Rank and File: The Year's Best Comic Stories, 1975!

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?

Panel Discussion: Great Penciller / Inker Teams of the Bronze Age!

Redartz: The annals of the Bronze age are filled with comic tales illustrated by immensely talented creators. Many of those creators worked at times as solo artists, laying down pencils and then inking over their own work. Names like John Buscema, Barry Smith, Joe Kubert, John Byrne- all did notable work in this manner. But more often, a penciller was paired up with another artist, an inker; who would enhance  the pencilled art with inked lines in a blending of two individual artistic styles. Some pairings, predictably, were more successful than others. 

Today we will consider  the more effective examples. Which pencillers worked the best with which inkers?  Some teams have become iconic over the course of comics history; but that can be a subjective question. Here are four of my top teams, just to get things started.

Neal Adams / Dick Giordano

Talk about a history-making combination. Adams and Giordano were the hands behind many of DC's best stories and characters, producing truly classic tales of Batman, Deadman, Green Lantern and others. Here's a dramatic opening page from one of the Green Lantern solo back-ups in Flash comics, circa 1974...

Flash 226

John Byrne / Terry Austin

This could be, possibly, the single greatest artistic team in comic art history. In my opinion, it very well may be. Byrne and Austin made magic out of whatever they worked on together. Their art styles were flawlessly matched. Many of my top favorite comic stories came from their drawing boards, including this incredible panel with Kitty Pryde and Wolverine.  

Uncanny X-Men 131

Sal Buscema / Klaus Janson

Sorry about the black/white reproduction, the "Essential Defenders" doesn't feature color. But it does feature some fabulous stories, several of which are by Sal and Klaus. Janson's heavy shadows and detailed linework add solidity to Sal's pencils, and the results are spectacular.

Marvel Treasury Edition 12

Gene Colan / Tom  Palmer

These two have been paired many times, on many books; due doubtlessly to their absolutely perfect melding of styles. Palmer's polish beautifully enhances Gene's cinematic pencils, anytime, anywhere. And this page highlights two characters intimately associated with them...

Dr. Strange 14

Next, here's two examples of rather unusual pairings that  I found appealing...


 Carmine Infantino and Klaus Janson

Infantino seems to channel a bit of his old Silver age Flash skill here, showing off DD's aerial technique. And speaking of technique, you can't beat Janson's moody inks here. A different look, but very solid. 

Daredevil 152

Barry Smith and Frank Brunner

Two excellent artists, known for highly detailed work. One might think they wouldn't quite blend visually, but this page is excellent. You get Smith's design sense and Brunner's finesse. That last  panel close-up is incredible.

Marvel Premiere 4

Each of the above-mentioned artists also did phenomenal work with other artists, and there are dozens of others to add to the list. That's where you come in. What other great combos can you name? How would you rank them? Which pencillers do you feel looked better with their own inks?  Which inkers most effectively meshed with a variety of pencillers? What unorthodox pairings of pencil and ink found approval in your eyes? Sharpen your pencils, open that ink bottle and let's talk art!

This & That: Our Favorite Covers, Simple as That...

Redartz:  Frequently here at BitBA, we consider comic covers. In fact, Marti has bestowed us with countless striking covers under the banner of his "Quarter Bins." And what's not to like about ogling fine comic art, displayed openly on a glossy, eye-catching sheet of cover stock? Indeed, I love looking at covers so much, I have several hundred loaded as images on my tablet: just something to browse through at lunch, if I need some visual stimulation. And it was during one such session, scanning more covers, that I figured, "okay, what would my top ten covers be?". No time frame limitations, they may be old or new; Marvel, DC, or anyone else, any genre.  Just ten covers that you could easily hang on your wall and stare at for years to come. 

So, today we present our picks: our personal top ten covers. After you check out our selections, feel free to comment; and then name your personal favorites. Doesn't matter if the interior art stunk, the story was awful, or the  book was a reprint. If you loved the cover, it's fair game. 

Redartz:  My ten covers are as follows. While making my choices, it quickly dawned upon me how daunting a task it is to select only ten, out of all the covers I've encountered. So these ten might not be my exact picks if you asked tomorrow, but they all would certainly be finalists.

Fantastic Four 45, by Jack Kirby and Joe Sinnott. A beauty by the FF's prime team.

Amazing Spider-Man 135, by John Romita, Sr.  Spidey's had countless great covers, but this one is near perfect.

