Comic Book Talk
- Thread starter akajomiha
- Start date
So for the past week or two, as we've been getting closer and closer to Halloween, I've been thinking about what comics I wanted to use for the big finale. It had to be something memorable, scary as hell, and truly iconic to fans of horror and the supernatural. Well, this is the day. All Hallow's Eve. The Gaelic festival of Samhain. Halloween.
At the end of the day, when you look at the history of horror comics, there can really be only one series.
From April 1971, House of Secrets #92. Cover penciled and inked by Bernie Wrightson, colored by Jack Adler.
From October 1984, The Saga of the Swamp Thing #33. Cover penciled and inked by John Totleben, colored by Tatjana Wood.
Swamp Thing was created by writer Len Wein and the greatest horror artist in comics, Bernie Wrightson. Their award winning ten issue run on the character has become legend and is considered to be a timeless classic.
And it was the Wein and Wrightson stories that laid the foundation for what I consider to be the greatest horror comics of all time. In 1982 writer Alan Moore, penciler Stephen R. Bissette and inker John Totleben took over the title and completely transformed the character. They turned the industry on it's head. Everyone stood up and took notice. This was unlike anything ever done in horror comics. Their run was an absolute masterpiece and a quantum leap forward for the comics industry. Moore's brilliant work paved the way for what was called the British invasion of writers like Neil Gaiman and Grant Morrison.
I could go on and on but I think you get the idea. The Moore, Bissette and Totleben run lasted nearly four years, from September 1983 to May 1987, and in that relatively short amount of time they created stories and art that are still talked about to this day and had enormous influence on generations of writers and artists.
And frightening? The American Gothic storyline is perhaps the scariest thing I ever read. As scary, if scarier, than anything written by Stephen King, H.P. Lovecraft or Robert Bloch. No kidding. Swamp Thing #45, a story about a haunted mansion that's loosely based on the real life Winchester House, scared me so bad I had to sleep with the lights on everynight for a week. True story. My then girlfriend wanted me to get help from a mental health professional.
These stories will be in print forever so if you've never read them and you like horror and you like the DC Universe, give them a try. You won't be sorry.
"See, as it happens, I have front row tickets for the end of the universe. I thought it'd be best to use them now. I mean, you never know ... There may not be a second performance."
- John Constantine.
At the end of the day, when you look at the history of horror comics, there can really be only one series.
From April 1971, House of Secrets #92. Cover penciled and inked by Bernie Wrightson, colored by Jack Adler.
From October 1984, The Saga of the Swamp Thing #33. Cover penciled and inked by John Totleben, colored by Tatjana Wood.
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Swamp Thing was created by writer Len Wein and the greatest horror artist in comics, Bernie Wrightson. Their award winning ten issue run on the character has become legend and is considered to be a timeless classic.
And it was the Wein and Wrightson stories that laid the foundation for what I consider to be the greatest horror comics of all time. In 1982 writer Alan Moore, penciler Stephen R. Bissette and inker John Totleben took over the title and completely transformed the character. They turned the industry on it's head. Everyone stood up and took notice. This was unlike anything ever done in horror comics. Their run was an absolute masterpiece and a quantum leap forward for the comics industry. Moore's brilliant work paved the way for what was called the British invasion of writers like Neil Gaiman and Grant Morrison.
I could go on and on but I think you get the idea. The Moore, Bissette and Totleben run lasted nearly four years, from September 1983 to May 1987, and in that relatively short amount of time they created stories and art that are still talked about to this day and had enormous influence on generations of writers and artists.
And frightening? The American Gothic storyline is perhaps the scariest thing I ever read. As scary, if scarier, than anything written by Stephen King, H.P. Lovecraft or Robert Bloch. No kidding. Swamp Thing #45, a story about a haunted mansion that's loosely based on the real life Winchester House, scared me so bad I had to sleep with the lights on everynight for a week. True story. My then girlfriend wanted me to get help from a mental health professional.
These stories will be in print forever so if you've never read them and you like horror and you like the DC Universe, give them a try. You won't be sorry.
"See, as it happens, I have front row tickets for the end of the universe. I thought it'd be best to use them now. I mean, you never know ... There may not be a second performance."
- John Constantine.
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Moore's Swamp Thing is so good.
altcunningham
Mr. Ana de Armas
Watch out for Blades in your candy. Some motherfuckers are always trying to ice skate up hill.Happy Halloween, everybody! Have fun and stay safe!
Today is Steve Ditko's birthday. He was born 100 years ago on November 2nd, 1925.
You all know who Mr. Ditko is and the enormous impact he had on American comics so I'll spare you the long winded soliloquy. Instead, let's look at some pretty artwork and reflect on the man's legacy. There's no question he was one of the all time greats.
