This was originally going to be a List, but Lists annoy me, and I could use the Chaste Monk points, so I'm making it a blog :)
When I was younger, my dad used to go away on business, and now and then he'd bring me back a comic or something. These are the comics that he bought me, and they, naturally, hold a very special place in my heart. I was about six when I got these, so I didn't understand most of the stories because of the serialized format, and I didn't have the internet; so I couldn't research anything. Despite all that, they were still awesome ^_^ These are five comics that really stick out in my mind. I think there were others, but I don't really remember them.
- Avengers Heroes Reborn #11; My first introduction to the Avengers, and my ideal vision of the team (Cap, Iron Man, Hank, Thor, Wanda, Wasp and Hawkeye, though Clint isn't on the cover). I still have no idea why there are two Thors running around, but this issue was pretty awesome. Loki grew really tall for some reason and then Odin showed up to kick his ***. But who cares about that? LOOK AT HANK PYM'S ARMOR! Is that not the greatest thing ever? If someone named Ant-Man walked up to you wearing that, you wouldn't be giving them crap, you'd be surrendering before he plasma cannoned you into oblivion. So yeh, I've always loved Hank.
- Captain America Vol. 3 #5; My dad is a big Captain America fan. He used to watch the old Marvel shows on during the 60s, and his favourites were Iron Man, Thor and Cap. So it's no wonder he used to bring me back Cap and Avengers issues. Anyway, in this one, there's some shape shifting HYDRA guy who turned out to be a Skrull, He had red hair and an earring, because it was the 90s and everyone had an earring. Thor in an action pose on the front is a bit of a rip off though, as he and Cap just sit in a cafe and have coffee, but it's still a fun issue, even if it did end with Steve getting owned and the HYDRA guy impersonating him.
- X-Men Vol. 2 #25; Fatal Attractions Part 4. Yes, I own the issue where Magneto (back when he was cool), ripped the Adamantium from Logan's bones and then was mindraped by Professor X. That may be my favourite sentence I've ever written about the X-Men. Back in the 90s, when most stuff sucked, the X-Men were still awesome. Hell, they've always been great, providing you stop reading at #500, but there was something about the 90s team that really kicked ***. Their costumes were great, the cast was at its best, and every issue felt epic. But in terms of epicness, none beat this one. I may not have known who that steel guy holding Magneto's lifeless body was at the time, but it turned out that I was looking at the image of one of my favourite characters of all, Colossus. Wolverine, back when he wasn't everywhere, lay there devastated, Professor X, when he was still written well, had just gone up 4 million places in the badass rankings; everything about this issue was just amazing. As I said, I may not have understood a lot of the things happening, but it still remains one of the key moments of my comic reading life. Also, the issue came with a Gambit glowy card thing, so that was pretty cool.
- Colossus #1; Yep, I still had no idea who the big steel lug was, but who cares? He was awesome. He and Meggan, a character I still know next-to-nothing about, are in Paris looking like the two prettiest people who've ever lived, when they're kidnapped by an agent of Arcade. I hated Arcade then, and I hate Arcade now. All in all, this was the weakest of the old comics, but it was still pretty enjoyable. The art was cheesecake and fun, the story was light, and Piotr was shown (to me) to be a great member of the X-Men. This issue probably built in my later love for Colossus.
- Shadow of the Bat #49; Angel of Death. Remember how I said that my dad loved the Avengers? Well, there's only one character he likes more, and that's Batman. Yep, he's that cool. Anyway, in this issue, Gotham is being attacked by a deadly virus (this is part of the epic Contagion event, which I would later buy in trade form) and Poison Ivy is trying to sell her immunity to the elite of Gotham. The whole issue is narrated by a plague victim who's vying for Ivy's antidote. But this issue is awesome for several reasons, one; the art is great. Two; HUNTRESS, DICK GRAYSON, TIM DRAKE AND THE BATMAN are all in this issue. Tim gets infected too, making #49 extra important to the overall arc. I may not have known why there was some new Robin, or who the chick named Huntress that dressed like a weird Batgirl was, all I knew was that they were epic. But at the end of the day, this is Batman's book, and though it focused largely on Gotham, Batman is still the thing that stood out to me the most. I must have read this comic, which ends with Ivy fleeing (after everyone realises she's full of it) and the narrator dying, more than 50 times when I was younger. I bought the trade specifically to read the resolution of this issue. The arc as a whole had some weak points (anything involving Azrael sucked), but because of how great this issue was, and what it means to me; Batman: Contagion will always remain one of my favourite comic stories ever.
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