Day 8 - A gorgeous comic
Burne Hogarth's adaptation of Tarzan Of The Apes was one of the first attempts at a graphic novel
( although the phrase hadn't yet been coined ) and is one of the most beautiful comics ever published. Stunning line work, dazzling colours and, of course, apes. ( We all loved apes in the 1970s. )
Day 9 - A comic that totally blew your mind ( man )
Heavy Metal ( December 1978 )
My first issue of HM and what an introduction! Behind the generic SF cover I found the works of Moebius, Corben, Bilai, Druillet, Alcala, Angus McKie... mind indeed blown!
Day 10 - Favourite writer
Well, it's Stan Lee, isn't it?
Looking back on Stan's work it's obviously corny, sentimental and hardly as literate as many that came after him ( Gerber, Engelhart, Moench, Wolfman, Moore, Gaiman et al ). But Stan's voice spoke to me as a kid about heroism, tolerance and just doing the right thing.
Day 11 - Old comic you love
Obviously I love a lot of old comics but it's not all nostalgia. Here's a classic from before I was even born - yes, that long ago! The legendary Eagle ( "The new national strip cartoon weekly!" ) featuring, among many other strips, Frank Hampson's iconic Dan Dare.
I've got some collected Dan Dare strips ( the old, constantly falling-apart Dragon's Dream editions ) but you can't beat the original copies. Here are a few from my very small collection. The colours especially are just wonderful and something modern hi-falutin' printing can't recapture.
Day 12 - Comic character you feel you are most like ( or wish you were )
Not sure how to answer this one, really. Maybe somewhere between these two?
Day 13 - Great plot twist
Watchmen no. 12 ( October 1987 )
( SPOILERS! obviously, but this is from one of the most well-known graphic novels, from 34 years ago, so I think most people here - if there are any people here - will know what happened. )
So, near the end of the saga, after all the heroes' posturing, this happens...
Day 14 - A comic you love that you'll never read again (?)
Again, I don't really understand this category - like fellow Twitterer David H said "Is this a trick question?" If I love a comic I'll surely read it again. Except...
Although I think it's a landmark of the comic form, there are huge stretches of Dave Sim's Cerebus that I'll probably never read again. ( Ironic given my Blogger handle, really. )
I've still got a great admiration for Sim's artistic talent ( and Gerhard's! ) and his monumental feat of self-publishing - 300 issues! - but so much of the later stuff is (a) boring and (b) deeply problematical. To be honest i carried on until the end of the series more out of habit than anything else and only skimmed the last few volumes. One day I'll sit down and properly read Guys, Form & Void, Going Home etc. - maybe I'll wait for the next lockdown...
And that's Week 2 done and, by my calculations ( I'm cleverer than I look ), that's half of the challenge accomplished. Hooray! If anyone else reading this ( Hello? Hello? Is that an echo? Echo? ) would like to take part, then please drop me a comment. I'd love to hear about your comic faves.
11 comments:
Don't worry, cerebus. There are still people reading.
Let's see...
A gorgeous comic:
The Trigan Empire.
A comic that totally blew your mind:
Spider-Man's 1st encounter with the Sinister Six. It was the 1st Marvel comic I ever read and, for my 8-year-old mind, it was like taking LSD.
Favourite writer:
Roy Thomas.
Old comic you love:
Virtually all of them.
Comic character you feel you are most like ( or wish you were ):
The Sub-Mariner.
Great plot twist:
Jarvis is the Crimson Cowl.
A comic you love that you'll never read again:
Death, the High Cost of Living.
Hi Cerebus, not commented here before, but couldn't resist this time as I actually have been (re)reading the whole of Cerebus over lockdown.
Admittedly I skimmed some of the text parts of Reads, and haven't got to Going Home yet (thats next), but post-Jaka's Story its fascinating stuff so far, and been well worth going back...
Fwiw, the comic I love but will likely never read again is Sabre, by Don McGregor & Paul Gulacy. It was the first US independent I ever got, but despite loving it at the time I'm ambivalent about Dauntless Don these days (sorry). I can't bring myself to be critical, but if I'm going to read his old comics now at least give me Gene Colan or Craig Russell's work to look at.
A gorgeous comic - Heros the Spartan by Frank Bellamy (sorry if a collected reprint rather than a comic or original book is cheating a bit)
A comic that blew your mind - the old Dragon's Dream Lone Sloan/Delirius book by Druillet.
Fave writer - Alan Moore (predictable, eh?)
Old comic you love - The Spirit. Very readable considering its age.
Comic character you feel you are most like - Well, I regard Dr Doom as a role model, even though my plans for world domination have yet to reach fruition (I'm playing the long game).
