The Ninth Day of Classic Comics Christmas '06 [Archive]

Budman

12-22-2006, 09:54 AM

4. Batman

The character of Batman can work in different ways. He can be the man driven by witnessing the murder of his parents when he was a boy to dedicating himself to making sure that kind of tragedy never has to happen again to anyone else. It's an impossible task, to be sure. But don't tell him that.

He can be a man on the side of the angels who is nonetheless driven by demons and must always be careful lest the demons take control.

He can be the man fighting against inner city crime and coming up against the gritty and violent realities of life.

He can be an adventurer who has trained himself to outfight, outthink, and outdo nearly everyone.

He can be the mysterious protector of the city whose name is only spoken of in whispers and who seems to exist only in shadows. Is he a man or a myth? Some claim they have been touched by his actions. Some say they have seen him on top of buildings at night, brooding over those under his care.

He can be The World's Greatest Detective, finding clues where others see nothing and forming conclusions while others come up empty.

He can be a masterful escape artist, extricating himself from lethal situations.

He can be a costumed superhero with a secret identity fighting colorful and eccentric foes with his abilities and his gadgets. He can tackle supernatural threats and alien invaders as well and is a member of a superhero team, often playing the role of a general, strategizing the ways to beat their unbeatable enemies.

He can be the Hero Of The People and wave at children as he patrols in the Batmobile in broad daylight on his way to a charity fundraiser. He can appear on talk shows, the police commissioner can call him on the hotline, and he has his own comic book from DC.

He can be a campy figure who chose to put on a bat costume and a cape in order to fight evil, instead of becoming a policeman or a forensics professor. He foils robberies, that have outrageous themes, with the help of his junior partner and the two of them make puns as they throw punches at the bad guys. Then they escape some absurd death trap in which the villain has placed them instead of just shooting them or tossing them off the side of a building when he had the chance.

Or Batman can be some combination or combinations of all of the above. At various times during his long “career” he has been all of these things and more. Because he is so durable, adaptable, I’m sure my great-grandchildren will still be reading about either The Caped Crusader or The Dark Knight or some combination of the two.

And Batman always clicks with me no matter who he is at the moment. I related to him as a kid caught up in the “Pow!” and the “Wham!” I relate to him as a pastor who broods over my congregations. While at one church, I was even tempted to climb up in the bell tower to do so. Fortunately I resisted that temptation, but I felt the pull of The Batman just the same.

Aaron King

12-22-2006, 09:59 AM

4. Howard the Duck
I discovered Howard the Duck during my first summer away from home. Living on my own, searching for a job and unable to find one, hungry and self-examining, fed up with the world around me… well, if you’ve read Steve Gerber’s defining run on Howard, you’ll know why it resonated with me. Sure, there were political comics before The Duck, and Marvel’s always been a little bit satirical and self-deprecating, but in Howard, there was a unity of art and story and iconoclasm that I haven’t encountered since. Gene Colan somehow makes Howard look as realistic as the rest of the people he draws and the material is nowhere near as dated as it could be.

Howard himself is a great blend of what I assume every reader/writer wants to be (honest, introspective, assertive, proactive) and ends up being (cynical, angry, often poor, and sometimes crazy). Plus he’s a classy dresser and master of Quack Fu.

Everything I Need to Know About Howard The Duck I Learned From: Essential Howard the Duck

Howard for President (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d7/Howard_The_Duck_-8.jpg)

dan bailey

12-22-2006, 10:03 AM

4 -- Terra

They say women always seem drawn to bad boys ... I'm sure I'm not the only one drawn to this bad girl. (Actually, I gather that one of the essays in Give Our Regards to the Atomsmashers concerns the writer's youthful crush on the character, but when I glanced through a copy of the book at Barnes & Noble when it was new a few years ago I didn't know Terra -- or, for that matter, any Teen Titan not named Robin, Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, Aqualad or Speedy -- from a hole in the ground, so I paid no attention. Note to self: Pick this one up someday.)

