E-Man #6

 

Comic: E-Man #6

Where Purchased: The Joker's Child in Fair Lawn, New Jersey

When Purchased: September 4, 2024

When Read: November 11, 2024

I do not know anything about E-Man.  When I started collecting comics, I stuck mostly to mainstream superhero books you could find on the newsstand.  

As an unabashed fan of John Byrne and currently on a quest to collect all of his published work, I purchased this comic for its back-up story which features his professional comics debut.  It is about what you'd expect from a recently turned pro who would go on to have a nearly 50 year career in comics.  It is enjoyable but a far cry from the artist he would become.

As of the time of this post, I only have one more John Byrne drawn book on my want list.  It is a 1992 colorized reprinting of a story that first appeared in 1980's "The Art of John Byrne".

I have never seen a copy in the wild.  There is one copy for sale on the comic marketplace "Comic Collector Live" right now for only $2.00 and the seller has 2 other books on my wish list but the three in total does not meet their minimum order amount.  It is way too expensive on eBay.

A recent work trip had me in New Jersey with a lot of extra time on my hands.  The Joker's Child had popped up in my research for other trips but it was either too far from where I was going or it was closed on the day I was near enough to justify stopping in.

It is a neat little shop.  The day I visited there were several kids with their parents poking around.  Back issues were reasonably priced and the layout was conducive to browsing.  In addition to this issue, I was able to get two decently priced issues of X-23 that I needed.

This was one of five (!) stops I made this day.

Aliens: Earth Angel #1

 

Comic: Aliens: Earth Angel #1

Where Purchased: JC Comics in North Plainfield, New Jersey

When Purchased: September 4, 2024

When Read: October 27, 2024

Without a doubt, John Byrne is one of my favorite comic book creators.  I think his art is fantastic and I enjoy his writing.  He has the most credits of any creator in my comic book collection database, with 2,222 appearances.  The caveat is that a  book where he is listed multiple times gets multiple listings, but the next five highest individuals with credits all served as either Marvel's Editor-in-Chief or only have credits as an Editor.

Regardless, I am on a mission to hunt down all of Byrne's work, focusing mostly on art credits.  Sometimes his writing only work isn't for me.

This comic was originally serialized two pages at a time over 13 issues in Diamond's Previews in 1993.  Looking in my collection, 1993 was the beginning of a dip in my comic purchasing habits.  It was the first year I bought fewer comics that the year before since I started collecting, so I am not surprised that not only did I miss this originally, I also missed the collected version from 1994.  I really didn't focus on finding it until earlier this year when I updated my want list.

I was definitely after it for the Byrne-ness of it, but the concept intrigued me as well.  I really enjoyed the move "Prey" which was a fun entry in the Predator franchise, as it changed up the time period and turned things on their head.  This is in that vein.

Set in the 1950's, Earth Angel features an Alien outbreak in a suburban America town.  It is a rarity in the ever growing Alien franchise as it is one of the few Aliens comics set in an era of the Earth's past instead of the future.

I gave this a 9 out of 10.  I am not deeply immersed in the world of Aliens but this is a fun romp with a neat little reveal on the last page.

I was so excited to stumble across this on a recent trip.  I had visited JC Comics about a year prior on a different solo work trip and thought the store was awesome, the selection impressive, and the prices reasonable.  When I realized I would be in the area again, I made the decision to make it a stop to stretch and get out of the car for a bit.

I had worked my way through the store and had a few gap filling books I had picked out.  I finally had copies of the first issues of both Marvel Team Up and Marvel Two-In-One and the last issue I needed of Black Lightning when I saw their "Aliens" box.  I hadn't been able to find this for awhile but figured I'd take a peek.

There is nothing better than finding something on your want list in the wild.  Flipping through the box with anticipation. Finding the title and number right where it is supposed to be.

There is nothing worse than flipping through a box of comics and coming to the place where the one you want should be but to find it missing.

On this day, I was so stoked to be able to celebrate finding this.

October 26, 2014: Vermont ComicCon

After an all day class yesterday, I spent the afternoon and evening visiting with The Armchair Squid and Drama Guy.  We watched next month's Mock Squid Soup movie, Space Battleship Yamoto (available for FREE on YouTube!) and had some good conversation and some good Chinese food.

