Comics you read as a kid or teen that make you go ouch!

[MR.COMICBOOK]

When I was a kid, I loved the Claremont X-men, I just tried to reread the essential X-MEN run and had to put it down, same thing with Moench`s Master of Kung Fu.

they were both way to wordy for me and not fun. also I reread Frank Miller`s Dark Knight and it wasn`t as good as I remembered. I remember bragging to my highschool English teacher back in highschool how he should read Dark Knight and how he was missing out on something. I guess some memories are not to be revisited.

Does anybody else have comics they remember as great when as a child or teen, then find them disappointing as a adult?

[dekeuk]

I reread Frank Miller`s Dark Knight and it wasn`t as good as I remembered. I remember bragging to my highschool English teacher back in highschool how he should read Dark Knight and how he was missing out on something. I guess some memories are not to be revisited.

 

 

Really, is anything as good now as it used to be when you were in high school?

 

Comics? Music? Movies? TV shows? Getting drunk? Dates? Your waistline?

 

 

 

[SolitaireOne]

... sad, but true.

[silverage12c]

I remember being pretty much enthralled with the New Teen Titans and Legion of SH in the early- to mid-80s, when I was about 12. Might have had something to do with the way Perez drew Starfire and Wonder Girl, though . . .

[mackenzie999]

It's good that you're not as impressed by stuff you liked as a kid, it means you're growing and evolving. As are comics themselves, hopefully.

[dekeuk]

I remember being pretty much enthralled with the New Teen Titans and Legion of SH in the early- to mid-80s, when I was about 12. Might have had something to do with the way Perez drew Starfire and Wonder Girl, though . . .

 

Starfire Alien boobs

[seanfingh]

I remember being pretty much enthralled with the New Teen Titans and Legion of SH in the early- to mid-80s, when I was about 12. Might have had something to do with the way Perez drew Starfire and Wonder Girl, though . . .

 

Giffen's Dream Girl was no slouch in that department as well . . .

[chromium]

When I was a kid, I loved the Claremont X-men, I just tried to reread the essential X-MEN run and had to put it down, same thing with Moench`s Master of Kung Fu.

 

Really ? I read the entire series of MOKF a few years ago and found it one of the best 70's series I had ever read

[mica]

When I was a kid, I loved the Claremont X-men, I just tried to reread the essential X-MEN run and had to put it down, same thing with Moench`s Master of Kung Fu.

 

Really ? I read the entire series of MOKF a few years ago and found it one of the best 70's series I had ever read

Yes, all MOKF should be sent to me immediately to avoid this sort of reading tragedy in the future.

[40sJohn]

Disappointing reading? That would be early-mid bronze Flash. I remember the excitement as a 10-12 year old kid just reading and dreaming of being Barry Allen. Soooo, I decide to pull a few out to read and ....Man it sucked! I don't know if Cary Bates was that bad all of the time, but his writing/plotting must have been highly geared for the kids, cuz it just flat out blew reading as an adult!

 

Brought back memories of why I switched to mostly Marvel in the mid '70s as a teenager.

[rodan57]

Rereading Tomb of Dracula in Essentials was a disappointment. Dracula, the defacto hero, is a brutal murderer who can ravage a countryside in every issue but is unable to put Harker out of his misery given the opportunity every second issue or so. Perhaps reading the book in large chunks at a single sitting, rather than every month, is detrimental to its appreciation.

 

Though, it might be that I was blinded in appreciation for Colan and Palmer's art those many years ago.

[dekeuk]

 

Childood comics were not meant to be read as an adult. Does a toy collector play with his toys the same way he did when he was 8?

 

No...................... I hope.

 

The toys are for collecting, not playing with.

 

The same is true for old comics. The fun is in collecting them, not re-reading them as an adult and expecting the same impact they made on you as a kid.

 

 

[Mac Man]

Childood comics were not meant to be read as an adult. Does a toy collector play with his toys the same way he did when he was 8?

 

No...................... I hope.

 

The toys are for collecting, not playing with.

 

The same is true for old comics. The fun is in collecting them, not re-reading them as an adult and expecting the same impact they made on you as a kid.

 

Now I wasn't around when the original Amazing Spider-Man comics were initially published, but I have to disagree with you on this. I go back to reread these and love them. Further, I did grow up reading the McFarlane issues (298-328) as well as his 16-issue run on Spider-Man and thoroughly enjoy these.

