Comics Should Be Good!

Valiant Comic Book Alphabet of Cool - X

Brian Cronin — Thu, 15 May 2008 06:02:18 +0000

I could be tricky, but why mess with a good thing?

Enjoy!

X-O Manowar

While there perhaps are better high concepts, the idea of a Visigoth barbarian getting stolen by aliens around the year 400 AD, only to escape custody wearing their most innovative piece of technology, the X-O Manowar suit of armor, only to discover that due to time warps, while only a few years have passed for him, 1600 years have passed on Earth!

That’s a golden idea.

Iron Man meets Conan the Barbarian!

It’s a great concept, highlighted even more by the barbarian, Aric Dacia, taking over a corporation, so it’s Wall Street meets Conan the Barbarian meets Iron Man!!

Jim Shooter came up with the concept and Steve Englehart was given the assignment of writing the first arc of X-O Manowar, with Bob Layton taking over from Englehart.

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Eventually, Jorge Gonzalez would settle in for a long run on the title, followed by Ron Marz (who coincided with Bart Sears - who had a notable short run on the title earlier - returning to the title, Sears even wrote an issue or two after Marz left), then Jeff Bailey & Marty Golia, then Keith Giffen and finally Layton would return for the finale.

The most notable aspect of the series was the supporting cast.

I already mentioned Randy Cartier, but as mentioned in Randy’s section, Ken Clarkson was probably the star supporting character. The company Aric took over was run by the spider aliens. Well, Ken worked for the company and he ended up DISCOVERING that evil aliens were running his company. Did he freak out? No, he did not. Instead, Ken decided to cut a deal with the aliens! Later, when they tasked him with luring Aric into a trap, he figured the winds were blowing Aric’s way, so he changed allegiance to Aric!

In the battle, Ken lost his arm - so Aric actually created a new arm using part of the armor! This way, he could track Ken’s every move if need be! Theirs was definitely a dysfunctional relationship.

When Aric’s first armor was destroyed, he needed a new one - but it needed a soul to run it, so a friend of Aric’s sacrificed himself to power the armor. So for awhile, when he wore the armor, this dude would affect the armor.

Anyhow, when Ron Marz took over the book, he had a silly storyline where both Ken AND Randy were killed. It was a total waste.

So when Bob Layton took over the book to finish the series off, he took the time to specifically address their deaths, and came up with some weird time travel idea. Basically, all of what happened was a POSSIBLE future for Aric, but he had not actually left the spider aliens’ ship yet. So all of it was in the future to him - so he could still avoid Ken and Randy’s deaths.

It was a cheesy idea, but I liked it - since Ken and Randy’s deaths were even cheesier.

When Valiant rebooted, X-O Manowar was totally different. It was still a fun book, with work by Mark Waid and Brian Augustyn and then Dwayne McDuffie, and art by Sean Chen then Scot Eaton. However, it was not as good as the first series (and the concept wasn’t as good, either).

It DID lead to one of the greatest self-deprecating lines I’ve ever heard from a comic writer. Mark Waid had this great quote (I’m totally paraphrasing here) - “Kurt Busiek did Marvels, and he followed it up with Astro City. I did Kingdom Come, and I followed it up with…X-O Manowar?!?”

Only two more to go! Who will they be?

3 Comments

At May 15, 2008, Craig wrote:
Thanks to the recent release of the X-O Manowar Birth hardcover, I've just discovered what all the buzz was about ...
At May 15, 2008, Roquefort Raider wrote:
The first two years of X-O were a lot of fun, before the original armor, then Paul, then Randy and ...
At May 15, 2008, wwk5d wrote:
Yeah, he was one of the better "fish-out-of-time" characters. Brian, you could *almost* say it was Wall Street meets Conan ...

Everybody’s Somebody’s Baby Redux

Brian Cronin — Wed, 14 May 2008 22:58:17 +0000

Okay, so I guess we’ll do it for the Top 100 Runs, too!

I have a couple already (and I have one for a run that I forgot to use, so I guess I’ll post that one, too), but if your top pick did not make the Top 158 runs, please feel free to e-mail me a bit on why you picked your run #1. Starting Monday, I’ll run (one a day) however many essays people send me! So if you Quasar fans really want to explain to people the greatness of Gruenwald’s run, here is your chance!

3 Comments

At May 14, 2008, Matt D wrote:
Brian,

I swear I started working on that write up for my #1 Starman, but once I hit paragraph seven I ...
At May 15, 2008, mrjayberry wrote:
One of my favorite features of these lists. Don't know if I'll like this as much as the characters but ...
At May 15, 2008, Graeme Burk wrote:
I don't totally remember what I voted for, but I'm 99% certain I'm one of those lucky fans whose top ...

Help Gene Colan Out!!

Brian Cronin — Wed, 14 May 2008 22:45:13 +0000

Comic legend Gene Colan has been having some health issues, and he is without health insurance, so Clifford Meth is helping out in the following way:

Aardwolf Publishing will be publishing Meth, Colan & Other Theologians, the proceeds of which will go directly and immediately to Gene and Adrienne Colan. The new book will include everything that was in Perverts, Pedophiles & Other Theologians (the short-fiction collection that Gene and I did together for Aardwolf in 1997) plus two never-before-published stories illustrated by Gene. This will be a limited edition (aprox. 100 pages) of only 500 copies, all signed and numbered. You can order it NOW by sending (via PayPal) $20 plus $3 shipping to: sales@aardwolfpublishing.com

Meanwhile, Daniel at 20th Century Danny Boy suggests sending postcards and Get Well cards to Gene at the following address:

Gene Colan
2 Sea Cliff Avenue
Sea Cliff, NY 11579
USA

He’s also collecting a great deal of Colan tributes at his blog here.

5 Comments

At May 14, 2008, The Mutt wrote:
And after you help Gene, send a letter to your Senator and Representative and tell them that civilized nations have ...
At May 14, 2008, RAB wrote:
Consider the Mutt's sentiments heartily seconded.
At May 14, 2008, jazzbo wrote:
No sh*t. It's ridiculous that someone like Gene Colan has to have a limited edition run of a book so ...
At May 15, 2008, bocefous wrote:
In the future the U.S. will have government health care . Then we can all sit back and listen to ...
At May 15, 2008, Dan Bailey wrote:
>>Then we can all sit back and listen to all the people who wanted government health care complain about how ...

Top 158 Comic Book Runs #107-103

Brian Cronin — Wed, 14 May 2008 17:16:19 +0000

Here are the final six runs!

Enjoy!

107 (tie). Mark Waid and Ron Garney’s first run on Captain America – 89 points

Captain America #444-454

Followed up the rather disappointing end of Gruenwald’s run with a bombastic flourish, as the title was suddenly filled with action and intrigue. The idea of returning Sharon Carter to the book was brilliant, and outside of a few issues where his inkers seemed to not be doing him any favors, Ron Garney’s art was incredibly dynamic. This book was constantly moving and had a harder edge to Cap that hadn’t been seen since Steranko (like threatening to chop Red Skull’s head off, then actually chopping his arm off). It was a real shame when this was cut-off by Heroes Reborn. A year later, they got back together for a new volume of Cap, but while they were okay comics, the spark clearly had gone.

