Duplex planet Denizens of deep city Dynamo Joe dNAgents
All of those were great books. I loved dNAgents a LOT, especially the Surge mini-series about the futility of revenge.
Doug Potter (who did Denizens of Deep City) did another comic I LOVED, a one shot called "Chips and Vanilla" I think. I should dig that up...haven't read it since it came out.
Is it true that Doug Potter moved from comics to editorial cartooning?
This recommendation (which I haven't read) reminded me of another recommendation you made on the show a while back (which I do have) Muth's The Mythology of an Abandoned City. That reminded me of another Tundra story that I loved at the time that came out in their Taboo anthology called "Through the Habitrails". It's been put together in a single volume at least a couple of times. It was very unique at the time it came out. If you hate your job or are a bit rudderless when you read it, you'll either love it or relate to the point where you want to jump off a bridge.
Thinking of this because I have Spidey on the brain right now, but one book that never gets/got enough love was Marvel Adventures Spider-Man. It has often been dismissed as the kids book, but though it may be designed to appeal to younger readers, it never has never read as "kiddie" fare and often feels like old school Marvel. It got especially good once Paul Tobin took over and started introducing his own continuity (even though the stories were done-in-ones) with new characters, new takes on old characters, and some subtle, interesting changes to the status quo. Basically, it was kinda like Ultimate Spider-Man without all the angst or the bodycount.
Plus, Tobin made The Blonde Phantom a recurring character, and she's just awesome. Gotta love a leggy female detective in a domino mask and an evening gown.
Thinking of this because I have Spidey on the brain right now, but one book that never gets/got enough love was Marvel Adventures Spider-Man. It has often been dismissed as the kids book, but though it may be designed to appeal to younger readers, it never has never read as "kiddie" fare and often feels like old school Marvel. It got especially good once Paul Tobin took over and started introducing his own continuity (even though the stories were done-in-ones) with new characters, new takes on old characters, and some subtle, interesting changes to the status quo. Basically, it was kinda like Ultimate Spider-Man without all the angst or the bodycount.
Plus, Tobin made The Blonde Phantom a recurring character, and she's just awesome. Gotta love a leggy female detective in a domino mask and an evening gown.
I love Marvel Adventures Spidey and the Marvel Adventures Avengers titles. Found a nice shirt with the MA Avengers lineup on it. Plus MA Spidey is the title that got both my youngest son and my lil cousin into reading comics.
You know, I'm glad I'm not the only one who saw 'Thor: The Might Avenger' as a fantastic book? I've been hyping that series since it ended. Thought there was some amazing things in that series.
The only thing I can think of currently though it 'Hypernaturals' by Abnett and Lanning. I haven't really heard anyone talk about this book (only issue one is out so maybe thats why) but so far I'm loving it.
You know, I'm glad I'm not the only one who saw 'Thor: The Might Avenger' as a fantastic book? I've been hyping that series since it ended. Thought there was some amazing things in that series.
The only thing I can think of currently though it 'Hypernaturals' by Abnett and Lanning. I haven't really heard anyone talk about this book (only issue one is out so maybe thats why) but so far I'm loving it.
I picked up #1 after really digging the FCBD issue. So, I'm right there with you!
Not a comic book, but related - the Ang Lee Hulk movie.
Related.. like that relative no one in the family talks about, who only shows up on special occasions to talk about the glory days of high school and ask for money, and, without fail, somehow clogs up your toilet.
Grimjack is a fantastic comic!!!!! Anything Truman does is. I love the man!
Grimjack was a book that was under-rated back when it was running....ALL of the books at First were influential in the leap forward comics took, American Flagg created the new form of storytelling with overlapping transitions, Jon Sable pioneered the return of crime and adventure books, Grimjack dealt with a true SF concept and a rougher style of storytelling...
Out of all the books First put out under Mike Gold, I don't think there was a single stinker.
Grimjack is a fantastic comic!!!!! Anything Truman does is. I love the man!
Grimjack was a book that was under-rated back when it was running....ALL of the books at First were influential in the leap forward comics took, American Flagg created the new form of storytelling with overlapping transitions, Jon Sable pioneered the return of crime and adventure books, Grimjack dealt with a true SF concept and a rougher style of storytelling...
Out of all the books First put out under Mike Gold, I don't think there was a single stinker.
I haven't found a First comic that I don't like. One that seems to be forgotten is Evangeline. The original Warrior Nun.
I've touted the web comic Lackadaisy Cats in other threads, but now that the series is available in a collected hardbound edition (the softbound has been out for a few years now), I feel Tracy J. Butler's prohibition era sepia-toned online strip deserves another shout-out. Tracy's artwork is truly stunning. Here's a recent example of what she's capable of when she adds color to the mix:
Since I started one topic yesterday, I'll start up the flip side today. We've talked about books on-going that people are pointing out, but this is a discussion for the hidden gems, the books that slipped past us or just never ever got their just due when it comes to critical acclaim or fan awareness.
For me, the best example of this is the comic "Mars" by Marc Hempel and Mark Wheatley. It was overshadowed by First Publishing's other big successes like American Flagg, Nexus and Grimjack, but I thought it was JUST as good as those series, and had the potential to be better. It was a science fiction story that had strong characters, hard choices for the characters to make, and didn't become a space opera or super-heroes in a SF setting. I see that IDW recently did a collection of the series, but that didn't get much attention either, which is a damn shame.
Other examples are:
Marvel's late Silver Age horror books Tower of Shadows and Chamber of Darkness. They were an attempt to do the kind of horror stories DC was doing in House of Mystery and Warren was doing in Creepy and Eerie, and had art by all of their best Silver Age artists like Sternanko, Kirby, Buscema, Colon and some of the best Don Heck art of his career. The stories were a notch above the short horror stories being done elsewhere, and STILL read well.
