Best Marvel Story Arcs in the 90s?

cobra_commander · Post by **cobra_commander** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 10:56 pm

Jay Tomio wrote:they also took with them the talent that would have made the transition possibly not as damaging to Marvel like Keith, Platt, Jae Lee, Campbell, Charest, Madureira, Giffen, Capullo, Keown, etc, etc - not only did they remove themselves, but effectively the entire second tier/up-and-coming talent with them.

Such a good point. Even if the 2nd tier artists stayed it still wouldn't have been the same but can you imagine if ALL of those artists stayed at Marvel! How great would that Universe have been. You could have been 5 or 6 books deep in the X-books and still have top quality art. Imagine a Platt Deadpool series!

Thank god for the Kubert brothers, at least the X-books were still ok for a while afterwards. The Wolverine series was still ok too.

And to be fair its fine if you want to leave and start your own U, especially if Marel isn't treating you right but have some common sense and take some bloody writers! Even when Mcfarlane had Moore, Gaiman, Sim etc write an issue each for him no Spawn, it never really went very far.

siren3-4 · Post by **siren3-4** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 8:58 am

Knightt wrote:
And didnt I include a copy of Astro City #1 vol 1 in the box of stuff I just sent to you ?

That is a double edged blade. It is really kind and generous on one hand, but on the other it forces whoever reads it to hunt down every issue of astro city.

Then you're hated because you caused your friend to go broke and they can’t afford beer or chicken wings.

I’ve been down this road my friend.

I’ve started friends reading Preacher or X-O and soon they start calling you a crack dealer. And you end up having to defend yourself, “It’s not my fault if you can’t handle your comics !!”

It’s just an ugly . . . ugly thing . . .

Elveen · Post by **Elveen** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 9:22 am

siren3-4 wrote:
Knightt wrote:
And didnt I include a copy of Astro City #1 vol 1 in the box of stuff I just sent to you ?
That is a double edged blade. It is really kind and generous on one hand, but on the other it forces whoever reads it to hunt down every issue of astro city.

Then you're hated because you caused your friend to go broke and they can’t afford beer or chicken wings.

I’ve been down this road my friend.

I’ve started friends reading Preacher or X-O and soon they start calling you a crack dealer. And you end up having to defend yourself, “It’s not my fault if you can’t handle your comics !!”

It’s just an ugly . . . ugly thing . . .

interesting point siren.... I had just a few free moments last night... so I picked up the Astro city #1.... read about half of it..... (couldn't finish it.... little girl wiht a high fever....)

I haven't been able to get it out of my mind since..... can't wait to get home tonight to finish it.... I almost read it after the shower and before work.... but had a meeting before 1st period today.....

bottom line.... if a friend of yours gets you hooked on something good... then it's good...... right?

Elveen · Post by **Elveen** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 9:25 am

siren3-4 wrote:
Knightt wrote:
And didnt I include a copy of Astro City #1 vol 1 in the box of stuff I just sent to you ?
That is a double edged blade. It is really kind and generous on one hand, but on the other it forces whoever reads it to hunt down every issue of astro city.

Then you're hated because you caused your friend to go broke and they can’t afford beer or chicken wings.

I’ve been down this road my friend.

I’ve started friends reading Preacher or X-O and soon they start calling you a crack dealer. And you end up having to defend yourself, “It’s not my fault if you can’t handle your comics !!”

It’s just an ugly . . . ugly thing . . .

of course the other side is...... I got enough comics to buy right nowtrying to finish my VH1 run... then Acclaim.....

now I gotta think aobut Astro City.... and Marvels.... and Watchmen.... and this.... and that....

dude.... I aint got no money tree....

(just kidding..... seriously.... I'm glad I am expanding my comic book experience.....)

MedicAR · Post by **MedicAR** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 3:47 pm

stone384 wrote:Most them are fairly cheap. I have a bunch of these on the lists and I sell them for.50 ea.
M

Have you got the Captain Britains? I can't find your lists....

Chiclo · Post by **Chiclo** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 12:17 am

Marvels was a truly awesome mini-series. I have all 5 issues, but have never heard anyone else mention it, although granted this is the first comic book oriented forum I have joined. The art is breathtaking, then again, so is all of Ross' stuff. I love his Zatanna poster.

