Category: Comics & Comic Books

The Hulk was a popular character, but his original comic only lasted six issue. Still, he’s become such an iconic character (sharing top billing in the classic Marvel pantheon with Captain America and Spider-man) that the various characters — Hulk, his bookish alter-ego Robert Bruce Banner, “Thunderbolt” Ross, Betty Ross, even Rick Jones — introduced in this first issue are (even when dead) still key members of the Marvel population. Lee and Kirby did another fine job with crafting this Jekyll/Hyde character, and the battle of the inner beast against the power of will and intellect still reverberates almost forty years later — and have produced multiple cartoons, a popular television show, and, coming soon to a theater near you, a major motion picture.

As a student of history, I’m leery of anything so recent being voted on as an all-time best. Recent memory — and current taste — rarely equate to lasting, classic value. When, in 2000, Marvel announced its “Ultimate” line — a series of comics based on Marvel’s popular titles, but rewritten, reforged, purged of all that annoying continuity that was choking the X-line to death (and, some thought, driving off readers) — I was dubious. It sounded like a gimmick. And even though some very good talent was lined up … well, I really didn’t need to add any more comics to my stack. Okay, so all that aside, I may have made a mistake. This story — written by Mark Millar, drawn by Adam Kubert and Art Thibert, is crisp, fresh, lean, and quite enjoyable. I don’t know that I’ll add this to my pull list (I’m still kind of leery of the non-continuity sort of elseworld that the Ultimate line represents), but it’s good stuff nonetheless. The question is — in forty years, will anyone still be voting for this as one of the all-time greats (assuming anyone is still buying comics as we know them in forty years)? I don’t know. Somehow … I doubt it.

This came during Frank Miller’s second run on the title, when I had dropped Daredevil, never to pick it up as a regular title again (the incessently dark noir tone finally got to me). That having been said, this is an effective, well-crafted story showing how a betrayal lets the Kingpin slowly destroy Matt Murdock, Daredevil’s secret identity, by slowly, inexorably destroying bits and pieces of Murdock’s life. Art by David Mazzucchelli is almost as good as Miller’s own. For those who follow DD, I could see how this tale would rank in nearly the Top 10 (though I’d probably put one of Miller’s Elektra issues in its place).

This is the follow-up to the previously the 16th-ranked issue, X-Men #25. Wolvie, his adamantium ripped out by Magneto, faces death of both body and mind. In some ways, this issue is worlds better than the claustrophic, continuity-cluttered mess that the X-Men issue was. It’s about human emotion, loyalty, brotherhood — and, ultimately, it represented a stripping-away from Wolverine of the baggage that being an X-Man entailed. By the close of the double-sized issue, Wolvie is leaving the Mansion, cutting his ties, and going off to discover what his life really now means. Not a bad tale at all.

Though the intro text indicates that Wolverine was from the beginning part of a Marvel plan to create a Canadian Avengers, there was nothing to set this Wein/Trimpe tale apart from any number of other lackluster, goofy opponents that were thrown at the Hulk, in endless succession, until Peter David took over the book some years later. Nonetheless, this issue is worthy of mention, if only because it represents the introduction of one of the most famous Marvel characters of the last three decades (yes, do the math). Sure, the general public knows Spider-Man, Captain America, even the Fantastic Four. But Wolverine has probably appeared in more comics than all of them combined over the intervening years, at least once he’d been polished by Chris Claremont. Still, aside from his mask, Wein and Trimpe’s Wolverine is recognizeable as the character he would eventually become, and though he eventually vanishes from the tale before the end, it’s still a decent introduction.

According to the intro, it was Peter David at a Marvel retreat who commented that Magneto could probably magnetically rip the adamantium from Wolverine’s skeleton. That comment led to the climactic, overwrought battle in this oversized issue, filled with meaningless sound and fury, and ending with Wolverine crippled as described, and Magneto’s brain shut down by an outraged Xavier. Ho-hum. Both storylines led to others, and, eight years later, neither need have happened for the present continuity to work. Oh, well. For all that, it is probably a big enough event (coming near the pinnicle of the Tulip Mania which was the X-franchise) to be worth having in this position.

If you like Spidey, this is a powerful tale, toward the end of the Lee/Ditko era, focusing on the personal willpower and emotional strength of Peter Parker, as he struggles against all odds to get the medicine his Aunt May needs back to the hospital. As such, it’s a worthy part of this collection. ‘Nuff said.

Todd McFarlane cashes in on his art fame to both write and draw Spidey. Ho-hum. Lots of cool McFarlane spider-webbing, but nothing that made me think this was anything more special than the other issues already described. This title was probably most noteworthy for being the then-highwater mark on cover variants. Over one million copies were sold … which, of course, makes its collectors value nearly zilch. Fittingly.

