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.

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.

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.

Key Issues - The Brave and the Bold Volume 1 (1955)

Brave and the Bold #28 Cover by Mike Sekowsky and Murphy Anderson

I may not have mentioned it before, but some of the coolest stories in comic books are "team ups." Typically the story goes like this, our hero is in the middle of an adventure/investigation/fight when another hero shows up. Often there is some confusion and the heroes tussle amongst themselves while the villain escapes.  Once clearer heads prevail, they join together to defeat their common enemy.  The rest of the plot is just window dressing so it's interesting that such a simple storyline has led to quite a few popular series.

Brave and the Bold #59
Cover by Gil Kane

Fans enjoy these stories for a couple of reasons.  First, we get to see two or more of our beloved heroes so there's already more bang for the buck, but the story also puts together two heroes that we don't typically see interacting with each other. Maybe more important is that the stories are somewhat throwaway. Because the story is not taking place in either of the main character's series, there is less effect on the long term development of the characters. It appears that writers have a bit more freedom in these series to experiment, introduce new characters, and tell a contained story without the burden of too much continuity.

There have been multiple great "team up" series over the years including Marvel Team-Up, DC Comics Presents, and Marvel Two-in-One.  I may be biased because of my affinity for Batman, but I think the best and perhaps earliest incarnation of the team up is DC's, Brave and the Bold series. It didn't become a team up series until issue #50, but it spawned lots of fantastic stories and introduced many beloved characters. This series featured great writers like Bob Haney, Gerry Conway, Len Wein, and Mike Barr.  It also had character redefining artwork from artists such as Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Below is the list of key issues for this series.  As always, let me know if I've missed any.


Brave and the Bold #1 - 1st appearance of the Viking Prince. 1st appearance of Golden Gladiator. 1st appearance of Brian Kent (Silent Knight).
Brave and the Bold #23 - Origin of the Viking Prince.
Brave and the Bold #25 - 1st appearance of Suicide Squad. 1st appearance of Rick Flag.
Brave and the Bold #28 - 1st appearance of Justice League of America. 1st appearance of Starro. 1st appearance of Snapper Carr.

Brave and the Bold #54
Cover by Bruno Premiani

Brave and the Bold #30 - 1st appearance of Professor Ivo. 1st appearance of Amazo.
Brave and the Bold #31 - 1st appearance of Cave Carson.
Brave and the Bold #34 - 1st appearance and origin of Silver Age Hawkman. 1st appearance of Silver Age Hawkgirl. 1st appearance of Byth. 1st appearance of Thanagar. 1st appearance of Midway City.
Brave and the Bold #35 - 1st appearance and origin of Matter Master.
Brave and the Bold #36 - 1st appearance of Shadow Thief (Carl Sands).
Brave and the Bold #50 - First team up issue.
Brave and the Bold #54 - 1st appearance of the Teen Titans. 1st appearance of Mister Twister.
Brave and the Bold #57 - 1st appearance and origin of Metamorpho. 1st appearance of Simon Stagg. 1st appearance of Sapphire Stagg. 1st appearance of Java. 1st appearance of the Orb of Ra.
Brave and the Bold #59 - First Batman team up issue. 1st appearance of Time Commander.
Brave and the Bold #60 - 1st appearance of Wonder Girl. 2nd appearance of the Teen Titans.

Brave and the Bold #200
Cover by Jim Aparo

Brave and the Bold #61 - Origin of Starman. Origin of Black Canary.
Brave and the Bold #62 - 1st appearance of Silver Age Wildcat.
Brave and the Bold #73 - 1st appearance of Nuidis Vulko.
Brave and the Bold #78 - 1st appearance of Copperhead.
Brave and the Bold #80 - 1st appearance of Helgrammite.
Brave and the Bold #81 - 1st appearance of Bork.
Brave and the Bold #85 - First appearance of Green Arrow's new costume and goatee.
Brave and the Bold #143 - Origin of the Human Target (Christopher Chance).
Brave and the Bold #166 - 1st appearance of Thomas Tresser (Nemesis).
Brave and the Bold #200 - 1st appearance of Katana. 1st appearance of Halo. 1st appearance of Geo-Force. 1st appearance of the Outsiders.

