DC vs Marvel

[Clareon Wolfeyes]

I've been a comics fan since I was three years old, and am proud to say comic books are responsible for my love of reading today.

I am a big fan of both companies and their various off shoots for more adult reading, although where I live there are very limited resourses for purchasing anything but mainstream magazines. So this thread is basically just for people to post their preferences and favourite books, artists, story lines, good or bad. No bashing though thats not what this is for.

When I was growing up my favourite books were of course Spider-man, but also the Hulk, and Captain America, I preferred Marvel I think due to the writing. Superman was way to campy and Boy scoutish for me back then although I did like Batman and Detective Comics, probably my favourite DC book back then was Swamp Thing.

Of course by all means don't stick to the printed example of comics, talk about the movies, tv, and even your favourite action figures when you were a kid (or still are).

[Zarithar]

I've gone back and forth, tho not lately as I don't read comics regularly anymore. When I first took up collecting comics (84 or so) it was all about Marvel. X-Men, Fantastic Four, Spider Man (3 titles), and even more obscure titles like ROM:Spaceknight, Foolkiller, and Alpha Flight.

Later on (about the time Dark Knight Returns came out), I shifted towards DC and it's darker, more adult feel.

[Clareon Wolfeyes]

I really enjoyed reading Rom, for a comic that was basically produced to promote a toy, I thought it was pretty good with the exception of some of the side stories. Being from Canada I loved the thought of Alpha Flight and thought the characters were kinda cool, even lameass Puck.I really found that the late eighties and early nineties Marvel spent way to much time giving their big guns too many titles when they should have shortened their focus to better stories, X-men and Spider-man being the big culprits, although DC had its fair share, with Superman and Batman, just having to buy 7 or 8 books a month for those two alone was crazy.

[$tormin]

I like Marvel and its (somewhat) honest showing of how the normal public would react to super powers...largely with mistrust, fear, hatred and violence. There is also a LOT more character evolution in Marvel as opposed to DC. For example, Peter Parker graduated, married and eventually became a teacher. Clark Kent is still working for the Daily Planet, isn't he? O.o

[Clareon Wolfeyes]

Stan Lee developed the Spider-man/Peter Parker character for that exact reason, so the common man could relate to him, as well as teens, some of the best parts of the Spider-man mythos is the problems Peter Parker has in his everyday life, and how he has to overcome them as Peter Parker not his web slinging alter ego. Lee wanted Spidey to have complete coverage for his mask, so no one could tell who was underneath the mask making it easier for his readers to place themselves behind the mask. Clark Kent had a way easier life, no doubt about it, and unreal job security.

[Raxtull]

I had always been a Marvel fan because the characters are generally more interesting and, the first time through, the storylines are better. The main problem with Marvel though is that they really only have one storyline that gets redone every couple of years with new characters. The storylines happening today are 100% interchangeable with the storylines 30-40 years ago, the only differences are cosmetic. DC isn't much better about it, they just have a little more variety in story, even though they still have boring characters (other than Lobo).

For instance, the Civil War is nothing more than the old Mutant Registration storyline redone yet again to include all powered beings, since the aftermath of House of M left not enough mutants to make an event out of. And in order to make the story "unique", they have heroes fighting heroes over the registration act. And so far, Marvel has the stupidest villains (which is saying a lot considering that every comic villain is retarded), as they have yet to take advantage of the division amongst the heroes.

Needless to say, I pretty much avoid the spandex-wearing superteam books anymore except for special storylines (DC's 52 is pretty decent so far) and when a writer I like takes a turn at them (Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men). Aside from that, I'll stick with the few writers who have proven their worth time and time again (Warren Ellis and Garth Ennis are my favorites) regardless of which company they're writing for.

