What makes Luke Cage worthy of an ESSENTIAL volume?

[west3man]

Real question. Why do you think his issues are or aren't worthy of the ESSENTIAL treatment?

[phicks]

Not worthy. Bad artwork, terrible dialogue. "Sweet Chistmas!"

And neither should there be Essential volumes of Ghost Rider or Nova. Yet, here they are.

When are we going to get an Essential volume of Neal Adams' X-Men?!

[west3man]

See, some of the comments I've seen, recently, have had me wondering if I was missing something there. Considering the negatives, I wasn't sure if that was the way to go, though.

I look at ESSENTIAL volumes kinda like Marvel Masterworks stuff. Maybe that's an error on *my* part. Maybe they're just essentials for those who dig that particular character (or group of characters in the case of the latest ESSENTIAL X-MEN volume).

I dunno. Anyway, this is why I wanted to get a dialogue going on the subject.

[Mike Kuypers]

You might be interested in this thread (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=43661&highlight=sweet+christmas).

[Slam_Bradley]

When are we going to get an Essential volume of Neal Adams' X-Men?!


Considering that they've been collected in color, I wouldn't hold my breath.


In answer to the question posed in the title of the thread...well the real answer is that Marvel figured it would sell. It's a business decision. Given that an Essential Iron Fist was going to be produced...and if succesful would warrant another volume (on that would have to be Power Man and Iron Fist) it made sense.

Aesthetically, I haven't gotten around to reading my copy yet. While Tuska's art isn't everyone's cuppa, I certainly wouldn't call it BAD. Billy Graham, on the other hand, is a very underrated penciler. His work holds up very well.

From a historic standpoint, there weren't a lot of black superheroes in 1972. The fact that Hero For Hire came out without Cage having previously appeared (ala Black Panther) made it even more important historically. Black Panther didn't headline Jungle Action until a year later.

[Dizzy D]

I look at ESSENTIAL volumes kinda like Marvel Masterworks stuff. Maybe that's an error on *my* part. Maybe they're just essentials for those who dig that particular character (or group of characters in the case of the latest ESSENTIAL X-MEN volume).

I think you hit the nail right on the head here. Most Essentials have been about a character/team, not the best work on said character or the major storylines

[Shellhead]

It's easy to look back 35 years and see that a character might have been politically incorrect or overly-stereotypical. Today, Luke Cage seems like a comic book blaxploitation character, and that's probably not far from the mark.

But you know what? In 1972, it was the still the Silver Age of comics, and most hereos were white males with bland, heroic personalities. Compared to that, Luke Cage was a bold, exciting anti-hero who worked hard just to get by.

Cage once did a job for Dr. Doom, who couldn't be bothered to pay Cage afterwards and just flew back to Latveria. Cage went over to the Baxter Building, demanded that the FF loan him the Pogo Plane, then pursued Doom all the way to his castle. For $200! It wasn't just about the money, though, it was about respect, and before this two-issue story was over, Cage had earned that respect and got paid, and Doom needed to replace his shattered chestplate. That was cool!

I agree that the artwork in many of the issues was poor. I have a great loathing for the artwork of Frank Robbins, who drew heroes in a limited range of highly awkward poses. In action scenes, he makes people look like spastic marionnettes that have been tossed in the air. Another early Cage artist, George Tuska, had a crude, stylized way of pencilling that also marred many issues of Iron Man. He was sometimes paired with Billy Graham (artist, not preacher), who tended to exaggerate facial features but was otherwise decent.

Luke Cage was a popular character in the 70's, judging by all the guest shots. He appeared in Amazing Spider-man, Marvel Two-in-One, Fantastic Four, and was eventually teamed up with Iron Fist on their own title, in a brilliant combination of two different genres. Overall, Cage's comic had a definite impact on the Marvel Universe and deserves to be collected in an Essential volume, if not several.

[west3man]

You might be interested in this thread (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=43661&highlight=sweet+christmas).
Thanks for that. I did a forum-wide search, first, but I missed that. :)

[Lone Ranger]

What makes Cage Essentials worthy?

It's fun!

Sure the art and writing vary widely, and it's hard to think of a character more dated than Luke Cage, but reading through this volume is like stepping into a time machine back to when comics were fun, when origin stories involved scientists and explosions and when dialogue was straight out of a B movie.

Those may all seem like back-handed compliments, but I actually mean them. There is something so charming about this book, Cage as a character and the setting.

Sure this ain't Watchmen, but that doesn't mean it stinks.

Cage is more of an everyman than any other Marvel hero, so when we watch Cage interact with the likes of Doom or Iron Man, it is almost as if we are interacting with them.

The Essentials is a great format for reading stories at a low, low price. They needn't worry that ever collected series measure up to the Lee/Ditko Spidey run. I think almost anything is fair game when it comes to being 'Essentialized'.

That being said, let's draw the line at Team America and Man From Atlantis.

[Shellhead]

The Essentials is a great format for reading stories at a low, low price. They needn't worry that ever collected series measure up to the Lee/Ditko Spidey run. I think almost anything is fair game when it comes to being 'Essentialized'.

That being said, let's draw the line at Team America and Man From Atlantis.

I hope they also skip the toy-related titles, like Rom and the Micronauts. Oh, and the Human Fly, another showcase for Frank Robbins artwork.

[Cei-U!]

