Okay, finally was able to listen to the episode today. In regards to the Bug/Kronos thing, Bug was created first in the comics in 1979. Kronos was in the fifth and final wave of Micronauts toys, which was released in 1980. Bug was much cooler looking than Kronos.
As for all the love given to Bill Mantlo, I don’t have nearly as high an opinion of his writing as Chris does. Mantlo tended to pop up as the writer of a lot of licensed books because no one wanted to deal with the headaches that often came with them. Most writers avoided them like the plague, but to Mantlo they meant steady comics work. Because, for my money, Mantlo was a pretty average writer. He usually wrote a decent story, and occasionally turned in some gems, but he wrote more than his share of drek too. Marvel kept him busy because he was fast (often getting them out of deadline jams) and because he was willing to tackle jobs no one else really wanted. (Interestingly, it was Mantlo who convinced Shooter to get the Micronauts license. And, of course, he was then assigned to write the series.)
That being said, I did like the first year of Micronauts (mostly for the Michael Golden art)—though I found the second series Micronauts: The New Voyages written by Peter Gillis to be much more interesting—and the few issues of ROM (which I bought because of the Michael Golden covers) I've read were pretty good. But the only issues of The Human Fly I’ve bought were purchased for the Frank Robbins art.
So here are my alternates that didn't make my top five:
The Adventures of Martin & Lewis/The Adventures of Jerry Lewis — The only reason I didn't put this in my top five was because it felt redundant alongside The Adventures of Bob Hope
Tarzan (DC) — Joe Kubert’s adaptations of the Burroughs novels are both beautiful and powerful. I came very close to putting this on my list.
Atari Force — If José Luis García-López had been able to continue on the series past issue #12, I would have had to make room in my top five for this. As it was, it came very close.
Jonny Quest (Comico) — The regular series featured fun stories from Bill Messner-Loebs, with a great rotating cast of artists, including Doug Wildey, Steve Rude, Dan Spiegle, Joe Staton, and Marc Hempel. The three-issue Jonny Quest Classics was particularly outstanding. Written and fully painted by Doug Wildey, they adapted episodes from the original cartoon.
Space Ghost (Comico) — It was only a one-shot, but this Steve Rude drawn 43-page story is a classic.
Shocked that not every one of you has read ROM!!! Heck If I had a choice between Marvel keeping the rights to ROM or the Silver Surfer I might have to go with ROM
Shocked that not every one of you has read ROM!!! Heck If I had a choice between Marvel keeping the rights to ROM or the Silver Surfer I might have to go with ROM
I believe the only issue of ROM iown & have read was when he got a can ride from ol' Jake Lockley.
My top five, in no particular order: 1. Barbie. Yes, Barbie. (published by Marvel starting maybe 1989?) First, the covers were beautiful, at least some drawn by Amanda Conner. Secondly, the stories, which were for young girls, were fun stories about teenage girls that weren't about competing for boys. Third and most importantly (to me) my then tweenie daughter got to meet the creative team at the time at a Wondercon in the early '90s, and they not only signed _all_ of her issues of Barbie, they spent a great deal of time talking with and listening to her, and generally making her feel like a valued reader. Thus ensuring that my love of comics would definitely continue with at least one of my daughters as well as getting the lasting gratitude of this mother. 2. Atari Force. I just loved this, especially the back up stories. So good. 3. Casper the Friendly Ghost. To tell the truth, I'm not sure if this belongs on the list, because my understanding is that Harvey comics bought out the studio that put out Casper cartoons. But I think it's a licensed property now and it was one of the first comics I not only read but looked for, as a five year old kid. So on the list it goes. 4. Farscape. It really does feel like a continuation of the series. 5. ROM. I appreciate how much it was integrated in the Marvel Universe. I was in my early 20s when this first came out and didn't realize it was based on a toy--I just assumed it was another idea that Marvel had come up with.
I preface this by saying that GI Joe and Transformers were simply never books I cared for. I was 17 when GI Joe #1 came out, and it was clearly a Marvel book aimed at kids 8 – 12, so I read a few issues, didn’t care for it and dropped it. Same with Transformers, I was 20 when the first issue hit, and it just wasn’t for me. I LIKED the classic ones mentioned, like Micronaunts and ROM, but when I think all time, I tend to go back a lot further than most of the folks on the show or here on the forum.
5) Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Dark Horse changed the game. Oh, they started with the standard “based on the TV series” type stories, but when they brought in Joss Whedon and had him continue the series by doing Season 8, 9 and now 10, the game was changed. Now, more and more of the licensed books bring in the people who worked on the TV series or the movie and have them continue the story, making them more vital and (almost) canonical. Now we have X-Files, Jericho and others that are treated as a way to continue stories that can’t be done in other media for some reason. This move was a real Big Deal in my mind.
4) Tarzan - Dell made a fortune on Tarzan comics in the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s, but the license switched to DC in the 70’s as Gold Key was fading, and they went back to the roots, adapting the novels, putting Joe Kubert on the art and blowing away every other version of the character. Then, after DC couldn’t figure out how to sell the books, Marvel grabbed the rights and put John Buscema on it, who proceeded to draw just as well as he had on Conan. Great lost gems there for comic art lovers, and with Tarzan in continuous publication for almost 40 years, you gotta give that license the nod.
3) Star Wars – The comic that saved Marvel. Not hyperbole, Marvel was bleeding money after the newsstand wars of 1974 – 1977. They pushed their competitors off the stands (so long Atlas, Gold Key, Fawcett’s attempt to get back into sales with Dennis the Menace ramping up, the Harvey expansion, and so on…) but late books and massive returns meant they were losing money. So much so that people who worked in the business thought that comics would be dead and gone by 1980 and were lining up work outside the field. Star Wars sold. And sold. And sold. And sold. And with little other merchandising (only 1 novel and one adaptation), fans flocked to buy the book to get more of that story. And after a misfire by Roy Thomas, the book took hold and was a great companion to the movies.