107 (tie). Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning’s Legion – 89 points (4 first place votes)

Legion of Superheroes #122-125, Legion Lost #1-12, Legion: Worlds #1-6, The Legion #1-33

Abnett and Lanning joined the Legion with artist Olivier Coipel, and right from the get-go, you knew this was a vastly different take on the Legion (more akin to Giffen’s Legion). They highlighted this by ending the regular series after their first arc and launching two mini-series that bridged the gap to their new series. First, Legion Lost, where a small group of the Legion are trapped in a faraway galaxy, and secondly, Legion Worlds, where we catch up on the various worlds in the Legion universe (and the Legionnaires on those worlds). This all leads to the ongoing series, The Legion, where Abnett and Lanning early on pull a Levitz/Giffen, and update a modern day DC villain to the future, in a rather brilliant move.

105. Dan Slott’s She-Hulk – 90 points

She-Hulk Vol. 3 #1-12, She-Hulk Vol. 4 #1-21

Dan Slott took over She-Hulk, who had pretty much fell to the wayside by this time (she had been without a series for about 10 years), and tried a new take. He would highlight the lawyer side of her character, and turn the book into a superhero take on Ally McBeal. It was a wonderful high concept, and it worked out well, especially with Slott’s hilarious sense of humor. Continuity would often be the butt of jokes, and after the first series fizzled out, sales-wise, Marvel decided to give him a second volume with more fanfare. That series did better, and it still continues today, although Slott left it recently to take over Amazing Spider-Man.

106. Brian K. Vaughan and Tony Harris’ Ex Machina – 92 points (1 first place vote)

Ex Machina #1-current (#36)

Ex Machina is Brian K. Vaughan’s take on what a superhero in the real world would appear like, as well as what would happen if a former superhero became Mayor of New York. In doing so, Vaughan gets to make points about superheroes AND politics (as opposed to politics and poker) while being ably assisted by Tony Harris’ realistic artwork. They took an interesting approach vis a vis fill-ins. Rather than having fill-in issues, they would have one-shots by other artists to fill-in. This way, Harris would be the only artist to draw Ex Machina proper.

104. Frank Miller’s Sin City – 93 points (1 first place vote)

Dark Horse Fifth Anniversary Special, Dark Horse Presents #51-62, then a pile of mini-series, including A Dame to Kill For, The Big Fat Kill and That Yellow Bastard

Sin City started off with a bang in Dark Horse Presents, as we saw the life of the gruesome Marv in this equally gruesome city. Later adventures brought in other characters with similarly gruesome tales of lust, betrayal and revenge. Oh, and lots of violence! Lots and lots of violence. Here, Miller truly perfected his noir art style, and the recent film adaptation of the work kept Miller’s art intact, showing just how cinematic Miller was on this series. A beautifully drawn series of horrible acts.

103. Jim Starlin’s Dreadstar – 94 points (1 first place vote)

Dreadstar #1-26 (Epic Comics), Dreadstar #27-40 (First Comics), plus some annuals and original graphic novels and the Metamorphosis Odyssey from Epic Illustrated

For a man with quite a few epics, Dreadstar probably was Starlin’s finest - or at least his most realized. He had 40 issues to develop the story of Vanth Dreadstar (the lone survivor of our galaxy) and his band of pirates against the bloody war between the Church of The Instrumentality and the Monarchy. In a lot of ways, this was a continuation of Starlin’s Warlock run, only with different characters, but it was a mature, often depressing work, with wonderful artwork by Starlin. What is striking about the work is that it follows the various changes that happen in the “real world,” but are often left unseen in fiction (The Walking Dead was also designed for this point - showing what happens AFTER the end of most zombie films). What happens when the rebels actually WIN? How do things change? It’s Starlin’s most mature work, and it really could use a full trade paperback collection. Luke McDonnell, by the way, drew the last 8 issues or so, the ones detailing what happens AFTER the war is won. It is darker, so it makes sense to use a darker artist like McDonnell.

Okay, that’s it!

Hope you all enjoyed the countdown!

66 Comments

At May 14, 2008, Dan Bailey wrote:
Cool to see the admiration for the LOSH & Slott's SHE-HULK, & I'm sure Waid's CAPTAIN AMERICA as well (I've ...
At May 14, 2008, Blackjak wrote:
Yay!! Shulkie!!!!

Yay!
At May 14, 2008, Matt Bird wrote:
Dreadstar 1-31 is not only the most satisfying space opera in the history of comics, they have to be most ...
At May 14, 2008, Blackjak wrote:
Wow! So Bryan Talbot's Luther Arkwright/Heart of Empire is 102 or 101??

Cool...

The other must be John Wagner and Alan ...
At May 14, 2008, Blackjak wrote:
Oh, arse... just realised that there were three tied for #100... forgot that, it seems so long ago that this ...
At May 14, 2008, Brian Cronin wrote:
It's funny, Matt, as I was writing up these six, I also noticed that Waid and Garney's Cap run was ...
At May 14, 2008, Matt Bird wrote:
Well, I guess the most shocking absences, not necessarily in terms of "greatness" but just in terms of what else ...
At May 14, 2008, Brian Cronin wrote:
Yeah, the Silvestri love stunned me.
At May 14, 2008, Mobelius Rodelius wrote:
Wow. Someone else likes Coipel's Legion issues. Those Abnett Lanning Coipel issues are the only readable issues of the ...
At May 14, 2008, Billy F wrote:
wow...no:
Rucka's Queen and Country
Conway's Spider-man
Starlin's Captain Marvel

I'm glad to see Ex Machina there though.
At May 14, 2008, Matt wrote:
I voted for Waid and Garney's Cap, and I guess I'm not surprised to see it off the list -- ...
At May 14, 2008, Brian Cronin wrote:
Someone asked me about Quasar - Gruenwald's run fell just shy of 50 points.
At May 14, 2008, Dan Felty wrote:
Thanks, Brian.

For the record, the current Jonah Hex series received at least one point!
At May 14, 2008, jazzbo wrote:
I didn't vote for the Silvestri run, but I do like it a lot, and from what other people have ...
At May 14, 2008, Lorendiac wrote:
I own all of the Waid issues he did for Cap (before and after Heroes Reborn), but I don't like ...
At May 14, 2008, sonohuey wrote:
Ex Machina should have been higher than 106.
At May 14, 2008, Rebis wrote:
I have very fond memories of Perez's Wonder Woman, but I have to admit that I've never once reread it. ...
At May 14, 2008, Jeff R. wrote:
I'm going to brainstorm a bit about what looks missing to me. (Including a few that I voted for, ...
At May 14, 2008, Graeme Burk wrote:
I re-read (but mostly read for the first time) Dreadstar last year. While it's not in trade, it's super-easy to ...
At May 14, 2008, Graeme Burk wrote:
Oh, by 'metamorphosis odyssey' I meant the stories in Epic Illustrated-- I was reminded that in fact the whole Dreadstar ...
At May 14, 2008, Billy F wrote:
did Englehart's Avengers make the list? If it didn't, that's shocking.

