It’s time for an 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. 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 May 14th, 2003. The number one film in the box office is X2: X-Men United for the second weekend in a row. 50 Cent’s “In Da Club” is no longer the number one song on the radio it has been surpasses by “Get Busy” by Sean Paul. And these are some of the comics at your local comic book shop.
The Invincible Iron Man #68
By Robin Laws, Michael Ryan, Sean Parsons
Hunter: The Age of Magic #23
By Dylan Horrocks, Richard Case, Steve Bird
Case Files: Sam and Twitch #1
By Marc Andreyko, Scott Morse
H-E-R-O #4
By Will Pfeiffer, Jose Angel Kano Lopez
The Power Company #16
By Kurt Busiek, Tom Grummett, Prentis Rollins, Al Vey
Gen 13 #9
By Chris Claremont, Ramon F. Bachs, Sandra Hope
Human Defense Corps #1
By Ty Templeton,Clemente Sauve Jr., Juan Vlasco
Criminal Macabre #1
By Steve Niles, Ben Templesmith
Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day #1
By Judd Winick, Alejandro Garza, Trevor Scott
That was the week that was in comics May 14th, 2003. Did you read any of these comics? Any good or bad memories of them? I remember really wanting to like that Titans/ Young Justice cross over. What about you?
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Oh remember buying Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day. Good times.
Wasn’t Graduation Day the beginning of the end of all the great things Young Justice did?
Yup! It seems to be a trend in comics: Peter David does something awesome, the company then ruins it for no reason.
*tips 40 out for Young Justice*
Was Human Defense Corps any good? Looks like a Alien Legion surrogate… collected in trade anywhere?
Also – snaps for a random Haunted Tank appearance!
I have all the issues in a long box (unless I donated them to charity) it was an okay 3 star book. Its been 9 years since I read it but it didn’t burn itself into my memory or anything
It started out good, I like stories about ordinary people fighting superhuman threats. But if I remember correctly it devolved into run of the mill super-hero action by the end of it. Or something. I know I was really let down by the execution.
I know I was ready Iron Man at the time, but I don’t recall that cover or story at all.
Human Defense Corps! I liked that book.
I’ve been reading Iron man for decades and I don’t remember that story AT ALL either. It must not have been that great.
Was this the time when he was secretary of defense?
I was Sam and Twitch and Hero that week. Both books were really super underated. Andreyko’s stuff on Sam and Twitch was everybit as good as bendis run. I wish they would keep going with the HC and collect all Andreyko’s stuff. Hero was the first place that i noticed how amazing Kano is as an artist.
Graduation day was great, but the Johns Teen Titans run that came out of it was even better.
The Andreyko run on Sam & Twitch came about because McFarlane threw all the toys out of h pram when Bendis had the cheek to work for someone other than Image if I remember correctly.
Man, that HERO series was great. Full of lots of good concepts and lots of fun. Has anyone read the new one yet? I hope to pick it up in the next couple of days.
I never read any previous Dial Hero, but picked up the first issue of Dial H by Mieville and I can tell you it’s great. Just be warned it really belongs in The Dark line of DC with its zany concepts and moody setup, same as others in the line it really feels like a Vertigo book.
I read Gen-13 back then and loved it, reading Criminal Macabre these days and love that. Busiek and Firestorm in Power Company interests me and never knew it existed along with everything else on the list but Iron Man and Sam and Twitch. Graduation Day looks like it might’ve been a fun mini and Hero I’m assuming was another Dial-H reboot. Used to love Spawn and still do really but never read the Sam and Twitch spin off, but the Hellspawn Brian Michael Bendis, Templesmith and Ashley Wood collection is a great Spawn HC apart from the core series.
Wow, I remember this like it was yesterday. Crazy. I loved Power Company. Man, talk about a series that needs to be collected in its entirety.
Power Company was vastly underrated. Hunter: the Age of Magic had so much potential. I think I bought every issue (and “Life During Wartime,” which came out the next year), waiting for it to get good. I wanted so much for it to be good. So much.
Here some more incredible events that happened on May 11th to give some historical perspective:
1607: Jamestown, Virginia is founded
1787: The Constitutional Convention starts for the U.S. to form the Constitution
1796: The first Smallpox vaccine is administered
1804: The Lewis and Clark expedition starts
1948: Israel is declared an independent nation
And apparently nothing important happened in the history of comics in 2003….
graduation day leads to geoff johns teen titans run which lead to infinite crisis and johns becoming the architect of the modern DCU, i would say thats fairly important
2003, Colin
My how I miss Gen13
I think I wasn’t reading comics at this time. There were a couple of times when I quit collecting – I don’t know what was wrong with me. It’s like a big black hole of comics knowledge, a few gaps in my memory.
Or maybe I just didn’t read any of these titles.
I bought Power Company and all seven lead-ins on E-Bay a few years back for a song and enjoyed them. Busiek and team books are pretty much a no-brainer for me.
Not to go off track too much, but has anyone here read Kirby:Genesis? It sounds pretty good, but concepts and execution don’t always match up.
I read Kirby Genesis #0 and had no idea what was going on. Good thing it was only a buck.
You can check out the first two issues here
http://www.comicvine.com/news/read-the-first-two-issues-of-kirby-genesis-issues-0-1/144151/
I remember being really excited for Johns’ Teen Titans to start & then being told there was that Graduation Day crossover that ran into the first issue of his series. Going around the city to find those 3 issues was a bitch – but worth it. Actually, if I remember correctly the 3rd issue was easy to find & the only way I found the first two issues in that mini was a combo double issue they put out. Oh, memories……
Power Company looks like it was a fun idea. I would read something like that.