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Greatest stories

Started by TheSurgeon,

21 posts in this topic

TheSurgeon

TheSurgeon

Posted
Posted

I own a copy of Impact #1, and the story and art for "The Master Race" just blew me away. I am relatively new at collecting comics as an adult and I remember enjoying the story from FF #51 when I was a kid. However, EC comics, and that story in Impact #1 in particular, with its brilliant artwork by B. Krigstein, leaves a lasting impression. The story is on the web at

 

http://es.geocities.com/thegweb/berniekrigstein1.html

 

What other other classic, truly great stories should I look for?

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pkw

pkw

Posted
Posted
Amazing Spider-Man 31-33.

 

Best Arc Ever

I agree.

 

But in a slightly more off-the-wall vein...

Uncle Scrooge #5

A quest to create the world's most valuable 1916 quarter takes the ducks to Atlantis, and ultimately, back to Duckburg, where Scrooge finds he cannot sell the world's most valuable 1916 quartet because only one individual in the world is rich enough to buy it - him!

 

A lesson for collectors? hm

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TupennyConan

TupennyConan

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I'll focus on the present since it has been a catch-up on 4-5 months of current books reading weekend for me.

 

I read 2/3 of World War Hulk & 2/3 of the Incredible Hulk WWH tie-ins last night. So, I would answer this question in the negative by saying: do not read World War Hulk. The current writer for Hulk, Greg Pak, is overrated. Do not read Planet Hulk by Pak either. Pass on Pak.

 

The best comic of the current decade has been Daredevil by both Bendis & Brubaker. Excellent.

 

Brubaker's Captain America is next, followed in 3rd by the first 13 issues of Ultimates by Millar.

 

I haven't read Ultimate Spider-Man so I have no opinion, sorry.

 

 

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rtarturo

rtarturo

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Posted

I'd nominate the whole two-year run from FF 36 - 60, the world's greatest comic magazine at its peak.

 

If that's too long a string for the purposes of this thread then how about just FF 39 - 40 with DD and Doc Doom?

 

A couple of other personal favs,

Thor 126 - 129, Hercules and Pluto, a great story line and overshadowed by the FF's at that time.

Tales of Suspense 69 - 71, the first Iron-Man vs. Titanium Man, a nice three part story.

Spidey 44 - 45, my favorite lizard story,

 

 

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fastballspecial

fastballspecial

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I dis-agree highly with the poster about Planet Hulk. I thought it was the best Hulk run since Peter David's Pantheon stuff.

 

I have always liked ASM 229-230 Juggy Storyline.

 

Spectacular Spider-man 106-109 (I think) Sin Eater Saga

 

Loved the Korvac Saga from the Avengers 167-177.

 

Of Course the slow burn X-men 129ish to 137 is the classic way to slowly bring a story to its fullest. Dark Phoenix Saga

 

Lets not leave out the Great Darkness Saga from Legion of Super Heroes.

288-294 I think.

 

Also the Judas Contract from Teen Titans 41-44 and an annual I think. Terra's betrayal just stunned me as teenager.

 

 

 

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adamstrange

adamstrange

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Posted
I own a copy of Impact #1, and the story and art for "The Master Race" just blew me away. I am relatively new at collecting comics as an adult and I remember enjoying the story from FF #51 when I was a kid. However, EC comics, and that story in Impact #1 in particular, with its brilliant artwork by B. Krigstein, leaves a lasting impression. The story is on the web at

 

http://es.geocities.com/thegweb/berniekrigstein1.html

 

What other other classic, truly great stories should I look for?

 

If you liked Master Race, then seek out other EC comics stories. Kurtzman's "The Big If" or "Corpse on the Imjun", Krigstein's "The Catacombs" or "The Flying Machine", Wally Woods "There Will Come Soft Rain" are just some of the great stories. To find the issues these appeared in check out comics.org.

 

Art Spiegelman, who drew Maus which I would also recommend, wrote a 20 page article analyzing what Krigstein was attempting with "Master Race". It's in Squa Tront #6 (a high quality fanzine) that you may want to find.

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*paull*

*paull*

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I dis-agree highly with the poster about Planet Hulk. I thought it was the best Hulk run since Peter David's Pantheon stuff.

 

I can't imagine what it was that you liked about that Pantheon arc. That's what chased me from the title, never to return. David was good prior to that, but the Pantheon was dreadfully boring.

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fastballspecial

fastballspecial

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I dis-agree highly with the poster about Planet Hulk. I thought it was the best Hulk run since Peter David's Pantheon stuff.

 

I can't imagine what it was that you liked about that Pantheon arc. That's what chased me from the title, never to return. David was good prior to that, but the Pantheon was dreadfully boring.

 

I loved it until they went to outer space and the final issues with Agamennon going insane.(If I rem correctly.)

 

I liked the Greek god aspects of it. I really thought David was setting up a team for the Hulk to lead similiar to like the Avengers. I thought it was a great direction to go and then it just imploded in the end. I really thought he had something there. The book hasnt been the same since.

