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What is the general opinion on the Delano run? I've read most of the Morrison, Milligan, and Veitch runs, but haven't dipped into the Delano stuff before. Is it worth checking out?

It's been a long while since I read it, Stalgie, but I have generally favorable feelings about it. As I recall, the first half of the run was pretty excellent. Towards the end, it started to run out of steam but was still overall good. I wish I could remember more specifics, but it's been well over 20 years now. I remember, though, that it explored the darker side of Buddy's powers and more of the Red's nature, It seems in a way that Lemire really picked up on a lot of what Delano did more than Morrison, et al.

Thanks, Lardy. I'll check it out if I can find the issues.

Quick research shows that series was collected all the way thru Delano's run, so TPBs on eBay (or in better libraries) might be an option!

Thanks. I'll see if I can find it.

Yeeesh! WAY past time for an update, right?


Pile UPDATE (3/11/16)

Recently Read

West Coast Avengers Omnibus Vol. 1
New Teen Titans Vol. 2
Thor God of Thunder (Jason Aaron) Vol. 1
Locke & Key Vols. 3-6
Star Wars: Legacy (Ostrander) Vol. 1
Darth Vader Vol. 1
Essential Amazing Spider-Man Vols. 7-9
Infinity Inc. Generations Saga Vol. 1

To-Read Pile (new stuff since last time in bold)
Marvel Masterworks: The Defenders Vol. 4
Mage Vol. 2: The Hero Defined
Legion Archives Vol. 12-13
West Coast Avengers Omnibus Vol. 2
Goldfish
Fantastic Four by John Byrne Omnibus Vols. 1 & 2
Scout Vol. 2
Frank Miller's Ronin Deluxe Edition
Spider-Man by Roger Stern Omnibus
Marvel Masterworks: Silver Surfer Vol. 1
Iron Man by Michelinie, Layton & Romita, Jr. Omnibus
Murder Me Dead (David Lapham)
Stray Bullets Uber Alles Edition
Grimjack Omnibus Vol. 2
Jon Sable: Freelance Omnibus Vols. 1 & 2
Secret Six Vol. 1: Villains United
Underwater Welder
Marvel Masterworks: Doctor Strange Vol. 6
Flex Mentallo
Nemo: Heart of Ice, Roses of Berlin & River of Ghosts
Orion by Walt Simonson Omnibus
Shaman's Tears (Mike Grell)
Howard the Duck Omnibus
Marvel Masterworks: Iron Fist Vol. 2
Marvel Masterworks: Captain America Vol. 7 (Englehart)
Just the Tips (a Sex Criminals companion by Fraction/Zdarsky)
Thor Omnibus Vol. 2
Marada the She-Wolf
Legends of the Dark Knight: Norm Breyfogle Vol. 1
Bandette Vol. 2
Amazing Spider-Man: The Original Clone Saga (still have to read the Carrion stuff)
Swamp Thing (Brian K. Vaughn) Vols. 1 & 2
All-New X-Men Vols. 4-7
Star Wars: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Vol. 3
X-Men: Battle of the Atom
Power Man & Iron Fist Epic Collection: Heroes for Hire
Pride of Baghdad
Camelot 3000 Deluxe edition
Guardians of Galaxy Vol. 1 (Bendis)
Moon Knight Epic Collection Vols. 1 & 2
Star Wars: Legacy (Ostrander) Vols. 2-5
Star Wars: Tag & Bink Were Here
The Private Eye (Vaughn)
Descender Vol. 1
Deadpool Classics Vols. 1 & 2
Crossover Classics Marvel/DC Vol. 1
New Teen Titans Vol. 3
Paying for It by Chester Brown
Darth Vader Vol. 2
Princess Leia
Secret History Omnibus Vols. 2 & 3
Showcase Presents Trial of the Flash
Showcase Presents Warlord Vol. 1
Planet Hulk
World War Hulk

In addition to the items on the Pile, I've been accumulating trades and individual issues to fill out Peter David's long 2nd run on X-Factor that began with the Madrox mini and ended with (appropriately) the "End of X-Factor" arc. I still have about 9 trades worth of material (all post issue 200) and the Layla Miller Special to go on that project.

