Hey there! I’m Albert Pujols, the new first baseman for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
Friday means many things to many people. For some, Friday is all about going giant house hunting with your wife because you just signed a $250 million contract. For others, you do a little dance with your agent because you’re telling people you’re… *giggle*… 31 years old and he got you a 10 year contract. For yet others, it’s a day to drink, drink, and drink some more because the team you so love, the team that won the World Series, probably won’t be there again for a while. Sorry about that!
At iFanboy, Friday means it’s letter column time.
You write. They answer. Very simple.
As always, if you want to have your e-mail read on the any of iFanboy’s shows or answered here, in the letter’s column keep them coming to contact@ifanboy.com
I’ve been hearing a bit about Tank Girl. Would you guys recommend it? What is it exactly? So far, I’m getting a sort of Mad Max vibe from what I’ve been told? Am I far off?
David from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Ah, Tank Girl. I wonder where you’ve been hearing about it? It might be from the recently released new Tank Girl material? Either way, I’m glad to hear that you’ve heard about it and are curious, because in the pantheon of great comics from the 1980s/1990s, Tank Girl absolutely deserves it’s recognition.
You’re not too far off about the Mad Max vibe, in that Tank Girl does take place in a post-apocalyptic Australia, but I’m not sure if the Mad Max vibe continues on beyond that point. Originally created by Alan Martin and artist Jamie Hewlett, Tank Girl was first published in 1988 in the pages of Deadline, which was a UK based magazine. The stories that appeared in Deadline have since been collected, and Martin and Hewlett went on to do Tank Girl stories well into the 1990s.
Tank Girl is the story, put simply, of a girl, who lives in a tank and becomes an outlaw due to her sexual and drug choices, and the stories take off from there. The stories have a very kinetic, anarchistic and punk vibe to them, in both the action that takes place in the post apocalyptic world along with Hewlett’s dynamic art style which borrows a lot from the punk aesthetic. The cast of characters is colorful, with Tank Girl being joined by by people like her loyal boyfriend, Booga, a mutated kangaroo, and Jet Girl, a girl who flies a jet. It’s this pop culture laden, very modern spin on this world that made Tank Girl such a unique property, that lead to a movie adaptation in the late 1990s starring Lori Petty, which unfortunately didn’t quite replicate the magic of Tank Girl in the comics on the big screen.
Artist Jamie Hewlett went on to fame and fortune post Tank Girl by working Damon Albarn of Blur and providing the visual look and feel of the music act Gorillaz, which is a completely animated “band” that is designed and drawn by Hewlett. While Tank Girl is what made Hewlett known, Gorillaz is what’s made him famous.
Since their run on Tank Girl in the 1980s/1990s, Alan Martin has returned to the characters, doing new stories in Judge Dredd Magazine in the UK, and IDW has released some material, such as Visions of Booga with art by Rufus Dayglo, so there’s new Tank Girl material out there, but these stories lack Jamie Hewlett, so some see them as a little less than. But I always find Tank Girl to be fun and worth the read, so I would heartily recommend you check it out!
You can also check out our recent Remake & Reboot on Tank Girl for some fantasy casting fun.
Ron Richards
I’m taking a 3 week vacation over Christmas/New Years in the USA, spending time in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Washington, and New York. I’m eager to check out as many comic stores over there as possible and I was wondering, what are the “don’t miss” stores? I’ve heard of Midtown Comics in New York, but other than that I have no idea what to check out.
Do you guys have any favourite stores in these cities?
Mike from Australia
Oh! A three week trip to America! Fun! Okay, so let’s get you set up with some comic book shops to visit.
New York – You mentioned Midtown Comics, which has three locations and you should definitely check it out, but I would also add Jim Hanley’s Universe to the list. And if you don’t mind hoping a train to Brooklyn, visiting my old shop Bergen Street Comics is a must. They sometimes throw parties at night and maybe you’ll get lucky and there will be one when you’re there. Tell the staff I sent you over.
