Hawkeye's first mini-series back in 1983 was a great read. It was the first time I had ever seen the Avenging Archer in his own title and I wondered what took so long for him to get his shot. It was a fun story with real repercussions and beautiful Brett Breeding artwork. I thought it would be cool to see Hawkeye team up with Ted Kord - they are both non powered heroes who can nevertheless fit in with the big guys due to their skills and tenacity.
I am 42, and for me, the Bronze Age of comics ('82-'92) will always be the highpoint of the industry for me. Is this because of the "law" that "Everything When Your 13 Years Old is the Best", is this because this is actually an objective fact: 1982-1992 really WAS this best decade for comics!
ReplyDeleteI miss Ted Kord.
ReplyDelete@Open Bar: I always thought the Bronze Age started in 1971 and ended between Secret Wars II/Crisis and the leap to the $1 cover price (around 1989?) [Side note: since the next two phases were the B&W Boom and the multiple cover/bagged/mail-in coupon fads, both characterized by speculation, should 1989-2000 be considered the Zinc Age? Are there any other metals besides Gold and Silver that were subject to commodities speculation?]
ReplyDeleteAnyway, the idea of the 80's (or any decade) being the best is always subjective. For every Simonson "Thor" there's a "U.S. 1." For every "Legends" there's a "Millenium". There's even something good to be said about the period that followed. While the majors started pumping out sparkly covers wrapped around dreck, the fact that people (incredibly) bought more of it than ever allowed retailers to take chances on quality comics that weren't obviously hits. In lean times they couldn't afford to order anything they might get stuck with; guaranteed sellers only. With a little extra cash they could see if their customers would try "Bone", "Strangers In Paradise", "Maxx", "Hate", "Sin City", "Johnny The Homocidal Maniac" and lots of other non-super-hero stuff that's still in print in trade form long after the series were discontinued. How's that "Essential Dazzler vol.2" selling?
Hawkeye and Blue Beetle happened to gain the spotlight in the eighties in ways they rarely have until recently. (BB has actually been around in various forms about as long as Batman; only the 60's Ditko version is remembered as fondly as the Paris Cullen version, to my knowledge.) But they always worked both as solos and large team members. It's nice seeing them as a duo. I can see Ted inventing new gimmick arrows for Clint.
Ugh..why did you have to mention Millennium? What a rubbish mini-series! Almost as bad as DC's Invasion- which was an attempt create DC's answer to Marvel's Mutants.....Meta-Humans! It failed! Seriously, I had books from the late '90s/early 2000s in my collection that I don't even recall reading. I would buy an issue, stop reading midway in disgust, and chuck it into my box. Eventually I just stopped buying comics and exclusively brought independent graphic books (Joe Sacco's Palestine, Joe Matt, Persepolis). Interestingly, my experience with Hip Hop music has been the same- disgust by the late 1990s, switching exclusively to world music.
ReplyDeletethis cover is great. how about kitty pryde and phantom girl?
ReplyDeleteI have a couple of covers with Kitty coming up...
ReplyDeleteTwo guys that annoying teaming up? It must be like "Freebie and the Bean."
ReplyDelete