Comic Challenge, Part 8 (29-33)

For the first 7 in this series, check out: 1 & 2 & & 4 & 5 & 6 & 7.

29. Comic That Totally Blew My Mind

The Guilded Age

The Guilded Age

The Gilded Age

Yes, it is a cheat. I don’t care. While I had stories printed up prior to this one, they were not done with the intention of only being an issue 1. Those were self-contained little beasts. Get in, tell the story, and get out. My short story.

Gilded Age is my novel.

Through completing that first script, and then needing to do an issue 2 (issue 2, what’s that?), and #3 and #4… all pointing towards a view to collect them into a trade paperback. It tells me I can do it again and again and again if I persevere long enough. If I’m just too damn stubborn, then maybe… just maybe.

(And of course it didn’t hurt that Sheldon Mitchell, Rich Perrotta, Tom Chu, and Khari J. Sampson  did such excellent work bringing it to life.)

 

30. Favorite Comic Book Couple

I love Peter Parker and Mary Jane.

Wally West and Linda Park.

Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle.

But those are romantic couples, and I think the spirit of this one goes more to the team-ups which make comic books great. So in that spirit my choice is:

guardians_of_the_galaxy_groot_and_rocket_raccoon-wallpaper-640x960

Rocket and Groot

When the two of them appeared on the cover of a book I was considering getting, I rolled my eyes. Seriously? A f#$@#$#ing raccoon and a big tree? What is this crap? They pay people to write this stuff?

Etc. Etc.

4 issues later I realized how wrong I was.

And everyone else found out the same thing when they saw Guardians of the Galaxy. I betting there were a lot of “A raccoon? Ugh.” before walking out of the theater with a “Rocket and Groot ruled!”

Yes. Yes they do. Welcome to the club.

 

31. A Comic You Plan on Reading

invader zim comic

Invader Zim

If you’ve never had the pleasure of watching the cartoon, you owe it to yourself to do so. The story of an alien trying to take over the earth along with his idiotic sidekick – GIR, he finds that he must enlist in school and suffer as all kids must do.

I reread the above and realize I didn’t do the best pitch, so here it goes again:

Zim is a jerk.

GIR loves taquitos.

Dib is an f-up who is trying to expose Zim as an alien.

Ok. That’s probably confusing.

3rd time is a charm:

It’s awesome.

And now there is a comic.

Nuff said.

 

32. A Comic You Thought You’d Hate But Ended Up Loving

watchmen-cover

Watchmen

An odd choice to appear on this one, I know. Typically this would show up under Favorite Comic, Favorite Writer, Best Comic of All Time, Best Twist, and so on.

However, I didn’t read Watchmen right away when it came out (I would have been about 10). In fact, I was 23 or 24 before sitting down to read it. You know that thing where one person tells you something is great, and then you read someone else loves that thing… but instead of thinking “awesome, something new to love” you think “I’ll be damned if I’m going to like that THING.” Don’t know why it triggered that way.

So I avoided it for as long as I can. But at some point if you like comics you should probably read the damn book.

And of course I loved it. It’s great. It holds up really well to the passing of time. And if you view it for when it actually came out… wow. Just wow.

Obviously nothing new here to say about the book. Just happy to have been wrong in this case.

 

33. An Ongoing Series You Wish Was Still Being Published

Sometimes when we talk about series that we miss, we’re really talking about missing the way a series “used to be”. The comic may actually exist in some form or fashion, but it no longer lines up with what we had hoped for. So for this one I have a particular version of a comic (as it has come back in a few different iterations):

new warriors 1

The New Warriors (original team)

This was my favorite comic for as long as it existed. There was about a year or so during college where the only two comics I could afford to collect consistently were The Flash and The New Warriors. I don’t know if it was the Teen Titans feel in some ways and yet that idea they were not sidekicks by any means. Maybe it was the fact that the whole thing opened with Night Thrasher holding a powerless Richard Rider (Nova to you and me) and dropped him from the roof in an effort to restart his powers (and he wasn’t sure it was going to work). Maybe it was Speedball, a throw-away character suddenly given a voice. Firestar, one of my favorites from the Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends cartoon.