Los Angeles – I’ve only recently moved to Los Angeles so I’m not an expert, but the big “can’t-miss” shop is Meltdown Comics. Like Bergen Street Comics in New York, they throw a lot of events at night: parties, live shows, etc. And they throw them often. When I first lived in Los Angeles — sigh… over ten years ago — I shopped at Golden Apple, and that one’s definitely worth checking out too.
San Francisco – As far as I am concerned, there is only one can’t miss shop in San Francisco, and possibly in the United States, and that is Isotope: The Comic Book Lounge. Not only has it been the host to some of the most legendary comic book parties over the last few years — some we co-hosted — but the owner James Sime is the Willy Wonka of comic books. Tell James we sent you.
Las Vegas & Washington, DC – Sadly, I’m not going to be able to help you with either of these cities. I’ve been to both before but I’ve never shopped for comics while I was at either city. Hopefully people can offer suggestions in the comments.
There you go, Mike. I’m sure people will have a few more suggestions for you in the comments, but these shops should do you up pretty well. Enjoy! And have fun!
Conor Kilpatrick
I know I just made this comment in the Jerry Robinson story, but it bears a second thought.
Who do you think should be included in the 12 seated gods of Mt. Olympus? I’ve always considered Stan Lee as THE comic god (I’m not comparing him to any god in particular, but I suppose in this instance he’d be equivalent to Zeus – to me), accompanied by Jack Kirby, Bob Kane, etc. Heck, even every Hard Rock Café has a stained glass window of Rock n Roll Gods with Elvis on top. So what do you think? You can consider anyone through past to present, I suppose any currents who have to be assumed to have the staying power of a Kirby or an Adams (hey, there’s one), or maybe a Byrne. Writers and/or artists, doesn’t matter, no particular order.
Who are the gods of comics, but at least one must be THE main guy? (In your opinion…)
Stevetwo
Yes, you have repeated yourself, but I want to do it, so we’re cool. Your main guy, your number one, is right at the top, and there is no particular order after that.
1) Jack Kirby
2) Joe Simon
3) Stan Lee
4) Will Eisner
5) Roy Thomas
6) Jerry Robinson
7) Bill Finger
8) Alan Moore
9) Frank Miller
10) Steve Ditko
11) Jerry Siegel
12) Joe Shuster
Have fun arguing about that! There are dozens of other individuals that could be on the list. I chose to stick to creators, even though there are plenty of business and editorial folks who had a huge impact.
Josh Flanagan
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Umm Conor, Albert signed with the Angels….
I vote for Golden Apple in LA…awesome staff and service. Its a quaint but fun shop. I miss it.
Haha. That’s what happens when I update the intro during a conference call.
i like how there were pics of him available in both uniforms. =)
I had no idea there was a connection between Tank Girl and Gorillaz! You learn something new every week on this site.
Also, you guys in the States have really cool comic book stores. I spend about 2 minutes a week in my LCS. It’s not inhospitable or anything, far from it, it’s just that nobody seems to make the extra effort you guys do.
Me either, but when I saw that pic my brian instantly jumped to it. Learn something new everyday!
That’s absolutely disgusting to see him out of a St. Louis uniform.
Agreed. I know baseball is a business, but it would be nice if loyalty to one’s team and the undying love of the community actually meant something.
i agree with you guys and i know it hurts, but if the Cards gave that same deal, they would be handcuffed to mediocrity for a decade. Its already happening with the Twins and Mauer.
I think small market teams need to get ready to lose tons of players. I’m an SF Giants fan and am crapping my pants in fear of losing Lincecum and Matt Cain.
The real villains are the owners. Just watch, in 3 years Miami will be having a fire-sale.
At least its not a Yankee Uniform
Cain and Linceum aren’t going anywhere right now. As for the other end of the debate: It sucks, but money always talks.
Loyalty to one’s team and the incredibly conditional love of that team’s fans can’t keep you warm at night like a $250 million check.
Maybe the two World Series titles he helped get you guys will help with your disgust.
@TurdSanwich I’m not complaining. I just love Albert. He’ll be missed
Oh Albert Pujols, the Lebron James of baseball…
Come on, he took less money to go to LA. He isn’t that bad. 🙂
Miami offered $270 million.
