Classic comics: Thirty years ago this month

[Simon Garth]

If you haven't experienced the aural punishment of the New Romantics, consider yourself lucky. the horror!

On the other hand, if you have a strong stomach, you might try something like this

[Bad Wolf]

Ah, this would be around my "golden age."

Amazing Spider-Man #229 - the first part of Roger Stern's Juggernaut story. I actually only had the second part, but I read a friend's copy of this one.

Avengers #220 - Moondragon, Drax the Destroyer.

I've read the Daredevil from this month, but not until years later.

I might have read the Dazzler; my friend collected that series.

Defenders #108 - Enchantress and the return of Valkyrie.

Fantastic Four #243 - the famous battle with Galactus, concluding with the decision to save him.

Incredible Hulk #272 - Hulk & Sasquatch vs. Wendigo

Marvel Two-in-One #88 - Thing & She-Hulk vs. Negator (who I don't think was ever heard from again)

Micronauts #42 - vs. Doctor Nemesis, guest starring Wasp. Memorable scene where she is shrunk out of her clothes and has to wear a napkin.

Rom #31 - The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, soon to become the Sisterhood of Evil Mutants (at least briefly.) I think this story featured the first hints of Rogue's heroic streak.

Uncanny X-Men (1963) #158 - ...or maybe not; here we have Rogue still as a baddy. IIRC this is when she confronts Carol Danvers again for the first time after she stole her powers and identity.

I've read the What If...? from this month, don't remember it too well.

As you can see I was pretty much a Marvel Zombie at this point.

The only issues I still have are the FF and the UXM.

[Gothos]

If you haven't experienced the aural punishment of the New Romantics, consider yourself lucky. the horror!

On the other hand, if you have a strong stomach, you might try something like this

Even though you used the word "aural" before, I confess that I thought you were using the name to denote some group of comics-creators whose very words offended your ears even though you had to imagine them.

[berk]

I recognise from Mike's July 1982 gallery :

Captain Victory #6
Master of Kung Fu #117
Saga of the Swamp Thing #6
Legion of Super-Heroes #292
Night Force #3

as comics I definitely bought at the time.

I might also have bought:

Pacific Presents #1
New Teen Titans #24
Ms. Mystic #1

but couldn't swear to it. I know I read that PP with the Rocketeer sometime in the early 80s, but can't say for sure when. And I know I had at least one opr two issues of Ms. Mystic but not sure if this was one of them. And I was reading the Wolfman/Perez Titans for a while but don't remember much about them, not even the covers.

I'd pick MoKF #117 as the number one comic this month, sadly near the end of Moench's and Day's great run and of Moench's longer personal stint as writer.

[Shellhead]

These are the new comics that I bought back in July of 1982, and the ones in bold are still in my collection.

Avengers #224: I admit that the story of Yellowjacket's fall from grace was plausible, given his erratic past behavior. For example, Kurt Busiek told a decent variation of it in Astro City. But Jim Shooter was getting really arrogant and reckless as Editor-in-Chief by this time, and wrote this story with all the subtlety and grace of a rusty sledgehammer. Despite subsequent efforts by Busiek and Dan Slott, Hank Pym has never fully recovered from this storyline.

Daredevil #188: I was a big fan of Miller's work on Daredevil, so I know that I bought this issue. I just don't remember anything about it.

Fantastic Four #247: And I was a big fan of Byrne's FF run, but don't remember anything about this issue.

Master of Kung-Fu #117: Great issue. Continued the build towards a dramatic confrontation with Fu Manchu. Loved the Gene Day artwork, especially the creepy monsters depicted on the cover. They didn't fit the usual kung fu style of the book, but were well within Fu Manchu's capabilities with weird science.

Teen Titans #24: I was starting to get bored with the big Omega Men crossover, and I generally hate arch-villains that have about the same powers as the hero. But the Perez artwork was nice.

X-Men #162: This is one of the last X-Men comics that I bought for a long time. I was getting burned out on Wolverine, who got a lot of pages in this issue as he single-handedly fought the Brood.

X-Men Annual #6: Storm becomes a vampire. *yawn*

I was buying a lot of comics back then, but apparently I was buying mostly back issues around that time. Probably filling out my Avengers and FF collections.

