[WileyJ]

heres mine......probably slap myself for forgetting something

[paw broon]

If this is stuff I bought, rather than downloaded from CB+or elsewhere, then I'd say that, apart from short runs, there are few complete big runs that I can list.  So part runs:-
Spidey till Ditko left;
Batman from later '50's to early '60's;
Detective - same period;
Worlds Finest - same period;
Blue Beetle - Ditko;
Thunderbolt;
Marvelman (the original L.Miller run) - but that's more nostalgia then anything else;
Planetary;
Phantom - G.K., King, Charlton;
Super Detective Library;
Thriller Picture Library;
Flash - silver age;
Thunder Agents + Dynamo and Noman;
The Ditko Captain Atom incl. the Space Adventures issues.

A couple of foreign language ones;
Kriminal;
Corto Maltese.

But also a couple in Dell 4 Color:-
Sea Hunt;
77, Sunset Strip
  Might change my mind tomorrow.

[Powder Solvang]

Here's a topic I had considered starting but I found this thread so I'll post here instead.
My top 20, not necessarily in order of preference:
1. Captain America 110-113: Jim Steranko's all too brief tenure.

2. Justice League Of America 100-120: DC resurrected The Seven Soldiers Of Victory and the Quality Comics heroes. Several other good issues as well including the marriage of Adam Strange to Alanna. Some of Dick Dillin's best artwork.

3.The Superman titles of the 1950's and 1960's. It later became fashionable to knock Mort Weisinger and his legacy. Hogwash! Red kryptonite, the phantom zone, Bizarros, etc. I love that stuff!

4.Captain Marvel Adventures; I don't recall the issue numbers offhand but there was a series of stories in that book in which Billy Batson would visit a different city each issue. Mayhem would always ensue, forcing Billy to call on Captain Marvel. Local landmarks and prominent citizens were featured in the stories.

5.The Atomic Knights: This feature appeared occasionally in Strange Adventures 117-170. In a post-apocalyptic world a band of survivors face adversity with a positive, "can do" attitude. Some of Murphy Anderson's best art.

6.All Winners Comics 19 & 21. Marvel's first experiment with a superhero team. Unfortunately abandoned after only two stories.

7. All Star Comics 38-57. There was a lot of instability in the Justice Society feature with the lineup changing from issue to issue. Once Black Canary joined the team remained stable until the end of the run.

8. Early Doom Patrol. I like this series with the founding members: Larry, Cliff, Rita and The Chief. Unfortunately Arnold Drake went awry, imho, when he added Mento and Beast Boy to the lineup.

9.The Brave And The Bold 50-73. DC used the team-up format with two different heroes each issue unlike the later issues which featured Batman as a regular.

10. Challengers Of The Unknown: Early Jack Kirby issues.

11. Avengers 4-15: Cap joins the original team.

12.All Star Squadron. Great series for the first 30 or so issues before jumping the shark.

13.Leading Comics. Featured The Seven Soldiers Of Victory, a team of DC's second stringers. Good stories though.

14. 1950's Batman titles. Bill Finger's giant prop stories with art by Dick Sprang and Sheldon Moldoff.

15.The Marvel Family. Fawcett's only superhero team.

16.Early World's Finest Superman/Batman team-ups. A camaraderie between the two heroes that was absent in the later issues.

17.The Metal Men. Very offbeat; robots with distinct personalities.

18. Adam Strange up to 1964. Some of Fox and Infantino's best work.

19. The Flash same period.

20. Green Lantern same period.

[narfstar]

Just looking at the other lists makes it even more impossible to pick. I agree with most of the choices. I would not include most of the Charlton run on Phantom when they had three stories in an issue and Aparo art. I would have to include Dial H for Hero, Magnus and Doctor Solar.

[RickDeckard525]

Metal men, dial H (sorry I am stealing yours but this is hard) ditto on ditko captain atom, uhhh. Well I can't believed no one mentioned Kirby's boys ranch. Starlin captain marvel (marvel), marvel marvel, Ron lim silver surfer (you love it too--you can't fool me, narf). I like marvel's star trek and star wars, actually pretty much all licensed marvel. Golden On micronauts, whoever was the artist on Crystar, and all of Rom.uhhh how many is that? Ooo Kirby's 2001 space Odyssey! That is the craziest book ever and it hardly has anything to do with the movie or any of the books. I like its spinoff, machine man, too. Uuuhhhhhuuhuhuhhhh I think that is 13. Hmmmmmmmhmhmmmmm. Peter David on Aquaman. Hmmmhm. The original dreadstar stuff, and then Peter David does a nice job on that later, too. If we are talking strips too I like Tuska on Buck Rogers. I love Calkins too, but I get tired of the profile perspective thing and I would say that George tuska's is more readable. Dell Tom Corbett is amazing and we have that here. And narfstar, do you mean Magnus: robot hunter, because if you do I will have to steal that too. You guys probably won't be able to read this because I
didn't leave spaces. That is almost twenty I think. Maybe

[narfstar]

Not Magnus Robot Hunter but Magnus Robot Fighter  The list can never really stop as next person causes more to be added to my list. Micronauts has garnered more respect now than in the past. I did not care for any of Kirby after he went back to Marvel after his 4th World. I enjoyed the first 5 issues of the Silver Surfer's original run then I lost all interest in the character. My list is never ending..... I did not get into Rom or Crystar.