[Clareon Wolfeyes]

I agree totally, there are very few original ideas left out there anymore, and Marvel loves rehashing old ones, most of the time they do have an original spin to them or a different outcome. What really bothers me about DC is their continued struggle to realine their continuities, every time they do it, which is usually a massive crossover event every few years or so. Lobo is one of the most original characters I have ever seen come out of comics, I mean an all out war with Santa on behalf of the Easter Bunny, hilarious. Personally I really hate the big cross overs because I can never get all the issues involved unless I order them through the mail, and if I wanted to buy books that look like they have been read two or three times already I would buy them at the local grocery store. I'm actually enjoying the re-release of the western oriented Marvel books, they bring back a lot of memories as a kid.

[Grand Puppeteer]

Many marvel comics are a guilty pleasure, because they're fun to read but at certain points you can tell that they're just thrown together to make money.

[Clareon Wolfeyes]

Anybody remember US1 and Superpro...I admit it I read em and still have em in my collection.

[Bobthepenguin]

I just gotta say, Stan Lee rocks the universe. That's all.

[Clareon Wolfeyes]

Stan Lee and Jack Kirby...Nuff said!

[Zarithar]

I really liked The Mighty Thor when they diverged from the usual Avengers style plots with him and sent him back to Asgard for a time. I believe it was the late 80s, but there was a long story arc where Thor grew a beard, hung out in Asgard, and interacted with the other Norse deities... it was cool because we even got to see his goat drawn chariot, Odin, Baldur, Freya, frost giants, Midgard Serpent, etc.

For a time he looked more like the Thor of classical mythology than Thor the superhero. It was a good run... and I can't remember who was responsible for that particular story arc.

[Clareon Wolfeyes]

I think it was Dan Jurgens, I liked a lot of the books that were rereleased after Heroes Reborn.

[DocBobo]

It was Walt Simonson. I recall very vividly because I held #337 (http://www.immortalthor.net/thor331-340.html) in hand and thought to myself "what the hell is this supposed to mean?". It was all a garbled mess of colors and lines. It too a while before I learned to "read" his drawing and page layout.

Since I'm german I was kind of lucky concerning MArvel and DC comics. During the 70s most of the Silver Age stuff was reprinted for the german market, so I pretty much have read all the iconic stuff from to 60s till up to now. I started at the age of 6 with Flash, Green Lantern, Superman/boy, Batman, Spider-Man and Fantastic Four. As soon as I actually could read (and understand) english I switched to the original stuff imported from the US. So I had my Marvel phase. Thor, Hulk, Avengers, X-Men. As I grew older I gradually shifted back to the comics DC does.

I'm pretty critical about the milking of the merchandise in both camps. In my opinion it's absolutely pointless to read any of the X-Men titles anymore because they "change direction" every year. The same with the crossovers, they take forever to read, cost the buyer an insane amount of money and change absolutely nothing at the core of the titles. Of course there are cosmetic changes, but that's about what the fanboys can take. Anybody remember the $#!+ storm rising at the fan base when DC killed off Hal Jordan to introduce Kyle Rainer. Five years later, Hal Jordan is back and I still feel dumber because I read the story arc that brought him back. Next time, kill him more thoroughly guys.

Anyhow, I tend to read more writer oriented these days. I shun artistically oriented stuff like the plague. Image cured me of that during the 90s.

[Clareon Wolfeyes]

There were a couple of Image books I followed, Spawn, and Erik Larsons Dragon. I was sort of pissed that they killed off an iconic figure like Hal Jordan, but as the saying goes "nobody dies forever in comics". If you are going to kill off a character, kill em off, or have them pass the mantle on to someone else, or better yet have a mandatory retirement age for heroes, gold watch and all.

[Grand Puppeteer]

There were a couple of Image books I followed, Spawn, and Erik Larsons Dragon. I was sort of pissed that they killed off an iconic figure like Hal Jordan, but as the saying goes "nobody dies forever in comics". If you are going to kill off a character, kill em off, or have them pass the mantle on to someone else, or better yet have a mandatory retirement age for heroes, gold watch and all.