Johnson and Williams' Chase was a short series, ...
At May 14, 2008, Matt Bird wrote:
Whoa, you're right, no "Tom Strong"! That's really weird, given how well the other ABC books did! Am ...
At May 14, 2008, DanLarkin wrote:
Yeah. If you're 30, Silvestri was drawing X-Men when you were 10. Isn't that supposedly the "golden age" of ...
At May 14, 2008, Dan Bailey wrote:
>>Also a bit surprising that Sin City didn’t make it — though are we in the middle of Frank Miller ...
At May 14, 2008, Matt D wrote:
I would have liked those Legion issues a lot more without Copiel's muddy muddy art. I'd rather have clarity than ...
At May 14, 2008, Jeff R. wrote:
Honestly, I'd be happied if Sin City hadn't made the top 150 and Give Me Liberty/Martha Washington had.
At May 14, 2008, Mike Loughlin wrote:
I still like the art on the first few Sin City stories- it blew my mind at age 15. The ...
At May 14, 2008, Dan Bailey wrote:
>>I’ve never read it, but Scud the Disposable Assassin has many supporters. I’m a little shocked that didn’t place anywhere. ...
At May 14, 2008, Dean wrote:
I guess the X-Men run is damaged by its association with the atrocious work that Lee did after Claremont was ...
At May 14, 2008, Dan Bailey wrote:
>>Miller’s “Daredevil” is safely into the proverbial cannon of great comics at this point (and it is the only one ...
At May 14, 2008, DanLarkin wrote:
I imagine the Claremont/Lee X-Men run gets hurt for not being pretty a) not very long, b) split across two ...
At May 14, 2008, s1rude wrote:
Dean beat me to me my point - but I think in both artists' cases it has been building for ...
At May 14, 2008, s1rude wrote:
Boy, do I wish you could edit posts so that I could, oh, I don't know, finish sentences and add ...
At May 14, 2008, Si wrote:
No Furman Transformers either :( I loved that comic as a kid.

I would have also liked to have seen Francis ...
At May 14, 2008, Stephen wrote:
Rebis, agreed on the point about Rucka's WW being the high point for the character creatively (even if he spent ...
At May 14, 2008, Jason wrote:
Any chance of getting the complete list, sans commentary? I'd like to know what happened to Impulse and The Adventures ...
At May 14, 2008, Rene wrote:
We have 158 runs (and 33601 pts)

- 57 runs are set in the Marvel Universe (13130 pts)
- 14 runs are ...
At May 14, 2008, Rene wrote:
I find it shocking that George Perez's Wonder Woman isn't even in the Top 150. Not to start a discussion ...
At May 14, 2008, ks wrote:
Runs missing in my opinion:
L.E.G.I.O.N. '89 by Giffen/Grant/Kitson(or maybe just Grant and Kitson)
D.P.7 by Gruenwald/Ryan
X-Men:First Class by Parker
ElfQuest ...
At May 14, 2008, ks wrote:
I think that Rene is right. Perez's Wonder Woman is the most glaring omission of this list. She's one of ...
At May 14, 2008, The Mutt wrote:
Brian, I have to know: did Kubert's Tarzan get any other votes besides mine?
At May 14, 2008, Brian Cronin wrote:
Offhand, no, I don't believe so.
At May 14, 2008, The Mutt wrote:
That's a shame. Not because Kubert is short on accolades, but because it means so many people have missed out ...
At May 14, 2008, Maurice F wrote:
Obviously, the Stern/Bryne CAPTAIN AMERICA (247-255) are underrated. If you haven't read them you should do yourself a favor.
At May 14, 2008, Lorendiac wrote:
Jeff R. said:
No Tom Strong or Halo Jones from Moore. No Greg Pak Hulk, even in an extremely present-oriented list…

I ...
At May 14, 2008, Jeff R. wrote:
In my opinion, the finest adaptation of novels to comics ever.

That's a fairly small pond, isn't it? What's the ...
At May 14, 2008, Jeff R. wrote:
(Oh, and Foglio's Myth Adventures, which would probably be my vote for the winner in that small category.)
At May 14, 2008, Sean C. wrote:
I'm really stunned that Perez's WW didn't even make the 50 runners-up; just drives home how unpopular the character is, ...
At May 14, 2008, nacho wrote:
I had the Silvestri run really high on my list. That's when I started reading X-Men and to this ...
At May 14, 2008, Rene wrote:
Yes, the list is very writer-centric. That is not a problem with me, since I'm very writer-centric myself. It must ...
At May 14, 2008, wwk5d wrote:
George Perez and Alan Davis are probably my 2 favorite artists. I'd read almost anything by them.

Glad too see that ...
At May 14, 2008, Matt Bird wrote:
In the end, the big lesson of this whole exercise is that Marvel desperately needs to release Visionary trades ...
At May 14, 2008, Matt Bird wrote:
Oh, and DC needs to put out two Showcase's of Grell's Warlord!
At May 14, 2008, Dan Bailey wrote:
>>Moench and Gulacy’s Master of Kung Fu

Not gonna happen, unfortunately. Marvel no longer has the rights to the characters created ...
At May 14, 2008, stealthwise wrote:
As the comments for Waid/Garney's Cap run and She-Hulk remind me, books that take a long hiatus (at least, company-owned ...
At May 14, 2008, jazzbo wrote:
Hama and Silvestri's Wolverine run just missed my list, Nacho. It was a great read, and even though I ...
At May 14, 2008, ks wrote:
Another good current title that I like is Incredible Herc. Guess there isn't enough of it yet to qualify for ...
At May 15, 2008, Dalarsco wrote:
I put the Silvestri run as my #1 run, but not for Silvestri's art (which I do like), but because ...
At May 15, 2008, Emmabe wrote:
Sean C mentioned, "I’m really stunned that Perez’s WW didn’t even make the 50 runners-up; just drives home how unpopular ...
At May 15, 2008, Brian Cronin wrote:
I think Wonder Woman is popular, but not within message-board-time-spending comic-book-reading community. I think you don't need the first part.

"not ...
At May 15, 2008, Lorendiac wrote:
I see some people arguing that ASBAR is so hated by various fans that the negative feelings toward it may ...
At May 15, 2008, Bernard the Poet wrote:
I am going to stick my neck out and say that the reason Perez's Wonder Woman isn't on the list ...
At May 15, 2008, Rene wrote:
Er...Perez's WW not very good? Kung-Fu Wonder Woman? Fire in their belly?

Well, I suppose it takes all kinds.
At May 15, 2008, Sean C. wrote:
I'll vote for the awful Silver Age Wonder Woman when Hades becomes a skating rink (which, if you believe Dante, ...
At May 15, 2008, Graeme Burk wrote:

The lack of love for both Frank Miller and Jim Lee is pretty easy to figure out: “All-Star Batman & ...
At May 15, 2008, Graeme Burk wrote:
Whoops. Somehow didn't post my last line.

I think Jim Lee is just overrated, but that's hardly a big sin in ...

Valiant Comic Book Alphabet of Cool - W

Brian Cronin — Wed, 14 May 2008 06:17:14 +0000

I’ll admit, this is more of a symbolic one, sort of like J!

Enjoy!

Wipeout

That’s Wipeout on the bottom left. He was a rookie member of the group, H.A.R.D. Corps, which stood for Harbinger Active Resistance Division. It was a very high concept book, where a group of comatose people were given the chance to live again if the Omen Foundation were allowed to put technology into their brains that would allow them to access various Harbinger powers, Ultra Boy style (one at a time). They were then sent to fight against Toyo Harada and his Harbinger Foundation.

The first issue was notable for Jim Lee supplying a cover (anyone know who called in the favor to get Lee to do a cover?).

The book was written by the classic Iron Man writing team of Michelinie and Layton, with Mike Leeke on the art.

The comic was a basic war/adventure series. It was an entertaining comic - lots of action.

But each of the various members had their own little personality quirks. Wipeout was a surfer who did not like to use violence, instead using his kickboxing skills.

Other notable members included Hammerhead (Virgil) a tough bald dude, Shakespeare (Aaron) a less tough bald dude, Hotshot (Christine) who was female (and yes, that was a subtle commentary on her characterization), and Superstar (Rick) who was a thrill junkie.

Eventually, Mike Baron took over, and like all Valiant Comics, the end sorta went to pot, with the newer members hunting down the older members.

