Blue Ribbon Digest -- Spider-Man in the Bronze Age

Doug: Back again with another opportunity for readers to put together their very own Blue Ribbon Digest featuring a Bronze Age mag. Previously we've had a bit of fun with the Avengers, the X-Men, and Captain America. This time around, though, I'm going to open it up a bit and feature a character that appeared in multiple magazines during the Bronze Age. Yep, Spidey could be found in multiple slots on the ol' spinner rack some 35-40 years ago. So today it's all fair game: Amazing Spider-Man, Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man, Marvel Team-Up... shoot, if you so desire, you can choose an issue of Spidey Super Stories!

Doug: This is quite challenging, as it forces us almost to consider specific eras that center around storylines or creators we loved. In the past, the only real run I voted for was the Magneto/Savage Land epic for the All-New, All-Different X-Men. But for the most part, we've jumped around and chosen our issues from across the ages (and included Annuals, too!). The Spider-Man juggernaut that was rolling in the 70s and 80s certainly gives us a whole lot of fodder, doesn't it?

Doug: So I'm going to cop out here at the beginning, and largely defer to our readers. However, I'll picture a favorite story that introduced (to the mainstream, at least) a favorite character. And isn't this a great cover? Have fun today!

Blue Ribbon Digest - Captain America

Doug: Hi, friends  -- back again with another installment of the do-it-yourself Blue Ribbon Digest. Previously we've given you the assignment of choosing 7-8 issues of the Avengers or the X-Men to stuff inside one of these handy little trade paperbacks. Our only requirement was that the stories fall in between the years 1970 and 1985. In those two posts, some of our readers chose complete or near-complete storylines, while others did more of a scattershot approach. And even within that latter strategy, our readers went with a sampling of artists, or of villains. Today we repeat the drill, but focusing on the Sentinel of Liberty.

Doug: I was not a regular reader of Cap's mag in the Bronze Age, even though he was one of my favorite characters. I really enjoyed him in the Avengers at the time, but have had a pleasure catching up on some of his solo adventures in the past many years. I had friends who had some Captain Americas, so I was somewhat aware of the "Secret Empire" and "Nomad" arcs. A particular favorite cover of mine featured the Golden Archer getting a drop on Cap. Of course, those of you who know the issue of which I speak (if not, I decided to use it as my sample issue, below) will fondly recall the climax with one of the best rubber mask reveals of all time. I keep telling Karen that whenever we ride off into the sunset our last post is going to be a compilation of all of our favorite rubber mask scenes!

Doug: So by clicking here you can get to the Cap page on the Comic Book Database and scroll down until you find the time period that frames this exercise. From there you'll be able to get to covers, creators, and lists of villains lurking within a given issue. Have a blast -- I know we appreciate hearing everyone's suggestions.

Blue Ribbon Digest - the X-Men

Doug: We're back again with another opportunity for our readers to choose 7-8 issues of a beloved Bronze Age title to fill the covers of our own custom "Blue Ribbon Digest". If you missed our turn on the Avengers about 10 days ago, we charged readers with the task of choosing a handful of stories from the parameters of our interest -- 1970-1985. The stories need not be complete; some went that route, while others decided to get a nice sampling of writers and artists, characters and events. It's really up to you how you want to go about this.

Doug: I was giving this some thought ahead of writing today's post, considering what I thought was essential X-reading from that period. I think most of us would agree that Giant-Size X-Men #1 all the way through X-Men #143 is pretty darned essential; but what would give a reader a true appreciation of that era in the team's history? Whereas the last time we did this I would have used a smattering of Avengers issues, this time I think I'm going to zero in on one storyline and take your pulse on that.

Doug: If one were to open up a book of this sort and be faced with X-Men #111 and read consecutive issues through #117 I don't think you could lose. While many regard the "Dark Phoenix Saga" as the zenith of the Claremont/Byrne/Austin collaboration, and I would not disagree, I'd offer this run of seven issues as my X-Men primer. Think about it -- classic villains in Mesmero, Magneto, and Sauron, some real growth in characterization for all the team members, tie-ins between the current team and the original five, and concluding with a story featuring Professor X. Oh -- did I mention the art is spectacular? What's not to like?

Blue Ribbon Digest - the Avengers

Doug: Pictured at right is a copy of one of those prized magazines from many a Bronze Ager's youth -- the Blue Ribbon Digest, as published by DC Comics. If you look closely at the text above the book's title logo, you can see that the book ran 148 pages. Given the general length of comics at DC, we're talking approximately 7-8 comics contained between these covers. We're going to use this concept to launch a new series of posts here at the BAB.

So your mission today, should you choose to accept it, is to pick seven or eight issues of the Avengers from within the general parameters of the Bronze Age (1970-85). To assist you, if you click here you'll be taken to issues of the Avengers indexed on the Comic Book Database. Scroll down until you get to the period we're using and you can see the issue number, title of the story within, and the cover date. If you click on a particular issue, of course the creative teams, guest-stars, and villains du jour will be listed.

You don't necessarily have to worry about including complete stories. For example, an issue I know I'd include would be Avengers #161, which is the first part of the four-chapter "Bride of Ultron" storyline. It could be considered a done-in-one, though, as it does have a pretty definitive ending (if you call a big hole in the floor, with the unconscious bodies of superheroes laying about an ending). While the rest of the arc is great throughout, I'm not sure I'd include those in my Blue Ribbon Digest given that I can only pick a maximum of eight books. Remember -- sometimes these compilations gave the reader a broad sampling of a particular book. And hey -- if you decide you want to spotlight a particular artist or spectrum of artists, or villains in the same manner, give us a head's up. The denser readers among us may appreciate the method in your madness!

So let's see your list -- which Avengers stories or single issues will make the cut? Here's another that I'd include:

Doug: By the way, I am 48 years old today, and I could not think of a better way to spend my birthday than talking with friends about the Avengers (my favorite comic since I was six years old). If I receive any comic-related love from my family, I will be sure to let you all know.