75th post extravaganza!!!

I just realized this is my 75th blog post! To celebrate, I'm going to feature 75 of my most memorable comic book covers from my "golden age" of comics. Er, 75 covers seems like a lot...howzabout 30 covers? I'll break this into two posts.

My particular golden age falls between the age of 8-18 (1987-1999). I'm not saying the comics in my golden age are the greatest comics ever. Most of them are definitely not anything groundbreaking or the highest examples of what a great comic book is. So my apologies in advance for inevitable the Rob Liefeld and Image comics at some point in this list. I'm being honest here, and when the '90s comics came out I gobbled them up and begged for more. I was young. Tastes evolve over time (thankfully). For better or worse, these comics bring that nostalgic essence of what comic books were "back then."

GI Joe #46
One of my earliest comics that have long since gone to comic book heaven. I don't remember anything about it except the cover.


Wolverine #5
My first exposure to Wolverine. Back when he also went by the name "Patch." Great cover by John Buscema. I love the feeling of fast action/movement frozen in time.


Captain America #358
As a kid - when it comes to comic book covers - it is hard to ignore the looming threat of death of one of your favorite superheroes. I remember thinking "What's going to happen - will he survive?" When a superhero "dies" these days, I don't even bat an eye.


Uncanny X-Men #222
Wow it's that Wolverine guy! My first X-men comic featuring a classic Sabertooth vs Wolverine battle. Sadly this comic perished by the oft recurring disaster known as "Mom Doesn't Approve." When this disaster hits the comic is destined for the garbage. This isn't the only comic on this list to meet that fate. Mom was probably right on a few occasions given some material and my age. But only a few...


Amazing Spider-Man #300
Spider-Man was always safe from "Mom Doesn't Approve" disasters. Ironic since it was often just as bloody and violent as X-men. Ah well... Black costume Spidey was the coolest thing for me as a kid. The only thing more bad ass was Chuck Norris and Rambo.


Amazing Spider-Man #328
A fun cover with Spidey beating on the Hulk. Impossible you say? Not when you favorite wall-crawler gains cosmic powers! This was during the Acts of Vengeance crossover/event.


Captain America #375
I loved the Captain America era when Ron Lim was the artist. A berserk Cap ready to tear Daredevils head off! A great fight between Cap and Daredevil gave me my first exposure to Ol' Hornhead.


Iron Man #249
I never really bought Iron Man that often, but the idea of a showdown with Dr. Doom sounded cool. One of the few things I remember from this issue - Iron Man uses his chest laser beam (technical term) to make popcorn.


Detective Comics #610
I always loved this cover of a somber Batman standing in a cemetery. I really didn't buy any DC except Batman and Detective comics. Don't know why. These days it is about equal between the DC and Marvel stuff I buy.


Punisher War Journal #11
Punisher has an uzi and is seeing red! I snuck this one past my Mom at the store. Success! D'oh you idiot, don't sit in the living room and read it! She caught a glimpse of the cover, flipped through 22 pages of drug dealers getting made into swiss cheese and that was the last I saw of that one. "But Mom, they are all scum who deserve what they got." That didn't persuade her. The Jim Lee art was cool - what parts of it I got to see. Looking back this probably was a bit too violent for me at age 10. Although I had seen Terminator by that point so go figure.


Amazing Spider-Man #344
Back to Mom-approved Spidey... I was intrigued by this new Cardiac character. I liked his costume and his powers. Back then that was all you needed to be gnarly and radical. I loved to say gnarly and radical. I should bring gnarly back.


Wolverine #50
The unique die-cut cover was enough to convince me to buy this one. "Sweet, it's like Wolverine took a slash at my comic book!" Little did I know that the comic book cover shenanigans were just beginning. Die-cut, chromium foil, hologram, super-foldout covers. Hello '90s...


X-men #1
By this point I must have hit the magic age where X-Men was no longer on the "Momma Don't Approve" disaster list. I was really mesmerized by this comic. I was convinced Jim Lee was the greatest artist ever (still one of my top 5) and the X-Men where the best team in comics. These were the absolute glory days of comic books for me.


New Mutants #100
Riding off the high of X-men #1, I found this issue still on the racks shortly after. "Dude, more mutants!" then "What?! Last issue?" This was followed by more excitement upon realizing this would become X-Force. I admit it - I was pretty impressed by Liefeld's art. Something about it seemed really energetic. It had lots of lines so it had to be good art, right? Back then I think I placed him just below Jim Lee. My how opinions change.


Daredevil: The Man Without Fear #1
Ooh, not just a foil logo, but red foil all over! The cover sold me, but I quickly realized the story was even better. I really like this look at Daredevil's early years as he learned to cope with his blindness and his powers. Frank Miller and John Romita Jr. were a good match.