These are actually the profile sections on the marvel website:

Heroes
1.Living Heroes
2.Dead Heroes
Villains
1.Living Villains
2.Dead Villains
and, last but not least,
3.Heroes who died but aren't dead anymore
3.Villains who died but aren't dead anymore

[Realmreaver]

Mainly it was X-men, ROM: Spacenight and this thing about kids getting super powers from a horseman fighting these aliens called Snarks. Forgot the names but loved the storyline. Only got to read a a year or so worth for I found better because the stories started to get lame-o started off cool as hell tho.
Now a days I don't read comics too expensive for me.

[Raxtull]

Mainly it was X-men, ROM: Spacenight and this thing about kids getting super powers from a horseman fighting these aliens called Snarks. Forgot the names but loved the storyline. Only got to read a a year or so worth for I found better because the stories started to get lame-o started off cool as hell tho.
Now a days I don't read comics too expensive for me.


Power Pack! The great thing is that Marvel has recently resurrected the Powers, with a bunch of 4 issue series and cameos in some other series.

[Clareon Wolfeyes]

Wasn't one of the kids in Power Pack Franklin Richards, is he in the new series?

[junior]

I was sort of pissed that they killed off an iconic figure like Hal Jordan, but as the saying goes "nobody dies forever in comics".

Hal's death was problematic, which is probably the main reason why he eventually came back. His death has been compared quite negatively, and with good reason, to a couple of other well-known DC characters that were killed off. Specifically -

1.) Barry Allen (Flash) - Barry got to go out with a bang, dying a heroic death. He was killed off during the Crisis on Infinite Earths event, and he knew he was going to die as the result of his actions but did the heroic thing and went anyway. He was replaced by Wally West, who up until then had been Kid Flash.

2.) Kara Zor-El (Supergirl) - Kara also died during Crisis. iirc, in this case it was protecting her better known cousin Kal-El - aka Superman. She also got the heroic death gig - except that in her case the event was part of a DC executive decision to retcon Superman's backstory into him being the only Kryptonian survivor. This meant that when the fallout from Crisis was over, no one even remembered that Kara Zor-El had ever existed. Needless to say, there were a lot of unhappy Supergirl fans after that was over and done with. Power Girl, who is basically Supergirl with a bigger bust from an alternate Earth-reality (that no longer existed) managed to survive, but no one remembered where her powers came from.

And then there's Hal Jordan...

When Hal's home city was destroyed (during the Death of Superman story), Hal cracked and went nuts and tried to recreate the city. He destroyed the Green Lantern Corps, and at one point tried to reshape the universe in order to rewrite history as a powerful supervillain. Fans were, to put it mildly, displeased. Many of them swore to always hate Kyle Raynor simply because of the way that DC treated Jordan. And there was a permament groundswell among Jordan fans to fix the abusive treatment that a popular character had received from DC.

If DC had treated Jordan a bit more charitably, and let him go out in a style befitting a superhero, then he might very well still be dead. But by twisting his character in such a fashion, they helped create a movement that probably contributed greatly toward his eventual return.

Incidentally, there is currently a Kara Zor-El in the DC universe. One of DC's writers happened to spot a description of the second Supergirl (a protoplasmic entity from an alternate Earth), and realized that many comic fans would always associate that odd character with the name Supergirl instead of the Kara Zor-El Supergirl that had existed for decades before Crisis killed her off. Eventually he was teamed up with some other sympathetic individuals, and they managed to get a new Kara Zor-El introduced just within the last 2-3 years.

There's an old saying in the comic book industry - "No one stays dead except for Bucky, Jason Todd, and Ben Parker." Bucky, of course, was Captain America's sidekick in World War 2, and was killed when the rocket he and Captain America were on blew up (Captain America, on the other hand, was frozen in the frigid water and went into suspended animation until the Avengers found him decades later). Jason Todd was the second Robin, who was killed by the Joker when DC did its infamous phone survey (call this number, and vote for Robin to survive; call this other number, and vote for Robin to die). Ben Parker was the husband of May, and uncle of Peter (aka Spiderman), whose death triggered the realization in Peter that 'with great power comes great responsibility.'

