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Your favorite old comic books. What are your favorites?

Old 09-12-20, 10:46 AM
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Your favorite old comic books. What are your favorites?

So what are your favorite old comic books whether theyre from the 1970s, 1980s or 1990s.

I was a little kid in the early 1980s so my old favorites still are Alpha Flight, Alf, Power Pack, Conan, old Marvel Comics Star Wars along with a few mid late 1980s stuff like NOW Comics Ghostbusters and Terminator and Fright Night.

Then my 1990s favorites are Morbius, Nightstalkers, original Spawn stuff and some of the old Age of Apocalypse stuff.

These days I still buy old back issues of the comics that I missed out on buying them from the comic book shop.

Even old issues of Toyfare and Wizard Magazine. first couple of the issues of Toyfare they really started talking about Nicolas Cages Superman Lives and Star Wars prequel 1 originally called Balance of the Force
Old 09-12-20, 11:17 AM
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Re: Your favorite old comic books. What are your favorites?

The funny thing is that it sounds like we're about the same age, but I feel like my definition of "old comic books" is the same for me now as it was when I was 11: Silver / Golden Age. The comics I was reading as a kid couldn't be considered old, because that'd mean that I'm old, right? I remember my jaw being practically agape in 1989 when I bought Fantastic Four #50 and Amazing Spider-Man #54 -- that I couldn't believe I had comic history in my hands -- although all the then-brand-new books I was buying are now older than the '60s comics were then.

For me, the answer is always the Fantastic Four. It's a lifelong favorite, and I can read basically any era of it with great affection. I feel much the same way about the Legion of Super-Heroes, though to a bit of a lesser extent and a slightly narrower window as well. My sweet spot for the Legion is '70s-'90s, or really everything up until Legion Lost (ugh). I'll read whatever '70s/'80s X-Men are in front of me. Ditto for '80s Firestorm, any Outsiders comics that Mike W. Barr wrote (especially with Jim Aparo supplying the art), vintage Spider-Man (despite struggling to make it through the earliest issues during a recent attempt), all things Ambush Bug...
Old 09-12-20, 11:30 AM
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Re: Your favorite old comic books. What are your favorites?

The original Marvel Star Wars run has yet to be surpassed for pure bizarre imagination in storytelling.
Old 09-12-20, 11:43 AM
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Re: Your favorite old comic books. What are your favorites?

The pre-/early Vertigo comics from DC Comics:

Alan Moore's Swamp Thing
Grant Morrison's Animal Man
Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol
Jamie Delano and Garth Ennis' Hellblazer
Peter Milligan's Shade the Changing Man
Neil Gaiman's Sandman
Alan Moore and David LLoyd's V for Vendetta
Alan Moore and David Gibbons' Watchmen


Doesn't get much better than that.

Most of this stuff is thirty years or more years old. They are basically as old now as the Silver Age comics were in 1990.

Old 09-12-20, 01:28 PM
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Re: Your favorite old comic books. What are your favorites?

I grew up in the Bronze Age, so the Defenders and Brave and the Bold bring back good memories. After that, it’s the Byrne FF, Miller’s Daredevil, the Claremont-Byrne X-Men, and the Levitz-Giffen Legion of Superheroes.

Going back to the Silver Age, it’s LOSH, kooky Batman stories, and Lee-Kirby FF.
Old 09-12-20, 03:15 PM
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Re: Your favorite old comic books. What are your favorites?

also old Groo of Marvel and little bit of What The?! were also favorites of mine back in the day
Old 09-12-20, 04:15 PM
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Re: Your favorite old comic books. What are your favorites?

Originally Posted by Josh-da-man
The pre-/early Vertigo comics from DC Comics:

Alan Moore's Swamp Thing
Grant Morrison's Animal Man
Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol
Jamie Delano and Garth Ennis' Hellblazer
Peter Milligan's Shade the Changing Man
Neil Gaiman's Sandman
Alan Moore and David LLoyd's V for Vendetta
Alan Moore and David Gibbons' Watchmen


Doesn't get much better than that.

Most of this stuff is thirty years or more years old. They are basically as old now as the Silver Age comics were in 1990.
Most of your list. My first thoughts when I read the thread title were Doom Patrol and Sandman. I never read a couple of those titles. It's too bad I missed Hellblazer when I was in my twenties.

