Ken Aldred

Some reference material.

Jonathan Hickman’s Secret Wars resulted in fragments of devastated universes being fused together into a Battleworld, with each surviving region in the world basically providing an alternate universe / What If ? story. Surprisingly, there were many good, entertaining stories here, a lot of variety, and a high hit rate. Again, not all modern comics are as bad, derivative of, or as incoherent, nonsensical and insane as their Silver-tinged DC predecessors.

I know. Just supporting my belief that the modern period does have some great material.

Not every super-hero is lucky enough to have access to vibranium spandex.

The Bronze Age's What If? 10 is a very, very, mediocre, superficial story. Jason Aaron's run with Jane Foster as Thor is excellent, and one of the best extended narratives of the last decade. Sometimes the exploration of a theme in greater detail, decades later, is well worth it.

Modern comics aren't as insanely plotted as DC Silver Age comics. Some of those are completely mental.

Yup. And Lee and Kirby have been referred to as imaginauts.

Great focus. ECs were quite static for a while, but pre-Code books took off again and so I suppose it’s understandable why the best publisher from that era has shown gains as well.

I like the way you always show the back cover as well.

Crime Does Not Pay there.

I always preferred the cent copy, which was tougher to get and more expensive over here.

Shouldn’t be too long before we see a live action version of Robert Kirkman’s Battle Pope, then.

Did Moondog advertise in the 70s and 80s Marvel black-and-white magazines? I might be getting confused with Bud Plant.

With a shock absorbent material to prevent SCS and a non-abrasive material elsewhere to prevent scratches to bags and slabs it might just be feasible. Practical during virus outbreaks as well. Easy clean.

Yup. If Dapper Dan's good enough for Clooney, it's good enough for me.

Good taste. My favourite EC title. The later issues are just brilliant, with classic Wood, and Williamson / Frazetta art.

A common criticism. It is a disappointing ending, turning Rick Jones into a ‘solve everything’, overpowered deus ex machina. The Korvac Saga has the same problem, a strong storyline up until the unconvincing ending.

Kav isn’t quite as prolific as he was back when he first joined. Very enthusiastic and posting non-stop.

Yup. And my preference was for Dapper Dan pomade.

Yup. Also, brain activity in olfactory areas will be artificially stimulated by a subliminal signal from the screen, creating an authentic newsprint odour, and overcoming the problem that we currently have of being deprived of this pleasing, nostalgic sensation when an old comic book is encased in plastic.

As I've always been more interested in reading comics it makes more sense for me to go for volume and say the ASM run. I've never been that focused solely on an AF 15, and in the OCD condition I like it's always outpaced my pricing limit, so the whole argument's theoretical for me anyway, and another reason to choose run over mega-key. As Steve pointed out, you would also deprive yourself of too many brilliant characters in this run; Mindworm, Rocket Racer and The Big Wheel, to name but three of the all-time greats.

Just the one I was thinking about! I had this as a kid in the 70s, and it's the last issue of the series ...

I have the Nectar phone app which gives you extremely generous bonus points on cheap £1 to £2 items at Sainsburys. 300’s peanuts these days. Literally... I get 100 points on a jar of own-brand peanut butter.

I’ve never heard of parrot covers being in demand. Bizarre. Apes, though, that I get.

I had the first 11 episodes on my PVR. Finished watching them and realised I was still only halfway through the series, and just gave up on punishing myself with its extreme tediousness. I’d gone far enough.