2) The Disney Ducks- I grew up with the Duck comics, and according to my mother, they were the first thing I ever read on my own. They had a rich mythology that never got in the way of great stories, and to my mind, they are head and shoulders above the cartoons they were licensed from. Just some excellent comics here, and I am glad Fantagraphics is getting them back in print.
1) Conan- The Conan we all know isn’t so much from REH’s stories but from Roy Thomas’s adaptations of those stories. Did you know that in the 70’s, Conan outsold most of the other Marvel books? It was routinely outselling everything except Amazing Spider-Man according to the sales figures I have found, and that continued into the early 80s’, with Savage Sword of Conan being the only survivor of the Black and White line no matter how much people in editorial wanted to kill it off (one highly placed editor was quoted as say he hated the book and it only sold to Bikers and Tattooed freaks). TONS of great stories, Roy Thomas’s best work, John Buscema’s best work and another case of the license being better off for having a comic book.
1. Barbie. Yes, Barbie. (published by Marvel starting maybe 1989?) First, the covers were beautiful, at least some drawn by Amanda Conner. Secondly, the stories, which were for young girls, were fun stories about teenage girls that weren't about competing for boys. Third and most importantly (to me) my then tweenie daughter got to meet the creative team at the time at a Wondercon in the early '90s, and they not only signed _all_ of her issues of Barbie, they spent a great deal of time talking with and listening to her, and generally making her feel like a valued reader. Thus ensuring that my love of comics would definitely continue with at least one of my daughters as well as getting the lasting gratitude of this mother.
You know, I will agree with you about those covers. At the time the book was being published, I was working for Diamond, and every week we set all of the titles out in piles on the tables for sorting. Most of those covers were (if they weren't holograms or glow-in-the-dark) dark, moody and humorless. And I mean dark as in hues, not just tone. And the Barbie comics covers practically glowed by comparison. They were bright, cheerful and lovingly executed. I tried reading one of the comics and it just wasn't for me -- but I did love those covers and thought that many of them would have made great posters.
Ghostbusters - This is my favorite comedy of all time, and the comics have been great over the years. Sadly the IDW ongoing is coming to an end in September with #30, but that was a phenomenal series.
I completely agree with this and would have to put it on my list. If ever there was a perfect ongoing arc after the movie, this is it. It maintains the creepiness and humor of the movies while advancing the character's and the film's plots. They're a lot of fun.
1. Barbie. Yes, Barbie. (published by Marvel starting maybe 1989?) First, the covers were beautiful, at least some drawn by Amanda Conner. Secondly, the stories, which were for young girls, were fun stories about teenage girls that weren't about competing for boys. Third and most importantly (to me) my then tweenie daughter got to meet the creative team at the time at a Wondercon in the early '90s, and they not only signed _all_ of her issues of Barbie, they spent a great deal of time talking with and listening to her, and generally making her feel like a valued reader. Thus ensuring that my love of comics would definitely continue with at least one of my daughters as well as getting the lasting gratitude of this mother.
You know, I will agree with you about those covers. At the time the book was being published, I was working for Diamond, and every week we set all of the titles out in piles on the tables for sorting. Most of those covers were (if they weren't holograms or glow-in-the-dark) dark, moody and humorless. And I mean dark as in hues, not just tone. And the Barbie comics covers practically glowed by comparison. They were bright, cheerful and lovingly executed. I tried reading one of the comics and it just wasn't for me -- but I did love those covers and thought that many of them would have made great posters.
I worked at Shinder’s in the Minneapolis area which sold magazines, baseball cards, books and comics (as well as other things in the back room) and I could not get enough copies of Barbie EVER! I would stock it with the kids magazines and at the cash register and it would sell as many copies as Spider-Man or X-Men. It was a CONSTANT fight to get the main office to order enough. At one of the first conventions here in the Twin Cities, the Marvel sales guy heard I worked at Shinder’s pulled me aside and said that our chain sold more copies of Barbie than any other comic shop in the US and asked how we did it.
It’s a shame Marvel had pretty much given up on newsstands by the time Barbie came out, because they would have made a fortune off of it if they could have gotten decent distribution.
Ghostbusters - This is my favorite comedy of all time, and the comics have been great over the years. Sadly the IDW ongoing is coming to an end in September with #30, but that was a phenomenal series.
I completely agree with this and would have to put it on my list. If ever there was a perfect ongoing arc after the movie, this is it. It maintains the creepiness and humor of the movies while advancing the character's and the film's plots. They're a lot of fun.
My only correction to this statement is that it's ending with issue #20, but it had a series run by pretty much the same creators before this current series. It relaunched a new number one because of what happened in the story. It made sense to start a new #1, but it eventually went back to the great previous formula shortly after the relaunch.
Regarding 2 of @Peter's choices (allow me to push up my own glasses here) :-B :
Although they sort of retroactively tried to tie in a few Atari games with Atari Force (Star Raiders in particular, IIRC), there actually was an Atari Force branded arcade game, Liberator (here's the rundown from the Killer List of Video Games). Never saw it back in the day, but I have seen it in recent years at Funspot in Laconia, NH, allegedly the world's largest arcade (and site of the infamous "kill screen" scene in King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters)... as far as I can tell, it's reverse Missile Command (you shoot down missiles coming up from a planet rather than ones raining down on it). Nice looking cabinet, though.
Also... POWER LORDS! Enjoyed the comic, loved the toys. Awesome designs on all of the figures. I think I read somewhere that Wayne Barlowe was involved with the design work, which is why the aliens looked so very, well, alien, especially compared to what else was on the pegs at the time. Good as those toys looked, though, they weren't well made. The ones I had all fell apart within just a few years time.
I worked at Shinder’s in the Minneapolis area which sold magazines, baseball cards, books and comics (as well as other things in the back room) and I could not get enough copies of Barbie EVER! I would stock it with the kids magazines and at the cash register and it would sell as many copies as Spider-Man or X-Men. It was a CONSTANT fight to get the main office to order enough. At one of the first conventions here in the Twin Cities, the Marvel sales guy heard I worked at Shinder’s pulled me aside and said that our chain sold more copies of Barbie than any other comic shop in the US and asked how we did it.
