When I was a lad, "common knowledge" held that all true [American] comics fans owned a complete run of the Justice Society of America as featured in All Star Comics #3-57. I didn't achieve that goal myself until 2005 with the publication of All Star Comics Archives v11 (if you count reprints, which I do). With more time on my hands these days. I've taken advantage of devoting some of that time to reading renowned comics which I had never previously gotten around to reading. I just finished Lone Wolf & Cub for the first time, and earlier this year I read The Adventures of Tintin in its entirety (except for "that" story).
I'd like to continue this trend, but many of my choices are ethno-centric. I do what to actually read them, and living in this, The Golden Age of [Reprinted] Comics makes it that much easier. I am going to start my list with the three series mentioned above, and I encourage others to contribute choices of their own (American or not).
1. All Star Comics #3-57 (American)
2. The Adventures of Tintin (Belgian)
3. Lone Wolf & Cub (Japanese)
Replies
I would suggest reading at least the first few volumes of the French series The Adventures of Asterix the Gaul. I saw an "Omnibus Edition" of the first three volumes at the B&N last weekend. Something like that would give you a taste of whether you wanted to carry on,
Some Manga for you:
Barefoot Gen - about a family living through the atomic bomb drop in (IIRC) Hiroshima.
Devilman - a relatively short Manga about a teen that fuses with a demon
If you're up for it, you might try One Piece. Oda-Sensei has been churning it out for longer than Cerebus without much of any sort of break or a drop in sales.
I never heard that line about All-Star Comics until this board (or maybe Roy Thomas in some foreword or other), probably because when I was growing up I didn't know any other comics fans. I had to piece together my understanding of What Came Before from reprints and DC's Golden Age guest stars. From what little I knew, All-Star Comics would certainly have been at the top of my list of stuff I'd want to own/read, but there was little chance of assembling such a collection from the ratty garage sales and flea markets of my youth. Thank the Gods for the Archives!
But speaking of which, I have to say that one of my strongest reactions to finally reading those legendary JSA stories was how pedestrian they were. They usually fought ordinary criminals (in suits), with supervillains that were far from impressive. (When The Fiddler appeared on Stargirl, my wife said "What a dumb super-power.") And the Big Guns of the JSA rarely displayed their full power, resorting instead to punching, like the others. Starman, Green Lantern, Spectre and Dr. Fate would use their amazing powers to fly to the fight, and instead of winning said fight with the snap of their fingers, wade in with fists. There was. Too. Much. Punching. And there really is no more ludicrous a sight than The Spectre in a fistfight.
That being said, the JSA was the first (and best) super-team of the Golden Age, and it was a breakthrough concept. They are deserving of all the accolades they receive. I hope that my too-much-punching memories are inflated, and you see fit to point out innovations and other exciting, non-punching bits as they occur.
ASTERIX: I have heard about this series (good things), but I have never read it. I don't remember the last time I went to B&N, but I know it was prior to March 2020. Tracy has the day off tomorrow, so we'll see.
CEREBUS: I am unfamiliar with those manga series, but Cerebus definitely belongs on the list. I have read the first half many times; most of the second half, just once.
ALL-STAR: I have read All Star Comics before and don't disagree with your assessment. Another series that all "true fans" of a certain age "must" own is THUNDER Agents (and, again, thanks to archive editions, I do).
SCROOGE McDUCK: I've been reading those Carl Barks Library volumes, but I prefer Don Rosa's The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck, myself. (Blasphemy, I know.)
THE FIRST KINGDOM: Here is another one of those "fandom" choices. I bought the first volume (by Jack Katz) but I didn't get very far into it before I had to put it down. It read too much like a screed for my tastes, yet it is well respected in certain circles. Has anyone here ever read it? Should I give it another try?
There's so damn much of it, I don't know if the complete (compleat?) Judge Dredd is a possibility or even desirable, but certainly that feature should be represented here somehow.
Volume 39 (!) ships this week.
Asterix, Obelix and Dogmatix return in their 39th graphic adventure, Asterix and the Griffin. Accompanied by Getafix, they're about to set out on a long and mysterious journey in search of strange and terrifying creature...
I'm familiar with Battle, but not "Major Eazy" (also shipping this week).
Go on patrol with Major Eazy, the laid-back British officer who always completes his mission! Before Judge Dredd and Strontium Dog for 2000 AD, comic maestro Carlos Ezquerra created an iconic star character of bestselling British war comic, Battle. Now, collected in order for the first time, Rebellion is proud to present all of Major Eazy's adventures remastered and from the beginning. From pulse-pounding invasion of Sicily to the German surrender at Brenner Pass, Major Eazy Volume 1 collects all of the character's adventures across the Italian arena of war.
Huh. Interesting.
Jeff of Earth-J said:
I noticed the cover you posted said "cover coming soon." I found the final cover on Amazon:
Jeff of Earth-J said: