Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Key Issues - X-Men Volume 2 aka New X-Men aka X-Men Legacy

X-Men #1 by Jim Lee
Lately, I've been trying to compile these key issue lists based on Google search terms that bring people to my blog.  A pretty common search that ends up here is "x-men key issues."  Most of those people are probably looking for Uncanny X-Men but I thought I'd show a little appreciation for volume 2.  This volume is running right now as X-Men Legacy and is about to hit issue #250.  Though it's not really my cup of tea, there are loads of Mike Carey fans who think it's excellent.  As always, please let me know if I've overlooked something.  I didn't include the notable writers and artist list because it would have been almost everyone who has worked on the title.

X-Men #1
:  1st appearance of The Acolytes
X-Men #4:  1st appearance of Omega Red
X-Men #5:  1st appearance of Maverick aka Agent Zero
X-Men #6:  1st appearance of Birdy
X-Men #109 by Leinil
Francis Yu and Mark
Morales

X-Men #8:  1st appearance of Bella Donna Boudreaux
X-Men #17:  1st appearance of Kwannon (Revanche).
X-Men #25:  Magneto removes the adamantium from Wolverine's bones.  "Removes" sounds a little too genteel as if Wolvie was having outpatient surgery.  Magneto really messes Wolverine up in this issue.
X-Men #27:  1st appearance of Threnody, death of Infectia.
X-Men #30:  Wedding of Jean Grey and Cyclops
X-Men #36:  1st appearance of Synch
X-Men #41:  Legion kills his father Charles Xavier in the past creating the Age of Apocalypse reality.
X-Men #42:  Death of Rusty Collins
X-Men #46:  1st appearance of Joseph, the clone of Magneto
X-Men #50:  1st appearance of Post
X-Men #52:  1st appearance of Bastion
X-Men #53:  1st appearance of Onslaught
X-Men #54:  Onslaught is revealed to be Professor X
X-Men #61:  Death of Candra
X-Men #65:  1st appearance of Cecilia Reyes
X-Men #99:  1st appearance of the Neo
X-Men #100:  1st appearance of Thunderbird (Neal Shaara)
X-Men #108:  Death of Moira MacTaggert
X-Men #109:  Storm picks the team that will become the X-treme X-Men
New X-Men #114 - 116:  "E is for Extinction" arc.  #115 is the 1st appearance of Negasonic Teenage Warhead.  In #116 Emma Frost joins the X-Men.
New X-Men Annual 2001:  1st appearance of Xorn, John Sublime, U-Men
New X-Men #117:  1st appearance of Beak, Glob Herman
New X-Men #118:  1st appearance of Angel Salvadore, No-Girl, Stepford Cuckoos
New X-Men #127:  1st appearance of Mutant Town (District X), Xorn joins the X-Men
New X-Men #128:  1st appearance of Fantomex
New X-Men #129:  1st appearance of Fantomex's E.V.A.
New X-Men #130:  Death of Darkstar (Laynia Petrovna
New X-Men #133:  1st appearance of Dust
New X-men #134:  1st appearance of Quentin Quire (Kid Omega)
New X-Men #135 - 138:  "Riot at Xavier's" arc
New X-Men #146 - 150:  "Planet X" arc
X-Men #157 by Salvador
Larroca and Liquid!
X-Men #157:  1st appearance of Shen Xorn
X-Men #161:  1st appearance of Mammomax
X-Men #162:  Death of Squidboy (Sammy Pare)
X-Men #188:  1st appearance of the Children of the Vault
X-Men Legacy #214:  1st appearance of Miss Sinister


Crossover Issues:
X-Cutioner's Song:  #14 - #16
Fatal Attractions:  #25
Bloodties:  #26
Phalanx Covenant:  #36 - #37
X-Men Legion Quest:  #40 - #41
Onslaught:  #50, #53 - #57
X-Men Zero Tolerance:  #65 - #70
X-Men The Hunt for Xavier:  #82 - #83
The Magneto War: #86 - #87
X-Men The Shattering:  #92 - #94
Apocalypse The Twelve:  #96 - #97
X-Men Dreams End:  #108
X-Men Eve of Destruction:  #112 - #113

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

I Saw Thor Last Night and It's Just Ok

I saw Thor last night and must say I wasn't that impressed.  Maybe my expectations were too high.  Most of the reviews I've seen have been pretty positive.  Some have even said this is the best Marvel film so far.  I don't think so.  Hemsworth, Hiddleston, Hopkins all great.  Idris Elba, Renee Russo, and Colm Feore were fantastic as well.  The plot was good.  Dialogue was okay.

However, it had one of my biggest pet peeves.  I absolutely hate when there is a fight sequence and I have no idea who is fighting who.  That's the fault of Branaugh and the editor, Paul Rubell.  The camera was way too tight during most of the fights.  You don't need to show me emotion on an actor's face during a fight scene, I know he's pissed off or defending himself.  Also, try to show the fight scene from just a few camera angles.  We've already got two individuals in combat.  We don't need 400 angles and 200 quick cuts to convey action.  I was discussing this with my brother who said it reminded him of Transformers.  Well, no surprise there.  Guess who did the editing for both of the Transformers movies?  Yep, Paul Rubell.

I also thought that the costumes and props were kind of weak.  The costumes looked fine while the characters were in Asgard and Jotunheim.  However, I feel like they should have toned them down a little while the characters were on Earth.  The costumes for Sif and the Warriors Three were awful.  I've seen better costumes at conventions.

These might be minor points in an overall good film, but for me it makes this movie maybe 3 out of 5 stars rather than 4 out of 5.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Key Issues - Justice League/Justice League International/Justice League America (1987 - 1996)

Cover by Kevin Maguire, Terry Austin

I never read Justice League on a regular basis.  In fact, I think I own just a couple of issues from this volume.  However, as you can see below, it's a fairly important series.  Not because it has the first appearance of Gray Man, who would die just a few issues later, but because we are first introduced to Maxwell Lord who continues to wreak havoc on the DC universe today.
Cover by Adam Hughes

