The Fifth Day of Classic Comics Christmas 2012

[Brian Gravity]

#8 - Imagine #1-6 by Various (Star*Reach Productions, 1978-1979)



Since I wasn't able to include Star*Reach due to it's 18-issue run, I decided to include it's spin-off series instead, Imagine. The original Star*Reach series featured a plethora of great material from several well-known collaborators, so much so that it could not all fit in one quarterly title. Thus this spin-off was born.

Many of those same collaborators returned for Imagine, featuring work from the likes of Neal Adams, Dave Sim, Gene Day, P. Craig Russell, Lee Marrs, Steve Ditko, Michael T. Gilbert and many more.

Many of the stories, like Star*Reach, are of a sci-fi flavor. The standout stories include "The Nimrod Fusion" (by Steven Grant and Richard Larson) about a mentally unfit soldier on a mission to destroy a race of mutant frogs that view him as their savior, "Avatar" (by P. Craig Russell) about a warrior's quest to rescue the Chimera, and "The Summoning" (by Steve Ditko and Paul Levitz) which was actually intended as a Doctor Strange story but the characters were altered.



Great series with plenty of hidden gems to be discovered.

[Johnny P. Sartre]

8. Brat Pack 1-5

Written by Rick Veitch and self published under King Hell Press. It's an extremely dark take on superheroes and sidekicks. It takes what that whacky shrink said years ago and runs with it. By no means is it easy to read and I'm not even sure I would pick it up to read again. Its shocking and on my list because it left one heck of an impression on me. And obviously many other as comics like this are still be published today to show the dark side of superheroes. There is a homage to the Jason Todd death where the audience of a radio who will call in and vote to determine the final fate of the sidekicks.

This was my fifth pick...

and I'm going to be lazy and not think of another one.

So here's mine too

[mrc1214]

8. Enigma #1-8 (March 1993-October 1993)

I'm pretty sure I've used this for one of my previous CCCs. This is one of my favorite Vertigo series of all time. It has existentialism, comic book obsession, an engaging mystery, and a funny narrator, all illustrated by the fantastic Duncan Fegredo.

I know I read the series. And I'm positive I didn't understand the ending at all. Over my head I guess. Maybe I'll give it another try someday.

[JKCarrier]

8. Hup
(4 issues, 1987-1992)
Robert Crumb's work is both deeply disturbing and inexplicably hilarious. He digs into the darkest corners of his id and pulls out the creepiest, strangest thoughts and lays them out in front of you with the skill of a master cartoonist. You laugh, you feel guilty for laughing, and then you laugh again. There's a variety of short stories and gags here, but the mainstay is his infamous zen guru Mr. Natural. Mr. N constantly teases and torments his would-be disciple Flakey Foont...you're never sure if he's trying to lead him to enlightenment or just messing with his head for laughs (Come to think of it, that pretty well describes Crumb's relationship with his audience). It's not for everyone, but it's clear that Crumb hasn't lost a step since the psychedelic '60s...if anything, his work has gotten sharper and more powerful.

[Slam_Bradley]

I know I read the series. And I'm positive I didn't understand the ending at all. Over my head I guess. Maybe I'll give it another try someday.

I bought the first couple issues when they came out and gave up. Later I got a really cheap copy of the trade. I've tried three or four times and I've still never been able to get through it.

[Roquefort Raider]

8. Brat Pack #1-5, by Rick Veitch.

This series has not aged as well as I thought it had, because its themes have been revisited many times since 1990... but when it first came out it was one of the few instances of a reaction against the "itty and gritty" school of superhero comics, and one of the earliest ones to decry the nonsensical aspect of taking teen sidekicks in a realistic sense. It certainly was the most vitriolic book about the subject, even though its gallows humor didn't make the book bleak by any mean.

