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!

 

 

 

 

 

Rank and File: A Comic Art Hall of Fame...

Redartz:  Greetings once again! We're back at it again with a fun poser for you to consider, regarding your favorite comic covers. But first, a quick update for you. 

Several of you have inquired about the circumstances of my power outage and consequent general absence from this space last week. Well, the circuit breaker box on the side of our house literally melted; it's truly miraculous we had no fire. Obviously the power had to be cut, and between awaiting repairs, local safety inspectors and utility officials, we were stuck in the 'dark ages' for about 8 days. Not an experience I'd recommend for anyone, but we made it through. Fortunately the temperatures were mild for the most part. No longer will I take air conditioning and lights for granted!

Anyway, on to our topic. The premise: you have been selected to choose the artwork for a big exhibition. More specifically, this show will showcase comic cover artists throughout the medium's history. And with such a wide possibility of artists to choose from, space allows only 1 cover per artist. So, your task is to pick the artists, and choose a great representative cover for each artist,one that highlights their talent and impact.  As I'm a framer by trade, I'll see that your picks are safely framed, of course! 

Our gallery has several wings, so we can have a section for Golden age, Silver age, Bronze and Modern if you so choose. And while you begin your careful consideration, I'll submit a few nominations to  get the show started. Feel free to improve upon my picks as you see fit. As the week goes on, I'll try to post some more nominees based upon your comments; the better to fill our gallery.  See you at the opening!

My preliminary nominations:

Jack Kirby

Neal Adams

Dave Cockrum

John  Byrne

John Romita, Sr

Barry Smith

Walter Simonson

George Perez

Carmine Infantino

Joe Kubert

More to Come...

A bit late, but here are some of the nominated covers, presented for the appreciation and illumination of one and all. Thanks everyone for each response! And as suggested by our friend HB, you can look forward to seeing 'Hall of Fame Cover' pop up periodically on a single artist basis. Salutations!

Dave Cockrum

Jim Aparo

Steve Ditko

Rich Buckler

Nick Cardy

Mike Ploog

Herb Trimpe

John Byrne

John Buscema

Frank Frazetta

Mike Kaluta

Alan Davis

 

Rank and File: My Favorite Year...

Redartz:  Greetings all! For this week's discussion; we're going to update / expand upon a post I did several years ago at Doug and Karen's fondly remembered Bronze Age Babies. That post was dedicated to choosing a favorite summer, and sharing the reasons why. Here's a link to that original post (with thanks again to Doug and Karen):  http://bronzeagebabies.blogspot.com/2016/06/open-forum-your-favorite-summer.html#links

As our title above indicates, today we are tweaking that subject to select a favorite year. The characteristics of your favorite year will, of course, be subjective; it's your year, you pick the reasons why. Maybe it was the comics, maybe the television, perhaps it was something more personal. Whatever your reasons, what year do you look back upon with the most warmth?

In that previous BAB post, I named 1975 as my favorite summer. For favorite year, I'm sliding back a year to 1974. My reasons: 

Primarily, that was the year I 'returned' to comics.  I say 'returned' because in one sense, I never left- but 1974 was when my junior high pal convinced me to pick up some Marvel (and later DC) books after several years of Archie and Charlton reading. And that reunion with comics lasted, in one form or another, to this very day. 

But 1974 has more to offer than just that personal milestone. Man, what a year to start reading:

 


Marvel brought out the Giant-Size books, and the Treasury Editions,DC had the 100 page giants.  Gerry Conway and Ross Andru had Spidey fighting Molten Man, Jackal and Mysterio. Thomas and Buckler had the Fantastic Four tackling Sub-Mariner, Dr. Doom, Frightful Four and the Silver Surfer. The Avengers were dealing with the Celestial Madonna and Kang (repeatedly). Steve Gerber and Mike Ploog were doing Man-Thing. There were Marvel Value Stamps (yes, I was one of those who clipped them out; mea culpa). Just so much comics fun; it was mind-shattering. 










