Panel Discussion: Looking for Adventure at DC...

 

Redartz:  It occurred to me recently that most of our comics discussions have focused on Marvel. With some reason, actually- I was always a Marvel Zuvembie first and foremost, so I write what I know. That said, there has been a great deal of DC in my collecting and reading as well. Going waaaaaaaay back to the beginnings, Superman was my first superhero title. Which I enjoyed, but the first DC book that really drew my interest was Adventure Comics. And it remained a favorite even into my college years. 

Adventure 369, an early favorite

 

 

 What was it about "Adventure" that grabbed me?  At first it was Superboy and the Legion of Superheroes. At the time, about 1967, Jim Shooter was writing it and Curt Swan was drawing it. Swan's art was familiar, as I'd seen it on the Man of  Steel. And Shooter was learning the ropes of scripting, developing talents I'd come to appreciate years later in the Avengers. Which of course I didn't know at the time, it just seemed that the stories with these super powered teens were more...convincing, more real, more dramatic. Compared, that is, to what was offered in "Superman" and "Action Comics". Superboy was familiar, but it took awhile to get used to so many other characters. Mon-El, Shadow Lass, Braniac 5; they even had cool names. Perhaps it was the combination of these factors that made "Adventure" an early read for me.  And I'll always be grateful to 'Adventure" for introducing me to the Legion, a group which would become one of my top picks, under Paul Levitz and Keith Giffen.

 

 

 

 

 

A few years later, upon returning to comics in a serious way, "Adventure" again piqued the interest. Michael Fleisher and Jim Aparo's Spectre tales were solid reading, and obviously the art was fine. I also got a kick out of "Black Orchid" (created by Sheldon Mayer, when he wasn't giving voice and life to
Sugar and Spike). Not being a fan of Aquaman, his takeover of hte book didn't excite me. Still later Superboy took over as the lead feature, which kind of had a Silver Age feel despite being published deep in the Bronze. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But my favorite incarnation of "Adventure Comics" appeared in the later 70's, when Superboy moved into his own book: "New Adventures of Superboy".  Meanwhile, the original "Adventure" became a Dollar comic; no ads and a great lineup of features. Deadman, the JLA, Wonder Woman, Flash; a pretty  good deal for your dollar. Personally, I most relished Deadman by Len Wein and Jim Aparo, and the Justice Society by Paul Levitz and Joe Staton ( one highlight of that feature was the impressive death of Earth 2 Batman). . Sadly the book soon shrank back to 'normal' size, but it still featured a nifty cast: the new Starman , by Paul Levitz and Steve Ditko (!), and the wonderful Plastic Man by Martin Pasko and Joe Staton. Great book, one of the best of the era and often overlooked. 

Eventually I dropped "Adventure Comics" when it converted to an all-reprint digest format. But the title (and it's distinctive, original curvy logo) always stayed close to my heart.  Next up: a selection of Bronze Age Adventure Comics covers, showing the range of headliners it carried. Any fellow 'Adventurers' out there?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rank and File: The Year's Best Comic Stories, 1973!

Redartz:  Hi gang; ready for another survey of the best that comics have to offer? For today's installment, we go back to 1973, a very impressive comics year indeed. One I missed out on originally, as I was still reading exclusively Archies until 1974. But once I got the collecting bug, I picked up many of these and other gems from '73. 

As always, we make our selections based on books on sale between January and December 1973, cover dated Apr.73  to Mar.74. And now, in no specific order, here are my picks for the year's best:


 



The Shadow 1- "The Doom Puzzle" by Denny O'Neil and Micheal Kaluta. O'Neil and Kaluta revive the classic pulp character with this striking debut issue.

Marvel Premiere 14- "Sise-Neg Genesis" by Steve Englehart, Frank Brunner and Dick Giordano. The climax to an epic Dr. Strange story, to creation and back. And who knew that it would only get better, soon, in Doc's own title?










 



Savage Tales 2-  "Red Nails" by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor- Smith. The first half of perhaps the greatest Conan tale of all; a masterpiece. Windsor-Smith's art is a museum piece.










 


Avengers 117- "Holocaust" by Steve Englehart, Bob Brown and Mike Esposito. Marvel's first big crossover event, and it was a doozy. The first battle between Captain America and Sub-Mariner since the Golden Age, and that's only part of the book.












 



Plop! 1-  Various content by Sergio Aragones, Steve Skeates, George Evans, Sheldon Mayer, Bernie Wrightson, Frank Robbins and Alfredo Alcala. This wonderfully twisted humor book gets off to a great start with a fine lineup of top creators. Wonder if this book is collected anywhere...









 


Amazing Spider-man 122- "The Goblin's Last Stand" by Gerry Conway, Gil Kane and John Romita Sr.  So much has been written about this monumental issue, nothing I can say is very novel. But it turned the comics world upside down, and still packs a staggering punch all these years later. Plus, one of Mary Jane Watson's most powerful scenes ever.













Batman 251- "The Joker's Five-Way Revenge" by Denny O'Neil and Neil Adams. An instant classic; one of the best Joker stories in the long history of the Dark Knight. 










 


Defenders 10- "Breakthrough" by Steve Englehart, Sal Buscema and Frank Bolle. Okay, I know it's part of the Avengers/Defenders war already represented above. But hey, it's a different title, it's Hulk vs. Thor, it's a gargantuan tale, and it's my choice anyway...