Veitch is an amazing storyteller. He really integrates words and pictures in his comics, and a large part of the enjoyment I derived from this book was to see how words would segue into images and vice-versa. His caricatural takes on Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Arrow are wince-inducing, sure, but let's face it... does it make sense to have gaudily-dressed people fight crime with their fists and taking teenagers along for the ride?

This is probably the only super-hero comic-book for which Dave Sim ever featured a preview in the pages of Cerebus. That's because it's not really a super-hero book, but a book about the comics industry, probably. "What have we done to the children"? ask characters in the comic... well, that question could also be asked of the editors who turned teenage sidekicks into moneymakers, even if it meant having them brutalized and having their innocence destroyed.

[Rob Allen]

I said it would be coming, and here it is:

Kull the Conqueror by Roy Thomas, Marie Severin, and John Severin (and others)



Another of the gems from the 1971-73 mini-Golden Age of sword & sorcery comics. The Severins' work was just luminously beautiful.

[Aaron King]

I bought the first couple issues when they came out and gave up. Later I got a really cheap copy of the trade. I've tried three or four times and I've still never been able to get through it.

You guys are killllinnnng meeeee. From here on out, though, I think everyone will like my selections more.

[Brian Gravity]

I said it would be coming, and here it is:

Kull the Conqueror by Roy Thomas, Marie Severin, and John Severin (and others)

Not to be a nitpick (okay, well maybe a little), but wasn't that a 28-issue series, which would make this one ineligible?

Coulda sworn I saw a 12-issue maximum rule. But if I'm wrong, that's going to change my list immensely!

[dan bailey]

Not to be a nitpick (okay, well maybe a little), but wasn't that a 28-issue series, which would make this one ineligible?

Coulda sworn I saw a 12-issue maximum rule. But if I'm wrong, that's going to change my list immensely!

I asked about this one ahead of time (but ended up not picking it because I decided to limit myself to titles cancelled in 12 or fewer issues) -- with issue 11 it became the differently titled Kull the Destroyer, thereby gaining eligibility under the rules.

[JKCarrier]

Edit -- never mind, Dan beat me to it!

[Cei-U!]

I asked about this one ahead of time (but ended up not picking it because I decided to limit myself to titles cancelled in 12 or fewer issues) -- with issue 11 it became the differently titled Kull the Destroyer, thereby gaining eligibility under the rules.

Him am correct.

Cei-U!
I summon the affirmation!

[Red Oak Kid]

#8. Star Hunters 1-7 DC

I thought this was a fun comic. It had great Rich Buckler covers and interior art by Don Newton.

[Paulie]

Today's pick ended up being a surprise even for me... The Sword of Soloman Kane, Ralph Macchio's Marvel limted series from the mid-80s. Nice artwork from Bret Blevins and perhaps the best non-Roy Thomas handling of the character. What can I say... I loved it!

[hondobrode]

#8 - Imagine #1-6 by Various (Star*Reach Productions, 1978-1979)



Since I wasn't able to include Star*Reach due to it's 18-issue run, I decided to include it's spin-off series instead, Imagine. The original Star*Reach series featured a plethora of great material from several well-known collaborators, so much so that it could not all fit in one quarterly title. Thus this spin-off was born.

Many of those same collaborators returned for Imagine, featuring work from the likes of Neal Adams, Dave Sim, Gene Day, P. Craig Russell, Lee Marrs, Steve Ditko, Michael T. Gilbert and many more.

Many of the stories, like Star*Reach, are of a sci-fi flavor. The standout stories include "The Nimrod Fusion" (by Steven Grant and Richard Larson) about a mentally unfit soldier on a mission to destroy a race of mutant frogs that view him as their savior, "Avatar" (by P. Craig Russell) about a warrior's quest to rescue the Chimera, and "The Summoning" (by Steve Ditko and Paul Levitz) which was actually intended as a Doctor Strange story but the characters were altered.



Great series with plenty of hidden gems to be discovered.

Beautiful cover and esp wonderful page of Ditko.

Thanks for posting them.