Those are all interesting points.
Your mention of his intelligence makes me think of one Dick Grayson story which I read in The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told, which emphasized his smarts. That story was first printed in Star-Spangled Comics which ran a Robin, the Boy Wonder feature in issues 65 through 130. But calling that "his ongoing series" would be a stretch, I'll admit.
I don't know. I read a handful or two of Robin issues - mostly ones that directly tied in to Knightfall / KnightQuest / KnightsEnd. I thought the most interesting thing about him was his romance with that Ariana girl. But now you're making me think: maybe if I read the Robin series from the start, thinking of it as its own story, not just as a Knightfall tie-in, I might come to like the character better.
But maybe not. I remember reading the story where Batman first accepted Tim as Robin, and thinking him only... okay.
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One other thing I liked about those early Tim Drake miniseries, and then the ongoing title, was that it seemed an attempt to make the character more independent of Batman. It helped the Roh=bin identity to, I think, become more of a hero in his own right. More truly a partner, instead of a sidekick.
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They did have some other books that interested me, however. This was stuff they brought over from the main store.
There were copies of Batman #100 and Tomb of Dracula #1. I was VERY interested in both of those, but had to be sure I hadn’t already bought them. I have a few back issues of Tomb, but not that first one. I thought I might already have the Batman, because the cover looked familiar. After checking here at home, I realized it was issue 200 I already owned, and it had a somewhat similar cover. So I called the store back and had them add those to my box.
They also had copies of Fantastic Four #’s 48 & 49. Those have the first and second appearances of Galactus and the Silver Surfer. Those were far more expensive. I’ve never been a big FF fan, but I might consider picked those two up. It’d be over $2K for the both of them, though. So I’d have to give it some serious thought.
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While discussing those back issues with the kids at the comic book store, I mentioned trying to catalog all my books. He suggested an app he uses called CLZ Comics. You can use it to scan covers or barcodes to add books to your collection list. I was checking it out. It’s a subscription service costing only $1.99 per month or $19.99 per year. It bad. I’ll do a bit more research though.
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So weird.
Earlier this week, a video I was watching on YouTube mentioned the Batman: Three Jokers story by Geoff Johns. I’d never read it, but got to thinking maybe I should.
Today in the comic store, as I was perusing the back issue drawers, what do mine eyes perceive? One of the issues of Three Jokers. And behind it were the other two issues. So I bought all three.
It was density.
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I hit the comic book store today, since I'll be busy most of tomorrow with the scout troop's mulch delivery.
They had two new-to-the-store back issues that piqued my interest. One of those was Batman #125, which I bought. The other was Tomb of Dracula #13, which I wasn't sure I already had. So I had them hold that one for me and checked when I got home. Now I'll be picking that one up next week.
A lot of people credit Jim Shooter for making The Legion of Super-Heroes great in the 1960s. But I personally didn't see Shooter's stories as an improvement over the oldest ones. In the 2000s, when I felt an interest in pursuing Legion issues, I sampled them from several different eras and came to the conclusion that the Legion's true golden age was Paul Levitz's second run, starting in issue 284, back in 1981. I collected every issue from that until 317 (from 1984). I also collected a dozen issues from Levitz's "Baxter" issues of Legion from the mid-1980s, a few Mando reprints of issues from that era, the whole Legionnaires 3 mini-series, and 4 annuals from that era. I read all those issues, most of them multiple times. When Levitz portrayed the DC Universe 1000 years into the future, I felt that he did so more convincingly than any other writer I know. In my mind, Paul Levitz was to the Legion what Chris Claremont was to the X-Men; when Levitz wrote the Legion, he did so with AUTHORITY, such that I regarded what Levitz wrote to be canon. And it was fun to see what happened to various familiar characters, organizations and places after a millennium. Unlike other people, I didn't see that the Great Darkness saga was better than other stories of that period, but it provides as good an example as any of a character and a place we'd like to see in the distant future.
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I was not a big Legion collector back then, but I knew of the Legion. Didn't start collecting until they rebooted the series. I've got that Legionnaires 3 mini-series - added it to my collection a few months back. Now this new Deluxe Edition of The Great Darkness Saga contains issues 284-296 and Annual #1. Good stuff.