[paw broon]

At last, some stuff to disagree with. I couldn't possibly list any of that later Kirby stuff, and Ron Lim on S.S.?
And, apart from those lovely Aparo Aquaman issues, I've not been a fan of the character.
BUT, the Charlton Phantom issues?  I have to say that although there area a number of duff short stories in the 3 stories per issue run, Aparo usually does a good job on the pictures, imo.  But there are some good Boyette stories in there as well.  Then there are those few superb covers by Aparo. Scroll down a tiny bit to see some:-
http://ripjaggerdojo.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/many-ghosts-of-aparo.html
I have to say that I am not, in general, an Aparo fan but I like his versions of The Phantom and Aquaman.  Also, Charlton hosted those amazing Don Newton issues.  Happy to admit that the Don Sherwood issue is pretty bad.
Reading the other selections, I'd have to consider adding Magnus to the list, and early Doom Patrol.

[jimmm kelly]

Before I even answer the question--if I can--I have to know what are the parameters. Is it a run of an entire title? A run of a specific creative team? An editor? How do you define run? If I don't know this, then it's really apples and oranges.

[narfstar]

Based on the examples a run is pretty open ended. New stuff I enjoyed THE HELM, OZ Wicked West the first Executive Assistance Iris mini series.

[Powder Solvang]

My interpretation is a series of issues or stories from a title or character with a common theme. It might involve a storyline, creative team or something else. Yes, I suppose it's a bit open ended at that.

[RickDeckard525]

Firstly, I meant to say that I didn't leave spaces in-between my choices and that they would be hard to read, not narfstar. I also didn't mean that Ron Lim was my favorite artist for SS, I was trying to point out the whole run after he is freed from earth, and I now apologize to Marshall Rogers, and Joe Staton. Ron Lim just sort of rolls off the tongue and is a more recognizable name. As for the action figure stuff I can understand that that is an acquired taste, but I think Micronauts is classic bronze age.

Alright, now about Kirby. I am wondering where you guys are drawing the line, because I think that Fourth World is really the turning point for him. That is when he starts writing most of the stuff and pretty much the height of his weirdness. If you like Kamandi and the new gods, I can't see what the big jump is from that to 2001 or The Eternals.

I did think adding Infantino's Star Wars would cause some controversy though, and I am still waiting for that. The fact that his marvel work is so different from DC tends to freak people out. Also the fact that it was such a huge seller. It is often disregarded, but I think it is one of his big contributions to the field.

And once again, metal men is the best thing ever. It is always strange to read the letters sent in by people who said it was the only comic they read. It is sad the way it ended.

[paw broon]

I'm apologising in advance for being "awkward squad"  (is that an Earth Umpteen version of The Inferior Five?)
Reason being that I don't like or enjoy Kamandi.  New Gods, Mister Miracle, and, to a lesser extent, Forever People, were wonderful at the time.  By the time we get to The Eternals, it seemed to this reader ugly, complicated, dull and the art was starting to deteriorate.   2001, Star Wars and other comic renditions of tv/film shows, incl, Star trek, I have never found convincing, despite the amazing Cam Kennedy doing his bit on S. W.
Before anyone pulls me up on that last point, I freely admit my love for many of the Dell tv adaptations, particularly Sea Hunt, Lawman and 77 Sunset Strip.  They worked in a way that later adaptations of other shows did not, for me.
As for Metal Men, that was a great series - original, funny, entertaining, and so many others were the same and that is why it is difficult to choose a fixed number.  Same with music and films.  Because outside factors influence our favourites all the time pushing us closer to some things and then back again.  E.g. I heard some Hollies on the radio the other night and I'm now raking through my music for old Hollies records.  It'll fade back a bit in a while but, for now, they are high up there in my list.
Thinking more about Metal Men, would I place it above (original) Doom Patrol?.  Today I might, but next month, who knows.

[narfstar]

I did not read the Star Wars comics. I tend not read stuff after a movie. I liked the Fourth World as something unique at the start. I did not like the Kirby/Royer art. I just did not get into Eternals or 2001 and really got turned off by what Kirby did to Captain America. Making Cap and Falcon involved in cosmic stuff was not where they belonged.

I can not believe that I did not mention one of the all time greats THE INFERIOR FIVE. LOVED IT!!!

