Redartz: Hello fellow comics connoisseurs, today we look at the illustrious year of 1981 for our "Best of " discussion. As always, the choices are subjective (i.e. my choices, heh heh) but based on the overall quality of the read. And as usual, the choices are difficult to make. Some really fine books were left off the list, but of course they may well make it among your nominations!
So, with no further delay, let's look at my picks for the ten best of 1981; in no specific order:
All Star Squadron 2- "The Tyrant out of Time" by Roy Thomas, Rich Buckler and Jerry Ordway. A packed issue, early in a good series I'm only recently discovering.
Avengers Annual 10- "By Friends-Betrayed" by Chris Claremont, Michael Golden and Armando Gil. A very powerful issue, the last few pages hit like a gut punch. Plus you get Rogue's intro and some absolutely beautiful artwork.
Fantastic Four 236- "Terror in a Tiny Town" by John Byrne. One of the best issues in the title's entire run, and exemplary of the great work by Mr. Byrne on Marvel's First Family.
Amazing Spider-Man 224- "Let Fly These Aged Wings" by Roger Stern, John Romita Jr. and Pablo Marcos. A rare chance for my favorite character to show up among the year's best; a great character study of the Vulture. Stern shows why he's among Spidey's top scripters.
Iron Man 150- "Knightmare" by David Michelinie, John Romita Jr. and Bob Layton. Shellhead, Doom, Camelot, extra pages, and fabulous artwork. A classic. And what a cover...
Dr. Strange 48- "The Power of Dr. Strange" by Roger Stern, Marshall Rogers and Terry Austin. The first issue in Stern/Rogers' all-too brief run. A great book, and Brother Voodoo shows up too.
Daredevil 172- "Gang War!" by Frank Miller and Klaus Janson. High drama, mob intrigue, Kingpin and Bullseye, by Miller and Janson. They were cruising at the top of their game here.
New Teen Titans 8- "A Day in the Lives..." by Marv Wolfman, George Perez and Romeo Tanghal. A very nicely done look at the personal lives of the Titans, with the typical fine work by the creative team. Oh, and there's a creepy marionette.
Justice League of America 200- "A League Divided" by Gerry Conway, George Perez, Brett Breeding and many, many others. This book sets the standard for anniversary issues. It has EVERYTHING; great art by many of the title's best. A cool story hearkening back to the book's early heyday. Loads of characters. One of the best ever.
Uncanny X-Men 153- "Kitty's Fairy Tale" by Chris Claremont, Dave Cockrum and Joe Rubinstein. This issue features a charming departure from the regular drama of super-powered mutants. Claremont spins a very special tale about Kitty spinning a very special tale.
Well, there you have it: take'em or leave'em. Either way, give us your impressions of the books above, and your suggestions for alternatives that should have made the list. Enjoy, be well and be happy!
10 comments:
Great selection, Red. That Avengers Annual does hit like a gut punch--with outstanding Michael Golden art. Worst cover ever, but inside everything was detailed and busy, but still recognizable and very striking.
I found it interesting and a little disconcerting that Rogue looks pretty well middle-aged in that first appearance, and then almost magically turns 18 again the next time we see her. I wonder what was happening behind the scenes.
I picked up that Justice League not too long ago, and I don't recall the story particularly grabbing me, but the wrap-around cover alone is worth the price of admission.
And I will definitely leave that X-Men 153. I think that was the issue I knew that the old Byrne/Claremont X-Men was well and truly gone. Cockrum's art really enhances the cartooniness of the story in a book that I had been attracted to originally for its maturity in story-telling. I stuck with it for years, but still ...
Cheers!
What a great line-up! Especially remember that Avengers Annual, FF's 20th anniversary, Iron Man v. Doom, and DD's "Gangwar" arc with the Kingpin with the utmost fondness.
While I enjoyed X-Men 153, I'd still swap it out for #150, a great Magneto battle issue that also marks the turning point in his characterization, pretty pivotal. (Wasn't the Brood introduced that year as well? I've got a soft spot for that Deathbird/Brood battle in Manhattan).
Wasn't Marvel Team-Up Annual #4 out that year? Spider-Man, Daredevil, Moon Knight, Power Man and Iron Fist was a winner with me.
Didn't collect DC back then, but have checked out those JLA and Titans books, good picks!
-david p.
This was in my comics heyday, so I remember a lot from this year. You've got some great picks; all Miller's DD stuff was great at that point, same with All-Star Squadron and New Teen Titans. I seem to remember Warlord having some good stories too, especially the stuff where Jennifer had amnesia.
Additions: I liked X-Men 150 (with Magneto's return);Spectacular Spider-Man 64 (first Cloak & Dagger); JLA 195-197 (with the Secret Society of Super Villains, which I reviewed over at BAB); Batmans 335 (with Ra's Al Ghul, Catwoman, and Talia) and 339 (with Poison Ivy taking over Wayne Enterprises); and Amazing Spider-Man 226 (with the return of the Black Cat)
A couple of sentimental favourites: Amazing 221 (Ramrod is a goofy villain, but I love how Spidey defeats him by using a magnetic crane); and Captain America 259 (Cap fights Doc Ock and a biker gang; there's a scene where the bikers are testing Cap, so they make him hold onto chains that are hooked to their motorbikes and they try to pull him apart, but he just stands there holding on as they spin their tires! I loved that as a kid)
Ah, 1981. Right in the peak of my original comics reading. Most of your picks look like some of the highlights of my original collection, e.g., Iron Man #150, FF #236, Avengers Annual #10 and the oh-so-excellent JLA #200. But looking over the covers of that year in comics at Mike's Newsstand, I'm seeing tons of other great stuff I was buying at the time, not just the titles you highlighted here, but also stuff like the revived Ka-zar series by Jones and Anderson, Green Lantern by Wolfman and Staton, the Tales of the Green Lantern Corps mini-series, the Phantom Zone mini-series, the run of stories by Roger Stern in Peter Parker, Spectacular Spider-man that preceded his move to ASM, the Bill Mantlo/Sal Buscema run on the Hulk just hitting its stride, the launch of Pacific Comics with Kirby's Captain Victory and then Grell's Starslayer, the digests DC was churning out on a monthly basis...