Justice League #1
:  1st appearance of Maxwell Lord
Justice League #2:  1st appearance of Gray Man
Justice League #5:  Origin of the "One Punch".  Batman knocks Guy Gardner on his ass with one punch. 
Justice League International #10:  1st appearance of G'nort
Justice League International #12:  Origin of Maxwell Lord
Justice League International #14:  1st appearance of Lord Manga Khan, 1st appearance of L-Ron
Justice League International #16:  1st appearance of Queen Bee
Justice League International #18 - 19:  Lobo is hired to kill the Justice League.  Lobo fights Guy Gardner. 
Justice League International #23:  1st appearance of Injustice League, 1st appearance of The Mighty Bruce
Justice League International #24:  1st appearance of Justice League Europe.
Justice League America #27:  "The Exorcist" homage cover
Justice League America #36:  1st appearance of Skarlet Skier, 1st appearance
of Mister Nebula
Justice League America #37:  1st appearance of Power Girl's pet, The Cat.
Justice League America #38:  Steel dies
Justice League America #46:  1st appearance of General Glory
Justice League America #61:  Cover is homage to Justice League of America #1 (1960)
Justice League America #70:  "Funeral for a Friend" storyline after death of Superman.
Cover by Dan Jurgens
and Rick Burchett

Justice League America #76:  1st appearance of Bloodwynd
Justice League America #86:  1st appearance of William Everett III (Amazing Man)
Justice League America #91:  1st appearance of Triumph
Justice League America #93:  1st appearance of Scarabus
Justice League America #96:  1st appearance of Judgement
Justice League America #100:  Maxwell Lord becomes Lord Havok
Justice League America #105:  1st appearance of Civet
Justice League America #108:  1st appearance of Queen of Spades
Justice League International Annual #3:  1st appearance of Kooey Kooey Kooey
Justice League America Annual #7:  1st appearance of Terrorsmith, Krag, Shadowstryke, Slingshot


Runs by notable writers and artists:
Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis: #1 - #60
Kevin Maguire: #1 - #24
Adam Hughes: #31 - #45
Dan Jurgens: #61 - #77
Dan Vado: #78 - #91

Monday, May 2, 2011

Sqweasel Artwork For Sale

Sqweasel Chase
I've been a little negligent here lately.  Rest assured I'm working on another key issues list that I hope to have up in a day or so.  In the meantime, here's some Sqweasel artwork.  The medium is ball point pen on sketchpad.  I'm selling the original for only $400.  That, by the way, is a joke unless you really do want to pay $400 for it.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Sqweasel's First Webcomic

After creating Sqweasel to be the blog mascot, I figured that at some point I'd have to create an origin story for him.  I do have one and rather than type it out in a big block of prose as if this were the Official Handbook to the Key Issue Comics Universe, I decided on doing a webcomic.  Here's the first episode.  A giant thank you to the artist, Gene Dodge, who did the pencils, inks, colors, lettering, and interpretation of my second attempt at a comic script.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Key Issues - Moon Knight

Marvel Spotlight #28, Don Perlin cover
Because I'm being bombarded with teasers and promotions in damn near every Marvel book for the new Moon Knight series, I thought I should put together a Moon Knight key issues list.  The new Bendis and Maleev series starts in May and I must say I'm not very excited about it.  I love MK but I'm not a fan of Bendis and the premise I've heard so far doesn't sound that great to me.

If you're not familiar with MK, he's a former mercenary named Marc Spector who is brought back to life by Khonshu, the Egyptian god of the moon.  He was created by Doug Moench and Don Perlin as an adversary for Werewolf By Night.  Some great artists worked on MK over the years including Perlin, Bill Sienkiewicz, and David Finch.

Werewolf By Night #32:  1st appearance of Moon Knight

Marvel Spotlight #28:  1st Moon Knight solo story, 1st appearance of Marlene
Cover by Bill Sienkiewicz

Moon Knight #1:  Origin of Moon Knight, 1st appearance of Bushman, 1st appearance of Khonshu.  Marc Spector dies for the first time.

Moon Knight #3:  1st appearance of Midnight Man

Moon Knight #12:  1st appearance of Morpheus

Moon Knight #14:  1st appearance of Stained Glass Scarlet

Moon Knight #25:  1st appearance of Black Spectre

Moon Knight #29 - 30:  Moon Knight fights and later teams up with Werewolf by Night.

The West Coast Avengers #21:  Moon Knight joins the West Coast Avengers.

Marc Spector: Moon Knight #4:  1st appearance of Moon Knight's sidekick, Jeff Wilde (Midnight)

Cover by
David Finch,
Danny Miki
Marc Spector: Moon Knight#10:  1st appearance of Keith Kraft (The Ringer)

Amazing Spider-Man #354 - 358:  Parts 2 through 6 of the "Round Robin" story where Moon Knight and other heroes face his former sidekick, Midnight, whose been turned into a cyborg by the Secret Empire.

Marc Spector: Moon Knight #35:  1st Randall Spector (Shadowknight, Hatchet-killer) because Chuck Dixon retconned him.  In Doug Moench continuity his 1st appearance would be in The Hulk! magazine #16.

Marc Spector: Moon Knight #50:  Moon Knight quits the Avengers.

Marc Spector: Moon Knight #60:  Marc Spector dies again.

Moon Knight: High Strangers #1 - 4:  In a limited series that was actually titled "High Strangeness", Moon Knight takes on the CIA.  It won a Comic Buyers Guide fan award for Favorite Limited Series.

Moon Knight Vol 3 #2:  1st appearance of The Profile.  Moon Knight kills Bushman.

Moon Knight Vol 3 #12:  Moon Knight kills his former sidekick Midnight.

Moon Knight Vol 3 #19:  Moon Knight kills Black Spectre.

Vengeance of Moon Knight #10:  Moon Knight joins the Secret Avengers.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Jenny Everywhere/The Shifter/Shifter Mouse - Draw This Script

I mentioned in the post announcing Sqweasel as the blog mascot that I went down a few rabbit holes and here is one of them.  I started looking for a large generic monster character that was in the public domain so I wouldn't get sued.  As it turns out there are plenty of public domain characters that can be used.  This seems to be the comprehensive source, pdsh.wikia.com.  So I walked around that site for quite a while trying to find something useful.  None of them seemed the perfect fit.  Also lots of the characters have kind of questionable copyright/trademark issues.  So back to Google for a few searches about public domain super heroes and I finally end up with this intriguing link about Jenny Everywhere aka The Shifter.  Fascinating.  An open source, public domain superhero that anyone can use with this caveat:

The character of Jenny Everywhere is available for use by anyone, with only one condition. This paragraph must be included in any publication involving Jenny Everywhere, in order that others may use this property as they wish. All rights reversed.
 Her powers are listed here:
Jenny Everywhere exists in all dimensions at once. She has the accumulated wisdom of all her other selves, and she can potentially shape or change dimensional properties.
This makes her a ridiculously powerful and versatile character.  I love the idea of this.  Not just the powers but also the fact that she came from open source.  So my early idea was that I would create a character based on Jenny Everywhere and wrote a script for what would've been an introductory comic for Shifter Mouse.  Now I've got Sqweasel but didn't want this script to linger in Google docs purgatory so here it is.  If anyone is feeling frisky and would like to sketch it, that would be awesome.  I can't give you any pay but I can put your name in the infamy of this blog.  Click the jump for the script.