As much as I hate Pujols, I wouldn’t put him in the same sentence as James. James is an egomaniac, Pujols just got paid what he could make on an open market instead of maintaining a hometown discount as an underpaid superstar (as he had for his entire career).
Tank Girl is one of my guiltiest pleasures. Its just so… bananas. Everyone should at least check out the first TP, Tank Girl One, even if they don’t go any further. Its just unbridled insanity.
This is how little I follow baseball:
I walked into the break room at my job, where the TV is ALWAYS set to ESPN News, probably in an effort to keep me out of the room. Not that I dislike sports, i don’t, i love sports. I just hate ESPN. But I digress…
Anyway, I saw a headline that said “Pujols to the Angels” ……………. and I thought he died.
it took me a second to remember there was a baseball team called the Angels.
@johnvferrigno said: Anyway, I saw a headline that said “Pujols to the Angels” ……………. and I thought he died.
HA! Man, I literary LOL’d. Good stuff.
Its hard to argue that pantheon of comic gods, but is there anyway we can sub out Alan Moore? I know his work is incredible and ground breaking and yadda yadda yadda, but from what I understand he is quite the D-Bag. I know some of the Greek Gods could have D Bags too, so this isn’t really a solid justification…I’ve just always had a hard time totally enjoying his work knowing that he looked down upon me and my ilk for no other reason than actually enjoying his work. I guess the guy just sort of gives me the heebe jeebies, am I alone in this?
Is there room for Denny O’Neil or Mike Mignola? Perhaps as lesser gods?
Have you ever actually listened to Alan Moore talk? Go find an audio interview or video of him. He’s also the most talented comic book writer the medium has ever seen. You can quote me on that.
And as much as he riles people up he understands the craft of writing. When Neil Gaiman describes you as a living genius chances are you may well be.
Alan Moore is awesome and really funny and personable in interviews. Listen to his interview with Brian Eno from the BBC a few years ago.
I will do that… For the record, I am not arguing that he isnt great (double negative, sorry), I will definetly admit that he is one of the best creators in the history of the medium; the massive section of my book shelf dedicated to Alan Moore trades is breathing proof of it. I just obviously need to do some more research before I stick the rest of my foot into my mouth.
But hands down, the greatest Alan Moore related item to be seen in the past decade was a submission on this year’s iFanboy haloween costumes page: “Sexy Alan Moore”…all-time classic
No mention of Alex Ross as Comic God? Me sad. Kingdom Come is what got me into comics as an older (43) guy. Oh well… Is Frank “I Hate The Occupy Wall Street Hippies” Miller on the list? He is? oh jeez.
It doesn’t matter what Frank Miller has said or done since, his contribution to changing modern mainstream comic books is huge. Comics have been following his and Moore’s lead for almost 30 years. I don’t put Alex Ross in that category at all.
Ross draws some fantastic images, but his work is entirely dependent upon others. And limited. Does he do anything beyond Silver-Age homages?
I just don’t see a long term, or industry wide impact.
The first time I took my then-girlfriend now-wife to a comic con (Mega Con), Stan Lee was there. She had no clue who anyone was, but the first words out of my mouth describing Stan was, “He is THE god of comics. Jack Kirby is King, but Stan is the god.”
Second tier? I’m not trying to start a god-war Josh, and I agree with your selections. Not all of them are “favorites” of mine, but yes, they deserve their place. You just (may) have to admit it was hard not including people like Adams, Infantino, Schwartz, Barks, Fox, Wolfman, Wein, Wrightson, Englehart, and O’Neil as greats who impacted the way comics were and are created, and how people, fans and non-fans alike, perceive the art.
Side note on Alan Moore: I personally don’t get why people say Alan Moore is so great. Watchmen was a one-time read for me, but yes, I happily concede to and respect his tremendous influence on the industry. Personally, I now consider Bendis’ Daredevil run superior to Miller’s, but Miller’s overall contributions? He gets a seat at the table.
I’ll step away from the ring now.
