FINALLY - A Current DC We Can ALL Enjoy

[AlexH]

Strange Adventures was a good read... but it's no Identity Crisis. They're not even in the same league.

 

I have to agree. The story was OK at best. But not even close to identity crisis. Sorry.

[deathlok]

Strange Adventures was a good read... but it's no Identity Crisis. They're not even in the same league.

 

I have to agree. The story was OK at best. But not even close to identity crisis. Sorry.

 

How dare you guys speak against Ian. He obviously knows what is good and what isn't. I mean just look at how many DC's he has. Who are you to contradict him? He invented "FOAD" for cryin' out loud. What have you invented? If he says JSA Adventures is the best comic out there, then by golly everyone should buy it right now.

[Illiterati-migration]

Strange Adventures was a good read... but it's no Identity Crisis. They're not even in the same league.

 

I have to agree. The story was OK at best. But not even close to identity crisis. Sorry.

 

How dare you guys speak against Ian. He obviously knows what is good and what isn't. I mean just look at how many DC's he has. Who are you to contradict him? He invented "FOAD" for cryin' out loud. What have you invented? If he says JSA Adventures is the best comic out there, then by golly everyone should buy it right now.

 

Shouldn't you be down in the Grading Forum attempting to redeem yourself in the eyes of amateur baggers everywhere?

 

[deathlok]

Strange Adventures was a good read... but it's no Identity Crisis. They're not even in the same league.

 

I have to agree. The story was OK at best. But not even close to identity crisis. Sorry.

 

How dare you guys speak against Ian. He obviously knows what is good and what isn't. I mean just look at how many DC's he has. Who are you to contradict him? He invented "FOAD" for cryin' out loud. What have you invented? If he says JSA Adventures is the best comic out there, then by golly everyone should buy it right now.

 

Shouldn't you be down in the Grading Forum attempting to redeem yourself in the eyes of amateur baggers everywhere?

 

 

Shouldn't you be in awe of Ian's Weird War books?

[Illiterati-migration]

[deathlok]

[Forbush-Man]

Strange Adventures was a good read... but it's no Identity Crisis. They're not even in the same league.

 

I have enjoyed "Identity Crisis" but it's a very modern comic - full of dark twists and turns that were unheard of pre 1976. The Doctor Light from Justice League of America 12, "Last Case Of The Justice League", would NEVER have raped anybody.

 

But the "JSA Strange Adventures" reads like classic Golden Age. I went back and read it a second time, and I realised how true to form it was compared to the classic run of All Star Comics. I have seen nothing else in the last two decades as true to my youth - uncomplicated by twenty first century dark-storytelling-styles.

 

I longed for the tales of my youth - "Slave Ship Of Space", "The Wheel Of Misfortune", "One Hour To Doomsday", "Crisis On Earth One", "Outcasts Of Infinity", "Card Crimes Of The Royal Flush Gang"....

And here it is for the first time in decades.

 

No rape, no decapitated dogs, no self deprecation, no lobotomies, just a wonderful science-fantasy fuelled superhero romp, not childish but still somehow innocent and wonderful and full of the promise of a sadly long-lost era.

 

Maybe indeed nowhere near as deep as "Identity Crisis", yet for me, far far more satisfying.

 

I wish for more

 

I'm a long time Marvel fan(boy?) but, and I just have to say this,...I,..believe,..that,..DC is putting out the better product these days!

 

There! I said it!

 

I really feel this to be true!

 

Also helps that the numbering of the issues is consistant in the DC universe, whereas Marvel re-numbered thier books & I belive it's coming back to haunt them; too many mini-series & re-boots hurt collecting. Just MHO.

[AlexH]

Strange Adventures was a good read... but it's no Identity Crisis. They're not even in the same league.

 

I have enjoyed "Identity Crisis" but it's a very modern comic - full of dark twists and turns that were unheard of pre 1976. The Doctor Light from Justice League of America 12, "Last Case Of The Justice League", would NEVER have raped anybody.