More newer good stuff would be Christos Gage on Absolution and Avengers Academy and Gail Simone on Birds of Prey. Note I lean far more to the writer than artist as my main influence.

[narfstar]

Paw are we psychic across the pond twins. You and I were typing nearly the same thing at the same time. We also seem to be very much in synch. Based on my wave of nostalgia feelings I would have to say that LSH and Doom Patrol will probably always rank as my all time favorites no matter any other influences. But other favorites/likes change with circumstances as you mentioned. We pretty much completely agree on Kirby.

[paw broon]

OOOHH-ERRR!  Now there's a worrying thought.
Odd you mention LSH, as I was just pondering them last night (we'd been to the pictures to see Sunshine on Leith and I was a bit bored).  Away back, when I first discovered the Legion, I was hooked completely, loving colourful superheroes as I do.  I managed to compile a not quite complete run later on.  But nowadays I don't read the old comics as much and I think part of that is that I bought the DC Archives editions and it just didn't feel right on glossy, thick paper.  However, I picked out a couple of original Adventure comics from the shelf recently and it all flooded back.  Was it the smell? The feel? The way the characters looked on that old newsprint?  Don't know but I thoroughly enjoyed the experience

Making Cap and Falcon involved in cosmic stuff was not where they belonged.  narfstar.
How right you are.

[RickDeckard525]

I just picked an old issue of adventure comics #312 from a box the other day too, and bought it for a dollar-fifty. It looked like it had been struck by lighting, which is appropriate for "The Super-Sacrifice of the Legionnaires!" I got many paper-cuts trying to read its fossilized carcass and I'm pretty sure one of them is going to give me tetanus. Even though it was in color this time (as opposed to the newsprint volumes I usually read), I still think that Proty was set up and I still don't think I can ever forgive Saturn Girl.

And about Cap, I totally agree, but I hold no malice towards Kirby for that because he invented him in the first place. I don't think I have a particular time period of Kirby I dislike though. I love Miracle Man, but the The Forever People can be pretty annoying sometimes. I think the Eternals get a bad rep for being a New Gods copy for the MU, but I think they are deeper than that, and we also need to remember that the marvel universe is made a more interesting place by their involvement in it, whether or not their solo series is Kirby's best work. Anyway, I am a big science fiction fan and I love to see how completely different Kirby's Space Odyssey is than the movie and the book. I like it because it is a rare glimpse into the workings of Jack's Warped imagination. Ok I want to ask you about two more things and then I will never mention Jack Kirby on this thread ever again: The Demon and his Pacific comics.

Also wondering if you guys ever got into the Valiant stuff, Since we are talking about Magnus and Solar. Now that I think of it I would probably add Archer and Armstrong to my list, and whole-heartedly recommend the reboot. I am trying.

I am a huge trekkie and I can understand that you might not share my enthusiasm. I like the Star Wars stuff for the same reason I like Space Odyssey. These guys had very little to work with in the beginning. They had to make sure they don't do anything that will be messed up by any upcoming sequels, and they started with very underdeveloped characters, especially Luke. Mark Hamil was like a black hole of boredom around which the whole character galaxy revolved, and even more so in the beginning. So I guess that is what I like about that series: I like to see my writers and artists struggle!

[narfstar]

I got to the point that I disliked everything that Kirby did. Everyone, even the women, looked like bad body builders. So I did not like his Pacific, etc stuff.

I have most of the GK Trek and enjoyed it as well as their Space Family. There is just so much Star Wars out there that I feel overload even contemplating getting into it.

I started the Valiant stuff but they just were not my friends from childhood. I later had a Harbinger TPB and it was completely nothing to do with Prof Harbinger but I liked the story.

[RickDeckard525]

I agree, I did not much like harbinger, but Archer and Armstrong is hilarious. I am only suggesting the original marvel series, home of the adaptations. Besides that, all I have read myself are the newspaper strips. I don't think I ever liked Kirby's women, so I didn't realize them getting worse. For that it really just comes down to the inker. Simon had worked with him enough to know that he could change the faces around a bit, but after that all Kirby had were scared kids who took his stroke as scripture. I really can't blame Kirby for that.

[narfstar]

I completely blame Kirby for it since he drew them that way. Simon was the only one who toned Kirby down and made him the King.

[josemas]

I'm fine with Kirby's art right up til the mid 1970s.  His figures got bulkier looking as the years progressed but I found that worked just fine on the 4th World and other works he did at DC in the 70s.  Unfortunately his eyesight problems caused his art to evolve into an abstract stylization of his earlier work as the 70s progressed into the 80s and I find these later works tough to look at.

I think my favorite period for Kirby is the 1950s.

Best

Joe

[narfstar]

Kirby did some fine crime and romance work in the fifties.