It’s a shame Marvel had pretty much given up on newsstands by the time Barbie came out, because they would have made a fortune off of it if they could have gotten decent distribution.
There's actually a very sad and frustrating story behind Barbie comics--Tom De Falco wanted a line of girls' comics, and Barbie was the first title. I think there were two more titles--I _think_ one might have been Beauty and the Beast. And they were actually doing well--adding readership each month and making a modest profit, from what I've read. Then Marvel got a new owner who unceremoniously axed the girls comic line, and that was the end of that.
Before I forget, I wanted to mention Marvel's adaptation of Logan's Run. Mediocre movie, but a great comic with superb talent on the adaptation. Gerry Conway did the writing, George Perez and Klaus Janson did the illustration, Marie Severin on colors and Joe Rosen did the lettering. All of them Bronze Age All-Stars, with GP in the early stages of his legendary career.
I worked at Shinder’s in the Minneapolis area which sold magazines, baseball cards, books and comics (as well as other things in the back room) and I could not get enough copies of Barbie EVER! I would stock it with the kids magazines and at the cash register and it would sell as many copies as Spider-Man or X-Men. It was a CONSTANT fight to get the main office to order enough. At one of the first conventions here in the Twin Cities, the Marvel sales guy heard I worked at Shinder’s pulled me aside and said that our chain sold more copies of Barbie than any other comic shop in the US and asked how we did it.
It’s a shame Marvel had pretty much given up on newsstands by the time Barbie came out, because they would have made a fortune off of it if they could have gotten decent distribution.
There's actually a very sad and frustrating story behind Barbie comics--Tom De Falco wanted a line of girls' comics, and Barbie was the first title. I think there were two more titles--I _think_ one might have been Beauty and the Beast. And they were actually doing well--adding readership each month and making a modest profit, from what I've read. Then Marvel got a new owner who unceremoniously axed the girls comic line, and that was the end of that.
I remember my LCS owners at the time were more than happy to sell that Barbie book to any little girl who'd come into the store, but they were always frustrated when parents wanted to find back issues for their kids. I remember the manager saying once "If someone wanted a copy of Amazing Fantasy #15, I could track one down and have it in their hands in a week or two. Barbie #1? Forget it! No one has it!"
There's actually a very sad and frustrating story behind Barbie comics--Tom De Falco wanted a line of girls' comics, and Barbie was the first title. I think there were two more titles--I _think_ one might have been Beauty and the Beast. And they were actually doing well--adding readership each month and making a modest profit, from what I've read. Then Marvel got a new owner who unceremoniously axed the girls comic line, and that was the end of that.
Not just the girls' line, but pretty much all of their licensed properties at that time, if I remember correctly; including the Disney Comics (ironic, considering that Disney now owns Marvel) and Conan, which had been a hot property for Marvel at one time. I think this was a cost-cutting move more than anything else -- those licenses cost much moolah -- but it still struck me as an odd decision at the time, especially as almost immediately afterwards they picked up the Star Trek franchise again.
There's actually a very sad and frustrating story behind Barbie comics--Tom De Falco wanted a line of girls' comics, and Barbie was the first title. I think there were two more titles--I _think_ one might have been Beauty and the Beast. And they were actually doing well--adding readership each month and making a modest profit, from what I've read. Then Marvel got a new owner who unceremoniously axed the girls comic line, and that was the end of that.
Not just the girls' line, but pretty much all of their licensed properties at that time, if I remember correctly; including the Disney Comics (ironic, considering that Disney now owns Marvel) and Conan, which had been a hot property for Marvel at one time. I think this was a cost-cutting move more than anything else -- those licenses cost much moolah -- but it still struck me as an odd decision at the time, especially as almost immediately afterwards they picked up the Star Trek franchise again.
Conan was literally an editorial screw up. Roy Thomas said that they were still under the 1970 contract where the fee was still the price as in 1970 as long as they put out a certain number of Conan comics a year. They canceled Conan, and were going to have mini-series make up the needed number, but the editor involved didn't assign the work.
Great episode! I haven't read many licensed comics over the years but Star Wars 7,8,9 purchased in a 3-pack at a PX were some of the first few comics I read.
5. Godzilla, King of the Monsters (Marvel series) - Goofy and far-removed from the movies that inspired it, but this book blew my mind as a kid by combining two of my favorite things, Godzilla and Marvel comics. I loved seeing Godzilla have to contend with the likes of SHIELD, the FF, the Avengers, etc., and I get a real kick out of seeing callbacks to this series in modern comics, like in Incredible Hercules and Matt Fraction's X-Men run.
3. Micronauts - For all the reasons others have said... solid space opera storytelling that you can easily forget spun out of a toyline because the toys (though cool) had so little identity that it was easy to overlay a world entirely of Mantlo's making over it and because it far outlasted said toyline! I agree that the issues drawn by Michael Golden are the best of the bunch, but it stays decent and readable for at least as far as I've been able to collect up to so far.
2. Star Trek - Especially the first volume from DC, which used the original cast to great effect but also introduced a bunch of new supporting characters who were a lot of fun to watch develop (Nancy Bryce, Konom, Bearclaw, etc.); and from the Marvel run in the 90s, Star Trek: Early Voyages, which expanded upon the adventures of Captain Pike's crew. Great series, but frustrating because it ends abruptly on a cliffhanger due to Marvel losing/dropping the license.
2. Uncle Scrooge / Donald Duck - Scrooge came from the comics, and comic book Donald is so different from his animated counterpart as to be a different character, but they came out of the Disney wellspring and everyone else is counting them, so I will, too. Carl Barks and Don Rosa are my favorite Duck men, but there are a lot of other talented creators who worked on these through the years, blending comedy and high adventure in a way that few American creators have ever really managed. I've always said that Barks (and Rosa) was more akin to Herge than anyone else.