With this new collection, plus the forthcoming Cosmic Odyssey collection and collected '87 Doctor Fate miniseries, I hope it means DC is going to be giving the collected edition love to more things. I'd love to see the '88 Martian Manhunter series collected. I already have all those, but it'll be nice to have reading copies so I can leave the originals in their bags.
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I finally finished reading the Batman: Three Jokers miniseries. It was pretty solid. Not in the same league as Killing Joke, but not bad. And the art was phenomenal.
I did like the way Johns categorized the three of them. Also liked that bit in the end that builds off Killing Joke. Even though there was nothing in that early story to hint that pre-Joker’s wife was so afraid of him she’d fake her death. It gave a good reason why Bruce would keep his true name secret, though. And kind of implied he was the original. Still, that final Joker made a good point - there should always be that element of chaotic mystery about his origin. Just as Batman’s origin is pretty rock solid.
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Sweet!
I was reading through an old Batman issue, #384 from 1985, and saw an advertisement for Jack Kirby's Hunger Dogs, a graphic novel from way back then. I think I might have heard of it, but had never read it.
I checked Amazon, and they had a copy for almost $100. So I checked Abe Books, and they had a more reasonably priced copy for $42. Ordered. Shipping estimate has it here in about 2 weeks.
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After finishing up my rewatch of Daredevil Season 1 last night, I decided to forgo further TV watching and read through some more of those 80's Batman back issues. I'm nearly done reading through that big box I bought awhile back.
Read through the first appearance of Black Mask. I had never read his origin story before. That dude was nuts.
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Just yesterday I finally finished reading through that (approximately) 3/4 full short box of Batman comics I had bought awhile back (A year or more). These were mostly in the 300s, with a handful of early 400s I hadn't owned yet.
So...back in the day I first started collecting Batman with issue 421. The cover was compellingly in its implied horror. For a wee lad, anyway. That issue, along with the one to follow, saw Batman going up against a pair of serial killers. As the story begins, I found out these killings had already been taking place.
And now, after all these years, I finally read the issue where the Dumpster Slasher story finally started. Number 414 was the final issue in that short box.
I have mixed feelings about Wonder Woman. On the one hand, I regard her as one of the three essential characters of the Justice League, and for that matter, one of the three most iconic superheroes of all time. I generally like to see her in team stories.
On the other hand, I generally dislike any story presented in her own comic. I generally wince at any issue of Wonder Woman that I read, finding that it has massive plausibility problems, even by superhero comic book standards. I've sampled at least a dozen different eras of her comic, ranging from 1941 to 2021, and there's only one such era that I ever found particularly interesting, and that era is...
...the first one! Over 20 years ago, I took Wonder Woman Archives Volume 1 out of my local public library and read that book in its entirety. It had the first 17 "Wonder Woman" stories ever published, from 1941-1942...
I've finally discovered the first run of Wonder Woman that I particularly liked, post-1942: Tom King's run on the series, which started in 2023. From my local public library, I took out the Wonder Woman: Outlaw and Wonder Woman: Sacrifice trade paperbacks, which gave me a story that I could actually get involved in... for the first 10 issues, anyway. After that, the series got distracted with a bunch of crossover events that I knew nothing and cared nothing about. I couldn't even finish the 13th issue. Still, for a Wonder Woman series to keep my interest for even THAT many issues has only the single precedent of the first Archives volume, so I find Tom King's run remarkable for that.
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Not much in the way of back issues this week. At least, nothing from my list. So I had rookie numbers this week.
I did pick up one thing. A Mignola cover caught my eye. It’s a one-shot Batman/Judge Dredd: Vendetta in Gotham. It was only $5, and I like both characters. And it was written by Alan Grant.
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I'm nearly finished reading through the back issues of New Mutants I bought awhile back. It's been slow going as a vacillate between various reading material.
Anyway, yesterday I read my way through issue 45, where the New Mutants were invited to a mixer with another school. One of those students from the other school was also a mutant, and being bullied. He ended up taking his own life part way through the issue. Very sad, but some great writing. The eulogy at the end, given by Kitty, was surprising in some of the words they were allowed to use.