Of course, as it turns out, just within the last year or two, even that definitive statement about comic book deaths has been overthrown. Bucky is now back as a former brainwashed agent known as the Winter Soldier (I believe the story is that the Soviets found his body, revived him, and then brainwashed him). Jason Todd was suddenly revived due to some extra-dimensional events and went on a rampage as the 'Red Hood' (ironically the identity that the Joker had in the comics before his accident with a chemical bath). The last I checked, Ben Parker was still dead. But I'm sure it's only a matter of time before someone tries to revive him...

Clark Kent is still working for the Daily Planet, isn't he? O.o

He does, but...

He'd already graduated when his comic book started, and it wouldn't be surprising for him to spend the rest of his life working for the Planet. In the meantime, though, he's also married love of his life Lois Lane. And while Peter Parker did graduate from high school and college, he still spent most of his life doing freelance photography for the Daily Bugle. One of his current writers (I think JMS, though I'm not sure) had him start teaching school, though I think it's safe to say that job is over since he's gone public with his identity.

For instance, the Civil War is nothing more than the old Mutant Registration storyline redone yet again to include all powered beings, since the aftermath of House of M left not enough mutants to make an event out of. And in order to make the story "unique", they have heroes fighting heroes over the registration act. And so far, Marvel has the stupidest villains (which is saying a lot considering that every comic villain is retarded), as they have yet to take advantage of the division amongst the heroes.


Supposedly, the Thunderbolts (former villains who decided to become imposter heroes and then decided they liked the gig enough to go straight) are recruiting a lot of the villains in order to help bring in the renegade heroes. Also, I've read that the Punisher comic book is supposedly having him deal with some of the stuff that the heroes are currently too busy to deal with. And plenty of heroes are probably still doing the hero thing. The Great Lakes Avengers (or X-Men, or Champions, or whatever they're currently calling themselves) popped up as newly registered heroes, but aren't being used as part of the storyline (they had a bit part fighting Deadpool, but that's it). Ergo, they're probably still keeping an eye on things in their home area.

I'm annoyed at the Civil War storyline for other reasons...

1.) They killed off the New Warriors and Namorita. I kind of liked the group in the old days, and I'm particularly annoyed about the death of the latter (she was at point blank range when Nitro blew up).
2.) The Registration Act would do nothing to help prevent incidents like the disaster. All it does is register super-powered beings. The disaster basically happened because Speedball insisted that the team go after a group of villains they already knew they'd probably have trouble with in order to get good ratings for their Reality Show (yes, the New Warriors had become a superhero reality show). Registration would have changed any of that.
3.) There are some REALLY GOOD arguments for mandating the registration of people who can kill you by looking at you (i.e. Cyclops). Or bring down a city block by yelling (i.e. Siryn - I'd mention Banshee, but he's dead this month :p ). Or wander around in armor that can take missile hits and has enough firepower to defeat the military of a small nation (i.e. Iron Man). But instead of focusing on this sort of thing, the writers appear to be making ham-handed political statements about the way that the War on Terror is being fought (i.e. things like having the government claim that all unregistered heroes are 'unlawful combatants').

[DocBobo]

Incidentally, there is currently a Kara Zor-El in the DC universe. One of DC's writers happened to spot a description of the second Supergirl (a protoplasmic entity from an alternate Earth), and realized that many comic fans would always associate that odd character with the name Supergirl instead of the Kara Zor-El Supergirl that had existed for decades before Crisis killed her off. Eventually he was teamed up with some other sympathetic individuals, and they managed to get a new Kara Zor-El introduced just within the last 2-3 years.The series in my humble opinion is horse dung sold with a Supergirl label slapped onto it. If you compare it with Peter David's run (The protoplasmic SG, which was a lot better than sales numbers indicate) it looks even worse.

The last I checked, Ben Parker was still dead. But I'm sure it's only a matter of time before someone tries to revive him...Last I checked they had 2 alternate dimension versions of him running around in one of the 4 monthly Spider-Man titles. Ret-con... sense... tingling!

[Metafour]

I've always been a DC fan, simply because Batman and Superman are my favorite two heroes.

But this past year I've been rooming with a couple of guys who are solidly rooted in the Marvel camp, and I've greatly broadened my horizons.