Luckily, Wipeout was cool enough not to do anything really wrong. I believe he basically sat out the last confrontations between the new and the old guard.

10 Comments

At May 14, 2008, Sandy wrote:
I think the Jim Lee favor was called in by Abraham and his two friends, George Washington and George Washington.
At May 14, 2008, Matthew Johnson wrote:
I'm enjoying this series, Brian. How about setting your sights a decade earlier and giving us an Alphabet of Cool ...
At May 14, 2008, Lee Marino wrote:
The Jim Lee story was told in a letter col, I believe. The then head of Valiant , Steve ...
At May 14, 2008, Brian Cronin wrote:
Thanks, Lee!

I THOUGHT there was some story about that.
At May 14, 2008, FunkyGreenJerusalem wrote:
He didn't like violence so he used kickboxing....?
At May 14, 2008, yo go re wrote:
yes. Nice, peaceful kickboxing...
At May 14, 2008, wwk5d wrote:
Is it just me, or do Wipeout and Superstar look very similar?
At May 14, 2008, Brian Cronin wrote:
They look a TON alike.

That's why I guess Superstar has the stubble - otherwise, no one would be able to ...
At May 15, 2008, FunkyGreenJerusalem wrote:
I dunno, I saw a Van Damme (?) film and they totally used Kick Boxing to kill people!
At May 15, 2008, Jeff Ryan wrote:
>>I think the Jim Lee favor was called in by Abraham and his two friends, George Washington and George >>Washington.

Wow, ...

John Seavey’s Storytelling Engines: Monster of Frankenstein

Brian Cronin — Tue, 13 May 2008 20:52:31 +0000

Here’s the latest Storytelling Engine from John Seavey. Click here to read John’s description of what a Storytelling Engine IS, anyways. Check out more of them at his blog, Fraggmented.

Storytelling Engines: Monster of Frankenstein

(or “Changing Your Source Mid-Stream”)

So let’s say you’re Marvel comics in the mid-1970s. (Probably a heck of a career change for you, depending on who’s reading this, but just go with me for a minute here.) Recent revisions to the Comics Code have made it viable to publish horror comics again for the first time in a couple of decades, and you’ve got a popular Dracula comic and a popular werewolf comic. What comes next? Frankenstein’s monster, of course!

Gary Friedrich started writing ‘Monster of Frankenstein’ by drawing from the original novel by Mary Shelley. He picked up the story pretty much where Shelley had left it off, in fact, by having the Monster discovered in the Arctic ice where it had gone off to die, perfectly frozen for a century or so of inactivity. Naturally, a series of events unfreezes the monster (after a few issues that retell the origin for people who’ve never read the novel), and off we go!

Friedrich’s ‘Frankenstein’ makes a few very interesting choices in the way it sets up its storytelling engine. First, as noted, it draws its inspiration from the book, not the movie. By the 1970s, Boris Karloff’s classic performance had cemented the film version of the story in the public’s mind; his snarling, bestial monster with the squared-off head was far more readily identifiable as “Frankenstein” than Shelley’s intellectual, Dante-quoting creature. (And, for that matter, far more identifiable as “Frankenstein” than Victor Frankenstein, creator of the nameless monster.)

Friedrich clearly uses Shelley’s monster in his stories; the creature is intelligent, but bitter over the constant fear and hatred of a world that sees him as nothing more than a beast to be put down. He’s no paragon of virtue, though; over the first ten issues of the series, he lashes out at humanity just as much as humanity lashes out at him. It’s a degree of moral complexity from Friedrich’s protagonist that leaves you unsure whether to root for the Monster, or against him.

The second unusual decision Friedrich made was to set the story in Victorian times; the monster is found frozen in the ice, yes, but not by a modern scientist. No, this Frankenstein’s monster wanders the world of the 1800s, clashing with superstitious peasants, mad scientists, and the only Marvel monster who was around back then, Count Dracula.

These two bold decisions, when combined, result in a very different Frankenstein comic than you’d expect, and a comic very different from anything else on the market. Cerebral, complex, and light-years away from other adaptations (even DC’s short-lived Frankenstein back-up in ‘Phantom Stranger’, which used the “intelligent Monster” caveat, read more like a conventional “misunderstood superhero” story than like the anti-hero of Marvel’s version)…it might, in fact, have been a bit too ahead of its time to succeed in the Bronze Age marketplace.

So new writer Doug Moench took a great big wrenching step sideways when he took over the title, creating something that would (presumably) be more in line with what fans were looking for. Friedrich had already shredded the monster’s vocal cords in the last few issues of his run, giving the Monster a style of speech more in line with the gutteral snarls of Karloff’s monster, but Moench took this a step further; a second spell in glacial ice brought the monster to the present day, but damaged its mind to the point where it was nothing more than Karloff’s beast redux.

Moench continued to write this version of the Monster, both in ‘Monster of Frankenstein’ and ‘Monsters Unleashed’, but somehow, despite seemingly being calculated to appeal to fans of the Universal classic (presumably a larger market than fans of Shelley’s novel), it never really caught on. After another seven or eight issues (and one last, desperate change of direction by Bill Mantlo that was later dealt with in the pages of ‘Iron Man’), ‘Monster of Frankenstein’ finally folded, flopping where his fellow monsters had triumphed. (Sorry, can’t think of a good synonym for ‘triumphed’ that starts with “f”. My bad.)

We’ll never be sure what caused ‘Monster’ to fail. Perhaps Marvel should have stuck to its guns and kept going with the quirky, off-beat title that Friedrich had started (you can tell where my bias lies, huh?) Perhaps they should have made the decision right from the beginning to go with a movie-inspired creature, a proto-Hulk instead of Shelley’s haunted monster with yellow eyes and dreams of revenge. Perhaps Frankenstein was just never going to catch on with comics fans the way that Dracula and the werewolf did. Whatever the reason, ‘Essential Monster of Frankenstein’ stands as an interesting demonstration of the way a book can reinvent itself to try to catch readers…and the way that sometimes, that reinvention just doesn’t work.

10 Comments

At May 13, 2008, GT Holkan wrote:
"Flourished"
At May 13, 2008, Pitr wrote:
I also thought of "flourished" and would go on to suggest "fiends" for "monsters," bringing the alliteration count to a ...
At May 13, 2008, Jack Norris wrote:
There's just something oddly clunky about "Monster of Frankenstein" as opposed to "Frankenstein's Monster". I'm not saying that this is ...
At May 13, 2008, fourthworlder wrote:
Fearsome fiends, at least one of whom was fairly furry.
Which rounds it up to ten.
At May 14, 2008, FunkyGreenJerusalem wrote:
What was the books storytelling engine whilst it lasted?
At May 14, 2008, John Seavey wrote:
Eh, y'know, Monster wanders around, tries to find acceptance, people fear and hate him, he beats them up, oddly fails ...
At May 14, 2008, Jeff Ryan wrote:
So if we pick up this in a comic store, we should PUT...the TRADE...BACK!

Had to be done.
At May 14, 2008, suedenim wrote:
Sounds interesting enough that I want to pick up the Essential volume now.

But it strikes me that a fundamental problem ...
At May 14, 2008, FunkyGreenJerusalem wrote:
Incidentally, that’s one thing I’ve noticed in retrospect, how much of a “house style” ’70s Marvel had across multiple genres. ...
At May 15, 2008, Random Stranger wrote:
As I recall I really enjoyed the early issues but found my interest wane as the series went on. ...

