Follow the Leader: Episode 57: Song, Chanson, Lied,..

Martinex1: Here it is Tuesday again and time for Follow the Leader.   In the last two weeks we've had the far-ranging topics of Paste Pot Pete and Frankenstein, so you can see almost anything goes today at BitBA!  This continues to be one of our most popular days for conversation - and it all begins with you!

So kick us off, join in, leap on, and enjoy the fun!

Rank and File: The Year's Best Comic Stories, 1984!

Redartz:  Good day, everyone. Ready for another assessment of a year's comic creativity? This time around, we will consider the year 1984. Late in the Bronze Age, but still rife with good reading! And I can testify to that; making the choices once again was difficult, and several quite deserving books were left off my list. But of course it's a subjective thing, anyway. A couple of my picks might surprise  you, I tried to take note of the impact of the stellar independent books appearing at the time. And of course there are other books that I didn't include do to a lack of familiarity with them; which is where you all come in. After seeing my picks, make your lists and tell us all what got missed.

And now, heeeeeeere's the list:


 

Saga of the Swamp Thing 24- "Roots" by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette and John Totleben. The fine climax to the battle with the creepy Floronic Man. With a denouement that would have done EC Comics proud.




 









 



 Journey 9- "Near Spring" by William Messner-Loebs. A perfect example of great characterization and intelligent writing, wound around historical drama with humor and heart. And a chilling description of death beneath the frozen ice.





 









 


Fantastic Four 267- "A Small Loss" by John Byrne. An innovative look at Dr. Octopus, a cool battle with Reed, and a tragic ending. One of Byrne's best FF stories, imho.


 











 




Marvel Fanfare 15- "That Night" by Barry Windsor Smith. A little humor is something I value greatly, and this gem from BWS has plenty. And, the artwork is a treat for the eyes...


 













 


Power Pack 1- "Power Play" by  Louise Simonson, June Brigman and Bob Wiacek. We are introduced to the Power children, and to a unique, well written and clever series. Simonson writes the kids like someone who has 'been there'.


 











 



Superman 400- "The Living Legends of Superman" by Elliot Maggin and just about everyone in comics. An array of different views of the Man of Steel, by the top artists in the business (Eisner, Kirby, Byrne, Steranko, Ditko, and Miller, just a few of them).


 










 



Love and Rockets 10- Just a full book of good stuff by Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez. If you haven't met Maggie, Hopey, Penny Century, Fumble and the rest, you've missed out.


 












 


Amazing Spider-Man 259- "All My Pasts Remembered" by Tom DeFalco, Ron Frenz and Josef Rubinstein. Mary Jane Watson tells her story, after all those years. And you get the Hobgoblin, and the return of Spidey's red-and-blues.


 












 


Thor 350- "Ragnarok and Roll" by  Walter Simonson. Asgard and it's allies vs. Surtur, and what a titanic clash it is. Simonson at his best, writing and drawing.


 














 


America vs. The Justice Society 1- "I Accuse" by Roy and Danette Thomas, Rafael Kayanan, Rich Buckler, Jerry Ordway, Alfredo Alcala and Bill Collins. Golden age goodness, courtroom drama, history, and loads of characters...


















Well, there you have it. A time capsule of the best of 1984; from my perspective. But what about your best list? You all may now proceed to take your shot, make your list, and enumerate your '84 Hall of Fame...

Two Questions: Generational Communication and Cinematic Initiation...

Redartz:  Welcome, friends: here's a couple of questions for you to ponder...

1.  How would you convince a potential fan today of the greatness of Bronze Age comics? Our hobby seems to be growing in recent years, attracting interest from people way too young to remember the Bronze age of comics. Perhaps it's the film franchises, maybe it's the television series. Could be the attraction of the Walking Dead and other popular series. Anyway, if you wanted to persuade one of these 'rookies' to sample some Bronze age bounty, what would you say? Is there a particular story or series you'd point them to? Or is there some feature of the era that helps it stand out? How would  you bend them towards Bronze, as opposed to sampling Silver, going Golden or craving Copper?

