Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Chris is on Infinite Earths, Year One - Favorite Pieces

The stand-alone version of a Top Ten commemorating the one-year blogiversary of Chris is on Infinite Earths.  This list will be featured at the tail-end of the 01.31.2017 piece.

Batman #416 (February, 1988)
"White Gold and Truth"
Jim Starlin (W) / Jim Aparo (A)
Original Post-Date: November 11, 2016

Very possibly the best issue (new or old) I'd read the entire year.  I'm a sucker for Bat-family dysfunction and this one absolutely brings it.  I'd long written off Jim Starlin as a "cosmic" writer... his late 1980's Batman run has totally changed my mind on that!

Superman #327 (September, 1978)
"Two Can Die as Cheaply as One!"
Cary Bates (W) / Kurt Schaffenberger (A)
Original Post-Date: September 17, 2016

There were two stories in this issue, but it's the back-up that I had the most fun with.  We get a really awesome Mr. & Mrs. Superman story, from which I pulled my "Superman being blown up in his car" image I use on various social media sites.

Tales of the Teen Titans #42 (May, 1984)
"The Eyes of Tara Markov!"
Marv Wolfman (W) / George Perez (A)
Original Post-Date: August 12, 2016

Such an emotion-wrecking good time.  I've said it many times... every time I read The Judas Contract, I always get that hope that eventually Terra's going to "come around".  Of course that's not how things work.  Terra's tale was a difficult but enjoyable one to chronicle here last Summer.


Justice League #1 (May, 1987)
"Born Again"
Giffen/DeMatteis (W) / Kevin Maguire (A)
Original Post-Date: January 1, 2017

This piece was special to me as it was my picking up on a previous failed-blog attempt.  It felt good to actually see this one through.  The issue was also quite fun to discuss.



Superman Meets the Quik Bunny (1987)
"Quik Thinking"
Mike Carlin (W) / Carmine Infantino (A)
Original Post-Date: March 6, 2016

Discussing this book was one of the things that illustrated the potential this blog has.  I have a love of the obscure and "novel" in comics... and it doesn't get much more novel than this!  This issue kinda fell into my lap, and I'm happy I was able to share it.


Batgirl Special #1 (1988)
"The Last Batgirl Story"
Barbara Randall (W) / Barry Kitson (A)
Original Post-Date: January 23, 2017

A very recent entry... but one I had a lot of fun reading and writing about.  It comes from a time in Barbara Gordon history, which up to this point, I didn't even know existed!  Stories like this are part of the reason I started writing about comics.


Wild Dog #2 (October, 1987)
"Blowed Up Real Good!"
Max Collins (W) / Terry Beatty (A)
Original Post-Date: May 17, 2016

Around mid-May I hit my 100th Daily Post... and kinda fell into a bit of burn out.  Writing became a bit of a chore, and I was considering stepping away for a bit.  I felt like I was trying to hard to write for an audience, covering books that I didn't really want to... then along came Wild Dog.  Pure fun!


Ambush Bug Stocking Stuffer #1 (1986)
"I Knew I Shoulda Taken that Left Toyn Back in Albakoyky"
Keith Giffen (W/A)
Original Post-Date: July 7, 2016

Despite the fact that my Christmas entries almost always result in a pretty hefty dip in readership, I still had a blast covering this wacky book.


Angel Love #3 (October, 1986)
Barbara Slate (W/A)
Original Post-Date: August 27, 2016

This was the one issue of Angel Love that eluded me for over a year.  This was another "re-invigoration" issue for me.  I was getting a bit tired of writing, and again... considered stepping away for a little while.  Was lucky to come across this little book which reignited my interest in discussing these silly stories.




Lois Lane #1 (August, 1986)
"When it Rains, God is Crying: Chapters I & II"
Mindy Newell (W) / Gray Morrow (A)
Original Post-Date: February 18, 2016

This was a very interesting book to cover... in light of my own "Secret Origin" which I droned on about for far too long above.  This has to do with missing and abducted children... and Ms. Newell absolutely crushed it with her research.  A pleasure to read and discuss.

Sunday, January 8, 2017

Weird Comics History - The Sentry


Below is a depository for Sentry-related research materials for Weird Comics History, Episode 18... click to embiggen.



ABOVE: The first mention of Artie Rosen.  This appeared at the very end of a letters column in Daredevil (vol.2) #9 (July, 1999)



ABOVE: The underrated Rosen passes away from heart failure on January 14, 2000.  From Wizard Magazine #103 (April, 2000).



ABOVE: The widow-Rosen finds some interesting things packed away... From Wizard Magazine #105 (June, 2000)



 ABOVE: The news is out... from Wizard Magazine #116 (May, 2001)




ABOVE: Stan's Scintillating Sentry Scoop lettercolls from the miniseries.