@josh I agree. Why discount a person’s work bc of their political views or they act douchy or whatever. It’s one thing to say “I think so an so is a shitty writer or artist” but “I don’t like this person on a personal level therefore their work should not be recognized” makes no sense to me really.
stetetwo: have you tried reading Watchmen again? Not sure how many times I’ve read it but everytime I get something knew. Especially if you listen to how it was made and how collaborative Gibbons and Moore where. When you look at scenes like Dan make Laurie coffee every panel has a visual representation of the words she is saying and it is astounding. Dan Dreiberg’s essay on owls in sheer genius. I don’t want to write a gushing essay over Watchmen (which I could) but argue that he really understands how to push the medium not only in stories but also how to raise the bar in terms of what can be discussed and how. Read Promethea. His place is deserved.
I’d read Tom Spurgeon’s book on Stan Lee to understand his real impact on comics. It’s very fair and very honest. I put Stan under Jack, and will every time.
Bendis’ Daredevil simply doesn’t exist without Miller’s. Bendis was standing on the shoulders of that giant.
Regarding Moore Watchmen and Promethea have already been mentioned. To that I would add his run on Swamp Thing which is perhaps my favorite comic book run of all time, Top Ten, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Miracleman/Marvelman, the Killing Joke, From Hell, and V for Vendetta. Every one one of these would fit into a top 100 comic book stories/runs list (probably). I can only think of a couple of other creators who would match that.
Miller wrote the two greatest Batman stories of all time and with Moore is the founder of modern comics. I agree with Josh. There is no Bendis Daredevil without Miller.
It just occurred to me that I lived in LA for a year and a half and never visited Meltdown Comics. I was certainly aware of its existence…maybe parking near the Sunset Strip is what put me off.
Anyway, of the LA area stores I DID visit, I really liked the experiences I had at Earth 2 Comics in Sherman Oaks and House of Secrets in Burbank. Secret Headquarters in Silver Lake was also a well kept store, but — and maybe it’s the general hipster vibe of Silver Lake — it felt kind of elitist. I bought a DMZ trade from them and it was cool, but I’d feel inappropriate getting a weekly stack of DC and Marvel there.
House of Secrets was my shop in LA when I left. I really liked that shop.
There’s also Earth-2, the shop co-owned by Geoff Johns, but that’s way the f out in the valley, and if you’re touristing, you’re not going out there.
Hi De Ho Comics in Santa Monica deserves to be mentioned in the list of great L.A. local comic shops. Its staff is helpful and friendly, the new location on Lincoln Blvd. is huge, and after buying your books you can walk just a few blocks to read them at the beach 🙂
Any recos on comics shops in NYC? I’m looking for good deals on back issues, mostly Marvel 80’s stuff
Time Machine near Union Square. The place is a mess but they have a ton of old stuff. Also check out Forbidden Planet [same neighborhood]. They have no back issues but lots of crazy toys and statues plus new stuff you won’t find anywhere else.
Jerry Siegel
Joe Shuster
Stan Lee
Jack Kirby
Joe Simon
Will Eisner
Bob Kane
Jerry Robinson
Bill Finger
in that order. without those nine individuals, comics would have never come into existence.
I left off Bob Kane for a reason. The concept of Batman might have been his, but so much of the stuff that made him Batman was Bill Finger. I’m probably being a little unfair, but it’s my understanding that he gets way too much credit.
But hey, I wasn’t there.
Oh, and if it wasn’t for Simon and Kirby and Ditko for that matter, there’d be no Stan Lee.
But the opposite is also true. Stan’s showmanship, narrative style and sheer enthusiasm let Ditko and Kirby shine.
I mean, we all know how great Steve Ditko is at giving interviews and promoting himself.
A case could be made for that in terms of Steve Ditko, maybe. But Kirby and Simon were giants for 20+ years before Stan ever had a hit. Stan worked in comics for 30 years without doing anything memorable. By that point, Kirby was already cemented on this list even discounting his Marvel work in the 60s.
