Rank and File: Best of the Bronze, Part 3- Archie, Charlton, Gold Key, Pacific, Comico, First, etc.!

 

Redartz:  Welcome one and all! We've arrived at the conclusion of our thrilling threesome of Bronze age comic rankings. Week one was Marvel, last week was DC. Now we cover, well. basically....everyone else. In one sense, this week has been the most difficult to address. Unlike with the 'big two', generally there weren't many comics from other publishers that I followed so devotedly. Of course, there were exceptions. 

Incidentally, one challenge for this topic was that some of my favorites failed to qualify (curses, foiled by my own restrictions). There were numerous Disney books from Gold Key, for instance, that I really liked; but they were reprint collections of classic Carl Barks duck stories. Then there were those excellent Warren Spirit magazines. Again, not included as they were reprints. However in that case, you'll see below one semi-exception there that I did sneak in. And with that , let's get started; there's a lot of potential ground to cover!

 

My  Five Favorite Non-Marvel/DC Bronze Age Comics (that was a mouthful):

 

 Archie Giant Series  #182 (The World of Archie) - This book sort of acts as a representative of my whole 'Archie' period. Published in 1971, it was one of the earliest Archie books I remember buying. It was a 'giant' comic, with all those extra pages; and I always loved that. This book had many funny stories, and the concluding one was "Teaser for Ceasar": one of those historical tales with
Archie and the gang in ancient Rome. Probably my first exposure to that trope, which became a favorite (especially 'Caveman Archie'). All told, a pretty good early Bronze comic; and a fine visit with the Riverdale crew.

 

The Spirit (Kitchen Sink Comix) #30- Yep, here's the exception I sneaked in. After Warren ceased publishing the Spirit mags, they were continued (even continuing the numbering) by Kitchen Sink. Still reprints, except for this issue. Issue 30 was the monumental "Spirit Jam", with a new Spirit story written by Eisner. The art included Eisner of course, but also featured. the most spectacular array of creators I'd seen to that point (both artists and other writers contributed to the final product). This book is worth a post of it's own, and I  might just do that one of these days. But to whet your interest for it, here's the list of contributors to the book:

Leslie Cabarba, Milton Caniff, Richard Corben, Will Eisner, Denis Kitchen, Pete Poplaski, John Pound, Brent Anderson, Terry Austin, Mike W. Barr, Terry Beatty, Fershid Bharucha, Brian Bolland, John Byrne, Chris Claremont, Max Allan Collins, Ernie Colon, Howard Cruse, Jim Engel, Chuck Fiala, Michael T Gilbert, Archie Goodwin, Fred Hembeck, Todd Klein, Alan Kupperberg, Harvey Kurtzman, Steve Leialoha, Denis McFarling, Frank Miller, Dean Motter, Mike Newhall, Dennis O'Neal, Tom Orzechowski, George Pratt, Sharon Rappaport, Trina Robbins, Marshall Rogers, Don Rosa, Josef Rubenstein, Peter Sanderson, Bill Seinkewicz, Bob Smith, Joe Staton, Ken Steacy, Roger Stern, Mike Tiefenbacher, Len Wein, Alan Weiss, Bob Wiacek, and Cat Yronwode, Whew...

 

 Journey  # 6- One of the best features of the late Bronze age was the rise of the "Indie" publishers with all the subsequent creator-owned content. Perhaps my favorite of the 'indies' was "Journey" by William Messner-Loebs. And this issue was my favorite of the series; an enchanting tale with frontiersmen, British "Redcoats", magic, an ancient French mage and formerly dead Spanish conquistadors. Oh, and a sort of crossover with another indie fave, "Neal the Horse" (see number five below). Yes, this issue truly had it all.

 

Doomsday +1 #1 -There weren't many Charlton books I followed, but this was one. It was quite enjoyable, and was my introduction to the work of John Byrne. And also to Rog 2000.