Saturday, April 2, 2011

Pip's Pick Ups - 30 March 2011

A little late getting to the LCS this week and unfortunately all their copies of Captain America 616# were gone.  Here's what I picked up:

Deadpool Team Up #883 - Not as funny as Daniel Way over in the main book but still worth buying.  Deadpool talking so much that he annoys Galactus and then a battle with Silver Surfer make this issue awesome.  Regrettably, this is the last issue of Deadpool Team Up

Detective Comics #875 - Haven't read it yet.

Wonder Woman #609 - Nine issues into an arc, plus one issue of Justice League: Generation Lost, and I think I finally understand what's going on.  That's a ridiculous amount of time to tell a story.  I might be mistaken but I think JL: GL #22 takes place after or concurrently with this issue.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Pip's Pick Ups - 23 March 2011

Just four issues this week.  Still haven't had a chance to read any yet since my job is kind of kicking my @$$ lately.  I wasn't planning on buying Captain America 615.1 but the phenomenal cover and the recommendation from Vaughn my LCS guy changed my mind.

Captain America #615.1
Justice League: Generation Lost #22
Uncanny X-Men #534
Uncanny X-Force #6

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Review - Twilight Guardian #3

Cover, Jeffrey Spokes
Let me start off by saying that you might be offended while reading this issue.  At first glance, I was.  There are no four letter words or sexist or racist remarks, but as a comic book reader, you or the books you read might be a target of Troy Hickman.

In this issue, TG has returned from her "adventure" to the comic book convention and picks up with her regular patrols.  She also receives advance pages of comics from a publisher that wants to use her as a model for a comic book character.  It's here that you might be offended.  Hickman pokes some fun at several styles of comics you can find on the shelves these days.  One skewers some of the high brow British writers with some steampunk thrown in for good measure while another jests with the ideas of big, cosmic, all-out battles.  These made me laugh.  Especially, the Brit comic, where TG has only suspenders covering her breasts.

The first sample pages she receives turn TG into a Punisher style hero complete with a pet monkey throwing bombs from a helicopter.  When I first read it, I thought, "This is awesome!"  Then I realized that Hickman was pointing out the idiocy of some of the comics I actually read.  Some of the references will be too old I think for some readers like the villain named Jart.  That may be one of the reasons for some of the poor reviews I've seen for TG #3.  Those reviewers may not be old enough to know what Hickman is referencing.

Before I get to the main story, let's talk about the art.  Sid Kotian's art is beautiful.  His abilitiy to jump from style to style between the comic book parodies and homages and the main story art is amazing.  I can't believe this guy is not working for Marvel or DC right now.  Bill Farmer's colors are fantastic as well.

Now back to the main story.  I mentioned in my review of TG #2 that I was afraid that the hints of actual danger would never materialize.  In TG #3 we learn that TG's "missing" ex-boyfriend is dating someone else.  Is he truly missing or just avoiding TG?  I still fear that there is no real danger except maybe TG as a danger to herself, though Hickman has diluted it a bit with the reveal on the last page of the book.  Now that I think I understand what this is all about, I'm starting to enjoy TG.  If you're not afraid of thinking a little beyond costumes and continuity, I suggest you pick it up.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Sqweasel Picks the Best Irish Joke He Received In His Inbox Yesterday

A young Irishman goes into confession and says, "Bless me Father, for I  have sinned. I have been with a loose woman."
The priest asks, "Is that you, Timmy Shaughnessy?"
"Yes, Father, it is."
"And, who was the woman  you were with?"
"I can't be tellin' you, Father. I don't want to ruin her reputation."
"Well, Timmy, I'm sure to find out sooner or later, so you may as well tell me now. Was it Brenda O'Malley?"
"I cannot say."
"Was  it Patricia Kelly?"
"I'll never tell."
"Was it Sheilah O'Brien?"
"I'm sorry Father, but I cannot name her.  My lips are sealed."
The priest sighs in  frustration and says, "You're a steadfast lad, Timmy Shaughnessy, and I admire that.  But you've sinned, and you must atone. You may not attend church mass for three months. Be off with you now."
Timmy walks back to his pew. His  friend Sean slides over and whispers, "What'd you get?"
"Three month's  vacation and three good leads."

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Pip's Pick Ups - March 16, 2011

Just a few this week as I've been buying lots of back issues recently.  Most of these will be reviewed elsewhere so I'll have a review of Twilight Guardian #3 up in the next day or so.  Here's what I picked up:

Generation Hope #5
Twilight Guardian #3
Uncanny X-Force #5.1
X-Factor #217

Monday, March 14, 2011

X-Men: First Class - 1st Appearances

The X-Men #1, Cover by Jack Kirby and Sol Brodsky
I knew I'd have to post something like this sooner or later.  I was waiting to put this together a little closer to the movie release date.  However, I've already noticed a few people have made it to my site searching for comic book issues related to the movie.  Well, so far the only thing I can come up with is a list of first appearances for the characters that will be in the movie.  It's virtually impossible to come up with a list of issues relating to events in the story.  This story is in it's own continuity.  It's not Marvel 616 and I'm guessing that when Marvel gets the film rights back that it won't be Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) either.  This story is...Fox X-Men Universe.  I think I just coined that term.  We can abbreviate it FXU.  I'm sure all the fanboys that hate this movie will love it.  Feel free to use it.  You don't even have to pay me royalties.

Alright, on to the list of 1st appearances.  First, the bad news.  If you're trying to collect all of these comics in near mint condition it will cost you about $27,000.  The good news, about $26,000 of that amount is all in one book, The (Uncanny) X-Men #1.  You could likely pick up all the others for around $900 bucks or so.

