Bronze Age Keys -The List!

[blowout]

Astonishing Tales 25 NO Deathlok? Because a book sells for a lot doesn't make it a key. 1st Perez work at Marvel?

15 NO Why Iron Fist 15? I can't think of any reason to have it on the list. Byrne's 2nd work on the X-MEN?

Marvel Team Up 1 YES , 53 NO Cool book, but not a KEY

Peter Parker Spectacular Spider-Man 27, 28 NO Cool books, but KEYS How are Byrne's 1st work on the X-MEN & Miller's 1st work on DD not keys?

X-Men 94, 101,108, 121,137

The 1st appearance of Alpha Flight is a key, but 109 isn't? Without Vindicator...no Alpha Flight.

 

Because a list of keys should be, by definition, very short.

 

Why?

 

And what do you mean by very short?

[blowout]

For xokxtrunks

[Mephisto]

For those who have DD 168 on the list is it mostly because of 1st Elecktra or also a big reason for choosing it is it's the first issue that Miller does both art and scripts?

[blowout]

For those who have DD 168 on the list is it mostly because of 1st Elecktra or also a big reason for choosing it is it's the first issue that Miller does both art and scripts?

 

I would chose it for the first appearance of Elektra.

[Mephisto]

I was curious because a few years ago I honestly didn't really consider her all that imporant character. I guess in the past few years she's really taken off even though I know 168 was always broken well out in the guide. I would have taken 131 over 168 just because I think Bullseye is a more important character but 131 wasn't really broken that much out of guide until the movie. I know a lot of people think the book is over rated but I always felt the same way about 168 and that gets a huge push being in the Miller run. The art to 131 does suck though. I always thought Elektra was kind of overrated becuase she really wasn't in too much for a long time and you'd look in the Wizard at DD 190 and see Elecktra returns with a ?. Leave her dead 181 was such a kick [#@$%!!!] issue and let's keep the super natural stuff to a minimum in DD and leave that for Doctor Strange. But I also have an extreme and I mean extreme love for villains so my vote would be prejudiced. Just look at my Comicartfans gallery it's all villains.

[flashfan-migration]

I'm surprised no one has brought up Star Wars #1 yet. Depending on who you talk to, a claim can be made that this issue saved the comic industry. Sure, the regular edition is pretty cheap, but I would bet the bidding on a really high grade 35-cent variant would blow any other bronze key away.

[blowout]

I'm surprised no one has brought up Star Wars #1 yet. Depending on who you talk to, a claim can be made that this issue saved the comic industry. Sure, the regular edition is pretty cheap, but I would bet the bidding on a really high grade 35-cent variant would blow any other bronze key away.

 

These lists have nothing to do with monetary value, but are about the comics importance within the field.

Star Wars #1 is just one of many many movie tie in books, and is hardly important at all in a comic book sense.

[flashfan-migration]

I'm surprised no one has brought up Star Wars #1 yet. Depending on who you talk to, a claim can be made that this issue saved the comic industry. Sure, the regular edition is pretty cheap, but I would bet the bidding on a really high grade 35-cent variant would blow any other bronze key away.

 

These lists have nothing to do with monetary value, but are about the comics importance within the field.

Star Wars #1 is just one of many many movie tie in books, and is hardly important at all in a comic book sense.

 

I think there are a lot of people who would disagree that SW #1 was 'just one of many many movie tie in books'. Chuck wrote a great article about this period (not that I consider Chuck the infallible source for comic book history, and I'll admit that some of Chuck's other articles are unreadable):

 

Chuck's Evolution of the Direct Market Part VI

 

Some snippets:

 

"...I don't want to forget to give a big bucket of credit for the survival of comics to George Lucas....It is a little known fact that while finding the Edgar Church collection of mint Golden Age comics helped increase sales at Mile High Comics during 1977, sales of STAR WARS merchandise actually helped us generate far more income..... Of even more importance was the fact that STAR WARS #1 sold over a million copies during its various printings, proving to all the comics publishers that there was still some life out there, if you could just find the right subject material. In my opinion, that was one substantial reason reason why Marvel and DC didn't just shut down during that dreadful year."

 

As a kid growing up in the late 70's, I saw all of this firsthand. Most of the DC titles were canceled; most of the Marvel titles were reprints. Then all of a sudden SW #1 hit the scene, and they were all over the place - pretty much any type of store carried them. That wave really kick-started DC and Marvel into the modern age. In my opinion, that would be considered 'important' for the comic book field.

[musicmeta]

I'm not much of a Star Wars comics collector but SW#1 might just have to be considered a key.

[duncan36]

I dont think any character represents the bronze age more than Ghost Rider, I dont see how Marvel Spotlight 5 let alone Ghost Rider 1 can be left off.

