Ken Aldred

As we say in the U.K., I’m 60 years young.

Always liked the X-Men, including the original team and early issues. I never had the chance to obtain GS XM 1 or XM 94 as neither were distributed to the UK and I was restricted at the time to what was on the newsstand here. The first I picked up was issue 100, noticing that it was drawn by Dave Cockrum, and I was already a fan of his short LOSH run. Got 101 as well, but then the title stopped being distributed here again for a few issues, restarting with 108, John Byrne's first. Again, already a fan of Byrne and so this was the point at which I became a regular New X-Men buyer, 12p All-Colour Comics copies, of course. So, only really switched onto the run when it started to become absolutely classic, and it wasn't until 1980 that I bought my first GS XM 1 and XM 94. If I'd seen the earliest material on a UK newsstand I don't think I would've been that excited about picking them up, more focused on the later Claremont / Byrne books. I did miss a few issues, 96 to 99, so clearly there was also some competition on the newsstands I was using at the time, so who can say if I'd even have known about 94's existence anyway? (I'd switched to another shop by the time Byrne started contributing.)

So many feeling the nick of the Reaper’s scythe.

Yup. I'm not taking the results here as being definitive or that the sky's falling in any way. Too small a population, regardless. More joking about the novel experience of just becoming a senior citizen.

Nice to see some fresh-faced youth as well as grizzled experience here.

Yup. I've only just turned 60, so I'm transitional between the two groups.

Glad to see we've got a teenager in there at last. Young blood for the hobby.

I'm in.

Top Ten 1 to 12 As is often stated online; Hill Street Blues with super-heroes. Several story arcs seamlessly linked together, one of Alan Moore's best series, lots of background Easter eggs to look for. 2024 total = 238

An observation I’ve made on numerous occasions regarding tone, not a justification for the OP’s post. Whether it’s the Translate software being used, or not, even in the friendlier threads started by the OP, about artists or favourite comics, and so on, there tends to be quite an aggressive tone which can sound slightly abrasive to a native English speaker, more used to a neutral construction. So, when that tonal aggression is applied to an overtly accusational circumstance, especially one where there’s a case of not doing the online research first, it’s not too surprising that many feathers are going to be ruffled here in the process.

Never bought comics with investment as a driving force. Always loved reading them and bought whatever I connected to, the best copy I could find within an affordable price limit. I do wish I'd been less impulsive and more selective, though. Although I've had some luck with them, voracious reading leads to the accumulation of far too much drek and far too much long term regret, as your outlook and your focal points, both inside and outside of the comics realm, change naturally with age.

Medieval version of Death Stranding.

Some top quality art criticism in this thread.

More mad than ridiculous.

Doesn't seem to make much sense to me to have those two characters doing that in a packed stadium. Looks more like a commission piece. The art itself isn't that bad at all.

That's right. I compared it to Bruce Timm, but that's possibly better still.

Different overheads, possibly they can’t. Haven’t read the entire thread myself, but that’s a fundamental.

English is great, isn’t it? Throw the strict rules in the trash.

Liked the previous two, and I’ll get my first senior citizen matinee concession ticket for this one, just having hit 60. Hope I don’t fall asleep during it, though.

Being quite dyspraxic, clumsy, I’m extremely impressed with this level of coordination. Well done. The best I’ve done is 12 under par on the course in Grand Theft Auto 5. It doesn’t compare.

I don’t blame you. Incredibly nostalgic material for Bronze Age kids. Great to see it collected, at last. My first exposure to the brilliance of Michael Golden’s artwork. At the time I didn’t realise I had a silent competitor for the comics on the newsstand over here. I tended to focus on Marvels and never really noticed that the choice DC issues were being snapped up, including Golden’s Batman Family and Mister Miracle books. I had to pick those up later at British comic marts. Eventually though, I got introduced to him and we became firm collecting buddies.

I tend to favour the noble, do-gooder, protector archetype. We’ve had Superman already, so I’ll go with Captain America instead. - Jack Kirby (GA to early SA) - John Romita Snr - Jim Steranko - Neal Adams - John Buscema - George Perez - Mike Zeck - Bryan Hitch - Steve Epting - Jackson / Butch Guice - Alan Davis - Alex Ross

Actually, you beat me to it there. I suppose, for these boards, it’s not that obscure or smart an answer. I thought it might’ve been less likely to appear than picking Wolverine or Punisher. I wouldn’t, many would. Shows what I know.