Astro City is a comic series for people who grew up on superhero comic books and the world they live in. Everything about it is a smart examination of all this crazy superhero stuff we all love, and it touches on all eras while being a sophisticated, modern story. Everything in it will be familiar to you if you’re a superhero fan, without coming across as “memberberries”. Hugely recommended.
It’s very good. Underrated, for sure. Back then it had some critical praise. Brent Anderson’s work is pretty exemplary. Not a very well known artist but he draws his balls off. God Loves, Man Kills.
For me, in many ways the '90s comics industry reflected the movie industry in that finally, small independent publishers and foreign published graphic novels took over and dominated the art form. I started collecting Marvel and DC while in grade school in the mid 1980s, by the early 1990s I was exclusively buying independents from comic shops and exclusively watching art house and foreign films. My favorite comic from this era is Joe Matt's The Poor Bastard.
Some of the best comics are from the 1990s. All of the indies were pretty fucking great! Hate, Eightball, Stray Bullets, Black Hole, Optic Nerve, ACME Novelty Library, etc. Image is part to blame. Like it or not! Mainstream creators doing their own shit inspired other artists.
I wish! Because of the AVGN-driven TH-cam generation, just like it was in the 90s with the 70s, anything that’s not the 80s is wrong, so there cannot be nostalgia for the 90s, 2000s or 2010s, it’s wrong. By the time all 80s lovers are gone, anyone who could feel nostalgia for the “wrong decades” will also be gone. Maybe the 2020s will be the next nostalgia...
I should point out that the people who came out against Ellis explicitly stated that they were not trying to "cancel" him. I went through a lot of the accusations and, although he seems to be a pretty shitty dude, and definitely not someone I would ever get romantically involved with, he didn't seem to be accused of coercion or assault. I didn't read every single entry though (there are a whole lot lol) so I suggest you look into it yourself. He has talked about making amends with the women involved, and apparently there has been some kind of process and work done on that. Of course, that doesn't mean anyone has to like him or give him an opportunity or talk about him, but I also feel that this is an instance where he hasn't done something so grotesquely reprehensible that it overshadows his work and impact on the industry. Your mileage may vary on that, though.
I’m rereading Planetary right now, and whatever Ellis has going on (I’m not following the news) John Cassiday’s work makes it sublime. It deserves a full review.
@@DonTheMoron716 The dude was literally grooming young women. In the accurate use of the word, not the Republican version. Even he admitted he was being a shitbag. Don't downplay it.
Ive taken to describing Moore's 90's works as his "reconstructive era". Its the era of his work I appreciate most. Part of me wishes he had stuck with that tone for longer.
If only DC hadn't bought Wildstorm. We might even be seeing more work like that from Moore to this day. Okay, that may be a bit optimistic. But he definitely would have done a lot more.
Thanks for this video. To me it's hard to believe how long ago these titles came out. But, this is a great way to reminisce, and a reminder to go check some I missed back then. Maybe some day we'll get an ASTRO City omnibus the way they've done Bone or Invincible.
What about: -All of Dan Clowes’ Eightball stuff -Transmetropolitan (yeah… Ellis again… I know) -Al Columbia’s The Biologic Show -Coleen Doran’s A Distant Soil …The Sandman? Too obvious? Also a ton of Manga (Ichi The Killer, Battle Angel Alita, Berserk, Monster…) and some european stuff (first that comes to mind is Enki Bilal’s Froid Equateur)
Monster and Ichi the Killer are craaaazy, Ik Berserk is supposed to be amazing aswell, but i never got to finish it, also rest in peace kentaro miura fr
Love Shade The Changing Man, alongside Enigma. Milligan is often either excellent or awful, with very little in between in my experience, but those two titles, and a lot of his 80s and 90s output, is up there as excellent for me.
I am finding out a lot more about Steve Gerber on this channel than I ever did looking through a library or Wikipedia. Looking forward to that Foolkiller retrospective.
Gerber was an incredibly unique voice and I miss him not only because he's one of my favorite comic book authors, but because I would be very curious to see what he'd have to say about today's world. I discovered his Howard The Duck in my teens and read and re-read it constantly and even as an adult, it's still incredibly funny and fresh as it ever was. Man-Thing even more so (though less funny and more surreal)
He’s 100% right about Foolkoller being overshadowed by the McFarlane Spider-Man launch. I was there in the comic shop every week back then and I completely forgot a Foolkiller series existed, much less that it came out the same week lol
I thought Liefeld's Supreme was a great character; I loved how he was essentially the villain of his own comic. It was cool to see his interactions with Thor, who was basically the hero but didn't have a hero's luck.
Excellent video, as always. I will check out this recommendation, for sure. Regarding the Planetary: we all know that a comic book is not just its script. With a lesser artist, Planetary would have been cancelled after its second issue. So not talking about it because of Ellis' misdeeds would be a disservice to Cassaday and Laura Martin's extraordinary work. Keep up the good work!
@@StrangeBrainParts there is a 3-hour long League of Extraordinary Gentlemen video essay on TH-cam that is very good and well research but the guy making the video completely negates Kevin O’Neil’s contributions to the comic. He talks about LoEG as if Alan Moore was the only one responsable for the twist and turns of the story. When we all know that Alan Moore is Alan Moore because he associates himself with the best collaborator for any project. So, yeah, a comic book is not just it’s shitty writer. Except Mark Millar stuff, he sucks
That LoEG vid is great, but you’re right. Kevin’s art is stunning. The pages of Griffin ‘acquiring’ the policeman uniform alone deserves a dedicated vid.
PLANETARY, as a series commentary on comic books, pulp fiction, and popular culture for the majority of the 20th century, absolutely deserves to be covered. I think you can put a disclaimer on it about Ellis, and still talk about the work itself that he, John Cassaday, and Laura Martin did.
I remember after reading Alan Moore's Superman stories "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow" and "For the Man who has Everything" I was left with this sense of disappointment. Not with either story, but from realizing that both were now in my top three favorite Superman comics and that was all Moore ever had or ever would write for the character. Then I discovered Supreme thanks to one of your videos. I just want to thank you again for introducing me to the Alan Moore Superman run I never thought we'd get.
That's exactly how I felt...Moore had some great Superman stories in him that he never got the chance to tell. Until Supreme. And then we got the Superman story he never got to tell at DC.
Those Superman stories never really made it for me. I think they're good, but I don't get why they are universally loved, other than being Alan Moore creations. I do really want to read Supreme though. I'm hoping for a DC Compendium (or even better, an Omnibus) like they did for Top Ten and Tom Strong.
