Stories You Love That Most People Never Heard Of

[MikeandRaph87]

Originally Posted by Candy Kappa

Sadly no, and it's all I remember from that story. Two-Face might have been in it too.

Could it be this issue?
https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Batman_Vol_1_260

Its the only Joker centric story I know of with Two Face. The two teamed up twice. Once in a 1976 Brave and Bold two parter along with Atom II and Green Arrow.
https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Brave_and_the_Bold_Vol_1_129

The other one that comes to mind was when Joker and Two Face along with the Penguin poisioning rashions, but Two Face atrong armed Penguin into giving up a cure when the clean side of his coin came up.

[Leo656]

Originally Posted by Voltron

This thread is AWESOME. Keep'em comin', guys!

Glad I could get something good rolling, and I agree. So far so good, especially the "deep cuts" and stuff.

Originally Posted by MikeandRaph87

How about you take a turn with a DC villain profile, Leo?

Perhaps. I'll think about it. I had a couple other ones I was gonna post later today, we'll see what shakes loose.

[MikeandRaph87]

I have two more stories in mind, a 1983 tale and a 1992 tale. Yes, both involve Batman. Maybe a 1977 tale as well from a Bat companion magazine too. I will reveal more once more post showing other stories are made.

In my other thread I wanted to do The Shade/Richard Swift, already written up on a Word document. Then Black Adam.

[MikeandRaph87]

New Teen Titams#37/Batman and The Outsiders#5 crossover is a hidden gem that is dirt cheap, $2 to $3 for an ungraded vefy fine. This late 1983 publication is the very last in-continuity team-up of Dick "Robin" Grayson and Bruce "Batman" Wayne. Everything else is flashback. It contrast Bruce and Dick as leaders and shows how Robin has come into his own as the Fearsome Five, old Doom Patrol villains try to dismantle both teams. Must read for any fams of either teams or the Dynamic Duo. Seriously, how is thia two parter so cheap?

[neatoman]

Not a comic sotryline but I really do love one of Lovecraft's more obscure works, the Beast in the Cave. It's about a man who gets lost in a cave and figures out he's being stalked by some creature making strange noises.

Spoiler:

By the end he kills it but when he examines the body he realises the monster was just a malnourished man who had been lost for too long.

[Leo656]

Originally Posted by MikeandRaph87

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_NXjyZJAN4...recoloured.jpg

New Teen Titams#37/Batman and The Outsiders#5 crossover is a hidden gem that is dirt cheap, $2 to $3 for an ungraded vefy fine. This late 1983 publication is the very last in-continuity team-up of Dick "Robin" Grayson and Bruce "Batman" Wayne. Everything else is flashback. It contrast Bruce and Dick as leaders and shows how Robin has come into his own as the Fearsome Five, old Doom Patrol villains try to dismantle both teams. Must read for any fams of either teams or the Dynamic Duo. Seriously, how is thia two parter so cheap?

Jeebus, I want that as a poster.

I don't have that book but I definitely gotta pick it up. Thanks buddy! This is part of why we're here.

[MikeandRaph87]

Originally Posted by Leo656

Jeebus, I want that as a poster.

I don't have that book but I definitely gotta pick it up. Thanks buddy! This is part of why we're here.

Its easy to find at any Toy and Hobby Show or comic event. Its seriously cheap so hold out for an ungraded VF or you can get it off of Ebay. I wonder if its the first multiple comic covers to complete an image gimmick? Perez is one of the best, no argument there. His departure from Teen Titans is one of the many reasons the book fell apart a little over a year after this two parter. If you are really interested I can link you to a scanned copy of both New Teen Titans#37 and Batman and The Outsiders#5 in your profile or you wait until you buy it or both. Let me know in reply.

[MikeandRaph87]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbr...n-452-454/amp/

"Dark Knight, Dark City" has gotten some attention, but not near enough. It finishes off a pretty amazing 25 issue run that was between Jason Todd and Tim Drake's stints as Robin. Riddler possessed by the centuries old demon who stuffs a ball down an infants throat to get away? Brutal! Yet its not Eddie's doing and Riddler gsts respect for his intellect from a evil older than Gotham.

[Leo656]

That answers my question from the other thread! Thanks man! I thought it was "Dark Knight, Dark City" but I didn't wanna make a fool of myself. I definitely have most or all of that stuff. I have most of the Batman and 'Tec books from 1988-ish through Knightfall. That's the best era for me. There's definitely been good to Great stories since then but that's what I grew up on so that's where my heart lies.

