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Into the Bronze Age

Started by BentonGrey, January 02, 2016, 09:16:24 PM

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Epimethee

Quote from: BentonGrey on March 20, 2016, 01:21:13 PM
As Epi has already discovered, there's a new post Into the Bronze Age!:
https://bentongrey.wordpress.com/2016/03/19/into-the-bronze-age-may-1970-part-1/
What? Me? Nope! I just had the previous post already open from just before leaving for a short trip. :P

But I bid thee a fond farewell, for the corollary is clear: new reading awaits!
FFX add-on for FFvsTTR at ffx.freedomforceforever.com

BentonGrey

And even more today!  Yep, I've brought y'all an Easter gift, more Bronze Age-ish goodness!
God Bless
"If God came down upon me and gave me a wish again, I'd wish to be like Aquaman, 'cause Aquaman can take the pain..." -Ballad of Aquaman
Check out mymods and blog!
https://bentongrey.wordpress.com/

BentonGrey

I'm behind again, but it's a good set of tales that make up this week's Into the Bronze Age!
https://bentongrey.wordpress.com/2016/04/07/into-the-bronze-age-may-1970-part-3/
God Bless
"If God came down upon me and gave me a wish again, I'd wish to be like Aquaman, 'cause Aquaman can take the pain..." -Ballad of Aquaman
Check out mymods and blog!
https://bentongrey.wordpress.com/

BentonGrey

God Bless
"If God came down upon me and gave me a wish again, I'd wish to be like Aquaman, 'cause Aquaman can take the pain..." -Ballad of Aquaman
Check out mymods and blog!
https://bentongrey.wordpress.com/

Epimethee

Thanks for these enjoyable reviews, Benton!
FFX add-on for FFvsTTR at ffx.freedomforceforever.com

BentonGrey

God Bless
"If God came down upon me and gave me a wish again, I'd wish to be like Aquaman, 'cause Aquaman can take the pain..." -Ballad of Aquaman
Check out mymods and blog!
https://bentongrey.wordpress.com/

daglob

I can understand Aquaman, but I just don't see the problem with Jimmy's helicopter. I mean, he's had it since the '50s (Jimmy Olsen #1, maybe?)

BentonGrey

DG, I'm not sure what you mean.  I don't have a problem with Jimmy's helicopter (though I didn't know it had that long of a history!), I just sort of remarked that it was strange to me that the Planet had its own private helicopter, as the captions implied.  :)
God Bless
"If God came down upon me and gave me a wish again, I'd wish to be like Aquaman, 'cause Aquaman can take the pain..." -Ballad of Aquaman
Check out mymods and blog!
https://bentongrey.wordpress.com/

daglob


BentonGrey

Here's another Into the Bronze Age post, beginning June 1970!

https://bentongrey.wordpress.com/2016/04/22/into-the-bronze-age-june-1970-part-1/

So, what do y'all think?  I think the feature has evolved pretty well.  Is there anything that y'all would like to see changed?
God Bless
"If God came down upon me and gave me a wish again, I'd wish to be like Aquaman, 'cause Aquaman can take the pain..." -Ballad of Aquaman
Check out mymods and blog!
https://bentongrey.wordpress.com/

JKCarrier

Another great installment. You can really see the weird tension that existed at DC at the time...titles like Aquaman were experimenting and breaking new ground, while Superman and others were still hanging on to the tropes and gimmicks of yesteryear. It's a struggle that continues to this day, trying to find that balance between maintaining the characters' iconic status while reinventing them for new generations of readers.

kkhohoho

#41
Quote from: JKCarrier on April 23, 2016, 02:46:20 AM
Another great installment. You can really see the weird tension that existed at DC at the time...titles like Aquaman were experimenting and breaking new ground, while Superman and others were still hanging on to the tropes and gimmicks of yesteryear. It's a struggle that continues to this day, trying to find that balance between maintaining the characters' iconic status while reinventing them for new generations of readers.