Cullen Bunn Just Made My Day

Teaser Image by Greg Land

For those of you like me who have CompleX feelings about Marvel's direction for the X-Men after Secret Wars, we were offered an additional glimmer of hope today.  I say additional because I already have high hopes for Cullen Bunn's Uncanny X-Men.  As revealed over at CBR, the Uncanny X-Men roster will include Monet St. Croix and what I hope is the real Archangel.

As much as I loved Rick Remender's X-Force run, the only thing I disliked more than the Fantomex 3-way split was the transformation of Archangel back to the uncannily vanilla Angel.  I couldn't understand why a character with such conflicting motivations was reduced to a shell and then put on a shelf.  If I remember correctly, he had maybe two or three appearances in Wolverine and the X-Men and was never heard from again.

Regardless, it appears that our Archangel is back.  I don't really care how.  I just want interesting multi-dimensional characters and it appears that Cullen Bunn does as well. Otherwise, why would he have chosen this group of dual-nature mutants with the some of the most interesting and heartbreaking backstories.

I've mentioned before that his Magneto series is/was the best book that Marvel has published over the past year and a half. Is it because it is vastly different than everything else Marvel is publishing?  Not really.  Is Magneto just that awesome no matter who writes him?  Definitely not.  I think it's primarily because Cullen Bunn really understands what makes Magneto work.  He is a villain for sure, but he's also been a victim.  Though in his own really messed up way, he is a hero. Maybe not by homo sapiens standards, but if you were a mutant kid being bullied by humans, you'd probably look up to Magneto. During the series, Bunn also chose to show us Magneto's acknowledgement of his shortcomings. This allowed us to empathize with Eric the same way we would with a Tony Soprano or a Dexter Morgan and suddenly half of our brain cheered for the bad guy while the other half told us you shouldn't be cheering for the bad guy.

Maybe this series will be cathartic for those of us with a CompleX.  Just like the mutant kid who idolizes Magneto, we'll be rooting for these Uncanny X-Men to take on the humans, the Inhumans, and Marvel itself.

Finally, just in case you're thinking I forgot that the blog is called Key Issue Comics, here's a list of the first appearances for Cullen Bunn's Uncanny X-Men:

The X-Men #1 (1963) - 1st appearance of Magneto. 1st appearance of Warren Worthington III (Angel).
Ms. Marvel #16 - 18 (1978)  -  1st Appearance of Mystique.  This one is tough to judge. Mystique cameos in #16, disguises herself as Nick Fury in #17, and makes her first full appearance as Mystique in #18.
New X-Men #128 (2002) - 1st appearance of Fantomex.
Iron Fist #14 (1977) - 1st appearance of Sabretooth.
Captain Britain #8 (1976) - 1st appearance of Psylocke. Her first appearance in US comics was New Mutants Annual #2.
Uncanny X-Men #316 (1994) - 1st appearance of Monet St. Croix.

Key Issues - The Uncanny X-Men - Part Three

Uncanny X-men #428 by Phillip Tan 

I finally got around to finishing the third part of the Uncanny X-Men key issues list.  Parts one and two can be found at the respective links.  We've reached #400 - #544 and I had to dig deep to find key issues.  In this era of the X-Men a lot happens without anything really happening at least until you get to Brubaker's run starting in #475.  At that point lots of great storylines come out with Messiah Complex, Messiah War, Nation X, Second Coming, etc.  I was planning on ending this with #544 but with #600 announced to come out in October 2015, perhaps I'll do a part 4 that includes, the two Uncanny volumes, Wolverine and the X-Men, and All-New X-Men just to tidy things up before the new Marvel Universe debuts in September.


Uncanny X-Men #401 - Banshee forms X-Corps.  1st appearance of X-Corps.

Uncanny X-Men #404 - Death of Sunpyre (Leyu Yoshida).

Uncanny X-Men #410 - 1st appearance of Sammy Pare (Squid Boy).

Uncanny X-Men #411 - 1st appearances of Annie and Carter Ghazikhanian.
Uncanny X-Men #415 - Revealed that Iceman will permanently mutate into ice.  Northstar has a crush on Iceman.

Uncanny X-Men #417 - 1st appearance of Maximus Lobo.

Uncanny X-Men #493
 by  Billy Tan

Uncanny X-men #420 - Angel revealed to have healing abilities.

Uncanny X-Men #423 - Deaths of Bedlam and Skin, they were crucified by the Church of Humanity.

