We love collecting Golden Age books, but which series are the best for reading? 1 1

[L'Angelo Misterioso]

I understand that due to the nature of the comic book industry at the time, very few of these GA books are actually well-written. From what I can tell, most series were anthologies and not much thought was given to continuity, an expanded universe, recurring villains (some exceptions are Joker and Red Skull), character development, or nuance. Stories were very formulaic, dialogue was stilted, etc. I'm wondering if there are any series that transcend ephemeral novelty and are actually enjoyable reads. I have seen a lot of people say that the best GA in terms of quality are the ECs, Planet Comics, The Spirit, and early Batman/Detective Comics (this last one surprises me, though I've never read any of early Batman). 

Are there any series that you think are worth the read? It's hard to get information regarding the quality of GA books, partly because they're so old and out of the fray of media competing for our attention, and party because they're typically discussed with respect to investment and collecting.

[BitterOldMan]

Donald Duck and Scrooge McDuck stories written, pencilled, and inked by the great Carl Barks are my favorite all time books.  I enjoy them as much today as I did as a youngster.  His stories are imaginative, very funny, and well drawn. No long underwear heroes nor precode horror can be found in his books.

[jimbo_7071]

The EC Horror and Sci-fi stories are fun to read, in no small part because of the humor that was successfully interjected into even the most grim stories.

Most GA stories are a little uninspired compared to BA and CA stories. They can be fun to read in order to have a chuckle at how dated they are, etc., but they're just not great literature.

Edited March 10, 2023 by jimbo_7071

[fifties]

As a PCH and crime comics collector, I've found that the early issues, ESP with PCH, seem to have had reasonably good stories.  This is ESP true with both Harvey and Atlas's fare, which unfortunately then degenerated in both story and art later in the pre-code era.

[ThothAmon]

Classics Illustrated got me through a few English assignments. 
 

[10centcomics]

On 3/9/2023 at 3:01 PM, BitterOldMan said:

Donald Duck and Scrooge McDuck stories written, pencilled, and inked by the great Carl Barks are my favorite all time books.  I enjoy them as much today as I did as a youngster.  His stories are imaginative, very funny, and well drawn. No long underwear heroes nor precode horror can be found in his books.

Could not agree with this more! I think there's a strong case that Scrooge McDuck is actually the greatest character to come out of comics when you look at all the classic stories, a fully-realized universe, and a colorful cast of villains and supporting characters. You can devour all the Carl Barks stories and then if you want more, you can read Don Rosa's work. Can you imagine if every legendary creator had an equally talented superfan who continued to expand and enrich their creations?

[MattTheDuck]

It’s not comics but a lot of the pulps have stories by famous authors (ray bradbury and so forth). They aren’t illustrated in the way comics are but there a lot of great reads there.

[Badger]

Check out early Captain Marvel stories. in Captain Marvel Adventures. The "Monster Society for Evil" ran for 2 years in issues 22 through 46! Has any other story run that long or longer?

[Ryan.]

Carl Barks work is the top choice here. 

Will Eisner's work on The Spirit had great art and very readable stories. 

[aardvark88]

On 3/9/2023 at 2:55 PM, Ryan. said:

Carl Barks work is the top choice here. 

Will Eisner's work on The Spirit had great art and very readable stories. 

+1 for Spirit (weekly) sections.

[OtherEric]

Agree across the board that Carl Barks, Will Eisner, and the EC's are the first places to look for stories that are still good reads today.

It's worth noting that they're some of the most continually reprinted Golden Age books.  There's good reasons for that.

[The Black Hand ®]

If I was stranded on a desert island with the choice of the complete works of any one comic creator, it would be Carl Barks. Every panel was a work of art.

[L'Angelo Misterioso]

Sad that not much of the superhero content is worth reading. Imagine if Marvel Mystery or Wonder Comics were comparable to the iconic Silver Age stuff. 

Edited March 10, 2023 by L'Angelo Misterioso

[adamstrange]

I enjoy most Basil Wolverton, Jack Cole and Bill Everett stories.  Quirky but beautifully illustrated. 

There's a number of misc. artists who drew bizarre stories with enough enthusiasm to make them fun.  Fletcher Hanks would be at the top of that particular list.

Edited March 10, 2023 by adamstrange

[Cat-Man_America]

On 3/9/2023 at 1:29 PM, L'Angelo Misterioso said:

I understand that due to the nature of the comic book industry at the time, very few of these GA books are actually well-written. From what I can tell, most series were anthologies and not much thought was given to continuity, an expanded universe, recurring villains (some exceptions are Joker and Red Skull), character development, or nuance. Stories were very formulaic, dialogue was stilted, etc. I'm wondering if there are any series that transcend ephemeral novelty and are actually enjoyable reads. I have seen a lot of people say that the best GA in terms of quality are the ECs, Planet Comics, The Spirit, and early Batman/Detective Comics (this last one surprises me, though I've never read any of early Batman). 