 

But the "JSA Strange Adventures" reads like classic Golden Age. I went back and read it a second time, and I realised how true to form it was compared to the classic run of All Star Comics. I have seen nothing else in the last two decades as true to my youth - uncomplicated by twenty first century dark-storytelling-styles.

 

I longed for the tales of my youth - "Slave Ship Of Space", "The Wheel Of Misfortune", "One Hour To Doomsday", "Crisis On Earth One", "Outcasts Of Infinity", "Card Crimes Of The Royal Flush Gang"....

And here it is for the first time in decades.

 

No rape, no decapitated dogs, no self deprecation, no lobotomies, just a wonderful science-fantasy fuelled superhero romp, not childish but still somehow innocent and wonderful and full of the promise of a sadly long-lost era.

 

Maybe indeed nowhere near as deep as "Identity Crisis", yet for me, far far more satisfying.

 

I wish for more

 

I'm a long time Marvel fan(boy?) but, and I just have to say this,...I,..believe,..that,..DC is putting out the better product these days!

 

There! I said it!

 

I really feel this to be true!

 

Also helps that the numbering of the issues is consistant in the DC universe, whereas Marvel re-numbered thier books & I belive it's coming back to haunt them; too many mini-series & re-boots hurt collecting. Just MHO.

 

Allow me to clarify my opinion now that my daughter has fallen asleep.

 

First off, I agree that DC is putting out a much better product than Marvel is right now.

 

Secondly, I can't really compare the Golden age books like some of you can, as I don't own any Golden age books, and that could be where I am "missing it". From a stand-alone book, I think it is an ok read.

 

And lastly, here is a question for Ian. One of the first books I ever read (and one of the reasons that I started collecting) contained a story that I still think is one of the best stories about heroism at its core; Whatever happened to the Crimson Avenger? It was in the back of a DC Comics Presents #37 or 38 (can't remember off the top of my head). But my question is Ian: what did you think of this story in comparison to the Golden age of comics?

[CentaurMan]

First off, I agree that DC is putting out a much better product than Marvel is right now.

 

Secondly, I can't really compare the Golden age books like some of you can, as I don't own any Golden age books, and that could be where I am "missing it". From a stand-alone book, I think it is an ok read.

 

And lastly, here is a question for Ian. One of the first books I ever read (and one of the reasons that I started collecting) contained a story that I still think is one of the best stories about heroism at its core; Whatever happened to the Crimson Avenger? It was in the back of a DC Comics Presents #37 or 38 (can't remember off the top of my head). But my question is Ian: what did you think of this story in comparison to the Golden age of comics?

 

I'm not Ian, but (1) I have read a ton of Golden Age stories and (2) I definitely remember that DC Comics Presents story "Whatever Happened to the Crimson Avenger".

 

IMO, it was a fantastic story, an absolute classic, a timeless work of art, one of the top 5 or 10 comic book stories from the 1980's. It also wouldn't have appeared in a Golden Age comic. The Crimson Avenger found out he was dying of cancer, came out of retirement to stop one last crime, and got killed in an explosion at the end of the story. With very few exceptions, Golden Age stories (I'm thinking 1939-1945 here) weren't that gritty and emotional.

 

Golden Age stories are wonderful for many other reasons, but at their core they're typically very innocent, and permanent damage is rarely done to the protagonists or their immediate family/friends. Kind of the Anti-Identity Crisis.

[Ian_Levine]

One of the first books I ever read (and one of the reasons that I started collecting) contained a story that I still think is one of the best stories about heroism at its core; Whatever happened to the Crimson Avenger? It was in the back of a DC Comics Presents #37 or 38 (can't remember off the top of my head). But my question is Ian: what did you think of this story in comparison to the Golden age of comics?

 

But the Crimson Avenger IS the Golden Age of comics.