I thought until recently that The Dark Knight Returns would be on my list, but I re-read it in July. It does not stand up well. Now I see it as "a good man with a gun" power fantasy. Police are incompetent, mainstream media is lame, criminals are irredeemable, any attempts to solve problems short of violence are folly, and Superman is hopelessly compromised because of his outdated morals.
Old 09-13-20, 11:08 AM
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Re: Your favorite old comic books. What are your favorites?

For me, the old silver-age 50's and 60's Superman and Superboy stories can never be match for shear creative output volume. DC Comics Presents is my favorite bronze age Superman book. While other Superman books in the 70's and 80's fell into a rut, this book was able to deliver with creative team-ups and a cool list of artist and writers (Len Wein/Jim Starlin).
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Old 09-13-20, 02:20 PM
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Re: Your favorite old comic books. What are your favorites?

My favorites...

The Amazing Spider-Man (up through the Frenz run in the 80's).

The Fantastic Four (up through the Byrne run, although there was some good stuff after that)

Spider-Girl (barely fits the timeline, starting in 1998, and while it's a new title to me as I just discovered it and the MC2, this has quickly become one of my all time favorite titles.)

The Incredible Hulk (up to the point in issue 300 when he becomes mindless Hulk - although there have been some good runs since then)

Captain America (during the John Romita/Sal Buscema run in the 70's, up to when Kirby took over and messed things up - that title took decades to fully recover)

New Teen Titans (the original full Wolfman/Perez run)

Deathstroke The Terminator (fantastic comic, I missed out the first time in the 90's, but it was great)


There are others, but that's what I'm coming up with off the top of my head.
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Old 09-14-20, 09:00 AM
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Re: Your favorite old comic books. What are your favorites?



After G.I. Joe it was Psi Force that got me into superhero comics. Loved this book. After this it was X-Factor followed by Uncanny and then it was off to the races.
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Old 09-14-20, 02:16 PM
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Re: Your favorite old comic books. What are your favorites?

The Marv Wolfman and George Perez issues of "Teen Titans". Steve Englehart's "Detective" run with Marshall Rogers, Englehart's "Captain America" and his "Doctor Strange" with Frank Brunner and others.
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Old 09-14-20, 05:13 PM
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Re: Your favorite old comic books. What are your favorites?

I can’t believe the Wolfman/Perez Teen Titans slipped my mind.

And I also dug Marvel’s New Universe, especially when they switched to a more premium format.

Nice to know I’m not the only one for whom G.I. Joe was a gateway drug either. More than once, even! I bought G.I. Joe very early on (I vividly remember buying #27 when it was brand new and I was a tiny little thing ), and when I was a little older, #82 was one of the first books I bought before comics became a full-blown obsession for me.
Old 09-14-20, 05:48 PM
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Re: Your favorite old comic books. What are your favorites?

I loved, loved, loved Strikeforce: Morituri. Thought it was so cool that it had a revolving cast of characters and that they could die at any time. Still think it would make a great TV show.
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Old 09-14-20, 10:38 PM
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Re: Your favorite old comic books. What are your favorites?

another old favorite of mine is DC Comics Warlord.

I still have a couple of the old Eric Warlord action figures where they pretty much have the same body shape as Masters of the Universe. the only difference between them is that the Warlord figures had some neat accessories
Old 09-14-20, 11:51 PM
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Re: Your favorite old comic books. What are your favorites?

Were the New Universe books any good? I never checked them out back in the day and they always seemed to land in my shop's bargain bin fairly quickly, which signaled to me they weren't worth the time.
Old 09-15-20, 03:51 AM
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Re: Your favorite old comic books. What are your favorites?

As a kid, I used to go nuts over the JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA from the seventies, as drawn by Dick Dillin and as written by a bunch of writers: Gerry Conway, Marty Pasko, Denny O'Neil, Cary Bates, and especially Steve Engelhart. Back then, I used to think that getting all the major heroes in one comic was better than reading their individual comics. Dillin had a drawing style which was close to Neal Adams, and he designed some of the best looking women that I had ever seen. George Perez took over the book after his death, and as great as Perez was, it just wasn't the same.
Old 09-15-20, 07:11 AM
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Re: Your favorite old comic books. What are your favorites?