*sigh* Cigarette-dangling, much-older-supervillain-shagging, treachery-plotting, Changeling-heartbreaking Terra, possessed of so convincingly complicated a character that she was never one-dimensionally bad, so much so that I was never truly convinced that when push came to shove she'd try to do in her fellow Titans ... until, of course, she actually bought the farm while in the midst of trying to do just that.

Created purely (Marv Wolfman has told us) to be destroyed ... what a truly memorable character. I gather that she's been sort of resurrected in some post-'80s Titans incarnation or other, both in the comics & on TV, but that ain't the real Terra. (Heck, the latest Terra trotted out a couple of weeks ago in Supergirl isn't even blonde, for chrissakes ... though of course with Amanda Conner drawing not only that ish but also the upcoming mini devoted to the character, I can't really complain too bitterly.) It can't be. She's *choke* dead.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c129/arktrav/terra.jpg

Lone Ranger

12-22-2006, 10:14 AM

4. Daredevil

Yup – this list is very heavily populated by the mainstream superhero crowd (and it’s only going to get worse). When I sat down and thought of who I really loved, that’s just the way it turned out. Daredevil appealed to me from a very young age, and he’s the reason I became a lawyer. Actually, that’s not true – but he and Foggy made the legal profession look pretty interesting.

I was 8 or so when Frank Miller got his hands on this title and I loved it. Many of my favourite issues were published when I was 10 years old (I’m talking issues #179-191 or thereabouts). Even though they were quite sophisticated, I understood that this was groundbreaking stuff. Most of those issues seem as fresh today as they did back then.

Some people see Daredevil as Marvel’s version of Batman. He fights crime at the street level and is pretty far from omnipotent. I’ve never really bought into that comparison, but if that’s how people see DD, I’m cool with that. You could do a lot worse than a second rate Batman.

There is much more to DD than that, though. Sure, he has risen from tragedy – but his style and surroundings are very different. Daredevil operates in a very small neighbourhood and, although he is part of the Marvel Universe, seems to keep it at arm’s length. He has a circle of friends and colleagues, but never lets anyone get too close. His love life has been a mess – and who can’t relate to that?

Miller’s run is the finest in my mind, but I truly appreciate almost all of Daredevil’s eras – even the Mike Murdock lunacy. That is fun, fun stuff to read. I had my doubts when the title was relaunched in the late 90s, but was pleasantly surprised. I haven’t picked up a DD book in a few years now, but I have heard very good things about the past few arcs and will look for TPBs.

Matt Murdock is probably as well developed a character, as you’ll find in superhero book. Over the course of years, writers and artists have really made sure that readers get a feel for the world his inhabits. His friends seem real and some of his enemies even plausible. All in all, it is hard not to root for the guy. I love Daredevil – always have and I always will.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/scottandkat/CBR/top12/DD1-sm.jpg

Slam_Bradley

12-22-2006, 10:23 AM

Dian Belmont

Where to begin with Ms. Belmont. She may be the most fully realized character that I've seen in comics. She is frequently a living contradiction. She loves the nightlife of depression era New York, but follows her nights of conspicuous consumpton with days of helping the downtrodden. She's a natural investigator, but balks (at least initially) at Wes' extracurricular activities. She accepts Wes' limitations on their relationship though it's clear she wishes for more.

I love this character and together with Wes Dodds she made every issue of Sandman Mystery Theatre a book to look forward to.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v67/teland/4ch/transliteration3.jpg

glue

12-22-2006, 10:36 AM

4. Daredevil

I have a (rather crappy) Daredevil tattoo and yet the only Daredevil stuff I've ever read is THE MAN WITHOUT FEAR trade (which I read post-tattooing).

SamuraiJack

12-22-2006, 10:43 AM

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v79/SamuraiJack31/RobinJonboy007007.jpg

ROBIN!