 

It was in Detective Comics long before Batman was, and continued right through the 1940s. One of DCs first ever costumed heroes. The cover of Detective Comics 22, with a Crimson Avenger cover, is one of the best covers DC has EVER put out.

[CentaurMan]

One of DCs first ever costumed heroes. The cover of Detective Comics 22, with a Crimson Avenger cover, is one of the best covers DC has EVER put out.

 

That's this cover here, for those who don't have their Gerbers handy:

 

[Ian_Levine]

That's this cover here, for those who don't have their Gerbers handy

 

What a beautiful cover. Mine is the highest graded comic in my collection. It's restored by Susan Cicconi to about a 9.8. It's the nearest thing to a mint Golden Age I've ever witnessed.

[Larryw7]

Speaking of the Crimson Avenger, allow me to go off topic for a sec(something I never do ) and mention that I read my copy of World's Finest 4 last night, and the Crimson Avenger story, along with the rest of the issue, was a 10. The whole book was just wonderful to behold. I have to agree with Ian, the old style of creating a comic book story is far superior to most modern books(though DC is definitely getting better, as opposed to three lines of dialogue and no captions per page Marvel).

[WIZARDTBT-migration]

Ian

 

Thanks for the heads-up. Will pick up a copy.

[goldust40]

One of the first books I ever read (and one of the reasons that I started collecting) contained a story that I still think is one of the best stories about heroism at its core; Whatever happened to the Crimson Avenger? It was in the back of a DC Comics Presents #37 or 38 (can't remember off the top of my head). But my question is Ian: what did you think of this story in comparison to the Golden age of comics?

 

But the Crimson Avenger IS the Golden Age of comics.

 

It was in Detective Comics long before Batman was, and continued right through the 1940s. One of DCs first ever costumed heroes. The cover of Detective Comics 22, with a Crimson Avenger cover, is one of the best covers DC has EVER put out.

 

I'm not being facetious here Ian, but I'm not that impressed with that cover - it's nice that you're so passionate about it, but it does look rushed, amateurish, and lacks compositional clarity. The Crimson Avenger looks a bit daft and not in the least bit sinister or heroic. There were a lot of pre Batman 'Tecs (and post, of course) that had better covers - not to mention Action, Adventure, More Fun, etc.

 

Shame you ain't into other GA publishers like Timely, MLJ, Fawcett and Quality . Lou Fine's Hit and Fantastic covers blow that one out of the water.

[Ian_Levine]

I'm not being facetious here Ian, but I'm not that impressed with that cover - it's nice that you're so passionate about it, but it does look rushed, amateurish, and lacks compositional clarity. The Crimson Avenger looks a bit daft and not in the least bit sinister or heroic.

 

As you know, I'm not at all grade concious. However, maybe the sheer mint-ness of my copy makes it look better in the flesh.

But I still love the cover.

 

Anyway, this thread was about JSA Strange Adventures, not the Crimson Avenger

[Ian_Levine]

Ian

 

Thanks for the heads-up. Will pick up a copy.

 

Anybody else read it and liked it ??

[FlyingDonut]

Ian

 

Thanks for the heads-up. Will pick up a copy.

 

Anybody else read it and liked it ??

 

I read it - it was enjoyable. I don't think I liked it as much as you did, but not a bad read. I'd recommend it to anybody looking for a nice book. Also it was OK for my nine year old to read, which is a stretch these days.

[deathlok]

Ian

 

Thanks for the heads-up. Will pick up a copy.

 

Anybody else read it and liked it ??

 

Even though I think you're a , I thought the book kinda sucked also. The problem is that the heroes are weak. They got worked over by two lackeys. Not even the main villain, but his henchman defeated the heroess. It was cool to see a bunch of the JSA shown in the beginning, but that wasn't enough to keep it interesting.

[shadroch]

Four stores and counting.... not one of them even ordered the book. One store mentioned someone else had asked about it.