Fuck me! The first issue of Johnny The Homicidal Maniac! I asked my friendly neighborhood comic dealer, “What is that?!” It was behind the counter and he told me, “It’s Johnny The Homicidal Maniac!” I Bought it immediately, read it and started killing people. 😂
I'm sure my comment is a little late but.......I think it's very important to do videos on the works of "cancelled" creators. Separating the art from the artist helps to keep art alive. Especially with Planetary. Planetary isn't just about archeologist of the unknown with a mystery but explores the archeological history of comics : where they came from and where they may be going. Years ago, I started a series of videos that were issue by issue dives of Planetary. Not a lot of views but highly informative for the comic historians out there. I have zero regrets.
Honestly, starman is probably my personal favorite book of the era. I think a lot of DC books of the late 90s didn't get the kind of love they should have, and there are a ton of hidden gems in that era. I'd definitely add the 1997 Resurrection man to the list.
The Nocturals... which worked for me with the mix of crime and horror and I dig art... Terminal City seems to have been overlooked by a lot of people... with great art and a story that harkens back to the pulp era Sandman Mystery Theater was also a great series that is a great mix of crime, pulp and superhero adventure.
I guess in many ways the '90s comics industry reflected the movie industry in that finally, small independent publishers and foreign published graphic novels took over and dominated the art form. I started collecting Marvel and DC while in grade school in the mid 1980s, by the early 1990s I was exclusively buying independents from comic shops and exclusively watching art house and foreign films. My favorite comic from this era is Joe Matt's The Poor Bastard.
I really liked the MILESTONE comics that came out in the 90s,the first era of black,super-heroes and black artists and writers.I bought : Icon,Static,Hardware.Enjoyed those titles,even my uncles bought a few of these comics.I remember they were on the cover of-Time-magazine,which i bought on a regular basis back then.
I'm a huge fan of Ellis as a writer (Authority, Planetary, Transmet). I understand why some people would personally make the decision not to cover him, but I'm also skeptical of the broader system we have where these accusations are made outside the law and the accused are raked through the mud by Twitter mobs, so-called journalists, and faceless corporations without being given a formal chance to defend themselves. And I think the world gets even more depressing every time we put barriers between ourselves and good art.
I've gotta say the 90's book I have lots of time for is Sandman Mystery Theatre by Matt Wagner, Steven T. Seagle and Guy davis. The first 4 issues alone are worth the price of admission.
I really enjoyed that.. took me back. Shade the Changing Man was utterly wonderful. The Invisibles was epic and had a huge impact on me at the time. I have the books for these two so I have re-read them, but would love to read The Maxx again, its all a blur in my head but remember it was quite an emotional book at the time. The other books from that era that Im re-collecting is Milestones Xombi the Korean nanotechnology hero infused with lots of very surreal characters and Ted McKeever stuff, who I love for the his art but he also wrote some great books.. thanks.
😂 Fuck, that’s true! Ha ha ha! I met Dave Sim on a few occasions. Early 2000s. I had a shop in Buffalo NY, so not far from Kitchener, ON. He merely came across as an intellectual artist. Celibate. But with a lot of humor.
Great video man. I know it’s a cliche to mock all the dumb stuff of 90s comics in the mainstream but like every medium with down periods, there will always be good stories. As for Warren Ellis, I say do it but have a disclaimer in the start saying that you don’t excuse or endorse any of his actions.
I'm glad I finally found a channel like yours. Wish I found it earlier. Thank you for your dedication to the medium and the passion for it. Your videos are spectacular, amazing, friendly neighborhood even.
I'm a 50+ years old comic reader who started reading/collecting in 1985-86, and no joke, I felt like you have been in my head for most of your videos. Our tastes are so similar it's scary. Might be why I love your videos so much. Suggestion: Have you read DC Challenge (from 1985, if memory serves...maybe 1987). Makes for a strange but fun read. Now I'm going back to reading my huge, complete, hardcover of Planetary. Thank you very much, kind sir.
And thank you for watching! I do appreciate that a lot. You know what? I don't think I have read the DC Challenge? That was a try-out book wasn't it? Regardless, I will try and see if I can hunt it down. Thanks for the suggestion!
@@StrangeBrainParts I t was a 12 issues mini, where one team would take book one, finish on a cliffhanger, and then a second team would come for book two, with no knowledge of what the first one contained, try to do something, finish also on a cliffhanger so the 3rd team would continue. Rinse, repeat, for 12 issues. Not always great, but funny nonetheless, in my opinion.
I think you should review Warren Ellis' work despite what cancel culture says, for better or for worse. Art has a life of its own detached from it's creator and can stand on its own merit. I think if you add a disclaimer with something like, "this is an analysis of the work itself and does not support or condone the actions of its creator," the message would be conveyed. Having said that, is it really necessary to even do that? There are a ton of books and other media that I access/enjoy that I may not wish to support what the creators of it do. In other words, if I only supported creators that agreed with me on everything or even lived their lives in the "right" ways, I probably would rarely access media were that the case.
These are all very good points. After all, as someone else brought up, I have extensively covered Cerebus and included disclaimers. So, including something at the beginning should indicate that I'm discussing the work, not the person or the controversy.
One of my favorite graphics novels comes from the '90s. Solar: Man of the Atom "Alpha and Omega." I'm not sure it plumbs the depths of the human experience, gives any insight into modern day society, or any high-falutin' stuff like that, but it's a solid science fiction tale that is basically the first half of a super-hero origin. (Consider how the story ends, it doesn't seem as if there could be a second half!) Jim Shooter is the writer and Barry Windsor-Smith is the artist.
I was out of comics from 1990 to about 2007. It was very hard to navigate what I missed in the 90s, and it would have been almost impossible without the internet.
please please do Planetary... it's one of my favorite things in comic form I knoiw Ellis is a touchy subject for good reason, but acknowledging that in the video seems like the best way to handle it. Honestly, Planetary is such a solid short series, I constantly wish we could revisit those characters. Easily one of Ellis' best works and one of the best pre-2000 books
Bone is one of my favorite comic book stories of all time. It's a great ride from start to finish! What I like most about Bone is how ACCESSIBLE it is. Anyone of any age can pick it up and enjoy it. Also, even though the cousins have such cartoony designs and even though there's a lot of humor (mostly involving Phony's get-rich-quick scheme antics), the story takes itself very seriously when it starts becoming a hero's journey/epic fantasy story. A good example are the Rat Creatures. The first two that we're introduced to are a comedy duo like Abbot & Costello that can't catch one Bone cousin, but when ever they're shown in large groups, they're TERRIFYING and can take on armies.
Thanks you for another great video :) As someone who dropped off full-scale collecting in the 90s, interested to see what made the cut: I kept up with Morrison and Moore, but am now persuaded to follow up on a couple of others (Stray Bullets, to my shame). From a Brit perspective, Judge Dredd Megazine (there are enough analyses of 'America' in the world, don't worry), Revolver, and (the end of) Deadline stand out. In a pretty thin decade, 2000AD has Button Man and Nikolai Dante, at least. The Summer Invasion looks more and more laughable with distance. For the US, a shout out to the Penguin Raws - all three of them. And MAUS got finished.