While I kinda like Dick Grayson, I don’t really think it’s fair to call him Robin anymore. My favorite Robin is Tim Drake, for a variety of reasons. First, he brought a much-needed update to the costume. Second, he’s everything Dick was and more. Maybe it’s just the more modern feel, but to me Tim seems to be head and shoulders above Dick in every aspect. He’s a better fighter (bo staff fighting RULES!), thinker, and son to Bruce. He’s got more style, charisma, and skills. In short, he’s everything Robin should have been all along. Again, it’s probably the more modern take, and I don’t want to disrespect Mr. Grayson in any way. It’s just how I see it.

I’ve got way too many favorite Robin stories to name, but I think I’ll put his first appearance (as Robin III) down: Batman #457. It’s a great story in its own right, but Tim trying to convince Dick Batman needs Robin again was awesome! And when Dick refuses to put on the costume, instead offering to help as Nightwing, Tim takes matters into his own hands and saves the day.

Tim Drake almost made the top 3 on my list, and as wishy-washy as I am he’ll likely supplant one of them soon, but for now he’s #4…

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v79/SamuraiJack31/ROBIN_100_2.jpg

(I'm one of the all-costume guys! *grins*)

Chris N

12-22-2006, 11:15 AM

4. Black Knight (Dane Whitman)

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o1/CocaC0la99/black20knight.gif

This is one I've never been able to put into words. It's largely as personal connection to the character developed early on in the Harras/Epting Avengers days of the '90s, which involved his love quadrilateral with Crystal/Sersi/Quicksilver, Sersi going insane, and the mystery of Proctor. I highly recommend Avengers #343-375 (345-347,368-369 are parts of bigger crossovers, which is unfortunate, and 352-354 is a fill-in story which is ignorable)

He just seemed so... cool. Trying to atone for his uncle's misdeeds. Man of science thrust into a legacy of sorcery. Wielder of the cursed blade which has haunted his family for generations.

Also see his first appearance in Avengers #47-48, his journeys in the past as a crusader in Black Knight #1-4, Marvel Fanfare #52-54, and his time with the Roger Stern Avengers Avengers 252-297. All good stuff.

Red Oak Kid

12-22-2006, 11:25 AM

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q144/redoakkid/akamand3.jpg

4. Kamandi the Last Boy On Earth

I just love the concept of this. It really appeals to me. I remember seeing the ads showing the cover of ish 1 and being really excited. And the book itself lived up to the hype. I devoured those first Kirby issues. I couldn't wait to find out what happened next. Just a great concept.

Hintermann

12-22-2006, 12:08 PM

#4 Dennis the Menace: I’m referring to little Dennis Mitchell created by Hank Ketcham and not the stupid character from the British Beano comics using the same name. I ‘met’ DtM in 1965 and have been hooked since then. He is a great kid with more than a slight tendency for practical jokes, the favourite butt of which is his neighbour Mr Wilson - whose blood pressure constantly threatens to spew out of his ears after his encounters with Dennis. DtM’s parents Alice & Henry don’t get off easily themselves, but over time they have learned to tolerate cookie crumbles on the kitchen floor, muddy little footprints on the carpet just before guests arrive or their son playing Cowboys & Injuns with his pals on a Sunday morning. Not that the rest of the World is spared; whether the family is vacationing in Hawaii or visiting Hollywood, you can bet your shirt that Dennis would leave his footprint and more in the place. DtM has passed himself off as a clown at the Big Top Circus, successfully mail-ordered a live elephant for Christmas, disrupted a full days filming at Universal Studios and let loose a shipment of monkeys on board an overseas flight, to quote a few if his exploits. Apart from these minor mishaps, he is a good kid really and likes his root beer, slingshot, pet dog Ruff and cowboy TV shows.

Dennis in Hawaii is probably his most popular comic book, but those featuring his visits to Hollywood, Mexico, the Circus or a visit to the Summer Camp are not far behind.

Simon Garth

12-22-2006, 12:26 PM

Abducted by aliens, Paul Lithgow’s brain is transplanted into a strange, alien-made, android body with amazing abilities – strong, durable, without needing to breath, he can walk (slowly) across the floor of the Atlantic ocean. At other times, the body grows elaborate antlers that leave him unable to move due to their extent.

