Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Top 5 favorite comics from my childhood.

5.Sabrina the Teenage Witch


Out of all the Archie stuff Sabrina was the title I read the most of. I am sure part of that is because of her being a witch the stories had a semi horror feel to them. And it is no secret that I am a huge horror fan. I even enjoyed the live action tv show with Melissa Joan Hart. I was introduced to Sabrina thanks to the Filmation early 70s Sabrina cartoon. I have tired out the manga influenced Sabrina comic and the cartoons that have come out that are based on the live action show. But they didn't appeal to me.

4.ROM the Spaceknight

Yes ROM. The butt of many jokes. But it is a well written piece of science fiction. The great Bill Mantlo co created ROM along with Sal Buscema. ROM is based on a very short lived toyline from Parker Brothers. That is why none of the issues have ever been reprinted. Sadly Bill Mantlo was the victim of a hit-and-run accident in 1992 and has been in institutional care ever since.

3.Brave and the Bold

Brave and the Bold had been around for decades before I started reading it in the late 70s. By the time I was reading Brave and the Bold it was Batman teaming up with a different person each issue. I loved this comic for one main reason. Each issue I got introduced to a different hero. I discovered so many heros/heroines thanks to Brave and the Bold. Plus the late Jim Aparo did some beautiful artwork in lots of the issues. The sort of recent Batman Brave and the Bold cartoon was partially inspired by this comic.

2.Marvel 2 in 1

During the 70s Marvel had 2 monthly team up titles. Marvel team up,where Spidey teamed up with someone every month. And Marvel 2 in 1. I preferred 2 in 1. Mostly because at the time I was a much bigger fan of the Thing. That is thanks to the Hanna Barbara animated Thing cartoons. THING RING DO YOUR THING! Now I have went back and bought all 100 issues of 2 in 1 plus all the annuals. And sometimes the stories are shit. But it is interesting seeing all the heroes and villains that showed up. The Spidey villain the Sandman first showed signs of turning to the good side in an issue of 2 in 1. Also all but 2 issues have been reprinted in Marvel's Essential line of trades. The 2 that are not reprinted are one with Doc Savage. And one near the end of the series that has ROM in it. Both because of rights issues.

1.Hot Stuff the lil Devil


I was aware of Hot Stuff years before I read any of his comics. My father has him tattooed on his left forearm.

Being into horror a comic about a kid devil was a can't miss title. I loved all the other characters that would appear in this comic also. Stumbo the giant, the devil kids and of course Hot Stuff's various relatives. About 4 or 5 years ago Dark Horse comics put out a trade reprinting 110 Hot Stuff stories.
It is sadly out of print now. Like Marvels Essential line and DC's Showcase Presents line of trades most of the stories in this trade are reprinted in black and white. In the center of the trade they do reprint a handful in color. Hot Stuff is the odd man out of the Harvey line of comic characters. He never had a cartoon. He rarely crossed over with the other titles. And there is very little merchandise of him. In almost 30 years of looking all I have ever found was a stuffed version of Hot Stuff. And a pair of boxers.

So fellow comic geeks what are some of yalls favorite comics books from your childhood?