90s was when I first found out I could buy imported 2000AD instead of waiting for the occasional stab at reformatting them for an American audience. It may have been a thin decade, but it was still pretty life-changing for me. 😅
This video was great. I got a couple suggestions off it as well so thank you. As for your question about doing a PLANETARY video, yes you should. Ellis has been making amends for his past transgressions and it ramping up new content. PLANTARY is great and I'd be interested in your take on the book as a whole. Thanks for the great videos. Keep ' em coming.
I'd love to see a full Planetary video, I think Ellis's work can still be enjoyed while acknowledging his horrible conduct. I'd also really like to see one of these for the 2000s as I think a lot of great forgotten work came out in that decade (as well as maybe a full video on Joe Casey's Wildcats and/or Automatic Kafka?).
While poll results are early, it's looking the consensus would like a Planetary video. I thought I should ask before I commit to elaborating on the script I have on hand. I must have pulled the Wildcats 3.0 video, because I was sure there was one up. I'll look into it. As for an early 2000's video: I've already compiled a list. I just have to write a full script now.
@@StrangeBrainParts Yeah I believe you pulled it from the channel a while ago, I just recently read and loved it so I would really like to see a reupload/new version. And looking forward to the Planetary & 2000s videos!
Yeah, it was pulled do to some questionable content. I'll give it a look over and see what I can do. Conceptually, I love the series but it doesn't have one very problematic element.
@@StrangeBrainParts Yeah Agent Wax’s… exploits do need to be acknowledged in a video about that series, but I think the series still holds a lot of value despite that
Some of the other things I remember from the 90s include the Alan Moore and bill sienkiewicz's Big Numbers and the story behind it's abrupt disappearance likely never to complete like 1963. Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell's From Hell was another standout for me from the 90s. I loved that it had detailed annotations. Campbell's Bacchus series that began in the late 80s but continued through the 90s is an overlooked gem. Also the rise of slice of life comics like Chester Brown, Seth, Joe Matt, Julie Doucet's Dirty Plotte, and Brubaker's lowlife was also an interesting phenomenon of the 90s with underground roots. I agree that Flex Mentallo was Morrison's best work. The series I connected with the most in the 90s was Starman. I could relate to Jack Knight's character in so many ways and still do after all these years especially with his relationships with his brother and his dad. I was going through dealing with my dad's terminal cancer at the same time as Jack when the series ended 20 years ago.
Sir I'm just realizing this now but your upload schedule is fucking insane. I subscribed and came aboard to this channel around the time of your Ultraverse video and it feels like you've put out a monumentous amount of high quality content very quickly.
Another great vid, SBP. Love the mention of the ABC line (Tom Strong and the grey shirt strips are fantastic) I definitely think you should give Preacher a reread. I think the character work is near flawless. I’d love vid on it soon. One issue though… why no mention on Hellboy? Surely it’s a definitive 90s comic.
Strange Brain, you’re probably one of the best chroniclers of comics history on TH-cam. I was just curious of your opinion. I definitely think you’d like the B.P.R.D run. If you’re not a fan, that’s fair. But a bad reviewer, you ain’t.
"...accused of using his success to coerce women into romantic and sexual relationships." Um. Every straight man does that to a degree. Please do Warren Ellis. I wish people would separate the art from the artist. Are we to blacklist all of Harvey Weinstein's films? Or if you wanna be more close to the production, Roman Polanski? Or maybe we could go with racism. Lovecraft? I could go on.
Another comprehensive list of great comic book works from my favourite comic book oriented channel. Many of these I've already read (and will do so again many more times), some of them I haven't but shall rectify that ASAP and a few of them I've never heard of but you totally sold me on them. Thanks for your great work, Overlord. Until next time. ✌🏻
This guy is one of my fav TH-camrs. Extremely underrated. I hope (in the near future) they will have the sub count that reflects the channel’s high calibre!
Excellent list. Top notch titles. It’s as if you went through my long boxes and pulled some of my absolute favorites. This is why I keep coming back for your content. Please keep up the amazing work. You’re a gem.
I was a huge fan of Strangers In Paradise, by Terry Moore. Surprised it didn't get a mention. I also have no issue with, and would enjoy a Planetary review. You do a very good job of providing context in your videos, as you Cerebus series shows.
the fact you kicked off your list with supreme came as a good reminder why I've followed your channel for nearly a decade now, and plain and simples its just your good taste. 😁
I would add Ostrander and Mandrake's Spectre series, it was groundbreaking in some ways especially dealing with AIDS in a mainstream title. Imo I feel John Ostrander is an unappreciated writer
I have loved the Maxx since the 90's. I even bought it again when it was put out again. Sam Keith just gave me something that I had never seen before. Art like nothing else that was popular at the time. And a really weird story about a super hero. At least I thought Maxx was a super hero at the time. I hated the Jim Lee style that everything was doing at the time. Sam Keith art looked epic. And even smelly at times. It was so cool. I needed moore! (Get it)
"The series was, at a casual glance, the epitome of a creatively bankrupt comic book from that time." Never have I heard the pre-Alan Moore issues of Supreme described in a better way. 😆
i just wanna reiterate how much i love your content and how big of a role you played in getting me to actually read comics. it took me a LONG time to get started bc i couldn't find quality educational content the way i could with any other artistic medium. learning about comics on youtube means sifting through so much power scaling content, lazy reactionary discourse, and deeply futile adaptation talk. sometimes it feels like the online comics conversation is rarely focused on what's actually on the page. i eventually found other creators i like, but for a while as i was getting into comics, this was my only source for tasteful recommendations, historical context, and terminology.
Thank you! I'd like to think there's a place for *actually* talking about comics that are enjoyable, rather than complaining about ones that don't strike your fancy.
I'd add the nearly-forgotten DC superhero parody series Major Bummer to that list. It's not deep, it didn't last long, and it has some godawful puns and wordplay - but it was pretty consistently funny and never got mean-spirited the way many parodies and deconstructions of supers tropes do. A real bright point in a decade that was trying way too hard to edgy far too much of the time. Lovely artwork, too.
Nothing like Supreme going back in time, to troll freakin’ _Moses & Noah_ playing as God Himself! Haha!! Good lord that was a great spoof-parody concept! (At 2:27)
I have a real soft spot for the Ostrander/Mandrake Spectre series from the '90's. I had long ago given up superhero comics. But somehow that Spectre series managed to be part of the DC Universe, which meant getting pulled into stupid events, yet still stood on its own with a consistent creative team that told thoughtful stories. If you can, read the first twelve issues which tell a complete story and see what you think.
In my opinion, the color editions of Bone add a depth and texture to the art that was sorely lacking in black and white. I grew up with color, and later purchased a B&W omnibus without knowing the history of the comic. I thought they had decolored the pages, similar to Marvel Essentials. I was shocked to learn eventually that they had originally looked like that, because it was so lifeless.