Sunday, January 1, 2017

Chris is on Infinite Earths Top 10 Posts - 2016


#1 - DC/Marvel All-Access #3 (1997)
Original Post-Date: 11.02.2016
View Count: 742

This, my most-viewed post of 2016 (which is to say, all-time), definitely owes a great debt of gratitude to the force that is #SuperBlogTeamUp (Magic Edition).  Without the shares and support of my fellow Super-Bloggers, I doubt this post would've received even a quarter of the views it did!



#2 (tie) - Justice League of America #233 (1984)
Original Post-Date: 05.05.2016
View Count: 585

This was my sorta-kinda Cinco de Mayo post where I took a look at our old friend, Vibe.  A lot of fun here... and neat that the story title was Rebirth, in light of the events of the late-Spring/early-Summer.  Many thanks to Justin over at DC in the 80's for sharing this one, along with residual SBTU viewers... which takes us to...


#2 (tie) - Justice League America #52 (1991)
Original Post-Date: 05.04.2016
View Count: 585

This was my first Super-Blog Team-Up offering... and boy was I nervous.  The theme was "Versus" in light of the release of Captain America: Civil War in theaters.  SBTU has definitely been one of my highlights of the year... really dig the camaraderie and the friendships!



#3 - Justice League of America #179 (1980)
Original Post-Date: 04.29.2016
View Count: 521

Another Justice League appearance in the Top Ten!  This one "moved up the charts" thanks to shares from both DC in the 80's and Shag from Firestorm Fan.  Both great sites, well worth your time... though, if you're here, you're probably already aware of them.



#4 - Superman (vol.2) #70 (1992)
Original Post-Date: 10.18.2016
View Count: 492

Here's one that came out of nowhere... I really don't know how it received so many views.  It was part of my October-long #boohauntedblog special event, which was a brother-concept with one of my brother-bloggers, Mike Carlyle over at the Crapbox of Son of Cthulhu.



#5 - Batman #350 (1982)
Original Post-Date: 10.26.2016
View Count: 394

Another oddity for the list... not one I was expecting to break triple-digits.  Maybe folks were scouring the blogosphere for Vampire stories this October?  Anyhoo... great three-part horrory Batman story, well worth checking out!




#6 (tie) - The Uncanny X-Men and The New Teen Titans
Original Post-Date: 05.27.2016
View Count: 298

A special review timed to hit when X-Men Apocalypse hit theaters.  A great issue to revisit featuring my two favorite comic book teams.  Big thanks to the Danger Room podcast for sharing this on social media.



#6 (tie) - Christmas with the Super-Heroes #1 (1988)
Original Post-Date: 12.21.2016
View Count: 298

A very recent entry, helped in no short measure by it's inclusion in the Super-Blog Team-Up (Holiday).  My Christmas-themed reviews almost always see a dip in viewership, but this one soared.  This is also my longest post written in 2016, weighing in at over 5,000 words!


#7 - Man of Steel #1 (1986)
Original Post-Date: 04.25.2016
View Count: 296

This was a post I wrote to coincide with a Weird Comics History Segment for the Weird Science DC Comics Podcast.  Reggie and I discussed the time in which Marvel was trying to license the DC characters... leading to John Byrne writing a treatment for "Marvel's Superman".  This post not only reviews the issue, but compares and contrasts it with the original pitch!


#8 (tie) - Justice League of America #224 (1984)
Original Post-Date: 06.07.2016
View Count: 288

I remember writing this piece while suffering the effects of heat stroke!  After spending a few days at Phoenix Comicon... and forgetting to drink any water, I was in a bad way.  While at the Con, I interviewed the writer of this issue, Kurt Busiek!  He, along with DC in the 80's both graciously shared this post on social media.


#8 (tie) - I, Vampire #1 (2011)
Original Post-Date: 10.25.2016
View Count: 288

Another appearance from a #boohauntedblog vampire book!






#9 - Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man (1976)
Original Post-Date: 05.09.2016
View Count: 277

This was my 100th Daily Post on the blog, and I wanted to make it a special one.  This was a helluva book to synopsize, and was a lot of fun.  This one received a bunch of traffic from CBR's message boards... likely definitely due to my prolific picture taking more than anything.


#10 - Action Comics #582 (1986)
Original Post-Date: 06.22.2016
View Count: 240

Hmm... wonder how this one got there... a DC Comic posted in June with the word Rebirth on the cover.  Ahem... anyhoo.  Big thanks to Weird Science DC Comics for sharing this bugger (and many others) as well!