many excellent books out. But then again, that's where you all come in. You may well have other 'bests'; so after you've seen my picks, make your case for your own lists!
And now, let's see what 1977 had to offer, randomly listed...
Daredevil 151- "Crisis" by Jim Shooter, Roger McKenzie, Gil Kane and Klaus Janson. A very dramatic tale, DD's identity discovered, with some fine artwork by Kane and Janson. Just goes to show you that this book was solid, months before the reknowned Miller run began.
Detective Comics 475- "The Laughing Fish" by Steve Englehart, Marshall Rogers and Terry Austin. One of the best Joker stories EVER. A classic in every sense of the word.
X-Men 109- "Home are the Heroes" by Chris Claremont, John Byrne and Terry Austin. Enter Vindicator, in the course of another magnificent effort by the mutant heroes' top notch creative team. And a dynamite cover, too.
DC Super Stars 17- "From Each Ending...A Beginning" by Paul Levitz, Joe Staton and Bob Layton. We get introduced, in a powerful fashion, to Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle's daughter Helena, aka the Huntress. She quickly became a favorite of this reader.
Avengers Annual 7- "The Final Threat" by Jim Starlin and Josef Rubinstein. Starlin threw everything he had into this tale, and came up with near perfection. Warlock, Thanos, Mar-vell, stunning art, a gut-wrenching finale; what more could you ask for?
Marvel Team-Up 60- "A Matter of Love...and Death" by Chris Claremont, John Byrne and Dave Hunt. Another great issue in the title's best run, by one of the premier creative teams in the industry.
DC Special 29- "The Untold Origin of the Justice Society" by Paul Levitz, Joe Staton and Bob Layton. A phenomenal story, set in the world shaking events of 1941. And that Neal Adams cover is icing on the cake.
Justice League of America 144- "The Origin of the Justice League- Minus One", by Steve Englehart, Dick Dillin and Frank McLaughlin. Another big book, with a big story, and a big cast. Kind of seeing a pattern here...
Avengers 161- "Beware the Ant -Man" by Jim Shooter, George Perez and Pablo Marcos. An imaginative use of the Ant-man as antagonist, along with a certain pesky robot. There were many issues of Avengers that could have made this list; this one is a personal favorite.
Defenders 46- "Who Remembers Scorpio" , by Roger Slifer, Keith Giffen and Klaus Janson. The start of a terrific story for everyone's favorite non-team. And the Giffen/Janson art is fantastic, some of the best the title was blessed with.
Okay, there you have it. Does this list convince you, or have you some better suggestions? Give it your best, and give us your best nominations...
Redartz: Some time back, we ran a post asking for suggested topics. Many of you gave us some great ideas, some of which have appeared, some are still upcoming. Today's post is a result of the great suggestion from frequent commenter William, who put forth "Two Part Stories". An excellent topic; thank you William! Two part stories are much less common in comics today, but once were pretty common. They were appealing because they gave you a cliffhanger to get you back next month, but didn't require a six-month investment of time and fortune. And you can fit both parts of the story in one comic bag!
Now let's consider some of those two issue epics. For my part in today's discussion, I'll stick with Bronze age books, but don't feel you have to do so. Additionally, I'll leave aside some obvious choices ("Death of Gwen Stacy", "Joker's Laughing Fish"). Instead, here are a few personal favorites that might be less commonly mentioned. My choices:
Avengers 127 - Fantastic Four 150, the wedding of Crystal and Quicksilver. Steve Englehart, Sal Buscema and Joe Staton started it; Gerry Conway, Rich Buckler and Joe Sinnott finished it. Featuring Ultron , the Inhumans and loads of heroes, it's a showcase for crossover cooperation. Great art in both books, and the story moves beautifully from one team to the other.
Conan the Barbarian 43 - 44, "Tower of Blood". Roy Thomas, John Buscema, Ernie Chan and the Crusty Bunkers give us a great Conan/Red Sonja team up. A creepy story which actually features Conan put to stud service. Don't ask; just read it.
Detective Comics 478 - 479, " The Coming of Clayface III". Immediately following the classic Joker story , Steve Englehart, Marshall Rogers and Dick Giordano produce another fine tale. We meet the new Clayface, in a story both horrific and tragic.
Avengers 170 - 171, The Bride of Ultron. An easy pick, with Jim Shooter, George Perez and Pablo Marcos at the top of their game. A dynamite story, fantastic art, excellent covers, it doesn't get much better than this.
Amazing Spider-Man 145 - 146, featuring the Scorpion and the Jackal. Served up by Gerry Conway, Ross Andru, Frank Giacoia, Dave Hunt and John Romita Sr. It takes place right in the middle of the first Spidey clone saga, and has all the elements that make the web-slinger so great: cool villains, supporting cast drama, and some humor- we get to see Aunt May lecture the Scorpion! Plus issue 146 had some guest inks by Romita, always a special treat.