Would you consider covering Marvel 2099 and John Byrne's "2112" ? I just started revisiting Ghost Rider 2099 and it feels surprisingly relevant considering the cyberpunk dystopia sitting just on the horizon
@@StrangeBrainParts I put together a Next Men collection a few months before the pandemic first hit. I read through it all and was surprised by how much of it seemed to inspire the ultimate X-men. For my money though I wish Byrne had wrapped up Danger Unlimited as Ive always been more partial to the Fantastic Four formula than the X-men. Incase you're open to any further suggestions I think Earth X and Kingdom Come are deserving of discussion. It seems like most have forgotten both titles in recent years and the nihilistic scope of both books happen to feel somewhat familiar in these trying times. I also think its just worth covering them in the same video due to their shared subject matters.
For me in the 90s for what it was and ended up accomplishing was Heroes Reborn. Rob Liefeld didn't make out nearly as well, as Jim Lee's side picked up the other two titles halfway through the run, as well as DC Comics had a very good look at his work and operation in general, buying Wildstorm not too long after, correcting the mistake they had made in not being fast enough to buy Malibu (unless they passed due to the possible Producer credit he apparently has at Marvel possibly in eternum). Now Jim is at DC as Publisher i think, or President? But I do think Heroes Reborn was a Goofus & Gallant on 'modernizing' their lower-readership characters and making them appealing, accomplished again with the start of the MCU in using characters that werent at Fox or Sony who at the time had the sweetest plums of Marvel IPs locked in for live action. I like how far Jim went once he went on his own, vs Rob selling his stuff like Youngblood etc (Scott Mitchell Rosenberg/Platinum own the rights, i do believe) and a string of failed publishing ventures after him and Image parted ways (not trying to sound like a hit piece on Rob, just their career paths wildly diverged).
Every single person I’ve recommended this channel to has subscribed + told me how great it is. I know I keep saying it, but this is top-tier stuff. Easily the best comics channel available. Thank-you SBP, we very much appreciate your work, even if the idiots at TH-cam don’t. I look forwards to every instalment. Excellent stuff.
I really have a long to-do list of comics, but I think the apt one for me right now would be Astro City. My only question is, is it necessary to read it in order? or the interconnected tales can be read in any way?
Growing up with Bone in middle school, I didn't know there even was a black and white version until I was an adult. In my experience, due to this, Bone has been cemented in my mind as an inherently colorful book. Even if that's not factually true, it still registers that way. That's how it's supposed to be according to my experience of it. Therefore, I just can't read the black and white version without feeling like it has taken something away from the experience.
With regard to Ellis, I had similar reservations with anything HP Lovecraft given the latter's incredible racism (even for his time). When I brought that up, someone asked what was HPL mostly known for: The Cthulhu Mythos or the racism? I still don't like HPL and his writing style never did anything for me, but I would be lying if I said that I didn't enjoy what became of his creation and the fact that it now belongs to all of us who engage with it.
The whole DC One Million thing was kind of noteworthy too, and felt very much like it spun out of the success of Morrisson's JLA. And I say that as someone who generally hates big "event" comics.
@@paulakroy2635 Him showing up for the JLA recruitment drive knowing he'd never get in and just wanting a chance to use his X-ray vision on Diana was a bright spot in Tommy's career. :)
Lobo by Alan "La Bruja" Grant was really good. Like almost all what he wrote. We lost him in 7/22. ¡Arriba La Bruja Grant y la Comiqueando! PD: In a comic in Comiqueando #2, Lobo go to drink a coffee in a Argentinean Bar to meet Judge Dread an Cazador playing as local. 🤘
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Astro City is a comic series for people who grew up on superhero comic books and the world they live in. Everything about it is a smart examination of all this crazy superhero stuff we all love, and it touches on all eras while being a sophisticated, modern story. Everything in it will be familiar to you if you’re a superhero fan, without coming across as “memberberries”. Hugely recommended.
It’s very good. Underrated, for sure. Back then it had some critical praise. Brent Anderson’s work is pretty exemplary. Not a very well known artist but he draws his balls off. God Loves, Man Kills.
It's probably my favorite superhero series ever
Its crazy to think that we've finally slipped into the era where the 90's are nostaglic. Its welcomed ofcourse but I never thought I'd see the day.
For me, in many ways the '90s comics industry reflected the movie industry in that finally, small independent publishers and foreign published graphic novels took over and dominated the art form. I started collecting Marvel and DC while in grade school in the mid 1980s, by the early 1990s I was exclusively buying independents from comic shops and exclusively watching art house and foreign films. My favorite comic from this era is Joe Matt's The Poor Bastard.
Some of the best comics are from the 1990s. All of the indies were pretty fucking great! Hate, Eightball, Stray Bullets, Black Hole, Optic Nerve, ACME Novelty Library, etc. Image is part to blame. Like it or not! Mainstream creators doing their own shit inspired other artists.
I wish! Because of the AVGN-driven TH-cam generation, just like it was in the 90s with the 70s, anything that’s not the 80s is wrong, so there cannot be nostalgia for the 90s, 2000s or 2010s, it’s wrong.
By the time all 80s lovers are gone, anyone who could feel nostalgia for the “wrong decades” will also be gone. Maybe the 2020s will be the next nostalgia...
@@juniorjames7076 Peepshow. Yeah, man.
These are deep cuts though, there’s a lot of, uh, “not great” comics from that era.
I should point out that the people who came out against Ellis explicitly stated that they were not trying to "cancel" him. I went through a lot of the accusations and, although he seems to be a pretty shitty dude, and definitely not someone I would ever get romantically involved with, he didn't seem to be accused of coercion or assault. I didn't read every single entry though (there are a whole lot lol) so I suggest you look into it yourself. He has talked about making amends with the women involved, and apparently there has been some kind of process and work done on that. Of course, that doesn't mean anyone has to like him or give him an opportunity or talk about him, but I also feel that this is an instance where he hasn't done something so grotesquely reprehensible that it overshadows his work and impact on the industry.
Your mileage may vary on that, though.
Plenty of men womanize! Are they all cancelled? Silly.
He did a lot of consensual stuff and is definitely a creep. Good thing I don't plan on hanging with him, just reading his comics..
I’m rereading Planetary right now, and whatever Ellis has going on (I’m not following the news) John Cassiday’s work makes it sublime. It deserves a full review.
Planetary is well worth a video...also Supreme Blue Rose is one of my favorites (I love that Tula Lotay art)
Issue 3, 6 and 10 of Planetary are all near perfect comics.
Ellis is a womanizer. The end.
@@DonTheMoron716 The dude was literally grooming young women. In the accurate use of the word, not the Republican version. Even he admitted he was being a shitbag. Don't downplay it.
@@williamgeorge2580 How is that downplaying it? Womanizing isn’t so bad? WTF?
