This month’s comicbook discussion was a “Best Single Issues” – but we left the standards of that designation open-ended – which was a challenge! Each person got to define what “best” was, and that made for a neat variety of books shared.
+Kate shared some DC books, a Vertigo classic, and an indie book.
Batgirl 19 – a good issue because it dealt with an under-discussed idea in superhero/vigilante comicbooks – “how do supes reconcile their stance on “justice” with state-sanctioned executions?” Written by Kelley Puckett, drawn by Damion Scott.
Manya “Falling”- dealt with an AIDS-related death, without being too heavy-handed. By Jen Benka and Kris Dresen.
Though she thought the entire run of Sandman was full of “best issues”, Kate felt that “Three Septembers and a January” was a real stand-out.
Impulse 22 – a lighter superhero book about a Flash-related speedster from the future!
+Jony had a handful of classic X-books…
X-Men Classic 86 (Uncanny X-men 182) – a special Rogue-centric that helped flesh out this new-at-the-time character.
X-Factor 39 – was the first issue of Peter David’s acclaimed book, where he made a personal plea to readers to not give away the ending. It was, and still is, a powerful issue!
New Mutants 64 – featured the aftermath of the death of Dough Ramsey – Cypher, Jony’s all-time favorite X-character. It featured some emotional moments, including an alien’s coming to terms with what death, for humans, means.
Captain Britain – “Sid’s Story” While all of Jony’s selections were from superhero books, they all stood out for the emotional weight they carried in their stories – and this issue of Captain Britain was no different. It begged the question – what happens when what seemed so clear-cut for a hero make a 180-degree turn in the middle of a fight?
+Molly brought just one book – but a real good one! She likes Ms. Marvel 1, feeling it was a great introduction to the character, and especially like the good “girl talk” between two friends in the story.
+Shawn took “best” to mean “What books would I suggest to people to get them reading comics?”
Princess Leia 3 – “just a real fun book, and its own story in the Star Wars mythos.”
Deadboy Detectives – a quirky, imaginative comicbook about two young boys who solve mysteries (and who happen to both have died at the same prep school).
The Shadow Hero – an interesting re-imagining of an old-school Chinese-American character. Recreated by Gene Luen Yang and sonny Lieu.
Manifest Destiny – picture a “Lewis and Clark story, but with monsters, plant zombies…” Shawn said this book appealed to him particularly because he is a history teacher!
Hawkeye – A fun book, Shawn said, detailing “where Hawkeye is when he isn’t with the Avengers”. Shawn was also impressed by the book’s introduction of Hawkeye’s brother and some difficult familial relationships.
+Podkayne brought books that all had a sci-fi lean to them…
Concrete: A New Life was enjoyable for its evocativeness and because it was so character-driven. Podkayne also enjoyed how prescient the “Moose” TV character was relative to the internet trolls of today (this book came out in 1989).
Finder was another book Podkayne brought, saying it was “Saga-esque”,but told from the child’s viewpoint. This book is from Lightspeed Press.
Podkayne’s final book was the classic issue of Swamp-Thing (Volume 2, No. 60, from 1987) where Alan Moore and Steve Totleben take the swamp-monster to outer-space!
My selections were “something old, something new”…
Goon 25 – I’d call it a “modern classic” as The Goon and Frankie have to determine if they are willing to forego any chance at finding happiness in their cursed town.
Uncanny X-men 211 – before “event comics” were really a thing, “The Mutant Massacre” shook the world of Marvel’s mutants, and it began with this issue.
The Shade 1 – I love James Robinson’s writing and Cully Hamner’s artwork. Robinson fleshes out a character like few other writers and can really make you care about a character, which is does real well here!
X-Factor 40 – Peter David, in writing this book, was trying something new with really amping up the surprise endings of each issue. This one had soul-searching, depths of hopelessness, and a surprise return of a beloved character.
