The Comic Book Thread

I read MAD. Not really a comic book now, but was the stuff back in the day from reading some of me dad's collection.

I have a nearly complete collection of MAD magazinzes from about 1982 to 1997. I got a subscription when I was a kid and just kept it going for all those years. I loved MAD. It's what inspired me to draw. I always thought I'd be an artist for MAD magazine.

You have a favourite artist from MAD at all? I think mine's Tom Bunk.

I was watching Superfriends as I am very prone to do on the Boomerang network the other night. In the opening of "Challenge of the Superfriends" they distinctly show Superman, Wonder Woman and Aquaman flying away together. The problem is WW and the Aq don't fly. Just thought I'd point that out. I was pretty upset when I noticed it.


Cheesy rice, I need a hobby.

EvyMetal wrote:

You have a favourite artist from MAD at all? I think mine's Tom Bunk.

Don Martin, Jack Davis, Al Jaffee, Antonio Phobias, Sergio Aragones, (sp?) etc., etc. All those classic artists from the 70's and 80's were an inspiration to me. Don Martin's work was goofy and off-the-wall and Jack Davis' movie-spoofs were brilliant. His charicatures and line-work were always spot-on.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

EvyMetal wrote:

You have a favourite artist from MAD at all? I think mine's Tom Bunk.

Don Martin, Jack Davis, Al Jaffee, Antonio Phobias, Sergio Aragones, (sp?) etc., etc. All those classic artists from the 70's and 80's were an inspiration to me. Don Martin's work was goofy and off-the-wall and Jack Davis' movie-spoofs were brilliant. His charicatures and line-work were always spot-on.

I was also a faithful MAD reader for much of the late '70s into the early '80s. I remember my first issue of it had a parody of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" in it (which was what, '77? '78?) and if memory serves the cover price was a mere sixty cents. My brother and I were immediately hooked on that mag; not only did we buy it on the newsstand every month, we also accumulated a pretty decent stack of back issues from yard sales, comic shops, flea markets, etc. I wish I still had'em.

Don Martin was THE MAN! I loved the floppy feet his characters always had, not to mention his bizarro sound effects! I had tons of paperback collections of his stuff when I was a kid. My favorite was his superhero character, "Captain Klutz."

Sergio Aragones is a fantastic cartoonist too. If you like his MAD stuff, check out "Groo The Wanderer," which is a long running comic book series he did for several publishers throughout the 80s featuring a stupid "Conan" style warrior and his faithful canine sidekick.

I recently looked thru an issue of MAD in a drugstore for the first time in many years and was shocked at how different it looks now. Everything's in color, the pages are slick paper, there are advertisements (!! ... William Gaines would be rolling over in his grave if he knew about that!)... and I didn't recognize any of the artists/writers' names. I suppose that was inevitable, as most of the old guard guys are probably retired or dead. I know Don Martin passed away quite a few years ago, and if Jack Davis is even still alive, he's gotta be "up there" in age.

Quote :

Don Martin was THE MAN! I loved the floppy feet his characters always had, not to mention his bizarro sound effects! I had tons of paperback collections of his stuff when I was a kid. My favorite was his superhero character, "Captain Klutz."

I had a buncha those too.

Quote :

I recently looked thru an issue of MAD in a drugstore for the first time in many years and was shocked at how different it looks now. Everything's in color, the pages are slick paper, there are advertisements (!! ... William Gaines would be rolling over in his grave if he knew about that!)... and I didn't recognize any of the artists/writers' names.

That was one of the reasons I stopped reading it. It was only a matter of time before they needed to include ads, but also it seemed that at the time, the magazine was competing with shows like "South Park" and was getting more disgusting and crass. It wasn't funny satire anymore, just gross-out humor.

For the low, low price of $94.50, this can be yours....

http://www.amazon.com/MADs-Greatest-Artists-Completely-Martin/dp/0762430508/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202313662&sr=8-1

(Drools profusely)

The wife would kill me if I dropped that much coin for it though.

If I pick your name out of the hat during the annual gift exchange this Christmas, that is yours, FF.

spectrefate wrote:

If I pick your name out of the hat during the annual gift exchange this Christmas, that is yours, FF.

Sweet!

spectrefate wrote:

For the low, low price of $94.50, this can be yours....

[url=http://www.amazon.com/MADs-Greatest-Artists-Completely-Martin/dp/0762430508/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202313662&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/MADs-Greatest-Artists-Completely-Martin/dp/0762430508/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202313662&sr=8-1[/quote[/url]]

Man, that is pretty sweet.

One when I was a child I liked comics like Spiderman, etc...

After growing up I like only the japanese comics...

Dunno if anyone besides me will even care about this, but it's a shame...


