Forty Years ago this Month

[Slam_Bradley]

This is still about four years before I started buying comics of my own.

The only one I am pretty sure I own an original of is World's Finest 208, purchased mail-order because it had Dr. Fate in it.

Batman 237 contains one of my all-time favorite comic book stories.

I've read...

Spider-Man 104
Avengers 95
Conan 13
Fantastic Four 118
Green Lantern 87
Marvel Feature 2

It's extremely possible that I read some of those Archie books, but no way I'd ever remember them.

[tolworthy]

FF #118

Quite the classic, and relevant to some recent threads.
This is the one where Johnny lost Crystal. Previous to this he'd made a number of bonehead mistakes - letting her go and making no effort to follow, acting immature, generally taking her for granted. The last time he saw her she almost died, so she had to go home. He didn't go with her. He didn't even call!! If he had bothered he would have discovered that she never arrived - and that is the story of this issue. And what happens at the end? He sends her off AGAIN! He does not call AGAIN! And she never arrives AGAIN! This time she stumbled across Quicksilver. Quicksilver, for all his faults, treated her like she mattered, and the rest is history.

And being a 25 cent issue, this one has an excellent backup starring my favorite superhero, Lockjaw. A wild run through the dimensions, introducing us to the Reed of counter Earth, and helping Ben to see his condition in perspective.

Others may disagree, but I'd place this issue right in the second to top rank for historical significance, particularly regarding life changing character development.

[An Ear In The Fireplace]

Superman 245 was an awesome 100 Page Super Spectacular. Oh but I hate black covers! They look beautiful, but they easily pick up finger prints and smudge. Black covers and white covers were the hardest to keep in good condition. And there were lots of both back then.

[berk]

Quite the classic, and relevant to some recent threads.
This is the one where Johnny lost Crystal. Previous to this he'd made a number of bonehead mistakes - letting her go and making no effort to follow, acting immature, generally taking her for granted. The last time he saw her she almost died, so she had to go home. He didn't go with her. He didn't even call!! If he had bothered he would have discovered that she never arrived - and that is the story of this issue. And what happens at the end? He sends her off AGAIN! He does not call AGAIN! And she never arrives AGAIN! This time she stumbled across Quicksilver. Quicksilver, for all his faults, treated her like she mattered, and the rest is history.

And being a 25 cent issue, this one has an excellent backup starring my favorite superhero, Lockjaw. A wild run through the dimensions, introducing us to the Reed of counter Earth, and helping Ben to see his condition in perspective.

Others may disagree, but I'd place this issue right in the second to top rank for historical significance, particularly regarding life changing character development.

I haven't read this issue, although looking at the covers leading up to it I think I remember the earlier part where Crystal is abducted by Diablo. But I agree it's historically significant for the development of the Johnny/Crystal relationship. Unfortunately I think it was the beginning of the end for Crystal as an interesting character, as her subsequent development seems to have been based on her various marriages and love affairs rather than her family relationships within the Inhumans and her status as a sort of connection between the Inhumans and the outside world as represented by the FF.

I don't remember having bought any of the comics released this month, Oct 1971, at the time, but my pick of what I've read since would be New Gods #6, "The Glory Boat", followed by Conan the Barbarian #13 and The Forever People #6.

[tolworthy]

Unfortunately I think it was the beginning of the end for Crystal as an interesting character

I prefer to think of it as the start of an era that requires far more effort to interpret than before. :)

I am far too stubborn to give up her just because her character was reversed and dragged through the gutter for forty years. Minor details.

[Jolly Mon]

This month marks the oldest comic in my collection that I bought new off the newsstand. That comic was Batman #237 "Night of the Reaper".



When I think of this comic, my mind's eye doesn't see the cover, because mine lost it's cover long ago. I see the splash page with a shadowy Batman figure pinned to a spooky tree by a stake through his chest. In fact, the comic itself was lost for several years in a drawer in a house we used to live in. We moved from Michigan to Florida, but still owned the house. When I returned in '79, I found it again along with a couple of Batman themed 100 Super Spectaculars.