I’m genuinely curious

Bill Reed — Tue, 13 May 2008 20:06:20 +0000

If people will buy a 16-page comics single for two dollars (i.e., Fell), would they buy an 8-page comics single (with backmatter, let’s say) for one dollar?

32 Comments

At May 13, 2008, pmpknface wrote:
I'll try any comic for $1 or less. If it's good, I'd keep buying it.
At May 13, 2008, Chad Nevett wrote:
Sure, why not.
At May 13, 2008, nadir wrote:
i'd try it sure. it is a buck, why not. seems like a wonderful way to do a bi weekly ...
At May 13, 2008, Dan Bailey wrote:
Depends, maybe, on the backmatter. A buck ain't much, granted. But if too many full-size $2.99/$3.50/whatever already take only 4-5 ...
At May 13, 2008, Brian Cronin wrote:
I don't think so, as the drop-off would be more considerable (22 to 16 is a drop of 6 or ...
At May 13, 2008, joshschr wrote:
If it's good, it matters, or it's cheap, I probably would. There are a lot of FCBD books that ...
At May 13, 2008, Jared wrote:
It would need to be at least bi-weekly. Feeding me three minutes of a story every thirty days isn't ...
At May 13, 2008, Chris wrote:
I'd try it but I don't know how well it would do. 1 dollar will get me to try anything. ...
At May 13, 2008, Ian Astheimer wrote:
The British anthologies run eight page stories, right? 2000AD and the like? Of course, those probably include loads of stories, ...
At May 13, 2008, Brian wrote:
Shouldn't it be 2.99 for full (32), 1.49 for half (16) and then 75 cents for an 8 pager? ...
At May 13, 2008, Lucion wrote:
I'd just buy the TPB containing the entire 16 issue arc for $10. :)
At May 13, 2008, Bill Reed wrote:
Brian said:

Shouldn’t it be 2.99 for full (32), 1.49 for half (16) and then 75 cents for an 8 pager? ...
At May 13, 2008, Brian Cronin wrote:
if that’s feasible on the publishing end– anybody remember the specificities of pagecount in regards to publishing? Yeah, it's feasible ...
At May 13, 2008, keith wrote:
I'll try anything twice. :)
It would have to be two things to keep me coming back though, $1 or not:
a) ...
At May 13, 2008, Alan Coil wrote:
I buy a lot of comics for $1. 50 cents, too. Just bought a bunch the other day. The dealer ...
At May 13, 2008, davidwynne wrote:
Assuming it was well written enough, yeah. Fell usually takes me longer to read than the average twenty two pager, ...
At May 13, 2008, Eric wrote:
I think it's not an issue of quantity, but quality for me. I think it would take an excellent writer ...
At May 13, 2008, Eric wrote:
I don't know that there would be enough story. Most stories that long feel inconsequential. Maybe if it was by ...
At May 13, 2008, Dirk wrote:
I would try it, but I just don't see it working. 8 pages just isn't enough to tell a ...
At May 13, 2008, sterg wrote:
I think I would buy the shorter $1 issue, but it would depend on the property and the creators.
Eclipse did ...
At May 13, 2008, Tommy wrote:
That might be a good way for DC to reprint classic Spirit stories. You know, before that movie.
At May 14, 2008, FunkyGreenJerusalem wrote:
If it’s good, it matters, or it’s cheap, I probably would. There are a lot of FCBD books that I ...
At May 14, 2008, Chris Tolworthy wrote:
A skilled writer can tell an entire story on one page - has anyone here read Ken Reid's Jonah? I ...
At May 14, 2008, sleeper wrote:
Chris: "8 Pages seems too short for story telling purposes"

RIP Will Eisner.

Eric: "Could you imagine if ...
At May 14, 2008, avengers63 wrote:
Marvel Comics Presents originally went for what, 150 issues or so? I don't remember. The current one is ...
At May 14, 2008, joshschr wrote:
If it matters?

What the hell does that mean?

If it’s a work likely to have an effect on society as a ...
At May 14, 2008, joshschr wrote:
grammar am not good but you get point
At May 14, 2008, J. R. Wick wrote:
I think you could tell a good story in 8 pages. In fact, I bet there are some who ...
At May 14, 2008, Dan Bailey wrote:
Good point, Avengers63. I just got through reading MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS #s 1-9 in one fell swoop this weekend (except ...
At May 14, 2008, Ian wrote:
I'd buy it but I have no idea why my retailer would order it.
At May 14, 2008, Bill Reed wrote:
Ian said:

I’d buy it but I have no idea why my retailer would order it.

Because, for a buck, he can ...
At May 14, 2008, Tyson wrote:
Could you imagine if Bendis only had 8 pages to tell a story?
I seem to recall that his book Total ...

Snark Free Corner for 5/12

Brian Cronin — Tue, 13 May 2008 05:03:16 +0000

Welcome to the latest installment of your breath of snark free air!

In honor of the finale of the Valiant Comic Book Alphabet of Cool this week, this is an All-Valiant edition!

Enjoy!

SNARK FREE DEBATE

Which Turok was the best?

The original Gold Key stories featuring Turok had the great Gaylord Du Bois and Paul S. Newman writing the stories (particularly Newman), but they were fairly straightforward tales.

The early Valiant issues had a nice twist, while keeping the whole “hunting dinosaurs” bit, it also had various other weird anomalies in the Lost Land. However, while the series did feature Tim Truman for awhile and a young Rags Morales, otherwise, it did not have creators at the same level as a Newman.

The final Valiant series was created by Fabian Nicieza, and it remakes Turok as a modern-day Native American who gets caught up in his destiny to be the next dinosaur hunter. It was a fun story, and it spawned a very popular video game.

So which series was the best?

Let me know - and remember, in the debate, no snarkiness allowed!!

COVER THEME GAME

As always, here is the game. I show three covers. They all have something in common, whether it be a character, a trait all three characters share, locale, creator, SOMEthing. And it isn’t something obvious like “They all have prices!” “They all have logos!” “They all feature a man!” etc.

In addition, please note that you must have some familiarity with comic book history to correctly guess these comics. You cannot guess the connective theme just by looking at the covers solely, you must have some knowledge beyond just the covers.

A cool point to the first person to figure it out!

Good luck!

1.

2.

3.

SNARK FREE CHALLENGE

You have to make a new Valiant Universe of eight titles - which eight books do you choose, and which continuity do you use for each one?

THE COVER GAME

This week’s game is as follows…

Find me a cover featuring a cover homage to a previous VALIANT cover on a Valiant comic book…

Here is an example (which you can’t use!)…

(This cover homages the cover of Harbinger #1)

Remember, only one cover per commenter!

WHO IS IT?

Remember, tell me who it is and what number clue gave it away!

1. This character has a daughter.
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2. This character has been in the military.
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3. This character wore a suit of armor.
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4. This character was in charge of a group of armored people for a time.
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5. This character was blackmailed into quitting his post.

Who is it?

Well, that’s it for this installment of Snark Free Corner.

Hope you had fun!