[MWGallaher]

In July 1984, I bought:
ADVENTURE 492: I was buying this digest to get the Aparo-drawn Aquaman stories that weren't yet in my collection.
ALL-STAR SQUADRON 14: I was buying this series anyway, but I'd never pass up the annual JLA/JSA events.
AVENGERS 224: Always a big Hank Pym fan, but unlike some others, I enjoyed the tale of his downfall; at least he was in the spotlight for a truly shocking story (for the times, at least).
BRAVE AND BOLD 191: It was drawn by Aparo. Automatic sale.
CAPTAIN CARROT 8: I dug the Zoo Crew and Scott Shaw's writing and art on this issue.
DC COMICS PRESENTS 50: The only Superman book I was following. I'm a sucker for team-up series.
DAREDEVIL 188: My comics shop dealer had turned me on to Miller's DD several months earlier, and I was still digging it.
DEFENDERS 112: I'd been buying every issue since #4.
FURY OF FIRESTORM 5: Never a big fan of the character, but I bought the entire run of this anyway.
HULK 276: I must have had some spare change to pick this one up.
JLA 207: Again, the JLA/JSA team-up.
KA-ZAR THE SAVAGE 20: I'm glad I took a chance on this series and kept buying it until cancellation. One of the best Marvel series of the era.
LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES 292: One of the best DC series of the era.
NEW TEEN TITANS 24: I don't think the series has aged well, but I loved it at the time.
NIGHT FORCE 3: Great series, but occasionally sloppy. I was still thrilled this early in the run to have Wolfman and Colan together again.
SAGA OF SWAMP THING 6: I bought anything with Swamp Thing. This run written by Pasko deserves a better reputation. I loved 'em.
X-MEN 162 and ANNUAL 6: I was along for the X-Men ride since since their revival. I'd finally kick that habit a few years later.
WHAT IF? 35: Bought this one regularly, and loved the heck out of the series. More Miller Daredevil, another Hank Pym spotlight, and Steve Ditko art!
WORLD'S FINEST 284: I probably picked up this one because of the Legion guest appearance.

Comic of the Month: AVENGERS 224. It stuck with me more than anything else published this month.
Comic I'd most like to have now: G.I. COMBAT 246. I've become a fan of DC war comics, and especially Haunted Tank, via the Showcase Presents collection. I'd love to see Sam Glanzman's Hanted Tank comics.
Favorite Cover of the Month: Overall, it's a weak month for covers that appeal to me. Marvel's covers were beginning to really suffer, and the DC covers are often far to busy. I think my favorite is Charlton's BILLY THE KID 150, a simple but strong design.

[Slam_Bradley]

Let's see...

Purchased at the time

All-Star Squadron #14
Arak #14
Batman Annual #8
JLA #207
Warlord #62
Warlord Annual #1
What If #35

Have read or puchased since

Captain Carrot #8
Cerebus #40
Daredevil #188
FF #248
Pacific Presents #1

[Polar Bear]

29 comics this month, 26 of which were Marvel. I still own about 25 of them. Of special note:

Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man 71, the "gun control" issue, shaped my views on guns for years.
World's Finest 284 features only the third appearance of Silver Age villain The Composite Superman, a long-time favorite.
Uncanny X-Men 162 is part of Claremont/Smith's Brood epic, which was the last Claremont X-Men story I truly and unreservedly enjoyed.

[dan bailey]

If you haven't experienced the aural punishment of the New Romantics, consider yourself lucky. the horror!

Oh, a fair amount of that stuff was pretty decent. Visage, Classix Nouveaux, early Depeche Mode & Duran Duran, Midge Ure Ultravox (though of course the John Foxx version was better) & probably others I'm forgotting all did some good stuff.

[Simon Garth]

Oh, a fair amount of that stuff was pretty decent. Visage, Classix Nouveaux, early Depeche Mode & Duran Duran, Midge Ure Ultravox (though of course the John Foxx version was better) & probably others I'm forgotting all did some good stuff.

Hmm. I'll grant you Empire State Human from the pre-Romantic Human League, but otherwise, blech!

