Remembrance of a Comic Geek's poor tastes
I stopped collecting comics years ago when I realized most of what I read bored me. The last few "sequential art" books that I bought have mainly been collected works, most notably Chynna Clugston-Major's "Blue Monday" series and Harvey Pekar's "American Splendor." So I thought I'd share a list of some of the comics that awed me when I was a wee geek...
1. Godzilla #1 - The only thing memorable about it was the cover: Godzilla on a rampage, fire coming out of his mouth, and a train in one hand. And it was only 35 cents!
2. G.I. Combat - A war comic about a Stuart tank, its crew and a guardian ghost, Confederate Calvary General J.E.B. Stuart. They would go into action against the Germans in Europe and Africa. It was the only comic where the characters were drenched in sweat in every panel. Meanwhile, his men would wonder if their commander, Stuart's descendant, was crazy for talking to a ghost that only he saw. The only thing really crazy about it, now that I think of it, was that they flew a Johnny Reb flag while in action. And one of the crew member was black!!!
3. Alpha Flight - Thinking that they were going to be the next big thing since X-Men (well, they were a spin-off), I collected nearly 50 issues before coming to my senses. My god, Alan, they're Canadian! Would I really miss Toronto or Alberta if Galactus stepped on them? No. Not at all...
4. Excalibur - Then I got into this comic, thinking that it would be the next big thing since X-Men (uh, spin-off, as well). I stopped after Alan Davis left as the artist. I guess I didn't care that much about London, either.
5. Dazzler - A story of a disco skating mutant who shot beams of light from her hands, but only when there was music in the air. Yeah, it was a terrible concept, but you see, she was in a white bodysuit with long, flowing blonde hair... anyway, my sister collected it and she read my comics so fair was fair... okay? Years later, they put her into a blue bodysuit. It just wasn't the same.
Hmmm... I guess comics back then had its share of losers. But they were also cheaper to purchase for a kid getting just a few bucks in allowance. I spent the rest on D&D modules. My life would have been so much different if I had subscribed instead to Popular Mechanics...
1. Godzilla #1 - The only thing memorable about it was the cover: Godzilla on a rampage, fire coming out of his mouth, and a train in one hand. And it was only 35 cents!
2. G.I. Combat - A war comic about a Stuart tank, its crew and a guardian ghost, Confederate Calvary General J.E.B. Stuart. They would go into action against the Germans in Europe and Africa. It was the only comic where the characters were drenched in sweat in every panel. Meanwhile, his men would wonder if their commander, Stuart's descendant, was crazy for talking to a ghost that only he saw. The only thing really crazy about it, now that I think of it, was that they flew a Johnny Reb flag while in action. And one of the crew member was black!!!
3. Alpha Flight - Thinking that they were going to be the next big thing since X-Men (well, they were a spin-off), I collected nearly 50 issues before coming to my senses. My god, Alan, they're Canadian! Would I really miss Toronto or Alberta if Galactus stepped on them? No. Not at all...
4. Excalibur - Then I got into this comic, thinking that it would be the next big thing since X-Men (uh, spin-off, as well). I stopped after Alan Davis left as the artist. I guess I didn't care that much about London, either.
5. Dazzler - A story of a disco skating mutant who shot beams of light from her hands, but only when there was music in the air. Yeah, it was a terrible concept, but you see, she was in a white bodysuit with long, flowing blonde hair... anyway, my sister collected it and she read my comics so fair was fair... okay? Years later, they put her into a blue bodysuit. It just wasn't the same.
Hmmm... I guess comics back then had its share of losers. But they were also cheaper to purchase for a kid getting just a few bucks in allowance. I spent the rest on D&D modules. My life would have been so much different if I had subscribed instead to Popular Mechanics...
posted by Alan at 9:11 AM
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