 

Even though Planet Hulk was a completely different Hulk it made me like him again. Pak is an excellent writer with good potential Marvel just whored him out with WWH thing. The do it to all their writers sooner or later. Sooner or later they will do it to Brubaker as well..

 

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TupennyConan

TupennyConan

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I dis-agree highly with the poster about Planet Hulk. I thought it was the best Hulk run since Peter David's Pantheon stuff.

 

I can't imagine what it was that you liked about that Pantheon arc. That's what chased me from the title, never to return. David was good prior to that, but the Pantheon was dreadfully boring.

 

I loved it until they went to outer space and the final issues with Agamennon going insane.(If I rem correctly.)

 

I liked the Greek god aspects of it. I really thought David was setting up a team for the Hulk to lead similiar to like the Avengers. I thought it was a great direction to go and then it just imploded in the end. I really thought he had something there. The book hasnt been the same since.

 

Even though Planet Hulk was a completely different Hulk it made me like him again. Pak is an excellent writer with good potential Marvel just whored him out with WWH thing. The do it to all their writers sooner or later. Sooner or later they will do it to Brubaker as well..

 

Okay, I just finished WWH & The Incredible Hulk WWH tie-ins. I didn’t & won’t be reading any other crossovers or tie-ins such as Frontline. Not only because I didn’t care much for these stories, but also because I have only so much time for reading comics & have to draw the line somewhere.

Here is my position on the whole PH & WWH run.

 

As for the editorial decision to remove the Hulk from the picture so as to allow for Civil War to unfold without his interference, I think that was a sound creative move.

 

As for the Illuminati’s purposes & methods of removal of the Hulk, the weaker Hulk on PH, the gladiator contests, the prophecies, the love affair with the Queen, the subsequent destruction, the Hulk’s return for revenge, the fights in NYC, the Sentry’s role, Miek’s final role, the joining of the Renegades, Cho, Jones, & the conclusion: I have no problems with any of these matters taken as plot points alone. The general outline of the plot of both stories was just fine, derivative, but so what.

 

To stay with the positive: I liked Finch’s covers for WWH.

 

As for the art on PH, I thought is was fine but nothing special. JRJR’s work on WWH is what it is: JRJR.

 

Why don’t I recommend PH & WWH? Why do I say pass on Pak? Well, because I didn’t like the two stories (really one large story) as written, despite all of these positives. To begin with, Pak’s dialogue and character development leaves me bored and unconvinced. The supporting cast of warbound aliens were boring & dull. The only one whose name I know is Miek’s, and he, who ended-up being so critical to the plot in the end, was dumb, boring, and whiney. I know it is hard to sell a point like this by just throwing out adjectives, but this is how I felt. I felt nothing for these characters. The Queen? Same story. The love affair was dry and trite. Again, the tragic doomed love was a good dramatic idea. Pak just didn’t sell me on the character. I didn’t care about her.

 

As for WWH back on earth. There was no need for the IH title crossover. Complete waste of time &, frankly, money. It was duplicative, redundant & even had one issue which was 100% flashback. Kinda like a clips show on a sit-com. One feels cheated afterwards. I pity those who bought the many, many other cross-over books. What on earth could those have been about? The whole story takes place during 24 hours & in one setting, NYC. Well, maybe we have the TV show 24 to blame (I’ve never seen it).

 

Again, the supporting alien cast from PH who appear in WWH are throwaways. Uninteresting and dull. The dialogue by Pak is banal, juvenile & often times repetitive. I never want to read "warbound" & "worldbreaker" again. It reminded me of Claremont’s characters constantly saying: “you’ll be mine, body & soul” back in his original X-Men run. Does he still use that phrase all of the time??

 

The action? The plot point of having the Earth heroes battle in a gladiator contest was logical and unobjectionable. But the fights with the Hulk weren’t fun enough for me. They weren’t “big” enough for me. The Dr. Strange fight was the coolest. The Sentry’s anti-climactic. Punch the big green guy through some buildings? With that exploding sun power, how about right out of the solar system. I thought he likes to throw things into the sun? Oh well.

 

Oh hum.

 

Anyway, I like the red Hulk ads. Loeb might do something fun. What took so long for us to see a red Hulk? It seems so obvious. Even so, it appears that we have an original idea to look forward to.

 

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TheSurgeon

TheSurgeon

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My local comic book dealer in Madison, WI, introduced me to EC's and I have since read Squa Tront #12 and Tales of Terror. I will have to look for #6- I would love to read Art Speigelman's commentary on the story. It is not curently listed on ebay. Those two Jewish comic book greats were very much influenced by the Holocaust, as all the artists and writers were at that time. I will look for the other stories you mentioned as well. The early Shock Suspenstories books had very intense stories dealing with racism ("Justice" in Shock #3, Antisemitism ("Hate" in Shock #5,) prejudice and stereotyping. As interesting as those stories were, very provocative and progressive for the early 1950's, the readers' letters in response to those stories are very powerful, both congratulating the editors and bitterly disagreeing with them.

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