iFlashback! August 13th, 2003

It’s time for iFlashback! A weekly feature in which we take a look at some comics that were on sale nine years ago. Why nine years and not ten? Well because our Mondays in 2012 sync up with the Wednesdays of 2003.

So jog down memory lane with me. The date is August 13th, 2003. The number one film at the box office is S.W.A.T. and these are some of the comics at your local comic book shop.

 

The Avengers #69

By Geoff Johns, Olivier Coipel, Andy Lanning

Aquaman #9

By Rick Veitch, Yvel Guichet, Mark Probst

The Punisher #30

By Garth Ennis, Cam Kennedy

Batgirl: Year One #9

By Scott Beatty, Chuck Dixon, Marcos Martin, Alavaro Lopez

JLA #84

By Joe Kelly, Doug Mahnke, Tom Nguyen

Gotham Central #10

By Greg Rucka, Michael Lark

Dr. Fate #1

By Christopher Golden, Don Kramer, Prentis Rollins

Batman: Death and Maidens #1

By Greg Rucka, Klaus Janson

1602 #1

By Neil Gaiman, Andy Kubert, Richard Isanove

That was the week that was in comics! 1602 was the pick of the week from iFanboy. Lots of good work from Greg Rucka as well. So, did you read any of these books? If so, let us know what your thoughts were!

Comments

  1. 1602, obviously brilliant – Gotham Central, great stuff! I want that Batgirl Year One to go back in print! It’s a crime that you can’t buy that new in a store.

  2. Geoff Johns run on Avengers, the one that made me leave the book for the first time in a long time. I know everybody loves Geoff Johns, but I can’t think of a writer that has made me drop more books. Outside of the Flash, I just can’t get into his stuff. I don’t think he’s a bad writer at all. I see why people like him and I’m glad he’s had so much success, because his stuff makes a lot of other people happy, but he’s just not for me.

    I thought 1602 was an interesting concept and well executed, but at the end of the day, it didn’t seem like it was as big of a deal as it should have been. I was waiting for something that never came. I enjoyed it, and bought the hardcover when it came out, but it comes across as a book that SHOULD have been an all-time classic, but instead was just “really good.” Not that their’s anything wrong with that.

  3. Read both collected after the fact but both Batgirl Year One and 1602 were awesome.

  4. Can we get that Batgirl: year One collected and in print? My God, that is beautiful.

  5. DC sucks at keeping things that would sell in print besides Watchmen, DKR, and Year One.

  6. just more batgirl like that, tv series, animated movie, animated shorts, one shots, mini series, done right.

  7. I met Greg rucka in seatlle at the comic shop and asked him what he was working on. He told me to check out batman: death and the maidens. Good ra’s al ghul story.

  8. I gave the Dr. Fate mini-series a go. I regard myself as one of many readers who yearn for a good quality run focussed on a host of “under-used” characters.

    My own hopes being focussed on JSA members, the road has been an uneven one.

    I liked this iteration of Dr. Fate, as told in the successful JSA launch of ’99, so had high hopes for this run.

    I enjoy Don Kramer’s work & did so here.

    The setup of Hector’s burgeoning life in Salem was fine & seemed to have lots of future potential.

    Unfortunately, the villain of the piece was incredibly weak. A 2-D dark reflection of Fate himself.

    A bit of a let-down, really.

  9. Red. Muh. Fuckin’. Zone.

    The rest of Johns’ run is pretty forgettable, but I still love that arc. Of course, it could be the Coipel art…

  10. Never read that Ra’s story by Rucka. Gonna have to track that down. 1602, Red Zone, Gotham Central and Batgirl: Year One all in my collection. Batgirl was a lot of fun, great art as well. Its a shame Chuck Dixon parted ways with DC.

  11. The awesome Gotham Central, anyone who likes good crime/police & Gotham should check this out, especially Batman fans!

  12. I loved Geoff’s Red Zone storyline. It also introduced me to Coipel, which I fell in love with immediately.

    I think I had dropped Aquaman by this point, I really wanted to like it, but it was blah.

    Batgirl Year One was amazing.

  13. Batgirl Year One is super great.

  14. I just bought and read all of Trial by Fire. It’s not a bad story at all. Definitely worth a looksy.

  15. Thank god Geoff Johns had some great artists to go along with his Avengers run. Cause….woof. Some of those stories are not good.

    Here are some other big events to occur on August 13th:

    1521-Hernan Cortes takes over the city of Tenochtitlan
    1961-East Germany officially closes it’s borders.with the Berlin Wall

    Famous Birthdays:

    1860-Anne Oakley
    1899-Alfred Hitchock
    1926-Fidel Castro

    Famous Deaths:

    1946-H.G. Wells
    1995-Mickey Mantle
    2004-Julia Child

  16. Avengers: Red Zone and JLA: Trial by Fire, that’s it for me, two of my most treasured books and run. MM going loco and that red dust f***ing up Avengers making Avengers go loco…hmm….