[The Darknight Detective]

Superman 245 was an awesome 100 Page Super Spectacular. Oh but I hate black covers! They look beautiful, but they easily pick up finger prints and smudge. Black covers and white covers were the hardest to keep in good condition. And there were lots of both back then.

My brother picked that up in the late '70s. As all of the 100-Pagers were, it was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, my brother doesn't have it any more (or any of his other comics, unlike his older brother ).

[berk]

I prefer to think of it as the start of an era that requires far more effort to interpret than before. :)

I am far too stubborn to give up her just because her character was reversed and dragged through the gutter for forty years. Minor details.

Oh, I still think of Crystal and all the rest of them as the same characters that made an impression on me in the first place, so it doesn't bother me that later writers have followed the Roy Thomas version rather than the Kirby/Lee - just makes me less likely to read those later stories.

[tolworthy]

Oh, I still think of Crystal and all the rest of them as the same characters that made an impression on me in the first place, so it doesn't bother me that later writers have followed the Roy Thomas version rather than the Kirby/Lee - just makes me less likely to read those later stories.

+1

This is where the sliding time scale (and its eventual abandonment) come in handy. Using the internal comic chronology, Crystal was awesome for 7 years, had one bad year (which, thanks to X-Factor, can be blamed on Maximus), then another year when she tried to find her feet, and the rest is hearsay and retcon fodder.

Those who follow the Roy Thomas version find their stories are forgettable and inconsequential. So the universe restores karma. :)

[JKCarrier]

That Batman From the '30s to the '70s volume was a major touchstone of my childhood. Getting to see the character's whole history at once probably had a lot to do with Batman becoming my favorite superhero.

[Paradox]

Ooo, neat concept! I hadn't seen this thread before.

I believe my purchases off the rack were seven that month.

Avengers #95 had to be the top of that list! Taking a left turn smack in the middle of the Kree/Skrull War to deal with a leftover plot from Amazing Adventures, all wrapped up in stunning Neal Adams glory!

And speaking of Neal, Batman 237's Night of the Reaper is still one of my all-time favorite Batman stories.

Rounding out the rest were Action #407, Adventure #413, Creatures on the Loose #15, Iron Man #44 and Lois Lane #117. None were particularly memorable except possibly the Lois Lane. It pretty much solidified in my mind what inkers did and that I most decidedly did NOT like Vinnie Colletta.

[zilch]

http://www.dcindexes.com/newsstand/r...=1971&month=11

bumpity for November....

Amazing Spider-Man #105 (continuing with the Gil Kane fetish)
Avengers #96
Batman #238 (hunnerd pager!!! Adams Cover!!! Doom Patrol!!!!!!)
Captain America #146
Daredevil #84? looks familiar...
Fantastic Four #119 (Black Leopard? Nevermind...)
Marvel Premiere #1 (loved this book!!!)
Sub-Mariner #46
X-Men #74 (LOVED the reprints!)

Note the scarcity of DCs this month... this may be the beginning of a switch that i made just about every five years or so...

[berk]

Tomb of Dracula no. 1 was the only comic I remember reading at the time from that month.

[Scott Harris]

This is a great month for covers. On the one hand, Avengers #96 is one of my favorite covers of all time. Neal Adams + Enraged Vision = comic book gold.




On the other hand, Tomb of Dracula #1 (also Adams) is one of the great covers of all time as well:




And there are some other really sweet covers here as well, such as Batman #238, with a cover by... oh.




Comics from this month that I own:

Adventure Comics #414
Avengers #96
Captain America #146
Our Fighting Forces #135
Sgt. Fury #95
Thor #196
Tomb of Dracula #1

I might also own Jimmy Olsen #145, I'm not quite sure. Good month!

[Judomaster]

Still back issue time for me, but this is a particularly sparse month for my short boxes.

Superman 247
and.... wait for it... Woody Woodpecker 121.

I think I have Ghostly Haunts 22 as well, but most of that series is housed in another province.

Favorite Covers:

Cheyenne kid #88 (I've always loved the unique quality of Sanho Kim, and this is a great example of his style)
I Love You #95 (I really want to read this...)
Our Army at War #240 (Best of the month by far!)