Avengers 20, by Jack Kirby and Wally Wood. Wood may be the finest inker I've seen over Kirby. Wish there'd been more such covers.

Sugar and Spike 21, by Sheldon Mayer. Love the b/w cartoon background, and the face-backwards foreground.

Dr. Strange 1, by Frank Brunner. A masterwork of intricacy and mysticism.

Avengers 171, by George Perez and Terry Austin . A very full composition, but incredible in it's detail.

Archie Giant Series 25, by Dan DeCarlo. DeCarlo could have been considered Archie's "Kirby"; he defined the look.

Journey 6, by William Messner Loebs. Wonderful use of the logo, the borders, and the leaves. Poetic visuals indeed.

Adventure Comics 425, by Michael Kaluta. Stunning, magnificent image; Kaluta's simple design here is breathtaking in it's beauty.

Finally, what may be my favorite cover, period: Star Spangled War Stories 138, by Joe Kubert. That cover struck me like a slap in the face the first time I saw it, and is the only comic I ever paid twenty five dollars for JUST for the cover. An absolute masterpiece of composition, color and dramatics.

 

Martinex1: Those are all beautiful examples, and like you my selections are constantly shifting.  Many of my favorites are based not only on style and art but also around a memory as to when I acquired the book and what it meant to me.  So without further ado, here are my top ten...

Avengers 164 is the first comic I purchased (not the first I owned, but the first I bought off of a rack).  It will always have a memorable place in my heart.  Thankfully it was a George Perez masterpiece with a lot of characters and a lot of action.  It also ended up being one of my favorite stories too.  This cover I will remember until I am old and gray. 

Squadron Supreme 11 may seem like an odd choice.  But in 1986 this Paul Ryan cover jumped off the stands to me.  It still strikes me as an unusual layout with interesting and not well-known characters. In my mind, this cover always makes my top ten. I know it is not iconic, but I just admire it.

This Carmine Infantino classic - Flash 174 - was my first experience seeing an artistic interplay with a logo.  I never got over it.  

 I've always been a fan of Nick Cardy and his work at DC.  Unexpected 119 is one of my favorites featuring his pencils.  The use of lights and shadows, the shocked facial expression, and the hint of a horrendous twist just drew me in.  

John Byrne had a myriad of classic covers from his work on Marvel Team-Up, Fantastic Four, many DC books, and of course the X-Men.   So many examples of excellence to choose from, and I am sure others may have picked X-Men 141 (which is indeed a classic), but I have always been enamored with X-Men 138.   Even with a recap story inside and the annoying Toys R Us banner, I still like the simplicity of this moody and moving cover.

George Perez makes my list twice with Marvel Two-In-One 54.  Deathlok and the color scheme have much to do with this choice.  It always seemed to me that a lot of effort was put into this cover and I appreciate that.

 Amazing Spider-Man could have had a top ten list all by itself.  With covers by John Romita alone I could have filled a week of blogs.  But lately this simple cover on ASM 281 by Ron Frenz just appeals to me.  Who can resist floating heads?  Plus Spidey's humorous attitude just seems to shine through.  This is a great example of a little goes a long way.

Frank Miller sure hit the ground running on Daredevil and issue 158 was a monumental kick-off that showcased his talent.  I did not own this issue for a long time, but my desire to have it was driven by the cover.

John Buscema was just fantastic.  Recently I tweeted about his cover talent and I had time selecting which comic that I thought demonstrated his work the best.  I have to go with Silver Surfer #4.  It is just a classic.

 My final choice highlights a lot of favorites.  The first Marvel Sub-Mariner series is an underrated gem if you ask me.  Perhaps Subby's perceived belligerence may keep readers away.  At the very least, the art was top notch with the likes of John Buscema, Sal Buscema, Gene Colan, and Bill Everett involved.  But this particular cover happens to be by the great Marie Severin, and when I was very young I stared at it for hours when I first saw it as a house ad in a Marvel comic.  I love the colors and the drama.  Cheers!

Redartz:  Excellent choices, Marti! Byrne, Buscema, Infantino, Severin- what a lineup of all-stars...

Well, there's our respective 'top ten' lists. You may ask, "how could I devise a list with nothing by John Byrne, Barry Windsor-Smith or Will Eisner?" Ahhh, ask again tomorrow. At any rate, I'd be thrilled to permanently paper my walls with any of these gems. What say you, are these decent choices? And what might your ten picks be (I know, I know, trying to pick only ten is excruciating)...