|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: |
Jan 4, 2016 - 1:49 PM
|
|
|
By: |
Jim Phelps
(Member)
|
Love the "shout out" to the Defenders era of Gerber's career, Neo! It is appreciated. More drony Defenders thoughts... Something about the DeMatteis run on The Defenders that I've always felt but only now understood is the sense of isolation they have from the rest of the Marvel Universe. Even when other heroes guest star in the book, like The Avengers did during the Six-Fingered-Hand epic (94-100) it always seems like The Defenders exist in some far-flung corner of the MU. This sense of isolation, coupled with the deft manner in which DeMatteis portrays character interaction and even more importantly, character intimacy, makes the reader realize that this batch of The Defenders only have each other on which to depend. This is readily apparent with Damon Hellstorm and Patsy Walker, Valykrie and Walker, Dr. Strange as nominal Defenders leader and Gargoyle Plus Gargoyle and fellow freak Beast. Another aspect of this isolation that stands out is how Nighthawk aka Kyle Richmond is supposed to be a millionaire industrialist like Tony Stark but that fact never left the pages of The Defenders, as it was not mentioned in other Marvel books. In fact, Nighthawk and the Defenders are rarely referenced outside of their own comic which is odd since Marvel was so adept at interconnecting the players in the Marvel Universe.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: |
Feb 27, 2016 - 12:33 PM
|
|
|
By: |
Jim Phelps
(Member)
|
We started discussing Marvel's Epic Collection series of publications over on the Master of Kung Fu thread, but it's probably more suited to this, the Marvel flagship thread. Here's their blurb from a few years ago, when the series was announced: This fall, Marvel launches the Epic Collections – a new way for fans to collect their favorite series! Each super-sized volume in the Epic line presents a heaping helping of Marvel's greatest heroics in one handy, affordable and self-contained package. What's more, each Epic Collection TPB is also a piece of a grand puzzle: When all is said and done, the Epic volumes will fit seamlessly next to one another on readers' bookshelves, presenting a complete and unbroken run of each title! So be sure to get in on the ground floor! Marvel's most storied titles — including Amazing Spider-Man, Avengers, Captain America, Fantastic Four, Iron Man and Thor — are going Epic, and there's no turning back! http://www.comicbookresources.com/prev_img.php?disp=img&pid=1366042282 I have two of the Captain America Epics and an Iron Man. I'm looking forward to adding a lot more to the sagging bookshelf, though.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Right there with you, Jim. Here's what I've got so far: Incredible Hulk: Pardoned Moon Knight Epic Collection: Bad Moon Rising Iron Fist Epic Collection: The Fury of Iron Fist Silver Surfer Epic Collection: When Calls Galactus Iron Man Epic Collection: Stark Wars Avengers: Absolute Vision Book 1 AND... Thor Epic Collection: To Wake the Mangog (the two-issue battle between Galactus and Ego The Living Planet is the first comic storyline I remember - and man did it creep me out!) Can't get more till I get through these!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I own a few of Marvel's Epic series, including the two Absolute Vision volumes, Avengers: Day of Judgment, a Spider-Man volume (I forget the name, but it includes the issue where Spidey beat Firebird), and the Silver Surfer volume reprinting the first dozen or so issues of the Steve Engelhard and Marshall Rogers series. Avengers: Under Siege is on order. I hope to get more volumes over time, including the early Spider-Man volumes to replace my black and white Essential volumes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: |
Jun 15, 2016 - 8:11 AM
|
|
|
By: |
Jim Phelps
(Member)
|