Currently, Daredevil is the only Marvel title I collect. I wish to god that I had known about the Astonishing X-Men when it was first starting up, because I'm a huge fan of Joss Whedon, and I really wish I could collect those books. But I don't have the cash to afford expensive back issues, or the time to track them down.


I'm collecting 52, and it is by far my favorite thing I'm collecting. The story is interesting, and the writing is well done.

I do have one small gripe with 52 though. DC made me sooooo happy when they killed off Booster Gold, and just last week they created a new Booster. Dang it. Why'd they have to bring him back?!


I've also been collecting the new Flash. I'd have to say that this series so far has been quite terrible. The writing is poor, and the first few issues were very schizzo. I mean...what's up with having part of the story narrated by Barry Allen if you aren't gonna bring him back? Also, new Flash Bart is way too angsty and young. I don't really want to read teen drama, which is what the new Flash is. Its nothing but lame teen drama.

On the other hand, the new Wonder Woman has been quite good so far. Its only got 2 issues, but I have greatly enjoyed both of them.


Finally, I'm collecting All-Star Superman and All-Star Batman and Robin: The Boy Wonder. Grant Morrison has really knocked Superman out of the ballpark. Each issue has been simply amazing. I just wish Frank Quietly worked a little faster on the art side so they could get out more issues. This book is fantastic.

All Star Batman, however, is sucking the big one. Jim Lee's art is good like always, but Frank Miller is a major letdown on the scripting. There are only 4 issues so far, and it has literally taken all 4 issue for Batman and Dick Grayson to get from the circus tents to the Batcave. And nothing has happened along the way. It is the most slow moving, noninteresting Batman book I have ever read.

Frank Miller might have been revolutionary with The Dark Knight Returns, but his latest stuff flat out sucks.

[Raxtull]

I wish to god that I had known about the Astonishing X-Men when it was first starting up, because I'm a huge fan of Joss Whedon, and I really wish I could collect those books. But I don't have the cash to afford expensive back issues, or the time to track them down.

Well, if you're just interested in reading them and not in collecting every single issue, you can get the first 12 issues in graphic novel form, either two 6-issue paperbacks or a 12-issue harcover. Then you'd just have to get the singles of 13-17 (17 was just released this week.) Marvel's been pretty quick about putting trades out lately, usually in 6-issue increments for the on-going series. And the ones that sell really well get the hardcovers every 12 issues.

[Raxtull]

Wasn't one of the kids in Power Pack Franklin Richards, is he in the new series?

No, the Power Pack are Alex (Zero-G), Julie (Lightspeed), Jack (Mass Master) and Katie (Energizer) Powers, the children of a big-shot scientist.

While their recent series are a little cheesy, I still like them.

[Raxtull]

I'm annoyed at the Civil War storyline for other reasons...

1.) They killed off the New Warriors and Namorita. I kind of liked the group in the old days, and I'm particularly annoyed about the death of the latter (she was at point blank range when Nitro blew up).


They'll be back soon.

2.) The Registration Act would do nothing to help prevent incidents like the disaster. All it does is register super-powered beings. The disaster basically happened because Speedball insisted that the team go after a group of villains they already knew they'd probably have trouble with in order to get good ratings for their Reality Show (yes, the New Warriors had become a superhero reality show). Registration would have changed any of that.


Actually, the act would do more than just register, it's designed to turn the supers into a government controlled police force/strike force. Would you honestly want "politicians" deciding who or what the supers are supposed to fight?

3.) There are some REALLY GOOD arguments for mandating the registration of people who can kill you by looking at you (i.e. Cyclops). Or bring down a city block by yelling (i.e. Siryn - I'd mention Banshee, but he's dead this month :p ). Or wander around in armor that can take missile hits and has enough firepower to defeat the military of a small nation (i.e. Iron Man). But instead of focusing on this sort of thing, the writers appear to be making ham-handed political statements about the way that the War on Terror is being fought (i.e. things like having the government claim that all unregistered heroes are 'unlawful combatants').

