Ken Aldred

Sounds like a contender for this WC thread..

I recently read Eerie 29, which had some nice, early art by him...

Did he also create fireworks? IIRC, that was the Chinese, just a few years prior to AF 15 and the formation of Kiss?

Yup. Narcissist.

Nor will I be buried with a copy of Marvel Super Special 1, either slabbed or raw. It's no Batman 251.

Trying for a variation on the old Ronnie James Dio devil horn gesture, maybe? Left it rather late in the day. IIRC, that was taken from a very old Italian gesture, originating long, long before AF 15, and Kiss.

When I watched Superman Returns at the cinema it was lights out for me for about 15 minutes during the actual film itself.

also +1 for Avengers 4 and 57

It was only 'fixed' in a very predatory and limited way by the advent of widespread, manic speculation. That pulled just a few books out of unwanted, drek status, an easy target being Hulk 271.

Always nice to hear about comics having a constructive, therapeutic use, and providing a means for autistic individuals to connect better with the world. It makes me wonder if, as a kid, I was helped similarly by my own obsession with this material?

Memorable stories from just three of the DC 100 page titles; Brave and Bold, Detective Comics and JLA... Kubert Hawkman and Viking Prince, Dr Fate / Hourman / Green Lantern vs Solomon Grundy from Showcase 55, Manhunter, Sandman and Newsboy Legion by Simon and Kirby, Plastic Man by Jack Cole, Eclipso and Green Lantern by Alex Toth, the early, dark adventures of Dr Fate and The Spectre from More Fun Comics, The Creeper by Ditko, Starman by Burnley and Meskin. We were very lucky to have such an exceptional introduction to GA and SA stories, month in, month out. A great time to start reading comics as a kid.

I suspect that William would've enjoyed Lee and Kirby's JIM and Thor comics.

Read them first, and if you're unimpressed by any, enjoy torching those later. Double your fun.

How long did it take you to find FF 48 and 49, and to be able to read the entire story, Dave? I'd suspect that must've been important in those early days?

Surprised kav doesn't like this.

It's a shame you didn't pick up this 100 pager... Showcase 55 is one of my favourite Silver Age DCs.

I have a very vivid memory of picking up a copy of the British black-and-white Avengers Weekly issue 1 on a bitingly cold day. I read the reintroduction of Captain America and thought it was just absolutely brilliant. I recall getting quite a buzz from that one, and another formative experience from the 73 - 74 period.

Nothing key and pricey, but lots of good reading material there. Groo, Crisis, Jungle Action, Eternals, Avengers, Swamp Thing.

The current escalation in prices to thousands of dollars from figures in the hundreds switched me off a while ago. I don't have the commitment to make even that level of sacrifice.

You'll be happy once you read some of it.

My all-time favourite comics publisher. Read my first Weird Science slipcase set in summer 1981, was blown away by the quality and have never stopped thinking that New Trend material is absolutely brilliant. A travesty that it all had to end because of such pettiness.

As an EC Library completist myself, it would be nice.

I remember those. They were quite good. A little better than Sonic Disruptors, anyway.

It was a time when Marvel, DC and independent companies were producing a lot of highly readable, enjoyable material. I wasn't that bothered about the source, really. So much to choose from.

A good time for DC, including the slightly later 100-page period, but I'm quite fond of the mid-to-late 80s as well. That's the time I enjoyed reading DC the most.