The body resembles an earthly substance, and that resemblance gives the character his name: Concrete

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/94/Concrete_-_Strange_Armor_TPB_Cover.jpg/387px-Concrete_-_Strange_Armor_TPB_Cover.jpg

dan bailey

12-22-2006, 12:40 PM

As I mentioned earlier today, Simon, I just ordered the first Concrete TPB & am really looking forward to it, given my complete lack of familiarity with the comic. Man, I'm getting old ... I'm pretty sure I remember Chadwick as a fanzine artist (oriented more towards sf than comics, if memory serves) in the mid-'70s.

Red Oak Kid

12-22-2006, 02:08 PM

#4 Dennis the Menace: Dennis in Hawaii is probably his most popular comic book, but those featuring his visits to Hollywood, Mexico, the Circus or a visit to the Summer Camp are not far behind.

I had the Hollywood book in the 60s. He visited the set of Father Knows Best which I thought was cool. I reread that comic many times.

scratchie

12-22-2006, 02:25 PM

I have a (rather crappy) Daredevil tattoo and yet the only Daredevil stuff I've ever read is THE MAN WITHOUT FEAR trade (which I read post-tattooing).Did you lose a bet?

Hintermann

12-22-2006, 02:40 PM

I had the Hollywood book in the 60s. He visited the set of Father Knows Best which I thought was cool. I reread that comic many times.

Do you recall Dennis' meeting with a character sending up Gary Cooper in the Western lot?

scratchie

12-22-2006, 02:42 PM

I've got to get me a scanner, but my next choice is the fabulous Enid Coleslaw from "Ghost World" (on the right).

http://www.agitators.com/images/enid.gif

Yeah, I guess I've got a thing for alienated teenagers.

Daniel Clowes said in an interview that Enid was supposed to be like a cool friend that he wished he had when he was a teen. She's smart, she's funny, she's extremely sarcastic, and she hates living in a culture that makes absolutely no sense to her. If she grew up to be a superhero, she'd probably be Valkyrie.

The thing that blew me away when I first discovered Eightball (and "Ghost World" specifically) is that Clowes had, amazingly, written a comic book about teens who actually spoke and acted like real teenagers. It's even more impressive that he's a guy writing about girls and (I think) managed to capture the feminine aspects of their personalities as well.

The Ghost World movie is funny, and well-done, but if you've only seen the movie, you really owe it to yourself to read the comic. The comic digs much more deeply into the relationship between Enid and her friend Rebecca, and it rings a lot more truly (compared to the movie, which winds up as a fantasy for middle-aged male geeks in a lot of ways).

What's even more impressive is that "Ghost World" was (as far as I can recall) the first "realistic" piece that Clowes attempted in Eightball (which had previously been comprised of surrealistic sci-fi and outrageously disgusting humor), and only the second serialized story he'd done (after "Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron"), yet he managed to create a masterpiece, featuring one of the most touching and humanistic comic book heroines I've ever seen.

Red Oak Kid

12-22-2006, 02:50 PM

Do you recall Dennis' meeting with a character sending up Gary Cooper in the Western lot?

Sorry, no. But in the 60s I had no idea who Gary Cooper was.

I just remember the Father Knows Best set with fake walls and Robert Young wearing a make-up bib.:o

benday-dot

12-22-2006, 05:21 PM

Hulk… When I was a kid looking for the latest comic book on the spinner rack it was always for the Incredible Hulk that I would first look. With no weapons, with only a rope for a belt you got the impression that the green goliath could tear apart the world if he wished. Hulk was all muscle when he set to work. He was so fundamental, so damn strong. He was what the philosophers would call authentic. And when he got into those rages, complete with his signature, “the madder hulk gets the stronger he gets”, nothing topped it for a pure adrenaline rush. He could clap his hands and upset an army. He could shove his hands into the ground, grab hold of the earth and whip it about like one would a carpet, sending great ripples down the stretch

