Thursday, February 19, 2099

Why Is This Blog Called Key Issue Comics?

If you've been reading this blog you may be wondering, "Why the hell is it called 'Key Issue Comics?'  The only thing here is a bunch of comic reviews and links to comic related stuff."  Well, I started this blog so that I could put together lists of key issues of various comic book titles.  That was and still is my intention.  I got back into collecting comics after an absence of nearly 13 years.  Triggered primarily by a couple of articles I read about the new Wonder Woman costume and the new X-Men title.  Probably more important is that I can actually afford it now.

I enjoy reading comics and I also hope that someday someone will pay outrageous amounts of money for the ones I've collected.  So I'm always on the lookout for "REALLY good deals" on collectible books.  Like the New Mutants #98 that I found for about 80 cents.  I haven't had it graded yet but my guess is that it's probably VF/NM 9.0.  That's what I mean by really good deals.  If that book had been 40 bucks or more I probably would have passed on it.  Thanks to many generations of my family, I'm what you might call a tightwad.

Saturday, December 31, 2016

Key Issues for Legion (David Haller)

New Mutants #26
Cover by Bill Sienkiewicz

     One of the upcoming TV shows that I'm most excited about is Legion. The show premiers February 8th on FX. Legion is about David Haller who suffers from multiple personality disorder and is the son of Professor Charles Xavier, leader of the X-Men. Apparently, this show will take place in the same fictional universe as the X-Men films though I doubt we will see any characters from the films. In case you haven't seen it, here's the trailer for the show:


     Though I'm sure the show will be far different from the comics, here's a list of key issues for David Haller:


X-Factor #109
Cover by Steve Epting
& Al Milgrom

New Mutants #25 - 1st appearance of Legion (David Haller) in Moira MacTaggert's notes.
New Mutants #26 - 1st appearance of Legion (David Haller) in story. Issues #26 through 28 contain the story explaining why David suffers from split personality disorder.
Uncanny X-Men #255 - One of David's personalities appears to kill Destiny. She is actually absorbed into his mind. This will eventually lead to Legion Quest and the Age of Apocalypse.

Muir Island Saga - Uncanny X-Men #278 - 280, X-Factor #69 - 70 - David becomes the host for the Shadow King.

X-men Legacy Vol 2 #4
Cover by Mike Del Mundo
& Pasqual Ferry
Legion Quest - Uncanny X-Men #320 - 321, X-Factor #109, X-Men Vol 2 #40 - 41, Cable #20 - David tries to travel back in time to kill Magneto. This story creates the Age of Apocalypse timeline that replaced all X-titles for a year.

Age of X - X-Men Legacy #245 - 247, New Mutants Vol 3 #22 - 24, Age of X Alpha #1, Age of X Univers #1 - 2 - Legion saves all of the X-Men from the Age of X reality.

X-Men Legacy Vol 2 - The entire series is about David Haller. It's excellent not only for the story and writing but also for the interior art and the fantastic Mike Del Mundo covers. My earlier review of the series can be found here.




Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Key Issues - Marvel Two-In-One Vol 1 (1974)

Marvel Two-In-One Annual #2
Cover by Jim Starlin

Continuing with the trend of team up series, here's a list of key issues for Marvel Two-In-One.


Marvel Two-In-One #4 - 1st appearance of Tarin who becomes President in 31st century Earth.
Marvel Two-In-One #21
Cover by Ron Wilson
Marvel Two-In-One #5 - 2nd appearance of Guardians of the Galaxy.
Marvel Two-In-One #6 - 1st appearance of Barbara Norris' (Valkyrie) mother, Celestia Denton.
Marvel Two-In-One #9 - 1st appearance of Radion.
Marvel Two-In-One #21 - 1st appearance of Blacksun (Thomas Lightner).
Marvel Two-In-One #29 - 2nd appearance of Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew).
Marvel Two-In-One #47 - 1st appearance of Samuel Saxon (Mister Fear) as Machinesmith. This isn't fully explained until Captain America #249.
Marvel Two-In-One #52 - 1st appearance of Crossfire (Darren Cross).
Marvel Two-In-One #54 - 1st appearance of Titania (Davida Devito)Screaming Mimi (Melissa Gold), Letha (Helen Feliciano), and Poundcakes (Marian Pouncy).
Marvel Two-In-One #55 - 1st appearance of Bill Foster as Giant Man.
Marvel Two-In-One #58 - Wundarr's 1st appearance as Wundarr the Aquarian.
Marvel Two-In-One #60 - 1st appearance of Impossible Woman.
Marvel Two-In-One #61 - 2nd appearance of Kismet as Her. She was previously referred to as Paragon in Incredible Hulk Annual #6.
Marvel Two-In-One #54
Cover by George Perez
& Terry Austin
Marvel Two-In-One #63 - 1st mention of the Beyonders.
Marvel Two-In-One #64 - 1st appearance of Anaconda, Sidewinder, Black Mamba, and Death Adder.
Marvel Two-In-One #72 - 1st appearance of Maelstrom.
Marvel Two-In-One #76 - 1st appearance of Fire-Eater (Tomas Ramirez).
Marvel Two-In-One #79 - 1st appearance of Star-Dancer, mate of the Timely Comics hero, Blue Diamond.
Marvel Two-In-One #83 - 1st appearance of Alpha Flight villain Ranark the Ravager.
Marvel Two-In-One #86 - 1st appearance of the Impossible Kids.
Marvel Two-In-One Annual #2 - Death of Thanos until 1990 "Rebirth of Thanos" storyline. 1st appearance of Master Order and Lord Chaos.
Marvel Two-In-One Annual #6 - 1st appearance of American Eagle (Jason Strongbow).
Marvel Two-In-One Annual #7 - 1st appearance of the Power Gem.