[mr_goldenage]

When i was in the 4th grade I spent a lot of time in St Francis Hospital in Lynwood CA, in their trama ward.My only companions were last summers comics of the LSH where they unmask Starfinger who turns out to be Lightning Lad , the following issue where LL and Saturn girl got married as did Utlra Boy and Phantom girl. Other Faves were the JLA/JSA Earth 3A thing with the evil Justice Leage as created by the bad Johnny Thunder of Earth One. So there were two of my forever favs it seems my two top twenty top pics. Then came along the Xmen whith those catholic school uniforns (I went to catholic school) and I felt weird going there anyways all dressed up in a uniform so I idetified with the outcast who whore uniforms. and that other great "family" unit that acted a whole lot my family always fighting that would be the FF in their hayday of their firts 48 or so issues. And lets not forget that even though the Avengers got off to a rocky start they eventually became a great book all there way to their 250th issue. Now thats not to say there was't some slumps along the way all titiles have them but they were kept to a minimum. Aftern that it gets hard to name more books that deserve this 20 top fav comic run. I like the Staranko Run on Shield. I like Steranko's short run on Captain Amercia and even shorter Run on X Men where to me he shown like the Sun. Of course there is Diko's Spider-Man and The Creeper and Dr. Strange and along with Mr A makes for a hell of a card game amongst those guys. But all are Iconic characters in their own right. Now one that to me was a predessor to the X-Men were the DOOM Patrol (or is it the other way around?). Loved them, Still do. It doesn't, ddidn't and still don't get any better than the first 26 issus of the DP. Can't say as much of the reboot but there it is it still lives, like that legion lost crap thing. Hate the new costumes. Hate the premise and new names. Garbage all around and I bet it's just me.

New Stuff/ Not much.....Gave up on Marvel after their Invaders aborted relaunch with the Thin Man and Human Torch thing - Gave up on DC once they Destroyed the JSA for good so they could use the names for "Legacy characters" Characters they could kill off with no remorse. Rebooting so often that character traits came and went like bad costume trends. Earths came and went, Controllers came.....so what/....the new 52......same as the old.....

New Companies....IDW Dynamite ....Icon.......Image........Dark Horse......Moostone....and the like.....there is a bunch of stuff to like and a bunch of stuff to stay away from/ but enough of a variety to go exploring.......all this from a guy who wasn't going to buy paper product again......go figure.......lol.....


RB....out for the night.

[paw broon]

It's funny you should say that because I told myself the same thing a couple of years ago, "no more new paper comics".  I decided after getting a tablet that I'd go the digital route, and that's fine to a certain extent.  But when I'm standing in a comic shop perusing the shelves, I just can't resist something new and different - which is nearly always notMarvel/DC.  The atmosphere in a comic emporium and the realisation that I'm in the company of other folk who like comics is hard to beat.  I wouldn't like to see comic shops disappear - and, for a while a few years ago, it looked likely in this part of the world - so I have a small standing order with my lcs.  I have absolutely nowhere to file new comics.  Any space there is is for any old comics that I find from time to time. So I'll have to take a pile of newish comics to the next mart and try to sell or trade them.
Not sure what 4th. grade is compared to Scottish schools but I enjoyed your look back at that part of your comics history. 
When I was a wee boy, under 10 that is, we didn't have American comics and I grew up with British and some Aus. comics.  And my favourites then were Ace Hart, which happily I found again a few years ago in digital format and are now on the site; Marvelman; Beezer, slightly later was Jet Ace Logan in Thriller Picture Library; and Broons and Oor Wullie (annuals and the Fun Section of the Sunday Post.)
Currently, I would list The Sixth Gun in my list of favourites.  That's from Oni and there are a lot of other intriguing titles from "alternative" publishers.

[narfstar]

Toooooooooooooooooooo much to read. Paw makes me want to get into Sixth Gun but man it has already gone a few issues. I forgot to mention Hawaiian Dick and Absolution as well as an odd one most have never heard of called Johnny Saturn. I seldom comment on the artist as to me it is mainly about the story.

There is just something super special about LSH and DP. No matter how good any other comics may be I do not think that I will ever have the same visceral response. There are issues of other series with really special feelings but no other series match those two. And the start of DP and X-Men were contemporaneous. Probably because LSH was my first major love and my Cousin, who gave me comics, did not buy any Marvel except Millie, I was exposed to more DC at an earlier age so am overall more of a DC fan. It is a shame that I will probably never be able to see new stories about my "friends  " The current crop of characters may have the same names but they are not the same friends of my youth. I wonder how strongly GA fans felt about the SA characters not being the same.

[mr_goldenage]

Ah yes there will never be an LSH pre Cochran and Pre Wildfire. Actually once the LSH left Adventure the wrtiting was on the wall sort to speak, isn't it always? But yes those were my "friends" too. I miss them.

Richard