1. Doctor Who - Doctor Who comics can be a mixed bag, but when they're really good they do exactly what licensed books should be doing: staying true to the spirit of the original property while taking it in directions that the original show/movie/toys/books/whatever mostly cannot or would not. And when you get creators like Dave Gibbons, Grant Morrison, or Roger Langridge (to name but 3 big names) to do stories or even whole runs, you know they'll take advantage of that opportunity.
Honorable Mentions:
Tarzan (Particularly the Gold Key issues by Russ Manning, which are gorgeously illustrated adventure comics, and the 70s DC series by Joe Kubert, who I think comes closest to capturing the look and feel of the novels.)
Batman '66
Star Wars (loved the Marvel book as a kid)
Crystar (bizarre but fun)
The Muppet Show
Darkwing Duck
The Hallden/Fawcett Dennis the Menace comics (if you can count a comic adapted from another comic form, anyway; the travel specials are particularly good)
Little Lulu (she originated as a Saturday Evening Post gag panel character, so I'd put in a good argument for this, too)
G.I. Joe
Pretty much any 80s Marvel movie adaptation... don't know how they read now, but I loved so many of these as a kid.
Atari Force (only read a few of these, but they're great)
The Adventures of Bob Hope (especially the Super Hip era, but anything where Bob Oksner got to draw cute women is okay by me)
One more honorable mention from me: U.S. 1. Crazy truckin' stories. I'm not sure how much of that property is licensed, but I always thought the truck stop would be a great location to pop up here and there, complete with brawls.
I think all that's licensed is the name (sort of like Team America, which Marvel was still able to use after changing their name to Thunderiders).
John Byrne actually used the U.S. 1 cast - TWICE! - in Sensational She-Hulk. It was kind of awesome.
Conan was literally an editorial screw up. Roy Thomas said that they were still under the 1970 contract where the fee was still the price as in 1970 as long as they put out a certain number of Conan comics a year. They canceled Conan, and were going to have mini-series make up the needed number, but the editor involved didn't assign the work.
What a shame. I expect that inept editor lost his job at Marvel shortly thereafter.
Conan was literally an editorial screw up. Roy Thomas said that they were still under the 1970 contract where the fee was still the price as in 1970 as long as they put out a certain number of Conan comics a year. They canceled Conan, and were going to have mini-series make up the needed number, but the editor involved didn't assign the work.
What a shame. I expect that inept editor lost his job at Marvel shortly thereafter.
Loved the episode! Ya'll covered the mainstays - and I few I wasn't aware of - but I wanted to bring a few not-mentioned to your listeners attention. In any order...
Tarzan (DC Comics) #207 Apr-1972 to #230 Apr-May 1974. This was the 1972 DC series that had continued numbering from Western Publishing (A.K.A. DELL & Gold Key), who had had the license for comics since 1952, their final issue being #206. That run had some fine moments with artists Russ Manning (Tarzan, Korak, Magnus, Star Wars newspaper strip, others) and Doug Wildey (Western comics artist, Jonny Quest TV show fame, RIO), but the character really reached a pinnacle in comics when DC took over the license. Joe Kubert was the Writer/Artist/Editor for a two year stint and his storytelling, and moody artwork are breathtaking. Some of the stories were adaptations, some were original but all of them captured “Darkest Africa” and Tarzan has never looked – or read – better in comics before or since. In fact, when these Kubert issues were reprinted by Dark Horse as part of their “Tarzan Archives” series, my only complaint is that the paper was too “white.” Something about the older paper, even when newly published, had almost a tint of brown. Some of the jungle mood Kubert’s art brought was lost in a bright background but don’t let that stop you. HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION!
John's $1 Back-Issue-Bin Rating: Low. Tough to find in the $1 boxes but they're out there at dealer shows & online for reasonable prices. It's also been collected in hardback, Tarzan-Archives-Joe-Kubert-Years by Dark Horse Comics.
The Shadow Strikes (DC Comics) #1 Sept 1989 - #15 Jan 1991, only. This series ran from September 1989 - May 1992 for 31 issues but issues that make my “Top 5” are issues #1 thru #15, all written by Gerard Jones (Then a prolific writer for DC) and beautiful art by Eduardo Barreto. Jones really brought out that pre-war 1930s pulp feel in the stories. I’m a fan of the current licensed efforts of the character being published by Dynamite Entertainment. To compare, Jones’ stories are as interesting, as “pulp” violent, just not as graphically depicted. The art? Just wow. Baretto is and remains one of the finest artists in comics during this period. In the pre-John Byrne Superman of the early 1980s Barreto was the main cover artist on “Superman” and “Action Comics,” later becoming the main artist on “New Teen Titans” for a very long run. He was a native of Uruguay, and had that wonderful South American art style; obviously influenced by Alex Toth, Warren Tuffs, and Garcia Lopez. Sadly he passed away in 2011.
John's $1 Back-Issue-Bin Rating: High. Easy to find online or at comic shows $1 or less.
Star Trek (DC Comics) #1 Feb 1984 - #16 – July 1985, only. This series has had multiple publishers. Originally published by Western (Gold Key) and ran from July 1967 - March 1979. Most issues the art was by the legendary Italian artist, Alberto Giolitti. These are fun to read and the art as expected is beautiful. Fun fact: Being in Italy, at first Alberto was not given any photo reference for the characters, just descriptions. He nailed it, no question.
From Apr-1980 thru Feb 1982 it was taken over by Marvel Comics, who published 18 issues with mixed results. Picking up in continuity after the first Star trek movie, “Star Trek - The Motion Picture,” both stories, characters, and art were inconsistent. The stories were all original and without inside-industry-information, they read as if Paramount and Marvel were not on the same page, so to speak. The writers were numerous (Wolfman, Tom DeFalco, Martin Pasko, J. M. DeMatteis, Mike Barr), and numerous artists (Dave Cockrum, Mike Nasser, Joe Brozowski, Luke McDonnell, Ed Hannigan, others.)