My list:
Jerry Siegel
Joe Shuster
Jack “The King” Kirby
Stan “The Man” Lee
Gene Colan
Carmine Infantino
Neal Adams
Alan Moore
Frank Miller (before he went crazy)
John Byrne
Chris Claremont
Robert Kirkman
Mine:
R. Crumb
Stan Lee
Los Bros Hernandez
George Herriman
Winsor McKay
Jerry Robinson
Alan Moore
Herge
Jack Kirby
Charles Schulz
Id add Neal Adams to the list. At least as far as an overarching look at comics history goes. My list of personal preference comic gods would be different. probably in no order
alan moore
frank miller
john byrne
jack kirby
stan lee
steve ditko
wally wood
grant morrison
jim lee
will eisner
barry windsor smith
john buscema
alex ross
bill sienkewicz
neil gaiman
less of an impact on history, more of an impact on me
and i don’t think moore or miller should have their views held against them, since for all we know many of those other guys were assholes (and i’m not saying either miller or moore is an asshole for voicing opinions i don’t agree with, i have met neither so i don’t know what they are like personally) but they either didn’t voice their opinions or there was no internet so even if they did have a view i didn’t like i probably wouldn’t know anyway.
I think Neal Adams is a major influence. So many credit him as being responsible for the current “photo realism” and dynamic layouts we see prevalent today. You have to add him in there.
These kinds of lists are tough, especially when you reach back. its like having a conversation about all time Great QB’s…was Otto Graham better than Joe Montana? No one is around to tell you.
I think I meant to add Neal Adams, but then I remembered Ditko and knocked him off. Adams could maybe replace Roy Thomas. But Thomas really wrote so much of the fabric that became Marvel in the 60’s and 70’s after Stan and Jack stopped.
Thomas has to be on there. I feel like Adams should be on there, but I don’t know who you’d take off to make room for him.
It’s hard!
I think I might…*might* swap out Ditko for Adams.
ARGH!
Ditko has Spider-Man. Adams can’t match that.
Granted, it’s a lot–but Adams overall impact might be greater. Especially when you add in thee creator’s rights movement.
I would have Adams over Ditko because he’s been active longer. Kind of like taking Nolan Ryan over Sandy Koufax.
I’d never take Nolan Ryan over Sandy Koufax.
I’m currently in a ‘Ditko phase’ (trying to grab his earlier work), but looking back to my early years of collecting, Neal Adam’s Batman in the 70’s WAS Batman to me. It was easy to appreciate Adams as a kid and now, but I’ve always felt Ditko was an ‘acquired taste”.
Of course, if you were to have asked Stan Lee at the time Spider-Man was created, he would have argued Ditko just ‘drew’ what Stan himself originated through his writing.
Could we combine Siegel & Shuster and place Neal Adams on the list? 🙂
@Conor – Brooklyn bias … :p
Man … Ditko vs. Adams … that is so hard. I just changed my mind like 10 times. Ditko created a new character, where as in Adams just built upon one …
Koufax just walked away. Like Ditko.
I’d hate for it to come down to this choice, but I’d go with Adams because his impact on how comics look today is far greater than Ditko’s. Adams’ influence is immeasurable.
(Oh, and Koufax walked away because he had to. Ditko because he wanted to.)
#’s 13-24 of the Pantheon (when they expand to the West Coast) would be just as crazy to figure out!
It gets really hard then.
If you just kind of like comics and are looking for a shop with people who will actually have conversations with you in LA, check out The Comic Bug in Manhattan Beach. If you aren’t best friends with Mike Wellman by trip #2 there’s something wrong with you. 2 weeks after I met Mike he asked me to be his son’s godfather…he literally made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.
The shop isn’t the biggest and doesn’t carry a ton of statues or side products, but the Comic Bug doesn’t place their staff a foot higher than you like some old school pharmacist. They are down with the people, and the people…are down with them.
In regards to the ‘Gods’ list, personally, and perhaps its my DC leanings, but I would substitute Roy Thomas with Gardner Fox.
Fox literally wrote thousands and thousands of comic stories during the Golden Age and progressed the development of Batman and created Hawkman, Dr. Fate and the Golden Age Flash which, as we all know, DC has a ‘thing’ for equating the Flash character with their Events and ‘new directions’.
When you consider DC’s history, it difficult to imagine it without the impact that Mr. Fox had on its direction.
