Martinex1: Today, let's keep it simple and just chew the fat. There are many comics that don't fall in my mainstream. Likewise I am sure there are comics you have never tried for some reason. Even if the comics were published by Marvel, DC, Charlton, Archie, or Harvey, I may have missed some classics. So make some recommendations outside of the "regular" targets of BitBA. Below are a handful of examples to get your mind churning. Tell us all what we should try and why. Or ask about some titles you have always wondered about. Direct us to some outliers we should read and make your case for the next comic book we should have in the stack. Cheers!
15 comments:
Hmmm... not mainstream....
Wondering aloud if The Sad Sack is mainstream given he had 5 - 10 titles running? Anyhow, me thinks not and I found him to be quite funny and my nephews and kids think he's a hoot!
Atlas Comics had 1 - 2 issues of The Scorpion by Chaykin. Nice 1930s pulp feel... until for no given reason he was put in a blue super-hero suit.
American Flagg published by First Comics by CHaykin from early 1980s. Should be available at your library?
And lastly, Jungle Comics by Skywald from the early 70s. You'll have to plop $1 - $2 to get an issue on ebay. A perfect addition to anyone's reading room!
That Brute issue was one of the first comics I got off the rack.
At one point early on I had more Atlas Comics than DC or Marvel.
Lots of great artists and story tellers on their titles.
Danger Unlimited from Dark Horse. Great Byrne creation, too bad it was a limited (pun intended)run.
Oh, so many...
Jeff Smith's "Bone"; truly wonderful.
Simpsons comics from Bongo- fun stuff.
Oops, got to get to work. More later...
I have most of the Atlas catalog except the last issues of Vicki, which my usual dealers tell me are hard to come by.
Outside of the mainstream, the first title which springs to mind is Tim Truman's Scout, which I now hear might become a movie because of its sudden relevance. And then Rick Veitch's The One which, while perhaps not so terribly relevant, is pure '80's Cold War goodness. The documentary style like the movie "Reds," the Mary Lou Renner superhero outfits and all the Beatles tunes date the book in a very good way. It also came out at a time when the format of the "limited series" was sort of new and was an interesting introduction for me to that sort of storytelling.
Cheers!
Redartz, I have the single-volume edition of the complete Bone that's been sitting on my shelf for a few years now - I *really* need to read it.
I can second Charlie's recommendation of Chaykin's two issues of Scorpion. It's kind of like a first draft of Dominic Fortune. I also agree with Killraven about Danger Unlimited - a really intriguing series that got cut short. I think Byrne's Babe takes place in the same universe, but it's not quite as good. And Byrne's Next Men is a pretty solid series as well.
For my own recommendations, sticking with Byrne, his Star Trek minis published by IDW (Romulans: Hollow Crown, Crew, McCoy - Frontier Doctor, and Assignment: Earth) are really enjoyable. The only Trek comics I've ever read.
Anything by French comics creator Joann Sfar, but especially The Rabbi's Cat and the Professor's Daughter. Vampire Loves is also quite good, and his two Little Vampire books, meant for kids, are really fun(ny).
Speaking of kid's books that adults can still enjoy: Ben Hatke's Zita the Spacegirl. There's three books, and they're just delightful.
I've always had a soft spot for Charlton Comics', "Midnight Tales," which was a fun and offbeat take on the horror genre.
I'd recommend pretty much any Atlas Comic. They were nearly all dreadful but it's fascinating to see a company trying to go toe-to-toe with Marvel while failing to grasp just what it was that made Marvel successful. It's also riveting to see virtually every title change format with virtually every issue.
Two that sprang to mind, or at least my mind, Avengers Spotlight/Solo Avengers and Marvel Comics Presents. Both were late, LATE, Bronze. Think "End of the 80s". Think "Post Graduate". Think "Before You Leap".
Both books were Marvel's attempts at an anthology series. The first was Avengers based. Usually a Hawkeye story and then another Avenger. I do believe the whole "Acts Of Vengeance" story line started in this book.
The second, Marvel Comics Presents, was X-Men based. It usually presented four 8 page stories. Since it was X-Men oriented, it soon became Wolverine and friends. The "Weapon X" story line ran in this title.
Byrne's Next Men was a good story. I enjoyed his handling of the characters. I'll end there.
One other post Bronze comic I'll throw out is "Blade Of The Immortal". The film opens soon.
(Many years since I was here
On the street I was passin' my time away
To the left and to the right, buildings towering to the sky
It's outta sight in the dead of night
(Ooh) Here I am, and in this city
(Ooh) With a fistful of dollars
And baby, you'd better believe
I'm back, back in the New York Groove
I'm back, back in the New York Groove
I'm back, back in the New York Groove
Back in the New York Groove, in the New York Groove
In the back of my Cadillac
A wicked lady, sittin' by my side, sayin' "Where are we?"