The interpretation I think is the “best” is DC Comics’ first attempt, Feb 1984 thru #56 Nov 1988. Though the entire run is fairly solid, the first 16 issues - written by Mike W. Barr, with art by Tom Sutton & Ricardo Villagran – is how this title makes my list. What makes this series work is the obvious (And stated in the letters columns) close and trusted relationship between DC and Paramount. The stories are tight, within continuity of the TV show and films, and have that great “feel” to them. The story continuity picks up after the second Star Trek film, “Star Trek – The Wrath of Khan,” and before “Star Trek – The Search for Spock.” The first eight issues happen between “Star Trek – Search for Spock,” with the Annual acting as the movie adaptation, re-introducing the Spock character back into the fold with #9. The first story arc is four issues and involved battling the Klingons, followed by a few character driven issues, while the second story arc picks up in #9 with the much anticipated (And since much reprinted) return to the “Mirror Universe” in an eight issue story arc that concludes in #16.
John's $1 Back-Issue-Bin Rating: High. Easy to find at $1 or less.
Lone Ranger (Dynamite Entertainment) #1 Jan 2012 – #25, June 2014 From 2006 to 2011 Dynamite Entertainment published 26 issues of Lone Ranger (vol 1). This series written by Brett Matthews, with art by Sergio Cariello, just never caught my attention. It was a different interpretation, one that I felt was not that heroic, and the stories themselves seemed to move slowly.
In 2012 Dynamite Entertainment they re-launched the series, not tied to or related to the previous Dynamite Entertainment series. This series featured stunning covers by Francesco Francavilla, beautiful interior artwork by Esteve Polls (To me reminiscent of John Severin), and scripts by Ande Parks. This series defined the traditional heroism. The character of the Lone Ranger was fair and just, without being hokey. Tonto was an equal, not to the detriment of the Lone Ranger character (Hey, you listening Disney!?), and was to as interesting as the main character. In fact, if the comic market were better I’d assume a Tonto mini-series. Both the main characters were fleshed out and had distinct ethics and morals. The stories were harsh, gritty w/out being gratuitous, and really had the “feel” of the old west. Simply one of the best western comics I’ve ever read.
As good are two additional self-contained mini-series from Dynamic Entertainment: -The 2011 five issue mini-series “Lone Ranger & Zorro: The Death of Zorro” with coves by Francesco Francavilla, interior artwork by Esteve Polls and scripts by Ande Parks. -The 2012 four issue miniseries “The Lone Ranger: Snake of Iron” with covers by multiple artists and script by Chuck Dixon.
John's $1 Back-Issue-Bin Rating: High. Easy to find online but with low print runs might be harder than others to find at cons.
Zorro – Dynamite Entertainment With apologies to Alex Toth’s version, the Dynamite Zorro comics are excellent. The first series ran 20 issues from February 2008 – March 2010. All were written by Matt Wagner, most having covers and interior art by Francesco Francavilla. The second series is “Zorro Rides Again” and ran for 12 issues August 2011 - October 2012. Matt Wagner wrote it and numerous quality artists did interiors, from Esteve Polls and John K. Snyder III. Like with the Dynamite Entertainment Lone Ranger series, the heroics are classic but updated for today's audience, with fantastic artwork.
John's $1 Back-Issue-Bin Rating: High. Easy to find online but with low print runs might be harder than others to find at cons.
Also, COMICO's "Jonny Quest", and NOW Comics "Racer X" (Second series by Chuck Dixon)
Love the episode guys. Your stellar effort, as always, is much appreciated. I was feeling pretty nostalgic by the time that episode was over and got back issue fever for the Micronauts.
I've had to travel to San Diego and Portland in the last two weeks, visited some fabulous shops, and am now the proud owner of Micronauts (original series) issues # 1 - 33. All reader copies, most out of dollar bins except number 1, which I got took on, I'm afraid, but I had to have it.
I'm going to sit down and start reading them this afternoon. If I can find good enough copies, I might even get them bound.
Remember, not too long ago no one thought that the Batman '66 TV series would come out on DVD being tied up in legal limbo, but we should see it come this November! I'd love a collected edition of ROM and Micronauts as I don't really have the time or patience to go bin diving.
Comments
As for all the love given to Bill Mantlo, I don’t have nearly as high an opinion of his writing as Chris does. Mantlo tended to pop up as the writer of a lot of licensed books because no one wanted to deal with the headaches that often came with them. Most writers avoided them like the plague, but to Mantlo they meant steady comics work. Because, for my money, Mantlo was a pretty average writer. He usually wrote a decent story, and occasionally turned in some gems, but he wrote more than his share of drek too. Marvel kept him busy because he was fast (often getting them out of deadline jams) and because he was willing to tackle jobs no one else really wanted. (Interestingly, it was Mantlo who convinced Shooter to get the Micronauts license. And, of course, he was then assigned to write the series.)
That being said, I did like the first year of Micronauts (mostly for the Michael Golden art)—though I found the second series Micronauts: The New Voyages written by Peter Gillis to be much more interesting—and the few issues of ROM (which I bought because of the Michael Golden covers) I've read were pretty good. But the only issues of The Human Fly I’ve bought were purchased for the Frank Robbins art.
So here are my alternates that didn't make my top five:
The Adventures of Martin & Lewis/The Adventures of Jerry Lewis — The only reason I didn't put this in my top five was because it felt redundant alongside The Adventures of Bob Hope
Tarzan (DC) — Joe Kubert’s adaptations of the Burroughs novels are both beautiful and powerful. I came very close to putting this on my list.
Atari Force — If José Luis García-López had been able to continue on the series past issue #12, I would have had to make room in my top five for this. As it was, it came very close.
Jonny Quest (Comico) — The regular series featured fun stories from Bill Messner-Loebs, with a great rotating cast of artists, including Doug Wildey, Steve Rude, Dan Spiegle, Joe Staton, and Marc Hempel. The three-issue Jonny Quest Classics was particularly outstanding. Written and fully painted by Doug Wildey, they adapted episodes from the original cartoon.
Space Ghost (Comico) — It was only a one-shot, but this Steve Rude drawn 43-page story is a classic.
Alien (1979) sketches, props, and set planning. I find this stuff fascinating.