The (Uncanny) X-Men #1:  1st Appearance of Professor Xavier, Magneto, Beast 

The (Uncanny) X-Men #28:  1st Appearance of Banshee

The (Uncanny) X-Men #54:  1st Appearance of Havok

The (Uncanny) X-Men #96:  1st Appearance of Moira McTaggert

The (Uncanny) X-Men #129:  1st Appearance of Emma Frost, Sebastian Shaw

The Uncanny X-Men #210:  1st Appearance of Riptide

Uncanny X-Men #428:  1st Appearance of Azazel

Ms. Marvel #18:  1st full Appearance of Mystique

New X-Men #118:  1st Appearance of Angel Salvadore

X-Men: Deadly Genesis #2:  1st Appearance of Darwin

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Create Your Own Comic Book Character


I was reading ComicsAlliance the other day and came across a link to an article at io9 called "How to create your own original supehero from scratch."  It discusses naming your character, coming up with an origin story, deciding which superpowers he or she should have, and what are their motivations.  The best part, some of our favorite comic writers like Kurt Busiek and Gail Simone are the ones giving the advice.  After reading the article, I feel like I've done a pretty good job with my own character, Sqweasel, who you can see in  the wonderful logo for this site done by my friend Gene Dodge.  As far as his powers and origin story, keep reading as bits and pieces of it will trickle out over time.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

I Won't Buy "Fear Itself" Comics Except These 3

Fear Itself: Deadpool cover, Ryan Stegman
At this point Marvel hasn't done a good enough marketing job to persuade me to buy any of the comics related to this year's Fear Itself event. Then they issued this press release.  Chris Hastings, the creator of Dr. McNinja, will write Fear Itself: Deadpool.  Whether or not you're a regular, occasional, or never have reader of The Adventures of Dr. McNinja, this article over at ComicsAlliance clearly demonstrates why this guy should write a Deadpool story.  Maybe not key issues, but it's always nice to see a fan/writers picking their favorite stories.

Christopher Hastings Picks Deadpool's 5 Most Awesome Moments

Pip's Pick Ups - March 9, 2011

I can't remeber the last time this happened.  I didn't buy any Marvel books this week.  Very strange.  How is it that Marvel put nothing on the shelf that seemed interesting to me?  Anyway, here's what I picked up:

Birds of Prey #10
Weird Worlds #3
Wonder Woman #608


And one from last week:

All New Batman: Brave and the Bold #4

Monday, March 7, 2011

Key Issues - Wonder Woman Volume 2

Wonder Woman #152, Adam Hughes
I didn't start reading comic books until around 1989 or 1990.  Before that my exposure to superheroes was through cartoons like Super Friends and live action TV shows like The Incredible Hulk and Wonder Woman.  While they could be dismissed as just TV shows, I think they were pretty important to my childhood development.  In fact, outside of the 18 plus years I spent in Sunday school at church, I'm guessing that shows like Super Friends and G.I. Joe contributed quite a bit to my moral and ethical code.  I also think that Wonder Woman starring Lynda Carter probably also played a part in my image of the ideal woman.  I don't believe it's a coincidence that I married a woman who is just as smart, sexy, strong, and independent as Wonder Woman.  Anyway, here's the list of key issues I came up with for Wonder Woman Volume 2.  The first volume I've tackled with over 200 issues.  I've undoubtedly missed something so please let me know and I'll remedy it.  For all things Wonder Woman, you can check out these two great sites, Wonder Woman Network  and Amazon Archives.  Click the jump for the key issues.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Axe Cop: Bad Guy Earth #1

Axe Cop BGE #1, Ethan Nicolle
I think most people who write about comics would actually prefer to write comics.  I would.  I have begun writing some scripts that hopefully someday will make it into a graphic format.  Though, after reading Axe Cop, I'm considering giving it up.  Unless I concentrate on writing something thought provoking or self examining, I'm pretty sure I couldn't come up with anything as awesome as Axe Cop.

If you're not familiar with Axe Cop, it's been published online since early last year at axecop.com.  The comic is about a cop who uses an axe instead of a gun.  He also has a dinosaur partner who is aptly named Dinosaur Soldier.  It's written by Malachai Nicolle and drawn by his brother, Ethan.  Malachai Nicolle is six years old and his brother is 30.  If you've ever been around young kids, you'll understand how truly fantastic that is.   When they create stories, their stories are based on kid logic not adult logic.  The story progression is one or two steps above stream of consciousness.  It makes for a great comic book.

By itself, the story might be a bit hard to follow so it's fortunate that Ethan is such a great artist.  His artwork is what enables those of us over the age of 6 to understand what the hell is going on.  I'm sure this is no easy feat.  In fact, it should probably be required training for comic book artists to go through some type of course where they are forced to draw stories created by children.  We might see a little better pacing in mainstream comic books.

The Newsarama quote on the cover says, "Best comic ever!"  I'm not sure I would go that far.  Instead, I would probably go with, "Most awesome comic ever!"

Friday, March 4, 2011

Pip's Pick Ups - March 2, 2011

A little late this week but here's what I picked up:

5 Ronin #1
Axe Cop: Bad Guy Earth #1
Heroes For Hire #4
X-Factor #216

And one back issue:

X-Factor Vol 2 #43

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Key Issues - Black Tom Cassidy

Cover, Michael Ryan and Rick Ketcham
Do you like Juggernaut?  Most people do.  He's unstoppable and that has created some fantastic battle scenes against heroes like Thor, Colossus, and the Hulk.  In this post I'd like to give a little recognition to the man who is responsible for many of those battles, Black Tom Cassidy.  Tom was created by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum back in 1976.  He and Juggernaut first fought the X-Men at Cassidy Keep in X-Men #101 - 103.  Unfortunately, we only get to see Tom in issues involving either his cousins, Banshee and Siryn, or the man I can't believe is still is friend, Cain Marko.  He's primarily portrayed as a killer for hire, usually as the brains behind some plan that unleashes Juggernaut.  He hasn't shown up, except for flashbacks, since New Excalibur #13 back in 2007.  I believe there is more to Tom that would make a very interesting story and hopefully someone at Marvel will figure that out.  If you work for Marvel and you're still reading this, take a look after the list of key issues to see what you could potentially do with the character.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Daytripper

I just finished Daytripper, the graphic novel from Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon.  It's hard to describe.  My wife came upstairs just as I finished reading it and asked,  "Are you alright?"  That's likely because she has probably only seen me cry a few times in the twelve plus years we've known each other.

I'm not going to write a wordy review on this one.  You can check out lots of other sites if that's what you're looking for.  Even if you don't read comics, just buy this book.  You won't regret it.

Friday, February 25, 2011

DC/WB, Why Not Make a Wonder Woman Movie?