Ive taken to describing Moore's 90's works as his "reconstructive era". Its the era of his work I appreciate most. Part of me wishes he had stuck with that tone for longer.
If only DC hadn't bought Wildstorm. We might even be seeing more work like that from Moore to this day. Okay, that may be a bit optimistic. But he definitely would have done a lot more.
Thanks for this video. To me it's hard to believe how long ago these titles came out. But, this is a great way to reminisce, and a reminder to go check some I missed back then. Maybe some day we'll get an ASTRO City omnibus the way they've done Bone or Invincible.
What about:
-All of Dan Clowes’ Eightball stuff
-Transmetropolitan (yeah… Ellis again… I know)
-Al Columbia’s The Biologic Show
-Coleen Doran’s A Distant Soil
…The Sandman? Too obvious?
Also a ton of Manga (Ichi The Killer, Battle Angel Alita, Berserk, Monster…) and some european stuff (first that comes to mind is Enki Bilal’s Froid Equateur)
Monster and Ichi the Killer are craaaazy, Ik Berserk is supposed to be amazing aswell, but i never got to finish it, also rest in peace kentaro miura fr
have you read bastard!!!? i think thats 80's but a decent manga op mc aswell
Love Shade The Changing Man, alongside Enigma. Milligan is often either excellent or awful, with very little in between in my experience, but those two titles, and a lot of his 80s and 90s output, is up there as excellent for me.
I am finding out a lot more about Steve Gerber on this channel than I ever did looking through a library or Wikipedia. Looking forward to that Foolkiller retrospective.
I have to get back to it, that's for sure. I just want to do Gerber's memory justice.
Gerber was an incredibly unique voice and I miss him not only because he's one of my favorite comic book authors, but because I would be very curious to see what he'd have to say about today's world. I discovered his Howard The Duck in my teens and read and re-read it constantly and even as an adult, it's still incredibly funny and fresh as it ever was. Man-Thing even more so (though less funny and more surreal)
He’s 100% right about Foolkoller being overshadowed by the McFarlane Spider-Man launch. I was there in the comic shop every week back then and I completely forgot a Foolkiller series existed, much less that it came out the same week lol
I thought Liefeld's Supreme was a great character; I loved how he was essentially the villain of his own comic. It was cool to see his interactions with Thor, who was basically the hero but didn't have a hero's luck.
i think the ongoing “books of magic” is a much underrated run.
and let’s not forget “Strangers in Paradise”.
Excellent video, as always. I will check out this recommendation, for sure. Regarding the Planetary: we all know that a comic book is not just its script. With a lesser artist, Planetary would have been cancelled after its second issue. So not talking about it because of Ellis' misdeeds would be a disservice to Cassaday and Laura Martin's extraordinary work. Keep up the good work!
I am definitely taking into account Cassaday and DePuy's lovely contributions. After all, 50% of any comic book is the artwork.
@@StrangeBrainParts there is a 3-hour long League of Extraordinary Gentlemen video essay on TH-cam that is very good and well research but the guy making the video completely negates Kevin O’Neil’s contributions to the comic. He talks about LoEG as if Alan Moore was the only one responsable for the twist and turns of the story. When we all know that Alan Moore is Alan Moore because he associates himself with the best collaborator for any project. So, yeah, a comic book is not just it’s shitty writer. Except Mark Millar stuff, he sucks
That LoEG vid is great, but you’re right. Kevin’s art is stunning. The pages of Griffin ‘acquiring’ the policeman uniform alone deserves a dedicated vid.
Oh, man! An Astro City video would be so cool! I hope that's in the cards.
Seconded. But didn’t he cover Astro City at one point? Do another one anyway
@@chrisw6164 Not yet. But, it's bound to be a great one when it happens.
PLANETARY, as a series commentary on comic books, pulp fiction, and popular culture for the majority of the 20th century, absolutely deserves to be covered. I think you can put a disclaimer on it about Ellis, and still talk about the work itself that he, John Cassaday, and Laura Martin did.
Thank you for the video! I'm glad youtube's shenanigans haven't stopped you!
Nope. They only make work harder and at a more furious pace. I'm annoyed, but not enough to throw my hands up and stop. :)
No Hellboy? Doesn't matter, great video as usual.
Man...I always forget Hellboy. Damn, you're right.
Milligan's Shade is one of my favorite comic runs ever! I would love a full analysis in the future!
I remember after reading Alan Moore's Superman stories "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow" and "For the Man who has Everything" I was left with this sense of disappointment. Not with either story, but from realizing that both were now in my top three favorite Superman comics and that was all Moore ever had or ever would write for the character. Then I discovered Supreme thanks to one of your videos. I just want to thank you again for introducing me to the Alan Moore Superman run I never thought we'd get.
That's exactly how I felt...Moore had some great Superman stories in him that he never got the chance to tell. Until Supreme. And then we got the Superman story he never got to tell at DC.
Those Superman stories never really made it for me. I think they're good, but I don't get why they are universally loved, other than being Alan Moore creations. I do really want to read Supreme though. I'm hoping for a DC Compendium (or even better, an Omnibus) like they did for Top Ten and Tom Strong.
The Maxx and The Invisibles are some of my favorite '90's comics. I also love Johnny the Homicidal Maniac by Jhonen Vasquez.
Fuck me! The first issue of Johnny The Homicidal Maniac! I asked my friendly neighborhood comic dealer, “What is that?!” It was behind the counter and he told me, “It’s Johnny The Homicidal Maniac!” I Bought it immediately, read it and started killing people. 😂
I agree with most everything in your video. I would add Madman, Concrete, Hellboy, Martha Washington, Eightball, Hate, and Savage Dragon.
Those are all fine suggestions. I can't believe I forgot Madman. Wow. That is a good call.
I'm sure my comment is a little late but.......I think it's very important to do videos on the works of "cancelled" creators. Separating the art from the artist helps to keep art alive. Especially with Planetary. Planetary isn't just about archeologist of the unknown with a mystery but explores the archeological history of comics : where they came from and where they may be going. Years ago, I started a series of videos that were issue by issue dives of Planetary. Not a lot of views but highly informative for the comic historians out there. I have zero regrets.
Honestly, starman is probably my personal favorite book of the era. I think a lot of DC books of the late 90s didn't get the kind of love they should have, and there are a ton of hidden gems in that era. I'd definitely add the 1997 Resurrection man to the list.
The Nocturals... which worked for me with the mix of crime and horror and I dig art...
Terminal City seems to have been overlooked by a lot of people... with great art and a story that harkens back to the pulp era
Sandman Mystery Theater was also a great series that is a great mix of crime, pulp and superhero adventure.
I guess in many ways the '90s comics industry reflected the movie industry in that finally, small independent publishers and foreign published graphic novels took over and dominated the art form. I started collecting Marvel and DC while in grade school in the mid 1980s, by the early 1990s I was exclusively buying independents from comic shops and exclusively watching art house and foreign films. My favorite comic from this era is Joe Matt's The Poor Bastard.