Check back in a couple days, when I post the the other 15 covers!

Some of you may have heard of the term mort in reference to very cheesy/lame comic book characters. I believe this term was pegged by Wizard Magazine when they ran a "Mort of the Month" article in their magazine 10 years ago or so. I don't remember the exact reasoning to use the word mort. I'm sure it was in reference to some obscure character.

For fun I looked up mort on dictionary.com and came up with:

1. Hunting. the note played on a hunting horn signifying that the animal hunted has been killed.
2. Obsolete
3. A three year old salmon

OK.....I'm not sure about the first or third definitions, but maybe the second one applies. Thanks to my love of Wizard Magazine in the early to mid '90s, mort with forever mean dorky, cheesy, and/or lame.

Now on with the blatant rip off of the "Mort of the Month." I'm going through my Marvel Universe Handbooks from the late '80s and picking out the biggest losers. These have probably been done before. Oh well. I'm having fun.

Aguila



Aguila jumps out at me as a really bad take on Zorro. He has the mask, the sword (rapier), the Old West/Spanish styling and the Errol Flynn moustache!

Background: Alejandro Montoya, born in Spain and later moved to America, dons the name El Aguila (The Eagle) upon discovering he has mutant powers. He has the power to discharge electricity (up to 10,000 volts) through conductive matter. He decides to use a sword as his electric conductor of choice. A Zorro fan from childhood, in case you couldn't tell, El Aguila battles drug deals and crooks that victimize the poor people of New York.

De-Morting Potential: Moderate. El Aguila still has some minor relevance in today's comics. He was apparently on the list of depowered mutants from the House of M fallout. He could possibly be used in the new Initiative program that resulted from the Civil War storyline. There isn't really a whole you can do with El Aguila. Except kill him. Marvel seems to be bringing back a lot of D-listers lately. Mostly, I'm sure, so they have some cannon fodder to kill off for any upcoming events like World War Hulk.

Mort-O-Meter: 4 out of 10. Yeah, the costume isn't spectacular and the power is so-so, but he could be a lot worse.

Ugh, not a very fun Marvel Mort post. I'll try and amp up the crazy for the next ones.

This is it, True Believers! This issue of Amazing Spider-man marks the real beginning of my love of comic books.

The Amazing Spider-man #324 - November 1989


Alright. I thought comics were pretty neat earlier in my childhood, but here is where I really started to appreciate them - mostly the art at this point. It is 1989. I'm ten years old. It is at this age that I actually start to seek out comics which, for me, meant buying one from Shop-Rite every week when my Mom took me grocery shopping. I had a few Spider-man comics before, but this is the first one hand picked by me. I had limited choices in regards to what comics I was allowed to buy. X-men was a big no-no (the X-men comic story I'll leave for another time). Spider-man, OK.

Spidey hanging upside down. Ahhh. So classic.


Issue Summary: I only know the bare basics of the story, since I only have part 5 of 6. I read the comics I bought, but I never really digested the story. It was all about the cool art (which is why - looking back now - Image comics and many comics in general in the '90s were so lame). Spider-man, with the help of Captain America, Silver Sable, and the loose cannon, Solo are trying to stop some crazy terrorists (A comic plot that has never been done before, I know. But I'm ten years old, remember and comics were all about the pretty drawings). Sabretooth is somehow connected to the terrorists. Cap and Silver Sable are on the hunt for Sabretooth somewhere in Mexico.

Captain America and Silver Sable bust some poor Mexican guerrilla heads - with style.


Spidey is busy mopping up terrorists on Ellis Island and New York. There is a good fight between Sabretooth and Silver Sable in some ancient Mexican ruins that I thought was fabulous.

Cap picks a bad time to visit the men's room. Thanks for the help, Cap!



That really is all you need to know. A standard comic book issue with some good action scenes.

Amazing Spider-man #324 was the first comic where I really took notice of the art. I remember seeing "Erik Larsen" as the artist and from then on checking my next Spidey issues to see if he was drawing it. He quickly became my favorite artist. I just missed out on Todd McFarlane's run on Amazing, so I'm sure he would have been my favorite if I had gotten his comics first. Larsen is a sentimental favorite of mine when it comes to artists.


That would be Solo. If I remember right, Solo was a character created (co-created?) by Erik Larsen. Pretty much a carbon copy of The Punisher, but I didn't care. I thought he looked cool. He had, you know, guns and grenades and stuff. Plus he had some sort of phasing/teleportation ability so he could pop up out of no where with guns blazing. Anyways, Solo became one of my favorite characters of course. Man, a lot of "favorites" in this issue.

Young Dan's Geeky Cool Rating: 10 out of 10.