[shadroch]

bump

[nitowljr-migration]

Considering his influence on a lot of modern artists, Mike Golden's first work (Marvel Classics Comics #28) should, in my opinion, be considered a key. Though not as prolific as Byrne or as groundbreaking as Adams, he HAS been as influential. OK...maybe not as influential as Adams...

 

I understand why not many, if anyone, would agree, considering his body of comic work is a fraction of most other collected artists.

[Norrin_Radd]

Considering his influence on a lot of modern artists, Mike Golden's first work (Marvel Classics Comics #28) should, in my opinion, be considered a key. Though not as prolific as Byrne or as groundbreaking as Adams, he HAS been as influential. OK...maybe not as influential as Adams...

 

I understand why not many, if anyone, would agree, considering his body of comic work is a fraction of most other collected artists.

 

[Zonker]

Considering his influence on a lot of modern artists, Mike Golden's first work (Marvel Classics Comics #28) should, in my opinion, be considered a key. Though not as prolific as Byrne or as groundbreaking as Adams, he HAS been as influential. OK...maybe not as influential as Adams...

 

I understand why not many, if anyone, would agree, considering his body of comic work is a fraction of most other collected artists.

 

I think Mike Golden has indeed been very influential. I see lots of Golden in both Joe Quesada's and Tim Sale's stuff.

[SignatureSelect]

Everybody left out major issues and neglected issues because they were magazines maybe the list should be 50 to 100 issues long and include the following aswell as the ones already included marvel spotlight 12 1st hellstorm, 28 1st solo Moonnight, and 32 1st Spider-woman Savage Tales # 1 1st Man-thing

fear 10 1st solo manthing 19 1st howard the duck, iron man 55, also include more books with artist or writers 1st work. Daredevil 158 (Frank Miller) is important plus Astonishing tales 25 1st deathlok and 1st George Perez work is of dual importance list other like maybe marv wolfman's 1st marvel work ( i can't remember right now) maybe steranko's last marvel work All of this stuff is important. So just make the list larger and stop fighting over it. I mean there is stuff on the list I don't personally like but I do think it is key. So for once lets not fight or name call or make fun of other people's likes and dislike's an make a nice list with Ist appearance's of relevant characters and important influiental story arcs aswell as 1st appearances from major influential artist

[Rival61-migration]

Possibly the last of the overlooked bronze keys (Should I let the cat out of the bag?) is Doomsday +1 #1. The storyline was actually fairly interesting, had an extremely low sales distribution due to being a Charlton comic, and of course, was the first work by John Byrne. The few copies left in existance have been beaten to death in 25-cent bins and CGC census currently claims only 2 issues slabbed to date, a 9.6 and an 8.0. I have purchased 23 issues on ebay over the last 3 years for pocket change, and my best candidate should be coming back next week or so from CGC. I will be suprised if it garners a 9.6.

 

Easy to find in battered condition, impossible in true NM condition. It would be hard not to call this one a rare, and it most definitely should be a bronze key.

[nitowljr-migration]

Can't say I'd agree with any artist's final work being a key based solely on that fact.

[whetteon]

Everybody left out major issues and neglected issues because they were magazines maybe the list should be 50 to 100 issues long and include the following aswell as the ones already included marvel spotlight 12 1st hellstorm, 28 1st solo Moonnight, and 32 1st Spider-woman Savage Tales # 1 1st Man-thing

fear 10 1st solo manthing 19 1st howard the duck, iron man 55, also include more books with artist or writers 1st work. Daredevil 158 (Frank Miller) is important plus Astonishing tales 25 1st deathlok and 1st George Perez work is of dual importance list other like maybe marv wolfman's 1st marvel work ( i can't remember right now) maybe steranko's last marvel work All of this stuff is important. So just make the list larger and stop fighting over it. I mean there is stuff on the list I don't personally like but I do think it is key. So for once lets not fight or name call or make fun of other people's likes and dislike's an make a nice list with Ist appearance's of relevant characters and important influiental story arcs aswell as 1st appearances from major influential artist

 

Most of the issues you mentioned here were included in the Bronze Age Minor List thread burried under a bunch of Bronze Age topics. So we weren't originally ingoring any of those issues you mentioned (and for the recond I think all of them are important) but they weren't really MAJOR key important.

 

Of course this begs the question 'what does 'major' mean'?

[Rival61-migration]

Grrrrrr... My Doomsday +1 #1 came back a 9.2. Guess I'll have to live with that one for a while.

[sterlingcomics]

There was an original art of Wrightson doing a cover for Pit...looks way cool! Recently sold for $8k.