Definitely cover Planetary and Ellis in general.
Also I'd be curious about your thoughts on Milligan's Human Target.
I really liked the MILESTONE comics that came out in the 90s,the first era of black,super-heroes and black artists and writers.I bought : Icon,Static,Hardware.Enjoyed those titles,even my uncles bought a few of these comics.I remember they were on the cover of-Time-magazine,which i bought on a regular basis back then.
I'm a huge fan of Ellis as a writer (Authority, Planetary, Transmet). I understand why some people would personally make the decision not to cover him, but I'm also skeptical of the broader system we have where these accusations are made outside the law and the accused are raked through the mud by Twitter mobs, so-called journalists, and faceless corporations without being given a formal chance to defend themselves. And I think the world gets even more depressing every time we put barriers between ourselves and good art.
Of all the series you listed, Bone and Top 10 are my favorites, along with Scud: The Disposable Assassin.
I've gotta say the 90's book I have lots of time for is Sandman Mystery Theatre by Matt Wagner, Steven T. Seagle and Guy davis. The first 4 issues alone are worth the price of admission.
I really enjoyed that.. took me back. Shade the Changing Man was utterly wonderful. The Invisibles was epic and had a huge impact on me at the time. I have the books for these two so I have re-read them, but would love to read The Maxx again, its all a blur in my head but remember it was quite an emotional book at the time. The other books from that era that Im re-collecting is Milestones Xombi the Korean nanotechnology hero infused with lots of very surreal characters and Ted McKeever stuff, who I love for the his art but he also wrote some great books.. thanks.
You did an entire retrospective on Cerebrus. Ellis is small potatoes close to that author. I say go for it.
😂 Fuck, that’s true! Ha ha ha!
I met Dave Sim on a few occasions. Early 2000s. I had a shop in Buffalo NY, so not far from Kitchener, ON. He merely came across as an intellectual artist. Celibate. But with a lot of humor.
Great video man. I know it’s a cliche to mock all the dumb stuff of 90s comics in the mainstream but like every medium with down periods, there will always be good stories. As for Warren Ellis, I say do it but have a disclaimer in the start saying that you don’t excuse or endorse any of his actions.
Indeed! You don't even have to look that hard for good stuff. You just have to expand your search beyond Marvel and DC.
I’ve always had a soft spot for “Scud: the Disposable Assassin.”
I'm glad I finally found a channel like yours. Wish I found it earlier. Thank you for your dedication to the medium and the passion for it. Your videos are spectacular, amazing, friendly neighborhood even.
Dark Horse's Legend imprint: Hellboy, Next Men, Danger Unlimited, Martha Washington, etc.
I'm a 50+ years old comic reader who started reading/collecting in 1985-86, and no joke, I felt like you have been in my head for most of your videos. Our tastes are so similar it's scary. Might be why I love your videos so much.
Suggestion: Have you read DC Challenge (from 1985, if memory serves...maybe 1987). Makes for a strange but fun read.
Now I'm going back to reading my huge, complete, hardcover of Planetary. Thank you very much, kind sir.
And thank you for watching! I do appreciate that a lot.
You know what? I don't think I have read the DC Challenge? That was a try-out book wasn't it? Regardless, I will try and see if I can hunt it down. Thanks for the suggestion!
@@StrangeBrainParts I t was a 12 issues mini, where one team would take book one, finish on a cliffhanger, and then a second team would come for book two, with no knowledge of what the first one contained, try to do something, finish also on a cliffhanger so the 3rd team would continue. Rinse, repeat, for 12 issues. Not always great, but funny nonetheless, in my opinion.
I think you should review Warren Ellis' work despite what cancel culture says, for better or for worse. Art has a life of its own detached from it's creator and can stand on its own merit. I think if you add a disclaimer with something like, "this is an analysis of the work itself and does not support or condone the actions of its creator," the message would be conveyed.
Having said that, is it really necessary to even do that? There are a ton of books and other media that I access/enjoy that I may not wish to support what the creators of it do. In other words, if I only supported creators that agreed with me on everything or even lived their lives in the "right" ways, I probably would rarely access media were that the case.
These are all very good points. After all, as someone else brought up, I have extensively covered Cerebus and included disclaimers. So, including something at the beginning should indicate that I'm discussing the work, not the person or the controversy.
I love any video of you recommending titles. You're basically my #1 source for finding comics I enjoy.
That's awesome. I'm glad my tastes align with yours.
Avoided Planetary because Ellis is canceled? So you must do what the cancel pigs want?
One of my favorite graphics novels comes from the '90s. Solar: Man of the Atom "Alpha and Omega." I'm not sure it plumbs the depths of the human experience, gives any insight into modern day society, or any high-falutin' stuff like that, but it's a solid science fiction tale that is basically the first half of a super-hero origin. (Consider how the story ends, it doesn't seem as if there could be a second half!) Jim Shooter is the writer and Barry Windsor-Smith is the artist.
Hoy en día los 90s son una edad de oro para mí.
I was out of comics from 1990 to about 2007. It was very hard to navigate what I missed in the 90s, and it would have been almost impossible without the internet.
I love Steve Gerber’s Foolkiller. Can’t wait for your Gerber retrospective video. He’s my favorite writer. Not just in comics either
please please do Planetary... it's one of my favorite things in comic form
I knoiw Ellis is a touchy subject for good reason, but acknowledging that in the video seems like the best way to handle it. Honestly, Planetary is such a solid short series, I constantly wish we could revisit those characters. Easily one of Ellis' best works and one of the best pre-2000 books
My EXACT same reaction to those Two Rat Creature Panels of BONE. Two of the funniest and best ever!
Bone is one of my favorite comic book stories of all time. It's a great ride from start to finish!
What I like most about Bone is how ACCESSIBLE it is. Anyone of any age can pick it up and enjoy it. Also, even though the cousins have such cartoony designs and even though there's a lot of humor (mostly involving Phony's get-rich-quick scheme antics), the story takes itself very seriously when it starts becoming a hero's journey/epic fantasy story. A good example are the Rat Creatures. The first two that we're introduced to are a comedy duo like Abbot & Costello that can't catch one Bone cousin, but when ever they're shown in large groups, they're TERRIFYING and can take on armies.
My favourite from the ’90s is Hellboy.
Thanks you for another great video :) As someone who dropped off full-scale collecting in the 90s, interested to see what made the cut: I kept up with Morrison and Moore, but am now persuaded to follow up on a couple of others (Stray Bullets, to my shame).
From a Brit perspective, Judge Dredd Megazine (there are enough analyses of 'America' in the world, don't worry), Revolver, and (the end of) Deadline stand out. In a pretty thin decade, 2000AD has Button Man and Nikolai Dante, at least. The Summer Invasion looks more and more laughable with distance.