That’s very good point. I might even agree with you, but I’ll admit to not being so up on DC history.
As long as we’re talking the Flash…..Carmine Infantino…innovations like Speed and the multiverse…he Bridged so much of comics history and ran the whole DC show for a while.
and while we’re at DC, couldn’t one argue for Neil Gaiman for the Sandman. Vertigo was a game changer, and the Sandman was leading the way.
Maybe he’s second tier….also Curt Swan. Ok there are just too many.
No doubt its a tough list to compile, but if I could add to Mr.Fox’s resume and possible inclusion into IFanboy’s Comic Book Elite List, he also created the Golden Age Starman and The Justice Society (not all the characters mind you, just the creation of the team).
I wouldn’t include Neil Gaiman for a moment.
@wallythegreenmonster – Not to shrink Neil Gaiman’s efforts, but Gardner Fox created Sandman in the late 30’s…the first incarnation anyways.
Just think, without Gardner Fox, there would not have been James Robinson’s Starman, Gaiman’s Sandman, no utility belt or batarangs for Batman, no Earth-2 or the concept of DC’s multiverse, no Crisis on infinite Earths (if there was one???), no Hawkman, no Justice Society of America, no Barbara Gordon and no New 52 event to speak of.
@km—-oh yeah i know what you’re saying. I mean we’re trying to fit 30 guys into a 12 man roster. Lots of alternates! haha
I would substitute Karen Berger for someone. Without her there would not be a Vertigo.
It’s true. Gardner Fox is one of the great forgotten names in comics history. So much of the DC Universe came from him.
Playing devil’s advocate: Does the fact that people don’t remember him that well preclude him from being a god? I wonder …
It’s bad timing, but I might take off Jerry Robinson on further reflection.
I think creating The Joker (comics’ best villain), Robin (comics’ first sidekick) and being involved in creator’s rights and saving all that art probably puts him on the list.
Too soon!
Keep screwing with the Gods, and they’ll put you on a 10 year journey home from Comic Con. They’re vindictive like that.
I’m not even getting into this comics pantheon game. Reading Kirby: King of Comics, I see there’s even bit players whose influence changed everything, although they didn’t made waves personally. What if Jim Shooter hadn’t been such a plucky 14 year old? We love superheroes now, for the most part, so do we thank or denigrate Frederic Wertham? Not that I would put him on a pantheon, if I were tossing my hat into that ring, but the comics we know wouldn’t be what they are without him.
I wish I knew of a great shop in the Atlanta area. 🙁 Most of the ones I’ve been in are skeevy.
Don’t know what part of Atlanta you’re in, but Titan Comics has never done me wrong, nor has Galactic Quest.
I’ve only been to the Titan that was on Riverdale Rd. Haven’t been since Chuck has been gone. Down here on the southside. Been to Dave’s, work at Heroes currently. Been to Oxfords a few times, though it’s a hell of a drive. Criminal doesn’t really count as a comic shop I suppose, but it’s awesome and I suggest it to anyone that’s in the area.
Criminal is about to close down and Oxford has too much anime porn. I use DCBS because all of our shops blow.
If I ever forget to order anything I normally hoof it to Dr. No’s. It ain’t good enough to hit up weekly, but it beats out the rest of the shops in the area.
I guess we’re lucky here on the northeast side, then. Titan in Duluth is great, and the Galactic Quest is only in Lawrenceville & Buford.
@diebenny Wasn’t too keen on Oxford for that reason. Plus I’m in f’ing Newnan, I’m not near anything. It sucks that an institution like Criminal is closing. I love that place.
Maybe we can have an iFanboy Atlanta meet up.
Eli Whitney.
Yeah, Kirby was fast, but not that fast.
What about Herges?
You mean Hergé?
yes
I was looking at Matt Herges’s baseball stats page, relief pitcher while I wrote that. I looked up Koufax and Ryan’s numbers and somehow ended up no Herges’s page. Then was reminded of Herge’.
I think the list has to stay within the American comic book market, otherwise you open up a whole can of worms. You have to add Tezuka and the like.