Great plot twist - end of the first Marvel/Miracleman arc, when he found out he was just a comic book character. Maybe it doesn't seem quite so striking now that everyone's meta and post-modern, but back then...
-sean
@Steve
I can't argue with The Trigan Empire - the artwork is just stunning and, as with Dan Dare, the colours still leap off the page in a way that modern, computer-colouring could never do.
That Spidey story is indeed a classic. But, as you've pointed out before, if they'd all ganged up on our hero at once they definitely would have kicked his arachnid arse. These super villains, eh? Not as clever as they think.
Roy The Boy! It really can't be overstated how much of an impact Roy's writing and editing has had on comics. Did I mention I met him last year? I did? Thought so.
"Virtually all of them" is, of course, the right answer.
The Sub-Mariner? But, Steve, surely the mean streets of Sheffield are a long way from the sea? It would play havoc with your powers. And then somebody might conquer your undersea kingdom. Again.
I never trusted that Jarvis.
I'm intrigued now. Why wouldn't you read that comic again?
( BTW Steve, thanks for the re-tweets of my posts that you've done over on the Twitterz - you're a star! )
@Sean
Thanks for commenting! I've obviously seen your name many times over at Steve Does Comics and I'm glad you've stopped by this dimly-lit corner of the Blogoverse.
That's quite a task, re-reading Cerebus! It's a massive work isn't it? But, even given Sim's later attitudes, there's still a lot to love in the comic and I do intend to read the last few volumes properly at some point myself.
Sabre? Yeah, I wouldn't say it's Don's greatest moment, although I know the man himself has a very high opinion of the continuing series that followed the graphic novel. It often feels like a weaker version of the Killraven series, even though Don's to be commended for the diversity of the cast. I still love Gulacy's artwork on the graphic novel - it's just a knockout!
Heros The Spartan - agreed, the artwork in that series is peak Bellamy, just beautiful stuff.
Those Dragon's Dream books were great, weren't they? ( Even if the binding would always, always fall apart. ) It's fascinating to see Druillet's style mature from the Lone Sloan series to Delerius - which I think is his masterpiece. I've also got Yragel / Urm in the DD edition and just a few months back I bought his darkly autobiographical La Nuit, although I haven't properly read that yet.
Alan Moore knows the score! ( Although he used to... not so sure nowadays. )
I sat out in the garden recently and read a load of old Kitchen Sink Spirits - time well spent! I'm a major fan of Will Eisner in general and his post-War Spirits in particular.
As the monarch of Latveria what are your thoughts on Brexit?
Miracleman was a revelation at the time - gritty but often funny and way ahead of its time in its self-referential take on "super" heroes. And Garry Leach's artwork? Phenomenal! I remember finding the first issue of Warrior in a newsagent's in Bournemouth and being absolutely blown away by it.
Thanks for playing, Steve and Sean! See you next week? Same Bat-time, same Bat-channel?
- Simon ( cerebus660 )
Thinking about it, I suspect the fact that I'm landlocked may be the reason I want to live in the sea. We only crave those things we don't already have.
I don't think I'd re-read Death, the High Cost of Living because, although I found it endearing, it was also fairly insubstantial, plot-wise - and character development-wise. I suspect I might find it fairly flimsy-reading if I tackled it again. Also, Neil Gaiman kind of annoys me.
Simon, the Latverian approach to Brexit is to enforce its definition of free movement - you have the right to tremble before DOOM!
I've actually thought for a while that if Marvel had better writers theres a great series waiting to be done about Latveria joining the EU, that explores how Doom works toward his aims on a political level. A rebooted Super-Villain Team-Up for the age of "disruption"...
Yeah, I recall the later Sabre comic and agree, Dauntless Don's use of black, female and gay characters was well ahead of the curve (and in Detectives Inc too) and certainly something you can't take away from him.
Tbh, Gulacy's art isn't really to my taste these days, as I find it a bit stiff now. I hate to knock either of them, as I loved Killraven and MOKF as a kid, so Sabre was the perfect book for me at the time... but thats exactly why I think its best not to read it again.
And having really enjoyed Moore's recent work, like Providence, and the last LOEG, Tempest I will respectfully differ about him still knowing the score.
