Tag: New Teen Titans

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Brainiac On Banjo #025: Marv Wolfman’s Long, Long Journey

Brainiac On Banjo #025: Marv Wolfman’s Long, Long Journey

Posted on by Mike Gold

What I should have done, were this to be a proper analysis, was reread every comic book story Marv Wolfman ever wrote. Obviously, that’s not possible. He’s written a lot of comics. Marv wrote his initial scripts on papyrus. He’s only four years older than me, but he’s been at it since Jeff met Mutt.

Not that it wouldn’t have been an entertaining way for me to blow off a deadline. He’s written… everything. Every A-list, B-list, and C-list character owned by DC and Marvel, and most of the lower-list characters as well. He’s written some of the most iconic series around: Tomb of Dracula, Crisis on Infinite Earths, Blade, The New Teen Titans. His runs on Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Superman and Batman are the stuff dreams are made of. My personal favorite, Night Force (co-created by his Dracula comrade Gene Colan), is… well… my personal favorite and I’ve read more comic books than Supersnipe.

I strongly expect that at least 95% of the ink Marv gets for his latest mind-stunner, Man and Superman, will start with referencing the second line in his introduction: “(Man and Superman) maybe one of the five best comics I’ve ever written.” That is a ballsy move, my friend. Now every blogger must start there. Is this among Marv’s very, very best? Well, let’s keep in mind it’s also an extraordinary gambit – now everybody is going to ask themselves the same question, and in order to answer it, they’ve got to read it. Continue reading “Brainiac On Banjo #025: Marv Wolfman’s Long, Long Journey” →

Continued After the Next Page 007: On George Perez’s Retirement…

Continued After the Next Page 007: On George Perez’s Retirement…

Posted on by Bob Harrison

If you have read the previous posts in this column, you will know that I am a child of the 80’s. I began my love for comics when the two biggest selling series were Uncanny X-Men and New Teen Titans. The New Teen Titans was the most influential comic series on me as a child. Hell, my best friend, and current tattoo artist, painted the Titans Tower portraits for my Bar Mitzvah party.

With that bit of background, it is easy to understand why George Perez is the first comic book artist that I fell in love with. My sister, who I am betting has read maybe two comic books in her life (only because I forced her), even knows who George Perez is. There are so many fantastic artists in the medium. Too many to name. But George tops them all for me. He is my paragon. In adulthood, I have gained appreciation for those who came before him. As a youngster, I didn’t understand Kirby or Ditko the way that I did Perez. Adams was too melodramatic for me. George Perez’s tight lines and dynamic action scenes where what I expected comics to be.

Recently, Mr. Perez announced that 2019 will be his last year on the comic convention circuit, and he will essentially retire from making new comics. These decisions are due to the toll that health issues have taken on him. We are terribly sad to hear that he has come to this place at such a young age. Mike Gold has become the de facto eulogizer around Pop Culture Squad headquarters. Thankfully, George is still with us, and therefore, I will take a shot a living tribute in this post.

Continue reading “Continued After the Next Page 007: On George Perez’s Retirement…” →

Continued After the Next Page #005: Best Single Issue Ever NTT #38

Continued After the Next Page #005: Best Single Issue Ever NTT #38

Posted on by Bob Harrison

Welcome back to “Continued After the Next Page”. If you are new here, we try to shine a spotlight on stories and comic book nostalgia from the past. Today we are going to talk about just one comic book. In my opinion, it is the greatest single issue that I have ever read. Now, that is a lofty perch on which I have just placed this book, and I am willing to listen to other suggestions, of course. However, this issue, which is a one-and-done story, strikes such emotional tones that I cannot find a book that tops it.

The book in question is The New Teen Titans #38. It was released in late 1983 with a January 1984 date stamped on the cover. The issue was co-plotted by Marv Wolfman and George Perez with a script from Marv and art by George and Romeo Tanghal. Sadly, letterer Ben Oda, colorist Adrienne Roy, and editor Len Wein have all passed on by now. If you are going to call something that is the product of a collaborative effort “the best of its kind”, then that thing should display a high level of talent from the individual collaborators that is independently identifiable, but is even better in the context of the complete collective work. This book certainly accomplished that goal. Continue reading “Continued After the Next Page #005: Best Single Issue Ever NTT #38” →

What Comic Have You Owned the Longest

What Comic Have You Owned the Longest

Posted on by Bob Harrison

Everyone has a part of their collection that is special to them. It might be something that you paid a lot of money for, or it could be something that you searched a long time for. It might be something that just touched you in an emotional way.

How about that piece that you have owned longer than anything else?

For me I have owned New Teen Titans #1 longer than any other comic in my collection. I wrote a long form piece about it here.

What about you?

Share in the comments what comic you have owned the longest. We would love to hear from you.

Continued After the Next Page #002: The Comic I Have Owned the Longest

Continued After the Next Page #002: The Comic I Have Owned the Longest

Posted on by Bob Harrison

I began reading and collecting comic books when I was 8 years old in 1981.  I would get comics from my Aunt’s convenience store in Seaside Heights, NJ.  For the next few years, I would pick up comics from local convenience stores with spinner racks. For those who are from New Jersey or the Northeast, names like Krausers and Cumberland Farms were havens of comic goodness. One day, I found out that there was such a thing as a comic book store. A whole store devoted to comic books. I was in awe. By this time, at about 12 years old, I had started working in my Aunt’s store on Sunday mornings. I would put the Sunday newspapers together for $5 bucks per hour.  I had found that there was a Comic Shop in Lakewood, NJ. It was only in the next town. I somehow managed to convince my mother to take me to this magical place so that I could spend my hard-earned dollars on comic goodness.  I am sure I spent way longer than my mom would have liked perusing the stacks and boxes to find a few bits of awesomeness. Most likely, I picked up some New Teen Titans that I had not read or old copies of the Legion of Super-Heroes.  At one point, I saw a flyer on the counter for a “Comic Convention” in Toms River, NJ. That is when my fandom for comics hit the accelerator and stayed glued to the floor.

Continue reading “Continued After the Next Page #002: The Comic I Have Owned the Longest” →