As others have said, Luke Cage was like nothing fans of the era had seen before. Hero for Hire/Power Man was indeed Marvel's stab at exploiting the blaxploitation fad, not the first or last time they would jump on a bandwagon and create a title that outlived its inspiration. I prefer to think its undeniable naivete and silliness were due more to the clash between the genre's surface tropes (sex, graphic violence, profanity) and the Comics Code than to any cultural ignorance on its white creators' part.

Now I'm a Tuska fan and I think his early work on the book was some of his best, partly because he was working from Archie Goodwin's breakdowns (as he did on Iron Man, another favorite of mine) but his later stuff, especially the issues with Vinnie the C inking, is uninspired and lifeless. I like Springer's issues too but he's definitely an acquired taste (and I agree that his fight scenes are awful). But I really liked Billy Graham's vigorous cartoony work on the book best.

There are several periods of tedium during the run* but the good stuff (especially the Goodwin, Englehart and MacGregor material) is good enough that I'll cheerfully pick up the Essentials volume. As with so many of these collections, this is a '70s series I had a complete run of and later sold. If I had to shell out for the original issues, I'd never get around to it. I don't mind the b&w art or cheap paper, not if it lets me read 25 comics at an affordable pop.

Did I answer your question somewhere in there, west?

Cei-U!
I summon the ramblin' man!

*And there a handful of characters (I'm looking at you, Cockroach) who cross the line into bad taste (to put a kind face on it), so beware.

[west3man]

As others have said, Luke Cage was like nothing fans of the era had seen before. Hero for Hire/Power Man was indeed Marvel's stab at exploiting the blaxploitation fad, not the first or last time they would jump on a bandwagon and create a title that outlived its inspiration. I prefer to think its undeniable naivete and silliness were due more to the clash between the genre's surface tropes (sex, graphic violence, profanity) and the Comics Code than to any cultural ignorance on its white creators' part.

Now I'm a Tuska fan and I think his early work on the book was some of his best, partly because he was working from Archie Goodwin's breakdowns (as he did on Iron Man, another favorite of mine) but his later stuff, especially the issues with Vinnie the C inking, is uninspired and lifeless. I like Springer's issues too but he's definitely an acquired taste (and I agree that his fight scenes are awful). But I really liked Billy Graham's vigorous cartoony work on the book best.

There are several periods of tedium during the run but the good stuff (especially the Goodwin, Englehart and MacGregor material) is good enough that I'll cheerfully pick up the Essentials volume. As with so many of these collections, this is a '70s series I had a complete run of and later sold. If I had to shell out for the original issues, I'd never get around to it. I don't mind the b&w art or cheap paper, not if it lets me read 25 comics at an affordable pop.

Did I answer your question somewhere in there, west?

Cei-U!
I summon the ramblin' man!
One part that taxed my vocabularical reserves ( :p ) was this, "I prefer to think its undeniable naivete and silliness were due more to the clash between the genre's surface tropes (sex, graphic violence, profanity) and the Comics Code than to any cultural ignorance on its white creators' part."

I think you're sayin' that it was limited more or less due to the medium, whereas the audience and ratings systems for movies are much broader and inclusive. Yes?

If not, feel free to correct me.

[Jolly Mon]

To tell the truth, I don't think there needs to anything that makes a series "worthy" of an Essentials volume, other than if it will sell. For myself, I don't see the point of reprinting some of the pre-FF monster comics, but others will gladly snap them up. As for Luke Cage/Hero for Hire, many excellent reasons have already been given.

With 24 volumes coming up next year, here's hoping everyone finds something they've been dying for. :D

[Cei-U!]

One part that taxed my vocabularical reserves ( :p ) was this, "I prefer to think its undeniable naivete and silliness were due more to the clash between the genre's surface tropes (sex, graphic violence, profanity) and the Comics Code than to any cultural ignorance on its white creators' part."

I think you're sayin' that it was limited more or less due to the medium, whereas the audience and ratings systems for movies are much broader and inclusive. Yes?

If not, feel free to correct me.

Yup, that's what I'm saying.

Cei-U!
In love with the sound of his own "voice" this morning! :D

[west3man]

I get what people are saying regarding "worthiness" being measured by how much money the project's likely to make the owners/publishers. But that's the response for any project. From the individual consumer's point-of-view, though, Triathlon might not be worthy of a solo title. Someone else may disagree (maybe me). Even if it made money for Marvel (assuming it would), many consumers would probably feel that the character wasn't worthy of his own series when so many other characters don't have one.

Triathlon may not have been the best example (insert Storm or Rogue, if you prefer), but hopefully my point is clear.

The money-factor is real, but I guess I was asking from a different perspective.

[C.O. Jones]

Just for the fact that he's an Avenger now in one of the most popular comics on the stands should deem him worthy of an Essentials volume---plus, people should have access to his past exploits in his own element/home turf other than MAX Cage, The Pulse and Alias.

[icctrombone]

Come on , who wouldn't want to read about him going to Latveria to get the money that Doom cheated him out of ?


SWEET CHRISTMAS !!

[Ryan K]

1. Prices for the original issues have gone up lately putting them even further out of my price range.

2. I'm assuming this is because of Luke Cage's rising popularity because of Secret War and New Avengers.

3. It makes a nice companion piece to Essential Iron Fist.

4. For $16.99 and at 500+ pages I'll buy almost anything Marvel wants to put in Essential Format. Especially anything super heroish. And especially anything I haven't read.