Ken Aldred

Quite decent Covid protection there as well.

Yup. I was leaving that for an Australian boardie. I’m a thoughtful Pom.

Or, go completely modern, and retcon it as Miles Morales’ grandmother. ’When I was a teenager back in the 70s, I tried being a Spider-Woman. Runs in the family’. ‘Sure I saw Thanos in a helicopter as well.’

Claremont’s very expositional writing isn’t for everyone, describing details that could more economically be shown in the artwork, though I still like his 70s / 80s stories. Different if you’re starting from scratch rather than re-reading them over decades as I’ve done.

Always nice to see Jimmers posting here again.

It's a long time since I've read that. Online I couldn't find a story listing, but, IIRC, it was from the Bizarro Comics book? Possibly wrong, and someone could correct me.

It is. Spider limbs often don't look bulked up, so neither should Peter Parker's if he's developed arachnid characteristics as a scrawny teenager. Unnecessary for him to have a Liefeld-type character build.

505 to 535 Secret Wars mini-series, Part 5 (31 issues in total) Infinity Gauntlet (5 issues) A very different Gauntlet story, and one of the very best mini-series here, with excellent art by Dustin Weaver. Recommended. Korvac Saga (4 issues) Always liked Korvac ever since his Bronze Age Avengers story, and this is good stuff as well. Marvel Zombies (4 issues) A must read story about Elsa Bloodstone that succeeds on several different levels. The cocky, sarcastic, tough, British protector of the Siege wall, enough gory zombie action, and a very sad character study about her childhood, with harsh and actually very, very abusive treatment by her father, ostensibly to turn her into a tough-as-nails survivor and monster / demon hunter, but which is excessive, painful and very sad to watch. Certainly a must read ‘zombie story’; quoted because it’s more than that. Runaways (4 issues) One of the better stories, basically an X-Men Academy. A nice modern art style, slightly manga. Weirdworld (5 issues) A must-read story for sword-and-sorcery fans by Jason Aaron, and really impressive painted artwork by Mike Del Mundo Siege (4 issues) Again, one of the best stories, here by Kieron Gillen, about the protection needed to hold back the constant threat from the regions of Battleworld inhabited by forces such as zombies, Ultrons and Annihilation Waves. The main artwork here has quite a distorted look, but, strangely, works well. There are also some excellent double page spreads, drawn by different artists, which look great and emphasise the monumental task faced in protecting Battleworld from the unceasing attacks made by the armies of destruction to the south. Ultimate End (5 issues) As a coda to the long saga of destruction of the Marvel multiverse that I read this year, this felt very disappointing and a bit padded out.

I could’ve chosen a pin-up image by an artist such as Adam Hughes, Frank Cho, J Scott Campbell, etc, but there are several MJ drawings here which, for me, are on another level; emotional power and great depth of character.

Is that a Will Elder parody version from Mad, Kav?

It’s ridiculous. Which is its charm.

One to make sure it fit in with the left-field, often surreal attitude of Vertigo at the time, and one with a sense of humour.

Codpiece was posted near the beginning of the thread, but thanks for showing us more of the story. Hilarious.

It's divisive. But, the sort of food that appeals to a heathen northerner like me. We lack the sophistication of London's cuisine, with its jellied eels, for example.

A British thing, maybe, but I prefer brown beef gravy on my steak, with thick-cut chips (fries), fried onions and mushy peas.

Not really much different to the frequently-posted Mile High and Gerry Ross ads from the 80s, wishing we could still buy a Hulk 181 for $20.

Something different. An indie classic panel.

It had to appear. A masterclass in realistic anatomy.

My favourite Kirby Cap

Another kick in the nuts. Already this year I lost two of my genius musical icons, Neal Peart and Eddie Van Halen, and I thought it couldn’t get worse before 2021. Surely, I’d be spared the loss of one of my most significant comic creator icons from that same, formative teenage period, fondly remembered in the 70s? The worst case scenario for me was, surely, it wouldn’t be Richard Corben, an artist whose work absolutely blew me away right from the time I first saw it with his superb “Bat Out of Hell’ album cover. That made me search out his comic book work, and I always found his art style so exciting and involving, his airbrush colouring quite amazing, so vibrant. Certainly one of the best visual storytellers in the history of comics, and for me one of the trinity of greatest horror artists of all time, along with Wrightson and Ingels. One of the highlights of being on the boards was putting together an excellent high grade 9.4 / 9.6 set of his underground comix, courtesy of the sadly-missed Howard Greber, and it’s my largest, single, artist-focused slab collection. I can’t really think, at this moment, of any writer / artist whose output, over my 4 + decades as a reader / collector, has impressed me quite as much as has the sheer energy, power, vitality and crystal-clear storytelling of Corben’s work. Thanks, Richard.