Comic book writers often try to analyze politics, and almost always are way off on their analysis. Stick to writing funnybooks, guys, and leave political analysis to those who are willing to look deeper than what they see on TV.

[asquithfeare]

I liked The Spirit. Yes it's before my time, but my I found copies in my grandparents basement with the old National Geographic magazines. Probably belonged to my uncles. Anywho, cool stuff.

[junior]

Actually, the act would do more than just register, it's designed to turn the supers into a government controlled police force/strike force. Would you honestly want "politicians" deciding who or what the supers are supposed to fight?


The exact meaning of the act seems to fluctuate somewhat. One character decided that they were going to avoid the whole thing by getting out of the superhero business, and that particular person had already been outed as a former member of the New Warriors. On the other hand, I've recently heard that Wonderman had the fact that he'd registered used to force him to take a more active role in suppressing the heroes who weren't interested in registering (ironically, Wonderman's identity has always been public :p ).

So I'm guessing that there was a bit of confusion even on the part of some Marvel writers when the whole thing started.

In any event, Marvel could have handled the whole thing much better.

They'll be back soon.


I'm sure someone will bring them back eventually. But I'm guessing that the reason they were the team that got killed off was because no one had used them for a while.

No, the Power Pack are Alex (Zero-G), Julie (Lightspeed), Jack (Mass Master) and Katie (Energizer) Powers, the children of a big-shot scientist.



iirc, Franklin Richards (who has spent most of his comic book career as an extremely powerful mutant child) did join the Power Pack back in the old series. I didn't catch any of it, though, so I don't know how much time he spent with them.

[Clareon Wolfeyes]

I'm gonna have to plan a trip to the big city, and bring a lot of cash with me to buy some new mags, and back issues, I think i'll check Amazon for those hardcover anthology graphic novels, might be able to save me something there.

[Cougarshand]

Marvel camp here.

I'm actually enjoying the Civil War series thus far. Yes, the political undertone can be annoying (it's especially prevalent in the "Civil War: Frontline" series). I dig that they finally unmasked Spidey. As tough as it is for me to swallow sometimes...I DO like it when they kill off characters (M-Day was a plus, in my opinion).

I collect a lot of titles (too many, according to my wife...I suspect she may be right), but right now I'm really enjoying Moon Knight and Daredevil.
And I have to say, kudos to the Ultimate Universe...there's some great stuff there! "The Ultimates" is definitely one of my favorites.

Is anyone reading "Hunter/Killer" out there?

Edit:
I just placed my comic pre-order for the month...to give you guys an idea of what I'm reading right now (to the tune of $115)...

Hunter/Killer - Chicago Con #7
Civil War The Return
Ultimate Fantastic Four #38
Ultimate Power #1 Director's Cut
Ultimate Spider-Man #104
Ultimate Vision #2 (of 5)
Ultimate X-Men #78
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #16
Sensational Spider-Man #34
Amazing Spider-Girl #4
Spider-Man: Reign #2 (of 4)
Annihilation #6 (of 6)
Daredevil #93
Ghost Rider #7
Heroes for Hire #6
Immortal Iron Fist #3
Marvel 1602: Fantastik Four #5 (of 5)
Moon Knight #9
New Avengers Illuminati #2 (of 5)
NewUniversal #2
Punisher War Journal #3
Runaways #24
Silent War #1 (of 6)
New X-Men #34
Uncanny X-Men #482
Wolverine #50
Wolverine #50 B & W Var.
Wolverine: Origins #10
X-23: Target X #2 (of 6)
X-Factor #15
X-Men #195
X-Men Annual #1
X-Men First Class #5 (of 8)
X-Men Phoenix Warsong #5 (of 5)

...too much you think?

[Raxtull]

...too much you think?

That's nothing compared to my pull list.