“Hulk will smash!”… What more is there to say? And smash he did, with aplomb and abandon. The thing about the Incredible Hulk and all that naïve violence is that he is really of course one of the good guys. If the Hulk has always been comics’ supreme exemplar of mindless destruction, always has that wrath, and the fists that carry it, been void of any nihilism, bearing none of the malice invested in the most vengeful and simpering of villains. The guy is pure of heart. Now of course my Hulk is not the Hulk everyone relates too. While I love the early Kirby and Ditko portrayals, and then too the Trimpe version, the Hulk closest to me is the Len Wein/Sal Buscema incarnation, closely followed by the Steve Gerber/S. Busecema/Klaus Janson rendition of the Defenders.

Yes, Hulk was a charter member of the Defenders. The monster stood among heroes, and I like to think it was the time where he felt he most belonged among the “puny humans”, where he could finally speak of friends. Always, you couldn’t help but feel sympathy for the Hulk. It’s an old archetype. Hounded like Frankenstein’s monster, the Hulk is a freak of science, ever wanting peace, belonging and love. It was never easy. The brute with the heart of the child too often hurt those he loves. He did not understand others and hardly himself. Mostly he knew only pain. Perhaps, the Hulk, at once freed from and bound to the human condition, is the character feeling the deepest kinship with nature and the truly innocent of the world. There is a scene from Gerber’s Defender’s where this comes poignantly and most humourlsy apparent. The Hulk is shown at peace in a verdant place and seen to be delighting at the sight of grazing fawn. He takes the deer for a pet, and in the midst of a story that leaps directly out of Marvel’s monster heritage, the one character who is the most direct descendent of the club of Atlas baddies, proves that he is the least monstrous of all. The Hulk... simple, sweet, and magnificent.

http://www.comics.org/graphics/covers/2348/400/2348_4_005.jpg

T GUy

12-22-2006, 05:56 PM

In the 4th place we have...

Batman

I know the Batman is the cliche of everyone's favourite character,
but if one thinks about it for a while one realises that this status is well
deserved. He combines the template of the aristocrat-hero (Robin Hood, etc.)
with the orphan; he is also omnicompetant, or as good as. He is also able to
survive multiple interpretations; when I came on board in the boisterous
Bronze Age, he was the darknight detective in Batman and Detective Comics, and some kind of Bond-like international adventurer in The Brave and The Bold and World's Finest Comics, in the latter of which he would often appear with his son. He is also able to survive interpretations by creators of varying talents, a sure-fire sign of a good, possibly great, character. Moreover, he is a member of the Justice League of America, along with Superman, Wonder Woman and the Martian Manhunter - and is not completely outclassed by these three.

MWGallaher

12-22-2006, 06:14 PM

http://home.comcast.net/~vicoscia/images/Cap.jpg

#4: Captain Marvel
No, not that Captain Marvel.
No, not that Captain Marvel, either.
The M.F. Enterprises Captain Marvel. Hey, he's the first superhero comic book character whose series I ever remember owning, ok? Give me a break! And c'mon, splitting your body into multiple, independent flying parts isn't such a lame superpower. It's actually a lot more useful than powers held by more successful characters like, say, Gambit, or Cloak, or...well, just trust me, splitting into 7-10 different body parts is a cool power, really. And they can all fly, did I mention that? And you're an android from another planet? And your friends and enemies are all swiped from other comic book companies' characters?
OK, I'm not gonna convince anyone. Purely personal choice, based on the fond memories of a 6-year-old in the back of a Nash, awed by the body-splitting magnificence of Roger Winkle, a.k.a. Captain Marvel...at least for a year..

Lone Ranger

12-22-2006, 06:59 PM

MWG

That's the best example of Captain "SPLIT!" Marvel fan art I've ever seen.

Of course, it's the only example I've ever seen - but that's beside the point.