Action Comics 545 -546, with the new Braniac. Marv Wolfman and Gil Kane were nicely handling the Man of Steel, with a solid, character-driven approach and good Kane artwork. This story had Superman faced with the threat of the recently updated Braniac, and calling in some help from the Justice League and the Teen Titans.
Fantastic Four 280-281, inroducing Malice. John Byrne and Jerry Ordway give us a whole new look at Susan Storm Richards. Some may not be fond of this story, but I found it fascinating; and helped bring a welcome new strength (and new name) to the Invisible Woman. Loved She-Hulk's dawning realization of Malice's actual identity, and Sue's use of new applications of her force field.
There you have it, a few choice tales from my stack of faves. Now you get to pick your fondly remembered twin tellings. Come on, don't leave us hanging...
Redartz: Welcome, everyone! Ready to review, relive, or rediscover a few fine comics? As we've done before, this discussion will center on the year's best comics (as chosen, unscientifically, by yours truly). And of course, my selections aren't graven in stone- you may well have a better list; by all means give us your choices and your reasons.
And now, let's look backwards at the year 1974 (cover dated Apr. 1974 - Mar. 1975), and see some excellent examples of comic art and story. In no special order:
Captain Marvel 32- "Thanos the Insane God" by Jim Starlin with Gary Friedrich, art by Starlin and Dan Green. The Avengers, Mar-Vell, Thanos, Drax and the rest, by Starlin. And what a cover.
Man-Thing 10- "Nobody Dies Forever" by Steve Gerber, Mike Ploog and Frank Chiaramonte. A great character study by Gerber, loaded with emotion.
Dr. Strange 1- "Through an Orb Darkly" by Steve Englehart, Frank Brunner and Dick Giordano. A truly beautiful, intricate start to a great story arc (and a great series).
Detective Comics 443- "Gotterdamerung" by Archie Goodwin and Walter Simonson. A classic, with two manhunters. Think I'd skip DC completely?
Captain America 175- "Before the Dawn" by Steve Englehart, Sal Buscema and Vince Colletta. The epic conclusion to the "Secret Empire" story, with a gut punch ending.
Adventure Comics 435- "The Man Who Stalked the Spectre" by Michael Fleisher and Jim Aparo. This was grim and gritty years before Frank Miller and Alan Moore.
Giant-Size Avengers 2- "A Blast From the Past" by Steve Englehart and Dave Cockrum. Kang, the Celestial Madonna, Rama-Tut, and one of the best Avengers stories EVER.
Plop 9- A shout out to the whole issue, Sergio Aragones in particular. Twisted humor hearkening back to E.C; and an incredible Basil Wolverton cover.
Savage Sword of Conan 1- "Red Sonja" by Roy Thomas, Esteban Maroto, Neal Adams and Ernie Chan. A fine Sonja solo story, with stunningly beautiful artwork. Every page could be a fine art print.
Strange Tales 178- "Who is Adam Warlock" by Jim Starlin. Jim kicks the Golden One's story into high gear, introduces the Magus, and dazzles the eyes as well as the brain.
Well, there you have it. Some obvious choices, some you may well take issue with. At any rate, it was a good year for Steve Englehart!
So have at it, what's your 'best of' list for '74?
Redartz: Hello again everyone! Once again, we present a couple of questions for your consideration. Nothing too weighty today, we'll keep it easy.
Question 1. Many characters in comics, over the years, have been featured in more than one title at a time. Supeman appears in Action Comics, and his own named title (and of course there was DC Comics Presents, and World's Finest, but we're dealing with non-'team up' books). Batman has Batman (obviously), and Detective. Spider-man had Amazing, Spectacular, Web of, Friendly Neighborhood, and several others (Marvel kind of mined the web-slinger heavily, eh?). Flash and Wonder Woman also appeared in Adventure while headlining their own titles. The X-Men had several, filling the shelves in the 90's. You may have more examples. Anyway, the question: which secondary title (that is, not named specifically for the starring character) had the best run?
2.
2. Less explanation needed for this one: what is your favorite card game?
To get it rolling, here's my answers:
1. Detective Comics. A tough call, as Spectacular Spider-man has a lot going for it too. Yet the great range of art and story in Detective nails it for me. The Adams issues, Jim Aparo, the Englehart/Rogers run. Some nice early 00's stories by Paul Dini. Just off the top of my mind...
2. Euchre. I think it may be the official card game in the state of Indiana. It is simple to learn, quick to play, and best of all: it doesn't require huge amounts of concentration, so you can actually carry on some conversation while playing. The biggest challenge for me is remembering which suit is trump. My wife will give me 'that look' if I trump her ace...
Ok, group. Your turn; pick a title and then deal yourselves in!