Revised Geeky Cool Rating: 7 out of 10. Being my first Spider-man comic, it is still one of my most beloved comics. I went crazy over the art. This issue is very beat-up because of the number of times I flipped through it. I carried that thing all over the house.

Original Cover Price: $1

Current Value on ComicsPriceGuide.com (which doesn't really mean anything): $10 NM. My issue is probably in fair condition, but it is worth more than $10 to me. Nuff said!

Wait, I almost forgot the best part: cheesecake! Oh MJ, you sure could make a ten year old boy feel funny inside. It was probably just the sloppy joes I ate for lunch, though.

the comics of my youth

I wouldn't be a true child of the '80s if I didn't have a G.I. Joe comic.

G.I. Joe #52, October, 1986


Issue Summary: Another single issue I got that seems to be right in the middle of a story. In this issue, The Joes are busy training when Storm Shadow sneaks into the base to talk to Snake Eyes. There is a short fight where the Joes are trying to stop Storm Shadow. After quickly dispatching Quick Kick, and disarming Lady Jane of her crossbow, Storm Shadow explains he just wanted to talk. Everyone leaves him and Snake Eyes alone. Storm Shadow is apparently on the run from Cobra and need a place to hide out. After getting Snake Eyes' sympathy through their clan/past connection, Snake Eyes gives Storm Shadow the key to his place (awwww, softy).

Meanwhile Cobra is gathering for an assault on the G.I. Joe base. It seems like that is all that ever happens in G.I. Joe stories. Cobra attacks the G.I. Joe base, G.I. Joes attack the Cobra base, or some combination of the two. Also, Cobra Commander is whining (as usual) because the new Cobra leader (King Cobra? The guy in gold with the snake head helmet) is ruling with an iron fist. I always love it when Cobra Commander gets put in his place.


My first exposure to G.I. Joe came of course from the cartoon. I had my fair share of G.I. Joe merchandise too - T-shirt, puzzle, underwear, toys. Sadly, many of my G.I. Joe toys were KIA in the mid/late-'90s from BB gun friendly fire. None of them saw it coming, and none of them deserved their cruel fate. Except for Cobra Commander - that jerk had it coming.

Anyways, this issue isn't really anything special for me. It is one of the first few comics I remember buying myself though. Every summer two of my cousins (who were about the same age as me) and I would spend a week "up north" (near Cadillac, MI) with our grandparents. They had some land with a cabin/trailer on it. It was the best thing for young boys like us. Plenty of fun, games and outdoor adventure. One year on our way up we stopped at some gas station/convenience store. That is were I picked this issue up. It must have been sitting on the shelf for a while - our trips were in the summer. I liked karate/martial arts as a kid, so the cover really grabbed me. Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes were my favorites. Big surprise, I know. Quick Kick was a close third.

I actually don't have very many G.I. Joe comics despite loving the cartoon and toys. It looks like I have a total of three G.I. Joe comics.





Young Dan's Geeky Cool Rating: 5 out of 10.

Revised Geeky Cool Rating: 4 out of 10. No major wow factor for this issue. Very basic art. Not a whole lot of characters featured. Just a G.I. Joe comic, nothing more.

Original Cover Price: 75¢

Current Value on ComicsPriceGuide.com (which doesn't really mean anything): $3 NM

my comic book pull list

Added a list on the sidebar of the current comic books I buy each month. In case you are curious as to which current comics I'm reading, or you want to bash my poor comic buying choices now you know exactly what I'm getting. You'll see I've made plenty of bad comic purchases in the past when I get to the "Image Comics of My Youth" posts. *shudder* For the most part, I do enjoy the comic book I've been reading (otherwise I wouldn't buy them).

You'll notice I tend to buy more Marvel comics. Mostly because I'm more familiar with the Marvel Comics universe. The whole Civil War/Initiative and soon to be World War Hulk story lines are getting a little out of control though. I wish a lot of titles would start being more self contained again instead of these huge story lines spilling into every title. It isn't as bad as the bazillion crossovers in the '90s, but they need to slow down with the number of company/universe wide story events.

On another note - yay, Art Adams Avengers covers!

the comics of my youth

Ok, here is another comic that I'm very fond of. There is a little story behind it, which I'll explain after the issue summary.

The Flash #330, February 1984


Issue Summary: I'm kind of at a loss for what is going on in this issue. It is obviously a continuation of a story from the previous issue(s), which I don't have. Here is what I pieced together re-reading it: Flash's (Barry Allen) fiance Ms. Webb (not Iris West!??), is locked up in some mental institution. A doctor is recording her mad ravings about Barry being Flash. He plans to sell them to the news in order to be rich. Flash arrives and races him out the building and throws him through a carwash at super speed.