I can understand that, though honestly, I sometimes think they try to reinvent them too much and too often. What works works; you don't always need to reinvent the wheel. Of course, I realize that my saying this may make me sound like a grumpy old man who loathes change despite my being only 25, but what can you do? ;)
The Golden Age; 'A different look at a different era.'

http://archiveofourown.org/works/1089779/chapters/2193203

JKCarrier

Quote from: kkhohoho on April 23, 2016, 03:42:12 AM
I can understand that, though honestly, I sometimes think they try to reinvent them too much and too often. What works works; you don't always need to reinvent the wheel. Of course I realize that my saying this may make me sound like a grumpy old man who loathes change despite my being only 25, but what can you do? ;)

I'm twice your age, so I'm twice as grumpy.  :P There's very little at Marvel and DC that appeals to me anymore, but at some point I just had to accept that I'm not their target audience. Luckily, there are reprints and back issues and indy comix...it's not like I'm lacking things to read. But it's fun to look back on the days when I was a wide-eyed youth, and even the cheesiest comic seemed fresh and new and amazing, which is why I like Benton's column.  :thumbup:

BentonGrey

Thanks JKC!  Yeah, there's a wide gulf between the experimentation, artistically in Aquaman, thematically in Green Lantern, and the staid, business-as-usual work going on in the Superman books.  It's interesting that a character who will shortly acquire a reputation for being conservative and out of touch is actually being portrayed in a style that is just that.  I need to note that in this month's round-up. 

Haha!  I feel ya', Kk.  I was a crotchety old man when I was still a young man, and I've only gotten worse as I've gotten older.  Yet, just like JKC, I've begun to make my peace with the fact that these modern books just aren't for me and gone looking for joy in the classics.  I'm really loving this trip through the Bronze Age, even the rough patches.  And oh boy is the Green Lantern/Green Arrow book a rough patch for me.
God Bless
"If God came down upon me and gave me a wish again, I'd wish to be like Aquaman, 'cause Aquaman can take the pain..." -Ballad of Aquaman
Check out mymods and blog!
https://bentongrey.wordpress.com/

daglob

Yeah, but if you were there, most of the GL-GA books were something else. The one with Spiro Agnew would have stunk no matter what, but compared to most of the other DC books, it was interesting and though provoking.

BentonGrey

I'm sure you're right, DG!  They are amazingly different than everything else on the shelves at the time, clearly.  It's astonishing how much of a departure those books were, and that is what has become clear to me in this little project.  Still, reading them for this second time is a chore for me. :P
God Bless
"If God came down upon me and gave me a wish again, I'd wish to be like Aquaman, 'cause Aquaman can take the pain..." -Ballad of Aquaman
Check out mymods and blog!
https://bentongrey.wordpress.com/

daglob

The Aquaman Trilogy you are highlighting now though is one of my favorites, especially in the way the Deadman back-up is woven through it. I re-read it recently, and, while it is a little rough in places, it still holds up. The art and story in both is excellent, and shows Aparo really developing his style. Soon he will take over from Adams as "The" Batman artist. And yes, today some of the stuff in GL-GA is rather... labored would be a nice way to put it. Still, the whole relevancy thing was new to DC at the time.

BentonGrey

Yeah, I love this Aquaman adventure.  It really is quite an intriguing arc.  It isn't perfect, but it's definitely just overflowing with creativity and fun.  I don't know that there's ever been an artist that is quite as perfect for Aquaman as Aparo, too.

Haha, yeah, that would be a nice way to say it.  I'm working on the entry for the next issue of the GL/GA series now.  I probably don't have quite as much patience with it as I should, but I just want to smack O'Neil for his portrayal of Hal in this one...and in general.
God Bless
"If God came down upon me and gave me a wish again, I'd wish to be like Aquaman, 'cause Aquaman can take the pain..." -Ballad of Aquaman
Check out mymods and blog!
https://bentongrey.wordpress.com/

BentonGrey

Howdy folks, welcome to another journey Into the Bronze Age!  I hope y'all enjoy it. 
https://bentongrey.wordpress.com/2016/05/01/into-the-bronze-age-june-1970-part-2/
Just a word of warning, I was pretty hard on Green Lantern.
God Bless
"If God came down upon me and gave me a wish again, I'd wish to be like Aquaman, 'cause Aquaman can take the pain..." -Ballad of Aquaman
Check out mymods and blog!
https://bentongrey.wordpress.com/