I just finished watching Wonder Woman, the DCU animated movie.  I'm kind of upset that it has taken me this long to watch it.  I'm more disappointed that DC and Warner Brothers have decided to push Wonder Woman to TV instead of a live action film.  You can read my earlier comments about the TV show here.  I've read that no one can come up with a good script for it, but this animated version throws that argument out the window.  Sure, some things would have to be changed.  Amazons, undead Amazons, and Ares' army all fighting on the National Mall might be more than a non-comic audience can handle.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Pip's Pick Ups - 23 February 2011

Kind of a slow week for comics. Just three new books yesterday. After reading some reviews, I regret not buying the new Deadpool. Anyway, here's what I picked up:

Captain America #615
Detective Comics #874
Uncanny X-Men #533

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Key Issues - The Warlord Volume 1

Warlord #11, Mike Grell
A few months ago I found a copy of The Warlord #11 at a local shop.  I had never read a Warlord comic, but the awesome cover immediately grabbed my attention.  After researching this volume, I'm really surprised that this hasn't been optioned for a movie or TV show.  Now that sword and sorcery/fantasy fiction is coming back to film and TV (Conan the Barbarian, Game of Thrones) maybe some smart Hollywood exec will read this and obtain the rights to it.  It has everything to reach the male-of-any-age demographic:  scantily clad women, sword fighting, and DINOSAURS!  Don't take my word for it.  Take a look at the great breakdown over at tvtropes.org.  Anyway, I came up with a list of key issues for volume 1 of The Warlord.  For much more info on The Warlord take a look at these two fantastic sites, www.thewarlord.ca, which has great interviews with creator Mike Grell and www.fanzing.com/mag/fanzingzero/feature1.shtml (this dude is a serious fan of The Warlord).  Here's the list I came up with:

Warlord #34, Mike Grell
1st Issue Special #8:  1st appearance of Travis Morgan, 1st appearance of Tara, 1st appearance of Deimos
The Warlord #2
:  1st appearance of Machiste
The Warlord #6:  1st appearance of Mariah Romanova
The Warlord #15:  1st appearance of  Joshua Morgan (Tinder)
The Warlord #21:  Travis Morgan forced to fight his son Travis (well, a clone of his son, but Travis doesn't know that)
The Warlord #25:  1st appearance of Aram Al Ashir
The Warlord #32:  1st appearance of Shakira
The Warlord #34:  Travis acquires the sword, Hellfire, that must draw blood every time it is drawn even if it is Travis' own blood.
The Warlord #35:  Mike Grell and his editor, Jack C. Harris, appear in the comic and play a D&D style game to craft the issue.

Warlord #63, Mike Grell
The Warlord #38:  1st appearance of Jennifer Morgan
The Warlord #47:  1st appearance of Mikola Rostov
The Warlord #48:  1st appearance of Arak, Son of Thunder in 15 page preview.
The Warlord #55:  1st appearance of Arion, Lord of Atlantis in back up feature.
The Warlord #63:  Begin Dan Jurgens art.  Jurgens first professional work in comics.
The Warlord #72:  1st appearance of Scarhart
The Warlord #75:  1st appearance of Lord Sabre-Tooth
The Warlord #83-85:  Travis becomes President of the United States in the year 2303 of an alternate timeline
The Warlord Annual #2:  1st appearance of Krystovar


I included 1st Issue Special #8 as it really should be part of this volume.  In fact, it's reprinted in The Warlord #11.  I found a great quote while researching The Warlord.  It comes from the Trivia section of the 1st Issue Special #8 entry over at dc.wikia.com.  There it states:

Travis Morgan is not actually called Warlord in this issue, nor will he be until several issues into his self-titled series. Actually, they never really go into it that deeply. It's just implied that he's that badass. 

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Columbia Comic and Toy Convention Recap

I mentioned this convention here several weeks ago. I got back from it yesterday afternoon and was all set to post something about it. Unfortunately, my laptop sucks and it looks like the only solution maybe reinstallation of the OS. In the meantime, I'm blogging from my phone which is never ideal.

The convention was pretty small and around a 50/50 split between comics and toys. I still managed to spend about three hours and $80. I picked up some books I had wanted for a while: Wonder Woman #233, Detective Comics #452, Black Panther #1, Jungle Action #5, and V For Vendetta #1.



Friday, February 18, 2011

One Quick Review, One Not So Quick Review

Wonder Woman #607

Cover, Don Kramer
Let me start by saying thank you to Phil Hester.  Since he took over last issue I finally feel like I'm reading a Wonder Woman comic again.  I really like the contrast between this issue and the last.  In #606 we see Diana in a situation where it was kill or be killed and in #607 we get to see her merciful side.   I also really enjoyed the new imaginings of the old villains who are to say the least, ruthless.  My only complaint and I'm sure this was plotted well in advance of Hester taking the reigns is the length of the story arc.  Ten issues is way too long in my opinion even for an origin/evolution to superhero story.






Twilight Guardian #2

Cover, John Tyler Christopher
I didn't review TG #1 because I considered it a set up issue that would introduce or reintroduce people to the Twilight Guardian.  If you're not familiar, TG is a Real Life Superhero (RLSH) with some OCD and possibly other mental issues who patrols a nine block radius around her home every night.  During the first issue we see her reading old comics to prep for her patrol, and then walking around her neighborhood throughout the night.  She notes potential dangers like possible faulty wiring that are laughable because of how seriously she takes them.  However there are hints of other dangers: a villain named Dusk Devil, her missing boyfriend, and her father's mysterious past.  All in all it was a good setup issue.  Some people I talked to mentioned that it was rather wordy, though I thought it was a nice touch that emphasized her OCD.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Pip's Pick Ups - 16 February 2011

Picked up five books this week. I'll do some quick reviews in a day or two. Here's what I bought:

Generation Hope #4
Twilight Guardian #2
Uncanny X-Force #5
What If Venom Possessed Deadpool?
Wonder Woman #607

Monday, February 14, 2011

Key Issues - The New Mutants Volume 1

Cover by Bob McLeod
Cover, John Byrne
My entry into comic books was through the X-Men, primarily through X-Force.  Those characters will always hold a special place in my heart.  I felt a kinship with Sam Guthrie aka Canonball in that we were both from Kentucky.  Though I must admit Sam is from a little deeper in the hollow than I was.  It was nice to see a Kentucky boy who appeared to be destined for much greater things.  This is where Sam and his fellow students got their start.  While compiling this list I was amazed at how many new characters Claremont created in just a few years.  Without further ado, here's the list for key issues of The New Mutants Volume 1:

The New Mutants #1:  Origin of Karma
The New Mutants #8:  1st appearance of Amara Aquilla
The New Mutants #9:  1st appearance of Selene
The New Mutants #10:  Amara Aquilla becomes Magma after Selene pushes her into a volcano.
The New Mutants #13:  1st appearance of Doug Ramsay (Cypher)
The New Mutants #16:  1st appearance of The Hellions, 1st appearance of James Proudstar as Thunderbird (later Warpath)
Cover, Rob Liefeld
The New Mutants #18:  1st appearance of Warlock
The New Mutants #21:  Origin of Warlock
The New Mutants #25:  1st appearance of Legion (cameo)
The New Mutants #26:  1st appearance of Legion (full)
The New Mutants #29:  1st appearance of Guido (Strong Guy)
The New Mutants #35:  Magneto becomes headmaster of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters
The New Mutants #38:  Frog Thor visits Dani Moonstar
The New Mutants #60:  Death of Cypher
The New Mutants #75:  Magneto battles Sebastian Shaw. John Byrne pencils. Bob McLeod inks.
The New Mutants #86:  1st appearance of Cable (cameo)
The New Mutants #87:  1st appearance of Cable (full)
The New Mutants #95:  Death of Warlock
The New Mutants #98:  1st appearance of Deadpool, 1st appearance of Gideon, 1st appearance of Copycat (posing as Domino)
The New Mutants #100:  1st appearance of X-Force
The New Mutants Annual #1:  1st appearance of Lila Cheney
The New Mutants Annual #2:  1st US appearance of Psylocke
The New Mutants Annual #6:  1st appearance of Shatterstar
The New Mutants Special Edition:  1st appearance of Brightwind (Dani Moonstar's horse from Asgard)

Though not technically from volume 1, Marvel Graphic Novel #4: The New Mutants kicked off the entire series.  Here you'll find 1st appearances for Canonball, Dani Moonstar, Sunspot, and Rahne Sinclair (Wolfsbane).

Thursday, February 10, 2011

X-Men: First Class Trailer

In case you haven't seen it, here's the trailer for X-Men: First Class.



I think that it looks pretty effing awesome.  Lots of people will talk trash about this movie saying it's not true to the comics.  I don't really care if it's true to the comics.  Why?  Because it's not a comic.  It's a movie.  They can take all of the liberties they want with the characters as long as it kicks ass.  Just in the trailer I saw three reasons to see it.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Pip's Pick Ups - Feb 9, 2011

I only picked up three new books today.  I stood in my LCS for a while deciding whether or not to pick up Black Panther #515.  As much as I love the Panther, I can't justify the money for such a bad idea.  Here's what I did get:

Heroes For Hire #3
Superman #708
X-Factor #215

I'm pretty sure at least one of these will be worth a review.  Stay tuned.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Key Issues - Black Widow (Natalia "Natasha" Romanoff)

One of my favorite covers by George Perez


Cover by John Romita Sr.
So this blog has been around for a couple of months now and I get a few hits each week from various search engines.  At least once a week, there's a hit from people searching for a list of key issues for Detective Comics.  Well, I'm not quite ready to tackle a volume that contains 870 plus issues.  However, a few weeks ago someone made their way to this blog by searching for key issues for Black Widow.  It was then that I realized that all the lists I've put together have been for various X-books.  I'm a big X-Men fan.  Without the X-Men I probably wouldn't be collecting comic books, but I don't want to rename the blog Key X-Men Issue Comics so I'm finally branching out.  Here's a list I put together of Black Widow key issues:

Tales of Suspense #52:  1st Appearance
Tales of Suspense #64:  1st Appearance in costume
Avengers #43:  Alexi Shostakov (Red Guardian) is Natasha's ex-husband.  1st appearance of Red Guardian.
Avengers #44:  Alexi Shostakov sacrifices himself to save Natasha.
Cover by Gil Kane
Amazing Spider-Man #86:  Her skintight costume appears.  Fights Spider-Man.
Amazing Adventures  Vol. 2 #1:  1st solo Black Widow
Daredevil #81:  1st appearance in Daredevil
Avengers #111:  Black Widow becomes a member of the Avengers
Marvel Fanfare #10 - 13:  "Web of Intrigue"  Macchio/Perez craft the tale that was later reprinted in Black Widow: Web of Intrigue (1999) and hardcover (2010)
Uncanny X-Men #268:  "Madripoor Knights" More history of Natasha during WWII.
Black Widow (1999) #1 -3:  Natasha vs. Yelena Belova (1st appearance was Inhumans Vol 2 #5)
Black Widow (2004) #1- 6:  "Homecoming" Natasha returns to Russia and discovers secrets about her training.
Black Widow: Deadly Origin: #1 -4:  Marvel tries to clean up Natasha's origins.

Monday, February 7, 2011

The Sqweasel: Mascot for the Key Issue Comics Blog

I've been trying to come up with an idea for some type of logo for this blog.  My thought process started out fairly generic.  It's called Key Issue Comics so maybe some type of key imagery.  That's pretty boring.  I need something that will sell T-shirts.  As Yogurt said in one of the greatest movies of my generation:

Moichandising! Moichandising! Where the real money from the movie is made. Spaceballs: the T-shirt, Spaceballs: the Coloring Book, Spaceballs: the Lunchbox, Spaceballs: the Breakfast Cereal! Spaceballs: the Flame Thrower!!

I thought, "Well, maybe I could have a large generic monster doing something with a key.  Opening a lock, eating a bowl of keys, using a key shaped gun to blow away issue numbers from a comics want list."  Well, I went round and round with some ideas and started to go down a few rabbit holes (I'll post more about one of those later).  Finally, I decided how hard can it be.  I'll just start drawing.

I dug through a storage closet and found a sketchpad and some art supplies that were collecting dust and sketched it out and finally moved to MS Paint (why pay for Illustrator when I have this free crappy software).  The result is The Sqweasel.  Eventually, I'll create an origin story for him but for now here he is:

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Pip's Pick Ups - 2-2-11

There weren't that many titles this week that interested me so I picked up one from this week and one from last week. I wanted to get Memoir #1 but it was already sold from my LCS. Here's what I got:

Twilight Guardian #1
Weird Worlds #2

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Uncanny X-Force #4

I've mentioned before that I was away from comics for quite a few years.  One of the things that I missed during that time was the New X-Men series from Grant Morrison and Igor Kordey and with it the introduction of Fantomex.  When the new X-Force (Vol. 3) was announced, I had to do some reading on him and his background.  Even after digging through several wiki's and issue recaps I was still a little confused as far as what exactly his powers were and what the hell E.V.A. was.  Well, we're four issues into Remender and Opena's Uncanny X-Force and Fantomex is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters.