Honestly, I'll bet you could convince Marvel to launch a new series based on that pic alone.

I am really enjoying the 'personal' selections. You can't ignore your early loves.

Kan-Man

12-22-2006, 09:56 PM

#4... Sgt. Rock

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c118/Kan-Man/joekubert.jpg

This is almost as much a vote for Joe Kubert as it is for Rock. Not that I don't enjoy Russ Heath or Frank Redondo's interpretations of the character, it's just that for me Kubert and Rock were made for each other.

The thing that appeals to me most about Rock is that he's driven - he just keeps going regardless of the obstacle. Kubert drew Rock like he did Tarzan - certainly in fine physical shape, but not a muscle bound brute. In other words, he could get his butt kicked from time to time but that just made him even more determined. I loved those scenes where he's fighting a guy twice his size and he just keeps coming back for more. And I loved the ripped knees and shirts showing you the guy's been through hell and back.

Sure, the dialogue at times was a bit over the top (I'm not sure anyone has ever uttered the phrase "combat happy joes" convincingly) but the character never lost his appeal to me.

I'm so glad Ah-nuld never got his film project off the ground. An Austrian playing Frank Rock? Uh, no. (Just so I don't offend anyone - I'm sure there are Austrians who could play the role convincingly, just not that one.)

glue

12-22-2006, 10:52 PM

Did you lose a bet?

No. An old friend is a huge Daredevil fan and tattoo junkie. I was a little high one day and decided it be funny as hell to get a tattoo of Daredevil before my buddy. It wasn't funny. It looks like a high quality prison tattoo despite being done at a reputable shop.

Scott Shaw!

12-23-2006, 02:24 AM

No. 4: UNCLE $CROOGE McDUCK

http://www.comics.org/coverview.lasso?id=30552&zoom=4

Uncle $crooge (yes, I've always spelled it like the original Dell logo) is probably my earliest favorite character. I was definitely reading his comic in the mid-1950s. (In fact, it was with Carl Barks duck comics that I taught myself to read in the first place!) And even though the Silver Age and into the Seventies, I continued to read and collect Carll Barks stories, despite the fact that, in those dark ages, no one but cartoonists like myself were paying much attention to so-called "kids comics". Sure, I loved and was being influenced by mainstream superhero comics and underground "comix", but being a humorous cartoonist, I was starting to look at one of my childhood favorites in a whole new light. (I wasn't the only one, either. Read any of Gilbert Shelton's longer FREAK BROTHERS stories; his pacing and comedic timing are pure Barks...only funnier.)

Anyway, it should come as no surprise when I freely admit that I'm an obsessive collector. (Most cartoonists are collectors, but I'm an extreme case, even among my colleagues.) Comics, toys, artwork, DVDs, books, magazines, CDs...I just LIKE too damn much stuff. And I think that, at an early age, I recognized a fellow obsessive collector in Uncle $crooge. And that's the beauty of the character. Uncle $crooge may be ridiculously wealthy, but he likes money more as a physical object than as a financial one. It's more of a fetish than a case of greed.

And, like any true collector, he will go to just about any lengths to acquire what he wants for his collection. And, although he's a stingy and sneaky old coot, $crooge MdDuck essentially an honest and even admirable character.

That cover-link above has an interesting story, too. I was a Barks fan before most people even knew his name. I finally met Carl around 1970s and we corresponded for many years. Anyway, I had done a few small favors for Carl and when it came to the time that he was winding down his famous list of commissioned paintings, opting to instead paint for auctions run by Russ Cochran, he did me a huge favor and sold me an original painting of Uncle $crooge for a very reasonable price, even for the early 1970s. Rather than a recreation of a previously printed cover (which many of his paintings were), it was a new gag of $crooge tipping his hat to a very sexy lady (all we see is one curvacious leg), with money dripping out of his back and down his collar. At the time, Gold Key was publishing reprints of his original UNCLE $CROOGE stories and their covers. One day, I was shocked (and delighted) to see that, rather than the all-too-familiar-to-me reprinted cover gags, the latest issue of UNCLE $CROOGE (No. 135, Dec., 1976) featured an inked, line-art version of "my" Barks painting...even though the sexy female leg had been changed to a hat rack! (I guess the original gag was too "racy" for the brass up at Gold Key!) As far as I know, it's the only issue of an UNCLE $CROOGE comic book with a cover that's based on a Carl Barks painting -- rather than the other way around!

