What comics did you buy today?

[felneymike]

Yeah I know, I was just demonstrating that blatant piracy/lazy idea re-usal can slip through the net XD. It may even have happened more, I just happened to read those two stories only a couple of days apart so noticed the similarities.

Anyway today I got volume 2 of "The Boys' Own Magazine"... ahh, that famous Religious Tract Society publication? No, that was The Boys' Own Paper... more piracy! I doubt the Boys' Own Magazine lasted very long if this volume is anything to go by, there's hardly any stories, very dull-looking articles with few illustrations and columns on... stamp collecting? camp craft? shorthand? making things?... no, Trigonometry! Just what the boys of the apparent 1880's needed to while away a rainy "halfer".

[Digifiend]

Trigonometry? That's schoolwork!

[paw broon]

The story on your blog from Supreme Book for Boys is an example of what I'm calling a text strip - illustrations with text below. Just like Rupert, for example. It's a really common form in Netherlands and Belgium, or was, at least. It's only a term to differentiate the form from a balloon strip. There are examples of one of the most famous text strips, Eric de Noorman, here:-
http://www.ericdenoorman.nl/f2ericdenoorman.htm
Just scroll down. These were reprinted from newspapers.
I seem to remember posting this link or mentioning it before. Sorry for the repetition - getting old.

[blaing]

Over the last couple of days I won an e-bay for charity auction, winning 8 (non consecutive) issues of Classics from the Comics as well as picking up a School Fun (Issue number 1) as well as some more Sparkys

[felneymike]

I got two issues of The Rocket... which I beleive was a post-war publiction in the vein of The Eagle which Douglas Bader was ineolved in.

The ones I have are not that one! These are from 1923! It's an Amalgamated Press paper, a tiny bit larger than half tabloid and with primarily complete stories but also a few serials.

[blaing]

Although as a kid I never was a reader of adventure/story papers, today I took the plunge and bought issue 209 of The Victor (Yep another birthday week issue (20/2/65))

Also bought the first issue of School Fun

[paw broon]

My only purchases last week were 3 American titles:- Birds of Prey, which I find really entertaining and actively look forward to; Flashpoint, as it looked a bit mysterious given that Barry is supposed to be pan breed and there he is, doing Flash stuff. (Mind you, I thought Steve Rogers was seriously deceased but, as usual, turns out he isnae and we've been led up the garden path, yet again.); The Intrepids as it looked a bit different and good fun. Good enough to make me have a look for #2.
The Flash thingy is another of the many examples of American comic companies doing all those crossovers and tie-ins to get readers to spend more cash. A bit cynical?

[philcom55]

Not only is Captain America back from the dead (again) but they've even revived Bucky! Does anybody die for ever in American comics? (Hmmm... I wonder if Junior Juniper from the Howling Commandos is still pushing up daisies?)

On Birds of Prey I never could resist any comic which featured Zinda Blake - ever since I first discovered her as an impressionable six-year-old!

- Phil Rushton

[paw broon]

Zinda. Yes, what you said.

[big bad bri]

= as it looked a bit mysterious given that Barry is supposed to be pan breed and there he is, doing Flash stuff. (Mind you, I thought Steve Rogers was seriously deceased but, as usual, turns out he isnae and we've been led up the garden path, yet again.);

whats the betting the ff's human torch aint dead either and will be back next year or when they reboot the film franchise

[Lew Stringer]

= as it looked a bit mysterious given that Barry is supposed to be pan breed and there he is, doing Flash stuff. (Mind you, I thought Steve Rogers was seriously deceased but, as usual, turns out he isnae and we've been led up the garden path, yet again.);

whats the betting the ff's human torch aint dead either and will be back next year or when they reboot the film franchise

Naturally comic characters always return from the "dead" because companies have too much invested in them. (Not to mention that Marvel will want to retain copyright on the names "Human Torch" and "Johnny Storm".)

However the trick is to make the deaths/returns significantly interesting to spin the stories out into new directions. The return of Bucky has been handled really well and gave new life to the Captain America comic over the past few years. Similarly the current "death" of the Torch is now taking the Fantastic Four (or rather 'FF' as it's now been relaunched as) into an interesting direction.

As long as it creates intriguing storylines there's no problem. (Years ago the death of Superman created an interesting saga.) What's surprising is that some fans still expect characters to stay dead!

[Digifiend]

= as it looked a bit mysterious given that Barry is supposed to be pan breed and there he is, doing Flash stuff. (Mind you, I thought Steve Rogers was seriously deceased but, as usual, turns out he isnae and we've been led up the garden path, yet again.);

whats the betting the ff's human torch aint dead either and will be back next year or when they reboot the film franchise

He'll return in issue 600. I'm 99% sure on that. Milestone issue, what better way to celebrate it?

[paw broon]

While I don't really expect a corporation to not make best possible us of their characters, as that's where the money is, the Barry/Flash issue is a bit different. Remember back at Crisis on Infinite Earths? We were all of us told and guaranteed that the heroes (and villains) who died were gone for good - no exceptions. And BarryFlash has been gone a long time. In fact, I'm sure there are many young DC readers who don't know who he is. Also, many of the others killed back then haven't miraculously come back to life, at least, not in the old form. I don't want to get into a discussion re. DC continuity as I don't think even DC know what's happening at times but this did surprise me. Steve Rogers, no. Not with the film then The Avengers coming up. I'm too old and cynical to fall for what comic companies tell me, but in this case, I really thought Barry was gone for good. After all, we still have the original and all those other speed guys, into whose adventures a lot of effort has been shovelled.
It's still an intriguing looking comic.

[philcom55]

...At least I'm betting that Bruce Wayne's dad will go back to being dead when all this is over!

- Phil R.

[paw broon]

Yet another DC universe? Earth Odd, perhaps? Or Earth OTT? I was talking to someone recently about the deranged Hawkman in JLA, years ago, when those "dark" JLA'ers turned up. Don't ask me what issues, I can't be bothered digging through boxes.
Spooky, eh?