Under-rated series?

[VintageMike]

So here's a question what series do you like but feel is under-rated for one reason or another? From any time period. For me it's Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man. I've been working on my Amazing run and never gave Spectacular much of a though I have alot of the issues. Then I happened upon a (short-lived) podcast where they reviewed the first 24 issues. They pretty much gave every one of those issues high marks. So I've been picking them up and loving them. Being the secondary series I forgot it started during atime we all fondly remember: the mid-seventies. The ads to visit the Heroes World stores are there (with the one I went to featured prominently), th ehOtess ads just a great trip down memory lane all-around. The early issues also focus alot more on Peter Parker's personal life which is cool. The fact that you can get most of the issues cheaply is also a huge bonus!
Another choice for me is Marvel Two-One which I liked so much I did complete the run including annuals.

[samurainoir]

Currently I'm feeling like Jonathan Hickman's Fantastic Four is hugely underrated. He's managed to address many dangling threads from other recent runs and building on them.

Franklin's been the most interesting he's ever been now that he's got Valeria to play off of.

[WannabeMego]

Another choice for me is Marvel Two-One which I liked so much I did complete the run including annuals.

LOVED Marvel Two-in-One!!!

One of my most FAVORITE stories ever written was Annual #7

Prior to Walt Simonson's famous run on Thor, I thought that Roy Thomas & Mark Gruenwald's Tag Team scripting (around 172...which oddly enough starts right AFTER Simonson's previous run on Thor) with Keith Pollard's brush strokes were extremely under-rated, especially the Ragnarok Storyline that culminated with issue 300.

I was always told, during that time in the Thor story line, that sales were extremely weak and that Marvel was seriously thinking of canceling Thor!!!

A MUST read in my honest opinion.

[johnnystorm]

War is Hell - a great supernatural series from the '70s, much better than DC's Weird War Tales.

John Carter of Mars from Marvel in the late '70s as well.

Starfire from DC (guess when it's from?)

Hawk & the Dove (1960s Ditko classics!)

DC Super-Stars, which started out reprint but ended up doing some pretty neat stuff like the Zatanna solo and the bizarre Superheroes vs. Supervillains baseball game issue.

The Brave & the Bold run of Strange Sports Stories.

Metamorpho.

DC's the Three Mousketeers by Sheldon Mayer (outshadowed by Sugar & Spike).

Occult Files of Doctor Spektor.



And a pretty good independent comic from the '90s ... Lori Lovecraft by Mike Vosburgh.

[ctc]

Hmmmm....

This covers pretty much everything I like. But for highlights:

-Albedo: Got a little Asimov at times, but a very interesting book.

-Those Annoying Post Bros: It keeps getting cancelled and coming back. A classic of comedy and mindless violence.

-Mister X: One of them books that had TONS of brilliant ideas, but never quite came together.

-Normalman: I’m surprised how many people have never heard of this one, even after Valentino went mainstream.

-Usagi Yojombo: Although Sakai gets props from industry insiders you almost NEVER hear this book (which has been running for almost 30 years) mentioned in fan group discussions. 30 YEARS! That’s like, what.... sixty retcons for a superhero book?

-The Ballad of Halo Jones: Gets kinda emo near the end, but it’s a fantastic (albeit kinda depressing) take on sci-fi from the bystander’s point of view.

-Marvels: Probably the only ACTUAL grown-up superhero comic ever, ‘cos it actually looked at superheroes from a grown-ups perspective.

-Damage Control: Not really a parody, since; given the Marvel universe, it’s the sort of thing that would exist. But it dealt with the “behind the scenes” parts of superheroing; and not steroid-monsters in tights hitting each other, so it tends to get dismissed by commentators.

-Mister Monster: WHY is this not a movie?

-Grimjack: After this book, everything else Ostrander did seemed kinda tame.

Don C.

[thunderbolt]

The old Bill Mantlo Micronauts series, Devil Dinosaur, I agree with Marvel Two in One, Matt Wagners two recent Batman series (Monster Men and the Mad Monk)

[generic]

-Marvels: Probably the only ACTUAL grown-up superhero comic ever, ‘cos it actually looked at superheroes from a grown-ups perspective.

What about Watchmen?

[generic]

One of my favorite comic books that you never hear anything about was Freedom Fighters run that started in 1976!

[Riffster]

Stars and Stripe, Infinity inc, Captain Carrot

[thunderbolt]

The most recent Suicide Squad and Deadman regular series.

[ctc]

>What about Watchmen?

Watchmen was too "14-year-old-point-and-giggle" for me to consider it an adult book. The "grownup" parts seemed kinda shallow and thrown in. (So.... Night Owl had a thing for the badguy because....? The original Silk Spectre forgave the Comedian because....? ) DC has ALWAYS handed sexuality poorly by doing so with a lot of plausible deniability; (you REALLY have to pay attention to figure out that the Silhouette is gay) and the violence wasn't any worse than a regualr superhero comic, except that they added blood.

Marvels on the other hand dealt with the idea of superheroes as seen by normal people. Normal people who worry about their job, and their kids, and the sort of things grownups worry about. I also thought it was interesting how Marvels seemed to track the attitude of a comic fan: the wide eyed sense of wonder from the Golden age, similar to how a little kid sees their favourite superhero. Then the Silver/Brinze age, where people had a lot of concerns over superheroes; kinda how a teenage fan sees them after their fiftieth go-around with the usual plot, and the changing attitude as their hobby is met with questioning (if not outright scorn) by their peers and parents. Finally the last part, set in the (then) current age, where superheroes had come around again and were cool.

Don C.

[The Toyroom]

Right now? Booster Gold...Why this book isn't on EVERYBODY'S radar is beyond me. A great solid read each and every month and fantastic artwork by Dan Jurgens (under-rated in his own right). Plus, a plethora of guest-stars.

[Werewolf]

Gold Key Flash Gordon.