Heck If I had a choice between Marvel keeping the rights to ROM or the Silver Surfer I might have to go with ROM
M
http://www.mtv.com/news/1862227/rom-the-space-knight-hasbro-sdcc-exclusive/
Can a new comic be far behind?
1. Barbie. Yes, Barbie. (published by Marvel starting maybe 1989?) First, the covers were beautiful, at least some drawn by Amanda Conner. Secondly, the stories, which were for young girls, were fun stories about teenage girls that weren't about competing for boys. Third and most importantly (to me) my then tweenie daughter got to meet the creative team at the time at a Wondercon in the early '90s, and they not only signed _all_ of her issues of Barbie, they spent a great deal of time talking with and listening to her, and generally making her feel like a valued reader. Thus ensuring that my love of comics would definitely continue with at least one of my daughters as well as getting the lasting gratitude of this mother.
2. Atari Force. I just loved this, especially the back up stories. So good.
3. Casper the Friendly Ghost. To tell the truth, I'm not sure if this belongs on the list, because my understanding is that Harvey comics bought out the studio that put out Casper cartoons. But I think it's a licensed property now and it was one of the first comics I not only read but looked for, as a five year old kid. So on the list it goes.
4. Farscape. It really does feel like a continuation of the series.
5. ROM. I appreciate how much it was integrated in the Marvel Universe. I was in my early 20s when this first came out and didn't realize it was based on a toy--I just assumed it was another idea that Marvel had come up with.
I preface this by saying that GI Joe and Transformers were simply never books I cared for. I was 17 when GI Joe #1 came out, and it was clearly a Marvel book aimed at kids 8 – 12, so I read a few issues, didn’t care for it and dropped it. Same with Transformers, I was 20 when the first issue hit, and it just wasn’t for me. I LIKED the classic ones mentioned, like Micronaunts and ROM, but when I think all time, I tend to go back a lot further than most of the folks on the show or here on the forum.
5) Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Dark Horse changed the game. Oh, they started with the standard “based on the TV series” type stories, but when they brought in Joss Whedon and had him continue the series by doing Season 8, 9 and now 10, the game was changed. Now, more and more of the licensed books bring in the people who worked on the TV series or the movie and have them continue the story, making them more vital and (almost) canonical. Now we have X-Files, Jericho and others that are treated as a way to continue stories that can’t be done in other media for some reason. This move was a real Big Deal in my mind.
4) Tarzan - Dell made a fortune on Tarzan comics in the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s, but the license switched to DC in the 70’s as Gold Key was fading, and they went back to the roots, adapting the novels, putting Joe Kubert on the art and blowing away every other version of the character. Then, after DC couldn’t figure out how to sell the books, Marvel grabbed the rights and put John Buscema on it, who proceeded to draw just as well as he had on Conan. Great lost gems there for comic art lovers, and with Tarzan in continuous publication for almost 40 years, you gotta give that license the nod.
3) Star Wars – The comic that saved Marvel. Not hyperbole, Marvel was bleeding money after the newsstand wars of 1974 – 1977. They pushed their competitors off the stands (so long Atlas, Gold Key, Fawcett’s attempt to get back into sales with Dennis the Menace ramping up, the Harvey expansion, and so on…) but late books and massive returns meant they were losing money. So much so that people who worked in the business thought that comics would be dead and gone by 1980 and were lining up work outside the field. Star Wars sold. And sold. And sold. And sold. And with little other merchandising (only 1 novel and one adaptation), fans flocked to buy the book to get more of that story. And after a misfire by Roy Thomas, the book took hold and was a great companion to the movies.
2) The Disney Ducks- I grew up with the Duck comics, and according to my mother, they were the first thing I ever read on my own. They had a rich mythology that never got in the way of great stories, and to my mind, they are head and shoulders above the cartoons they were licensed from. Just some excellent comics here, and I am glad Fantagraphics is getting them back in print.
1) Conan- The Conan we all know isn’t so much from REH’s stories but from Roy Thomas’s adaptations of those stories. Did you know that in the 70’s, Conan outsold most of the other Marvel books? It was routinely outselling everything except Amazing Spider-Man according to the sales figures I have found, and that continued into the early 80s’, with Savage Sword of Conan being the only survivor of the Black and White line no matter how much people in editorial wanted to kill it off (one highly placed editor was quoted as say he hated the book and it only sold to Bikers and Tattooed freaks). TONS of great stories, Roy Thomas’s best work, John Buscema’s best work and another case of the license being better off for having a comic book.
It’s a shame Marvel had pretty much given up on newsstands by the time Barbie came out, because they would have made a fortune off of it if they could have gotten decent distribution.
Although they sort of retroactively tried to tie in a few Atari games with Atari Force (Star Raiders in particular, IIRC), there actually was an Atari Force branded arcade game, Liberator (here's the rundown from the Killer List of Video Games). Never saw it back in the day, but I have seen it in recent years at Funspot in Laconia, NH, allegedly the world's largest arcade (and site of the infamous "kill screen" scene in King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters)... as far as I can tell, it's reverse Missile Command (you shoot down missiles coming up from a planet rather than ones raining down on it). Nice looking cabinet, though.
Also... POWER LORDS! Enjoyed the comic, loved the toys. Awesome designs on all of the figures. I think I read somewhere that Wayne Barlowe was involved with the design work, which is why the aliens looked so very, well, alien, especially compared to what else was on the pegs at the time. Good as those toys looked, though, they weren't well made. The ones I had all fell apart within just a few years time.
I'll have to post my own top 5 soon.
I worked at Shinder’s in the Minneapolis area which sold magazines, baseball cards, books and comics (as well as other things in the back room) and I could not get enough copies of Barbie EVER! I would stock it with the kids magazines and at the cash register and it would sell as many copies as Spider-Man or X-Men. It was a CONSTANT fight to get the main office to order enough. At one of the first conventions here in the Twin Cities, the Marvel sales guy heard I worked at Shinder’s pulled me aside and said that our chain sold more copies of Barbie than any other comic shop in the US and asked how we did it.