Ms. Tree - The comic that got me hooked on hard boiled crime fiction. Max Allen Collins wove great mystery/detective stories and Terry Beatty drew them in a classic style. I dove into the book and quickly became a huge fan of the genre, reading Collin's novels and moving out from there. I STILL feel like there is a lot more to explore in the genre, and I don't think the current crime boomlet in comics would exist if not for this book showing the way and bringing the genre back into comics.
Anyone else?
Actually, I remember Mars getting a good bit of critical acclaim at the time. Unfortunately, that never really translated into sales, I guess. I agree it was quite good, but I also think the art style never really appealed to most fans.
And I loved Marvel's Tower Of Shadows and Chamber Of Darkness; one of my favorite stories in those short-lived series was a creepy little piece by Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams. They were severely overshadowed by their competitors, but they put in some solid stories. As I recall, Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith contributed a short barbarian adventure story that served as a test run for Conan.
I am reading the early 2000's "New Mutants", "New X-Men", "Young X-Men" series of books, and right up until the House of M crossover, it's a REALLY fun book. Lots of the "Teenage super-hero angst" that I liked in the 80's on Teen Titans and New Mutants.
When they get back from House of M, it becomes a shockfest or "lets' see how many characters we can kill THIS issue", and I am shocked as just how bad it all was. But that first batch of issue was good YA fiction and laid the groundwork for what could have been a long running series. Pity they had to turn it into a stupid bloodbath.
I shot Erik a tweet last year and asked what a good starting point would be and he suggested Back in Blue. i picked up a copy and was a little disappointed. i get the idea of every issue bing a jumping on point but reading "Previously in Savage Dragon" every 15 pages in a trade got old quick. he was a nice dude but i didn't dig the comic. too bad too cuz i was excited about starting something new with a good solid history.
I dug in right at the beginning with Baptism of Fire. It's chock-full of 90s goodness (or badness) but there's an inherent "fun" to the book that you see rarely if at all anymore.
I dug in right at the beginning with Baptism of Fire. It's chock-full of 90s goodness (or badness) but there's an inherent "fun" to the book that you see rarely if at all anymore.
I started SD with the original mini series. And then read the monthly series till the Savage World arc. Stopped then. But have slowly picked up the trades and issues from when I quit to whatever is current. Still need to read them. But SD,1963 and The Maxx are the only early Image stuff I enjoy.
Atari Force > I know it was a licensed property, but man they did some great things. Im gonna go out on a limb and call it the best licensed property work from that era, over GI Joe (narrowly, though it might be due to Joe overstaying its welcome)
I've recently picked up the first 12 issue of Atari Force from a used book store and I enjoyed them. Atari Force is on my list of under rated comics.
Atari Force > I know it was a licensed property, but man they did some great things. Im gonna go out on a limb and call it the best licensed property work from that era, over GI Joe (narrowly, though it might be due to Joe overstaying its welcome)
I've recently picked up the first 12 issue of Atari Force from a used book store and I enjoyed them. Atari Force is on my list of under rated comics.
good call, not the first time I have heard that. i may have to flip through some of those if they ever turn up somewhere.
As for sci-fi series, I can never recommend Little White Mouse enough. It's the story of a teenage girl who gets trapped on a largely abandoned asteroid mining station and how she survives, escapes, tries to get back home. She's a genius, and clever and spirited besides, so the ways in which she deals with the problems she's faced with are always unusual, brilliant, and fun, particularly the way in which she keeps her dead sister's memory alive. There are robots, space pirates, time travel, a ghost, and more. You can read the entire series in one omnibus, and really, you should go and do that right now.
I like Little White Mouse and that is one book that didn't get much attention. I only knew about it because I came across the creator's, Paul Sizer, table in the artist alley at the Motor City Comic Con ages ago.
Comments
Denizens of deep city
Dynamo Joe
dNAgents
Doug Potter (who did Denizens of Deep City) did another comic I LOVED, a one shot called "Chips and Vanilla" I think. I should dig that up...haven't read it since it came out.
Is it true that Doug Potter moved from comics to editorial cartooning?
Read some of all three. Never heard of Denizens of Deep city. But I really didn't get heavy into indy stuff till around 88 or so.
Plus, Tobin made The Blonde Phantom a recurring character, and she's just awesome. Gotta love a leggy female detective in a domino mask and an evening gown.
The only thing I can think of currently though it 'Hypernaturals' by Abnett and Lanning. I haven't really heard anyone talk about this book (only issue one is out so maybe thats why) but so far I'm loving it.
Related like that.
:)
I never hear anyone talk about this great comic. What I loved is it covered every genre. And the Tim Truman artwork is well done.
Out of all the books First put out under Mike Gold, I don't think there was a single stinker.
The archived web strips can be read here.
http://www.lackadaisycats.com/archive.php
Here's an early promo video (fan made, if I'm not mistaken).
Apparently a fan has made what amounts to a motion comic of the web comic and posted it on YouTube (here's the first of three installments).
And I loved Marvel's Tower Of Shadows and Chamber Of Darkness; one of my favorite stories in those short-lived series was a creepy little piece by Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams. They were severely overshadowed by their competitors, but they put in some solid stories. As I recall, Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith contributed a short barbarian adventure story that served as a test run for Conan.
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When they get back from House of M, it becomes a shockfest or "lets' see how many characters we can kill THIS issue", and I am shocked as just how bad it all was. But that first batch of issue was good YA fiction and laid the groundwork for what could have been a long running series. Pity they had to turn it into a stupid bloodbath.
Man, I've been missing out on some fun funnybooks!