Comic Books

Loved the Jack Knight Starman, especially the Tony Harris covers.

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The only complete run of comics I ever managed to collect is James Robinson’s Starman.

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It did a better job of weaving together some sort of DC ā€œcontinuityā€ than any crossover ever did.

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Too bad it turns out Tony Harris is not a nice person.

Didn’t get into Starman until towards the end (my buddy loved the Will Payton Starman, so he asked me to pick him up copies so he could see how it went; he was… less than thrilled), but I did pick up the Underworld Unleashed issue of Showcase; imagine my surprise when that little back-up feature got a pay-off years later.

I also loved the Tom Peyer Hourman series; Geoff Johns played Matt Tyler dirty in JSA, but then he does that to a lot of characters.

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[quote=ā€œMattBlack, post:124, topic:24419ā€]
Too bad it turns out Tony Harris is not a nice person[/quote]

That is too bad. A cursory look indicates that he was some flavor of jerk to cosplayers, and shafted a couple of people on commission work?

I admire the work of more than one superbahstid. I don’t know that I’d shake hands, or hire any of them.

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The Garth Ennis Hitman and Demon stuff from the same era was fun.

I would say Tony Harris is around a 6.5 on the Celebrity Bastardy Scale. He was probably higher at some point, but the Overton Window has shifted steadily since then.

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James Robinson’s The Golden Age is one of the best graphic novels I’ve ever read. Starman was also good overall. I still give him the benefit of the doubt whenever I see his name on a cover, but his stuff since then has been pretty hit or miss.

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The shaded character at the lower left makes it a triangle pattern. Moves the eye all around the panel so it reads more and more things. :+1:

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I saw MST3K: The Comic artist Todd Nauck today and got him to draw a Crow in my sketchbook. He also signed my TPB of the comic.

When I dropped off my book, he talked about how excited he was to do the book, and about writing on season 13. When I came back to pick it up, his wife said ā€œHe had you draw Crow? Someone is speaking your love language!ā€

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Oh that’s nice.

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I haven’t seen anyone mention The Sculptor by Scott McCloud yet. So I’ll do it. Not exactly the feel-good hit of the season, though. The title character wants wealth and fame, so he cuts a deal with Death. You know how that usually works out. Especially if you’re already familiar with Lynd Ward’s beautiful and tragic God’s Man. This isn’t a horror story, though. (Which may be a stumbling block for some readers. :person_shrugging: )

If you’re scared away by the book being thick as a brick, remember that libraries are a thing which exist. Bear in mind also that McCloud is very influenced by Japanese comics, so even with the high page count, the story reads very fast.

I definitely prefer Death as a cranky old Jewish guy to the ever-present mall-Goth pixie from that more famous comic with Death in it. :grin:

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Boy, that brings back memories. I have an old, abandoned comics blog where I picked my best of the month (series, minis, graphic novels, comic-based shows, movies etc) and at the end of the year I’d hand out awards for the best of the best, and the Sculptor was my pick for ā€œBest Graphic Novel of 2015ā€

Just went back and read what I wrote, yeah, what memories. Here’s what I said of it…

A book that was years in the making from writer/artist Scott McCloud. The piece spoke to me on a personal level as it touched upon the nature and relationship of the artist with their craft - and the need to leave something important behind.

And yes it’s huge

But not a laborious read.

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Looking over that blog, and the ā€˜best of’ post, was a trip to the past. I’ll share a few awards (do any of you remember these?).

Along with The Sculptor winning best graphic novel…

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The super slick and cinematic spy series, Velvet from Brubaker and Epting was my series of the year.

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The trenchant satire, Prez was my best miniseries

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Bunn & Crook’s Harrow County was ā€˜Best New Series’

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Best event, from Hickman & Ribic

Best Web Comic was Super Mutant Magic Academy by Jillian Tamaki - Which I described as a ā€œFunny and insightful mashup of Hogwarts with Xavier’s School for Mutants.ā€

Ant-Man was my Best Movie and my best TV series - Network, and Pay TV/Cable were these two.

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I liked Alias and really really tried to enjoy Jessica Jones. It just felt like endlessly watching loathsome people make terrible decisions, and I don’t need any more of that than I already get.

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I’ve got the original Secret Wars series, it’s got from what I remember the first appearance of Spider Man’s Black costume and Venom…
Is the new one like the old, or did they change it up?

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Was the original with the Beyonder? I don’t remember - this goes into a different direction with Doom acquiring the power of a God and remaking the world in his image - it’s from Hickman so it’s probably more cerebral than the first.

I’m not really into events, in fact they’re what chased me away from a lot of Superhero reading… but this was one I really enjoyed, even the side books were a blast.

Spoiler in regards to Thanos

Thanos is so arrogant and powerful that you think he could be a challenge to Doom’s rule. But when they meet, he’s nothing - Viktor just hands him his arse with ease. It was so cool to see that arrogant jerk brought low. Even if Doom is the bad guy… I just hate Thanos, so, you know, good for the Doctor.

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Yeah, Beyonder was the bay guy, and kind of archetype that appear at the same time as ā€œQā€ on Star Trek, Next Generation.

I’ll actually have to dig them out but I thought I remembered something with Doom.

Another part I specifically remember was when they were buried under a mountain, and Hulk was able to get them out when Reed Richards made him angry on purpose.

I also remember Molecule and Titania being a sort of couple…

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:eyes:

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I never read the original Secret Wars. I did, however, get a package containing issues 4-6 of Secret Wars II, where the Beyonder gets into various sitcom style hijinx.

I also had the (mis)fortune of remembering Kyle Baker’s Plastic Man limited series from the 2000s. I’d say that series was hot garbage, but that would be an insult. To garbage.

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