It’s a shame Marvel had pretty much given up on newsstands by the time Barbie came out, because they would have made a fortune off of it if they could have gotten decent distribution.
There's actually a very sad and frustrating story behind Barbie comics--Tom De Falco wanted a line of girls' comics, and Barbie was the first title. I think there were two more titles--I _think_ one might have been Beauty and the Beast. And they were actually doing well--adding readership each month and making a modest profit, from what I've read. Then Marvel got a new owner who unceremoniously axed the girls comic line, and that was the end of that.
Gerry Conway did the writing, George Perez and Klaus Janson did the illustration, Marie Severin on colors and Joe Rosen did the lettering. All of them Bronze Age All-Stars, with GP in the early stages of his legendary career.
It’s a shame Marvel had pretty much given up on newsstands by the time Barbie came out, because they would have made a fortune off of it if they could have gotten decent distribution.
There's actually a very sad and frustrating story behind Barbie comics--Tom De Falco wanted a line of girls' comics, and Barbie was the first title. I think there were two more titles--I _think_ one might have been Beauty and the Beast. And they were actually doing well--adding readership each month and making a modest profit, from what I've read. Then Marvel got a new owner who unceremoniously axed the girls comic line, and that was the end of that.
I remember my LCS owners at the time were more than happy to sell that Barbie book to any little girl who'd come into the store, but they were always frustrated when parents wanted to find back issues for their kids. I remember the manager saying once "If someone wanted a copy of Amazing Fantasy #15, I could track one down and have it in their hands in a week or two. Barbie #1? Forget it! No one has it!"
Also enjoyed reading through the comments!
5. Godzilla, King of the Monsters (Marvel series) - Goofy and far-removed from the movies that inspired it, but this book blew my mind as a kid by combining two of my favorite things, Godzilla and Marvel comics. I loved seeing Godzilla have to contend with the likes of SHIELD, the FF, the Avengers, etc., and I get a real kick out of seeing callbacks to this series in modern comics, like in Incredible Hercules and Matt Fraction's X-Men run.
3. Micronauts - For all the reasons others have said... solid space opera storytelling that you can easily forget spun out of a toyline because the toys (though cool) had so little identity that it was easy to overlay a world entirely of Mantlo's making over it and because it far outlasted said toyline! I agree that the issues drawn by Michael Golden are the best of the bunch, but it stays decent and readable for at least as far as I've been able to collect up to so far.
2. Star Trek - Especially the first volume from DC, which used the original cast to great effect but also introduced a bunch of new supporting characters who were a lot of fun to watch develop (Nancy Bryce, Konom, Bearclaw, etc.); and from the Marvel run in the 90s, Star Trek: Early Voyages, which expanded upon the adventures of Captain Pike's crew. Great series, but frustrating because it ends abruptly on a cliffhanger due to Marvel losing/dropping the license.
2. Uncle Scrooge / Donald Duck - Scrooge came from the comics, and comic book Donald is so different from his animated counterpart as to be a different character, but they came out of the Disney wellspring and everyone else is counting them, so I will, too. Carl Barks and Don Rosa are my favorite Duck men, but there are a lot of other talented creators who worked on these through the years, blending comedy and high adventure in a way that few American creators have ever really managed. I've always said that Barks (and Rosa) was more akin to Herge than anyone else.
1. Doctor Who - Doctor Who comics can be a mixed bag, but when they're really good they do exactly what licensed books should be doing: staying true to the spirit of the original property while taking it in directions that the original show/movie/toys/books/whatever mostly cannot or would not. And when you get creators like Dave Gibbons, Grant Morrison, or Roger Langridge (to name but 3 big names) to do stories or even whole runs, you know they'll take advantage of that opportunity.
Honorable Mentions:
Tarzan (Particularly the Gold Key issues by Russ Manning, which are gorgeously illustrated adventure comics, and the 70s DC series by Joe Kubert, who I think comes closest to capturing the look and feel of the novels.)
Batman '66
Star Wars (loved the Marvel book as a kid)
Crystar (bizarre but fun)
The Muppet Show
Darkwing Duck
The Hallden/Fawcett Dennis the Menace comics (if you can count a comic adapted from another comic form, anyway; the travel specials are particularly good)
Little Lulu (she originated as a Saturday Evening Post gag panel character, so I'd put in a good argument for this, too)
G.I. Joe
Pretty much any 80s Marvel movie adaptation... don't know how they read now, but I loved so many of these as a kid.
Atari Force (only read a few of these, but they're great)
The Adventures of Bob Hope (especially the Super Hip era, but anything where Bob Oksner got to draw cute women is okay by me)
John Byrne actually used the U.S. 1 cast - TWICE! - in Sensational She-Hulk. It was kind of awesome.
http://www.previewsworld.com/Home/1/1/71/977?articleID=151106
Tarzan (DC Comics) #207 Apr-1972 to #230 Apr-May 1974.
This was the 1972 DC series that had continued numbering from Western Publishing (A.K.A. DELL & Gold Key), who had had the license for comics since 1952, their final issue being #206. That run had some fine moments with artists Russ Manning (Tarzan, Korak, Magnus, Star Wars newspaper strip, others) and Doug Wildey (Western comics artist, Jonny Quest TV show fame, RIO), but the character really reached a pinnacle in comics when DC took over the license. Joe Kubert was the Writer/Artist/Editor for a two year stint and his storytelling, and moody artwork are breathtaking. Some of the stories were adaptations, some were original but all of them captured “Darkest Africa” and Tarzan has never looked – or read – better in comics before or since. In fact, when these Kubert issues were reprinted by Dark Horse as part of their “Tarzan Archives” series, my only complaint is that the paper was too “white.” Something about the older paper, even when newly published, had almost a tint of brown. Some of the jungle mood Kubert’s art brought was lost in a bright background but don’t let that stop you. HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION!
John's $1 Back-Issue-Bin Rating: Low. Tough to find in the $1 boxes but they're out there at dealer shows & online for reasonable prices. It's also been collected in hardback, Tarzan-Archives-Joe-Kubert-Years by Dark Horse Comics.
