OtherEric

The first time you resist something, I'll be surprised. Is that what you're getting at?

This is obviously some specific definition of the word "hilarious" that I was not previously cognizant of...

Legion fans can be a bit obsessive, even relative to other comic fans. I personally suspect there are more complete LSH runs than almost any other series of similar length. Mine hinges on the fact my Adventure 247 is textbook beat but complete.

I really need to just go for the rest of the run, I've got 1-60 and 190-235. (The Roy Thomas written runs, if anybody is wondering why I hadn't bothered with the middle yet.)

Not sure if it counts, since it jumps from title to title over the years. But I've got every Legion of Super Heroes issue from Adventure Comics #247 to now.

Another Avon edition:

I do know, and the times I've been late I don't worry about it. But I think it's useful for the group to have at least one person's review up quickly if possible, so we have a point of comparison with your introductory post from the index to get things rolling.

Cover: A great cover by Prezio, for the H2O world reprint. I think, overall, Prezio's covers show a general improvement over his time on the comic mags, not so much in his basic craft (which was always solid) but in his grasp of what actually works as a horror comic cover. Warren includes the cover in the page count, apparently the index doesn't in this case. Monster Gallery: The perspective still seems a little off. One detail I missed the first time around is the ball of string in Theseus's hand; a very nice touch for those who remember the myth. H2O World: Still incredible art, still not much to add beyond that. Family Curse: Nice art, taken panel by panel. T. Casey Brennan, who winds up writing a lot of stories for Warren, has a solid idea for his debut. Brennan is arguably best known for his Warren work, but did some stuff for other publishers and has had more recent stories turn up in the Warrant mags. But the layouts, while interesting, are not friendly to the storytelling at all. Page three, for example, makes me want to go from panel 1 to panel 4 reflexively, and then backtrack to figure out I should have read panels 2 and 3 instead. Still a decent introduction to a new writer. The Devil to Pay: Once again, I'm impressed with Nodell's artwork here. Permanent Members: I wonder if this was meant for Creepy #22. Not only does it match the cover, Sutton's art, while good, is much simpler than most of what we've seen from him. It wouldn't surprise me if it was drawn quite a bit earlier in Sutton's (admittedly short at this point) career. Better storytelling than what we sometimes get from Parente, although the twist out of the end comes out of nowhere, I think. Fan Fare: Len Wein makes his debut here, he writes several Warren stories later on. It amuses me that a legendary writer makes their debut as an artist. On a personal note, he's one of the very few Warren creators I've ever met, having talked with him at Emerald City Comic Con several years ago. A nice guy who is still missed. Since @Axe Elf doesn't recognize the name, I'll mention his two most famous creations as a writer: Wolverine and Swamp Thing. Scooped: Great art by Colon and a very solid twist by Parente at the end, not much else to say about it. Watch Out: You could make an argument that the ad here is the most important part of the book. But, while it's clearly intended as a tease for the upcoming Vampirella book, it manages to be completely wrong on the details as far as Vampi being related to Creepy and Eerie. I suppose you could claim they have different standards of what looks appealing in their description, but it's also way off base. A solid but not completely spectacular issue, but it still points to the rebuilding era having begun with the debut of a couple of creators and the first hint at Vampirella's arrival. First rate reprints and better than average for the era new stories makes this a book that would have well been worth my 40c if I had been around then, at least. Sorry for my later than usual post, I had to add some details after @Axe Elf's introductory entry.

There's none that's an obvious stand-out, I think. The Brundage covers are generally more in demand than the others, although the February cover by Finlay is pretty popular as well. I think it's possible the relatively more sedate Brundage covers later in the year are less coveted than the first few. With all that said, there's nothing like October 1933 or even July 1936 that stands out as the big demand issue of the year that I'm aware of.

Today's issue:

A couple in today. The Red Raider is the last I needed for the trilogy, and now I only need Slow Death #4 for that run as well:

It's not a UK stamped Charlton, but I did get a book of theirs this week, after seeing it mentioned somewhere on the forums. I can't remember if it was this thread, though:

And another batch of Warrens; only 74 books to go until I've got everything for the Reading Club. (It would be 75, but we're past Eerie #1, and we all know the problems on that one.)

Today's addition:

MD is, to my mind, the worst of the New Direction titles. The one thing it has going for it- which is considerable in places- is good art. But for me it's EC's most desperate attempt to appease the critics, and it really doesn't impress. My ranking of the New Direction titles, from worst to best: 7) MD. See above. 6) Extra. I think there are some very interesting ideas about how EC could move forward, with the lead characters in one feature being supporting cast in the others, and trying new things such as an illustrated text story leading into a comic story, handing off the characters. Or the covers being newspaper stories that actually referenced the interiors. But they wanted to do a private detective book, they got a newspaper book, and they never quite made their ideas on how to do a book mesh with the book they actually had. 5) Impact. Nice art, but easily the title that was sandbagged worst by the CCA. So in practice, over the five issue run you've got 19 forgettable stories... and what is arguably the single best story EC ever did. "Master Race" moves the series from the bottom to 5th place all on its own. 4) Valor. Spectacular art; the stories are frequently hamstrung due to the CCA but this is the best looking of the New Direction books. Great stuff to look at, at least. 3) Psychoanalysis. See above. 2) Piracy. Again, beautiful art, and the stories are better on average than Valor by a fair margin. #6 is one of my all time favorite EC covers. 1) Aces High. Despite the CCA, despite the lack of Kurtzman, this is still an EC War comic, with all the quality that implies. Incredible stories and art.

I said something like this here before, more than once: Psychoanalysis is like an 80's indy comic 3 decades too early. It plays directly to Kamen's strengths as an artist, using facial expressions to convey tons of information about the character's mental states. The cover of #3 is a surreal masterpiece. Really, other than the fact it was a self evidentially horrible idea for a comic, it wasn't a bad idea for a comic.

I think somewhere I have a very beat up Mutt & Jeff with the same half pages; plus a few examples from other publishers. It was pretty common. And it's really easy for those pages to get lost in a lower grade book.

Two finds at the local store today. I don't think I've ever seen one of the universal giants in person before, they're BIG compared to normal paperbacks.

Today's book, with a long, unreprinted John D. MacDonald story for me. I'm prepared to bet money that wasn't JDM's original title for the story. But it's one of the most pulpy story titles I've ever seen!

I swear I just grab these in cheap lots... but I had to make an exception to get the bookend for the Ace D-S-G series. And thus did the legendary Ace D-series end:

Not to my mind. I've got several favorite authors where I haven't been able to bring myself to read the last book I have by them, because then I'll be done; and a couple more where I finally did go and read it. I do it more with deceased creators, but since Moore is done with comics I would say the same logic applies. And Miracleman is a natural choice for that, given that it's a major work that was simply not easily available for decades.

Closer to 90%, depending on how bad your team is and how often they punt. But point taken.

Ah, the joys of translating English to English. I love annoying people by saying "Football" when referring to the Sounders FC, and when people complain it's Soccer, not Football, I'll point out a) that "FC" is right in the team name, and b) the Seahawks aren't playing at this time of year, so there's no reason to assume American Football. I'll be more specific when both seasons are actually overlapping.

I always try to give at least a reaction when you post about Charlton. I may not care about a lot of the books but I always enjoy your writing about them.