HarryTrotter

Green Arrow kinda runs on Goodwins law...Drink whenever he calls somebody a fascist,two if it feathered fascist.
I know its still years away,but do you plan on covering Warlord?
''Even our origin stories have gone sour.''
Jon Farmer

BentonGrey

Haha!  Right!  Yeah, that's a way to make it interesting.  :lol:

Absolutely.  I'm looking forward to that book.
God Bless
"If God came down upon me and gave me a wish again, I'd wish to be like Aquaman, 'cause Aquaman can take the pain..." -Ballad of Aquaman
Check out mymods and blog!
https://bentongrey.wordpress.com/

HarryTrotter

#51
Its another 5 years down the road,but its spinoff Arak also deserves a look.
And there is Blitzkrieg.
70's were weird for DC. :)
''Even our origin stories have gone sour.''
Jon Farmer

BentonGrey

I've actually heard of Arak, but never read it.  I'm looking forward to that one as well!  I'm going to be reading pretty much all of the superhero and fantasy style books they put out, with very few exceptions.  :)
God Bless
"If God came down upon me and gave me a wish again, I'd wish to be like Aquaman, 'cause Aquaman can take the pain..." -Ballad of Aquaman
Check out mymods and blog!
https://bentongrey.wordpress.com/

HarryTrotter

Well,Arak is notable for culturally sensitive portrayal of Native Americans.For its day.And for historicaly acurrate Vikings.Again notable for its day.
Blitzkrieg was a WW2 war comic.Notable for staring the German side.Again weird for its day.So I believe it deserves a look,if you havent already planed on reviewing it.
''Even our origin stories have gone sour.''
Jon Farmer

BentonGrey

I'm back!  And so is Into the Bronze Age!  I was traveling for a week, delivering a paper at the big medieval conference at Kalamazoo, and then I've just been recovering, but I'm back in the saddle with a new edition of my Bronze Age explorations.  Come and join me for a fun trio of issues!

https://bentongrey.wordpress.com/2016/05/28/into-the-bronze-age-june-1970-part-3/
God Bless
"If God came down upon me and gave me a wish again, I'd wish to be like Aquaman, 'cause Aquaman can take the pain..." -Ballad of Aquaman
Check out mymods and blog!
https://bentongrey.wordpress.com/

JKCarrier

Nice to see the in-depth examination of that Justice League story. The O'Neil / Friedrich era of JLA gets bashed a lot (and some of it is pretty goofy), but I think there are some real gems in there.

BentonGrey

I agree JKC.  I really didn't take much note of it on my first read through, but I'm really enjoying this run on this second pass.
God Bless
"If God came down upon me and gave me a wish again, I'd wish to be like Aquaman, 'cause Aquaman can take the pain..." -Ballad of Aquaman
Check out mymods and blog!
https://bentongrey.wordpress.com/

BentonGrey

Welcome to the end of June...in...the beginning of June...well, you get the picture.  There's a new post on Into the Bronze Age!

https://bentongrey.wordpress.com/2016/06/07/into-the-bronze-age-june-1970-part-4/
God Bless
"If God came down upon me and gave me a wish again, I'd wish to be like Aquaman, 'cause Aquaman can take the pain..." -Ballad of Aquaman
Check out mymods and blog!
https://bentongrey.wordpress.com/

spydermann93

What an interesting entry, Benton!

Who knew that a random Teen Titans comic would inspire the Martian, haha!! :P

I really did enjoy that World's Finest story. Not quite the "epic" adventure, but a fun little infiltration mission for the two. I agree with you about liking that Superman had to use his brains in this one. And what a shame that the head counter didn't get another addition. Drat!

I've missed the past few of your entries, but I'm going to go back and read them. These are great!! :thumbup:

BentonGrey

Why thank you so much, Spyder!  That is very encouraging to hear.  I'm glad you enjoyed this post, and even more so that you enjoyed it enough to read the 'back issues.'  I hope that they prove entertaining!    :D
God Bless
"If God came down upon me and gave me a wish again, I'd wish to be like Aquaman, 'cause Aquaman can take the pain..." -Ballad of Aquaman
Check out mymods and blog!
https://bentongrey.wordpress.com/