I never met the man but I dearly wish I had. Just so I could tell him much his work has meant to me. Thank you Mr. Ditko for everything.
You all know who Mr. Ditko is and the enormous impact he had on American comics so I'll spare you the long winded soliloquy. Instead, let's look at some pretty artwork and reflect on the man's legacy. There's no question he was one of the all time greats.
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I never met the man but I dearly wish I had. Just so I could tell him much his work has meant to me. Thank you Mr. Ditko for everything.
So the rumor of the hour is that in 2026 Marvel's going to do a line wide reboot of the comics. Not a soft reboot, but a complete reboot.
I dunno how I feel about this. Assuming it's true, it could very well be a good thing. It will be easier for new readers to jump on board. Some of the continuity has gotten a little convoluted over the years and it could use a cleanup. And it would be cool to see some of the characters just starting out again. Charles opening his school, Reed and Sue both still being single, Peter Parker back in high school, the newly formed Avengers finding a frozen Captain America, the first alien invasion of Earth with the Skrulls.
But if this is indeed what Marvel's doing, they need to learn from DC's mistakes. If you're going to reboot, then you need to REBOOT. Start over completely from scratch. Don't reboot and then keep some stuff. That just causes massive amounts of confusion. Look no further than Mark Waid's recent History of the DC Universe mini series. Mark is as big an expert on DC as anyone and even HE was having problems sorting all that out.
Anyway, I guess we'll see what happens. I'm just hoping for the best.
I dunno how I feel about this. Assuming it's true, it could very well be a good thing. It will be easier for new readers to jump on board. Some of the continuity has gotten a little convoluted over the years and it could use a cleanup. And it would be cool to see some of the characters just starting out again. Charles opening his school, Reed and Sue both still being single, Peter Parker back in high school, the newly formed Avengers finding a frozen Captain America, the first alien invasion of Earth with the Skrulls.
But if this is indeed what Marvel's doing, they need to learn from DC's mistakes. If you're going to reboot, then you need to REBOOT. Start over completely from scratch. Don't reboot and then keep some stuff. That just causes massive amounts of confusion. Look no further than Mark Waid's recent History of the DC Universe mini series. Mark is as big an expert on DC as anyone and even HE was having problems sorting all that out.
Anyway, I guess we'll see what happens. I'm just hoping for the best.
altcunningham
Mr. Ana de Armas
Nah.
I'm always of the school if the books and characters are handled right, it's evergreen for onboarding. The DC reboots confuse me more than entice me, mostly because you get all the old heads complaining about which version did what better and what changed and why it sucks because they changed it. That includes new 52 and rebirth. I always had an easier time with Marvel just picking characters and interesting storyline and going from there.
And I've had so many soft reboots and retellings of other things within Marvel that I don't want to start over. There's too many other indie comics. I can put my money in time into that are telling fresh things then just rebooting and reinterpreting.
Also think they should just accept that the movies do not bring people in. It might even be the genre. I know people that read so much manga of every genre, even Image and other Western comics, but have no interest in superhero stuff. We even had that debate all last week that kind of hinted that maybe superhero books don't really work in such a cynical late capitalist world.
I'm always of the school if the books and characters are handled right, it's evergreen for onboarding. The DC reboots confuse me more than entice me, mostly because you get all the old heads complaining about which version did what better and what changed and why it sucks because they changed it. That includes new 52 and rebirth. I always had an easier time with Marvel just picking characters and interesting storyline and going from there.
And I've had so many soft reboots and retellings of other things within Marvel that I don't want to start over. There's too many other indie comics. I can put my money in time into that are telling fresh things then just rebooting and reinterpreting.
Also think they should just accept that the movies do not bring people in. It might even be the genre. I know people that read so much manga of every genre, even Image and other Western comics, but have no interest in superhero stuff. We even had that debate all last week that kind of hinted that maybe superhero books don't really work in such a cynical late capitalist world.
Chooch555
Kirkland Signature Airbender
I'd prefer they didn't. Not because I'm against the idea of it, but like @SDcomics said there's no way they stick with it. They need a bunch of books at once so no slow build. Most writers will have their favorite older stories where they retcon back in their preferred bits. Anything that changes fundamentally will be shredded by existing fans. New fans won't come in in droves for an old medium.
Sliding time scale and straight up ignoring past continuity has been a strong selling point for me.
Sliding time scale and straight up ignoring past continuity has been a strong selling point for me.
cmoney
Thoughtful
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2025
- Messages
- 1,145
I sort of hate that the new Captain America comic explicitly states that he came out of the ice post-9/11. I don't like having the mainstream comics that tied to real world events. I even dislike when they have specific presidents in the present.
Chooch555
Kirkland Signature Airbender
I don't hate the concept, but I hate that it makes me feel old.
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