Ah, but 1974 also knocked me out musically. That was also the year I started following pop music, specifically Casey Kasem and American Top 40; and learned there was something called a "Billboard Hot 100". Some of my all-time favorite singles emanated from that halcyon year. Gordon Lightfoot's "Sundown". 

Hues Corporation's "Rock the Boat". Wings' "Band on the Run". MFSB's "TSOP".

 Ray Steven's "The Streak". Steely Dan's "Rikki Don't Lose That Number". Carole King's "Jazzman". 

And that merely scratches the surface. Every week tuning in to AT40 was like magic that year.

So there it is, my testament to 1974. What year gets your vote?

Rank and File: The Year's Best Comic Stories, 1982!

Redartz:  Hello gang; are you ready to delve into some of the finest four color offerings of that vintage year 1982? I am too, so let's jump right in. As always, the choices are simply my subjective picks , based upon personal enjoyment, history, and whether I've read it or not. After all, can't really make a call on an unfamiliar book...

Here we go:   

Amazing Spider-man 229-  "Nothing Can Stop the Juggernaut", by Roger Stern, John Romita Jr. and Jim Mooney. One of the high points of Stern's admirable run on the title. A showpiece for Peter Parker's determination and self-sacrifice.













Dr. Strange 53-  "The Land of the Pharoahs" by Roger Stern, Marshall Rogers and Terry Austin. A very clever, entertaining climax to the all-too-brief run by the Stern/Rogers team. The intertwining with the classic Lee/Kirby Fantastic Four tale is most engaging. And Doc never looked better.












 

X-Men / Teen Titans-  "Apokolips...Now", by Chris Claremont, Walt Simonson and Terry Austin. Arguably the greatest inter-company crossover ever. Claremont voices both teams, and both mega villains, perfectly. And Simonson  inked by Austin? Spectacular.












Marvel Graphic Novel:  The Death of Captain Marvel- "The Death of Captain Marvel", by Jim Starlin. A poignant tale of loss and nobility, with many fine moments among the gathered individuals. Starlin gives Mar-vell a sendoff worthy of a warrior. And Starlin's writing and drawing carry it off in fine fashion.















Legion of Superheroes 293-  "Within the Darkness", by Paul Levitz, Keith Giffen and Larry Mahlstaedt.  Darkseid is revealed as the power behind the "Great Darkness", one of the Legion's greatest sagas ever. This spectacular tale reveals why the Levitz/Giffen/Mahlstaedt Legion was my favorite DC title back then, even more than the Titans.














Love and Rockets 1-  Numerous stories by Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez. Fantagraphics' long running series starts here, and with great artistic and literary form. Great, great reading.













 

Fantastic Four 243-  "Shall Earth Endure?", by John Byrne. Everyone vs. Galactus, indeed. One of Byrne's best FF stories, art and story definitely at the top of his game. Loved seeing Spidey and Daredevil sit back and watch.
















 

Ms. Tree's Thrilling Detective Adventures-  Several stories by Max Allan Collins and Terry Beatty. Terrific old-school detective fare with great characterization. Beatty's art at times makes me think of Ditko, and that's a high compliment.












 



Marvel Graphic Novel: God Loves, Man Kills-  "God Loves, Man Kills", by Chris Claremont and Brent Anderson. A melodramatic, but affecting, tale of prejudice with Marvel's Mutants. Nice to see Brent Anderson's take on them.











 


Fantastic Four Roast-  "When Titans Chuckle", by Fred Hembeck, Jim Shooter and just about everybody. Enough puns and visual jokes to fill a dining hall full of heroes, which is pretty much what happens. Absolutely, the "Just Plain Fun" book of 1982!














Another Marvel- heavy year, in my opinion. But the indies are really starting to make an impact, and DC still has a lot to offer. The new formats such as miniseries and graphic novels add some serious competition to the monthly newsstand titles. All things considered, it's a great year to be reading comics. Your thoughts and nominations?