(I'm now picturing your avatar with a Phil Oakey haircut! That's not a good look)

[JKCarrier]

Adventure Comics #492
Avengers #224
Batman Annual #8
DC Comics Presents #50
Legion of Super-Heroes #292
Master of Kung Fu #117
Uncanny X-Men #162
Vampirella #108
What If #35
X-Men Annual #6

This was the era when I was growing disenchanted with Marvel & DC, and being much more selective about my purchases (at least, compared to earlier years).

[Scott Harris]

Comics I own from this month:

Action #536
All-Star Squadron #14
Avengers #224
Blackhawk #251
Jonah Hex #65
ROM #35
ROM Annual #1
X-Men #162
Unknown Soldier #268
Warlord #62
Warlord Annual #1
Wonder Woman #296
World's Finest #284
X-Men Annual #6


Wow, I don't own a lot of comics from this month but there are three major issues in this batch. i can't even pick between them in terms of which is most important to me, it's a huge toss-up. Those are:

Avengers #224 -- A great issue spotlighting Hank Pym with some real drama as Tony begins a relationship with Jan -- who doesn't know that he's Iron Man! One of the douchiest moves of all time from Tony, but handled really well by Jim Shooter I think. This would normally be a shoo-in for the top issue of the month, except for...

Blackhawk #251 -- The first issue of Mark Evanier's revival. This is a great run of comics. And since thr first comic book I ever bought was an issue of Evanier's Blackhawk, this holds special meaning to me. Except...

Unknown Soldier #268 -- This is the last issue of Unknown Soldier, one of my favorite comics of all time. And it's a real hum-dinger, as Unknown Soldier actually assassinates Hitler, then fakes Hitler's "suicide" to cover his tracks. Now we know where Tarantino got his inspiration for the historical alterations in Inglorious Basterds.

I never realized until now that Unknown Soldier was, from outward appearances anyway, cancelled in order to make room for Blackhawk. Talk about your mixed feelings.

Unknown Soldier #268

[NathanIrwin]

Issues I bought off the spinner racks:

Adventure Comics #492 -- This was when I first learned about the digest-sized issues of "Adventure. I would collect these sporadically until the title was cancelled.

All-Star Squadron #14 -- part of the JLA/JSA/All-Star crossover. As I recall, I had trouble finding the "Justice League" issues. In any event, I wouldn't own the full set until about 1985.

Flash #314
Fury of Firestorm #5
Green Lantern #157
Legion of Super-Heroes #292 -- part of the "Great Darkness Saga." Another storyline I wouldn't complete until a few years later.
World's Finest Comics #284 -- bought this because of the Legion cameo. I think this was when I learned that "World's Finest" was no longer a "Dollar Comics" anthology.

Issues I acquired later:
Avengers #224
Fantastic Four #247
Iron Man #163
Justice League of America #207
New Teen Titans #24
Power Man and Iron Fist #86
Uncanny X-Men #162
X-Men Annual #6

[berk]

Comics I'm pretty sure I bought September 1982:

Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers #7
Epic #14
Master of Kung Fu #119
Night Force #5
Saga of Swamp Thing #8

I remember all of them as being pretty good, with MoKF #119 and NF #5 as the standouts.

edit:

Legion of Superheroes #294

[destro]

I wasn't buying anything, I was 6 years old. But I was given a big box of my dad's silver age comics to read while I was being watched by my grandparents during the day. Included tons of stuff like the 1st 20 issues of Amazing Spider-Man, lots of Avengers (including Avengers 1)/Iron Man (with 1st Tales of Suspense)/FF, Cap...10 or 15 Adam Strange comics, assorted Silver Age Superman, Bat-Man, Worlds Finest and Legion of Superheroes, random issues of Cave Carlson and Sea Devils, Flash, JLA....lots more.

They were all pretty wrecked when I got them, but quite readable. I proceeded to destroy them even more through re-reading them again and again. And no I don't regret it a bit!

This is why I have a split personality between loving silver age and then skipping the 70s, onto the early to mid 80s. I just never had the 70s comics as a kid and didn't develop an affection for them. I went straight from my dad's silver age comics to buying stuff around '83/84 and imprinted on both kind of equally.