Thanks for the updates, Lardy.

Yeah, I would imagine the post-200 X-Factor trades and issues are harder to find. Marvel certainly didn't promote them or print too many copies.

Looking forward to finding out what you thought of your most recent reads. I'm especially excited to see you review New Teen Titans Volume 2.

Yep. I noticed that at a certain point, after the "They Keep Killing Madrox" arc (issues 229-232), Marvel stopped doing hardcover versions of the collections and skipped straight to TPB. The TPB versions after that volume are expensive--if you can find them at all. Luckily, the individual issues are still pretty cheap and easy to find, so I'll likely get those as floppies.



Sneak preview: LOVED it!!!

I remember when Marvel stopped doing the hardcovers. That was when I knew X-Factor's days were numbered. Still, at least we got two dozen more issues and all the most important loose ends were wrapped up. Thank the Gods for cheap floppies.



YAY!!

Pile UPDATE (5/10/16)

Currently Reading
Showcase Presents Trial of the Flash
Fantastic Four by John Byrne Omnibus Vol. 1

Recently Read
Marvel Masterworks: Iron Fist Vol. 2
All-New X-Men Vols. 4-7
X-Men: Battle of the Atom
Power Man & Iron Fist Epic Collection: Heroes for Hire

To-Read Pile (new stuff since last time in bold)
Marvel Masterworks: The Defenders Vol. 4
Mage Vol. 2: The Hero Defined
West Coast Avengers Omnibus Vol. 2
Goldfish
Fantastic Four by John Byrne Omnibus Vol. 2
Scout Vol. 2
Frank Miller's Ronin Deluxe Edition
Spider-Man by Roger Stern Omnibus
Marvel Masterworks: Silver Surfer Vol. 1
Iron Man by Michelinie, Layton & Romita, Jr. Omnibus
Murder Me Dead (David Lapham)
Stray Bullets Uber Alles Edition
Grimjack Omnibus Vol. 2
Jon Sable: Freelance Omnibus Vols. 1 & 2
Secret Six Vol. 1: Villains United
Underwater Welder
Marvel Masterworks: Doctor Strange Vol. 6
Flex Mentallo
Nemo: Heart of Ice, Roses of Berlin & River of Ghosts
Orion by Walt Simonson Omnibus
Shaman's Tears (Mike Grell)
Howard the Duck Omnibus
Marvel Masterworks: Captain America Vol. 7 (Englehart)
Just the Tips (a Sex Criminals companion by Fraction/Zdarsky)
Thor Omnibus Vol. 2
Marada the She-Wolf
Legends of the Dark Knight: Norm Breyfogle Vol. 1
Bandette Vol. 2
Amazing Spider-Man: The Original Clone Saga (still have to read the Carrion stuff)
Swamp Thing (Brian K. Vaughn) Vols. 1 & 2
Star Wars: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Vol. 3
Pride of Baghdad
Camelot 3000 Deluxe edition
Guardians of Galaxy Vol. 1 (Bendis)
Moon Knight Epic Collection Vols. 1 & 2
Star Wars: Legacy (Ostrander) Vols. 2-5
Star Wars: Tag & Bink Were Here
The Private Eye (Vaughn)
Descender Vol. 1
Deadpool Classics Vols. 1 & 2
Crossover Classics Marvel/DC Vol. 1
New Teen Titans Vol. 3
Paying for It by Chester Brown
Darth Vader Vol. 2
Princess Leia
Secret History Omnibus Vols. 2 & 3
Showcase Presents Warlord Vol. 1
Planet Hulk
World War Hulk
Star Slammers Complete Collection
Essential Peter Parker Spectacular Spider-Man Vol. 1
Crisis on Infinite Earths Deluxe Edition
Thanos: Infinity revelation
The Wizard's Tale
Superman: Secret Identity

Ooh, I see you've read the "Power Man & Iron Fist" trade, Lardy! Is there a possibility a review might be forthcoming? (And if you didn't like it, review it anyway, I won't be upset.)

