[Comics] I Am Collecting Them Again

[hepcat]

I've been reading more and more titles on the DC Universe and Marvel Unlimited online subscriptions. Not really collecting, but seems folks are also just suggesting comics to read here too.

First up is Marvel with the Immortal Hulk. They took the Hulk and made the character into basically The Swamp Thing from the days of Bernie Wrightson. In other words, a horror comic. I love it. It has veered off course from that theme lately, but it still reinvents the character in a way that keeps me reading.

Next is Tom King's work on Mr. Miracle and Adam Strange (the latter in Strange Adventures). They're more psychological thrillers/dramas than action, examining the characters through the lens of soldiers who suffer from PTSD in many ways...which makes much of their internal narrative unreliable. But at some point, you can start to piece together the truth of their stories. I never thought I'd like Tom King, but these two series have won me over.

And finally, Grant Morrison's work on Green Lantern is just a fantastic mix of classic Green Lantern and Morrison's own skewed view of super heroes. The villains are odd (like...Doom Patrol odd) and the heroes are...well...also odd (like...Doom Patrol odd). So I love it, of course.

[AWS260]

Tom King's work on Mr. Miracle

I just re-read this over the past couple of nights, and boy is it amazing. One of the best comics I've ever read, with its overlapping themes of parenthood and trauma. As I'm typing this, I'm looking at some Frank Miller books on my shelf and wondering why I even own them, when Mister Miracle is vastly more mature and sophisticated (not to mention funny).

Still, I would only recommend it to someone who is at least a little familiar with Jack Kirby's New Gods. Going into that world cold turkey is probably like going over Niagra Falls in a barrel.

[Blackhawk]

So, my Christmas gift this year was five-star awesome:

Spoiler:

That's New Teen Titans #2. It was my #1 wishlist title (I already have #s 1 and 3), the first appearance of Trigon and HIVE, but more significantly, the first appearance of Deathstroke. And it's signed by Marv Wolfman, the creator or co-creator of (amongst others) Nightwing, Tim Drake, Deathstroke, Vigilante, The Monitor, Cyborg, Raven, and Starfire.

It was my only gift this year (because of the cost), but it's one of the best pieces in my collection.

[hentzau]

So, my Christmas gift this year was five-star awesome:

Spoiler:

That's New Teen Titans #2. It was my #1 wishlist title (I already have #s 1 and 3), the first appearance of Trigon and HIVE, but more significantly, the first appearance of Deathstroke. And it's signed by Marv Wolfman, the creator or co-creator of (amongst others) Nightwing, Tim Drake, Deathstroke, Vigilante, The Monitor, Cyborg, Raven, and Starfire.

It was my only gift this year (because of the cost), but it's one of the best pieces in my collection.

That’s beautiful. You did hear about George Perez, didn’t you?

[Blackhawk]

So, my Christmas gift this year was five-star awesome:

Spoiler:

That's New Teen Titans #2. It was my #1 wishlist title (I already have #s 1 and 3), the first appearance of Trigon and HIVE, but more significantly, the first appearance of Deathstroke. And it's signed by Marv Wolfman, the creator or co-creator of (amongst others) Nightwing, Tim Drake, Deathstroke, Vigilante, The Monitor, Cyborg, Raven, and Starfire.

It was my only gift this year (because of the cost), but it's one of the best pieces in my collection.

That’s beautiful. You did hear about George Perez, didn’t you?

Yes. She was looking for a Perez signed copy, but since his announcement the prices on them went from high to gouge. I'd love to have him co-sign this one!

[AWS260]

I teared up a little reading this.



Full text of the thread:

Spoiler:

Let me tell you the kind of man George Perez is.

1/
I have talked about him a million times. You know the kind of once-in-a-lifetime artist he is.

But he’s also an even better man.

2/
Image
George has pancreatic cancer.

I am not yet able to talk about how much he has meant to me in public.

But it’s everything.

3/
It was almost impossible, but I wrote him a letter to explain just a piece of how much he means to me.

There were a million reasons, but I’ll focus on three.

1) His Titans pulled me back into comics when I was about to quit reading them. I’d still be doing hair without that.
2) When he was THE biggest artist in comics, with the biggest string of hits, he took over Wonder Woman and made it incredible.

To have the hottest name in comics say female characters matter?

MASSIVE. Changed EVERYTHING.

5/
Warning…the end of this thread contains FEELINGS.

6/
And finally, 3) George showed us all how to behave at cons, in particular. He was never NOT raising money for worthy causes. He hugged people. He listened.

Forget the posers, he was every great thing a person can be.

And he still is.

How do I know?

Here’s how.

7/
I wrote the letter. I started and gave up many times. I did not just want to UNLOAD on him, I didn’t want to overwhelm him. And I also didn’t want to make it about ME ME ME, and how sad I was.

I wanted to thank him in a way that conveyed a little bit of this huge debt I owe.

8/
So I wrote it and sent it.

It was long despite me trying to be brief.