 

Charlton Bullseye #2- This was an anthology series, which I sampled occasionally. This particular issue was a biggie; it introduced me to Arn Saba's "Neal the Horse". Not long after this book was out, "Neal" began running in his own charming series published by Aardvark-Vanaheim. The new series was a black and white publication, so this Charlton issue was the only opportunity I had to read "Neal" in color!

Yes, my list is pretty eclectic. And it could easily have been much more so. I'd lay odds that you will have some rather esoteric entries as well. Hope you've been thinking ahead, and are ready to share some Bronze age goodness with the rest of us!

 

 

 

Rank and File: Best of the Bronze Part 2- DC!

 

Redartz: Welcome to the second part of our Bronze Age Triple-header! Last week we counted down our favorites from Marvel; this week, we give some love to those DC books we treasured. Again, our time frame (for the sake of our discussion; not an ironclad Bronze age definition) is 1970 - 1985. And again, the choices can be difficult. Mine were; leaving out many many beloved comics. But if held captive by the Secret Society of Super Villains and forced to make a list, I suppose this would be pretty close. And so, without any further delay, let's get started. Here are...

 My Top Five Favorite Bronze Age DC's:

 

 

Detective Comics 475- Possibly my favorite single DC book. Steve Englehart, Marshall Rogers and Terry Austin. Batman and the Joker. All at their best. Certainly my favorite Joker tale, even over Neal Adams' classic Batman 251. To each their own, right?

 

Showcase 100- years before "Crisis on Infinite Earths", this terrific book brought a huge assortment of characters together to face a spaceborn threat. It actually was my first introduction to many of those characters, such as Bat Lash, Enemy Ace and the Challengers of the Unknown. Paul Kupperberg, Paul Levitz and Joe Staton gave us this enjoyable romp through a hundred issues worth of Showcased features. One of my favorite anniversary issues.

 

Justice League of America 200- And speaking of anniversary issues, this one may be the best ever. Hearkening back to vintage JLA adventures, with a spectacular team of artists, well written by Gerry Conway, and framed with art sequences by George Perez. A wraparound cover, tons of characters and tons of fun.

Legion of Super-Heroes 289- The issue that cemented the Legion as my favorite DC book at the time (even over the red hot Teen Titans). A great characterization issue, with a lot of focus on the Legionnaires and their relationships (perhaps unavoidably, as a number of them were stranded together). The issue that led into the classic "Great Darkness" saga; and an issue with stellar art and a fantastic cover. Paul Levitz and Keith Giffen really had it going here. 

 

DC Blue Ribbon Digest 41- Yes, I know that reprint formats are verboten. But this issue was all-new, so I get a technicality here! 100 pages of new Sugar and Spike stories by the great Sheldon Mayer. Perhaps not an Eisner Award winning book, granted, but this was aces in my eyes. And to that I can only add, "Glx Sphtzl Glaaah"...

With that, I leave the post in your capable hands. What are the five DC books you love the most? And be sure to start thinking ahead to next week, when we finish our trio of lists with: your top five from 'everyone else'...

 

Rank and File: Best of the Bronze, Part 1- Marvel!

 

Redartz: Credit where credit is due dept.: this past week I saw a post on the "Back Issue" page of Facebook, by Gary Ceballos, that asked a great question. I'm going to shamelessly borrow his question, with one minor variation. Hope you don't mind, Gary!

The original question was: What do you consider the top five single comics of the Bronze age, i.e. 1970-1985?  For our discussion this week, we'll break it into three categories, spread over the next couple of weeks (so you have plenty of time to carefully compose your lists, of course!).  What are your top five Bronze age  Marvel single issues? Next week, we will look at your top five DC single Bronze age comics. And week three: what are your top Non-Big-Two books from the Bronze (could be Disney, Archie, Charlton, Indie, Underground, whatever).