Stop at Third and Forty-three, exit to the night
It's gonna be ecstacy, this place was meant for me
(Ooh) I feel so good tonight
(Ooh) Who cares about tomorrow
So baby, you'd better believe
I'm back, back in the New York Groove
I'm back, back in the New York Groove
I'm back, back in the New York Groove
Back in the New York Groove, in the New York Groove
I'm back, back in the New York Groove
I'm back, back in the New York Groove
I'm back, back in the New York Groove
I'm back, back in the New York Groove
I'm back, back in the New York Groove
I'm back, back in the New York Groove
I'm back, back in the New York Groove
I'm back, back in the New York Groove
I'm back, back in the New York Groove
I'm back, back in the New York Groove).
From the bronze age, I'll recommend Torpedo by Alex Toth and Jordi Bernet, and Prisoner of the Stars by Alfonso Font.
From the '90s, Abraham Stone by Joe Kubert.
After 2000, Blacksad: A Silent Hell by Guarnido, Femme Noir by Joe Staton, and The Phantom by Sal Velluto.
I've heard good things about American Flagg and Grimjack, but haven't gotten around to reading them yet. Same with Ms. Tree ... I've been reading a bunch of Max Allan Collins Nate Heller books lately, so I'm curious to see if Ms. Tree is similar; he writes a pretty good hard-boiled private eye. I did read Jon Sable and Rocketeer and liked them both.
If War and Western comics are considered outside the mainstream, I liked Jonah Hex, Sgt. Rock, and G.I. Combat as a kid; never got into Unknown Soldier for some reason. And of course, Conan and Warlord are both classics, though I suppose they could fall under some definitions of "mainstream".
Thanks for so many suggestions. Keep them coming please. I've read nearly nothing of what was mentioned - except for Sad Sack and the Brute. Sad Sack is a longtime favorite. I just received some collections of Bone so I will have to read those.
In the Marvel / DC vein, has anybody read Blackhawk (shown above) or any of the romance comics? I really am a bit curious about those. That "Love" book had Buscema and Romita art listed and I'm mostly wondering how the stories were crafted and paced but I've never even physically seen one of those books.
I've never read Blackhawk, but I've been surreptitiously picking up the odd romance comic when they look interesting and are reasonably priced. I started with Secret Hearts #88 because that holds the original Romita art which inspired Lichtenstein's Crying Girl. (I'm a Milwaukee kid so I grew up with that work in the art museum) and have been keeping an eye out for other pop art items from them. Little did I know that the writing on Secret Hearts was actually pretty good compared to some of the other titles I've sampled.
Romance is a genre I never thought I would be interested in when I started as a kid, but now it seems really rich, dark and complex stuff. I definitely am open to getting deeper into it at the right price.
Hey Kids, I got home from work early! I could mow the lawn or add a few more thoughts!
Eclipse Comics had a nice run of Airboy Comics in the mid-80s that included favorite Airboy characters from the 1940s like the Heap, Valkyrie, and Sky Wolf, that I can recommend.
I can also recommend Treasure Chest comics which ran from the 1940s to early 1970s. Artists on these issues included Reed Crandall, Graham Ingles, Jim Mooney, Murphy Anderson… Good, clean entertainment though perhaps quaint, parochial, and naive by today’s standards. But that’s OK by me, lol.
Hmmm... DC-era Blackhawk... I've read a few and they are standard DC fare for the times. Not great, not horrible, just DC... I have several golden-agers which I enjoy, in strong part b/c of the art of Reed Crandall.
Edo - The Rabbi's Cat sounds interesting. My wife is french and I really enjoy their comic culture. Plus I am always intrigued by the French relationship to Algeria and Judaism. You recommend it for sure b/v it's gonna cost me a trip to the library!!! :)
AFAIK, none of the Atlas/Seaboard titles ran for more than four issues, and the company itself did not last very long. I guess the good news is, it might be fairly easy to complete your collection of them.
Gladstone and Gemstone reprints of classic Disney stuff by Carl Barks and Floyd Gottfredson.
Marvel's The Nam and Apple Comics' Vietnam Journal.
DC's war comics. Sgt. Rock, Our Fighting Forces, and G.I. Combat. If you don't like war comics, you might still like Unknown Soldier, since it was more like a spy thriller. Conversely, some war comics fans disliked it for that same reason.
Kitchen Sink reprints of The Spirit and Steve Canyon. They also published Megaton Man, a spoof of superheroes.
Jon Sable was a very good series until near its end, when Grell seemed to lose interest in it.
Badger and Nexus.
E-Man. The 1980s series was mostly heavy-handed and over-did the parody, but First also did a seven issue mini-series that reprinted the original Charlton run.
DC pretty much botched their revival of T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents in new stories, so much so that the copyright owner pulled the plug on the series. But DC also did a series of hardback reprints of the original Tower Comics series. Generally, the plots were routine at best, but they had art by Wally Wood, Gil Kane, and Reed Crandall.
Yeah, E-man. I love the character, with the original 10-issue Charlton run as the best stories, but for some reason I think of him as mainstream.
I also remembered the Justice Machine - the initial issues published in the early '80s under the Noble imprint (I think the series was later in the 1980s by Comico, but I've never read any of that).
There's also Love & Rockets, which has been around so long now and has become so popular that it can almost be considered mainstream, but back in the '80s it was definitely a non-mainstream, indy project. Otherwise, pretty much anything by either of the Hernandez brothers is worth a look.
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