Mind you, I even read - and liked! - Jerusalem so clearly I don't have a rational perspective... (;
-sean
Day 8: A gorgeous comic
Heros the Spartan by Frank Bellamy (and Tom Tully)
I was going to pick Don Lawrence’s wonderful Trigan Empire saga but Steve beat me to that so this was also on my list. I haven’t read this book in its entirety (I think it was pretty pricey) but I did pick up a few copies of the Eagles a few years ago with this strip in it and it was amazing . Basically it’s Frank Bellamy at his best so art wise so what can you say.
https://downthetubes.net/?p=13754
Day 9 - A comic that totally blew your mind ( man )
CREEPY Yearbook 1971:
I think this was the first Warren mag I picked up and it blew me away. This issue had art black and white are by the likes of rt by Neal Adams, Pat Boyette, Johnny Craig, Reed Crandall, Steve Ditko, Rocke Mastroserio, Tom Sutton, Angelo Torres, and Alex Toth and it all looked amazing.
Day 10 - Favourite writer
Roy Thomas
Stan Lee and Denny O’Neill were very close seconds for me but Roy wins just for his Hulk and Conan stories alone – a wonderful versatile writer and a chip of the old Stan Lee block.
Day 11 - Old comic you love
SMASH!
Originally published by Odhams as one of the Power pack of comics with Wham!, Pow!, Terrific and Fantastic it featured some great anarchic characters mostly inspired by the great Leo Baxendales including Grimly Feendish, The Man From B.U.N.G.L.E, Bad Penny and the Swots and the Blott. In addition it had HULK reprints and the marvelous Ken Reids” Nervs” strip which was truly ahead of its time . When Odhams folded SMASH was the sole survivor that was picked up by IPC and even that was a classic comic this time in the more UK traditional role
.
https://britishcomics.wordpress.com/2019/04/13/smash/
Day 12 - Comic character you feel you are most like ( or wish you were )
Calvin (from Calvin and Hobbes)
Im still a 5 year old boy at heart and I swear my toy stuffed dog is alive!
Day 13 - Great plot twist
Saga of The Swamp Thing #2.
Swamp Thing's lifelong ambition was to revert back to Alec Holland but in this series it turns out that this could never be as Swamp Thing was never Alec Holland , he was killed in the blast that created the Swamp Thing. The Swamp Thing was just a plant that thought it was Alec Holland that was affected by the bio material Alec Holland was working on when the explosion took place.
Day 14 - A comic you love that you'll never read again (?)
Yep Cerebus as well for the reasons given. Great fun strip at the start, intriguing in the middle boring and self-indulgent (imho) after that with some dodgy viewpoints thrown in. Still amazing art throughout.
Sorry Sean I didnt see you mentioned Heros by Bellamy as well
No need to apologize for your good taste Paul.
Anyhow, just dropped back as I'd meant to include this with my previous comment -
https://bleedingcool.com/comics/doctor-doom-does-brexit-in-new-marvel-comic/
(Well, I thought it was funny)
-sean
@Steve
I'd re-read the Death mini-series for Chris Bachalo's artwork but I know what you mean about Neil Gaiman...
@Sean
That Doctor Doom idea would work really well - plenty of opportunity for satire there.
As for Alan Moore, I've always been a big fan but recently I've kind of lost faith in his comics work. He seems to be forever producing pastiches of older characters and stories, from LOEG to Lost Girls to his Lovecraftian stuff, which is all expertly done but ultimately feels a bit pointless to me. When I look back on works like Big Numbers, From Hell or A Small Killing ( and who remembers that one? ) it all seemed so original and Moore seems to have lost that impetus. ( Another issue for me is his fixation on using sexual abuse / rape in his story-lines but I won't get into that now... )
@Paul
Another great selection! I think a lot of us can identify with Calvin and / or Hobbes :-)
And yes, getting back to Alan Moore, that Swamp Thing twist was a stroke of genius really - it freed up the strip by removing Alec Holland's back story so Moore could take it anywhere. And he really did.
A gorgeous comic:
Conan: Red Nails by Roy Thomas and Barry (Windsor-) Smith
A comic that totally blew your mind:
Marvel Premiere # 14, “Sise-Neg Genesis” in which Dr. Strange essentially chases his enemy back to the beginning of time where the enemy becomes God and creates the Universe. Heady stuff for a 14-year-old!
Favorite writer:
Alan Moore
Old comic you love:
Not Brand Ecch # 1
Comic character you feel you are most like ( or wish you were ):
Clark Kent
Great plot twist:
The bad Captain America turns out to be the 1950s Cap and he’s racist!
A comic you love that you'll never read again:
Tomb of Dracula
@Booksteve
Many thanks for the comment! Good to see you here.
That's a great list - so much good stuff! I first read the epic Red Nails in that wonderful Marvel Treasury Edition and was absolutely blown away by it. And "Sise-Neg Genesis"? Say no more! Engelhart and Brunner at their peak!
An interesting choice of comic you'll never read again. I'm a big fan of TOD and often dip back into my woefully-incomplete collection.
Post a Comment