2. Do you remember the first movie you saw at the cinema?  Think back to when an outing to the movies was a pretty special event. Can you recall that first time you entered a theater, sat transfixed in the darkness, and was dwarfed by the Big Screen? In my case, it was "Mary Poppins": my parents took my brother and I to the Circle Theater in Indianapolis ( an hour's drive from home) to see Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke in 1910 London. We both loved it, so much so that we were soon gifted with the soundtrack LP (which Dad was forced to play pretty frequently). 
What was your introduction to the magical world of film?

Adventures in Comics: Taking Stock...

Redartz:  You know how some tasks can be both a pleasure and a nuisance? I've been undertaking such a task this week. What task, you may ask? That of taking inventory of my entire comic collection.


 

Previously, I'd had my comics listed on a particular database, one which required thirty dollars annually to update. It's been impossible to justify such an outlay over the last 7 years, so consequently the information is ludicrously outdated. I supplemented it with a spreadsheet, but that is too slow and too inconvenient.













 In fact, the past several flea market excursions have resulted in a few duplicate purchases, because I don't have a tally of what I need and don't need. Thus, after shopping around and getting some advice for a good app, I chose CLZ Comics: it required only a reasonable one-time purchase to get going, seemed comprehensive,and offered bar-code scanning (only functional on modern comics, not vintage, but still a colossal time-saver). 

 

So, one quick download later, it was time to start pulling books. And therein lies the good and the bad. As most of you probably know, I've been trimming my collection over the past few years. However, it still includes about 2000 individual comics and magazines, along with a growing shelf of tpb's. So the process of going through every comic individually is a pretty gargantuan effort. And time consuming; I'm doing about sixty each evening to spread it out a bit. 

  And that's the nuisance part: a lot of repetitive work on the old smartphone. But what about the good part? Well, it's an opportunity to rediscover every book I have. And there are many I'd forgotten about; it often seems as though I pull the same books repeatedly to reread, leaf through, or research into. Going through each shelf, each short box, I find books that have been hidden away for eons. So the slow process of entering issues is frequently broken up by looking over a forgotten treasure! And of course, there's the simple joy of just admiring the comics and their covers; stopping to open up a choice book and remembering why you bought it in the first place.  It becomes a treat rather than a travail...

So far I've entered all my DC's, and have done a few  Marvels and Archies. My latest session resulted in the perusal of a House of Mystery and a Betty and Veronica. Who knows what the next session will find? I don't, but I anticipate the reveal.

 





As for all of you: several questions to consider today. What means do you use, if any, to keep track of your collection? Is it working well for you, or is a change in the cards? When you turn to your comics, do you usually have a specific book in mind, or do you just wade through a box to find something interesting? Over the course of your comic career, how often have you 'taken stock': deciding what to keep and what to part with? And is a comic a quick diversion for you, or do you like to bury yourself in four color wonderment for a while, surrounded by piles of books (picture Scrooge McDuck jumping into, and burrowing through, his Money Bin)?  Fill us all in on your details. And if you get the urge to retreat to the basement with a long box, we'll all understand.

Follow the Leader: Episode 56: All Things “Frankenstein!”







Martinex1: Last week we talked about the Silver Age villain Paste Pot Pete!  So you can see, Tuesdays bring us all types of topics when we Follow the Leader!  What will it be today?  Somebody get us started bright and early and we will all join in.   Topics can include but are definitely not limited to superhero movies, cinema in general, actors, authors, and auteurs, comic book villains, creators, costumes, and advertisements, television, sitcoms, protagonists, antagonists, and villains, favorite foods, guilty pleasures, and anything else that aches your mind.   Let's get going and Follow the Leader!

Panel Discussion: Logo or No Go! The Art of the Title!







Martinex1: We have discussed buying a comic because of the cover.  We have talked about buying a comic because of the characters therein.   We have opined about buying a comic because of the creators involved.  But have we ever thought about buying a comic because of the cover design - and particularly the logo?