Perez was a God among men, no question. Especially those gigantic group shots. Who's EVER been better at those? And in an era before they could just use a computer to do a composite image, no less. Jurgens comes close, but sometimes his people are a little "stiff" when he's trying to fit a ton of them on one or two pages; Perez's group shots just explode with personality, they're so dynamic.

I'm alright without the scans, I don't like reading comics on a screen. I do appreciate you, though. I'm "connected", I can find almost any comic I want so long as I remember to ask one'a my "guys". Thanks again, though. You're a good dude.

[MikeandRaph87]

Originally Posted by Leo656

That answers my question from the other thread! Thanks man! I thought it was "Dark Knight, Dark City" but I didn't wanna make a fool of myself. I definitely have most or all of that stuff. I have most of the Batman and 'Tec books from 1988-ish through Knightfall. That's the best era for me. There's definitely been good to Great stories since then but that's what I grew up on so that's where my heart lies.

Perez was a God among men, no question. Especially those gigantic group shots. Who's EVER been better at those? And in an era before they could just use a computer to do a composite image, no less. Jurgens comes close, but sometimes his people are a little "stiff" when he's trying to fit a ton of them on one or two pages; Perez's group shots just explode with personality, they're so dynamic.

I'm alright without the scans, I don't like reading comics on a screen. I do appreciate you, though. I'm "connected", I can find almost any comic I want so long as I remember to ask one'a my "guys". Thanks again, though. You're a good dude.

Who is better? I have three answers,but remember its all opinion. 1. Jose Garcia Lopez. 2. Neal Adams 3. Alex Ross. Just go to readcomiconline.to and see if its okay for you as far as image quality. It varies honestly.

I have a Justice League of America up next.

[Leo656]

Point WELL-taken, amigo.

You literally just built Comic Book Mount Rushmore, I don't know if you realize it.

[MikeandRaph87]

Originally Posted by Leo656

Point WELL-taken, amigo.

You literally just built Comic Book Mount Rushmore, I don't know if you realize it.

True. Just going by preference really. Only Jim Lee can come close in the current generation, but these days he is too much into missing deadlines to cover Dan Didio's sorry butt. Ethan Sciver maybe. Michael Turner had he not been taken too soon and focused more on heroes and villains than cheese cake.

As fate would have it my next selection for overlooked masterpieces in 1981's three part epic that was partially penciled by George Perez after Dick Dillin's tragically untimely death after completing the second part, #184. It is the actual first encounter the Justice League has with Darkseid. This is immediately after the classic lineup is complete with Firestorm's initiation. A trio of Golden Age villains awaken Darkseid after the events of Jack Kirby's initial run leave Darkseid for dead. Its up to a combination of the JLA and JSA ( now with Huntress and Powergirl) to stop Apokolis from taking Earth-2's place in the universe.



https://batman-news.com/2012/12/13/j...83-185-comics/

Keep 'em coming folks! I want to find something to read! Or maybe a DC Villain Profile!

[Leo656]

I like Jim Lee a lot, but he's too "flashy". Always trying to stick more seam lines and armor on everything. Whenever he designs a new costume for someone, I cringe, because even if it looks cool, I know it won't last. Why not? "The next guy to do the book just ISN'T gonna draw all of that nonsense." It doesn't add anything of substance, it's just texturing for the sake of texturing. In theory, anyone could do it, if they too didn't have to worry about deadlines or anything. I could draw every stitch and seam on Superman's outfit, too, if I only had the rest of my life to do it.

He's very good, though, I just feel like those Image guys like to masturbate a lot when they work. All of them are/were guilty of the same thing. "F*ck deadlines! More linework! I didn't draw EVERY single bit of Captain America's chainmail yet!" "Uh... can't you just, like... do a little bit to 'suggest' it?" "NO! Every line matters!"

Ethan Van Sciver and Mike Turner are/were both quite good, if, again, a little "stiff". Not gonna lie, I adored Mike's "cheesecake". But his regular stuff was pretty good, too. The problem with his work was that everything he did was a pin-up; his characters were entirely too "posed". But they were beautiful. Even if most of them had the same generic face. He had the Male Face and the Female Face, and you'd best pray that two characters on the same page had a different hairstyle or else you were in trouble.

