Some of my favorite comics series have only lasted a few issues. I thought I would share them with you because they are generally cheap enough to pick up in the back issue bins, and I am curious as to whether anyone else read them.
Archer and Armstrong. This was fabulous under Barry Windsor-Smith, then Mike Baron or someone took over, and it was okay to pretty good, then Valiant decided to relaunch it in an unreadable fashion, but the 12 or so initial issues were excellent.
Brain Boy. There were no credits to this Dell 4 Color Series, but I tracked down all 7 issues. If I become a famous writer, and some company letsd me do anything, I have a Brain Boy series all mapped out.
Aquaman by Shaun McLaughlin. Not the best series in the world, but a nice, solid superhero series. The issue with Batman as guest star is a true classic of bronze age characterization placed in a post-Crisis context.
Nth Man, the Ultimate Ninja by Larry Hama. This series was both wacky and rather tragic. It crossed over with Excaliber, and ended rather well all things considered.
Ambush Bug by Levitz, Giffen, Fleming and others. Not strictly a series, but an inspired character who invaded the DC Universe for a time in the mid-1980's.
Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes by Mindy Newll. Okay, this is a kind of a cheat, but I don't think Ms. Newell has ever received proper credit. She scripted (over Levitz plots, apparently) several issues of a hugely popular team book. She was doing this while Paul Levitz himself, one of the greatest writers in the history of the medium, was writing the exact same characters during an era where devotion to the comic was at a peak, and she held up perfectly including solid stories with Dev Em and Supergirl. I think that's pretty impressive. I mean, imagine if if you hire Bobby Flay or Jean Jaha or cook a twelve course meal for a group of fanatical gourmets. But he also picks someone else to cook half the meal, and none of the diners complain that six of the courses aren't up to snuff even by comparison. That's Mindy Newell on Legion.
Quantum and Woody by Priest and Bright. This series is pretty well known, and among the regular readers of this blog I know several are fans. I had an idea for a story which I offered to priest. He liked the idea so much that he asked me to write it up as a fill in. I had the perfect pen name planned out: Phil N'Gai. (I wanted to use "Jim Owsley," but he told me not to. I remember when Paul Monitor moved to the Toronto Blue Jays. Someone was using his number, so Paul took Robin Yount's number. Then when the other guy was traded, they offered him his old number. Paul said, "I'm keeping this one until Robin comes here and wants it back.")
Posted by Mike Chary at February 25, 2005 9:35 PM