Today...today was Vermont ComicCon!  The Squids and Mocks met up and had a blast.  I'm at the point in my comic book collecting where there really isn't anything on my wish list.  I occasionally hear about a run or a series I missed that might be worth picking up.  But today was about random finds, artists and costumes!

I grabbed two Batman '66 comics for Logan, four random Star Trek issues (two John Byrne photo novels and two alternate reality issues) and a Red Sonja one shot.  For a buck a piece, I couldn't say no!

I also snagged all 5 issues of the Spider-man: With Great Power... mini-series for $2.00!

I spent some time exploring the work of a whole lot of artists!  I picked up a Doctor Who print by Blair Shedd from one of his recent Doctor Who comics and a smaller print from Vermont artist Lee Wakerly of the 12th Doctor.  I plan on displaying them both in my classroom.

Blair Shedd: Approximately 11" by 7"

Mr. Shedd signing his print

Lee Wakerley: Approximately 4" by 6"

Mr. Shedd also did TWO sketches!  One for my son and one for his friend!

Nan bought a limited run print from Mr. Shedd with a Vermont theme for the house!

And then the costumes....you can see more on Nan's NEW site here!

This Date in History: January 1984 Assistant Editors' Month

via comicvine:

Beware: It's Assistant Editors' Month! Don't Say We Didn't Warn You!

In 1984, Marvel Comics had Assistant Editors' Month under the premise that the editors were away at a convention and the assistant editors had free reign to do as they pleased. This resulted in some memorable, wacky or just plain terrible stories.    

The comics were cover dated January 1984.  

Here are the ones I own....plus the black and white, pencil version of one of my favorites.....

During the fight in this story, there are 5 pages without any drawings, as it takes place during during a snow storm... just thought balloons and sound effects.

"Hey Guys, I know it's Assistant Editor Month, but let's not do anything too silly on the cover - 

Okay?

Hugs & Kisses

John"

via Marvel Comics of the 1980s

30 Days Of Comics: Day 12: Your Favorite Cover

Uncanny X-Men #175

This was a tough post.

According to the software I use, I have 7,953 comic books in my collection (of which 7,825 are "unique"). The software tracks just about EVERYTHING you could think of, including credits for creators.

I break down some of the categories thusly: If an artist penciled and inked the cover, he is listed as "Cover Artist" and if two different individuals penciled and inked, they get "Cover Penciller" and "Cover Inker" credits.

John Byrne is listed as "Cover Artist" for 263 of my comics, "Cover Penciller" for 107 and "Cover Inker" for 4, a total of 374 comics (about 5% of my whole collection!)

George Perez is listed as "Cover Artist" for 227 of my comics, "Cover Penciller" for 73 and "Cover Inker" for 17, a total of 317 comics (about 4% of my whole collection!)

No one else comes close. It made sense to look at their work....and there are LOTS of good covers from both of them....

X-Men 128 George Perez (p) Terry Austin (i)

X-Men 113 John Byrne (p) Bob Layton (i)

X-Men 137 John Byrne (p) Terry Austin (i)

Plus there are a slew of new comic book artists who produce work that is "art", just gorgeous paintings or dynamic action shots.....Joao Ruas, Alex Ross, Alex Maleev and James Jean come to mind.

But so many covers these days have little to nothing to do with the story inside.

Unlike the Uncanny X-Men 175 cover.

When I bought this issue, I had only been "officially" collecting for two or three months. I had no idea of the back story of this issue, having only bought three issues of the series. But I've always been wowed by this cover.

I love the colors, the action, and the fact that it does tie-in to the story inside. Of all the elements, I think the "claw" and the "rubble" are the most striking to me. Just glancing at the cover, you can pretty much figure out each character's abilities. You know who the "bad guy" is.

This cover was created by Paul Smith, who is often over-looked when mentioning the artists who drew the X-Men. I understand why when names like Jack Kirby, Neal Adams, Dave Cockrum, John Byrne and Jim Lee are attached to such a storied franchise. Smith only penciled 10 issues of the X-Men (#165-175, except #171) and he only worked 21 covers in my entire collection (17 on his own and 4 with someone else inking him).

Regardless, this is the cover that stands out for me when I think about my collection.