 Reprints are excluded, but magazines (such as Savage Sword of Conan) are acceptable. And this series of questions specifically refers to a single issue, not an arc or series. That said, you may certainly pick an issue from a given continued storyline as representative of that arc, but still standing as a single book. And you may choose your list based upon whatever criteria you see fit. Aaaaand, of course this won't be easy; limiting it to five comics forces us to leave out a lot. Everything clear? Cool. And as you might expect, I'll start things off with my Marvel list. These are 'favorites', not necessarily what I'd pick as the 'best' five books (although these books would surely be among the nominees for such a list).

My Top Five Bronze Age Marvels:

 

1.Giant Size Avengers 2: I love this book. One of the first Avengers arcs I ever read, with a great team, gorgeous art, a fantastic tale, cool drama, and a Celestial Madonna. My introduction to Kang, and what an impression he made. A lot of personal fondness puts this book at number one.

 

 

2. Amazing Spider-man 248: If these were ranked by quantity of rereadings, this book would be far and away number one. "The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man" is the crown of Roger Stern and Ron Frenz' stint on ASM. It's probably my absolute favorite Spidey story, and gets me every time. 3. 

 

3. Marvel Two-in-One Annual 2: It was a toss-up; choosing this or Avengers Annual 7. Both books are the bookends of one of the finest Bronze age Avengers stories ever. Comics don't get much better. That said, MTIO Annual 2 gets the nod at number 3 due to the presence of two characters dear to my heart: Ben Grimm and Peter Parker.

 

4. Savage Tales 2: This magazine gets the fourth spot due to the first installment of Roy Thomas and Barry Smith's epic "Red Nails". One of the pinnacles of Bronze age comic art. A fine Conan tale. It's in glorious black and white. And there's a Stegosaurus. Nuff Said. 

 

5. Dr. Strange 2: The number five spot was the hardest to fill, with soooo many contenders. And if you asked on another day the answer might be different. But Steve Englehart and Frank Brunner wove magic (sorry) in this story. This was my first Dr. Strange story ever, and so it has that personal importance. I could have easily chosen any of the five issues in the "Silver Dagger" arc, but issue 2 gets the pick for the inclusion of the Defenders. And the Hulk at a tea  party.

Okay, that's my list and I'm sticking to it (for today, anyway). Now, while I start analyzing the choices for next week's DC list, you get to chime in with your well-considered lists. Hope you have an easier time picking than I did. Thanks in advance for participating!

 

 

 

 

 

Panel Discussion: Looking for Adventure at DC...

 

Redartz:  It occurred to me recently that most of our comics discussions have focused on Marvel. With some reason, actually- I was always a Marvel Zuvembie first and foremost, so I write what I know. That said, there has been a great deal of DC in my collecting and reading as well. Going waaaaaaaay back to the beginnings, Superman was my first superhero title. Which I enjoyed, but the first DC book that really drew my interest was Adventure Comics. And it remained a favorite even into my college years. 

Adventure 369, an early favorite

 

 

 What was it about "Adventure" that grabbed me?  At first it was Superboy and the Legion of Superheroes. At the time, about 1967, Jim Shooter was writing it and Curt Swan was drawing it. Swan's art was familiar, as I'd seen it on the Man of  Steel. And Shooter was learning the ropes of scripting, developing talents I'd come to appreciate years later in the Avengers. Which of course I didn't know at the time, it just seemed that the stories with these super powered teens were more...convincing, more real, more dramatic. Compared, that is, to what was offered in "Superman" and "Action Comics". Superboy was familiar, but it took awhile to get used to so many other characters. Mon-El, Shadow Lass, Braniac 5; they even had cool names. Perhaps it was the combination of these factors that made "Adventure" an early read for me.  And I'll always be grateful to 'Adventure" for introducing me to the Legion, a group which would become one of my top picks, under Paul Levitz and Keith Giffen.

