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Post by Valentine Smith on Nov 6, 2010 7:23:22 GMT -5
One of my favorite superhero writers of the last 15 years or so is, hands down, Mr. Mark Waid. While very little of what he's done is "earth shatteringly great", nearly everything I've read is very good, and he has a knack for telling the right stories for the right characters.
Some quick recommendations (for you, CAM!)
Kingdom Come. Absolutely his masterpiece. The Alex Ross art doesn't hurt, either.
The Flash. In the mid 90s, Waid did an extended run on Flash, which is probably the finest stretch by any writer on the character ever. A chunk of it has been collected in trades, but by no means all of it. Luckily for you, the stuff that hasn't been collected can be grabbed in dollar bins at conventions pretty easily.
Captain America. Around the same time as his stint on Flash, Waid did 30 or so issues of Captain America, Terrific stuff. Nearly perfect. With cool, cartoony Ron Garney artwork, it reads like Captain America: The Animated Series.
Fantastic Four. Probably my 2nd favorite FF creative team after Lee/Kirby is Waid/Wieringo. I've only read the first volume of this, but it's everything you'd want out of the FF.
more as I think of it...
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Post by crazy_asian_man on Nov 7, 2010 20:16:59 GMT -5
Ah! Thanks Valentine! I did read "Kingdom Come" and loved it. No wonder Waid's name sounded so familiar. (I'm getting old) Though--- yeah, I still hated enough of his Legion of Superheroes reboot so much that I quit 4 or 5 issues into it. But---it was more his choices of what to keep and what to change about the Legion that made me almost throw the book against the wall. So, I am more than a little precious about the Legion, admittedly.  Will definitely keep an eye out for bargains on the Flash/ Captain America / Fantastic Four stuff when I'm in the shops (I go every few months or so). Thanks again!  |
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Post by Valentine Smith on Nov 8, 2010 10:44:21 GMT -5
I didn't mind his Legion reboot, but I agree it didn't work. I thought it was an interesting concept, the idea of the Legion as a movement rather than a club. But, if you didn't dig it after 4 or 5 issues, I can safely say it didn't get much better after that. I'm much more satisfied with what Levitz is doing right now with the Legion!
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Post by crazy_asian_man on Nov 8, 2010 18:55:17 GMT -5
Levitz on Legion? Oh, heck YEAH! I was a BIG fan of his work on the Legion--- definitely one of those situations where you can tell a writer is putting his heart and soul into a book for years- and left mostly alone to do his thing.
Color me giantly shocked when he became vice-president of DC comics for years- then 'stepped down' to do Legion again! That makes me wonder if his love for writing made him take the pay cut or what, but it's nice to see him jump back in. Hopefully his former position at DC means that it won't just be a short six month run or whatnot before jumping ship.
(Though to be fair, I attended Wondercon & met Steve Englehart, who was one of the main writers at Marvel comics after Stan Lee stepped down & he remarked how different the business is now versus when he was writing comix in the 70's and 80's--- back then, as long as a book sold, you were left alone. Now, apparently, at both DC/Marvel it's done by committee and everything has several editors before it can see the light of day. *sigh*)
(Aside: I was giantly surprised when Geoff Johns came out & credited Levitz's work on the Legion as being his main inspiration for writing.... but no wonder, then, that Johns' tried to get Levitz' version of the legion back on track.)
It's also too bad that Levitz's legion isn't getting the omnibus hardback edition of sorts- I assume you've read his old stuff on Legion? I'm looking forward to the "Great Darkness saga" hardback that's supposed to be out this year.
Anyhow- as far as comics go, I actually wait for the paperback or hardback most of the time. $3.99 or $2.99 for one issue that has only one part of a story is a bit much. The trades make it a little more worth it (though I hate it when there are two page art spreads and the binding makes it impossible to open the book! *sigh*)
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Post by Valentine Smith on Nov 10, 2010 9:34:31 GMT -5
Well, if you like Levitz's old Legion stuff, you'll dig the new stuff. It started with...
