tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post7976535520999515604..comments2024-03-19T13:17:32.729+00:00Comments on Steve Does Comics: Forty years ago today - October 1980.Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09191442559702617745noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post-24277170158356672312020-10-22T16:48:35.713+01:002020-10-22T16:48:35.713+01:00Personally, I'm also in the camp that thinks t...Personally, I'm also in the camp that thinks the lack of grippingness of <i>Conan the Barbarian</i> after the mid-1970s is simply down to over-familiarity with the formula, rather than a decline in the stories themselves.Steve W.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09191442559702617745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post-17118572255483023342020-10-22T13:45:55.033+01:002020-10-22T13:45:55.033+01:00I bet Conan still doesn't wear a mask though.
...I bet Conan still doesn't wear a mask though.<br /><br />-seanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post-54210173864612593332020-10-22T13:35:04.484+01:002020-10-22T13:35:04.484+01:00Conan the Barbarian (2019 version) #15 was publish...Conan the Barbarian (2019 version) #15 was published yesterday - 7 months after #14 (apparently the delay was due to some virus that's been going around). Colin Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13564469551279026689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post-84167420069368972182020-10-22T01:00:38.232+01:002020-10-22T01:00:38.232+01:00Completely agree with FF follower and Redartz, alt...Completely agree with FF follower and Redartz, although I'd add (most of) the first two dozen or so issues of SSOC - basically the Buscema/Alcala era - as at least as engaging as the early colour comic.<br />Whether thats because of the actual quality of the work, or simply that theres a very finite number of Conan stories you can read before it all gets a bit samey and diminishing returns sets in, is open to debate.<br /><br />I mean, if you weren't familiar with the comic, and started reading around #50 maybe Conan was still pretty good? <br />To be fair, from what I've read Roy Thomas' writing was pretty consistent over his whole run, and theres not really much to complain about with the Buscema/Chan team (can't say the same for Tony deZuniga's inks on Big John's b&w stuff though).<br /><br />-seanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post-40925206221949724672020-10-21T17:20:13.881+01:002020-10-21T17:20:13.881+01:00Re Redartz:Curious coincidence:My interest in Cona...Re Redartz:Curious coincidence:My interest in Conan ended around #50 too.It was a special comic in its day but similar to Spiderman it degenerated in quality with multiple title. Was there 6 different titles at one point? Savage Tales, Savage Sword, Conan, King Conan, Conan Annual, Giant Size Conan etc. Loved the first 45 issues but 50 was a logical place to end. Picked up #116(I think) which had a strange Adams /Buscema mix which was neither to be honest! Fantastic Four followerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07015903343181388371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post-42691577618069934932020-10-21T05:37:14.640+01:002020-10-21T05:37:14.640+01:00Yes, Zevon was small in stature.Yes, Zevon was small in stature.Killdumpsternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post-51409171678653266822020-10-21T04:09:42.924+01:002020-10-21T04:09:42.924+01:00Wow, that was a busy time for Marvel's Anniver...Wow, that was a busy time for Marvel's Anniversary issues. And that Conan issue was the last of that title that I bought. Actually, I never found Conan as engaging after about issue 50. <br /><br />B.t.- yes that was the notorious Avengers issue. Great cover but the story was awful. <br /><br />With the industry now constantly rebooting, anniversary issues might have become a thing of the past. But at least DC has been putting some out. I bought Action 1000, it was kinda fun.Redartzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08221459636234713619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post-36859837162037227812020-10-21T01:25:16.142+01:002020-10-21T01:25:16.142+01:00Chaps! Mates! Blokes! Buddies! Pals! Friends!