8 Comments

At May 12, 2008, Andrew-TLA wrote:
The only Turok I've read is the third one, so I'm going to have to go with that. No snark ...
At May 13, 2008, yo go re wrote:
The fact that all three covers have somebody wearing Spider-Alien armor is too obvious, but it did make me think ...
At May 13, 2008, Rob Schamberger wrote:
The Truman/Morales/Gulacy run on Turok is one of my favorite comics ever.
At May 13, 2008, Brian Cronin wrote:
The fact that all three covers have somebody wearing Spider-Alien armor is too obvious Right, but perhaps a twist on ...
At May 13, 2008, mightygodking wrote:
Line of eight Valiant titles:

1.) Eternal Warriors. The Acclaim concept of putting Archer, Armstrong, Ivar and Galad all in one ...
At May 13, 2008, Craig B. wrote:
The "Who Is It" has to be somebody on the Armorines, right? I haven't read those books since they ...
At May 13, 2008, chris wrote:
Found a Valiant on Valiant
At May 13, 2008, Rob M wrote:
Cover game: Rai Companion http://www.comics.org/coverview.lasso?id=53060&zoom=4 was an homage of Rai #0 http://www.comics.org/coverview.lasso?id=51978&zoom=4.

Unless it was the other way round.

Valiant Comic Book Alphabet of Cool - V

Brian Cronin — Tue, 13 May 2008 03:31:25 +0000

The character find of 1997!

Enjoy!

Vincent Van Goat

Vincent was first introduced in the third issue of Quantum and Woody as a joke. Quantum and Woody are on a cross-national goose chase, and in their journey, they end up purchasing a goat for whatever reason. Woody, though, puts the goat to good use by getting some monks to break their vow of silence to give them information - or else he’ll shoot the goat in the head in front of them.

The goat then spawned a contest for fans to name him. There ended up being a tie - Vincent Van Goat and HAEDUS (Heavily Armed Espionage Deadly Über-Sheep).

He then gained a super power - the power of teleportation. But much like the hilarious time traveling snake and bacon of Tales Designed to Thrizzle, just because he can teleport, does not mean that he can do anything else. So that’s what he would do - he would teleport but otherwise act just like a goat.

This led to Valiant producing a Vincent Van Goat “inaction” figure.

And, finally, Vincent got his own one-shot, with art by Keith Giffen and Charles Adlard!

Then Quantum and Woody was canceled.

But while it lasted, the goat was awesome!

12 Comments

At May 12, 2008, Brendan H. wrote:
Yes! I still have my Vincent Van Goat action figure sitting right above my computer to this day.
At May 13, 2008, Tom Fitzpatrick wrote:
Oh yes, THE goat.

We definitely, CANNOT, forget the goat. ;-)
At May 13, 2008, Jeff Ryan wrote:
How are goats and message baords posters alike?

Both say "meh" a lot.
At May 13, 2008, JdRavnos wrote:
Aww, that reminds me I need to find my old Vincent inaction figure. It's probably in a box at my ...
At May 13, 2008, stealthwise wrote:
That is... so.. cool...
At May 13, 2008, joshschr wrote:
Wow... just... wow.

I've skipped at least half of the Valient posts so far, and I barely remember even seeing any ...
At May 13, 2008, Jason wrote:
I have both versions of the inaction figure. Before you look at me funny, I only paid for one. One ...
At May 13, 2008, Jeremy A. Patterson wrote:
I am VERRY steamed that you have spolighted Troublemakers & Dr. Tomorrow in an entry, but giving the moronic Quantum ...
At May 13, 2008, Scavenger wrote:
You didn't mention that The Goat one shot, combining the powers of the Priest Curse and the The Giffen Curse ...
At May 14, 2008, yo go re wrote:
the joke was, “Well, tell him the baby got a tan.”

That's a joke?
At May 14, 2008, Jason wrote:
Damn...forgot to mention that Omar is black. This would've been easier if I had the material in front of me.
At May 15, 2008, BDaly wrote:
You're alright Cronin. You're alright.

Top 158 Comic Book Runs #118-109

Brian Cronin — Tue, 13 May 2008 03:00:13 +0000

Here are the next ten runs!

Enjoy!

116 (tie). J. Michael Straczynski’s Amazing Spider-Man – 76 points

Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 2) #30-58, Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #500-545

JMS’ run on Amazing Spider-Man helped to revitalize the Spider-Man line, turning what was a book in sales trouble into one of Marvel’s highest-selling titles. He had a good chemistry with his artists, especially the initial run, with John Romita, Jr. as artist.

116 (tie). Gail Simone’s Birds of Prey - 76 points (1 first place vote)

Birds of Prey #56-90, 92-108

A fine follow-up to Chuck Dixon’s origination of the team. Like most great runs, Simone highlighted characterization, and stressed the development of both Black Canary and Huntress during the series, as well as the closer bond that the three main female leads developed. Also a sizable amount of humor.

116 (tie). Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert’s Sgt. Rock - 76 points (1 first place vote)

A whole pile of Our Army at War and Sgt. Rock comics - too many different issues to list.

Strong, solid war stories with gritty, dynamic artwork by Kubert. Not many multi-issue arcs, so Kanigher had to come up with new stories constantly, which he did with a great amount of ingenious plot ideas (for a series that had such a basic premise, Kanigher got as much out of it as he could).

115. Howard Chaykin’s American Flagg 43 – 77 points

(writer) American Flagg #1-26, #38-32

(penciler) American Flagg #1-12, 15-26

One of the first “modern” superheroes of the 1980s, featured great artwork by Chaykin as well as an engaging story. Perhaps the first time oral sex was shown in a comic book.

114. Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan’s Tomb of Dracula– 78 points

Tomb of Dracula #7-70, plus Annuals

A rousing action epic, with incredibly moody artwork by Colan and his longtime inker, Tom Palmer. What Wolfman did best in this run was introducing new characters and developing both them and the established characters he inherited. Hannibal King, Blade and Frank Drake all become multi-faceted intriguing characters, and Dracula was always there, too, being evil and cool.

113. Scott Lobdell’s Generation X – 79 points

Generation X #1-28, plus the four Age of Apocalypse issues

Lobdell introduced original characters, which was a big deal at the time, and Lobdell and artist Chris Bachalo (who drew most of Lobdell’s run) did a marvelous job coming up with characters that seemed a bit out of place in the typical world of the X-Men. Bachalo did particularly nice work on Skin and Chamber. A lot the development of Emma Frost for Morrison’s run came from this run.

112. Katsuhiro Ōtomo Akira – 80 points

Young Magazine #24 (1982)- #28 (1990), Published in the US in Akira #1-38

Otomo’s work on Akira was the bridge he needed from working in manga to working in film and television, and you can see that ability in the majestic work that often appears in Akira - it is widescreen designs and drawings - all with an intriguing plot.

111. Ed Brubaker/Matt Fraction’s Iron Fist – 83 points

The Immortal Iron Fist #1-current (#14)

Massive roller coaster ride of action, with one of the better new characters (the “Golden Age” Iron Fist) to come along in awhile. Very nice art throughout most of the series. This is a dynamic book with a number of good character moments, as well.

110. Grant Morrison/Mark Waid/Greg Rucka/Geoff Johns’ 52 - 85 points

52 #1-52

Yes, it only lasted a year, but if a book is over 50 full issues, I figure I can count it as an ongoing. This series started slow, but soon built up so much momentum that the final half was like a massive avalanche of cool moments, all set up with the deft characterization work each writer did with the fourth-string characters who starred in 52.

109. Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams’ Batman - 87 points

Detective Comics - #395, 397, 400, 402, 404, 407-408, 410 & Batman #232, 234, 237, 243-245, 251, 255

While spilt up over the early 1970s, O’Neil and Adams still had a bit of a run, where Adams’ conception of Batman became the definitive look for Batman in the 1970s. This run tried to take Batman back to a darker style (after the camp of the TV series), along with stellar artwork by Adams. It was during their run that Ra’s al Ghul was introduced.

That’s it for today! The final six tomorrow!!