Geoff Johns "The Lightning Saga"
Geoff Johns' "Superman And The Legion"
Geoff Johns "Legion of Three Worlds"
then there were some Legion backups in Adventure comics by Levitz, which I imagine are reprinted in the first volume of the new Legion trade.
And plus, the last 6 or 7 issues of Adventure Comics have been Superboy and the Legion: The Early Years stories, which kinda kick ass.
I'm pleased with all of this.
Out of curiosity, did you like Waid's PREVIOUS Legion reboot? The post-Zero Hour version? Where Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning took serious control for awhile? I thought quite a bit of that was rather charming.
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Post by crazy_asian_man on Nov 10, 2010 23:55:29 GMT -5
LOVED the first two Legion books by Johns- but the third with the 'bad Superboy'-- HATED the villain and was severely disappointed. If George Perez wanted to go nuts in drawing all three versions of the legion, they shouldn't have made it such a short miniseries imo. But, despite the art, it's the only Johns' legion story that made me groan and give me a headache. Some funny bits, but overall, too complicated for its own good. About the current Levitz stuff- digging it! I'm definitely checking out the Adventure comics Early Stories stuff.... but half of me is hesitant to wait it out to see if there's a trade paperback to save $$$. ((Aside: Do you have any of the archives? I know that they're not cheap, but the archives are a wonderful way to get the expensive OLD OLD books... or the 'Essential' b&w reprints.... though it's hard to view those old books in b&w I admit, wish there were some middle alternative available)) In any case- ah....I have a friend that RAVED about the Abnett version of the legion..... but as of yet, I don't think that they have any trades of that era. On the lookout, though.... Aside from Abnett (who I haven't read yet) As far as I'm concerned, though, only Levitz and Johns had (mostly) the right take on what elements to keep/leave behind on the classic Legion.... including the fun elements, something that isn't always taken into account with the other Legion writers... Anyhow, nice to run into a fellow Legion fan here! |
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Post by Valentine Smith on Nov 11, 2010 0:38:49 GMT -5
Dude. Huge Legion fan, here Dare we make another thread?
I generally agree with you about Legion Of Three Worlds. I just hate Superboy Prime. Passionately. He's an annoying character.
It's like (if you're into wrestling) you know a heel sucks when you don't love to hate him...you just fucking hate him and want him to get legitimately injured or go away or whatever.
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Post by crazy_asian_man on Nov 11, 2010 12:04:40 GMT -5
Maybe we should make another thread, if only to entertain ourselves! ;D The coolest thing about the Legion imo is that it (was) the long legacy of CONSISTENT (mostly) added facts to its history from its origins in the 50's (I believe)--- people got married, technology changed, the 30th century changed--- but most of the time, the changes STUCK with the series--- whereas with Superman comics, no changes ever were deemed permanent. When the first reboots started (I think when Levitz' left), they really seemed to kill the main thing that made the Legion so special. Previous artists/writers always seemed to accept/ embrace whatever contributions the previous creators put to the legion..... But with reboots, the changes feel so arbitrary and lazy, it drives me nuts. The only thing 'good' about the Legion of Three Worlds is that it seems to put (more/less) Levitz' version of the legion back to the forefront--- SORTOF. To be honest, I'm still somewhat confused about exactly where Johns' legion picks up.....after the Legion world got destroyed in the Legion series #4 (with Giffen?) Or "Final Night"? Ugh. I'm rolling with it, and just happy enough that Levitz is there on the book now and hoping it'll all click into place. (Assuming that the early days are sortof- Levitz's own 'reboot' of sorts) I can't agree with you more about "Superboy-Prime". Johns' loves that character. He could have been a fine supporting character, but not a main baddy. It also makes no sense to me why he would be as powerful as he had become. Hopefully Prime is the only bad choice by Johns. Will see. In the meantime, "Long Live the Legion"! (You did buy the gold ring when it came out, no?)
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