I know its at the bottom of the pile, but I can't wait for your thoughts on PP:SSM vol 1! Lots of old favorites in that collection.

I also see you have Private Eye by Vaughn and Martin. That's on my list to get too if I ever get around to doing another big order of TPB's.

Oh, it doesn't matter where a book is in the Pile--it's where the mood takes me, don'tcha know!!! So we'll see about PPSM....

Probably real soon, I'll fill in an ASM gap with some Essentials and then read thru the Roger Stern Omnibus. I'm already well past the debut of PPSM in the ASM reading (thru ASM 210, I think?), so I'm not exactly sure if I'll read some PPSM before continuing with ASM?



Yeah, as soon as it was announced to be a TPB, I knew I had to have it! (And read it eventually...) I'm a Luddite, so I never much entertained reading it on Vaughn's pay-what-you-like website, though it was tempting. Didn't you follow that on Vaughn's site, or am I mis-remembering?

It was definitely entertaining, and Jo knew how to tell a good yarn. It especially started clicking when Kerry Gammill came aboard as I've always liked his work. There was nothing earth-shattering in those issues, but they featured some solid storytelling and some decent characterization. Of course, this trade contained roughly half of Jo's run, so one would presume that the second half is even better.

Of course the trade begins with Claremont and Byrne as the creative team as it transitions from Power Man to PM/IF. I'm glad they started the transition because it allowed them to tie up the loose ends from their Iron Fist run. It was a fairly inspired idea to combine the two in one book and was obviously successful as the book lasted all the way thru issue 125.

The problem, at first, was that Iron Fist's supporting cast really dominated the book in the early-going. I know little to nothing about Luke Cage's book pre-Iron Fist, but it certainly seemed that whatever was there was mostly swept under the rug except for the Gem Theater Office and sporadic appearances by D.W and a few others. Luke's girlfriend from before the change was even written out with a hasty break-up. I noticed that when Jo came aboard, more characters from Luke's past started popping up more and figuring into the plots more heavily. This made it feel to me more like a book featuring equal headliners.

Not that I can completely fault Claremont and the others for heavily featuring characters like Misty, Colleen and Jeryn Hogarth. Misty and Colleen are indisputably great characters in Marvel's stable, and Misty and Danny's interracial romance had to have been quite a trailblazer for the times.

I explored this as someone who considers himself a pretty big Iron Fist fan. It was a logical progression to go from the Iron Fist Masterworks volumes, and I feel lucky that this Epic Collection existed to help me follow him beyond. There's a second volume coming out later this year, and I look forward to both completing Jo's run and seeing Luke and Danny's story evolve.

P.S. I love the recurring gag where Luke pretty much needs a new shirt after every issue!

If you end up getting the complete trilogy (Revelation/Relativity/Finale), be aware that there's a sub-chapter between the second and last volumes, The Infinity Entity, which focuses on Adam Warlock and has beautiful art by Davis & Farmer. It sticks out like a sore thumb on the shelf, though, as unlike the rest it was released as a softcover trade. And Starlin hands over the art chores to Ron Lim in FINALE, my *other* peeve in an otherwise grand storyline. Lim does admirably, but this was touted as a Starlin project; Would've liked to see him cap off the story in style.

Agreed that Kerry Gammill's arrival was where the book really took off -- I love the way Gammill cross-bred the styles of John Buscema & John Byrne, yet still managed to make it uniquely him.

Re: Characterization, I think this was the first time Luke came off like a human being rather than a caricature, and it was also the first time I found Danny interesting and likable.



Actually, I think it peaks with the "Return to K'un L'un" 2-parter in 74-75. You'd do better getting the floppies of 71-72 and 74-75, in my opinion (I've never read 73, because it guest stars ROM and, since Marvel cannot reprint it, it's almost impossible to find.)




Indeed. One of my favorite panels is in 66, when Danny rescues Misty just before she passes out from lack of air in the safe where she was trapped; the way Gammill captures the expressions of affection on their faces...wow.



