30 Days Of Comics: Day 26: A Black and White Comic You Love

Bizarre Adventures #27

This pick is sort of a cheat.  I think the intent with this day was for me to pick something small or indie, but there are only one or two of those in my whole collection and neither of them hold the place this one does in my memory.

Of the now 7,904 comics in my collection, only 32 are listed as being in Black & White.  Seven of those are reprints of the UK Captain Britain magazine, eleven are a "dirty" sword and sorcery book by Bill Willingham, and four are John Byrne's OMAC series from 1991.

There is a "Thunderbunny" that I hunted down because it takes place in my hometown of Rutland, VT (I now own 20 Rutland Issues!) and a few other random books.

But this one is the one.  Start with that cover.  Beautifully painted by Paul Gulacy with some nice touches (Iceman's translucency is nice and subtle) it lets you know you are in for three good stories.

And what stories they are!

The first story, "The Brides of Attuma", is both a classic Marvel adventure story coupled with a human element, as Jean Grey's sister starts to come to terms with the death of her sister.  The story also gives us more of Jean's origin in a way that still gives me the willies.

Next is "Winter Carnival" featuring Iceman.  One of my favorites, George Perez, penciled this fun romp at Dartmouth.  The thing that still holds true for me today is that it is an Iceman story that is actually pretty good. Bobby Drake was a character I really didn't think much about (His portrayal on "Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends" was sort of my template for him!) and this story brought him out into the spotlight very nicely.

Last is "Show Me The Way To Go Home" featuring my favorite X-Man, Nightcrawler.  It is a silly little romp where he and another teleporter end up in a land where men are a rare commodity.

(images from here!)

Three great stories, told in Black and White, that I have owned FOREVER.

However, I still prefer my comics in color!