Aloha,

Scott!

Dr. Hfuhruhurr

12-23-2006, 08:21 PM

Horatio Hellpop is compelled via his dreams and severe headaches (brought on by the alien entity called the Merk) to hunt down and kill human mass murderers. He resides on the planet Ylum (pronounced eye-lum) and uses the fusionkasting power provided by the Merk to protect his home planet as well as to carry out his grim tasks.

I could spend the better part of an hour going through story by story of why Nexus is such a great character, but therein lies the explanation: Mike Baron and Steve Rude created such a rich, complex character, as well as a supporting cast and universe that was consistently intriguing and entertaining. It's too bad that Nexus only comes out sporadically these days, but it's always fun to go back to the trades and immerse myself back in the Nexus universe.

http://www.rackham.dk/Interviews/Billeder/BaronRude/Ylum.jpg

MDG

12-23-2006, 10:57 PM

#4 The Shadow

Although originally from radio and pulp stories, The Shadow works great in comics. I’ve always loved the character, and the series by O’Neil and Kaluta, and later Frank Robbins are some of my favorite Bronze Age books—they hold up very well. The Shadow Strikes was one of the last series I followed before bailing on comics in the 90s.

A lot of what I like about Batman and the Sandman of Sandman Mystery Theatre have roots in the Shadow.

MDG

zilch

12-24-2006, 12:01 AM

"Oh yes, they call him The Streak..."

4. The Flash (Barry Allen)

When i started paying attention to comics, i had just missed the Carmine Infantino years on the title. I fell in love during the brief Gil Kane run when Barry and Iris had settled into wedded bliss and were the Nick and Nora of comics. They were normal and comics needed that. With all the changes in the books, i loved the downhome feel of the series.

Artisitcally, there was nothing that could meet it. Schwartz moved the best of his stable through the book, and Cary Bates turned in journeyman work, filling out his craft treating us to fun stories.

Gingold

12-24-2006, 07:53 AM

4. Jesse Custer.

I came late to Preacher. It had started up while I was off comics for a while, and I heard good things, I resisted for sometime. I bought the first TP on a whim before taking a long train ride. I didn't waste much time in getting all of the collected editions. By the end of Ennis and Dillon's buddy movie, you feel like the Rev. Custer is one of your closest friends. Even when the plot seems to be dragging or meandering a bit, you're okay with it because of the characters. Jesse's a modern day take on the western heroes of the past, a devoted friend, a romantic, and someone willing to take the almighty down a few pegs if he's not living up to his responsibilities.

Joe Rice

12-25-2006, 01:35 PM

4. Hopey.

http://www.zompist.com/illo/lr8.gif

She's the girl we all wanted to know. Free, fun, always up for anything. She's the ultimate friend, but she's no idealized statue, either. Her faults are apparent (fear of commitment, love of the "big" girls, etc) but she's adorable all the way through. Fully realized by Jaime, she just edges out the rest of her cast.

glue

12-25-2006, 01:38 PM

What is Hopey from?

Joe Rice

12-25-2006, 01:40 PM

What is Hopey from?

Love and Rockets. Sorry, figured everyone knew.

Rob Allen

12-26-2006, 05:43 PM

4. Conan the Barbarian

Coming back into comics in 1971 from a 20-month hiatus, Conan was a revelation. Roy Thomas and Barry Smith introduced me to whole new worlds. The stories and artwork seemed to get better and better every month. Issue #24, "The Song of Red Sonja", is a candidate for the best single comic book ever. And then John Buscema took the character and made it his own. A lot of the best artwork Marvel produced in the 70s was in Conan stories.