Ok...then apparently Flash is also searching for some missing boy. While searching the city, Flash is lured by some sort of mist/smoke, which knocks him unconscious. This is part of Gorilla Grodd's doing, but what his master plan is, I don't know.

Flash is now in some sort of alternate dimension/astral plane type place. This is also where the missing boy is. There are some other goons here too who are involved somehow with Grodd. There is some deal where one of the guys is going to steal/absorb Flash's speed. That is about all I can figure out. As a single issue it isn't very good. Hard to figure out only reading one part of the story. Not many cool action shots in this issue either. So why is this one of my favorite comics?



Why This Issue is Special: Here is why this is near and dear to my heart. It is one of the first comics I ever remember. Ahh, 1984. That puts me at 5 years old when I got this. Money was a little tight with my family back then. My Dad was working 2 jobs. This second job was managing a car wash. I remember him coming home one night with a small stack of comics he found that someone had thrown in the garbage at the car wash. No, he wasn't dumpster diving, I think they just happened to be at the top of the pile (in good condition) when he was changing the garbage cans. I think some parent just tossed them in the midst of cleaning out their car interior. Anyways, I remember three distinct comics: Conan, Incredible Hulk, and the Flash (I'm still trying to replace the Conan and Hulk issues). Oh this Flash character was cool! The cover was great, with a giant gorilla on it. Of course that will appeal to a 5 year old. I loved the Flash costume and the way Carmine Infantino would draw him racing around.

I remember tracing my finger along the red streak Flash always left behind. This probably inspired me to beg for a Flash costume. I was pretty pumped when I got a red shirt with the Flash logo on it. My mom sewed me a partial red mask (a domino style mask) with shiny gold trim on it. I ran around the house in that for a long time. That is the main reason Flash is still one of my favorite characters today. Plus running a hypersonic speed would be really, really fun.

Dan's Original Geeky Cool Rating: 8 out of 10

Dan's New Geeky Cool Rating: 8 out of 10. In terms of action/story it is about a 2. Sentimental rating is a 10, so that evens out to an 8.

Original Cover Price: 75¢

Current Value on ComicsPriceGuide.com: $6 in NM condition

the comics of my youth

I'm starting a new series of blog posts which highlight my favorite comics growing up. This should be pretty fun, especially when we get to the Image Comics years. Looking back at these comics from the late-'80s thru the '90s can be difficult when you consider how bad some of them were (again some Image Comics come to mind). All I can say is ignorance is bliss. One other thing, I don't know if showing some pages from these old comics is copyright infringement or whatever. I like to think of it as free advertising for the comic companies. Buy DC comics! Buy Marvel Comics! Just buy comics new and old! There hopefully that makes it better...

One comic I own that I'm not ashamed of is Detective Comics #612 (March 1990). This comic was one of my earliest Batman comics that I recall buying. I remember picking it off the rack at the good ol' ShopRite grocery store. I must have read/flipped through it about ten times that day.

First off, here is the summary of the issue:
Batman is out preventing an old lady from getting mugged when he discovers that there is a tiger loose! The runaway tiger is a Siberian Tiger that belongs to Thomas Blake (aka Catman). Upon finding the empty cage, Catman begins his search for his pet. The tiger somehow manages to get to the top of a huge skyscraper(don't ask me how), where an unlucky would-be thief becomes cat food. Batman and Catman both here the thief's scream and head for the building. Catman somehow gets the upper hand on Batman, and sits back to watch Batman try to tame the tiger without his utility belt!! No chance of using that handy tiger repellent! Catwoman shows up out of the blue and tosses Catman off the roof. She then sits back to watch Batman vs. the tiger, mesmerized by both the cat and the Bat. Batman eventually is able to knock the tiger unconscious. Catwoman takes off, the cops apprehend the tiger, end of story. Short and sweet.


I had some exposure to Batman comics earlier than this, but this one grabbed me for a couple reasons. First and foremost was the art. I loved Norm Breyfogle's Batman. Looking back, it isn't the most amazing art ever, but it is interesting and dynamic to me. Breyfogle was good at showing Batman's athleticism and drew some great fight scenes.

Another thing that I liked about this issue was Catman. This was the first I had heard of Catman. While they don't explain much about him in this one-issue story, it doesn't really matter when you are 11 years old. He looked cool, I liked his costume colors. That was enough for me.

The story by Alan Grant was simple, which might have been another reason I was so fond of it. Reading it again today, it has the feel of an episode of Batman: The Animated Series.



Estimated Original Rating: 9 out of 10

New Rating: 9 out of 10. This comic just holds a lot of sentimental value for me. I still love it just as much today.

Original Cover Price: $1
Current Value on ComicsPriceGuide.com: $3 NM condition