Are there any Keys that are just 'Blah' to you? 4 4

[Ken Aldred]

On 11/13/2021 at 7:29 AM, jimbo_7071 said:

I would have to say that most GA keys fall into that category for me. I couldn't care less about first appearances. I collect comics primarily for the cover art, and few GA keys have anove-average cover art.

+1
Not that many have great interior art or story either, but outweighed by historical significance. Obvious joke for me to think about criticising a book like Tec 27 for that, a mainly unreadable anthology comic, but nonsense to do so because of the very profound legacy of a small section of its content.

Edited November 13, 2021 by Ken Aldred

[iggy]

[KCOComics]

On 11/13/2021 at 4:26 AM, Ken Aldred said:

+1
Not that many have great interior art or story either, but outweighed by historical significance. Obvious joke for me to think about criticising a book like Tec 27 for that, a mainly unreadable anthology comic, but nonsense to do so because of the very profound legacy of a small section of its content.

Didn't the first super man story in AC1 just randomly stop? 

It was something like, they decided to break it up over the first two issues and there wasn't a clean breaking point so they just stopped after 8 pages? 

[profholt82]

On 11/5/2021 at 9:51 PM, grendelbo said:

Some examples.

Great cover. I had the poster (with a green Hulk) on my wall as a teen. Everything inside is blah. Classic cover. Debatable if it's even a minor key.

 

Golden's art is pretty good. Cover stinks. Story is underwhelming. It's Avengers Annual 10 - 'nuff said.

Man, I remember when I first saw Hulk 340 as a kid, and that cover blew little prof away. The story is a solid battle between the two of them as well. Airplane, snowy mountains, wreckless mayhem... sheesh, I thought it delivered. Perhaps the fact that I was about 8 or 9 when I first read it made it stand out more, but as far as big epic fights between two big comic stars, I think it's above average. Maybe I'm just crazy, who knows. 

 

As far Avengers Annual 10, your opinion is definitely in the majority of people that I've heard from over the years. Something about the cover has always appealed to me though. It's like looking at a wall of TVs at the appliance store or something. Haha. Plus, it reminds me of the promos at the end of the 60s Batman that I grew up watching. Where the announcer would hype up all the stuff that would happen like a carnival barker. The cover gets the kid in me hyped up about all of the exciting things in the issue that I just can't miss. Ha!

I don't know, I just really like it. And I came to love Rogue as a character during the X-Men animated series in the 90s, so it's cool to have her first appearance. It's just a longtime favorite of mine, but I realize my opinion is in the minority on that issue. 

[FineCollector]

I get worn out looking at keys.  People flash the same books so often that it diminishes the enjoyment I get of looking at my own copies.

I think if you have to explain why a book is a key, it isn't.  I'm glad you're happy to own the first time Peter Parker uses a public restroom, but don't wave it in my face and expect me to be jealous.

[mec3437]

On 11/5/2021 at 11:19 PM, grendelbo said:

Minor key. First Marvel miniseries. First multi-title crossover. Lame. And why does almost ever character appear as though their eyes have been redrawn to look up?

The ethnic characters really brought some much needed pizzazz to the bland cookie cutter stylings of the 1980s.  Blitzkrieg, Shamrock and Defensor really should have had more screen time.  

[Djangology]

The original Avengers 1 is a perfect example of a ho-hum key to me. The whole concept of a superhero team had already existed for years, this doesn't have any character first appearances, and I don't think the cover is anything special.

There are a number of "key" categories that almost always fail to interest me, including:

- 1st team appearance of a group of existing characters

- 1st silver/bronze/etc. age appearance

- 1st battle/meeting between existing characters

[ramrodcar]

On 11/15/2021 at 9:25 AM, profholt82 said:

As far Avengers Annual 10, your opinion is definitely in the majority of people that I've heard from over the years. Something about the cover has always appealed to me though. It's like looking at a wall of TVs at the appliance store or something.

For me I have the same feeling about X-Men #50; whenever I see a copy I catch myself staring and not being able to look away. It's just such a gorgeous cover, my favorite Starenko cover by far.

 

 

 

[valiantman]

On 11/14/2021 at 6:12 AM, KCOComics said:

Didn't the first super man story in AC1 just randomly stop? 

It was something like, they decided to break it up over the first two issues and there wasn't a clean breaking point so they just stopped after 8 pages? 

It was about 13 pages, but yep, it just stops mid-story with a tiny "to be continued" in the 97th panel and then an advertisement for more.

[Ken Aldred]

It was also a cut up, originally formatted for a newspaper strip.

[Gonzimodo]

On 11/15/2021 at 8:16 PM, FineCollector said:

I get worn out looking at keys.  People flash the same books so often that it diminishes the enjoyment I get of looking at my own copies.

I think if you have to explain why a book is a key, it isn't.  I'm glad you're happy to own the first time Peter Parker uses a public restroom, but don't wave it in my face and expect me to be jealous.

But the Key Collector app says that it's a highly sought after key and there's movie speculation about Peter's bodily functions!  BUY NOW!!!

[jcjames]

On 11/16/2021 at 3:30 PM, valiantman said:

It was about 13 pages, but yep, it just stops mid-story with a tiny "to be continued" in the 97th panel and then an advertisement for more.

Why are there chains around Supermans chest that he has to break (and not around his arms too)?

And why would Superman allow himself to have chains wrapped around his chest (but not his arms) in the first place? Was he asleep when some bad guys tried to chain his torso up (but not his arms)?

Or is he showing off his strength like a circus strongman? If so, would it be more impressive to hold the chains in his hands and break them with his arm strength rather than showing off his diaphragm strength?

[ramrodcar]

On 11/17/2021 at 11:03 AM, jcjames said:

Why are there chains around Supermans chest that he has to break (and not around his arms too)?

And why would Superman allow himself to have chains wrapped around his chest (but not his arms) in the first place? Was he asleep when some bad guys tried to chain his torso up (but not his arms)?

Or is he showing off his strength like a circus strongman? If so, would it be more impressive to hold the chains in his hands and break them with his arm strength rather than showing off his diaphragm strength?

It appears worse than that, the chain doesn't even appear to have gone around his chest to hold him down; it's as if someone just laid a chain on his chest, not around his chest.

[djzombi]

Yeah, it's a decent cover, but yeesh.  I've seen MUCH better, and they don't command 10% of the price this one's getting.  

[D2]

On 12/2/2021 at 9:54 PM, djzombi said:

Yeah, it's a decent cover, but yeesh.  I've seen MUCH better, and they don't command 10% of the price this one's getting.  

I hear this argument often. 
A lot of people don’t like Tec 880, but it’s actually an *amazing* read. 
 

What’s funny is, although the story is about Grayson being Batman, The Black Mirror, which 880 is a part of, is more - back to basics Batman - than anything written outside of Snyder’s other hit, Court of Owls. It undoes, or at the very least, ignores this whole Grant Morrison, BatGod idea.  Which I hate. 
 

The Black Mirror is a fun, dark-ish, crime noir, and 880 just happens to be the best cover of the series. 
 

Read it. It’s top 5 Batman stories of all time for me. 880 IMO is not overrated. 

Edited December 3, 2021 by D2

[Ken Aldred]

I agree. It’s a very good story, worth a read.