Uncanny X-Men #428 - 1st appearance of Azazel.  Azazel revealed as Nightcrawler's father.
Uncanny X-Men #429 - 1st appearance of the Neyaphim: Ginniyeh, Jillian, Kiwi Black, Ophis, and Ydrazil. 1st appearances of Maryin Hannah and Sanji Yamamoto.
Uncanny X-Men #435 - 1st appearance of Earth-A She-Hulk.
Uncanny X-Men #437 - 1st appearance of Julia Cabot.
Uncanny X-Men #444 - 1st appearances of the Weaponeers, Rogue's Advocate Squad: Boggart, Naiad, Pinpoint, Trovao, Umbra, Xenon.
Uncanny X-Men #445 - 1st appearance of the Fury.

Uncanny X-Men #455 - 1st appearance of the Hauk'ka.
Uncanny X-Men #462 - 1st appearances of Flight Leader and Sky Captain of the Captain Britain Corps.
Uncanny X-Men #466 - 1st appearance of Colonel Miguel Reyes.

Uncanny X-Men #526
 by Terry and Rachel Dodson

Uncanny X-Men #467 - 1st appearance of the Shi'ar Death Commandos: Black Cloak, Colony, Devo, Hypershot, Krait, Offset, Sega, Shell, and Warshot.
Uncanny X-Men #468 - 1st appearance of Flaw of the Shi'ar Death Commandos.
Uncanny X-Men #475 - 1st appearance of Warpath's vibranium knives.
Uncanny X-Men #478 - 1st appearance of Korvus Rook'shir.
Uncanny X-Men #493 - X-Force is reformed to track down Cable and baby Hope.
Uncanny X-Men #500 - The X-Men relocate to San Francisco.
Uncanny X-Men #526 - 1st appearance of Transonic.
Uncanny X-Men #527 - 1st appearance of Velocidad.
Uncanny X-Men #528 - 1st appearance of Idie Okonkwo.
Uncanny X-Men #529 - 1st appearance of Teon.
Uncanny X-Men #542 - Colossus becomes the Juggernaut.

Key Issues - Uncanny X-Men - Part One
Key Issues - Uncanny X-Men - Part Two

-

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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. 

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).

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.

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

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

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

Key Issues Daredevil Volumes 1 & 2

Nice list of key issues for Daredevil volumes 1 and 2 over at http://www.manwithoutfear.com/.

Daredevil Key Issues

Key Issues - X-Force Volume 1

I know.  Kind of a weird choice for a list of key issues, but most of the majors like Spider-Man, Incredible Hulk, etc. you can find on a forum somewhere.  Plus, I like X-Force.


#1 - Obviously.  One of the best selling comic books of all time with somewhere between 4 to 5 million copies sold.  6 variants: 5 with different collectors card 1 without and a 2nd printing.
#2 - 2nd appearance of Deadpool
#4 - Team up with Spider-Man continued from McFarlane's Spider-Man #16.  Issue was published in sideways/landscape format.  3rd appearance of Deadpool.
#5 - Siryn joins X-Force.
#8 - You thought the 1st appearance of Domino was in New Mutants #98?  Nope, that was Copycat impersonating Domino.  Here's the actual first appearance.  Also the first appearance of the Six Pack.
#15 - Cable versus Deadpool.  Beginning of Greg Capullo's (pencils) run.
#16 - X-Cutioner's Song Part 4
#17 - X-Cutioner's Song Part 8
#18 - X-Cutioner's Song Part 12
#25 - Fatal Attractions Part 2
#31 - Siryn quits drinking.
#32 - 1st appearance of Husk (Paige Guthrie) as a mutant.
#38 - Phalanx Covenant Part 2
#44 - Beginning of Jeph Loeb (script) run.  Cannonball leaves.  Caliban joins.
#50 - X-Men Anniversary Issue.
#51 - 1st appearance of Risque.
#60 - Origin of Shatterstar.
#82 - Beginning of Jim Cheung (art) run.
#85 - Bedlam (1st appearance in Earth 616) joins X-Force.  Cannonball rejoins.
#90 - Feral rips out Siryn's vocal chords.
#91 - Siryn leaves X-Force.
#100 - Two covers one by Liefeld the other by Cheung.
#102 - Pete Wisdom joins X-Force.  Beginning of Warren Ellis & Ian Edgington (scripts) and Whilce Portacio (pencils) run.
#115 - X-Force disbands.
#116 - New team.  Begin Pete Milligan and Mike Allred run.
#128 - Final issue of volume one.