I've seen some Fantomex detractors on a few forums but this issue alone should change any doubtful minds.  Remender had me thinking that Wolverine would have to step up at the end.  And then...  Bam!  It's Fantomex that comes through.  Outside of the disturbing scene with Deadpool and Archangel, the issue was great.  Depending on what Remender has planned for later, this issue could end up being a key issue.  Of all the X-books, I've given up on everything except for Uncanny X-Men, X-Force, and X-Factor, but this series is by far the best.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Pip's Pick Ups - 01-28-11

I was laid up on the couch for the past couple of days with a ridiculous tooth brushing injury but managed to make it to work and the comic book shop today. When I saw all of the books this week that I wanted to get I had to double check to make sure I hadn't been out of commission for longer than two days. Here's what I picked up:

Captain America #514
Detective Comics #873
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #162
Uncanny X-Force #4
Uncanny X-Men #532
Wonder Woman #606

Reviews to come.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Wonder Woman Picked Up by NBC ( It Will Probably Suck )

After a busy weekend I finally got back to some comic related news and ran across this article about NBC picking up David E. Kelley's Wonder Woman pilot.  At first glance, this news sounds great.  I like Wonder Woman.  David E. Kelley has created some great shows (Boston Legal, Picket Fences) and written some fantastic movies (Lake Placid and Mystery, Alaska).  The new head of programming at NBC is the guy who brought Dexter and Weeds to Showtime.  It seems everything has fallen into place.

However, believe me when I tell you this show will suck.  Last year, Megan Fox called Wonder Woman "lame."  Apparently, Lynda Carter was not too happy about the comment.  As it turns out Megan Fox is right, but for the wrong reason.  She said something about the invisible jet and how Wonder Woman's not invisible in the jet.  This comment makes me think her knowledge of WW is from the Super Friends cartoon.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Marvel Hires Writer for a Black Panther Movie

 I was quite giddy when I read this.  Marvel has hired a screenwriter to come up with a draft for a Black Panther movie.  It appears that most of Mark Bailey's  work has been on documentaries so it's tough to say whether this is a good or bad choice.  Regardless, I have a feeling that this means we may see a cameo of T'challa in Joss Whedon's Avengers movie.  Here's The Hollywood Reporter's story:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/blogs/heat-vision/black-panther-development-marvel-74005

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Deadpool #30 & #31 (Curse of the Mutants)

Like many X-Men fans when I heard there would be a third ongoing series with X-Men in the title, I was skeptical but still had to have it.  After finishing X-Men #6, the final issue of the first arc titled "Curse of the Mutants," I have decided I no longer have to have it.  I enjoyed it, but just can't figure out where it fits with all of the other X-books.  I read an interview with Victor Gischler where he said it was supposed to tie the X-Men to the rest of the Marvel Universe.  I guess that's the case if you count Blade showing up in the first arc and in the next they will be with Spidey in NYC.  However, Fraction and Gillen have the X-Men quarantined on Utopia fighting off a mutant virus.  This isn't like the old days of Blue Team and Gold Team X-Men.  They are using the same characters with no mention of what's happening in the other books.  This is really pissing me off so I'm going to drop X-Men (Vol 3?) and pretend that it doesn't exist.

Okay so I'm moving outside of what I really wanted to tell you about which is the highlight of this 'Curse of the Mutants" arc.  Not even really a part of the story but Deadpool #30 and #31 have the "Curse of the Mutants" tag on the cover.  That's the reason I picked it up.  I normally don't read Deadpool but this story is awesome.  Wade gets hired to protect a group of vampires who didn't buy into Xarus' uniting of the vampire clans (there's the tie-in) from one of the clans who did.  Deadpool is simultaneously killing vampires and falling in love/lust with a sexy doctor who works at the hospital sitting on top of the vampire lair.  The dialogue is hilarious and there is plenty of action.  That's all I really want from a Deadpool book.  I like Deadpool the most when he's written like Evil Dead/Army of Darkness Ash.  Daniel Way has been writing Deadpool since the first issue so based on #30 and #31 looks like I've got quite a few back issues to catch up on.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Key Issues - Excalibur Volume 1

Stepping out of my comfort zone a little bit with this one.  So far, all of the key issue lists that I've put together have been for series that I actually read.  I have a few issues of this volume but was never that into it.  Excalibur fans, please don't hold it against me.  I was a small town high school kid who was listening to Guns-N-Roses and just wanted to see Schwarzenegger or Stallone blow something up.  Most of the humor in this series was way over my head at the time.  As always, let me know if I missed something.

Excalibur #1: 1st Widget
Excalibur #2: 1st Kylun (as a child)
Excalibur #6: 1st Alistaire Stuart, 1st Alysande Stuart
Excalibur #42: Begin Alan Davis run.  This is the issue with the Kamikaze chicken.
Excalibur #43: 1st Kylun (as an adult)
Excalibur #44: 1st Micromax
Excalibur #46: 1st Cerise (cameo)
Excalibur #47: 1st Cerise (full)
Excalibur #48: 1st Feron
Excalibur #56: End Alan Davis run
Excalibur #57 - 58: "For Whom the Bell Trolls" and "Troll Call."  Alan Davis plot scripted by Scott Lobdell. 
Excalibur #83: Begin Warren Ellis run
Excalibur #86: 1st Pete Wisdom
Excalibur #103: End Warren Ellis run
Excalibur #125: Captain Britain marries Meggan, final issue.

Crossover Issues:
Fatal Attractions:  #71
Phalanx Covenant:  #82

Monday, January 17, 2011

Black Panther: The Man Without Fear #514

Although I still have problems with the premise of this series, issue #514 is a great improvement over the last issue. I highly doubt David Liss read my review of the first issue, but in an interview with CBR, he mentioned addressing some of the points I made. In this issue, T'challa is still trying to find Vlad who has become the biggest criminal in Hell's Kitchen since Daredevil left. It's at this point that the series really starts to take off. You realize that trouble usually makes it's way to T'challa. Now he has to track it down. It truly does show him out of his element. Detective work in NYC is much different than Wakanda. Priest's Panther was able to do it primarily because of his tech not through street smarts.

Besides the ending which definitely makes me want to pick up the next issue, the other highlight is the appearance of Luke Cage. He basically tells T'challa to put a stop to Vlad or someone else will. That could make for some nice interplay with the new Heroes For Hire series which is excellent, both fast paced and fun.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Pip's Pick Up's - 12 January 2011

So I didn't actually pick up my 1/12/11 books until Friday.  Due to the snowstorm in Atlanta and Tennessee on Monday, shipments to my LCS were delayed and nothing arrived until yesterday.  Only three this week.  I was tempted to get the Spawn #200 because I had heard that it sold out in a day but decided against it.  Maybe I'll regret that in a few years.  Anyway, here's what I got:

Black Panther:  The Man Without Fear #514
Heroes For Hire #2
Deadpool #31

I'll let you know how they turn out.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

