This time it’s a straight up question what is your favorite Non-Modern Age Comic book? I have always been a Superman guy but I have to say Pre-Crisis 1 Flash was just amazing. I also liked the Legends miniseries. Let’s talk about what we love those awesome superhero filled Comic books.
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Probably Lee/Ditko Amazing Spider-Man. That or like, some old EC Comics thing. The reality is that people were still figuring out what “comics” were before 1970, so most non-Modern Age comics aren’t great. Their stories might be enjoyable (Silver Age Legion of Superheroes, old issues of Crime Does Not Pay, etc.) but the craft isn’t there.
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The Green Lantern-Green Arrow by O’Neil.
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Define “Modern Age”? I think of that term to mean anything post-Crisis on Infinite Earths, so Legends would be included in that.
Anyway, Swamp Thing.
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Detective Comics #475 & #476. I love the whole Englehart run but those issues are my absolute faves.
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We really have VERY different opinions about this. Many Golden Age are adorable stories, especially during WWII. They were propaganda pieces because they were supposed to be.
The Silver Age was the rebirth of comics in a post atomic world. There were some great sci-fi stories in the Silver Age, not just comic book sci-fi, I’m talking the genre of sci-fi. The Bronze Age is the birth of “modern comics”. All the elements are there.
In terms of craft, the Golden, Silver & Bronze Ages are better than the “Modern Age”. It’s a heck of a lot harder to write fun, compelling stories when you are bound within the restrictions of the CCA, as opposed to “you pretty much have a free hand to do what you want.”
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I’m not disagreeing with anything you’re saying. I love a number of Golden Age comics, but they aren’t good. I said as much in my above post. I consider the Bronze Age to be close enough to the Modern Age where I don’t really separate the two in my mind. Really the only difference between the two is the relative influence of the CCA. Otherwise, the craft elements are much the same. As for my favorite stuff from the Bronze Age, Steve Englehart on Detective Comics comes to mind, as well as Walt Simonson on Thor and Frank Miller’s Daredevil.
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@HubCityQuestion I used the wrong words just was meaning everything is on the table everything except from the past 10 years.
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Silver Age:
Lee & Kirby - Fantastic Four
O’Neil & Adams - GL / GA
Bronze Age:
Grell - Warlord (obviously) & Jon Sable
Chaykin - American Flagg
Englehart & Rogers - Detective Comics (Batman)
Claremont & Byrne- X-Men & Iron Fist
Miller - Daredevil
Sim - Cerebus
Michelinie, Layton, & JR JR - Iron Man
Mantlo & Golden - Micronauts
I haven’t read much Golden Age so I don’t have a favorite. I could list even more Bronze Age, but I’m already overkill.
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Golden Age: Action Comics #8, “Superman in the Slums”
Silver Age: Action Comics #241, “The Super-Key to Fort Superman”
Bronze Age: Detective Comics #439, “Night of the Stalker”
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Kirby’s Fourth World titles, Kamandi by Kirby, Kirby and Lee’s Fantastic Four. I think there’s a pattern here. If it’s anything but the last ten years, Sandman and Starman( Robinson).
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Oh! In that case, Sandman.
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But, you spoke of “the craft” so let’s say a couple of dozen people create a new genre of storytelling. And you’re about 3 years into it, (oh and remember everything is done by hand, no real mod-cons to rely on) so you’re just get a small set of stories done, and war breaks out in Europe and 2 years later your country get attacked and whether literally or for all intent and purposes, the War Dept basically says, you pretty much all work for us now and we need you to do this very defined set of storytelling with a particular type of spin and these people we’re at war with, well…they’re basically your villains, but you can’t have your stories generally can’t depict them actually fighting in the front lines cuz that’d be insulting to our folks who are over there fighting and dying. and by the time you’re done doing that…we now have a single bomb that can basically vaporize a city and the world just got a lot more “interesting”.
Do you think that’s going to change and slow down the evolution and diversity and refinement of this reasonably new “craft”? Given those circumstances, I’m probably gonna say, yeah…it’s a distinct possibility.
Are they more “simplistic”, sure. But so was the Model A Ford compared to cars that were being built built just 10 years later.
Holy plethora, Batman!" Where does one begin?
Fantastic Four (Lee, Kirby & Byrne)
Amazing Spider-Man (Lee, Ditko, Romita, Conway & Andru))
Batman (O’Neil, Adams & Giordano))
Green Lantern/Green Arrow (O’Neil & Adams)
Superman (Bates,Dorfman, Maggin, Pasko, Swan & Anderson)
Daredevil (MIller, Mazzucchelli, O’Neil, Romita JR. & Nocenti)
Swamp Thing (Wein & Wrightson)
The Phantom Stranger (Wein & Aparo)
The New Teen Titans (Wolfman & Perez)
Booster Gold (Jurgens and Johns)
The Legion of Super-Heroes (Swan, Shooter, Cockrum, Grell, Bates & Leavitz)
Justice League of America (Fox, Sekowsky, O’Neil, Dillin, & Englehart)
The Avengers (Lee, Kirby, Thomas & John Buscema)
SGT. Rock (Kanigher & Kubert)
Crisis on Infinite Earths (Wolfman & Perez)
Aquaman (Haney, Cardy, Skeates & Aparo)
Wonder Woman (Perez)
Conan (Thomas & Smith)
The Metal Men (Kanigher, Andru & Esposito)
Starman (Robinson & Harris)
The X-Men (Lee, Kirby, Wein, Cockrum, Claremont, Byrne)
Tomb of Dracula (Wolfman & Colan)
And, Yeah, I could go on forever. But I’ll stop here for the sake of everyone’s sanity.
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This is correct; these comics must be judged by the time they were written. With that said: who would drive a Model Ford today as a means of transportation?
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That depends on how many old school hotrodders you talk to. 
The Ford flathead engine isn’t very fuel efficient but you’ll never have a piston shatter a valve either (and seriously damaging your engine) if your timing belt/chain breaks. It brings an entirely new meaning to “breaking continuity”.
The analogy holds in that it takes a very particular type of specialist to appreciate that car. Meanwhile, a modern vehicle is much more accessible to a mass audience. You’re gonna find more people who want to drive something made today for practical reasons.
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True, but that doesn’t mean the craft was better 70 years on. More luxurious, safer, faster, & more energy efficient which are mainly practical reasons. But modern cars, certainly anything new than 1990, repair, maintenance & tuning are far, far from practical. Even if I’d one had the $7-12K+ just for the software from one auto mfg and maybe just for a subset of the cars they produce that year.
So even there, I’d say the practical reasons are maybe 60-40% leaning your way. I’m not sure the same deltas in the craft of comic book storytelling are that far apart they are.
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rubs chin in thought
I’ll go with…The Untold Legend of The Batman #1. I’m biased though, as it was one of my first comics (DC or otherwise).
As for driving an old-timey Ford, I’d do it, but only on a quiet road and only if it has one of those horns that makes an “ay-ooo-gah” sound.
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For me it’s The New Teen Titans, hands down.
Introducing Raven, Starfire, and Cyborg.
Not to mention the Trigon arc, Brother Blood arc, Judas Contract, Blackfire arc, and so many more… I fell in love with this series and the following so hard.
But if I had to choose one book from this great series it’s got to be the origin of the all.
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