First! Comics Poll

Flagg was great through the Alan Moore Wizard of Sexy Oz arc, but I still gotta vote Nexus here.

how the fuck have i never read all this michael moorcock related comics???

I like Flagg but Grimjack, Badger, Corum, Nexus, Dreadstar, Elric and Classics Illustrated (I still have a few of them lying around - Billy the Sink's Moby Dick blew me away) all sunk their claws in me now and again.

I almost bought a first edition of Shatter the other day just to have it, but man does it look like shit.

I'm leaning towards Badger.

re: the Moorcock titles - I skipped a lot of these when they came out, although I think this may have been the largest foray he'd made into the medium up to that point. Prior to this there were the Jerry Cornelius strips in various places and I think some things showing up in Heavy Metal...? could be wrong about that.

this is between Nexus and American Flagg! for me. AF!'s initial run is so bold and novel, but the dropoff is steep. Nexus' had a more sustained quality run, even though some of the artists that subbed in for Rude could get pretty bad.

Nexus. I've always liked it for being, for the most part, colorful and light when conceptually it's rather dark (he HAS to KILL murderers).

Nexus v. Grim Jack for me. This really was such a weird time! I was like 13 when Grim Jack debuted. I really remember the odd paper First's titles were printed on...

I loved a whole lot of comics First, Comico and Eclipse/Pacific put out. Added together, they put out quite a bit of good stuff and I think did kind of kick open some doors for US mainstream comics. Biggest thing was that there was not any backstock, where these titles could conclude and live on as trades (that was a kind of a novel idea in the mid80s). Alot of these titles kind of had a natural arc that should have just built to a conclusion, but the setup for comics was they just kept going and so they did, most of them after the main creator left and kind of petered out.

Alter Ego- don't remember this one.

American Flagg!- first 12 issues is one of the all time classics. I don't think Chaykin ever really thought he would get to do the comic let alone 12 of them, so he didn't really have anyplace to go afterwards. I read it all, but it was never the same.

Badger- I swear that Deadpool rips a whole lot off Badger. It was a really fun comic at points, but hit and miss over the run.

Corum- Read Elric, but never read these. Mignola I think did one of these series if I remember right.

Classics Illustrated- Kind of got into doing this at the end of the line, don't remember checking any out.

Crossroads- This was their one crossover, using the creation of Cynosure out of GrimJack which kind of made it work. Don't remember the story at all.

Dreadstar- Pretty much got there later in the run. Dreadstar was great when it started but Starlin kind of painted himself into a corner with the plot and it got mired down. He kind of gave it a sudden ending and weird restart with Peter David writing the rest of the series. I read it all but don't remember the last parts much at all.

Dynamo Joe- This one was written I think mostly by Ostrander. Don't remember the artist but it had kind of anime/us hybrid kind of art style and was about a big robot and the kid (if I remember right) that could control it. I remember liking it, but the details are sketchy.

Elric- The early ones are awesome, which I think came out in Pacific comics and I think as a Marvel graphic novel. P.Craig Russell artwork and Roy Thomas doing the adaption. The First ones started with Michael T. Gilbert (Mr. Monster) inking Russell and then I think Gilbert did one of the series. Haven't read them, but I really liked them.

E-Man- Early Charlton comic that came back here. I think Joe Staton did some of the artwork before and after. Don't really remember the series, but I am sure I read it.

The Enchanted Apples of Oz

Evangeline- The first arc was great and then Chuck Dixon and his wife or girlfriend that co-created the book had a falling out and the later ones were not as good. I think this was one of Chuck Dixon's first pro-comics, he then went and did a bunch at Eclipse including Airboy (and maybe even Evangeline as I thought it moved publishers at one point).

First Adventures- anthology title.

The Gift- don't remember

Grimjack- Great title, should have ended when the character actually died.

Hawkmoon- Another Moorcock book, don't remember it as well.

Jon Sable Freelance/Sable/Mike Grell's Jon Sable- I really liked the comic quite a bit. Grell did quite a few weird things in the comic and his artwork was always pretty good, although kind of always looked 70s.

Lone Wolf and Cub- Read a big bunch of this one and really liked it. I liked how each issue had a ton of pages and how the story was often wordless, which was definitely different than the very wordy comics of the time.

Mars- I remember reading it and it had a unique art style (Hempel?). I think the creators were both named Mark. I think they finished it.

Nexus- One of my all time favorite comics, worst thing was it never really ended and when Dark Horse went to reprint it, they only did it in color as $50 hardcover trades, pretty much leading only people that probably read the series to ever check it out. Some of the subs were not as good, but some of them were pretty good like Paul Smith I remember did an arc and I think Mignola did a few issues.

Psychoblast- don't remember it.

Sensei- never read it.

Shatter (the first computer-generated comic book lol)- story on this was pretty decent as I remember, total 80s cyberpunk/PK Dick, which didn't really happen that much in comics of that time.

Starslayer- This started out as a Grell comic on Pacific and moved to First. I remember liking it until he left the title. Title I think was remembered more for the backup features, as Groo the Wanderer, The Rocketeer and Grim Jack all started as backup features in the comic (the first two at Pacific).

Squalor,Team Yankee- never read them.

Warp- I know I had them and read them, don't remember the title at all.

Whisper- Stephen Grant urban lady ninja comic. I read it.

I think second reason those that Comico, Eclipse and especially First fell apart as DC took a bunch of the talent, pretty much following Mike Gold (one of the founders of the line).

Mars was Marc Hempel and Marc Wheatley.

Classics Illustrated- Kind of got into doing this at the end of the line, don't remember checking any out.

