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From: boyajian@akov68.DEC (Jerry Boyajian)
Newsgroups: net.comics
Subject: re: DC stands for...
Message-ID: <155@decwrl.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 15-May-84 07:08:57 EDT
Article-I.D.: decwrl.155
Posted: Tue May 15 07:08:57 1984
Date-Received: Wed, 16-May-84 04:04:55 EDT
Organization: DEC Engineering Network
Lines: 71

Come, fess up, this can't be for real. And he's from my old alma mater, too.
	I started collecting comics back in 1970, and in the days since then, I
have seen many ramblings from Marvel fans about how Marvel is God, and DC prints
nothing but bilge, as well as ramblings from DC fans about the reverse. I may be
incredibly obtuse, but I have yet to understand any of this type of bat guano.

	I really wish people would stop this "X is great and Y is garbage" non-
sense! Doesn't anyone consider each comic book on its own merits, regardless of
what company publishes it?

Mr. Simmington, a week or so ago, I posted in this group a list of what I con-
sidered the 10 best comics being published today. There was only *one* Marvel
on it, and *two* DC's, despite the fact that given a choice, my preference is
for Marvel comics over DC comics [incidentally, of the rest, 3 were First, 2
Aardvark-Vanaheim, 2 Kitchen Sink, 1 Eclipse, and 1 Capital (deceased); I know
that adds up to 12 comics, don't ask].

By turning your nose up at DC comics, you doing nothing more than cheating your-
self of some fine reading. If I may be so impertinent as to make recommendations
I might suggest that you try the following DC's:

SWAMP THING, TEEN TITANS (Mando & Baxter books), LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES (ditto),
BLUE DEVIL, ALL-STAR SQUADRON, ATARI FORCE, and CAMELOT 3000. Also pick up the
Baxter reprint books of the O'Neil/Adams GREEN LANTERN/GREEN ARROW, Kirby's THE
NEW GODS, and the Goodwin/Simonson MANHUNTER.

(For what it's worth, among the people who have a hand in the above are past or
present Marvel people Marv Wolfman, George Perez, Keith Giffen, Roy Thomas,
Gerry Conway, Mike Barr, Denny O'Neil, Neal Adams, Jack Kirby, Archie Goodwin,
and Walt Simonson. It's not the company that counts, it's the creators.

If you really think that none of the DC characters are "human", try TEEN TITANS
or search your comic shops for back issues of DETECTIVE with Englehart & Rogers'
Batman. If you think no one at DC can write, try SWAMP THING (I said it before,
and I'll say it again, Alan Moore is *THE* best writer in comics today; he makes
Chris Claremont look like a fourth-grader scribbler). If you think there are no
major villains at DC, you obviously haven't seen Darkseid, Mongul, or Trigon.
And do you want to talk about long-running? THOR, HULK, FF, X-MEN, AVENGERS ---
Hah! THOR has the most there with almost 350 issues (actually, discounting the
first 82 issues of JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY, he runs only 265 issues, just behind
FF). Look at DC's record: ADVENTURE ran over 500 issues before it was cancelled;
ACTION is over 550 issues, DETECTIVE is getting close to 550, SUPERMAN is going
to hit #400 in a couple of months; BATMAN is up to 375, FLASH, WONDER WOMAN,
WORLD'S FINEST, and TALES OF THE LEGION (formerly SUPERBOY) are all over 300;
SGT. ROCK, of all things, is close to 400; the off-again/in-again BLACKHAWK is
almost at the 275 mark; JLA is at 230, and GREEN LANTERN is at 180. That makes
*TEN* (count 'em, 10) still extant DC comics that have published more issues
than FANTASTIC FOUR (the current frontrunner for Marvel, in number of issues
with a continuous feature -- remember, THOR started in JIM #83, HULK started
with #102, and CAPTAIN AMERICA with #100), and that's not counting ADVENTURE.

"So, to all those Distinct Crap readers who only read their D.C., they have no
idea what they're missing. The Marvel Universe has tastes for everyone, from
the Avengers to the Mighty Thor."

Well, to all those Marvel readers who only read their Marvels, they have no
idea what they're missing. The DC Universe has tastes for everyone, from the
Legion of Super-Heroes to Swamp Thing.

"How many of you out there in Netland can actually say D.C. is really worth the
money? Can you really say that their titles and material are really interest-
ing?"

Well, I guess you know my answer to that one. And this is from a "Marvel fan".

				  --- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC Maynard, MA)

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