Are there any series that you think are worth the read? It's hard to get information regarding the quality of GA books, partly because they're so old and out of the fray of media competing for our attention, and party because they're typically discussed with respect to investment and collecting.

My choices for readable stories is pretty much in sync with what others have said.  While I'm not into the funny animal lines and don't read any of the duck stuff, I'll tip my hat to Carl Barks creativity. My own preferences are EC for the best short fiction in comics, even to the point of featuring Ray Bradbury stories, not that Gaines and Feldstein were slouches. One of the best SF stories ever done in comics is EC's Judgment Day (illustrated by Joe Orlando). Other good hit & miss writing can be found in Quality Comic books, characters like Jack Cole's cleverly written Plastic Man and Midnight series, and of course Will Eisner's brilliant Spirit which appeared in both newspapers and Police Comics.

Love the art in Timelys even when the stories are hit and miss, but they're a lot of fun. A lot of folks love Archie (Pep Comics) for the writing as well as the art. The one advantage SA has is story development with recurring characters. SA books have fewer pages but are often devoted to longer, more fleshed out storylines. GA, even books devoted to one character are divided into short stories or themes with rarely any continuation (the Sub-Mariner - Human Torch epic battle being a rare exception). As mentioned earlier, Captain Marvel's Mister Mind and the Monster Society of Evil was one of the few serialized stories of the GA. Fawcett's audience demographic skewed younger, but top notch writing from Otto Binder.  Should probably mention Daredevil Comics and other Lev Gleason publications. Charles Biro's goal was editing stories with an eye toward literacy ...I think they had the first Letters to the Editors page in comics.  One of the failings of Gleason's books under Biro & Woods was too much wordiness, trying to cram more into their stories, but a lot of folks loved the Little Wise Guys even after Daredevil hung up his costume.

One more thing, in case you haven't checked it out. There's a smorgasbord of GA art/stories to peruse and assess right here in Paul's GOLD READING ROOM. That's the best recommendation I can offer! 

 

Edited March 10, 2023 by Cat-Man_America
Ale added, ...it's time for a brew!

[Scrooge]

On 3/10/2023 at 3:40 AM, Cat-Man_America said:

with rarely any continuation (the Sub-Mariner - Human Torch epic battle being a rare exception).

You can find such continuations here and there. You can find it in Tarzan where a story's starting point can be a reference to an earlier issue. I just read # 31 IIRC where the professor comes back to Tarzan and mentions that the dinosaur egg samples they collected together 4 or 5 issues back were broken in transit to the US and they need to go back to collect more. This is just one instance but it's not uncommon in Tarzan. The first 20+? issues of Lassie are one long continuity. The Our Gang stories have a similar flavor. Then, also from Dell, you have to consider the long serials in the back-up features. Brothers of the Spear in Tarzan or Young Hawk in the Lone Ranger were shorter stories that ran as serials so you need to read from one issue to the next to accompany the characters on their journey / adventures.

[sfcityduck]

I am going to disagree with two basic ptremises:  (1) That GA was not well-written and (2)  that continuity is a hallmark of good comics. I find GA comics very readable and entertaining.  

Here is the thing: The greatest continuity ever written in comic form by a single writer-artist spanned decades and started in the 1930s: Hal Foster’s Prince Valiant.  The pre-marriage adventures may be the high point for fantasy/adventure story and art.  But that is a Sunday strip not a comic book (although it was extensively reprinted in comics).

In comic book format, obvious top 5 candidates with some amount of continuity are late 40s - early 50s Barks Ducks, Batman and/or Robin from the same time period, and Spirit. But I do not think continuity matters and would put up Kurtzman’s “Airburst” and “corpse on the Imjin” or Krigstein’s “Master Race” for EC up against any comic published since.  Ditto for some Toth romance stories (read the book “Setting the Standard”). And adventure. PCH by Everett etc. can be better than EC horror if you are looking for darker fare. I also enjoy Atlas superhero comics.

I could go on and on.  Go read some archive type books to get a sense of what is out there before you buy actual comics. 

 

 

 

 

 

[sfcityduck]

On 3/10/2023 at 12:40 AM, Cat-Man_America said:

 

One of the best SF stories ever done in comics is EC's Judgment Day (illustrated by Joe Orlando).

 

True that!

[Paul © ® ⚽️💙™]

You can spend the rest of your life reading only PCH books and stories, and you won't go far wrong in terms of comic book art and entertainment. 

[Robot Man]

I agree with all the recommendations already posted.

I am a horror/sci fi guy primarily although have a fondness for nearly all genres. Nobody did it better than EC as a whole.

I can take or leave a lot of superhero stuff. But my favorite stuff would be pre Robin Detective, More Fun is also an excellent title, and the early Capt. America horror stuff is highly recomended. These can all be obtained through reprints.