trane_fanatic Posted July 15, 2005 Report Posted July 15, 2005 (edited) I was almost strictly a Marvel head when I was a young un although I was a big fan of the Frank Miller Dark Knight and Watchmen series too. Since I grew up in the late 80s - mid 90s, I missed the Silver Age of Marvel Comics, but there were still decent storylines and artwork back then. I stopped collecting em in 94 when I went off to college. Since then, Marvel has gone bankrupt, I believe and the Marvel Enterprises of today is a shell of it's former self more interested in movie scripts and merchandising than anything else. Walked into a comic shop for the first time in years a while back and how things have changed. Books are outrageously overpriced (even adjusted for inflation), have gargantuan amounts of ads and seem to have recycled concepts. The artwork appears to be influenced more by anime than anything else. I miss the good ol' days. Here are 2 great cover sites I found... http://www.comics.org/ http://www.samcci.comics.org/ Reminisce away, folks. Edited July 15, 2005 by trane_fanatic Quote
Brandon Burke Posted July 15, 2005 Report Posted July 15, 2005 Eightball is the only comic I read. Quote
joeface Posted July 15, 2005 Report Posted July 15, 2005 (edited) I still have a big ol stash boxed away from roughly the same era, mostly Marvel from mid-80's to early-90's... focus on all things X-Men. Some Dark Horse titles were must-gets too. My favorite limited series was the Havoc Wolverine one, with the wild water color artwork and a storyline from the latter days of the Cold War. Edited July 15, 2005 by joeface Quote
jazzbo Posted July 15, 2005 Report Posted July 15, 2005 I grew up at a great time: I was six or so when FF #1 hit and my youngest uncle still had boxes of comics in the attic of my Grandma's house from the fifties (Batman and Superman and lots of monster stuff) AND a complete collection of the first decade of "Mad." Man oh man, I can remember how exciting it was to walk five or six blocks to get the latest issue of "Strange Tales" or "Tales to Astonish" to get my Dr. Strange and Thor fix! I managed to keep up with comic universe til I went to college and a bit in college, with interest that flagged. . . I think the last excitement I had was Conan in the Barry Smith years, and then it all seemed less important and I read more fiction novels and history books. . . . In the late sixties I got hooked on "The Spirit" by Eisner due to the Harvey 25 cent giant reprints, and then I followed all the Spirit I could from various other printings, Kitchen Sink etc. I still would like to really have the first decade plus of The Spirit in the bound books DC is now putting out. . . I just have never justified the cost when there are Mosaics and Uptowns and Dick's Picks to buy. . . . But I think if I had to take just one comic series to a desert island Dr. Stephen Strange and Denny Colt would have to fight to the finish for me to take the winner along. . . . Quote
clifford_thornton Posted July 15, 2005 Report Posted July 15, 2005 I used to read Tintin when I was a kid, too. Not much else. Seems like I end up waiting for Marvel and DC to be in the theatres more than anything else. Kirsten Dunst does not star in the print versions, after all... Quote
Jazzmoose Posted July 15, 2005 Report Posted July 15, 2005 My favorite stuff was probably hated by most of you: Silver Age Superman titles. You know, those Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane, red kryptonite stories with Bizarro No. 1, a host of freaks and oddities, and every story ending with Superman in deep thought at "How ironic!" it all was... It was like visiting another planet! My "prime comic time" was the mid sixties through the mid seventies, so I was a Marvel fanatic, so that was as an adult. As a child I thought those Superman books were pretty stupid... The last comics I read as I drifted away... Sandman Eightball Hate and anything by Milo Manara... Quote
couw Posted July 15, 2005 Report Posted July 15, 2005 Jazzmoose said: and anything by Milo Manara... ← ... for the good stories I guess... Quote