Graham Vingoe

12-28-2006, 03:23 PM

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o156/grahamvingoe_2006/2183_4_051.jpg

Shang-Chi
Shang-Chi means “the rising and advancing of a spirit”. Shang-Chi’s series illustrates the changes that occur when an innocent eastern man is exposed, and maybe corrupted, by the West. Anyone who has had the pleasure to read the title from his origin through to the end of the Moench run will know that MOKF is so much more than a simple kung fu title, because Shang-Chi continuously develops and changes. There is no question that the Chi at the end of issue 122 is a vastly different human being to the father-worshipping martial artist of the early issues.
I loved Leiko Wu with Shang, was angry alongside him, cried with him and laughed with him. In short, I KNOW him. He is one of the great characters of all- time in my book.

prince hal

12-30-2006, 08:55 PM

#4: The Thing

I can't say I've been an FF fanatic over the years, but there have been times that the title has lived up to its self-proclaimed pronouncement, most notably when Jack Kirby was churning out radical (in both its pure and slangy senses) ideas and characters and art on a monthly basis, the likes of which only he could ever equal.

The FF always seemed to combine everything that was the world of comics in any given installment: larger-than-life action starring larger-than-life heroes and villains; the fate of the world forever hanging in the balance; melodramatics that would have made a Victorian Era playwright envious; all-star casts of thousands; the most overheated and purplish of prose; ladles of irony, dollops of coincidence and barrels of angst; well, you get the idea.

It's not that you couldn't get this stuff in a dozen other titles; but you couldn't get it all in one issue, month after month done to a "T" by the greatest creator in comics. And the nexus of all of this wonder was Benjamin J. Grimm, the ultimate Everyman, the mensch, the Kirby doppelganger, Beauty and Beast in one, heir to the monster of Frankenstein and Quasimodo, and perhaps the single funniest character in comics. The guy could always crack me up, what with his references to his Aunt Petunia and Yancy Street, his constant back-and-forth with the Torch, his sarcastic nicknames for everybody, and his refreshing lack of respect for every convention of superhero dialogue.

Big muscles, great verbal skills and an enormous heart: what could be better?

Nate C.

01-01-2007, 08:48 AM

Scott,(Lone Ranger),

Great piece on Daredevil.

Scott, (Doc Hnjasfvhjibhjbs hwr),

Yahhhhh!!!! We love Horatio Hellpop equally!!!!!

Horatio Hellpop, my number 4

Read Doc Hrfrfhrf'f 's piece, then come back here. I love the conceit of an executioner with a philosopher's mind and heart. He's a theologian, a lover, (rawr, Sandra Peale), a badd-ass, (2 d's) a friend, a companion, a rock star, a politician, and a father. The writing by Baron is incredible. I need to do a thread one day and make the outlandish claim that Mike Baron was the third best writer of the ninteen-eighties, and that if it weren't for the twin suns of Moore and Miller, we'd have heard a lot more hype on Baron.

After 40 years of comic book superheroes (up to his creation, now going on 60+), I still think Nexus is as fresh and exciting and well rounded a figure as you will come accross in comic books, no small feat for a writer/creator.

Did I mention some guy named Rude drew him?

Sir Tim Drake

01-01-2007, 09:47 AM

Read Doc Hrfrfhrf'f 's piece, then come back here. I love the conceit of an executioner with a philosopher's mind and heart. He's a theologian, a lover, (rawr, Sandra Peale), a badd-ass, (2 d's) a friend, a companion, a rock star, a politician, and a father. The writing by Baron is incredible. I need to do a thread one day and make the outlandish claim that Mike Baron was the third best writer of the ninteen-eighties, and that if it weren't for the twin suns of Moore and Miller, we'd have heard a lot more hype on Baron.

Maybe that's not such an outlandish claim. Baron is enormously underrated. He has an extremely distinctive and entertaining prose style, and his stories are both thrilling and powerful.