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The big surprise there is Giant-Man (and it's a pleasant one)--I've always liked what I've read of that series, and you rarely hear anyone discuss it--the stuff with Whirlwind, which Englehart later picked up on in The Avengers, is particularly fascinating... So I guess this means you were there when Pym and Van Dyne were dislodged from their magazine by Sub-Mariner...
Nothing in superhero comics is more dramatic than a cancellation--I'll never forget the melancholic spectacle of that Atom corner-logo shrinking into nothingness as Power of the Atom's readership evaporated in 1989...
Dave
david fiore |
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05.27.04 - 10:51 pm | #
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Yeah, Giant-Man over Thor, Iron Man and the Hulk--THAT'S something you don't hear everyday! But while I personally prefer the Tales of Suspense combo of Cap and IM, there was a lot of fun things going on in those early Pym tales.
Creepy and Eerie--as edited by Archie Goodwin--are absolute treasures.
Bob Hope? I preferred the Jerry Lewis books by the same two creators from a year or so earlier, but hey, I ALWAYS love to see ol' Bob get some recognition.
Any other humor comics? My list would have to include Littles Lulu and Archie, and a menace named Dennis..
And Jimmy and Lois, by Curt and Kurt--but that's just me...
Fred
fred hembeck |
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05.27.04 - 11:45 pm | #
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This is a really informative list, and I look forward to the rest.
Do you think the humor in Not Brand Ecch! holds up now? I've read little bits occasionally and enjoyed it, but that would be such a great historical (and historiographical, Dave!) document to have if they ever rereleased it.
Rose |
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05.28.04 - 5:40 am | #
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Came in to work, and we've got stuff piled up everywhere...so I'll have to wait a while before I address these questions. I'll be back ASAP! 
Johnny B |
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05.28.04 - 8:21 am | #
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Dave:
Giant-Man and the Wasp were kinda like the red-headed stepchildren at Marvel. Lee and Kirby did the first few, and when sales lagged, they moved on and turned the book over to lesser lights like Stan's bro Larry Lieber and Dick Ayers. When I was a kid, and remember, we're talking about me ages 4-9, one of the first comics I remember owning was Tales To Astonish 50- Giant-Man vs. The Top, and I thought that was really cool, that big giant dude trying to catch his speedier and more elusive foe...and on top of that- he failed at the end of part one! Oh my God! I bought every issue I could get my folks to spring for after that. There was just something about the back-and-forth between Hank and Jan that I found likeable, I guess. Another issue I remember particularly well was the one where Hank came up with his new helmet and accidentally enlarged an spider...and the spider was between him and his growth controls! I was riveted.
...cont...
Johnny B |
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05.28.04 - 10:48 am | #
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...And I was very sad when, after a very tense two-part rematch with the Top, when he kidnapped Jan and an enraged Hank hunted him down, I found out that the Hulk would be taking GM's spot in TTA. My first experience (but not my last, sadly) with a favorite comic being discontinued. Might be a reason why I've never really been a Hulk fan...
TTA with Giant-Man just has always been a nostalgic personal fave of mine, and I freely admit that it was never one of Marvel's flagship or even highest quality titles...
Plus, Bob Powell drew a hella-sexy Wasp!
Johnny B |
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05.28.04 - 10:50 am | #
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Fred:
As I probably should have noted, these are personal favorites, and not really what I consider the actual best from each company...so that's why we get Brand Echh and Tales to Astonish instead of other, more high-profile ongoings.
I listed the Bob Hopes because I loved the Super-Hip! character so much. I regret not taking better care of the issues (about half of theose I listed) I had as a kid, 'cause they're so darn hard to find (affordably) now! I don't remember ever posessing an issue of Jerry Lewis, but I must have had friends with copies because I read a few. If Jer had had a cool character like Super-Hip in his book, I might have picked up a couple! Renfrew just didn't cut it.
...cont. ...
Johnny B |
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05.28.04 - 11:02 am | #
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I had several humor books that I liked to buy off and on. I used to read a lot of Harvey books like Casper, Richie Rich, Little Dot, and probably my favorite, Hot Stuff. I would get the occasional title by Gold Key as well (The Little Monsters comes immediately to mind, for some reason), but it was the adventure books and TV/movie adaptations I liked most from them. Never was a Duck fan, although I did have the odd Donald Duck or Goofy. I liked Super-Goof. And I also remember owning a few Dennis The Menaces, one in particular comes to mind, in which Dennis and family went on vacation in California.
Johnny B |
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05.28.04 - 11:04 am | #
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Rose:
Not having read NBE for a few years now, I'm sure that much of the satire targets and topical references would go right over the heads of a lot of younger readers (say, those born after 1980)...but Stan & Roy and everyone else seemed to be having a blast sending up their own characters (and those of the competition, too), and the fun was infectious. Marie Severin did a LOT of great work in NBE, and so did Gene Colan, not an artist who you would think would be ready for Mad, but whose parody of Daredevil cracked me up when I was 7 or 8 or so. And Lee & Kirby's sendup of their oh-so-serious Fantastic Four vs. Doc Doom with the powers of the Silver Surfer story, which had only seen print a year or so previous, was a riot.
...cont. ...
Johnny B |
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05.28.04 - 11:11 am | #
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...So while NBE would be an acquired taste for the kiddies out there, I think that comics-savvy readers who happen to be Mel Brooks fans would get a kick out of it. A niche market, for sure...
Weed Witchards: "I've got a hundred pairs of stretch-socks!"
Doc Bloom: "SHADDUP with the stretch socks already!"
Johnny B |
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05.28.04 - 11:12 am | #
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Oh, sure, I realized this was personal faves, not your consideration of overall best. This way is way more fun.
That Human Top 2-parter was the Giant-Man apex for me, especially since part 1 was a rare Kirby/Ditko job (Ayers on the conclusion just had to be a let-down, and storywise, most wind-ups don't deliver on their initial promise anyway--I loved that the Top beat him first time around, and THAT was hard to, um, top!).
But you erred in saying the Hulk knocked Hank and Jan out of TTA--true, he cut their share of the book down to 50% when he leapt in, but it was a year later before tha TRUE culprit, Sub-Mariner, banished the pair from TTA's pages.
Pardon me while I pick nits, won'tcha?...
Fred
fred hembeck |
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05.28.04 - 11:29 am | #
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Y'know what, that's right! My bad. It was ol' Subby. Lost too many brain cells in the 70's y'know...
And strangely enough, Namor's never really been a fave either, although I really liked some of the Colan-illo'd issues after he got his own title, and LOVED Bill Everett's short-lived reunion in the 70s.
Johnny B |
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05.28.04 - 1:12 pm | #
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