I personally feel that the “Elektra Saga” should have ended after her resurrection in Daredevil #190.
Tags:
...Thomas, is there anything up anywhere telling a person what comics are offered in the DC Nation app? If some of DC's Atomic/etc. age genre comics is a cop/private eye/cowboy vein that feature art from the likes of Leonard Starr and Alex Toth and the usual could be read on them - or Shldon Mayer's humor comics - stuff that I suppose is unlikely to ever see a book, but maybe could sneak on something like this ' well, that would be churce:-).
I drew the line in 2007. I stopped buying new comics cold turkey. I was only buying a couple regularly at the time anyway. Savage Dragon by Erik Larsen and Powers by Bendis and Oeming. Soon after I stopped, I sold most everything I owned that had come out since '90. I realized that's around when I had lost interest. I'm looking at you Image. I started buying back issues from publishers like ACG, Archie, Atlas Seaboard, Charlton, Dell, Gold Key, Harvey, I.W. Super Comics, King, Modern reprints, Skywald, and Tower. Mostly from mycomicshop.com. Lost my job of twenty years in 2015. I've since gotten a new job for half the pay. I can't afford back issues anymore. There's a thrift store by my new job that has a large book section. I find trades there for two or three bucks and single issues for a buck. Here's a sample of what I've bought in the last few months. Some good, some not so good.
Asterix The Gaul
The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb
Myth Adventures One
Our Cancer Year
Mercy Thompson: Homecoming
George R.R. Martin's Doorways
The Best of Archie Comics Deluxe Edition Book Two
Letter 44 Volume II: Redshift
Crimson: Heaven and Earth
Doctor Who: Agent Provocateur
Doctor Who: Tesseract
Anne Mercury: The Cutter
Crimson: Loyalty and Loss
Daughters Of Fly In My Eye
Incognito: Bad Influences
Star Wars: Obi-Wan and Anakin
Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Doctor Who: The Hypothetical Gentleman
Adventure Time with Fionna and Cake
Faust 777 The Wrath
Pretty Deadly Volume 1
Star Wars: Shattered Empire
Air: Letters From Lost Countries
Arrow Volume 1
Uncanny X-Men: Broken
Batman: I Am Bane
Flash: Move Forward
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel Power
Hatter M: The Looking Glass Wars
Raw Volume 2 Number 3
The Adventures of Tintin: The Shooting Star
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
The Nameless City Volume 1
Street Angel's Dog
Jeff, that's a great explanation of drawing the line. It's not to say there are no good stories written after it, but that prior to the line, the stories were "real," and afterward, they're just stories being told. For me, there's a divide between how I approach DC and Marvel comics, in that with Marvel, I'm usually just looking for a good story starring cool characters, whereas with DC books, I sometimes check in with them to "see how my friends are doing."
With Flash, I wonder if I don't draw the line at the conclusion of The Return of Barry Allen. There are plenty of great stories after that (including many by the same writer!), but that's really where Wally's maturation comes to a head. Everything past that is variations on a theme. (And definitely when we get to the Identity Crisis crossover, it was something that I could look at and say, 'oh, that's a clever twist' rather than 'what the hell? Barry would never do that...!')
You should also investigate your local public library. They would likely have some of this stuff in their physical collection. And if they offer the Hoopla service there are a wide variety of e-comics. That's how I do most of my reading these days.
Con Sarolas said:
I drew the line in 2007. I stopped buying new comics cold turkey. I was only buying a couple regularly at the time anyway. Savage Dragon by Erik Larsen and Powers by Bendis and Oeming. Soon after I stopped, I sold most everything I owned that had come out since '90. I realized that's around when I had lost interest. I'm looking at you Image. I started buying back issues from publishers like ACG, Archie, Atlas Seaboard, Charlton, Dell, Gold Key, Harvey, I.W. Super Comics, King, Modern reprints, Skywald, and Tower. Mostly from mycomicshop.com. Lost my job of twenty years in 2015. I've since gotten a new job for half the pay. I can't afford back issues anymore. There's a thrift store by my new job that has a large book section. I find trades there for two or three bucks and single issues for a buck. Here's a sample of what I've bought in the last few months. Some good, some not so good.