For the US, a shout out to the Penguin Raws - all three of them. And MAUS got finished.
90s was when I first found out I could buy imported 2000AD instead of waiting for the occasional stab at reformatting them for an American audience. It may have been a thin decade, but it was still pretty life-changing for me. 😅
I love your use of The Rentals. Fantastic band and style. And nice recommendations!
In two videos now!
A Hellblazer retrospective from you would be so exciting
This video was great. I got a couple suggestions off it as well so thank you. As for your question about doing a PLANETARY video, yes you should. Ellis has been making amends for his past transgressions and it ramping up new content. PLANTARY is great and I'd be interested in your take on the book as a whole. Thanks for the great videos. Keep ' em coming.
How about Ted McKeever's "Metropol,"? It's the sequel to his 80s work "Eddy Current" and I think it was something really special.
I’ve always had a soft spot for Supreme, he’s a fun and underrated character
I'd love to see a full Planetary video, I think Ellis's work can still be enjoyed while acknowledging his horrible conduct. I'd also really like to see one of these for the 2000s as I think a lot of great forgotten work came out in that decade (as well as maybe a full video on Joe Casey's Wildcats and/or Automatic Kafka?).
While poll results are early, it's looking the consensus would like a Planetary video. I thought I should ask before I commit to elaborating on the script I have on hand.
I must have pulled the Wildcats 3.0 video, because I was sure there was one up. I'll look into it.
As for an early 2000's video: I've already compiled a list. I just have to write a full script now.
@@StrangeBrainParts Yeah I believe you pulled it from the channel a while ago, I just recently read and loved it so I would really like to see a reupload/new version. And looking forward to the Planetary & 2000s videos!
Yeah, it was pulled do to some questionable content. I'll give it a look over and see what I can do. Conceptually, I love the series but it doesn't have one very problematic element.
@@StrangeBrainParts Yeah Agent Wax’s… exploits do need to be acknowledged in a video about that series, but I think the series still holds a lot of value despite that
Exactly. I completely forgot to acknowledge that crime.
I was happy to see you included Starman in this batch of great reads.
Some of the other things I remember from the 90s include the Alan Moore and bill sienkiewicz's Big Numbers and the story behind it's abrupt disappearance likely never to complete like 1963. Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell's From Hell was another standout for me from the 90s. I loved that it had detailed annotations. Campbell's Bacchus series that began in the late 80s but continued through the 90s is an overlooked gem. Also the rise of slice of life comics like Chester Brown, Seth, Joe Matt, Julie Doucet's Dirty Plotte, and Brubaker's lowlife was also an interesting phenomenon of the 90s with underground roots. I agree that Flex Mentallo was Morrison's best work. The series I connected with the most in the 90s was Starman. I could relate to Jack Knight's character in so many ways and still do after all these years especially with his relationships with his brother and his dad. I was going through dealing with my dad's terminal cancer at the same time as Jack when the series ended 20 years ago.
Will you ever do a full video looking at stray bullets or david lapham's career as a whole?
Yes...Stray Bullets is in the works.
Sir I'm just realizing this now but your upload schedule is fucking insane. I subscribed and came aboard to this channel around the time of your Ultraverse video and it feels like you've put out a monumentous amount of high quality content very quickly.
Thank you. It is a breakneck pace, especially for just one person.
John Byrne's Next Men was a good read, going places normal comics didn't go with old fashioned storytelling framework.
Another great vid, SBP.
Love the mention of the ABC line (Tom Strong and the grey shirt strips are fantastic)
I definitely think you should give Preacher a reread. I think the character work is near flawless. I’d love vid on it soon.
One issue though… why no mention on Hellboy? Surely it’s a definitive 90s comic.
I know, I know! I always overlook Hellboy. I'm a bad reviewer.
Strange Brain, you’re probably one of the best chroniclers of comics history on TH-cam. I was just curious of your opinion. I definitely think you’d like the B.P.R.D run. If you’re not a fan, that’s fair. But a bad reviewer, you ain’t.
Please do a Planetary episode: unacceptable behaviours shouldn't detract from what is a wonderful work
A tape? Sure, Walkman-type personal stereos were the way to listen music on the go until the iPod took over, but CDs were more defining for the 90s.
True, true. But mixtapes were still a thing. That's kind of what I was going for. Any future video will be CDs for sure.
"...accused of using his success to coerce women into romantic and sexual relationships."
Um. Every straight man does that to a degree.
Please do Warren Ellis. I wish people would separate the art from the artist. Are we to blacklist all of Harvey Weinstein's films? Or if you wanna be more close to the production, Roman Polanski? Or maybe we could go with racism. Lovecraft? I could go on.
I feel like you should cover Planetary, but include a disclaimer on Ellis's unpopular opinions.
I've already added a disclaimer/acknowledgment to the script I'm working on.
Another comprehensive list of great comic book works from my favourite comic book oriented channel.
Many of these I've already read (and will do so again many more times), some of them I haven't but shall rectify that ASAP and a few of them I've never heard of but you totally sold me on them.
Thanks for your great work, Overlord.
Until next time. ✌🏻
Give us your views on Planetary. I loved it from start to finish.
This guy is one of my fav TH-camrs. Extremely underrated. I hope (in the near future) they will have the sub count that reflects the channel’s high calibre!
He’s very intelligent. Got a great voice and knows his shit. Kind of scary how well read he is.
Excellent list. Top notch titles. It’s as if you went through my long boxes and pulled some of my absolute favorites. This is why I keep coming back for your content. Please keep up the amazing work. You’re a gem.
Our long boxes must look very similar. :) Thank you! I do intend to keep going, despite recent difficulties.
@@StrangeBrainParts Please do, insomuch as you can!
Will do!
JSA: The Golden Age and Alan Moore’s Judgment Day are two of my favorites.
Vertigo comics were wonderful
Ellis being a scumbag notwithstanding, Planetary is a brilliant piece of work and one that I would love to hear your thoughts about.
I was a huge fan of Strangers In Paradise, by Terry Moore. Surprised it didn't get a mention.
I also have no issue with, and would enjoy a Planetary review. You do a very good job of providing context in your videos, as you Cerebus series shows.
Yup I came here to vote for SiP. You can never tell where it’s going.
Awesome video! Thank you for your hard work. Your videos are impeccably edited.
the fact you kicked off your list with supreme came as a good reminder why I've followed your channel for nearly a decade now, and plain and simples its just your good taste. 😁
Thank you very much. For the comment and for being around for as long as you have!
I read a lot of bone as a kid it was awesome. Just foind it one day at the school book fair. God i miss those book fairs haha
I would add Ostrander and Mandrake's Spectre series, it was groundbreaking in some ways especially dealing with AIDS in a mainstream title. Imo I feel John Ostrander is an unappreciated writer
Yes
I have loved the Maxx since the 90's. I even bought it again when it was put out again. Sam Keith just gave me something that I had never seen before. Art like nothing else that was popular at the time. And a really weird story about a super hero. At least I thought Maxx was a super hero at the time. I hated the Jim Lee style that everything was doing at the time. Sam Keith art looked epic. And even smelly at times. It was so cool. I needed moore! (Get it)
You know the cool thing about the Maxx? Both mainstream and indie fans like it. Sam Keith is a great artist.