For what it’s worth, my “Big 12” is pretty similar to Josh’s. I think that an argument can be made to swap out Fox or Gaines for Miller or multiple other worthy people. I’ve been reading a lot of Golden Age DC lately and Fox is everywhere, and I think put Gaines on there because of my love for EC Comics (hence, without that bias he’d probably get bumped for Miller). I know that a lot of people don’t care for Miller’s politics, but he might belong on this list if he never did anything but Daredevil, Dark Knight, and Batman: Year One. There are so many people that belong on this list. I’d say that the only people who should never be removed are Kirby, Lee, Eisner, and Finger (also, I was tempted to just list Siegel and Schuster as one, since I’ve almost never heard their names separately).
This is a fun game!
Jack Kirby
Stan Lee
Will Eisner
Gardner Fox
Joe Simon
Bill Finger
Chris Claremont
Alan Moore
Bill Gaines
Steve Ditko
Jerry Siegel
Joe Schuster
Any expanded list or even top 12 list just might have to have Moebius (Jean Giraud) on it. Reminds me of Hendrix. Sure, the electric guitar had been around for a while, but no one ever lit it on fire until his arrival.
Moebius is one of those creators that I know is really important but I’ve seen very little of his work (it was the same with Will Eisner until I started buying the Spirit archives just a few years ago). I just know that he’s groundbreaking and a special talent because I’ve heard it from so many people whose opinions I respect. Now I need to go out and get some more Moebius in my life.
No Goddesses?
Nope.
I was thinking Karen Berger… I do realize most of these lists are creator only, but…
So the next question is what are each the gods OF?
Willie Mays, Ted Williams, and Babe Ruth
Conor you’re a total douchebag for saying that St. Louis has no chance of making it to the World Series again anytime soon.nin case you hadn’t notice, half the Cardinals team are all-stars. The Pujols helped them get to the post season, he had little to do with them winning a championship. Enjoy paying through the nose to see an amazing player for the next five years, and a fat man with a walker, shanking balls into foul territory for the next five – that you’re still paying an astronomical amount of money for. Yeah, real smart business decision for a few good years. Make no mistake, Pujols doesn’t give a crap about Anaheim, it’s all about the money.
I didn’t say it… Albert Pujols did… See where he says hi to you?
Yes, Lance Berkman will be a superior replacement. St. Louis will hardly miss Pujols….or LaRussa either. Right?
I’m surprised Jim Starlin hasn’t been mentioned. I mean, he’s probably not “Top 12” worthy, but he at least deserves a spot in one of the “lower pantheons”. He practically carried the Cosmic side of Marvel on his own, and Thanos, regardless of being “inspired” by Darkseid, has been a defining character within the MU.
We can’t have aguy who copied The King make this list. Kirby was an amazing imagination, unrivaled. To say someone baked Thanos based on a Kirby character is redundant when we look at how much was copied from the entire body of Kirby’s work. You gotta love all the work the names we mentioned have generated, they truly are an engine of imagination.
Great thread….learned a lot
I liked the mention of Wertham earlier quite a bit. Pantheons are rarely made up of just ‘good’ gods. You need villains, or gods of death and darkness as well. Wertham would be a great death god. He tried to kill comics!
Wertham can be the Loki of this pantheon.
Except their was no mischievous flair about him at all…
“there”
Yeah, he was pretty much a miserable git, but who knows what comics, and other media influenced by comics would be like without him. Instead of Batman and Captain America every month, maybe horror and crime comics would be the forerunners! What if Victor Fox never opened an illustration studio? What if Will Eisner’s dad hadn’t been such a stubborn dolt? Speculation is fun!
I’ve been trying to read Ten Cent Plague and Kirby: King of Comics lately. Really great books, I am just so super busy all the time I haven’t been able to finish them. I’ve learned so much in just a couple chapters of both. Lots of inspiration for these “What If” ideas.
My personal list:
Alan Moore
Neil Gaiman
John Byrne
Stan Lee
Jack Kirby
Marv Wolfman
Mike Mignola
Jim Starlin
Paul Levitz
Walt Simonson
As a New Yorker I shop at the Midtown near Times Square on 40th Street, but for years I used to shop at Forbidden Planet down near 14th Street Union Square. That’s a really cool store I highly recommend visiting along with Midtown if you are in NYC. Jim Henley’s Universe, near the Empire State Building, is a cool third alternative to those two stores, but my problem with it is that it is very difficult to find anything in that store, all the New Releases are located in one section which is frustrating.