Thanos Quest was a piece of a larger picture that Marvel was doing in the early 90s. It followed Thanos after his arc from Silver Surfer 34 to 38, and he comes back around issue #44. It builds up to the Infinity Gauntlet, which was another good one not yet mentioned here. The Infinity Gauntlet bled over to several other Marvel books, dominatin Silver Surfer from issues 50 (probably earlier) to 59, Doctor Strange for several issues (I think the last was #37?) and ends where Warlock and the Infinity Watch picks up. The Infinity War is the sequel to that, and it might actually be better than the Infinity Gauntlet. Without spoiling too much, the Infinity Gauntlet has many disparate heroes joining together (in a fray that eventually includes Galactus, Eternity, Celestials and several other Cosmic Entities) to fight Thanos and get their butts squarely handed to them - but in the Infinity War, an even larger contingent are forced to fight rough approximations of their darker sides. The Infinity War brings Warlock, Thanos and Galactus in on the side of many of the Earth's defenders, and even has Doom and Kang acting as shades of each other and messing up the plans of everyone involved. The Infinity saga ends with Infinity Crusade, which was almost phoned in after the Infinity War. Thoroughly disappointing.

Another Marvel mini-series of the time I enjoyed was the Avengers: Terminatrix Objective. Captain America, Thor and Iron Man compete against Thunderstrike, War Machine and USAgent. It also features Kang the Conqueror, always a lovably implaccable foe for the Avengers.

Elveen · Post by **Elveen** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 12:36 am

Elveen wrote:
Knightt wrote:I would not worry about 'good reads' in regards to Marvel etc... focus on VALIANT.

And didnt I include a copy of Astro City #1 vol 1 in the box of stuff I just sent to you ? DUDE... read THAT and tell me that it isnt a good read. I would go after Astro City before I would even bother with Marvel, DC, Image or whatever... seriously.

yes Astro City #1....I pulled it out last night.... I will check it out when I get home.....

(BTW.... I pulled a bunch of stuff out of the group you sent me!)[/url][/i]

ok.. so I read Astro city #1.....

it is so different that anything I have read..... I was wondering.... does each book focus on a different character.... I really dug the writing... (and the art) but the writing was great...

so now I suppose that I have to get more Astro city (how many books are there.... or how many of the books are like #1..... and it seems I gotta get the Marvels books.....)

slym2none · Post by **slym2none** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 12:57 am

I sold my Marvels set, but still have the HC.

What a great read...

-slym

stone384 · Post by **stone384** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 7:09 pm

Have you got the Captain Britains? I can't find your lists....

I haven't put a current list up recently. As far a Captain Britions...no I don't have any. I think they have become more popular recently. I know I would like to have them.
m

cobra_commander · Post by **cobra_commander** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 7:25 pm

Jay Tomio wrote:
And to be fair its fine if you want to leave and start your own U, especially if Marel isn't treating you right but have some common sense and take some bloody writers! Even when Mcfarlane had Moore, Gaiman, Sim etc write an issue each for him no Spawn, it never really went very far.
My comment about writers sounds odd, and the opposite opinion is one I used to share, but blessed with hindsight, I actually think a lot of the better super hero runs of the 90's were Image books (from a writing perspective) -in Astro City (Busiek), Supreme (Moore), Planetary (Ellis), Stormwatch and The Authority (Eliss), Powers (Bendis), and Ennis with Darkness. Moore also wrote a cool Deathblow arc.

I should make it clear I'm only referring to the first wave of Image comics.

So
Lee to Wildcats, lose Chris Claremont.
Liefeld to Youngblood, lose Fabian Nicieza and Louise Simonson molded characters
Keown to Pitt - lose Peter David
etc.

Astro City etc I ain't including it because I'm only talking about the effect the founding members of Image had on Marvel but that's a good point and worth mentioning.

Now as for Spawn...(and this is an attack on Spawn, not your opinion Jay because everyone has the right to like M&Ms on their sandwiches if thats what they like)

It was pretty mediocre if you ask me. The first few issues read like Spiderman Torment (which is NOT a good thing). Boring and long-winded. It got slightly more interesting with Moore, Gaiman etc. The first 20 or so issues were ok overral.

But then look at whats happened since...every issue for the last 100 or so has read like EXACTLY the same comic. NOTHING happens in it!

And no matter how good it was it never came close to being as good or even giving the hope that it would be as interesting as Spiderman as a character.

That was the great thing about VALIANT. In a few short issues Shooter made you instantly put Solar Magnus etc in your list of favourite characters, along with decade old mainstays like Batman Spiderman (and Iron Man for some

)

IMJ · Post by **IMJ** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 8:47 pm

cobra_commander wrote: That was the great thing about VALIANT. In a few short issues Shooter made you instantly put Solar Magnus etc in your list of favourite characters, along with decade old mainstays like Batman Spiderman (and Iron Man for some )

You just knew that I've been haunting this thread, huh?