Hellboy for me
"The series was, at a casual glance, the epitome of a creatively bankrupt comic book from that time." Never have I heard the pre-Alan Moore issues of Supreme described in a better way. 😆
Nice touch including JAMC in the intro.
I am very pleased that someone other than myself recognized them. :)
I'd say we've been nostalgic for the 90s for some time
i just wanna reiterate how much i love your content and how big of a role you played in getting me to actually read comics. it took me a LONG time to get started bc i couldn't find quality educational content the way i could with any other artistic medium. learning about comics on youtube means sifting through so much power scaling content, lazy reactionary discourse, and deeply futile adaptation talk. sometimes it feels like the online comics conversation is rarely focused on what's actually on the page. i eventually found other creators i like, but for a while as i was getting into comics, this was my only source for tasteful recommendations, historical context, and terminology.
Thank you! I'd like to think there's a place for *actually* talking about comics that are enjoyable, rather than complaining about ones that don't strike your fancy.
I'd add the nearly-forgotten DC superhero parody series Major Bummer to that list. It's not deep, it didn't last long, and it has some godawful puns and wordplay - but it was pretty consistently funny and never got mean-spirited the way many parodies and deconstructions of supers tropes do. A real bright point in a decade that was trying way too hard to edgy far too much of the time.
Lovely artwork, too.
Nothing like Supreme going back in time, to troll freakin’ _Moses & Noah_ playing as God Himself! Haha!! Good lord that was a great spoof-parody concept! (At 2:27)
I have a real soft spot for the Ostrander/Mandrake Spectre series from the '90's. I had long ago given up superhero comics. But somehow that Spectre series managed to be part of the DC Universe, which meant getting pulled into stupid events, yet still stood on its own with a consistent creative team that told thoughtful stories. If you can, read the first twelve issues which tell a complete story and see what you think.
In my opinion, the color editions of Bone add a depth and texture to the art that was sorely lacking in black and white. I grew up with color, and later purchased a B&W omnibus without knowing the history of the comic. I thought they had decolored the pages, similar to Marvel Essentials. I was shocked to learn eventually that they had originally looked like that, because it was so lifeless.
Would you consider covering Marvel 2099 and John Byrne's "2112" ? I just started revisiting Ghost Rider 2099 and it feels surprisingly relevant considering the cyberpunk dystopia sitting just on the horizon
Yes, to both. I have 2112/New Men on-hand but I've just not found the time to read the whole thing. And...it's been a hot minute since I last read it.
@@StrangeBrainParts I put together a Next Men collection a few months before the pandemic first hit. I read through it all and was surprised by how much of it seemed to inspire the ultimate X-men. For my money though I wish Byrne had wrapped up Danger Unlimited as Ive always been more partial to the Fantastic Four formula than the X-men. Incase you're open to any further suggestions I think Earth X and Kingdom Come are deserving of discussion. It seems like most have forgotten both titles in recent years and the nihilistic scope of both books happen to feel somewhat familiar in these trying times. I also think its just worth covering them in the same video due to their shared subject matters.
For me in the 90s for what it was and ended up accomplishing was Heroes Reborn. Rob Liefeld didn't make out nearly as well, as Jim Lee's side picked up the other two titles halfway through the run, as well as DC Comics had a very good look at his work and operation in general, buying Wildstorm not too long after, correcting the mistake they had made in not being fast enough to buy Malibu (unless they passed due to the possible Producer credit he apparently has at Marvel possibly in eternum). Now Jim is at DC as Publisher i think, or President? But I do think Heroes Reborn was a Goofus & Gallant on 'modernizing' their lower-readership characters and making them appealing, accomplished again with the start of the MCU in using characters that werent at Fox or Sony who at the time had the sweetest plums of Marvel IPs locked in for live action. I like how far Jim went once he went on his own, vs Rob selling his stuff like Youngblood etc (Scott Mitchell Rosenberg/Platinum own the rights, i do believe) and a string of failed publishing ventures after him and Image parted ways (not trying to sound like a hit piece on Rob, just their career paths wildly diverged).
Every single person I’ve recommended this channel to has subscribed + told me how great it is.
I know I keep saying it, but this is top-tier stuff.
Easily the best comics channel available.
Thank-you SBP, we very much appreciate your work, even if the idiots at TH-cam don’t.
I look forwards to every instalment.
Excellent stuff.
I really have a long to-do list of comics, but I think the apt one for me right now would be Astro City. My only question is, is it necessary to read it in order? or the interconnected tales can be read in any way?
Have you ever considered doing a video on milestone media? It's another underrated comics imprint of the 90s
Do Planetary. It's the most perfect love letter to comics and pulps
In all the list of the 90's only the masterpiece of ' sin City ' and Lobo attracted my interest. So glad for the review job 👍👌💯
Growing up with Bone in middle school, I didn't know there even was a black and white version until I was an adult. In my experience, due to this, Bone has been cemented in my mind as an inherently colorful book. Even if that's not factually true, it still registers that way. That's how it's supposed to be according to my experience of it. Therefore, I just can't read the black and white version without feeling like it has taken something away from the experience.
With regard to Ellis, I had similar reservations with anything HP Lovecraft given the latter's incredible racism (even for his time). When I brought that up, someone asked what was HPL mostly known for: The Cthulhu Mythos or the racism? I still don't like HPL and his writing style never did anything for me, but I would be lying if I said that I didn't enjoy what became of his creation and the fact that it now belongs to all of us who engage with it.
I think Grant Morrissons' run on JLA is worth mentioning as well.
The whole DC One Million thing was kind of noteworthy too, and felt very much like it spun out of the success of Morrisson's JLA. And I say that as someone who generally hates big "event" comics.
@@richmcgee434 I love the hitman tie-in
@@paulakroy2635 Him showing up for the JLA recruitment drive knowing he'd never get in and just wanting a chance to use his X-ray vision on Diana was a bright spot in Tommy's career. :)
For me, Starman is the best 90's comics... But Terry Moore's Strangers in Paradise is a close second.
I've been looking for Enigma back issues for a long while now. People are not letting go of those.
Lobo by Alan "La Bruja" Grant was really good.
Like almost all what he wrote.
We lost him in 7/22.
¡Arriba La Bruja Grant y la Comiqueando!
PD: In a comic in Comiqueando #2, Lobo go to drink a coffee in a Argentinean Bar to meet Judge Dread an Cazador playing as local. 🤘
Great to hear someone mention Stray Bullets and Foolkiller. They are both great stories.