65 Comments

At May 12, 2008, nadir wrote:
77 POINTS!!!!!!!

how the eff does american flagg only get 77 points?
people, if you just have not read this book (only ...
At May 12, 2008, Thok wrote:
JMS's Amazing Spiderman run needs the following disclaimer: On several storylines, JMS ran into heavy editorial interference, and that needs ...
At May 12, 2008, Chris Heide wrote:
well, I'm glad to see JMS Spider-Man get some love despite the fact that it turned to shit post-JRJ, while ...
At May 12, 2008, Matt Bird wrote:
Dracula! Rock! Adams Batman! Here's all those runs that some quixotic people thought would be in the ...
At May 12, 2008, Brian Cronin wrote:
Oh right, it was ORAL sex that Flagg first had. Always hard to keep track of the random "firsts" in ...
At May 12, 2008, Matt D wrote:
Past Generation X (geez, I should have voted for Nicieza's post-Liefeld X-Force; that's a better run what with the Siryn/Black ...
At May 12, 2008, Rick Blaine wrote:
I hope that Michelinie/Layton/Bright's run on Iron Man is listed next. It was one of Marvel's strongest titles in the ...
At May 12, 2008, yosky wrote:
I'm not a huge manga fan but Akira stands as a masterpiece of comics art. It's up there with Moebius ...
At May 12, 2008, Lorendiac wrote:
Just some stray first reactions regarding what I know about the items in this installment (which in some cases is ...
At May 12, 2008, Dan Bailey wrote:
SGT & TOMB OF DRACULA... finally, the world is starting to make a certain amount of sense to Unfrozen Caveman ...
At May 12, 2008, Dan Bailey wrote:
SGT *ROCK*, that is. My new keyboard & I have been having ... issues.
At May 12, 2008, Bill K wrote:
With the arrival of O'Neill/Adams Batman/'Tec, the (to me) most mysterious remaining absence is at last resolved. I even love ...
At May 12, 2008, Matt Bird wrote:
The final six:

Sin City?
Starlin's Dreadstar?
Perez's Wonder Woman?
DeMatteis's Captain America?
Stern and Byrne's Cap?
Claremont and Lee's X-Men?
Simonson's Fantastic Four?
Dixon's Batman or ...
At May 12, 2008, fourthworlder wrote:
Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers?

Anybody?

[crickets chirp]
At May 12, 2008, wwk5d wrote:
Gen X wasn't one of my favorite X-titles, but it was a good read. Granted, the series is tough to ...
At May 12, 2008, Suzene wrote:
Man, I liked Simone and Benes on Birds. Not in my top ten, but I've got all the trades on ...
At May 12, 2008, Eliot Johnson wrote:
Would love to see the Waid/Ramos Impulse crack the list.
At May 13, 2008, Spiffy wrote:
Unless I missed it, DeFalco's Spider-Girl is still up for grabs. Given the large fan love for that series, ...
At May 13, 2008, Bernard the Poet wrote:
Poor old Sgt Rock. He must have taken part in D-Day at least a dozen times, single-handedly liberated every single ...
At May 13, 2008, entzauberung wrote:
Isn't Steranko's Cap disqualified due to its shortness?
At May 13, 2008, Bernard the Poet wrote:
Brian did an 'Any Questions?' page prior to the vote. I asked then, if Steranko's run could be included and ...
At May 13, 2008, M Bloom wrote:
Didn't figure we'd see Generation X on this list. I suppose that's largely because I'd forgotten that it actually was ...
At May 13, 2008, Rene wrote:
Compared to the general crapness of most other 1990s X-Books (hell, most other Marvel 1990s books, period), Generation X looked ...
At May 13, 2008, Chris Simpson wrote:
I've still a few from my 10 ten to appear.

One of them's Slott's She Hulk. Considering the love given ...
At May 13, 2008, Lorendiac wrote:
I'm up to 7 of my 10 having appeared. (5 were in the original Top 102, and 2 more have ...
At May 13, 2008, Brian Cronin wrote:
Yeah, I figure Steranko's run was significant enough to warrant an exception, if only because you always hear people speak ...
At May 13, 2008, Brian Cronin wrote:
Sin City?
Starlin’s Dreadstar?
Perez’s Wonder Woman?
DeMatteis’s Captain America?
Stern and Byrne’s Cap?
Claremont and Lee’s X-Men?
Simonson’s Fantastic Four?
Dixon’s Batman or Robin or BoP ...
At May 13, 2008, Lorendiac wrote:
Somebody -- I forget whom -- argued, in one of the spirited discussions we had as the Top 100 were ...
At May 13, 2008, Brian Cronin wrote:
But everyone considers Byrne and Stern's tenure on Captain America a run, right?

It's ALWAYS been referred to as a run, ...
At May 13, 2008, Dan Bailey wrote:
>>A run, really, is just consecutive issues by a creator .

Except that Steranko's THREE issues weren't even consecutive? I'm not ...
At May 13, 2008, Teebore wrote:
Say what you will about JMS's Spidey when it went off the rails (and boy, did it ever) but before ...
At May 13, 2008, Brian Cronin wrote:
#110 and 111 were consecutive. ;)

But really, the point was a bit of a moot one, just like when I ...
At May 13, 2008, Patrick Hall wrote:
How the Stern & JMS Spiderman runs can make this list and the Gerry Conway/Ross Andru run not get a ...
At May 13, 2008, wwk5d wrote:
Didn't the Stern run make this list?
At May 13, 2008, rlsims wrote:
Hey Lorendiac,

Which Batman runs did you vote on? I'm assuming one was the Moench/Newton/Colan run. It never seems to get ...
At May 13, 2008, Rene wrote:
We have 152 runs (and 33054 pts)

- 55 runs are set in the Marvel Universe (12951 pts)
- 14 runs are ...
At May 13, 2008, Rene wrote:
"How the Stern & JMS Spiderman runs can make this list and the Gerry Conway/Ross Andru run not get a ...
At May 13, 2008, Patrick Hall wrote:
I agree Gerry Conway didnt ammount to a hill of beans on any of his other work but his Spiderman ...
At May 13, 2008, tk. wrote:
M Bloom: "I later found out that I was part of a fairly sizable exodus that left after that Penance/M ...
At May 13, 2008, Lorendiac wrote:
Brian Cronin -- I don't claim to magically know what the "perfect number" is to mark the minimum size of ...
At May 13, 2008, Matt Bird wrote:
I love Gerry Conway. And I'm not the only one, Conway wrote the early 80s Batman run that Lorendiac ...
At May 13, 2008, Brian Cronin wrote:
Brian Cronin — I don’t claim to magically know what the “perfect number” is to mark the minimum size of ...
At May 13, 2008, Lorendiac wrote:
wwk5d -- Thanks for the kind words about my old "Sins Past" parody. I think the "Plot-Hammer" concept which I ...
At May 13, 2008, Brian Cronin wrote:
In retrospect, I agree that the minimum should have been 13 issues– that way you could follow up with a ...
At May 13, 2008, Lorendiac wrote:
rlsims -- my votes for a pair of runs on Batman-related comics in the 1980s were for the Gerry Conway ...
At May 13, 2008, Rene wrote:
Matt Bird -

I didn't read much of Conway's DC work, so I won't comment on it. It may be ...
At May 13, 2008, Bernard the Poet wrote:
"Having read most of the O’Neil/Adams Batman in various reprint forms, I never realized just how staccato their run was; ...
At May 13, 2008, Billy F wrote:
My guesses for the top 6:

(in no order)
Waid's Captain America
Thomas's Avengers
Miller's Sin City
Starlin's Dreadstar
Conway's Spider-Man
Vaughan's Ex Machina
At May 13, 2008, Patrick Hall wrote:
Nice one Billy, come on Conways Spiderman.
At May 13, 2008, Rene wrote:
Thomas's Avengers has appeared in the Top 100.
At May 13, 2008, Billy F wrote:
Did it? I must have passed it right over then...