I don’t know exactly why, but I just know I looked forward to it every month.

So that’s it, with a couple of extra thrown in, and it only took a year to get through. 🙂

***

John McGuire

John McGuire is the author of the supernatural thriller The Dark That Follows, the steampunk comic The Gilded Age, and the novella There’s Something About Mac through the Amazon Kindle Worlds program.

His second novel, Hollow Empire, is now complete. The first episode is now FREE!

He also has a short story in the Beyond the Gate anthology, which is free on most platforms!

And has two shorts in the Machina Obscurum – A Collection of Small Shadows anthology! Check it out!

He can also be found at www.johnrmcguire.com.

Comic Challenge, Part 7 (25-28)

For the first 6 in this series, check out: 1 & 2 & & 4 & 5 & 6.

25. Comic Book City/Universe You Wished You Lived In

This is a head scratcher as I actually think most of them would be absolutely terrible to live in. I mean, yeah, it would be cool to see Superman streak overhead while living in Metropolis or see the Avengers Tower in New York, but I also think seeing them means that some villain (with little regard for life) will be stumbling into view shortly – and nobody wants that, right?

And if you go outside the superhero comics – do you really want to live in the Walking Dead universe? Again, interesting to have thought experiments on how to survive the zombie apocalypse, but I don’t think I need to live through it.

So I think I’m flipping this one on its ear and choosing the absolute last city I’d want to live in:

gotham-city

Gotham

That thing I said about villains around every corner – true. Plus you have various mob style gangs running around the city trying to kill some mythical “Bat” while shooting things up themselves. Occasionally they’ll need to seal themselves off because of a Contagion or an Earthquake “Event”.

Oh, and don’t forget some psycho-clown looking guy forever trying to combine items in order to cause you to grin to death.

No thanks.

 

26. Favorite Comic Book Artist

Mark Bagley

I think Bagley might get the least respect of most artists I read. Because he is a constant. Month in and month out there is going to be a comic drawn by him. And that is something to be commended in a time where doing 12 issues a year is not really possible for most anymore.

Thunderbolts_Vol_1_9

But the reason his name always jumps to the top of my list is he is the first artist I remember verbally saying I really liked his work.

Yeah, I liked the Image guys, but it was reading one of Bagley’s New Warrior’s comics that I realized I liked his style. And then when this new artist took over on Amazing Spider-Man I commented “I really like this guy’s work… I wonder who it is.”

 

27. Most Annoying Character

Lobo_DC

Lobo

Everyone has their favorites. And I know tons of people who have nothing but love for this character. And I get that he’s a reaction to the edgier comics. That he’s poking fun at them at.

I just don’t like “The Main Man”.

And what’s weird is because his presence pulls me out of whatever comic I’m reading. He’s just too much. I know it’s crazy to put it that way.

You can deal with men flying or radioactive spiders or clown psychos, but Lobo is where you draw the line?

Yes. Yes, it is.

 

28. Worst Villain

2657747-mojo_annihilators_earthfall_1

Mojo

I literally cringe every time I see him mentioned in a comic. I dry heave whenever he graces my pages. And a little bile rises to the top of my throat when I realize he is going to be the villain of the month for my most recent purchase.

He should have been a one-off villain. The sort who is the result of a dare lost by the comic creators during some drunken festival. And yet he somehow appears time and time again to ruin whatever it is I’m about to read. I get it, you run a tv station in another universe and created the X-Babies (seriously, look it up), and you… just… suck!

Arghhh!

***

John McGuire

John McGuire is the author of the supernatural thriller The Dark That Follows, the steampunk comic The Gilded Age, and the novella There’s Something About Mac through the Amazon Kindle Worlds program.

His second novel, Hollow Empire, is now complete. The first episode is now FREE!