The Shadow Strikes (DC Comics) #1 Sept 1989 - #15 Jan 1991, only.
This series ran from September 1989 - May 1992 for 31 issues but issues that make my “Top 5” are issues #1 thru #15, all written by Gerard Jones (Then a prolific writer for DC) and beautiful art by Eduardo Barreto. Jones really brought out that pre-war 1930s pulp feel in the stories. I’m a fan of the current licensed efforts of the character being published by Dynamite Entertainment. To compare, Jones’ stories are as interesting, as “pulp” violent, just not as graphically depicted.
The art? Just wow. Baretto is and remains one of the finest artists in comics during this period. In the pre-John Byrne Superman of the early 1980s Barreto was the main cover artist on “Superman” and “Action Comics,” later becoming the main artist on “New Teen Titans” for a very long run. He was a native of Uruguay, and had that wonderful South American art style; obviously influenced by Alex Toth, Warren Tuffs, and Garcia Lopez. Sadly he passed away in 2011.
John's $1 Back-Issue-Bin Rating: High. Easy to find online or at comic shows $1 or less.
Star Trek (DC Comics) #1 Feb 1984 - #16 – July 1985, only.
This series has had multiple publishers. Originally published by Western (Gold Key) and ran from July 1967 - March 1979. Most issues the art was by the legendary Italian artist, Alberto Giolitti. These are fun to read and the art as expected is beautiful. Fun fact: Being in Italy, at first Alberto was not given any photo reference for the characters, just descriptions. He nailed it, no question.
From Apr-1980 thru Feb 1982 it was taken over by Marvel Comics, who published 18 issues with mixed results. Picking up in continuity after the first Star trek movie, “Star Trek - The Motion Picture,” both stories, characters, and art were inconsistent. The stories were all original and without inside-industry-information, they read as if Paramount and Marvel were not on the same page, so to speak. The writers were numerous (Wolfman, Tom DeFalco, Martin Pasko, J. M. DeMatteis, Mike Barr), and numerous artists (Dave Cockrum, Mike Nasser, Joe Brozowski, Luke McDonnell, Ed Hannigan, others.)
The interpretation I think is the “best” is DC Comics’ first attempt, Feb 1984 thru #56 Nov 1988. Though the entire run is fairly solid, the first 16 issues - written by Mike W. Barr, with art by Tom Sutton & Ricardo Villagran – is how this title makes my list. What makes this series work is the obvious (And stated in the letters columns) close and trusted relationship between DC and Paramount. The stories are tight, within continuity of the TV show and films, and have that great “feel” to them. The story continuity picks up after the second Star Trek film, “Star Trek – The Wrath of Khan,” and before “Star Trek – The Search for Spock.” The first eight issues happen between “Star Trek – Search for Spock,” with the Annual acting as the movie adaptation, re-introducing the Spock character back into the fold with #9. The first story arc is four issues and involved battling the Klingons, followed by a few character driven issues, while the second story arc picks up in #9 with the much anticipated (And since much reprinted) return to the “Mirror Universe” in an eight issue story arc that concludes in #16.
John's $1 Back-Issue-Bin Rating: High. Easy to find at $1 or less.
Lone Ranger (Dynamite Entertainment) #1 Jan 2012 – #25, June 2014
From 2006 to 2011 Dynamite Entertainment published 26 issues of Lone Ranger (vol 1). This series written by Brett Matthews, with art by Sergio Cariello, just never caught my attention. It was a different interpretation, one that I felt was not that heroic, and the stories themselves seemed to move slowly.
In 2012 Dynamite Entertainment they re-launched the series, not tied to or related to the previous Dynamite Entertainment series. This series featured stunning covers by Francesco Francavilla, beautiful interior artwork by Esteve Polls (To me reminiscent of John Severin), and scripts by Ande Parks. This series defined the traditional heroism. The character of the Lone Ranger was fair and just, without being hokey. Tonto was an equal, not to the detriment of the Lone Ranger character (Hey, you listening Disney!?), and was to as interesting as the main character. In fact, if the comic market were better I’d assume a Tonto mini-series. Both the main characters were fleshed out and had distinct ethics and morals. The stories were harsh, gritty w/out being gratuitous, and really had the “feel” of the old west. Simply one of the best western comics I’ve ever read.
As good are two additional self-contained mini-series from Dynamic Entertainment:
-The 2011 five issue mini-series “Lone Ranger & Zorro: The Death of Zorro” with coves by Francesco Francavilla, interior artwork by Esteve Polls and scripts by Ande Parks.
-The 2012 four issue miniseries “The Lone Ranger: Snake of Iron” with covers by multiple artists and script by Chuck Dixon.
John's $1 Back-Issue-Bin Rating: High. Easy to find online but with low print runs might be harder than others to find at cons.
Zorro – Dynamite Entertainment
With apologies to Alex Toth’s version, the Dynamite Zorro comics are excellent. The first series ran 20 issues from February 2008 – March 2010. All were written by Matt Wagner, most having covers and interior art by Francesco Francavilla.
The second series is “Zorro Rides Again” and ran for 12 issues August 2011 - October 2012. Matt Wagner wrote it and numerous quality artists did interiors, from Esteve Polls and John K. Snyder III. Like with the Dynamite Entertainment Lone Ranger series, the heroics are classic but updated for today's audience, with fantastic artwork.
John's $1 Back-Issue-Bin Rating: High. Easy to find online but with low print runs might be harder than others to find at cons.
Also, COMICO's "Jonny Quest", and NOW Comics "Racer X" (Second series by Chuck Dixon)
I've had to travel to San Diego and Portland in the last two weeks, visited some fabulous shops, and am now the proud owner of Micronauts (original series) issues # 1 - 33. All reader copies, most out of dollar bins except number 1, which I got took on, I'm afraid, but I had to have it.
I'm going to sit down and start reading them this afternoon. If I can find good enough copies, I might even get them bound.
Thanks again!