...Chaps! Mates! Blokes! Buddies! Pals! Friends! <br /><br />There are just a ton of $1 comics at the LCBS reprinting Marvel keys. "True Believers" line. <br /><br />E.g., I just got Amazing Adventures #1 (split cover - Inhumans, Black Widow)! (Spoiler Warning: J Busecma/Verpooten's Widow is a distant second to Colan / Everett! )<br /><br />I think they were all constipated due to Covid and suddenly they are having a blow out! Charlie Horse 47https://www.blogger.com/profile/00906538705798228800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post-49819968008752301742020-10-20T17:47:08.572+01:002020-10-20T17:47:08.572+01:00MP, KD, Sean, Charlie and Dangermash, thanks for y...MP, KD, Sean, Charlie and Dangermash, thanks for your comments as well.Steve W.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09191442559702617745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post-72299197169611370652020-10-20T17:43:32.250+01:002020-10-20T17:43:32.250+01:00Bt, it was indeed the end of Thomas's epic run...Bt, it was indeed the end of Thomas's epic run on <i>Conan the Barbarian</i>.Steve W.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09191442559702617745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post-89554349994253891092020-10-20T17:14:27.564+01:002020-10-20T17:14:27.564+01:00#115 was Roy Thomas’ swan-song on CONAN, right? Ye...#115 was Roy Thomas’ swan-song on CONAN, right? Yeah, I agree that Sonja wasn’t written particularly well in this one, but Roy’s writing at its absolute worst is light-years ahead of the cardboard cookie-cutter scripts Conan got for the next ten years or so.<br /><br />Is that the infamous ‘Immortus Roofies Ms. Marvel’ story? I think I’d stopped buying AVENGERS by that point, not sure I ever even read that one. Just know it by reputation.<br /><br />Bill Sienkiewicz inked by Joe Sinnott is just about as pleasing an art combo as Neal Adams inked by Joe Sinnott. It’s like the opposite of a Reese’s Peanut Butter cup — two great tastes that DON’T taste great together.<br /><br />- b.t.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post-71617938802023312452020-10-20T04:42:29.002+01:002020-10-20T04:42:29.002+01:00Was he kind of a little guy, K.D.? I always got th...Was he kind of a little guy, K.D.? I always got that impression. <br />What a voice, though. He could sound booming when he wanted to.<br />As a song writer, I always thought he was to rock music what Kurt Vonnegut was to American fiction. Dripping with irony.<br /><br />M.P.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post-76588636918844506062020-10-20T03:02:29.134+01:002020-10-20T03:02:29.134+01:00Yeah MP. Still have the album he autographed.
He ...Yeah MP. Still have the album he autographed.<br /><br />He was a very quiet man, though. After the sound-check, he didn't talk much to anyone. He stayed in the dressing room with his assistant till the show. The girls that delivered his meals to the room said he was weird.<br /><br />He asked me to not make microphone stand adjustments too tight. He liked to fiddle with them during the show.Killdumpsternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post-46968858022065708202020-10-20T02:53:26.590+01:002020-10-20T02:53:26.590+01:00Don't forget the Red Skull also kidnapped Jim ...Don't forget the Red Skull also kidnapped Jim Callaghan, M.P.<br />Which I guess is the kind of thing left for a super-villain after Twinkies ads. That, and politics.<br /><br />-seanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post-91446757884865098472020-10-20T02:20:54.922+01:002020-10-20T02:20:54.922+01:00Yeah, Charlie, I think the last anniversary issue ...Yeah, Charlie, I think the last anniversary issue I bought of ANY comic was Thor #500. <br />I read it and said to myself, "I think I am done with this."<br />The thing about the Red Skull that always struck me was, it seemed like he was somewhat incompetent at his job of being a super-villain. Look at the way Kirby drew him. Dinner robe, cigarette holder, it's like John Barrymore on crack. In the Acts of Vengeance storyline, he was almost just comic relief. Even the Wizard had more dignity. <br />The guy's M.O. was basically just digging up hidden Nazi doomsday weapons and turning them on.<br />And don't get me started on the Cosmic Cube debacle. If your a villain and you show up in a Hostess Twinkie ad, you know your rep is trashed.<br /><br />K.D., you did a set up Warren Zevon? I take it you met him?<br />Holy Moly. I love that guy's music.<br /><br />M.P.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post-18071775654688754562020-10-20T02:12:03.352+01:002020-10-20T02:12:03.352+01:00Now, now, now, Sean, oh my brother.Now, now, now, Sean, oh my brother.Killdumpsternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post-42589072865935788122020-10-20T01:07:18.188+01:002020-10-20T01:07:18.188+01:00To be fair to M.P. - hey, someone's gotta be, ...To be fair to M.P. - hey, someone's gotta be, right? - its not that much of a leap from Trump to the Red Skull.