As I'm reading early 1985 Uncanny X-Men--issues 192-193, I find that I have to also read the New Mutants issues from that same rime in order to get the entirety of the convoluted, rather soap opera plotting of Chris Claremont, a writer I will always admire and whose love of tons of dialogue has never been a problem for me. However, since I'm reading these for the first time, I don't have the "connection"--as our own Thor would describe it--with the likes of Warlock, Magus, and every other additional character in these books. JRJR's art veers from clean and great to look at to messy and nondescript. I'll have to come back to this era of UXM/NM after some more time away; I'm just not "feeling it" right now. One year later and I am attempting to re-read this damned X-Men era yet again--and no, I won't be seeing Apocalypse as that is well outside my preferred X-Men era. There was a Heidi MacDonald article in The Comics Journal from June 1985 that I believe we mentioned earlier that asked "What's Wrong with the X-Men?": http://www.tcj.com/the-comics-journal-no-99-june-1985/ This is an article I haven't read nor even knew about until last year. Said article of course "validates" my 1984-puberty-era view that the book had changed for the worse but damn it I want to like this era! I want to believe that these stories through adult eyes will be better than I thought they were. After all, Claremont remained on the book until 1991, so that must indicate quality, right? Maybe the problem lies with the back issues. Perhaps those recolored tpbs will also bring out the story quality as well as JRJR's art...trying to overcome a thirty-two-year old opinion here, guys.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
As I'm reading early 1985 Uncanny X-Men--issues 192-193, I find that I have to also read the New Mutants issues from that same rime in order to get the entirety of the convoluted, rather soap opera plotting of Chris Claremont, a writer I will always admire and whose love of tons of dialogue has never been a problem for me. However, since I'm reading these for the first time, I don't have the "connection"--as our own Thor would describe it--with the likes of Warlock, Magus, and every other additional character in these books. JRJR's art veers from clean and great to look at to messy and nondescript. I'll have to come back to this era of UXM/NM after some more time away; I'm just not "feeling it" right now. One year later and I am attempting to re-read this damned X-Men era yet again--and no, I won't be seeing Apocalypse as that is well outside my preferred X-Men era. There was a Heidi MacDonald article in The Comics Journal from June 1985 that I believe we mentioned earlier that asked "What's Wrong with the X-Men?": http://www.tcj.com/the-comics-journal-no-99-june-1985/ This is an article I haven't read nor even knew about until last year. Said article of course "validates" my 1984-puberty-era view that the book had changed for the worse but damn it I want to like this era! I want to believe that these stories through adult eyes will be better than I thought they were. After all, Claremont remained on the book until 1991, so that must indicate quality, right? Maybe the problem lies with the back issues. Perhaps those recolored tpbs will also bring out the story quality as well as JRJR's art...trying to overcome a thirty-two-year old opinion here, guys. Unfortunately, that link only took me to the cover of the magazine and not its content. It says I have to subscribe to the comics journal to access it. My interest was piqued, but not that much. That period of X-Men that you describe, and really the remainder of Claremont's initial run as well, has several problems, some of which were created behind the scenes. Take, for example, how horrible Cyclops was portrayed. Claremont pretty much wrote Cyclops out of the book, giving him a happy ending, but Marvel wanted to give the original five X-Men their own book, built around the return of Jean Grey. You can see what happened to poor Cyclops here. http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2016/06/04/remember-to-forget-that-time-cyclops-ditched-his-wife-and-newborn-for-his-ex-girlfriend/ Cyclops's character never recovered from this. In fact, he is even worse now. Later on, there were some bizarre turns, like the X-Men being "killed", all of them immune from any recording device, Magneto as headmaster, and then doing nothing with him in that capacity, and relocating to Australia. It wasn't all bad though, as I enjoyed the Mutant Massacre, Fall of the Mutants, some aspects of Inferno, and several other stories though. Still, a mixed bag, and with a shifting status quo that made the book unrecognizable from what it was prior to Uncanny 200. Once the book finally adopted a back to basics approach, Claremont had been pretty much shown the door. I think the book's biggest problem post-200 is that Claremont took it far away from the X-Men's initial premise and never really brought it back until it was likely mandated. Now, some of those "experimental" stories were great, but they were never sustainable in the long run.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|