 

 

 

 

 

A few years later, upon returning to comics in a serious way, "Adventure" again piqued the interest. Michael Fleisher and Jim Aparo's Spectre tales were solid reading, and obviously the art was fine. I also got a kick out of "Black Orchid" (created by Sheldon Mayer, when he wasn't giving voice and life to
Sugar and Spike). Not being a fan of Aquaman, his takeover of hte book didn't excite me. Still later Superboy took over as the lead feature, which kind of had a Silver Age feel despite being published deep in the Bronze. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But my favorite incarnation of "Adventure Comics" appeared in the later 70's, when Superboy moved into his own book: "New Adventures of Superboy".  Meanwhile, the original "Adventure" became a Dollar comic; no ads and a great lineup of features. Deadman, the JLA, Wonder Woman, Flash; a pretty  good deal for your dollar. Personally, I most relished Deadman by Len Wein and Jim Aparo, and the Justice Society by Paul Levitz and Joe Staton ( one highlight of that feature was the impressive death of Earth 2 Batman). . Sadly the book soon shrank back to 'normal' size, but it still featured a nifty cast: the new Starman , by Paul Levitz and Steve Ditko (!), and the wonderful Plastic Man by Martin Pasko and Joe Staton. Great book, one of the best of the era and often overlooked. 

Eventually I dropped "Adventure Comics" when it converted to an all-reprint digest format. But the title (and it's distinctive, original curvy logo) always stayed close to my heart.  Next up: a selection of Bronze Age Adventure Comics covers, showing the range of headliners it carried. Any fellow 'Adventurers' out there?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two Questions: Close Shaves and Near Misses

 

Redartz:  This week's two questions are sort of flip flops of each other. You may ask; whatever do you mean? Well, rather than explain, let's proceed and you shall see..

1.  Most of us here have at least several decades of activity under our expanding belts. Some of us a bit more so. In the course of those decades, we have probably had a few 'close shaves', that is, situations in which we managed to escape a fate which would have prevented us from adding any more years to our tally. Or, at least, we avoided a most unpleasant consequence. Our first question therefore is: 

Have you had a 'close shave' that you'd care to share?

My 'close shave' tale took place in my Senior year of high school.  I've notoriously always had a rather high threshold of pain, which is sometimes good; sometimes a problem. In this case it was the latter. I'd had stomachaches for a couple days, and even stayed home from school from the affliction. I didn't think anything of it, but my parents were getting concerned that I wasn't improving. So they hauled me off to the Emergency Room for a check, wherein the doctor determined that my appendix was just about to burst. Before I could even ask any questions, I was loaded onto a gurney and sped down the hospital corridor towards the Operating Room.  But what actually shook me up- as we were heading into the OR, we passed a big Police Officer standing in the hallway. As I passed he looked down at me, took off his hat and said, "Good luck, son". Now I started to worry. Needlessly, as it turned out. The surgeon later told me he was afraid I'd rupture as he was removing the appendix, but it didn't happen, and a week later I was back home recuperating. 

2.  The flip side of that question asks :

Have you come close to a great experience, accomplishment or acquisition, but juuuuust missed out on it for one reason or another?

 My tale: Not a huge miss, in the big scheme of things, but a situation where I still kick myself a bit. A couple years ago I stopped at a local garage sale (it was a Saturday morning, and I was on my way to work). Always on the lookout for some comics, I had noticed this particular sale had advertised having them. And yes, they had some; mostly a bunch of forgettable 90's miscellany. However, the fellow did offer one small box. He asked thirty dollars for it; upon opening it I was faced with a small stack of various comics from the 1950's; mostly humor, Disney, and kid's books. But there were also several vintage horror books, and the thing was, all these books were in pretty nice condition. Problem was, I didn't have the money on me, and I was running late to get to work. So I passed on the box, and left. But it didn't take me long to regret not getting that box. By lunchtime I went back, swung by the bank machine and crossed my fingers. Sadly, the box and it's promising contents were gone. It was frustrating then, and more so now that those vintage horror and humor books are drawing much greater collector interest than they once did. Oh well.....

 There's my stories. What are yours?