He also has a short story in the Beyond the Gate anthology, which is free on most platforms!

And has two shorts in the Machina Obscurum – A Collection of Small Shadows anthology! Check it out!

He can also be found at www.johnrmcguire.com.

Comic Challenge, Part 5 (17-20)

For the first 4 in this series, check out: 1 & 2 & & 4.

17. A Comic That Reminds You of Someone

This is one of those things that I don’t really think about all that much. But if I had to choose it wouldn’t be just one comic book, but a comic series.

Legion

Legion of the Superheroes reminds me of my Dad. It was his favorite comic growing up. On more than one trip down to visit my grandparents in south Georgia he would tell me about this group of teenaged heroes from the far future who fought various villains… who were inspired by Superman himself and often hung out with Superboy.

At the time I was just beginning to discover comic books and Marvel was more to my taste, but to hear the various crazy characters and just how he talked about those old stories… well, when DC rebooted them in the early 90s, I jumped on the chance to start reading them, fresh and free from any continuity.

And they were great. Obviously this version was slightly different than the one my Dad read, but it was still the same core of great characters. And it became one of my favorites (right up until they rebooted it again… which we won’t get into).

It’s nice when things come around full circle.

 

18. Favorite B List Character

For years I might have answered this with Hawkeye and prior to the movies you would have scratched your head (or maybe said “The Bow and Arrow guy”). But now that does seem right.

So I go with my back-up character.

Moon_Knight_Vol_3_2

Moon Knight

Here’s the thing, Moon Knight gets a bad wrap for being “the poor man’s Batman” or “Marvel’s Batman”, but that’s not who he is. Where Batman is thought of as having a screw loose…

Moon Knight is legitimately crazy. He’s got a whole mess of personalities living in his head (a play off the phases of the moon). Sometimes the line between an “undercover” identity and a new personality gets blurred for him.

Oh yeah and he talks to an ancient Egyptian god: Khonshu who may or may not talk back to him.

 

19. Favorite Comic Book Cartoon Series

YoungJustice

Young Justice.

Yes, I realize that Batman the Animated Series exists. And I realize that Batman Beyond exists. And I personally loved Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends.

But Young Justice just clicked for me in a way that I can’t explain. I’m not sure if it was because I dislike Teen Titans Go so much (sooo much – which is fine, it is not made for me anyway).

Young Justice focused on the “side-kicks” while still having members of the JLA show up. They actually had to train… and we saw it. The various members of the cast had about as equal time as you could get given any ensemble. And they had a multi-season story-line while still being able to tell these amazing small stories.

The show introduced me to the new Aqualad (not sure why the new 52 hasn’t brought him back yet), Miss Martian (who might be my favorite character from the show), Tim Drake Robin… Dick Grayson Robin… Conner Superboy…

I loved everything about this show.

 

20. A Comic With Witty Dialogue

 

arms2Archer and Armstrong

I have to admit, I came to the 90s version of Valiant a little late. By the time I hopped onboard they were nearing their height, print runs were getting out of control and those low print runs of the earliest issues made it impossible for me to go back and grab the issues I was missing. So I started with X-O Manowar and Turok, Dinosaur Hunter, but I think I really liked the idea behind a 3rd Superhero Universe more than trying to get into a 3rd universe.

Flash forward to a couple of years ago and Valiant relaunches. So I grab all the launch titles. One of which is this odd story of a sheltered kid who has some kind of special abilities (Archer) and the man he’s supposed to kill (Armstrong). They fight, they argue, they really are the comic version of the Odd Couple. And it is goofy and odd and funny…

And it works.

I assumed that this comic would be the one that I’d drop first, having no connection with the characters from back in the day… and yet, somehow, someway, it became my favorite of the new Valiant books.

***

John McGuire

John McGuire is the author of the supernatural thriller The Dark That Follows, the steampunk comic The Gilded Age, and the novella There’s Something About Mac through the Amazon Kindle Worlds program.

His second novel, Hollow Empire, is now complete. The first episode is now FREE!

He also has a short story in the recently released anthology Beyond the Gate, which is free on most platforms!

He can also be found at www.johnrmcguire.com.

Comic Challenge, Part 3 (9-12)

For the first 2 in this series, check out: 1 & 2.

9. First Comic Series You Seriously Pursued

avengers-movie-poster-1

Avengers

I was reading it before the rest of you even knew who Iron Man and Black Widow and Hawkeye were!

I mean, two of the first 4 comics I ever bought were Avengers related. I’m not sure why I gravitated to them more than the X-Men (who I liked, but never really loved). I think I dug the idea that the roster could change. That you’d have a couple of the Big Guns (Iron Man, Thor, and Cap), but you also got the other guys (and gals): Hawkeye, Vision, Scarlet Witch, Wonder Man, etc.

They had some of the best villains because they didn’t have to stick to “only mutants” or “only Doctor Doom” or whatever. Loki, Kang, Masters of Evil, Grim Reaper, ULTRON…

It’s really one of 3 comic series that I’m hoping to have a full run of one day. The other two I’m effectively done with (The Flash (Wally West) and Firestorm). With The Avengers the biggest gap now begins with issue 1-120 (pretty much the 60s). Mostly because those are the pricier ones. Slowly but surely I’ll get them.

 

10. Comic That You Love That You’ll Never Read Again

This makes me sad to even think that might be the case. I’m always hoping for a little extra time to maybe take another read through my comics. It would be a true walk through my own timeline in a lot of ways.

So the answer could possibly be all of them (or any of them). 30+ long boxes would take a fair amount of reading to catch up on (and I’m a fast reader).

I think I have to cop out on this one. It’s just too painful a thought that those old stories will never pass by these eyes again.

 

11. Comic That Makes You Wanna Have Sloppy Make-outs With Someone

fraction annual

Sensational Spider-Man Annual #1

I’ve mentioned this comic before in my Spider-Man post, but I think that anyone who can invoke these feelings of love between two fictional characters has done their job. And it’s no small feat to do it with a character that others can’t figure out. They didn’t know what to do with this marriage, this relationship, and so they retconned it out of existence. Luckily I still have this issue… they can’t take that from me!

 

12. Great Plot Twist

A little background as this one is very comic nerdy.

Back in the late 90s Marvel licensed out some of their comic that weren’t doing so well to some of the Image guys. These were Avengers related titles (and Fantastic Four) (which is strange to say nowadays, but back then X-Men ruled the Marvel roost and Cap and Iron Man were just kinda there). Since those comics were going to be in a new continuity, the regular Marvel Universe had a big story line which got rid of them (see Onslaught for more details).

However, just think about it. Pretty much half of your major heroes were gone and the X-Men pretty much keep to themselves. So who’s going to stop Kang or Graviton or whomever is going to try and take over the world?

Enter the Thunderbolts. This new group of heroes who arrived on the scene and saved the day against the Wrecking Crew. They were unknowns, but their leader had taken his name from an old WWII hero – Citizen V. The people of Earth needed someone to believe in. Needed someone to help them sleep peacefully at night.

And then, in the closing moments of that first issue, we get the reveal. The Thunderbolts were not heroes, they were villains. In fact, they were some of the worst – The Masters of Evil.

Thunderbolts-1-1997

My jaw hit the floor upon reading this issue. I knew exactly who they were and could not wait for issue #2 to arrive the next month. And Thunderbolts became one of my favorite comics for a long while.

***

John McGuire

John McGuire is the author of the supernatural thriller The Dark That Follows, the steampunk comic The Gilded Age, and the novella There’s Something About Mac through the Amazon Kindle Worlds program.

His second novel, Hollow Empire, is now complete. The first episode is now FREE!

He also has a short story in the recently released anthology Beyond the Gate, which is free on most platforms!

He can also be found at www.johnrmcguire.com.