tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post35885966158386767..comments2024-03-19T10:41:35.976-05:00Comments on Bronze Age Babies: Thing 1 and Thing 2: Fantastic Four #162Doughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04248324005584963229noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-51024220157271120612011-08-16T22:32:46.627-05:002011-08-16T22:32:46.627-05:00I know what you mean, Doug, regarding revisiting c...I know what you mean, Doug, regarding revisiting childhood favorites and finding some of them a bit silly. Then again, there are also those Bronze Age mags I didn't quite appreciate or entirely missed at the time but found later and really loved. This includes the Moench-Gulacy Master of Kung Fu -- I only latched onto the series after Gulacy was long gone, aside from a few covers, but was really bowled over when years later when I managed to get them. It's a travesty they can't be collected due to copyright problems over Fu Manchu! Gerber's Man-Thing series was another one that was hit and miss for me as a kid but which I grew to love in my adult years -- yeah, not every ish was a classic, but a lot of great stuff there. <br />Of course, people do have different tastes, so things some of us consider classics others will view as pure drivel, and vice versa. Still, fun to relive this stuff, thrill to the occasional touches of artistic brilliance and laugh at the most egregious examples of silliness.Fred W. Hillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07602124919964053532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-66712765761768574792011-08-15T18:18:34.234-05:002011-08-15T18:18:34.234-05:00Doug, that's one thing I've noticed about ...Doug, that's one thing I've noticed about revisiting some of these stories that I remember fondly.....I see a lot of things differently compared to when I was eleven or twelve years old. <br /><br />This was also around the time when I was able to actually complete a few story arcs by buying consecutive issues....shortly before my carrier stopped carrying comic books. <br /><br />During this time, I was not only reading the current FF, but also going back and catching up on the Lee/Kirby FF in Marvel's Greatest Comics. It was lots of fun, but I did enjoy the oldies more.<br /><br />DarpyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-40571567327252037582011-08-15T13:40:56.963-05:002011-08-15T13:40:56.963-05:00IIRC, this story really goes into cuckooland when ...IIRC, this story really goes into cuckooland when Gaard removes his mask and we see a familiar face. And how is the Nexus different from the Negative Zone? They're drawn the same, at any rate.<br /><br />Gaard seems like he should be a third stringer on Alpha Flight's third string.Lemnocnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-73128183693345160332011-08-15T11:58:16.399-05:002011-08-15T11:58:16.399-05:00One of the things Karen and I agonize over when we...One of the things Karen and I agonize over when we prepare to do a comic review, or arc review, is being overly-critical. I promoted this present storyline to her, largely from my fond memories of it as a child -- this was the first "complete" FF story I can recall buying myself. So the nostalgia factor was running high when I suggested this. That being said, it's really, really difficult to approach these stories with that same youthful innocence.<br /><br />And that frustrates us. We'd all like to experience the magic as it once was, but let's face it: reading a comic again, even after years have passed, it akin to watching a film or hearing a song multiple times. It's just not going to be the same. And looking at these stories through the lens of an adult? It just complicates matters, because I'd really like to love these books as I once did. So when I come across something like Thor Annual #5, which we reviewed last month, I'm just giddy for it. Holds up great!<br /><br />So I appreciate some of your dissenting opinions -- that makes me happy that some can still love on these stories as a kid would. Maybe I need to alter my perceptions more. We shall see.<br /><br />Thanks as always for tossing out your two cents!<br /><br />DougDoughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04248324005584963229noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-1484095517748555732011-08-15T11:04:51.754-05:002011-08-15T11:04:51.754-05:00I haven't read this one, and based on your rev...I haven't read this one, and based on your review I probably won't. I generally love Bronze Age FF. But this story is likely one reason comics historians often say "read the Lee-Kirby stories, then skip to Byrne". <br /><br />This FF saga also reminds me of another Thomas story, the Kang-Zarrko Tomorrow War, from Marvel Team-Up #9-11. That's a fun story, but it's one that doesn't make a lot of sense (even by Bronze Age comic standards)the second time you read it.J.A. Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15800901321134394272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-41522771634984991912011-08-15T10:54:36.484-05:002011-08-15T10:54:36.484-05:00I think I like this story more now than I did when...I think I like this story more now than I did when I first read it. That's probably nostalgia, exacerbated by the fact that I still have all 4 of these issues when so much of the rest of my comic book collection has been sold to pay for colllege or been misplaced or whatever.<br /><br />My first issue of Fantastic Four was #165, but within a year or so I had almost every issue from #150 on, picking them up at used book stores, 2 for 25 cents (mostly in F to VF condition). I remember seeing the fan reaction to Gaard (in the letters page) before I actually saw Gaard, but I don't know if I would have found the idea so ridiculous on my own because there's so much CRAZEE stuff in the comics that it's often pretty easy to just slide right over it - especially when you're 12.<br /><br />It does get a bit confusing (and I definitely remember thinking those little diagrams were pretty cool), but that is some awesome Buckler/Sinnott art.Hoosier Xhttp://mushtown.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-56336850725367847722011-08-15T09:34:59.971-05:002011-08-15T09:34:59.971-05:00I can easily figure out how Roy (or Rich) came up ...I can easily figure out how Roy (or Rich) came up with the idea for Gaard -- attending a hockey game and suddenly going, "oooh, that goalie's get-up looks just like a super-hero costume! We gotta come up with a storyline to use that in!" But, yeah, pretty ridiculous. Kirby could get away with it on the Silver Surfer, but even his Black Racer -- a ski demon! -- was just too silly, and here Roy & Rich manage to top that. Oh, well, I'm sure Roy didn't dream that fans would clamor for more Gaard stories. <br />Otherwise, those little charts actually helped my 13 year old self keep track of what was going on in this story-line, so the complexity didn't overwhelm me. This is really a mishmash of genres, with elements of sword & sorcery, corporate skullduggery, dopplegangers, alien invasions, time travel and even hockey. Sort of fun in a way but not really one of Roy's best.Fred W. Hillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07602124919964053532noreply@blogger.com