The Avengers were to DC’s Justice League was Spider-Man was to Superman — something grittier, more human, less predictable, something that had — well, if not real characters, than certainly soap opera characters to the DC cardboard cut-outs. This issue is filled with silliness — the Hulk hiding out as a clown, Ant-Man’s sexism, Thor and Loki’s goofy rivalry (“Bah! Defeating Don Blake means nothing to me! It would be a hollow victory!”), Iron Man’s pseudo-science (transistors!), and, of course, Rick Jones and the Teen Brigade. But it’s all good fun, enjoyable characters, clean (if occasionally screwball) storytelling, and even if it’s not clear what they are “avenging,” it’s another early masterwork by Lee and Kirby.

If Avengers #1 was clean, heroic fun, Uncanny X-Men #350 was convoluted, miasmic melodrama. Steven Seagle picks up on Claremont’s overcomplexities to finally reveal Gambit’s deep, dark secret — that he worked for Mr. Sinister and helped facilitate the Marvel Mutant Massacre (which most readers had mercifully forgotten by then, and which is even more unspoken of today). Guilty consciences and recriminations ensue, and Gambit and Rogue’s nascent romance bites the dust. The intro by Bob Greenberger hits the nail on the head (if unintentionally) by pointing out that, “compared with many of the other stories that earned their way into the top 25, this story is overly complex, showing how far comic book storytelling had progressed.” How far indeed?
It’s interesting to note that, while all of the characters in the 1963 Avengers are still around today in one form or another, most of the cast in the 1997 Uncanny X-Men are no longer around. Spat and Grovel, the ostensible villains of the piece, might as well never have existed. Trish Tilby, Beast’s beau, is out of the picture. Joseph, the Magneto clone (or whatever his origin was) is long gone. Psylocke is dead (at least for the moment). Maggot is vanished. And while the founding of the Avengers still reverberates nearly forty years later through the Marvel Universe, the events of this whole issue were buried a dozen times over in bigger and ever-more-roccoco “events” and “sagas” in the X-line. Today, nothing that happened or was revealed in this issue matters, really, in the Marvel universe, which is why including it as one of the 25 Greatest is, really, pretty darned goofy.
Of the Top 100, 25 of the 26-100 range are Uncanny X-Men issues, an amazing achievement. I just can’t believe this was ranked higher than all of those were.

The issue after the issue where Gwen Stacy died. This whole saga made a huge impact on comics readership, Spider-man, and Marvel. As noted earlier, I’m not much of a Spider-fan, but Gerry Conway’s story (with classic Gil Kane art) is a moving chapter in Peter Parker’s life, and truly deserving of the ranking.

Though this is one of several dozen (seemingly) “the Origin of Captain America” issues, it’s another fine Lee/Kirby creation (Kirby’s last issue on Cap), and so has a power and glory and even a poignancy all of its own. Good stuff.

So … three out of four. Not bad.

I was in college, just starting off my comics collecting, and Claremont & Byrne’s Uncanny X-Men was the unquestioned “Save the Best for Last” in my stack, and this was one of the top issues when these guys were at the top of their form. It was also the beginning of the “X-Men Future History” mess which eventually destroyed the X-titles and Claremont’s rep. But in these days, it was fresh and new. Sentinels have taken over the US? A desperate attempt by 2013 versions of the X-Men (incuding a mysterious “Rachel” and a good-guy Magneto) to send Kate Pryde’s consciousness back to the day when it all went bad — when the New Brotherhood of Evil Mutants assassinated Sen. Robert Kelly? Good stuff, scary stuff, innovative stuff, and even if it was sowing the seeds of destruction (and plot cliches for decades to come), it had me convinced that the X-Men were where it was at.

Lee and Kirby at their best, too. This issue wrapped up the Inhumans’ first appearance (complete with the Great Barrier), introduced the Silver Surfer (sans trunks), and, on the last page, the Big G himself. Yup, this one deserves the big accolades. I’m just surprised it only came in at #24, unless there was a “young whippersnapper” bias in the polling.

Okay, maybe it’s time for this “young whippersnapper” to draw the line, or maybe it’s just that I’ve never been a Spidey fan, or a Steve Ditko fan (too cartoony, except perhaps in Dr. Strange), for that matter, but aside from being an early Spidey adventure (the first after Amazing Fantasy #15, his introduction), I really don’t see much here to get all that excited about. Jonah rants, Peter angsts, the FF (complete with a lumpy Thing) make a gratuitous guest appearance — and, oh, the incredibly memorable introduction of … the Chameleon! Be still my heart.

A seminal issue of Frank Miller’s trend-setting Daredevil run. Bullseye, Elektra (her first death), and DD all scuffle in Miller’s trademarked noir style. I loved this issue when it came out. Great, great stuff, only slightly “ruined” by having been recently reprinted in some fine collections of the Miller run by Marvel. Maybe I have a weakness for this because, again, it was from my college years, but it still seems fresh and exciting to me.