The 13th Annual Columbia Antique Toy, Comic & Collectible Con

I'll be headed to this con in a few weeks.  I've never been before and am not really sure how big this convention is but it's better than driving a few hours for all the other ones near me.  According to their site, Roy Thomas will be there.  Roy was the first editor-in-chief to succeed Stan Lee at Marvel.  He's also responsible for bringing Conan the Barbarian to comics back in 1970.  He's currently editor of Alter Ego, the Marvel fanzine.  His accomplishments are too numerous to name here.  Sanford Greene (Marvel Adventures Spider-Man, Wonder Girl) will also be appearing.  Here's the link to the con website:

http://colacollectorscom.webs.com/

Let me know if you're going, I'd love to meet up with any of the reader's of this blog.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Key Issues - Cable Volume 1

Cable is one of my all time favorite characters in comics.  Although the X-Men already had Wolverine and Gambit as resident bad asses, they still bought into Xavier's methodology for the most part.  It was interesting to see a hero who believed in the dream but disagreed with Xavier on how to get there.  I'm hoping that because she was raised by Cable, we'll see Hope begin to show lots of Cable's character traits.  I think we're already seeing some of that with Gillen's Generation Hope.  Lots of these issues can be picked up from the $1 bin at your local comic shop.
 
Cable #1:  1st Sinsear, 1st Clan Chosen
Cable #3:  1st Weasel (Jack Hammer).  Both Marvel's Wiki and Wikipedia list his 1st appearance as Deadpool: The Circle Chase #1 however it was August 1993 while Cable #3 was July 1993.
Cable #6 - 8:  "Fathers and Sons" arc.  Cable finally revealed to be Nathan Christopher Summers
Cable #15: 1st Marrow
Cable #24:  Death of Grizzly
Cable #34:  Cable fights an Onslaught controlled Hulk
Cable #40:  1st Abyss (Nightcrawler's half-brother)
Cable #43:  1st work by Brian K. Vaughan (Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina) at Marvel.  He did the dialogue on this issue.
Cable #48:  1st Irene Merryweather
Cable #59:  1st Jack Truman (S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent 18 who later becomes Deathlok)
Cable #64:  Cable origin retold
Cable #87:  Death of Pyro
Cable #88:  1st Dark Mother (Fiona Knoblach)
Cable #97:  Begin Tischman/Kordey run
Cable #100:  Cable frees himself of the techno-organic virus

Cable: Blood and Metal #1 - 2:  These are key issues for Cable's history leading the Six Pack.  If the X-Cutioner's Song crossover were released today these probably would have been considered a limited series prelude.

Crossover Issues:
Phalanx Covenant:  Cable #16
X-Men Legion Quest:  Cable #20
Onslaught:  Cable #34 - 36
X-Men Zero Tolerance:  Cable #45 - 47
Apocalypse The Twelve:  Cable #75 - 76
X-Men Ages of Apocalypse:  Cable #77
X-Men Dreams End:  Cable #87

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Pip's Pick Up's - 1/5/2011

Still catching up from the past two weeks. Here's what I picked up today:

Deadpool #30
Detective Comics #872
Generation Hope #3
X-Factor #213

I also picked up some back issues of X-Factor, #208 and #209. I kept hearing what a good series X-Factor is. Well, after reading #209, I'm sold. The disfunctionality of this team is hilarious. Highlights for me included Madrox talking about how he envies Cyclops and the military precision of the X-men after Longshot and Layla disappear and when they call to say they've found him at the craps tables at Caesar's (what would you do if you had Longshot's abilities), Guido is looking for them in a strip club. Also, does anyone else think that Jane Foster looks a little like Natalie Portman in this issue? I don't read Thor so I couldn't pick Jane Foster out of a crowd, but when I saw her first panel in this book I thought it was Portman.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Key Issues - X-Factor Volume 1

As promised, here is the key issues list for X-Factor Volume 1.
I consider Volume 1 to be through issue #149 of the 1986 series.  Other sites have issue #200 and up listed as part of Vol 1 but I would consider those to be part of Volume 3.  As you can see below there are quite a few first appearances including Apocalypse.  Some of these may seem like a stretch, but I'm trying to be as comprehensive as possible when it comes to key issues.  As always, let me know if you think I missed something.


X-Factor #1: 1st Cameron Hodge
X-Factor #5: 1st Apocalypse (Cameo)
X-Factor #6: 1st full Apocalypse, Begin Louise Simonson run.
X-Factor #7: 1st Skids (Sally Blevins), 1st Trish Tilby
X-Factor #10: Begin Walt Simonson art
X-Factor #14 - 15: Angel's wings are amputated
X-Factor #17: 1st Rictor
X-Factor #23: 1st Archangel (as Death, Cameo)
X-Factor #24: 1st full Archangel (as Death)
X-Factor #29: 1st Infectia
X-Factor #34: "Death" Cameron Hodge
X-Factor #41: 1st Alchemy (character created by reader Paul Betsow for Marvel contest)
X-Factor #53: Scott Proposes to Jean (declined)
X-Factor #54: 1st Crimson
X-Factor #55: Peter David's first issue of X-Factor
X-Factor #67: 1st Shinobi Shaw, Sebastian Shaw apparently killed by his son, Shinobi
X-Factor #68: Nathan Christopher Summers (Cable) sent to the future by Askani
X-Factor #70: Begin Peter David run
X-Factor #71: 1st New Team
X-Factor #75: 1st Nasty Boys
X-Factor #87: "X-Aminations!" Members of X-Factor visit a shrink
X-Factor #88: 1st Random
X-Factor #92: 1st Exodus
X-Factor #96: 1st Haven (Radha Dastoor)
X-Factor #149: X-Factor disbands

Crossover Issues:
Mutant Massacre -  #9 - 11
Fall of the Mutants - #24 - 26
Inferno - #36 - 39
X-Tinction Agenda #60 - 62
Muir Island Saga #69 - 70
X-Cutioner's Song #84 - 86
Fatal Attractions #92
Phalanx Covenant #106
X-Men Legion Quest #109

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Why Can't Comics Pay As Much As My Real Job

I had a nice couple of weeks on vacation and was able to work a little on my collection. I picked up a What If? #10 and 11 at a peddler's mall near my hometown for a few bucks along with a Wonder Woman #209 that I'm pretty sure I paid too much for.

The real score though was an ad I found on craigslist. I bought two 18 gallon tubs worth of comics for $50. It turns out that two 18 gallon storage bins holds about 400 something comics. I wasn't sure what was in them but the books on top seemed to be in pretty good shape so I went for it. Don't get too excited. I didn't find a Detective Comics #27. I did manage to get lots of X-books and lots of Spidey books all from the 90's and 00's. I haven't had a chance to price them yet but there were a few gems like a Deadpool #11.

In the next few days I'll be working on a list of X-Factor key issues. Stay tuned.