Not a knock, by the way. Making faces unique and capturing dynamic motion in a still drawing are two things I've never, ever been able to get good at, which is why I more or less gave up on drawing after high school. At some point you've "peaked", and I frankly wasn't that great at anything but Pin-Up type artwork, so there's other stuff I figured I could do with my time. But I know how difficult those things are, so when I point them out as limitations, I'm not doing it to insult their work. Their work is beautiful; I'm just saying I recognize the things they struggled with because I've been there.

[MikeandRaph87]

I concur about Michael Turner's "male face" and "female face". Jim Lee and Alex Ross were the first two I could identify the artwork of, this was when I was a child and not reading anything outside of TMNT Adventures or Batman/Batman & Robin Adventures. That says something about how they stood out. I would say that below the four on Mount Rushmore for me would be Turner, maybe its because Identity Crisis was the first big event during my reading and its "why". Sciver because the first book I read long-term not just a story arc here and there was Green Lantern: Rebirth and the follow up title would be "why" for him. Marshall Rogers along with them,overlooked and taken not as soon as Turner,but still too soon. Dick Dillin, because of his extensive JL of A volume one work, its simply amazing. To round out a ninth and tenth person, Ryan Brown of the Mirage Dudes depicted the TMNT the way I knew them growing up. Finally, I would say Jim Aparo. Jim in his later work like Michael Turner had generic looks for his characters as seen in the late 80s'/early 90s' Batman title run. Though in his day when DC had a legendary stable of creators in the Bronze Age he turned out gold! Just to note, there are three I hold as God tier greatness with George Perez rounding out the Theodore Roosevelt spot just below them then six others I admire for the reasons I explained.

I checked the Brave and the Bold stuff mentioned earlier,Brave and the Bold#108 had demon possessed Nazis while DC Special Series#8 had the actual devil.

[Leo656]

Not altogether wrong about Jim Aparo, but he's still the quintessential Batman artist, to me.

Dan Jurgens is my sentimental favorite artist, but I wouldn't argue that he's the objective "best". He IS the objective best at Superman... at least, to anyone under 50, in which case you'll still see Curt Swan mentioned a lot. Curt was great, but I'd argue that standards were collectively lower in that era. Which doesn't mean he was "bad", not at all, but he didn't have a ton of great competition, either. Most of the other Superman artist back then, especially, weren't great.

[MikeandRaph87]

I know I don't fit the generation category well. I am of the year in my username,but the darn Batman:TAS made the time between Adam West and Frank Miller glorious. The creators at the time were the highest number of hall of fame creators at any one time as well. To know the type of story I love the most in Batman would be showcased in this glorious single issue masterwork by Gerry Conway which has Robin and Batgirl doing Batman's legwork as he plays a Oracle type role after Scarecrow created a toxin that will kill anyone of fear of Batman. The classic three versus one of the Bat Rogues and equal.appreciation!
https://puzzledpagan.com/2017/12/02/...the-scarecrow/

[MikeandRaph87]

I still have a couple more,but I do not want to exhaust them until further comments on those that I have posted and to see what hidden gems you all appreciate.

[Leo656]

I'm lovin' it, brother! But work responsibilities have prevented me from doing quite what I wanna do. I have plenty of 'em loaded and ready but I just don't have the time right now.

In brief, let me just say that, like you, I'm alllll about Classic Batman. Good stuff so far.

[Krutch]

This right here. This hit me big time.



I’m always surprised to find how many people still haven’t read this yet. In short, the story is about a struggling artist who decides to make a deal with Death - 200 days to have ability to sculpt anything out of anything (he can mold marble as if it were clay, for example) but after that, times up - Death will claim him.



Love everything about this book, even if it uses a few tropes I’m generally not a fan of (the love interest is the very definition of a Manic Pixie Dream Girl.) It’s written and illustrated by Scott McCloud, the guy who wrote the revered Understanding Comics and it’s less popular sequels. Needless to say, this guy knows how to beautifully pace the story, giving each panel a wonderful sense of time and poignancy. At it’s core the story is about how far you are willing to go in the name making art - and it was a story I absolutely needed at the time. And will always need.



Highly recommended if you want a break from the capes and cowls but still want a touch of super-powered spectacle.

[MikeandRaph87]

Batman Family#17 has two gems in one. First in "Scars" Helena " Huntress" Wayne seeks Batman's help and is referred to Batwoman while Batman helps Dick saves his girlfriend Lori Elton from a BMOC that snapped. The bigger gem though is the only team up as villainesses that I know of, Catwoman and Poison Ivy with two shot foe, Madam Zodiac face Batgirl and Earth-2's Huntress and Batwoman of Earth-1.