ARE NOT located in one section —- man, i really wish I could go back and edit comments
I go to Midtown Grand Central. Love it. The NYC stores mentioned are all good ones.
I’d add St. Mark’s Comics in the East Village if you’re in the neighborhood. And then you could walk a couple blocks over to Crif Dogs, for the city’s best hot dogs.
Ugh, this is going to be hard:
My personal list. Kirby is #1, the rest are in no particular order
Jack Kirby
Jerry Siegel
Joe Schuster
Will Eisner
Stan Lee
Carmine Infantino
Steve Ditko
Alan Moore
Frank Miller
Roy Thomas
Dave Sim
Gardner Fox
I share your Infantino love. I really, really love that ’60s DC look. He is one of my all-time favorites, though I’m not sure I’d list him among the gods. A demigod maybe.
any way we can get Kevin Smith on this list. Maybe knock out Ditko.
Ugh.
Best comment ever.
My list for comic Gods in no particular order:
1 Jack Kirby
2 Stan Lee
3 Joe Simon
4 Joe Shuster
5 Julie Shwartz
6 Frank Miller
7 Alan Moore
8 Karen Berger
9 Bill Finger
10 Denny O’Neill
11 Neil Adams
12 Grant Morrison
As far as the gods go:
Maybe it’s because I’m an editor professionally but where’s the love for Julius Schwartz? I’d argue — strongly — that he wasn’t a mere exec. He didn’t write or draw, granted, but was a creator on a much broader, influential scale.
His relaunch of the Flash in 1956, followed by Green Lantern and others, saved the superhero genre. He’s the godfather of the Silver Age. Stan Lee doesn’t become Stan Lee unless Schwartz makes superheroes viable again.
And, don’t forget, he revamped Batman — twice — in ways that provided the foundation for the modern, gazillion-dollar-earning Batman we know today. Schwartz was the one who got rid of all the goofy aliens and sci-fi creatures for the 1964 New Look. Then, in the waning days of the TV-fueled Batmania, he made the move to take Batman back to his earliest roots.
I’d certainly take him over Roy Thomas.
Good list, Josh. And yes, Kirby over Lee every single time. Kirby is god and king of comics.
I only included creators. It’s in the last sentence I wrote.
Also, you’re not wrong about Scwartz at all.
I understood the distinction you were making, Josh. But in Schwartz’s case, I think he could be characterized as a creator, at least in the broadest sense.
He didn’t put pen to paper but he had ideas and vision. In his case, it’s not like he just made the trains run on time.
Besides, he helped popularize gorillas on comic book covers. And, you know, that’s rad.
I had to limit myself to writers/artists, or I would absolutely have added Julie Schwartz to the list.
Though he get’s no love, i’ve got a real soft spot for Gardner Fox, golden age, silver age, the multiverse, JLA a holst of characters (Flash, Hawkman, Sandman, etc), massive contributions over a long period of time.
There was a discussion about him earlier in the thread.
hold the f’n iphone…………you guys ever hear of this *little* unknown artist by the name of Gene “the dean” Colan?!?!
Yeah, he didn’t make the list.
@josh “Yeah, he didn’t make the list” like not even close? or “Yeah, he didn’t make the list” was an alternate ?
I think he’s one of the strongest comic book artists from the 2nd or 3rd generation of creators. I don’t think he changed the industry or did anything terribly innovative other than producing really high quality work, sort of in the same camp as Chris Claremont or John Byrne or John Buscema.
@Josh damn you! with your well formed arguments and logical reasoning.
I don’t like this letter column theme.
Ps. The Cardinals will win another World Series before the Angels.
Amen. As sad as it is to see him go (and it really is), the Cards can and will remain competitive without him. Aside from his HRs in Game 4 and the double in Game 6, he wasn’t even that big a part in the Cards’ postseason success this year.