 

The impact might not necessarily be the same, but you can still perform the same activity of reading them as you did when you were younger and find plenty of enjoyment with them. I read "The Hobbit" and the "Lord of the Rings" as a kid, loved the series, and still love reading them as an adult. With most things, it's always possible to carry an appreciation for something from childhood into adulthood while still being a normal adult.

 

Or put more simply... different strokes for different folks.

[rodan57]

Above I noted my disappointment with Tomb of Dracula given the theme of this thread. But there are many titles of the early Marvel Silver Age that I appreciate even more than when young. Even upon multiple rereadings, Lee/Ditko Spider-Man and Dr. Strange still causes me to shake my head in wonder at the talent displayed. And the early Fantastic Four were fantastic.

 

All these books I read in the originals. The exercise in the imagine is in the pretending that you are reading back in 1965 and that the adventures are new and the next month's installment has yet to be created.

 

This is one of my key reasons for collecting little books full of colourful pictures.

[JohnT]

Disappointing reading? That would be early-mid bronze Flash. I remember the excitement as a 10-12 year old kid just reading and dreaming of being Barry Allen. Soooo, I decide to pull a few out to read and ....Man it sucked! I don't know if Cary Bates was that bad all of the time, but his writing/plotting must have been highly geared for the kids, cuz it just flat out blew reading as an adult!

 

Brought back memories of why I switched to mostly Marvel in the mid '70s as a teenager.

 

Yeah, Flash was just horrible during that period. I bought them all, because Flash was just a great character...but those were unreadable.

 

Some of Kirby's BA stuff seems really bad when I go back and look at it, mostly due to the incredibly stiff writing. If anyone ever doubts who drove the Marvel Age--Stan Lee or Kirby--read some of the stuff Kirby did after leaving Marvel.

 

 

[NewWorldOrder]

I read Marvel's Darkhawk and SleepWalker and actually like them at the time!

 

[goldust40]

For me the thing that makes me wince is rereading those old Marvel Bullpen Bulletin pages, from the early '70s especially. Middle-aged men trying to talk to the kidz in their language.

 

I had a very similar experience re BA Flashes - really enjoyed them at the time (well, I was 10, and these were some of the first super-hero books I ever read). Started reading Marvels a couple of years later (had trouble finding them back then, ironically).

 

Reading those Flashes now reminds me of the sense of fun, escapism and innocence that comics had at the time, and the fact that I was infinitely more easily pleased in those days. Compared to Marvels from that era, they were definitely inferior, though.

[40sJohn]

Reading those Flashes now reminds me of the sense of fun, escapism and innocence that comics had at the time, and the fact that I was infinitely more easily pleased in those days. ......

 

(thumbs u

 

Well said, and probably sums up one of the big reasons my collection is focused on early-mid bronze DC!

[Drummy]

I agree about the Bullpen pages. Stan and the other editors were good storytellers in the 1970's, and the artists were phenomenal (which is why I collect OA pages from the books I read as a kid), but their ability to portray women and minorities, especially black Americans, was simplistic and cartoonish (re: offensive). As a kid I didn't notice, but as an adult I sure do. Definitely some pathetic moments in there.

 

That said, I DO re-read comics I read as a kid looking for a bit of the old magic. I have organized about 3 years' worth of the books I used to pore over by the months they came out, and read by the month. It's fun to read the editorial boxes ("See the latest issue of Hulk's own mag!") and the sincere attempt at continuity and crossover. Not all the stories work -- some is treacle (e.g., the ASM story when he saves the daughter of the blackmailed football player) and some amateur mystery hour (the Nova/ASM crossover that relies on a ridiculous anagram/coincidence, for instance), but all in all it's a lot of fun. Plus, I get to see particular pages and splashes from the "OA perspective" that I can add to my art want list for the next 30 years or so...

 

Not to mention the old comics smell...that takes me back, to be sure. Marvel Essentials got nothing on having the original issues in your hand.

 

Dan

[heinlein99]

Yeah, MOKF still stands up as far as I'm concerned. I bought the first issue of that revival of the title a few years back and had high hopes, but it was pretentious and bad. They used the 'f' word on the first page and I thought, 'Well, this is stupid.' And that's coming from somebody who uses the f-word thousands of times a day as every part of a sentence.

 

As a kid I loved buying Marvel Tales as it came out and reading those classic old Spider-Man stories. I wanted to be Peter Parker and live his life. But the stories themselves kept me enthralled too.

 

And you know what - I'm able to afford the original issues these days, and they still hold up beautifully. When Stan hit his stride in the mid-60's, he was the best damn comics writer around! And teamed up with a master artist like Kirby or Buscema or Romita Sr., it was fantastic.