Anyway, I was also add as highlights from this year:
X-men Annual #5 (guest-starring the FF; a big fight against the Badoon on Arkon's planet)
Spider-man Annual #15 (featuring Doc Ock and the Punisher, art by Miller and Janson)
World's Finest #271 (a wonderful anniversary story that ties together all of the "first times" Superman & Batman met, written by Roy Thomas, with art by Rich Buckler)
Batman vs. the Hulk (do I really need to explain that choice?)
Brave and the Bold #182 (Batman teams up with Earth-2 Robin, written by Alan Brennert)
What If? #28 (What if Daredevil became an agent of SHIELD? Fun story and art by Frank Miller)
By the way, Selenarch, it's always been my impression that Rogue was initially supposed to be a woman in her early 30s at the youngest - she was also portrayed that way in her first appearance in X-men (#158) a little later. It was only after Claremont decided to make her a member of the team that she suddenly became a confused teen. (By the same token, it's quite obvious that Emma Frost was supposed to be middle-aged woman, in her mid-30s at the very youngest, in all of her initial appearances in X-men, but then later she's all of sudden in her early 20s...)
Good choices! I had all of these. '81 was a great year. Hard to top your selections, so I won't even try. A lot of the others mentioned were keepers too.
Selenarch- glad you brought up Rogue. The 'older' Rogue seemed to make more sense to me. Rather unfortunate that they 'youthened ' her.
And yes, that JLA cover is spectacular. Another Perez masterpiece.
David p- good call on the MTU annual! Great story and cover. The interior art left me cool, but overall a fine book.
Mike W.- you mention some intriguing DC books. Those Batman issues you describe would be worth picking up. Pamela Isley is always a favorite...
Oh, and Spectacular Spider-Man 64 juuuuuuust missed the list. Another good call!
Edo- your list looks very much like my initial list of about 24 comics! X-Men and Spidey annuals, Batman/Hulk, Gerber's Phantom Zone, Ka-Zar, all just missed the final pick. My compliments on your comics tastes!
Wow...I had all of the issues pictured except for the JLA book. This was at the peak of my collecting.
I have to say that I did not like that X-Men issue very much. The X-Men just prior to this time - coming off of Proteus, Hellfire Club, Dark Phoenix, and Future Past stories - were dark and moody and gritty. A year or so later, I felt they morphed into caricatures of themselves. And I felt this particular issue iced that cake. In general, the second Cockrum run did not live up to expectations for me and I felt the Magneto 150th issue was the last good one until Paul Smith showed up. This all was particularly disappointing to me as I had set up a subscription right at the tail end of Byrne's run.
Regarding Rogue, I always liked her as initially portrayed (30ish in age and tough). I often wondered if they tried to explain her new age that she absorbed some youth in one of her "touches" but I don't seem to recall that. The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants at the time were intriguing because they were all older. Mystique definitely had some experience, and Destiny was defined as an "older" woman. Blob, Pyro, Avalanche and the rest all seemed more seasoned. I thought that was good.
Rogue became a hero after absorbing Ms. Marvel's powers etc. Did she ever lose those powers (originally it was stressed that it was more permanent)? And if she did lose those powers, did she lose some "goodness" also? I always thought her heroic turn was a result of that power grab in the Avengers Annual 10, but I never saw that discussed or considered or confirmed. It made sense to me, that her character would change if she absorbed so much of somebody's psyche.
I followed Daredevil very closely around this time - snatching up every issue. But unlike other comics from the era, I don't find myself going back and reading these often. In fact I probably haven't looked at that particular issue in almost 20 years.
I vote for the Avengers annual as the best story - but there are so many great nominees. FF 236 would be a close second as would Iron Man 150.
Marti- perhaps I'm a minority in enjoying that X-Men story! The book certainly fell from it's lofty peak during the Claremont/Byrne run. Yet it kept me interested through the Morlocks and up until the end of Paul Smith's stay. This particular story just appealed to my innate fondness for humor...
Regarding Daredevil- we're on the same page. Although the Miller run remained a favorite in memory, it was decades before I reread any of them (Thanks to an inexpensive TPB purchase). It did hold up pretty well...
Some stellar choices there, Redartz. That basically looks like my pull list from that time. What a great year for comics. Some of the best comics of all time were on the shelves then, IMO.
Stern/Romita Jr. Spider-Man, Frank Miller Daredevil, John Byrne Fantastic Four, Wolfman/Perez Teen Titans. I mean come on. It just really couldn't get much better. I don't think that era of comics greatness has ever been matched (before or since).
That Dr. Strange issue is terrible and does Brother Voodoo a disservice.
Post a Comment