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Key Issues - Marvel Team-Up Vol 1 (1972)

Marvel Team-Up #1
Cover by Frank Giacoia, Gil Kane, & Sam Rosen


Marvel Team-Up #93
Cover by Al Milgrom
& Don Perlin
I decided to put together this list of key issues for the first volume of Marvel Team Up while I was trying to make sure I had all of the first appearances for the New Mutants. I thought New Mutants Vol 1 and Marvel Graphic Novel #4 covered everyone. However, the first appearance of Xi'an Coy Manh is right here in issue 100 of Marvel Team Up so head out to your local comic shop and start digging through back issues.

Marvel Team-Up #1 - Though not named in the issue, this is the 1st appearance of Misty Knight. Her other "1st appearance" will occur 3 years later in Marvel Premiere #21.
Marvel Team-Up #8 - 1st appearance of Katrina van Horn (Man-Killer aka Amazon).
Marvel Team-Up #12 - 1st appearance of the villain Moondark.
Marvel Team-Up #15 - 1st appearance of The Orb.
Marvel Team-Up #16 - 1st appearance of the Basilisk.
Marvel Team-Up #19 - 1st appearance of Stegron.
Marvel Team-Up #21 - 1st appearance of Melinda Morrison.
Marvel Team-Up #23 - 1st full appearance of Equinox.
Marvel Team-Up #95
Cover by Bob McLeod
& Frank Miller
Marvel Team-Up #48 - 1st appearance of the Wraith (Brian Dewolff). 1st appearance of Jean Dewolff.
Marvel Team-Up #53 - John Byrne's first artwork of the X-Men.
Marvel Team-Up #55 - 1st appearance of the Gardener (Ord Zynoz)
Marvel Team-Up #65 - 1st appearance of Arcade and Miss Locke. 1st appearance of Captain Britain and Courtney Ross in an American comic.
Marvel Team-Up #66 - 1st appearance of Murderworld.
Marvel Team-Up #68 - 1st appearance of D'spayre.
Marvel Team-Up #74 - Spider-Man teams up with the cast of Saturday Night Live to fight the Silver Samurai.
Marvel Team-Up #81 - Death of Satana until she returns in Hellstorm #10.
Marvel Team-Up #87 - 1st appearance of Hellrazor.
Marvel Team-Up #89 - 1st appearance of Cutthroat.
Marvel Team-Up #91 - 1st appearance of Gorilla Girl.
Marvel Team-Up #92 - 1st appearance of Mr. Fear (Alan Fagan).
Marvel Team-Up #93 - 1st appearance of Dansen Macabre.
Marvel Team-Up #95 - 1st Bobbi Morse as Mockingbird.
Marvel Team-Up #141
Cover by Art Adams
& Mike Mignola
Marvel Team-Up #100 - 1st appearance of Karma (Xi'an Coy Manh). 1st appearance of Nguyen Ngoc Coy.
Marvel Team-Up #110 - 1st appearance of the villain Magma (Jonathan Darque).
Marvel Team-Up #117 - 1st appearance of Professor Power.
Marvel Team-Up #120 - 1st appearance of Dominic Fortune (Jerry Fortunov).
Marvel Team-Up #121 - 1st appearance of Frog-Man.
Marvel Team-Up #131 - 1st appearance of the White Rabbit.
Marvel Team-Up #138 - 1st appearance of Oswald Silkworth (the Arranger).
Marvel Team-Up #141 - Along with Amazing Spider-Man #252 and Spectacular Spider-Man #90, this is also the first appearance of Spider-Man's black symbiote costume from Secret Wars.
Marvel Team-Up #146 - 1st appearance of the Black Abbott.