Asterix The Gaul
The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb
Myth Adventures One
Our Cancer Year
Mercy Thompson: Homecoming
George R.R. Martin's Doorways
The Best of Archie Comics Deluxe Edition Book Two
Letter 44 Volume II: Redshift
Crimson: Heaven and Earth
Doctor Who: Agent Provocateur
Doctor Who: Tesseract
Anne Mercury: The Cutter
Crimson: Loyalty and Loss
Daughters Of Fly In My Eye
Incognito: Bad Influences
Star Wars: Obi-Wan and Anakin
Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Doctor Who: The Hypothetical Gentleman
Adventure Time with Fionna and Cake
Faust 777 The Wrath
Pretty Deadly Volume 1
Star Wars: Shattered Empire
Air: Letters From Lost Countries
Arrow Volume 1
Uncanny X-Men: Broken
Batman: I Am Bane
Flash: Move Forward
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel Power
Hatter M: The Looking Glass Wars
Raw Volume 2 Number 3
The Adventures of Tintin: The Shooting Star
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
The Nameless City Volume 1
Street Angel's Dog
“Jeff, that's a great explanation of drawing the line.”
Thanks, Rob. I plan to keep this up for a while yet, then revisit it occasionally. As always, others should feel free to jump in as the mood strikes. As far as Marvel is concerned, I’m tempted to draw several lines with “Heroes Reborn.” That’s when Fantastic Four became Jim Lee’s Fantastic Four, Avengers became Rob Liefeld’s Avengers, and so on.
Last week when I mentioned DC’s status quo-changing storylines (the “Death of Superman,” “Knightfall,” “Emerald Twilight,” etc.) I really should have pointed out the end of the 1989 Legion of Super-Heroes series, by which time the entire Earth had been destroyed and the surviving population was living in a series of domed satellite cities. That’s not a very optimistic future, but where does one draw the line?
First of all, I consider everything through the end of the 1984 series (#63, “The Magic Wars”) to be “real,” but that issue had no real closure. From that point, the next series jumped ahead “Five Years Later.” That’s the reality that came to an end with “Zero Hour” in issue #61.
Those post-Zero Hour series (Legion of Super-Heroes and Legionnaires) were pretty good, but a whole different reality than the one I consider “real” (as was “Five Years Later” AFAIAC). Then there’s the Mark Waid version, yet another reality. But eventually, Geoff Johns took over and re-introduced a Legion that was, for all intents and purposes, my Legion in Action Comics #858. So, after a lengthy gap, I “draw the line” with Action Comics #863.
There was a really good Paul Levitz series after this point, but that eventually became the “Flashpoint” Legion which is definitely out.
Oh, we diverge here. That Johns Legion -- the "retroboot" among Legion fan circles -- is one I've drawn the line against. I really liked reading it, but the 5 Years Later Legion is "my" Legion. As is the post-Zero Hour Legion. The Threeboot and the Retroboot are clever variations on a theme to me, but not the "real" Legion.
I'm thinking the new Bendis/Sook Legion might register as the "real" Legion to me, too. A different one, but real, in that it's grounded in one of my favorite runs of Superman in ages.
“Oh, we diverge here.“
Fair enough. (I figured we would based on the comments you posted last week.) I’ve never before encountered the terms “retroboot” or “threeboot,” but I don’t hang out in fan circles… just here. ;)
In your case, I’d draw the line for “Five Years Later” with LSH #61 (above), and for the post-Zero Hour version at… whatever issue it was they jumped into the “Siege Perilous” or whatever. (I don’t recall the exact issue off the top of my head.)
The problem (for me) with the Bendis Legion is just that: it’s called “The Bendis Legion.” That’s not a slam against Bendis, it’s just that the creator role is elevated about the series itself. For that reason, it can never be “real” to me. Havinbg said that, I am looking forward to the first issue of the new series tomorrow.
May I assume you’re lumping the Paul Levitz’s “recent Legion in with Geoff Johns’ reboot?
No flame wars. No trolls. But a lot of really smart people.The Captain Comics Round Table tries to be the friendliest and most accurate comics website on the Internet.
SOME ESSENTIALS:
FOLLOW US:
OUR COLUMNISTS: