Comics -1995

[PulsivePanda]

I'm generally bored with a lot at the moment, (no milk for muh coffee, and no one to talk to) so I'm gonna' mak'kah topic about something absolutely random.

Alright, my favorite era for comic books has to be before '1995', the reason for that is because that's when pop culture formed into what it is now. A lot of things never changed since then, just modernization of more money, less individuality, and all that fun stuff.

So what I'm asking of you nice buggers, is tell lil' ol' me what your favorite comic is (BEFORE 1995) give a bit of a synopsis about the little diddy, give the date it was made, and your comments on what makes it your favorite!

I'll start first, I suppose. (It's only fair, yeah?)

Evil Ernie - December 1991 (Chaos! Comics)

Ernest Fairchild was a kid, he had an abusive father, and his mother (she's with child) would just stand by doing next to nothing. People that lived around him knew about the abusive but, did nothing to stop it.

So anyways, Ernest had a power to sketch scenes that would happen in the future. One day he sketched a car crashing into a tree, well, his mother was driving when sucha' thing just so happen to happen. The car crashed, and she slipped into the same psychosis as her husband has, abusive towards Ernest. Ernest also had a pet rat named "Smiley" (cute!) that he would use as a sort of protective blanket.

En-Knee-Ways, his mother and father sought to cure his little special trait. They took him to Dr. Leonard Price, which used a sort of "dream-machine" to take the powers/mental sicknesses from kids, and yeah. So since it's experimental, the dear doctor did not know what he was going to get. In his dream world, the young Ernest met Lady Death, whom tells him if he kills every person on earth, then she would love him, forever, and always.

Ernest gets out of the machine, and plays it all off cool like he's cured. Only to kill his parents, and thirty-five other people in his neighborhood before being shot by the dear doctor for a checkup.

Lady Death brings back Ernest as an Undead Ghoul, now adult version 'Evil Ernie' he now kills people in order to please Lady Death, ending in a very cataclysmic finale. Joined by a psychotic smiley button on his jean jacket, named Smiley, that is the source of Ernie's power.

COMMENTS:

I absolutely loved the story, the art was just mindblowing, the storyline was fluid, shall I mention, even the stories that break off from the story (Lady Death). I found it when I was about seven, when I was a wee Jess, I got bought for christmas a Evil Ernie action figure that came with a comic of it. Over the years I bought more issues, and thus it became my all-time favorite comic to date.

[williamthebloody]

oh man. i have to pick on you now.
i have read this Evil Ernie comic. tho, i dont recall in the one i read anything about drawing things? i actually wrote a review of the trade paperback Evil Ernie: Youth Gone Wild! you can read it here:
http://williamsbloodyhell.com/reviewevilernie.htm
i um... didn't care for it. sorry.

do you know what IS awesome from before 1995? BONE by Jeff Smith. my review for it is here:
http://williamsbloodyhell.com/reviewbone.htm

but, yes, there are indeed a plethora of REALLY GOOD comics before 1995. i'm kind curious what everyone else will bring up?
BESIDES WATCHMEN, OKAY, BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW IT'S A GIVEN, RIGHT?

[Slinker]

Comics before 1995? Thats quite a lot of them.

I guess thats was the time I read a lot calvin and hobbes and The far side. When it comes to american comics. I don't really recall reading much else. I was 7 years old. I don't even know if I was campable of reading back then. In fact I don't recall much of that period at all. Maybe I was drunk?

I don't really agree on that it was the period when a lot pop culture (But I guess it's all about which social groups your into.) was formed of what we're seeing today. Pop culture is kinda constantly envolvoing. And I would say we're living a very develop time when it come to it today, due the invetation called internet.

When it comes to other comics "old" comics...... I guess I like Mause?


And I'm actually pretty into the Tintin comics. Very nice stuff that.

[PulsivePanda]

Actually yeah, he DID have that power Will, if you read the whole series (And some of the spinoffs) it supports the point that he did have it. In fact, it actually sort of manifests itself back into when he was a adult many years after into a new power!

I read all of the comics, and loved each and every bit of it.

Have'ta say you're wrong Willy mah'boy!

And yeah, I just absolutely love comics before 1995, mostly in the 1985-1995 era!

[Slinker]

I always had a hard time getting why some people are some into stuff from a certian time. I don't really get the argument "It was so much better back then!" That just smells generalisation for me. Especielly when it is time period the person in question didn't live through themself. Like people in my age that are so intrested in the 70s and downward. It's like they have this weird vision of what it was like back then and that somehow people manage to produce only good stuff back then.

And having that idea that "I prefer music/movies/comics from the 80s" also feels like the person in question is closing themself in for new stuff just cause it doesn't smell old enough.

[PulsivePanda]

To be honest, I can see where you're coming from Slinky. I do agree with you from a point, but I also have some arguments with it...

1995 dawned quite a bit of new content, I like to call it the "Era of new ideas" although I DO like some of the comics/content it's produced, I also like the comics/content from 1985-1995. I listen to foo fighters, Metric, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Amon Amarth, Cannibal Corpse, all that 'New agey' music, so I'm not completely shut into the old era, it's mostly just comics. Hell, Serenity Rose is my second favorite comic (series), so another point of not being shut in.

Evil Ernie just had a great story, if you read the whole thing, and actually made a connection from where Ernest was coming from, you'd love it as much as me! Comic stories (from MY point of view) has to connect you with the main character, and the characters around that character, give you a feel when say they get stabbed in the gut with a blade. You have to relate to what they think, and est. That's why in most cases for comics, it usually says "MAY NOT APPEAL TO EVERYONE, CONTAINS SUBJECT MATTER TO CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS" Or something along those lines!

Back when I read Evil Ernie, I really connected with him. Because I was going through the emo (self-destructive) stage, and having Lady Death use him like that, just sort of upset me yeah.. But it also gave me a moral, to not be used, to be my own person. That is also how I got into zombie-genre entertainment (The Dead Onez idea was a nice lil' twist I hafta say!).

So Slink, that's my story on the subject. Hope ya' understand where some people are comin' from.

[Slinker]

Hehe, no offens. But please stop, randomize the characters color and size so much. I feel like I'm getting an epileptic attack while reading.

Oh, I don't doubt that the comics you read are good. I don't even think you are all "95". I just wrote more about the actuall statment "I like stuff from that period" and what I can't understand about people in general. The list is long.

[williamthebloody]

Actually yeah, he DID have that power Will, if you read the whole series (And some of the spinoffs) it supports the point that he did have it. In fact, it actually sort of manifests itself back into when he was a adult many years after into a new power!

I read all of the comics, and loved each and every bit of it.

Have'ta say you're wrong Willy mah'boy!

And yeah, I just absolutely love comics before 1995, mostly in the 1985-1995 era!

well, i SUPPOSE, to be FAIR, i did NOT read any more of Evil Ernie than the Youth Gone Wild mini series. i didnt have access to them first run, and only stumbled upon it by chance very recently and thought i'd read it to finally know what that whole business was about. i wasn't very impressed with it, so did not pursue it any further. one of my main bones of contention with that particular miniseries was that the quality of the art suffered as the issues progress (and i'm sure you'll notice they stopped toning it part way through... this is a fact) probably for deadline reasons, if i had to guess (simply because it is a common reason for the business). i mean, at the start, the art was pretty neat looking and they didn't slack on the backgrounds or detail, but they couldnt maintain that level throughout, which was unfortunate. of course, since i didnt read any more of the series, this could very well have been a one-time problem.

but i digress.

another comic i used to like from before 1995 was THE NEW MUTANTS. you see, the X-Men went on an outer-space adventure and Professor Xavier thought they were dead. so, he pretty much went around looking for the next generation of X-Men to train. the X-Men were of course NOT DEAD, but they were all grown up and having serious adventures saving the world and such, whereas the New Mutants were teenagers and still had to attend regular classes at Xaviers School for Gifted Youngsters and their adventures were usually on a more personal level or had to do with silly/fun teenage stuff more often than serious battles. it was often a fun , and light hearted book, which is why i liked it so (but it did sometimes have serious storytelling but by people who could tell really good stories, plus it had a wicked awesome run drawn by world famous BILL SIENKIEWICZ which will blow your mind). AND THEN ROB LIEFELD TOOK OVER THE TITLE AND IT SUCKED ASS AND BECAME X-FORCE. see, he took a fun teenage comic and made it all "gritty" and "edgy" and "serious" and drained all of the fun and zest out of it and turned it into a boring run of the mill, done to death pointless action scene book. the characters of New Mutants had real personality and individualism that you could connect with, but LIEFELD took them all away and replaced them with his own characters who had no back stories or personalities what so ever other than being badasses who yelled at each other a lot. and this is why i wish Rob Liefeld would drop dead.

[SadakoMoose]

As far as comics go, anything by Warren Ellis is good
Anything by Adam Warren is good, especially his run on Gen 13
Brought to Light, by Alan Moore was awesome.
The first comic book series I really got into was New Teen Titans, the Wolfman Perez run.
Read Persepolis awhile ago, and am reading a lot of Scott McCloud stuff.

[PulsivePanda]

Gen 13... I do believe I have some comics sitting around in my room about that, isn't it the one with Spawn in it? I absolutely love Spawn, but couldn't really get into the story of Gen 13, hence why I only have a few... And why they're laying around...

As for Slinky, I shall never stop with my mass array of pink, and different font sizes.

NEVER
Ever

Although, I would be glad I only use pink... Or red for Will sometimes.

And Will, I do remember that, I didn't care for the moment because by then, I was already wrapped up in the storyline. (I'ma sucker for a desperate plea for someone to love them, in their sad, worthless life.)