Marvel Team-Up:


Marvel Two-In-One:


Master of Kung-Fu:


World's Finest (particularly the ones with Don Newton on Shazam):


Nexus:


Badger:
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Old 09-15-20, 07:17 AM
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Re: Your favorite old comic books. What are your favorites?

Originally Posted by PhantomStranger
Were the New Universe books any good? I never checked them out back in the day and they always seemed to land in my shop's bargain bin fairly quickly, which signaled to me they weren't worth the time.
I went into The New Universe with a negative mindset, but someone got me to read "Starbrand" by Jim Shooter and J. Romita Jr and I was pleasantly surprised.
Old 09-15-20, 10:55 AM
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Re: Your favorite old comic books. What are your favorites?

I never read any New Universe titles (a bit before my time), but, after the fact, it feels like a dry run for what Shooter would do at Valiant.
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Old 09-16-20, 08:56 AM
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Re: Your favorite old comic books. What are your favorites?

Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan's 72 issue run on "Tomb of Dracula" was a favorite. I'm currently picking up the collected editions that include "Dracula Lives" material. Unfortunately, the follow-ups and re-boots of the series were a disappointment to me.
Old 09-16-20, 05:35 PM
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Re: Your favorite old comic books. What are your favorites?

The original Marvel Micronauts run #1 to #58 (Mantlo didn't write the final issue #59). The greatest comic run of the Bronze Age IMO.

Dial "H" For Hero - Adventure Comics #479 to #490, New Adventures of Superboy #28 to #49. It got kinda hinky at the end but the Adventure Comic run is pure magic.

All-Star Squadron #1 to #60 (#61 to #67 were basically Secret Origin fill-ins until Young All-Stars started). Loved this book in the early 80s. Roy Thomas upped his game from the Invaders (which I also love). He was born to write for DC's Golden Age.

Animal Man #1 to #26. Morrison is god. I just couldn't believe where this book went. This one made me a Morrison devotee.
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Old 09-17-20, 01:44 AM
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Re: Your favorite old comic books. What are your favorites?

Besides getting the latest issues at the local Drug Store, I have fond memories going to WOOLWORTHS to check out the Whitman/DC 3 packs for any Batman or The Brave and Bold issues I didn't have.
Ended up with about a dozen.




Last edited by will travel; 09-17-20 at 02:04 AM.
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Old 09-17-20, 02:26 PM
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Re: Your favorite old comic books. What are your favorites?

I'm old enough to remember comic book machines. I used to know where all the machines were in my area, -grocery stores mostly, but some "Ben Franklin" stores, and "Kresgee's (both of which might be regional). Only the top comic in each stack (there were ten or twelve) was visible, and I learned how to "read" what else was in the stack from studying the leading edge. Marvel had a corner box at that time featuring the book's character, so that was a big help.
Old 09-17-20, 02:46 PM
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Re: Your favorite old comic books. What are your favorites?

Originally Posted by Josh-da-man
The pre-/early Vertigo comics from DC Comics:

Alan Moore's Swamp Thing
Grant Morrison's Animal Man
Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol
Jamie Delano and Garth Ennis' Hellblazer
Peter Milligan's Shade the Changing Man
Neil Gaiman's Sandman
Alan Moore and David LLoyd's V for Vendetta
Alan Moore and David Gibbons' Watchmen


Doesn't get much better than that.

Most of this stuff is thirty years or more years old. They are basically as old now as the Silver Age comics were in 1990.
Yeah, those are really the high water mark for me. Plus EC comics, which I discovered as a teen about 30 years after they were published, but boy many of those stories still stand up for me, both art and stories. I can't say that about most comics published in that era, many of them are near unreadable, which shows how much EC was head and shoulders above their competition, quality-wise.

Old 09-17-20, 10:04 PM
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Re: Your favorite old comic books. What are your favorites?

Originally Posted by will travel
Besides getting the latest issues at the local Drug Store, I have fond memories going to WOOLWORTHS to check out the Whitman/DC 3 packs for any Batman or The Brave and Bold issues I didn't have.
Ended up with about a dozen.



That does bring back the memories.

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