Sienkiewicz Moby Dick was cool, Kyle Baker Through The Looking Glass was str8 copying Tenniel in about five minutes flat, nothing else looked in any way intersting to me

Alter Ego is a Roy Thomas superhero strip that uses the title of his 'famous' comics fanzine Alter Ego (subsequently revived by TwoMorrows)

Moorcock and Chaykin collaborated on this GN prior to First Comics:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61anuidv%2BdL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

Most of the First/Moorcock titles are eg Corum adaptations by Roy Thomas, P Craig Russell, Michael T Gilbert and George Freeman - so they look pretty, and are mostly faithful to the source material, but sort've redundant too?

Voted Lone Wolf and Cub, which for lots of ppl, myself included, was p much my introduction to manga, although Mars is really superb, and Flagg, Nexus, GrimJack all have moments of quality.

I think I have most, or all, of John Sable Freelance somewhere, I was really kind of into it in a spin on Moon Knight comics I was reading elsewhere.

Joe Staton did do E-Man, it was really cartoony. I have a couple of those somewhere too.

But this can't be anything except Flagg, can it? The only one of these I know exactly where the issues are. And I'm going to get them later this morning now.

I am cheating for voting for the actual best comic, which is Lone Wolf and Cub.

Rick Geary's Classics Illo versions of The Invisible Man and Great Expectations were both BEATIFUL, but then I'm a Geary worshiper, especially in his 80s prime.

I'm friends with Bob Schreck and there have been many allusions to the crazy early days at Comico but i have been remiss in pressing him for juicy stories abt it. Gather the 'mainstream indie' scene in those days was pretty bonkers behind the curtain.

I haven't read any of these!

Moorcock and Chaykin collaborated on this GN prior to First Comics

lol didn't know about this would totally read it. will put on my want list next to that Bester "Stars My Destination" GN

re: Mars - I remember this being really interesting and unusual. when Hempel turned up later on Sandman I was like "oh yeah, THAT guy!" It was thinking about this series that actually led me to creating this poll. Never read the entire arc, altho I know it's been reprinted

I remember Mars as being the weirdest among these; the hardest for my 13 14yo brane to get at. Hempel is fkin awesome.

I just remember an issue where they come across the "ghosts" of the dead crewmen, who are all frolicking around sexing and taking drugs or whatever and then they disappear or something...? definitely strange.

man I need to chase these down. Probably vote for Flagg since I have all of that, but there's a bunch of here I want still to read (Evangeline, Mars) and the random issues of Sable and Grimjack I had were great

I dont have all of Flagg, I just have the first twelve issues

I have most of the first 12 and a smattering from 13-29ish but have been putting them together piecemeal over the last 18 years and have no idea where all of them are or which ones I have

totes looking forward to reading them one day though

once Chaykin started bringing other artists in it went downhill pretty abruptly. I have fond memories of Alan Moore's fairly ludicrous run but haven't read it in years.

surprised at the love for Sable tbh

kinda can't believe sic has never read AF!

I read the first 3 in '94 iirc

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Nexus with the surprise win!

Erk! Was I really the only Flagg voter?

I thought I voted Badger but must have voted for something else. Grimjack maybe?

american flagg kinda sux imo

wrong

but yeah results are weird, coulda sworn I voted for AF! too

the problem with Flagg is you have the first 12 issues and then the other 38.

yeah there's no getting around that sadly

Nexus definitely sustains its quality longer ... but then there are days I think this is possibly the best single page of comics ever drawn

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pv9JmuoNuVE/TQwPZYJ_6ZI/AAAAAAAARig/w4hpQ-VXoZs/s1600/americanFlagg1.jpg

It sparks a good question though: what comic running more than say, 36 issues, was consistently good to great?

First one that springs to mind is Love and Rockets.

Moore's run on Swamp Thing...? Kirby/Lee runs on FF and Thor obviously

I would say Simonson's Thor too.

Don't know about beginning-to-end great, but there have been runs of good-to-greatness that long in ongoing titles.

Fantastic Four, mid-20s to mid-60s or so. The full 102-issue Lee-Kirby run, not so much.
Cerebus, for many many years
Bendis & Brubaker on Daredevil
Lee-Kirby Thor?

xpost

I guess the full Lee-Kirby FF counts as good, though the highest highs in the 30s-50s make the last couple of years look worse than they actually are by comparison.

But there aren't as many as you might think. Ditko and Lee for Spider-Man and, if you don't worry about page count, Dr. Strange.

def Cerebus

Cerebus would fail the Flagg test if I had to judge it as a whole, but I totally agree it had as long a solid run as I've ever seen.

Usagi Yojimbo would be on my list.

Usagi -- I've never read it, but I've only read good things about it.

Garth Ennis's run on the Punisher.

Invisibles is pretty great all the way through, excepting those early issues with the terrible Yeowell art I guess

At the time they were coming out I felt p dismissive of certain issues (mostly b/c they felt too au courant to me at the time), but in hindsight I think the whole run of Hate is awesome.

was thinking of mentioning that myself

Does Kirby's Fourth World count? Multiple concurrent titles instead of one long running title.

I love Kamandi but it wasn't the most consistent thing.

Yeah, I was going to mention Fourth World as an umbrella title but I got distracted by the shiny internet.

Problem is didn't Mister Miracle continue on after the main saga was done and get kind of meh?

Also I haven't had a chance to read them in forever(are they in print as a collection these days?) but I seem to recall Messner-Loebs' Journey being great all the way through

Mister Miracle does pretty much just peter out sadly at the end (altho the final wedding issue is fun) - that might have been after the 36-issue mark had been passed tho, I'm not sure

little lulu

Tintin, Blueberry

so... Badger is basically David Lee Roth, right?