I thought it was a little strange not to be ...
At May 13, 2008, Matt wrote:
Tomb of Dracula and O'Neil/Adams Batman were two that I would have figured for the top 100. Guess they ...
At May 13, 2008, Dean wrote:
But everyone considers Byrne and Stern’s tenure on Captain America a run, right?

It’s ALWAYS been referred to as a run, ...
At May 13, 2008, Jack Norris wrote:
However else you feel about Conway's work, to say that the original Jackal/Gwen/Clone story that he did should actually bear ...
At May 13, 2008, Patrick Lemaire wrote:
I'm familair with most of those. And it's a pity that some of the moronic Spidey-fans are narrow-minded and can't ...
At May 13, 2008, Lorendiac wrote:
Patrick Lemaire -- let me get this straight. Are you saying that anyone who says he dislikes some of JMS's ...
At May 13, 2008, Lorendiac wrote:
Rene said:
I never liked Gerry Conway in anything. Well, okay, maybe in Werewolf-by-Night. He wasn’t that bad in Werewolf-by-Night. But ...
At May 13, 2008, Alan Coil wrote:
Patrick Hall said: "How the Stern & JMS Spiderman runs can make this list and the Gerry Conway/Ross Andru run ...
At May 13, 2008, yosky wrote:
Patricj Lemair-

JMS spidey run was fine. A fine comic with swell art when Romita Jr was writing. However, I doubt ...
At May 13, 2008, Eric wrote:
Yay! BOP! My list is complete.
I didn't even think of 52. Then again, I didn't think it was that great ...
At May 13, 2008, wwk5d wrote:
Patrick, please explain to us morons how we can properly judge the great writing of JMS, in the Spider-man titles. ...
At May 14, 2008, Chris Simpson wrote:
I voted for Conway and Andru's Spidey at number 2 just one place above Stern and JR Jrs. Both based ...
At May 14, 2008, Blackjak wrote:
I still can't believe we haven't seen Luther Arkwright/Heart of Empire...
At May 14, 2008, choirsoftheeye wrote:
Where's the final six?

-Some demanding git
At May 14, 2008, Fan4Fan wrote:
O’Neil and Adams’ Batman almost made my list. I find Detective 395 especially stellar, but the rest is a ...

JMS Knows Team-Ups

Brian Cronin — Mon, 12 May 2008 21:38:43 +0000

Check out some of the team-ups he says he has in the works for his run on Brave and the Bold:

Batman and the Spectre, Lex Luthor and Swamp Thing, Deadman and Wonder Woman, Constantine and Eclipso, Superman and Sgt. Rock, Challengers of the Unknown and the Metal Men, and the Legion of Substitute Heroes with the Inferior Five.

That’s some impressive team-upping right there.

31 Comments

At May 12, 2008, Bill Reed wrote:
JMS really wants me to buy his comics.

Must resist. :)
At May 12, 2008, Grant wrote:
Hope Constantine and Swamp Thing pan out.
At May 12, 2008, Tom wrote:
DAMN.
At May 12, 2008, MasonK wrote:
Legion of Substitute Heroes... and the Inferior Five... teamup.

I think my head just exploded from awesome overload.
At May 12, 2008, comb & razor wrote:
huh. why did i think Brave & Bold was cancelled?
At May 12, 2008, McK wrote:
"huh. why did i think Brave & Bold was cancelled?"

Because despite it being a fun comic, the sales are extremely ...
At May 12, 2008, hilker wrote:
His comment about being "the first comics guy to have a film at the Cannes Film Festival" is incorrect - ...
At May 12, 2008, The Mutt wrote:
Swamp Thing back in the DCU? Sweet! He's got a bone to pick with Luthor, as I recall.
At May 12, 2008, Sijo wrote:
Batman and the Spectre- been done.
Lex Luthor and Swamp Thing- has been done, sort of, as mentioned above.
Deadman ...
At May 12, 2008, Ian Astheimer wrote:
If the Substitutes/Inferior Five issue happens, DC has my three-fifty.
At May 12, 2008, Conor E wrote:
George Perez was the major selling point for me. The last time JMS replaced Mark Waid (on Fantastic Four) he ...
At May 12, 2008, Justin Hilyard wrote:
Sijo: Who cares if they've been done or not before? Is a team-up less exciting and neat-sounding just because ...
At May 12, 2008, stealthwise wrote:
If I cared any less about this series, I'd stop posting in mid-se
At May 12, 2008, Dan Bailey wrote:
>>If the Substitutes/Inferior Five issue happens, DC has my three-fifty.

If the Subsitutes/interior Five issue happens, isn't an utter trainwreck & ...
At May 12, 2008, Dan Bailey wrote:
Or maybe someone else. ...

Yes, on second thought, it just might be more effective if I were to set someone ...
At May 12, 2008, wwk5d wrote:
"His comment about being “the first comics guy to have a film at the Cannes Film Festival” is incorrect - ...
At May 12, 2008, Suzene wrote:
I didn't know JC was allowed to interact with the larger DC universe anymore.
At May 13, 2008, Jono11 wrote:
"I didn’t know JC was allowed to interact with the larger DC universe anymore."--For a while, DCU characters published by ...
At May 13, 2008, Bernard the Poet wrote:
DC Presents Superman and Sgt Rock was the first comic I ever bought ( - it had a very nifty ...
At May 13, 2008, Master Mahan wrote:
Huh. It's been ages since I've read a JMS title on a regular schedule,* but I'm clearly going to have ...
At May 13, 2008, Dan Bailey wrote:
For some reason, I don't follow writers like I do artists, so offhand I couldn't say what the guy has ...
At May 13, 2008, Brian Cronin wrote:
My guess is that DC is being a bit lax with their rules for two reasons:

1. It's JMS

2. They want ...
At May 13, 2008, Brian Cronin wrote:
Batman and the Spectre- been done.
Lex Luthor and Swamp Thing- has been done, sort of, as mentioned above.
Deadman and Wonder ...
At May 13, 2008, Brian Cronin wrote:
The reasons have ranged from “it’s too old school” to “it isn’t ‘important’ to continuity” to “it’s too hard to ...
At May 13, 2008, wwk5d wrote:
Yeah but Brian, since DC seems insistent on re-booting it's characters to their pre-COIE characteristics and status quos, it won't ...
At May 13, 2008, McK wrote:
"My personal opinion (and it’s sad to say) is that I think the second one is the most likely."

And I ...
At May 13, 2008, Matt D wrote:
Apparently you guys missed the memo:

JMS has gone back on Swamp Thing and Constantine appearing pending Vertigo's ok. I think ...
At May 13, 2008, Dan Bailey wrote:
>>It’s terribly unfortunate that Marvel/DC comics need to arbitrarily “mean” something in order to be a success.

Good lord, yes. ...
At May 14, 2008, Eric wrote:
I doubt the Inferior 5/Substitutes will pan out, because when Waid started he said they needed a big name and ...
At May 14, 2008, Kevin Street wrote:
I don't know about that. If JMS and Kubert can establish their run as something that readers want to follow, ...
At May 14, 2008, Dalarsco wrote:
Constantine and Swamp thing back in the DCU! Man, I'm so in. I dropped it after Waid's dull ...