Famous First Fridays: Talkin' 'Bout the Top 50 Famous Firsts

Something a little different today, Groove-ophiles! Andrew Wahl, editor of the fabulous Comics Bronze Age has posted a new topic of discussion concerning the 50 most important books of the Bronze Age (1970-1984 by his reckoning). For his discussion, he listed his own top 50, then opened the floodgates for readers to comment on whether he was right or wrong in his picks. Andrew created a most excellent rule to keep things under control: the list stays at 50. So, if you thought a comic should have been added to the list, then you had to drop one of his picks.

Now, Ol' Groove loves to post and pontificate on what I feel to be the most significant mags of the Groovy Age (1967-1980) on most each and every Friday (duh!), so I felt compelled to add my voice to the discussion. Most of what Andrew has on his list I'm in agreement with--in fact, I've already covered many of them in depth here on DOtGK. In the end, I had 8 suggestions for adding and 8 for dropping, so we saw eye-to-eye on 42 of the 50 he listed.

Here's what I suggested Andrew add to his list:


Here's what I suggested be dropped from his list:


Nothing against any of those comics--I own 'em and love 'em, myself! It's just that I feel the others have more significance.

I still wonder, though. Was Ol' Groove off his rocker for suggesting that Andrew drop Avengers #93 from the list? Should each title of Kirby's Fourth World be represented? Should MGM's Marvelous Wizard of Oz replace Superman vs. Spider-Man for the sake of historical accuracy? Does Ol' Groove think way too much about comics? Inquiring minds wanna know!

Make sure you go to Comics Bronze Age and check out Andrew's list for yourself. Then jump into the discussion with your own ideas. Have a blast, Groove-ophiles!

Sunday Stuff

ITEM! It's been a while since Ol' Groove gave a shout out to his blogging buddies, so listen up...

ITEM! Richard Guion over at Giant-Size Marvel has been running a fantastic series on "The Marvels of Gil Kane" for the past week, and you should really check it out. Beautiful stuff and nicely written insights. I dig it, and I think you will, too!

ITEM! If you haven't discovered Andrew Wahl's Comics Bronze Age, get thee hence and enjoy! Besides wonderful reviews of Bronze Age comics, there are articles and lively debates, like the recent one on "What Is the Bronze Age of Comics?" Dive in and dig the wonderment, Groove-ophiles!

ITEM! Scott at Action Figure Blues is always torturing me with the cool comic-based toys he spotlights. I don't wanna spend money on 'em, but he keeps showing off stuff like this statue based on Jim Aparo's Batman--I don't know how much longer I can hold out! Check out all the cool toys, statues, and such and see how long you can stand it!

ITEM! Johnny Bacardi, at The Johnny Bacardi Show, natch, recently ran an awesome piece featuring a 1967 interview with Stan (The Man) Lee. Johnny's always doing cool stuff, so you should definitely add him to your favorites list!

ITEM! Jamdin, over at Moongem Comics has a very cool shot of Josh Brolin as Jonah Hex. Looks pretty good, and man, do I hope they make a great Hex flick!

ITEM! And finally, the ever-groovy Pete Doree at The Bronze Age of Blogs has a post on those legendary Conan record albums they used to sell in the back of Marvel's black and white mags--complete with links where you can actually listen to some of 'em online! Dig it, baby!