52, Agents of Atlas, American Virgin, Annihilation, Ant, Astonishing X-Men, The Authority, Avengers Next, Batman, Batman/Superman, Battle Pope, Beyond, Blackgas, Blade, The Boys, Cable & Deadpool, Captain America, City of Heroes, Civil War and all tie-ins, Creeper, Cyber Force, The Darkness, Deadman, Doctor Strange: The Oath, Eternals, Exiles, Fantastick Four 1602, Fantastic Four: The End, Fathom, The Freshmen, Gen 13, Ghost Rider, Green Lantern Corps, Hellstorm, Irredeemable Ant-man, Justice, Justice League of America, The Last Christmas, A Man Called Kev, Martian Manhunter, Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, Necromancer, New Excalibur, New X-Men, The Next, Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E., Omac, Omega Men, The Punisher, Rokkin, Runaways, Shrugged, Skye Runner, Spawn, Spiderman / Power Pack, Thunderbolts, Ultimate Power, Ultimate X-Men, Uncanny X-Men, Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters, Union Jack, Wetworks, Witchblade, Wildcats, Wolverine, Wolverine: Origins, Wonder Woman, World Storm, X-23: Target X, X-Factor, X-Men, X-Men First Class, X-Men: Phoenix Warsong, Zombie

Likely some upcoming titles that are on my pull list that I'm forgetting. But that's it off the top of my head.

[Cougarshand]

All right, Raxtull...let's see it.

I really dig knowing what other folks are reading for discussion purposes, so if anyone else would like to jump in with their current Marvel/DC/Top Cow/Image, etc. choices...please do!

[Clareon Wolfeyes]

OMG a pull list! I wish I could still drive down to a comic store and pick up by pile of monthly mags to read. My list would probably be a mixture of both Cougars and Rax's.

[Saroc_Luclin]

Old thread but not muhc activity here so...

Me, I'm mostly a Marvelite. I started with some FF and Spidey kids comics (half sized imprints often given away in cereal boxes IIRC reprinting some of their stories), and hooked on the Fantastic Four. Picked up one of the FF Annuals, with a cross over with the Guardians of the Galaxy, and fell in love with the Guardians. I then regularly picked up GotG and expanded my reading to Sleepwalker when it ran. (I tended to follow the B and C teams/Heroes it seems. :P ).

Picked up the core books of the Infinity Guantlet and was better exposed to the Marvel Heroes and Cosmology then. Captain America standing up to Thanos and Thanos shattering the shield resonated VERY strongly with me. IMO it's still one of the most powerful scenes in comicdom.

I was also reading Marvel's Transformer books at the time as well, and more or less picking up random books that caught my eye as GoTG, Sleepwalker and TFers all were canceled.

Once I got to University, my collection really started growing. I got hooked on Excalibur which lead me into the X-Books, though I tend to only read the core books beyond Excalibur (Amazing or Uncanny or whatever it is, and X-Men).

Onslaught occurred and Heroes Reborn started up, which was when I started on Avengers and FF again. I'd also started on some DC titles, mainly JLA at that time. I also jumped on Thunderbolts right at the beginning.

When Heroes Return started, I had Iron Man, Avengers and FF on my pull lists for the relaunch, along with a couple Xtitles, JLA, Power Company (for the little it ran), T-Bolts, Spider-girl (I love alt-universes and just fell in love with the M-2 line; picked up J-2, A-Next and F5 as well as much as I could). I also expanded beyond the core universes, getting hooked on Planetary, Authority Top Ten and Astro City.

Around that time, I hit financial difficulties (due to my company, not due to buying so many books. :P) So I had to stop getting books for a few years. Only recently have my finances stabilized enough that I feel comfortable getting books again, and I've been snapping up what I can. I've grabbed the eXiles TPB's to catch that series up, along with some of the X and Avenger TPB's as well (Chapters had a "40% off" cover price, and a local comic shop has a Buy 2 get 1 Free deal regularly).

Now, though I haven't set up a Pull list yet, but Spidergirl, eXiles, Excalibur (staring Nocturne from eXiles) tend to be the ones I buy when I go in; and I'm mostly caught up on current events in Marvel though I'm still getting back up to speed on the two Avengers books and what the X books are up to. And I'm sure I'll start folding DC books back in soon too, probably just JLA when I feel up to joining them again.