<br />Current events in the US do seem a bit like the plot of a mid-70s Captain America comic.<br /><br />-seanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post-45913348069475344852020-10-19T23:13:05.439+01:002020-10-19T23:13:05.439+01:00No, MP, for better or worse, Trump truly is Trump....No, MP, for better or worse, Trump truly is Trump.<br /><br />Charlie, I've been re-viewing the werewolf movies in my collection, and viewing "newer" stuff online.<br /><br />Dog Soldiers is entertaining, but I think Howl is better. A buncha folks trapped on a broken-down passenger train in in the middle of nowhere, fending off a pack of werewolves.<br /><br />Reminds when I set-up sound for Warren Zevon (Werewolves Of London fame). He had lost his contract with Elektra records, and was touring without a back-up band. He played his show solo, with a 12 string guitar & the house piano. He was incredible.Killdumpsternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post-8595131146974297482020-10-19T22:42:02.513+01:002020-10-19T22:42:02.513+01:00In the early 1980's I had extremely lightened ...In the early 1980's I had extremely lightened up on comics reading/ buying. Mostly because of going to art school and being penniless, but seeing that give-away blurb on the covers wasn't very enticing for me either.<br /><br />I know I have an "ashcan" size version of the Captain America book, I have no idea where it came from. I do know it was insanely hard to read.Killdumpsternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post-44494515944457188502020-10-19T18:22:44.023+01:002020-10-19T18:22:44.023+01:00MP - Charlie knows you were joking! No umbrage ta...MP - Charlie knows you were joking! No umbrage taken by Charlie! <br /><br />Charlie notices though that MP always writes his remarks in the late evening hours USA time. Nothing sinister going on like "werewolf by night" is there? Halloween is coming up, the Hunter's Moon is coming up... Just want to be ready. Charlie Horse 47https://www.blogger.com/profile/00906538705798228800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post-56897659829007489592020-10-19T06:20:22.458+01:002020-10-19T06:20:22.458+01:00Charlie, clearly I was joking.
But yeah, Marvel d...Charlie, clearly I was joking. <br />But yeah, Marvel did have serious distribution problems back then. They were hard to find, sometimes.<br />Somebody dropped the ball somewhere, I figure.<br /><br />M.P.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post-58780402655772362172020-10-19T05:08:18.646+01:002020-10-19T05:08:18.646+01:00MP - Paste Pot Pete stole my can of invisible glue...MP - Paste Pot Pete stole my can of invisible glue. I think he used it to become Daredevil to sneak into the Baxter Building once to take on the FF. I can't recall. Much. Anymore.Charlie Horse 47https://www.blogger.com/profile/00906538705798228800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post-7478134581320501572020-10-19T05:06:46.889+01:002020-10-19T05:06:46.889+01:00MP - Ole Charlie was 19 years old and had more/les...MP - Ole Charlie was 19 years old and had more/less stopped reading comics 6 or so years earlier but for The Invaders, The Shadow or other WWII or Pulp-type comics. (WHenever Gerry Conway got his meat hooks on Spidey and FF and turned them into his personal psychological sandbox to screw with kids.)<br /><br />But to be honest, when I bought Avengers 100, I had no idea what the hell was going on. Distribution has been so piss poor, I had bought like Avengers 92 or 93 and then never saw another issue until 100. And then, every Avenger looked like freakin Conan thanks to B W Smith's art work.<br /><br />And then I read Thor 200 and again had no idea what the heck was going on as I seldom read Thor (I only has so many nickels and dimes at the time, you dig?)Charlie Horse 47https://www.blogger.com/profile/00906538705798228800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post-53422687025528821362020-10-19T03:18:55.612+01:002020-10-19T03:18:55.612+01:00Well, I dunno if I would go THAT far, Sean. The Av...Well, I dunno if I would go THAT far, Sean. The Avengers at that point...<br />75 cents was a lotta money back then.<br />That's three games of Galaxian or Space Invaders, right there. <br /><br />M.P.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post-78401684817472609212020-10-19T02:30:16.335+01:002020-10-19T02:30:16.335+01:00Tradition? Respect for the past?
Using that argume...Tradition? Respect for the past?<br />Using that argument you could just as easily say he should have picked up Avengers #200 M.P.<br /><br />-seanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com