Under rated yes. This during Roger Stren ‘s Avengers run.

I’m still waiting for the whole DeMatties and Perlin runs on ‘Defenders’ to be recognised as among the greatest books of the 1980s.

But at this date, when we’re dealin’ with a 30 year old piece of pop culture like Claremont’s X-men, the vastvastvast majority of critics are gonna argue that it’s hopelessly dated, not that the storytelling style should be single issue stories emphasising plot over characterization – Which is what I’d imagine a Silver Age fan would say.

And, of course, the REAL comic nerds will argue that the Claremont/Byrne Starlord, Iron Fist, or Marvel Team-Up were better.

Indeed. Let’s not forget that “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow” is by no means indicative of the quality of pre-reboot Superman. Far from it, actually.

About the only people I hear complaining about the reboot these days are LSH fans; fair enough, eliminating Superboy did kill the books even while it made a corresponding narrative improvement to Superman – but one that wasn’t strictly necessary and should have been massaged to still work within the timeframe (c’mon, you couldn’t use the tried and true “memory wipe” excuse to explain why Clark didn’t remember being in the future?). But just about every aspect of the Byrne revamp – the decrease in powers, not killing Pa Kent, the increased emphasis on Superman actually being the Last Son, etc. – all seem to work better than what was in place beforehand, and seem to hold a wider appeal than what came before, especially amongst more mainstream audiences.

But of course, Byrne’s reboot was never unanimous, but I do think it was much more loved back then. Yep, some still like it, but my impression is that the general consensus has mostly changed, as it goes from “the run that revitalized Superman” to “a betrayal of the cherised Silver Age”.

I’m rather curious where all these retro-Silver Age fans hang out. Are there impassioned discussions of Charlton work or Kubert’s Enemy Ace that I’m missing? Given the general paucity of reprints from the ’50s and -60s combined with the relatively high back issue prices – Well, most fans don’t have any exposure to anything but the most highly revered and popular superhero (and ONLY superhero) comics from that period. Kirby’s superhero comics are discussed all the time. (And often overrated, IMO. I love Fantastic Four 48-60 and the later Thors as much as anybody, but the rest is a highly mixed bag, quality-wise.) Purdy much everything else is ignored.

And I’m certainly not hearing constant, rapturous praise for the Silver-Age Weissenger Superman.

WHO, exactly, are you referencing here? I very, VERY rarely hear the Silver-Age Superman described as some kind of genius comics milestone. There seems to be a lot more unequivocated praise for the Bynre stuff, actually, although they’re both pretty clearly flawed in some major respects.

Incidentally, on a slightly related note, one of the many thing I love about reading old letter columns (and one of the reason I regret that they’re not included in reprint trades) is that you get to feel superior to all the poor schmucks who couldn’t predict which characters would be breakaway hits and which one’s wouldn’t. Like the guy who wanted a Rainbow Raider mini series, for example.

Like Mark Waid said, that he wished more people back then were vocal against Man of Steel like they are against Brand New Day today?

But of course, Byrne’s reboot was never unanimous, but I do think it was much more loved back then. Yep, some still like it, but my impression is that the general consensus has mostly changed, as it goes from “the run that revitalized Superman” to “a betrayal of the cherised Silver Age”.

Yes, even works that are somehow reviled today (like Byrne’s Man of Steel depowering and bringing Superman down to earth)

Is Man of Steel reviled today? Most people I hear (myself included) still seem to like it.

When I first started reading comics in a big way (late 86/early 87) the most hyped book seemed to be The Dark Knight Returns, closely followed by Watchmen, closely followed by Swamp Thing.

A post on series that were poorly received when they came out that are now considered classics would be interesting.

Kirby’s Fourth World is kind of the poster child for this.

There were a LOT of people who were upset about Byrne’s Superman reboot, and were quite vocal about it in the various fan magazines. Even people outside the comics industry were upset with it, and one of Byrne’s stated reasons for leaving Superman mid-story (after having him kill three villains) was that DC didn’t defend him from Time Magazine’s criticism, IIRC.