The answer to that is, "Probably not!"    The logos and headdress for comic books are relatively benign.  They are definitely stylish but they are more necessity and less inspirational.   But I find that I notice the font and style of a title, and it says something to me about the era, the genre of the book, and the relative seriousness of the story. 

With nostalgic influences for certain, I gravitate toward certain fonts and types.  And I associate certain waves of collecting with the changes made.

Today let's look at some of the art, and I will leave it open for your further commentary as I am sure we all will see these slightly differently. 

Let's start with Archie Comics and the joy in their titles. There is something inviting, soft, and harmless in lettering.  Every letter is rounded, no sharp edges at all.  The dot on the "i" is slightly askew giving us an off-centered approach.  The outlined letters give us a cushioned and comfortable feel.  Nobody would mistake these for horror or suspense comics.  And the basic titles for Archie, Betty and Veronica, PEP, etc remained virtually unchanged for decades. There were many imitators along the way, but these logos don't get the credit they deserve.  Heck, even we here at BitBA mimicked the style for our "Funny Books" columns.

The Archie logos never seem old-fashioned to me.  Perhaps they are just right.  I cannot really imagine how they can be modified for the better.   Some logos don't age well.  I find that true for many comics that have weathered their way through the Gold and Silver Ages.  Take a look at these.

I appreciate these examples.   But I can also see that they have aged.  The cursive Wonder Woman does not seem bold or strong enough.  It seem unimaginative and appropriate for an old laundry detergent advertisement but not for the strongest heroine on the planet.   The Action Comics

pulls on my childhood memories, but there is something very 1930s about its appearance.   It seems suitable in style for an old radio program.   Does the combination of straight lines and curves have an art deco feel that resonates with an older era?  The X-Men had a very aged look with the jagged edges on the "X" until it was redesigned for lasting effect during the Neal Adams era.

Before we dive too deep into DC and Marvel mainstays, let's take a look at the Atlas-Seaboard comics from the Bronze Age.  The upstart company mimicked some of Marvel's cover styling, but I think they created some fascinating and unique logos during the short life of the company.

I enjoy some of these very much. For my eye, The Brute, The Destructor, Grim Ghost, and Sgt. Stryker's Death Squad are attention getters. The weakest for me is Ironjaw; aside from a strange concept, the look is odd.  Why the two fonts within the word?  Overall though, I think Atlas-Seaboard showcased new talent and the logos seemed in line with that with each logo reflective of the content within... scary, forceful, mysterious.

There are some logos that I consider perfect and untouchable.   Two that would fit that category for me would be these versions of Amazing Spider-Man and The Avengers.  There have been many iterations over the years, but these stick with me.

Some books have stuck to the initial design through decades of publishing, while other titles have tried to change and modernize their look, with varying degrees of success.  What do you think about these logo designs?

Some of those rank very high on my preference list.  The Captain America and Falcon example is a favorite of mine.  I like when they included the red, white, and blue stripes in the lettering.  I like the original Fantastic Four look, but I did enjoy the other version in the late 1970s when it first appeared with different character art. Iron Man seems perfect.  But I don't care much for Ultimate Spider-Man at all; it is very busy and looks like the chrome grill of an old Chevy.  And while creating this blog is always a learning curve, I had no idea Quicksilver had his own book or logo.

Does it help to see how a logo works within a cover image?  I always thought Ghost Rider and Iron Fist had nice designs.  But perhaps the flames around the Ghost Rider lettering could be more apparent, and the rivets in the Iron FIst logo seem out of place (his fist is not really iron whereas Iron Man's suit is indeed metal).

So what are your favorite logos?  What books - whether mystery, suspense, funny animals, humor, westerns, or super-heroes - had the best logo designs.  Are there logos you love and are nostalgic?  Are there logos you despise and wish were changed?  Do you notice the logos when you make your purchases or are the words and letters invisible to you?   Vote for your top three logo designs; and what were the worst? Today, let's discuss this important facet of comic book cover design!

And if this topic generates enough discussion, perhaps in the future we can discuss the many other aspects of the comic masthead like the company logo.