Howard the Duck creator Gerber dies

By KATHLEEN HENNESSEY, Associated Press Writer
Fri Feb 15, 9:50 PM ET

LAS VEGAS - Steve Gerber, the comic book writer and creator whose signature character was the alienated, cigar-chomping Howard the Duck, has died. He was 60. Gerber, who also co-created Marvel's "Omega the Unknown" and created the 1980s animated series "Thundarr the Barbarian," suffered from pulmonary fibrosis.He died Sunday in a Las Vegas hospital from complications related to the disease, said Mary Skrenes, a friend and writing partner on "Omega" and other comics. The "Howard the Duck" series became a fast hit after its January 1976 debut on Marvel and remains a cult favorite. Its lead, a disgruntled duck from another universe with a bombshell sidekick named Beverly "Thunder-Thighs" Switzler, was hailed as both smart and subversive.
The adjectives could be applied to Gerber, Skrenes said. "Howard was his voice. Steve was able to do social commentary and
sort of sneak it up on you," she said. "Sometimes it was obvious what the message was there, and other times is was really subtle because it took place in a mystical realm or outer space."
Or in Cleveland, where Howard was a lone talking duck "trapped in a world he never made!" according to the comic's tagline.
Gerber split with Marvel in 1978 amid a dispute over the rights to the character. He sued the company and settled out of court.
Skrenes said Gerber was not closely involved in George Lucas' 1986 "Howard the Duck" film, which fared poorly at the box office.
Gerber also worked in television as a story editor on "G.I. Joe" and "Dungeon & Dragons."
More recently, Gerber and Skrenes created "Hard Time" for DC Comics, the story of a 15-year-old boy convicted in a Columbine-like school shooting who discovers he has special powers. Gerber was working on a revival of the DC Comics' Dr. Fate series at the time of his death. "He was the kind of guy people would give an old, moribund idea to and he would come up with a fresh idea for it," said Mark Evanier, a friend.
Gerber was born Sept. 20, 1947, in St. Louis and received a bachelor's degree from St. Louis University, before joining Marvel as an assistant editor in 1972. He is survived by his mother, Bernice; his daughter, Samantha Voll; and three siblings.

Pfft! Nerds!

Fat Freddy wrote:

Dunno if anyone besides me will even care about this, but it's a shame...


Howard the Duck creator Gerber dies

By KATHLEEN HENNESSEY, Associated Press Writer
Fri Feb 15, 9:50 PM ET

LAS VEGAS - Steve Gerber, the comic book writer and creator whose signature character was the alienated, cigar-chomping Howard the Duck, has died. He was 60. Gerber, who also co-created Marvel's "Omega the Unknown" and created the 1980s animated series "Thundarr the Barbarian," suffered from pulmonary fibrosis.He died Sunday in a Las Vegas hospital from complications related to the disease, said Mary Skrenes, a friend and writing partner on "Omega" and other comics. The "Howard the Duck" series became a fast hit after its January 1976 debut on Marvel and remains a cult favorite. Its lead, a disgruntled duck from another universe with a bombshell sidekick named Beverly "Thunder-Thighs" Switzler, was hailed as both smart and subversive.
The adjectives could be applied to Gerber, Skrenes said. "Howard was his voice. Steve was able to do social commentary and
sort of sneak it up on you," she said. "Sometimes it was obvious what the message was there, and other times is was really subtle because it took place in a mystical realm or outer space."
Or in Cleveland, where Howard was a lone talking duck "trapped in a world he never made!" according to the comic's tagline.
Gerber split with Marvel in 1978 amid a dispute over the rights to the character. He sued the company and settled out of court.
Skrenes said Gerber was not closely involved in George Lucas' 1986 "Howard the Duck" film, which fared poorly at the box office.
Gerber also worked in television as a story editor on "G.I. Joe" and "Dungeon & Dragons."
More recently, Gerber and Skrenes created "Hard Time" for DC Comics, the story of a 15-year-old boy convicted in a Columbine-like school shooting who discovers he has special powers. Gerber was working on a revival of the DC Comics' Dr. Fate series at the time of his death. "He was the kind of guy people would give an old, moribund idea to and he would come up with a fresh idea for it," said Mark Evanier, a friend.
Gerber was born Sept. 20, 1947, in St. Louis and received a bachelor's degree from St. Louis University, before joining Marvel as an assistant editor in 1972. He is survived by his mother, Bernice; his daughter, Samantha Voll; and three siblings.

I saw this story and thought of you Freddy.

Anybody got $42,800 laying around that they don't know what to do with??

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260224434760

I have a box of comic books in the upstairs closet that I plan to get rid of sometime...

Lots of original TICK comic books, and loads of one off oddities....I'll knock together a list for you geeks sometime....

I mean geeks with alot of love....

I dont really read comics that much but I have a friend that is pretty into it, out of the stuff he has let me borrow I would say Johah Hex is probably my favorate hero next to spidey.

I bought em and read em when I was a child (like 5-9) Iron Man mostly and some Spidey and the Bat. I collected em when I was about 20-22 years old but I got rid of everything. had about 12 or so longboxes and some nice old XMen and some expensive first appearances. I was always more into collecting cards (football mostly) and have recently stoped that and started to dissolve a 20 year collection. I have already sold off all of my 1950/1960's sets and star rookies and most of my Patriots collection.

Deadpool is pretty cool also, I love how he knows there is a comic book about him and how he always makes suggestions on what should be included.

Diggin' up an oldie here... over the rainy weekend there was nothin' good on TV so I pulled out one of my boxes of "leftover" comics (i.e. the favorites I saved when I sold off my collection years ago) for the first time in quite a while and spent the evening reading thru several dozen of 'em. Steve Gerber's "Howard the Duck" is still brilliant as it ever was, and of course "The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers" still rule.

Man, sometimes I miss comic collecting.

Yeah I miss collecting alot as well. I think I'm going to add my comic collection to my website soon. That will take a bit o' time methinks.

I used to collect comics but around 1987, I just gave up and like you Freddy I actually read them. Recently I have been catching up with some old stories, when I take my daughter to library I have checked out comic book graphic novels and reprints in graphic novel format from DC and Marvel. It is interesting and at time how much they have changed all their characters, my favorite characters were Spider-Man, Superman, Green Lantern, Justice League, but my favorite was Batman. Great I just outted myself as a geek!!!

manny wrote:

Great I just outted myself as a geek!!!

No shame in that. Once a geek, always a geek. Welcome to the club.