 


Fantastic Four 141- "The End of the Fantastic Four" by Gerry Conway, John Buscema and Joe Sinnott. Man, it was a tough year in Gerry Conway's titles. Nevertheless, this story has enough action and drama for a year's worth of books. Annhilus is always cool, and that ending left me stunned the first time I read it.











 


Swamp Thing 7- "Night of the Bat" by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson. Many issues of this run could have been chosen for this list, but this one is a favorite. Batman by Wrightson is certainly a perk, great story and beautifully moody art. But why did they have to kill the dog? 













Whew, as always, it's a tough call. There was a ton of great material that year; so you probably have some other suggestions to consider. Fair enough, let's hear from you!

Rank and File: The Year's Best Comic Stories, 1979!

Redartz:  Hello all; that time again: time to pick a year's worth of top comics. In this instance, we look at the year 1979. As always, the choices are tough to make; and some you may well disagree with. And of course it's subjective, especially to the extent that I haven't read every comic put out in any given year, so my choices are limited to those with which I'm familiar. Aaaaanyway, a couple other caveats for this episode: I try to spread the choices around, so for instance X-Men is represented with an annual, but not by a monthly book this go-round (and obviously, any Claremont/Byrne X-Men issue is prime fodder for a best-of list). Also, I didn't follow as much DC at that point in time, so the tally is Marvel-heavy. 

All that said, let's get to the picks. As always, the books chosen were published within calendar year 1979. Check out my choices, compare them to your picks, and tell me where I erred!

In no particular order:

 



Avengers 184- " Death on the Hudson", by David Michelinie, John Byrne and "diverse hands'. Great conclusion to an epic Absorbing Man battle, a provocative climax, great characterization, fine art; the whole works.











 


Amazing Spider-Man 195- "Nine Lives has the Black Cat", by Marv Wolfman, Keith Pollard and "diverse hands" (hey, who were those guys- everyone inking by committee in 1979?). Loads of classic Spidey drama, the poignant intro to Felicia Hardy, and Pete just getting his lumps.....
 











 



Cerebus the Aardvark 10- "Merchant of Unshib", by Dave Sim. The earthpig was rapidly becoming a favorite of mine by this issue, with the return of "Red Sophia"...
















 Marvel Premiere 50- " From the Inside", by Alice Cooper,Jim Salicrup, Roger Stern, Ed Hannigan,  Tom Sutton and Terry Austin. Wonderfully strange story, with loads to absorb both mentally and visually.














 Adventure Comics 467- "Carlton Canary" by Len Wein, Joe Staton and Bob Smith, and "First Encounter", by Paul Levitz, Steve Ditko and Romeo Tanghal. A twofer; two great features sharing a wonderful (and underappreciated) title. Just plain fun, solid comics.















 X-Men Annual 3- "A Fire in the Sky", by Chris Claremont, George Perez and Terry Austin. A fantastic done-in-one, one of the best annuals ever. One reason why annuals were a highlight of the comic year.












 



Batman 321- "Dreadful Birthday, Dear Joker", by Len  Wein, Walter Simonson and Dick Giordano. A cool Joker tale with some top notch art ; how can you miss with that lineup?











 


Daredevil 163- "Blind Alley", by Roger McKenzie, Frank Miller, Klaus Janson and Josef Rubinstein. A phenomenal, gut-wrenching story of persistance and self sacrifice. One of the Hulk's finest guest appearances, and a Daredevil tale to rival the classic issue 7.











 



Micronauts 7- "Adventure into Fear", by Bill  Mantlo, Michael Golden and Josef Rubinstein. The Micro's team was really hitting it's stride by this issue, a fine tale with comedy, drama and Man-thing meeting a swamp buggy. Plus a beautiful cover!











 



Iron Man 128- "Demon in a Bottle", by David Michiline, John Romita Jr. and Bob Layton. A truly classic story of one man's battle with his personal demons.













Well, there you have them. Ten of the best from the tail end of the 1970's. What do you think; did this list cover the best, or did I miss some obvious betters? Put on your critical caps and fire away! 

Two Questions: Secondary Titles and a Deck of Cards

Redartz: Hello again everyone! Once again, we present a couple of questions for your consideration. Nothing too weighty today, we'll keep it easy. 

Question 1.  Many characters in comics, over the years,  have been featured in more than one title at a time. Supeman appears in Action Comics, and his own named title (and of course there was DC Comics Presents, and World's Finest, but we're dealing with non-'team up' books). Batman has Batman (obviously), and Detective. Spider-man had Amazing, Spectacular, Web of, Friendly Neighborhood, and several others (Marvel kind of mined the web-slinger heavily, eh?). Flash and Wonder Woman also appeared in Adventure while headlining their own titles. The X-Men had several, filling the shelves in the 90's. You may have more examples. Anyway, the question:  which secondary title (that is, not named specifically for the starring character) had the best run? 

 





2. 










2. Less explanation needed for this one: what is your favorite card game?

To get it rolling, here's my answers:

1. Detective Comics. A tough call, as Spectacular Spider-man has a lot going for it too. Yet the great range of art and story in Detective nails it for me. The Adams issues, Jim Aparo, the Englehart/Rogers run. Some nice early 00's stories by Paul Dini. Just off the top of my mind...

2. Euchre. I think it may be the official card game in the state of Indiana. It is simple to learn, quick to play, and best of all: it doesn't require huge amounts of concentration, so you can actually carry on some conversation while playing. The biggest challenge for me is remembering which suit is trump. My wife will give me 'that look' if I trump her ace...

Ok, group.  Your turn; pick a title and then deal yourselves in!