If you do decide to read the entirety of Jo's run, be warned that Gammill's art, while still good, deteriorates somewhat after 75, as he struggles to keep up with the monthly schedule which ultimately led to his departure from the book (IIRC, it had been bi-monthly until shortly before the end of the volume we're discussing right now.) He's replaced by Denys Cowan, a much more stylized artist who I think was much better suited to the weirded-out noir of Denny O'Neil's The Question, and who was very young and very raw at this stage in his career. I think Jo left somewhere between 80 and 85, if memory serves me well, and I seem to remember that the book passed through several writers before settling on Kurt Busiek (his first steady mainstream gig, and I can't remember ATM what his first issue was.)

I love how the romance is presented in the comic from the beginning--like there's nothing unusual about it. The couple themselves, their friends and associates and even the narrator never feel the need to point out that this is an interracial relationship. It's simply two people in love, and I think that was an excellent, forward-thinking way to present them. We can thank Chris Claremont for doing it this way in the first place and his successors for following suit (so far at least).



I'm in for volume 2 not only because of a curiosity for Jo's (and Busiek's, who a Wikipedia article says was on the book from 90-105 with 4 of those issues written by others) run but because I'm such a big fan of Iron Fist and want to read as much of the PM/IF era as possible.

BTW, periodically, when it comes up, I just have to recommend the Immortal Iron Fist series by Brubaker, Fraction and Aja and later Swierczynski and Foreman. This series, which lasted 27 issues and featured an annual, some great one-shots and the Immortal Weapons mini-series spin-off, was just excellent from beginning to end and will always have a special place in my collection. So much pulpy goodness with the Iron Fist mythos done more justice than at any other point in its existence!

Thanks for the recommendation, Lardy. I'll see if my library has the trades.

Agreed that the matter-of-factness of the romance was ground-breaking for its time and highly commendable.

I will be looking forward to finding out what you think of the stories in Volume 2 and beyond, if there are third and fourth volumes.

New trades on their way with my DCBS order--

MOON GIRL and DEVIL DINOSAUR- Looking forward to this, as I'm a fan of the writers Montclare & Reeder (ROCKET GIRL); I checked with Amy that my trade-waiting wasn't hurting the series and was assured the book is doing well and has strong support from Misney.

OUTCAST v.3

SAGA v.6

SEX CRIMINALS v.3

DELIRIUM'S PARTY: A LITTLE ENDLESS STORYBOOK HC- I was a big fan of Jill Thompson's first Little Endless story, can't wait to read this!

At Denver Comic-Con, I picked up the following trades at ridiculous low costs (for most of them):

What I've read so far:
The Death-Defying Dr. Mirage Vol. 1 & 2
Harbinger Omegas Vol 6
Imperium: Collecting Monsters Vol 1
Black Magick Vol. 1
Gotham Academy Vol. 1
Brave and the Bold: Lords of Luck
Shadow Hero
Archer & Armstrong Vol. 1
Teen Titans: Child's Play Vol. 12

I really enjoyed Shadow Hero, Gotham Academy, Black Magick, Dr. Mirage and Archer and Armstrong. Good comics

Still sitting at my bedside table:
Fearful Hunter
Harbinger Wars
Hawkman: Rise of the Golden Eagle Vol. 4
Batwing Into the Dark Vol. 5
Supreme: Blue Rose
Daytripper
Countdown to Adventure Vol. 1

DAYTRIPPER is beautiful... I hope you enjoy it as much as I did and still do... <3

^ Agreed.

Really interested in your thoughts on Trial of the Flash! I read those issues only once and I was like 12 years old, when all I really cared about was what actually happened.

I've considered a Barry Flash reread but figure it would have to be slow going as the Silver Age issues are not really meant to be read too quickly together. They work much better when sampled a little at a time. Still, I'm super curious to see how Infantino's art looks when he came back at the end in comparison to his 60's work (which itself sharply evolves).

Cobie, I actually shared some thoughts on Trial of the Flash over on the Flash (Barry Allen) thread. It was really, REALLY wacky in so many ways. Check that thread out!