Five minutes later, I get a call.

It’s George, our mutual friend @SunshineCVE had read him the letter and warned us they were a ‘little weepy.’

I steeled myself…

9/
Because I didn’t, again, want to overwhelm him.

And folks, I did okay. I kept the tears in.

During the call.

We talked, I told him about all the waves of love, kindness and creativity he had created.

10/
The he said a thing I will carry with me until the day I pass over.

He said he was very glad to hear about how much his Wonder Woman meant, and still means, to me.

It made him very happy to know that.

11/
And he said…

“I am so happy and gratified that my Wonder Woman stories launched you.

BUT…’

12/
“…you must have had powerful wings of your own to fly so high.”

13/
I am not repeating this because a LEGEND said a nice thing about me.

I am saying this to show who George Perez is.

Because that is who he is.

He is the tide that lifts all boats.

14/
I have a million things I want to say about George and his work.
But I have never said anything in my LIFE that punched as hard as that kind comment.

Some people just carry that grace, that capacity for generosity, in their atomic structure.

That’s George.

15/
As I said, I was stoic during the call.

After?

Destroyed, demolished, gone.

Somehow the saddest call was also the kindest.

If you’re a fan of George Perez, know without question you sensed the warmth of the man himself in his work.

16/
I have welled up every time I think of this moment, I keep hearing his voice saying it.

It will be with me forever.

We want to honor George, right?

Let’s all be like him a little.

That’d be the legacy he deserves.

17/
Love you, George.

Thank you for everything forever.

[hepcat]

That is a tearjerker.

Such a great writer and human being.

On a less sad note, I've been fascinated by Grant Morrison' ongoing annotations on his work with Superman and the Authority. It's a fascinating look at the good, the bad and the ugly of comics.

[hentzau]

Terry Moore is offering a humble bundle with close to 30 years of comics for $30.

One of my favorite authors, Terry Moore, is offering his entire catalog in PDF form for $30. This is almost 30 years of story, all contained in one universe, spanning the genres of humor, drama, soap opera, spy stories, organized crime, science fiction, and horror. This is really an amazing deal, on one of my favorite long form comic book stories. Give it a shot.

[YellowKing]

I finally got around to going through some boxes my mom brought over and discovered a treasure trove. Around 200 comics from when I was a kid - Avengers, Iron Man, Spider-Man, ROM Space Knight, X-Men, etc. Everything late-70s to mid-80s.

They're not in great shape as they were well-read at the time and have spent the last 4 decades in boxes in various houses, but it was a blast to see them again.

[Isgrimnur]

Hype Beast

Serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump since 1997, Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece is one of the longest-running and most popular manga series of the last quarter-century. Earlier this year, it celebrated its 25th anniversary by breaking the Guinness world record for a manga’s most globally-published copies, and now conceptual comic artist Ilan Manouach is celebrating its reach and impact with a colossal “comic book” dubbed ONEPIECE that includes all 50 volumes of One Piece from 1997 to today.

Clocking in at 21,450 pages, weighing in at roughly 37 1/2 pounds and boasting a spine width of 31.5 inches, ONEPIECE is an absolute unit that’s not designed to be read — just displayed.

[Isgrimnur]

AIPT

DC Comics has announced a new digital expansion of their NFT offerings called DC Collectibles Comics (DC3). The new initiative will allow fans to buy NFT comics released weekly. These NFTs can also be purchased at different grades and with rarity variants. Those NFTs can be sold and resold via the DC nft.dcuniverse.com. I #1 will be the first DC Collectible Comic sold on the blockchain on October 27th for $9.99.

[AWS260]

I just re-read Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. for the zillionth time. It remains a big bundle of fun.

I can't believe that 2/5 of Nextwave now exists in the MCU (Elsa Bloodstone and Monica Rambeau). Pray to Feige for a Disney+ series.

[Isgrimnur]

https://www.marvel.com/characters/x-men-vote

[Blackhawk]

So, where do you actually vote?

[Isgrimnur]

The linked page. Prolly gotta turn your adblocker off first.

[Blackhawk]

Of course you do. Turn off, vote, turn on, destroy all cookies.

Prodigy, by the way. They have enough "I'm strong and/or blast stuff!" characters.

[Isgrimnur]

Dazzler. I have reasons going back to AOL chatrooms. And I will not elaborate.

[LawBeefaroni]

All this Prodigy and AOL talk, I feel like I should vote Compuserve.

[AWS260]

Random find: in 2000, the New York Times published a piece by Herb Trimpe, a long-time Marvel artist, about being laid off by the company during their mid-90s crash. It's an interesting read.

Nov. 20: Fantastic Four Unlimited was canceled this week. No warning. Went down to New York yesterday. All the editors either in meetings or out to lunch. Talked to human resources at Marvel today. The lady seemed embarrassed. Said maybe I should consider retiring. I told her I wasn't going to hold the gun to my own head. They'd have to shoot me themselves. With a family, I need the health care benefits and income.