Elveen · Post by **Elveen** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 11:36 pm

IMJ wrote:
cobra_commander wrote: That was the great thing about VALIANT. In a few short issues Shooter made you instantly put Solar Magnus etc in your list of favourite characters, along with decade old mainstays like Batman Spiderman (and Iron Man for some )

You just knew that I've been haunting this thread, huh?

what... ghosts....

cobra_commander · Post by **cobra_commander** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 11:46 pm

You post the funniest *SQUEE* pictures man!

Elveen · Post by **Elveen** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 1:01 am

cobra_commander wrote:

You post the funniest *SQUEE* pictures man!

it's what I do .....

(and a bunch of other stuff too......)

cobra_commander · Post by **cobra_commander** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 7:47 am

Jay Tomio wrote:No single VALIANT character belongs in the same sentence as Batman/Superman - at least in my language . I'm a huge VALIANT fan - but we are talking about Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent

Yeah thats very true actually about Batman and Superman. You can't really compare with those 2 and some others in the pantheon of comics.

But I did expect more from Image because VALIANT did it!

They created a quality Universe,

amazing stories that are some of the best in comics

and characters that immediatley rank amongst your favourites (which is so difficult to do considering the how tough it is to make a new character or a success, or re-energise an old one).

I couldn't care less about any of the Image characters from the first wave 10 years down the track and that in itself is a major failure.

Elveen · Post by **Elveen** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 9:50 am

cobra_commander wrote:
Jay Tomio wrote:No single VALIANT character belongs in the same sentence as Batman/Superman - at least in my language . I'm a huge VALIANT fan - but we are talking about Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent
Yeah thats very true actually about Batman and Superman. You can't really compare with those 2 and some others in the pantheon of comics.

But I did expect more from Image because VALIANT did it!

They created a quality Universe,

amazing stories that are some of the best in comics

and characters that immediatley rank amongst your favourites (which is so difficult to do considering the how tough it is to make a new character or a success, or re-energise an old one).

I couldn't care less about any of the Image characters from the first wave 10 years down the track and that in itself is a major failure.

I concur

myron · Post by **myron** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 12:08 pm

Elveen wrote:
cobra_commander wrote:
Jay Tomio wrote:No single VALIANT character belongs in the same sentence as Batman/Superman - at least in my language . I'm a huge VALIANT fan - but we are talking about Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent
Yeah thats very true actually about Batman and Superman. You can't really compare with those 2 and some others in the pantheon of comics.

But I did expect more from Image because VALIANT did it!

They created a quality Universe,

amazing stories that are some of the best in comics

and characters that immediatley rank amongst your favourites (which is so difficult to do considering the how tough it is to make a new character or a success, or re-energise an old one).

I couldn't care less about any of the Image characters from the first wave 10 years down the track and that in itself is a major failure.

I concur

yup...pretty well said IMO

IMJ · Post by **IMJ** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 12:34 pm

cobra_commander wrote:
Jay Tomio wrote:No single VALIANT character belongs in the same sentence as Batman/Superman - at least in my language . I'm a huge VALIANT fan - but we are talking about Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent
Yeah thats very true actually about Batman and Superman. You can't really compare with those 2 and some others in the pantheon of comics.

But I did expect more from Image because VALIANT did it!

They created a quality Universe,

amazing stories that are some of the best in comics

and characters that immediatley rank amongst your favourites (which is so difficult to do considering the how tough it is to make a new character or a success, or re-energise an old one).

I couldn't care less about any of the Image characters from the first wave 10 years down the track and that in itself is a major failure.

Nah, actually I think it's valid. For the comic book and pop culture buying public at the times, proportionately speaking; many of the characters from the 90's boom have been galvanized into the public schema of superheroes. Unfortunately, Spawn is one of them, as has become Wolverine. So, partialing out for current to past ratio, certain characters can be noted in the same breadth as Superman and Bats.

dave · Post by **dave** » Fri Oct 06, 2006 9:52 am

carnage on the cover of 281 and while's work on x-men pretty much got me back into comics... i liked fitzroy-he was a cool villain, and the guys that came with bishop, malcolm and randall were cool too-they shoulda had all three of them in x-men 2099 and then that book could h ave actually been good.