I'm nearly finished reading through the back issues of New Mutants I bought awhile back. It's been slow going as a vacillate between various reading material.
Anyway, yesterday I read my way through issue 45, where the New Mutants were invited to a mixer with another school. One of those students from the other school was also a mutant, and being bullied. He ended up taking his own life part way through the issue. Very sad, but some great writing. The eulogy at the end, given by Kitty, was surprising in some of the words they were allowed to use.
Yes! That was, by far, my favorite issue of The New Mutants! Even though I read my friend's New Mutants collection for free, after I read his copy of 45, I soon felt compelled to buy my own copy. It's the only New Mutants material I ever bought.
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A couple of big purchases for back issues this weekend:
Found a decent copy of Detective Comics #387 for around $40. It's billed on the cover as the 30th Anniversary issue.
Then there was X-Men #50, with a sweet Steranko cover. It was a low grade, so less than $200.
Finally, the pièce de résistance - Fantastic Four #28. I'm not a big FF collector, and this isn't a high grade, but it's signed by The King himself, Jack Kirby. So, yeah, I was willing to shell out a few hundred for that one.
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Decades ago, when my comic collecting first led me into the depths of the DC Universe, the JSA was already trapped in the eternal repeat of Ragnarok. They were, of course, released from that never-ending battle later, but I had never read the story that trapped them to begin with. Until yesterday.
Turns out I had bought it several months back - the one shot Last Days of the Justice Society of America. Good story. Solid art. I had come across it during a random search of the drawers at the comic book store, and thought it looked cool.
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Been reading some old 70s Cap, including some great Kirby stuff. Issue 211 had Zola saying he was going to use Caps face for a mystery Nazi brain. I can’t help be be reminded of issue 350, some twelve years later, where they do something similar. That was the revelation Zola returned the Red Skull to life in a cloned body of Steve Rogers.
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Picked up a few back issues yesterday:
Fantastic Four #51, This Main...This Monster. A pretty decent copy. Classic Thing story, which Alex Ross used as a launch point for his Fantastic Four: Full Circle book.
Also Marvel Spotlight #28, which is billed as the first solo appearance of Moon Knight. Eventually, I'll get a copy of Werewolf by Night #32, with his actual first appearance.
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The kid at the store also wanted to double check with me about some of the stuff I’ve placed on order. The one I’m most excited for is Cosmic Odyssey: The Deluxe Edition.
I don’t recall if they’ve ever done a collected Cosmic Odyssey before, but I’m excited for this one. It’s one of my all-time favorite DC stories. As a bonus, once I have this copy I can read the story without having to take my original print editions out of their bags.
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In 2023, in this thread, I was talking about comics related to Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. (Here's a link to that post.) To recap, for many years, I wanted to read Buffy comics, but didn't, because I figured that to appreciate them, I would need familiarity with the show.
If I could now advise my past self - or anyone else in a similar position - I would recommend the eight-issue series Fray, by Joss Whedon. It's set in the Buffyverse, but it doesn't assume knowledge of the show. It takes place centuries into the future, in a time when the rich get richer, the poor get poorer, and there are flying cars. I mean... how often have I wished to see action scenes with flying cars, like I mentioned in this thread and in this thread, among others? And that's the type of background Whedon gives us in this epic story about a Vampire Slayer and her demon mentor. The story is funny, it's tragic, it's suspenseful, it's action-packed, it has Joss Whedon-style plot twists and surprises, and in short, it rocks.
In 2023, when I finally finished the Buffy show, I went on to get a lot of trade paperbacks reprinting Buffy-related comics. I got the first four volumes of "Season 8". I got the first two volumes of the Buffy Omnibus. I got Tales of the Vampires and Tales of the Slayers. Some of that material was good, some of it less so. But recently, to my surprise, I felt a desire to read Fray a third time. I've long rated stories based on the number of times I voluntarily read them (or, in the case of videos, viewed them). I never thought of a better objective criterion. So yesterday, when I finished my third reading of Fray, that officially made it my single favorite story of the Buffyverse.
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Just finished reading through that new hardcover Cosmic Odyssey. I remember that story being my first real introduction to comic book Darkseid and the New Gods. Prior to that, my experience with them was from the Super Friends animated show.
Of course, by the time Odyssey came out I was already collecting several titles. At least one of which was the Millenium event that sucked me into some of the cosmic stuff. After this, though, DC put out some new 4th World ongoing titles that I picked up as well. And since then I’ve loved Kirby’s creation.
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The other day I started re-bagging and boarding my collection of Detective Comics. Of course, while doing so I read through a few issues. One three-part story that always stood out for me was when they introduced Mr. Kadaver and Corrosive Man. That was in the Grant and Breyfogle era.
They followed that up not too long after with another three-part story that had some dude who could create Tulpas, and Batman had to recruit Etrigan to help out. I was always impressed with writers who could work Etrigan into a story, especially with his rhyming.
Good stuff.
Yesterday the lady who takes care of our kitchens and office supplies let me know the executive secretary downstairs was giving away some comic related items. So I went down to take a look.
She had four wood signs with images from various comic book covers printed on them: Avengers #144, Detective Comics #587, X-Men #100, and then what looked part of an old Superman cover (not sure which, since I was never a big Superman collector).
The other day I started re-bagging and boarding my collection of Detective Comics. Of course, while doing so I read through a few issues. One three-part story that always stood out for me was when they introduced Mr. Kadaver and Corrosive Man. That was in the Grant and Breyfogle era.
Perhaps the sight of that cover might have influenced you to wish to read the story again? Getting a brief glimpse of a comic book cover - among many others - is one thing. But a piece of art displayed where you might see it day after day is something else... maybe? It's just a thought.
Yeah, I remember those three issues of Detective Comics, numbers 587, 588 and 589. Back in the 1980s I picked them up from the comic stand at my local drug store. (That's also where I got issues 590, and 591, and...)
I thought the most memorable scene in that story involved the homeless guys. "Monster stalks the city -- call in the Batman! Terrorists shoot up City Hall -- call in the Batman! Some rich dame stubs her toe -- call in the lousy Batman! Some maniac carves up poor Rossi, an' nobody wants to know! Why don't they send the Batman to us, eh? I'll tell ya why -- 'cos we're just no-good drunken bums!"
And of course, there was the scene where the Corrosive Man comes after Kadaver. And that whole evil-turns-on-its-own theme gives the story a surprise ending when the DJ - whom I had never expected to have any real relevance to the story - hit the drug smuggler with his car, because he was high on the same kind of drug. "Call it poetic justice."
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Yesterday the lady who takes care of our kitchens and office supplies let me know the executive secretary downstairs was giving away some comic related items. So I went down to take a look.
She had four wood signs with images from various comic book covers printed on them: Avengers #144, Detective Comics #587, X-Men #100, and then what looked part of an old Superman cover (not sure which, since I was never a big Superman collector).
The other day I started re-bagging and boarding my collection of Detective Comics. Of course, while doing so I read through a few issues. One three-part story that always stood out for me was when they introduced Mr. Kadaver and Corrosive Man. That was in the Grant and Breyfogle era.Perhaps the sight of that cover might have influenced you to wish to read the story again? Getting a brief glimpse of a comic book cover - among many others - is one thing. But a piece of art displayed where you might see it day after day is something else... maybe? It's just a thought.
Oh yes. I agree. It did what a cover is supposed to do - intrigued me to the point I needed to open the book and read what's inside. Again, in this case.
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Just a few back issues this week:
The Sandman #1 - NOT the Gaiman one. I bought that fresh off the rack back in the 90s. No, this is the Simon and Kirby run from the mid-70s, with that kick ass Kirby cover.
Giant-Size Defenders #3 - first appearance of Korvac. Now there’s a villain who would have been great as the next Big Bad of the MCU. That would have meant going back further in the past, though (when stories were better). Can’t have that.
Nick Fury: Agent of SHIELD # 3 - just because I really liked the Steranko cover.