ejp626 Posted July 16, 2005 Report Posted July 16, 2005 I read some X-Men as a kid, and liked it, but then when I thought about getting back into it, I found there were over a dozen lines of X-Factor, New Mutants, Wolverine, who knows what else. I'm a little bit of a completist, and realized I would go broke trying to buy all these titles, if I got back into it. So I didn't. What I still read sporadically -- Transmetropolitan Girl Genius Mr. X and other comics by Dean Motter Quote
Jazzmoose Posted July 16, 2005 Report Posted July 16, 2005 couw said: Jazzmoose said: and anything by Milo Manara... ← ... for the good stories I guess... ← Well of course; what else? Quote
Alexander Posted July 16, 2005 Report Posted July 16, 2005 I grew up on my dad's Marvel comics from the early and mid 60s (those would be worth a pretty penny today, if they hadn't been stored in a paper bag in the attic...) and I loved them. I still remember reading those old X-Men comics (I was SO resentful of the "new" team when they appeared in the 70s...to me the X-Men was Cyclops, the Angel, Marvel Girl, Iceman, and the Beast) and loving every hackneyed cliche that Stan Lee would put in their mouths...fun stuff! By high school I was a die-hard Marvel fan. Hated DC and anything to do with it. I actually made my dad return the two copies of "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns" #1 that were accidentally put in with my order one week back in 1986 (he's never let me forget that). Later, I got into Miller's "DK" and Moore's "Watchmen." Then I gave up superhero books and only collected "alternative" comics (Eightball, Hate, Yummy Fur, Julie Doucet, anything and everything by Crumb). Today, I've struck a balance. I currently collect the following books: The Amazing Spider-Man (written by J. Michael Straczynski) The Incredible Hulk (written by Peter David) The Black Panther (art by John Romita, Jr) Blood of the Demon (by John Byrne) Doom Patrol (by John Byrne) Wolverine (art by John Romita, Jr) Anything still printed by Alan Moore's ABC line (Tom Strong, Promethea, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, etc.). And anything else written by Alan Moore. Anything by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale (Batman: The Long Halloween, Batman: Dark Victory, A Superman for All Seasons, Catwoman: When in Rome, Daredevil: Yellow, Spider-Man: Blue, Hulk: Gray, etc). I also read some alternative comics when I like the artist or writer (people like Spiegleman, Chris Ware, the aforementioned Crumb, Bagge, and Clowes). In addition, I read a VERY sick book called "Deep Fried." The artist/writer (one Jason Yungbluth) grew up with me in Buffalo, NY. I was best friends with him and his twin brother, Chris. He has a website, which I suggest you check out:www.whatisdeepfried.com. I warn you, however: Jason's work is NOT for the faint of heart. He has a habit of tackling material that most people wouldn't TOUCH. One of the features in his book, Clarissa, is the heartwarming tale of a little girl who is being molested by her father. And it's FUNNY (in a deeply disturbing way). Don't say I didn't warn you. Quote
Alexander Posted July 16, 2005 Report Posted July 16, 2005 (edited) One of Jason's...sick, but funny! Edited July 16, 2005 by Alexander Quote
Kalo Posted July 16, 2005 Report Posted July 16, 2005 There were some pretty good comics in the 20th century. Seriously, I'm deeply into the history and evolution of the medium, so just as with jazz or films, I could never choose a single favorite era. Quote
Alexander Posted July 16, 2005 Report Posted July 16, 2005 Another sample of Jason's work. This is from a feature he did called "A Peanut Scorned" which places Charlie Brown, et al in a post-apocalyptic future a la "Mad Max." Brilliant stuff, and great artwork. Quote
jazzbo Posted July 16, 2005 Report Posted July 16, 2005 Orion was cool. I scratched my head at a lot of those Kirby DCs when they came out, but Orion was cool! Quote
jazzbo Posted July 16, 2005 Report Posted July 16, 2005 Ditko still trips me out. I think he took an Eisner influence (just my guess) and really found a personal style. . . . Quote
jazzbo Posted July 16, 2005 Report Posted July 16, 2005 I so wish they had done a Ditko Gobby in Spiderman 1! Quote
Man with the Golden Arm Posted July 16, 2005 Report Posted July 16, 2005 When I bought comics at the store on the corner they were 12 Cents!! While my buds were going superhero I always went with Tarzan and his son Korak! Quote
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