[SadakoMoose]

Gen 13... I do believe I have some comics sitting around in my room about that, isn't it the one with Spawn in it? I absolutely love Spawn, but couldn't really get into the story of Gen 13, hence why I only have a few... And why they're laying around...

As for Slinky, I shall never stop with my mass array of pink, and different font sizes.

NEVER
Ever

Although, I would be glad I only use pink... Or red for Will sometimes.

And Will, I do remember that, I didn't care for the moment because by then, I was already wrapped up in the storyline. (I'ma sucker for a desperate plea for someone to love them, in their sad, worthless life.)

Well I never really like Gen 13 either, UNTIL Adam Warren took over for a few issues.
He's also the guy that did Empowered.
It may be really immature, but sometimes I just want to see a well drawn boob.
Not a stupidly proportioned boob, not a boob connected to a messed up spine, or boobs connected to a stupid costume with too many pouches and shoulder pads...
Nope, just a nice, well drawn boob, connected to a character that I care about, designed by someone that cares what they're doing.
Therefore, I like Adam Warren
I also like women...really like women....
And some men...but I'm very selective.

[alphatroll]

'Tis true enough, a lot of things were changing in comics-dom 'round that ol' year of '95. I was in college & started my "second collecting phase" around that time so I remember it fairly well. Not all-in-all a bad thing, but a pretty distinct era nonetheless.

So, then... pre-'95, my all-time favorite comic of all times before 1995 would definitely have to be Sergio Aragonés' (he of the lightning-fast pen) Groo The Wanderer.

I got a quarter-century-old issue (bought it when I was ten!) signed by Sergio, Mark Evanier (writer), and Stan Sakai (letterer) at ComiCon last year, and it took me two whole days to realize he had in fact drawn Groo and Rufferto next to his name; I'd only seen the actual autograph.

Yes, he's that fast!

[williamthebloody]

As far as comics go, anything by Warren Ellis is good
Anything by Adam Warren is good, especially his run on Gen 13
Brought to Light, by Alan Moore was awesome.
The first comic book series I really got into was New Teen Titans, the Wolfman Perez run.
Read Persepolis awhile ago, and am reading a lot of Scott McCloud stuff.

ooh, i LOVE the Wolfman-Perez Titans run! that is some truly wicked stuff, there! "The Judas Contract" in particular was SO GOOD.

oh, Gen 13, you silly comic, you. it gave us super star artist J Scott Campbell and many gratuitous shots of Fairchild's boobs and butt. i only read like 5 issues of it so i don't really even know what it's about... ;-P



also, i should mention that i am a near certifiable expert in old Uncanny X-men from 1975-1991 (Giant-Sized X-men #1 and onward until Chris Claremont stopped writing it). so if any one has any questions about the M'Kran crystal, the dark phoenix saga, kitty pryde, nanny the orphan maker, the siege perilous, the mojoverse, the shi'ar empire, the brood, the mutant massacre, the x-tinction agenda, and so forth I'M YOUR MAN.

[PulsivePanda]

Yeah, when it comes to superheroes and all that general stuff around there, I'm not exactly the expert on that, nor do I feel I want to be. My favorite types of things in comics revolve mostly around anti-heroes, where they're pitted as the bad guy. I love origin stories, like how the joker become... Well... The joker, Doctor Octopus, all those guys.

The reason for that, is because I love how (and I'm sure I mentioned this before in another post, yeah?) the human mind can change, from innocent and not meaning to do bad, to being evil. For whatever reason, Evil Ernie just wanted to be loved, Spawn (I forget all of the small details, sorry) wanted redemption, some were even raised that way, like it's their own life, to steal/kill or die. I absolutely fall in love with those kinds of stories, it's like the first moment they change from being normal, to being a main character, it's a climax of the whole story. The actual climax, not when the superhero kills them, but when the person he is destined to kill turns that way.

I feel it's psychological, which something really interesting to research, just normally, say you're sitting waiting for the bus, observe the people around you.

I love just sitting, waiting for people to come by, and go about their day like nothing is wrong at all. I sort of create a mini-story that shows their background, how they got there, why they are wearing what they wear, everything. Except a name for them, nameless characters give me a need to learn more about them, makes me read into them more.

I've rambled on the subject too much now though.

P.S. For last few days I've been stressed, so any rude comments I didn't really mean.

[williamthebloody]

Yeah, when it comes to superheroes and all that general stuff around there, I'm not exactly the expert on that, nor do I feel I want to be. My favorite types of things in comics revolve mostly around anti-heroes, where they're pitted as the bad guy. I love origin stories, like how the joker become... Well... The joker, Doctor Octopus, all those guys.

so youve read "The Killing Joke," then? that's the "modern" retelling of the comic book Joker's origin. it's written by the super-talented Alan Moore and drawn by Brian Bolland. it's .... it's pretty well PERFECT is what it is. so, you know, READ THAT if you havent.