[brydeemer]

Let the discussion begin.

Bry

[thefreakytiki]

Yay!


the Tiki

[thefreakytiki]

Mike Zeck! Mike Zeck!! Mike Zeck!!!

One of the least appreciated comic artists of all time. I so hope he gets his props in these episodes. Please consider a future interview with him.

OK, I'm gonna go listen now...




the Tiki

[Peter]

Ummmm yea - you're gonna be disappointed Tiki. lol. We don't delve much in the art for this first issue. Lots of set up to go over instead.

[SandsHotel]

I'm glad that Footnotes is back, and very glad to see Secret Wars as the first book to be combed over.

However, I don't like the new short format. I guess I can wait until they are all out and just listen to them all at once, but I wish/hope that you guys will get even more detailed in your discussion. Like was mentioned previously, how about talking more about the art? How was the book promoted in other Marvel comics at the time? I know you're trying to keep to a schedule and time limit on your discussions, but I hope you don't hold back on the details because of that.

Otherwise, thanks for the episode! It will be a regular download for me.

[ProfessorP]

Man, I love the details ...... great stuff.

PP

[Flintlockjaw]

The best character moments in this first issue are from Doom.
Doom in this series reminds me of Lucifer from Paradise Lost...a very complex villain.

Doom rides on Galactus coat tails while the rest of the villains are to busy in petty quarrelling.
He's the first one to realise that it's pointless to fight.

This series was the series that made me love Doom and why I consider him to be the greatest villain in Superhero comic books.

I read this series as it was coming out in Ireland when Marvel UK printed it. It was my first real exposure to Mike Zecks art...and seriously...it rocked and it still does today!

This is the way comics should be today...a whole lotta fun.

A shame the podcast is a bit short.

This post has been edited by Flintlockjaw: 19 November 2008 - 06:15 PM

[spid]

Cool. I am going to save this episode until I get the Omnibus into my hands.

[zelicious]

Thanks for this episode.

I realize there was a lot of set up on your part, being that it was issue 1, so some detail had to be sacrificed. I look forward to more detailed discussion as the series of footnotes continues.

If you could go over the covers and art that would be cool.

I was collecting this as a kid and at the time- I was dead set on John Byrne being the defacto artist for Marvel. As a result- I was underwhelmed by Mike Zeck being the artist.

Now that I'm older (and wiser I hope) I look back and am amazed by Mike Zeck's contribution to this series. His covers especially. They are so iconic and memorable. First issue's cover alone, as you point out- has been redone several times. As the series continues- you may want to talk about the other memorable covers: especially the Hulk cover and the Doom cover (I won't go into specifics so as not to spoil, but you know what I mean).

Thanks guys and keep em coming! I appreciate all you guys are doing to keep us listeners entertained.

[BillDoughty]

I loved this series as a kid, but always wondered how well it held up over the years. I got the trade as a gift a couple years back and immediately jumped into it... and yeah, it holds up. Big Thinkin' Comics it ain't, but it's definitely one of the more fun "let's get out a bunch of toys and make 'em fight" stories you're gonna read. And looking back, it's surprising how little of the story is made up of the actual fighting between the factions... the "war" seems to be wrapped up about halfway through the series, at which point the focus switches to Galactus and then Doom.

And yeah, ditto on the love for Zeck's art. Between this and Captain America, I was a big Zeck fan in the mid 80s. As far as I was concerned, Zeck's artwork was the definitive look for the Marvel Universe. And in my mind's eye, I still sort of see the characters' depictions from Secret Wars as their default look (Sort of how Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez is more or less everyone's default for DC characters).

Definitely looking forward to giving this a listen.

[MrGriffin]

I've never read Secret Wars. and I think tonight I am going to order the trades and then just follow along with you. Read it one issue at a time...and then see if I pull out the same amount of stuff as you do. At least if these are short, I can put 2 or 3 on a cd, since I dont have an ipod and some of your other shows go longer than 1:20:00 and aren't able to burn on a cd.

[Greencapt]

Ummmm yea - you're gonna be disappointed Tiki. lol. We don't delve much in the art for this first issue. Lots of set up to go over instead.

Yeah I enjoyed the episode but please at least give the name of the writer and artist even if you don't discuss them in detail. I was reading Secret Wars off the newsstand so *I* know but it seemed a little left out of the episode itself.

[Peter]

Thanks everyone for the feedback so far. As we said in the introduction, the first eps will be a little wonky here and there as we find out footing. I think by the time we did Justice League I read off the complete creative team, so no worries there.

[gabox82]

can't wait to listen to this.

[Will.S]

Good episode guys, can't wait to hear the rest of the Secret Wars coverage.

[jaytomio]

I'm not complaining, because I'm not paying - good stuff and thanks a lot for staying innovative and experimenting.

Secret Wars always had a bit of premium attached to it (due to the black costume as you noted) but really got an extra bump when the third Raimi Spidey movie came out (as did Web of Spiderman#18 (after Michelinie dropped that was his initial idea - though he did give absolute props that Todd's visuals created the popularity, ASM#252, and Marvel team-up3141 and obviously ASM#300). The Venom/black Suit phenomenon is a great memory for me as though I don't think a hell of a lot was done with it (that's truly good) as I just remember that era as my golden age of wide-eyed comic reading. I wish I wasn't so chinky-eyed now sometimes.

There are literally a half dozen aspects/moments to Secret Wars that just make iconic/memorable to me and I'm looking forward to more - thanks!

[atomic99]

Good stuff, boys!!

I know what you meant but would you really consider SECRET WARS #8 the first appearance of the Black Costume? In the comics timeline, sure, but we all saw it first in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #252 which was May 1984. I remember it very clearly coming out at the beginning of 1984 and we had to wait until the fall to get the explanation in SW #8 (December 1984).

I always knew the black costume was the result of Jim Shooter selling the toy company on doing business but was the whole series a sell too?

Also, it is interesting to note the context of this issue too. You guys might have been a little too young but everyone at the time was looking forward to the year 1984. Because of the novel, it was a year of significance and many wanted to use the year to debut a new look and shock people with something modern and different (like the hair and fashion in music videos). Well, the black costume certainly did that. Then the She-Hulk was in the FF and Ben was out. And Iron Man quickly got rid of his armor because it was too powerful. While it happened in 1983, Storm's new punk look was tapping into that same energy. They certainly wanted to tweak and fuck with the fanboys and they did it.

[mono]

There's one character beat you guys didn't mention that I've always remembered from Secret Wars #1.

When Cap is being proffered to lead, Wolverine objects with a line about how 'He's the least of us, he can't do anything." Thor responds with the line that's long defined my thoughts about both Cap & Thor:

"I am a prince of the gods! I do not pledge my allegiance to many of mortal stature. This man I will follow through the gates of Hades."

In the current timeline, I'm still waiting for the other hammer to drop, so to speak, about Cap's death. There hasn't really been a moment since Thor's return that he's confronted the fact that Cap is dead.

[mdaddio]

I was 11 yrs old when this came out and it really captured my imagination. It was my first real exposure to alot of the characters. I loved how the characters were portrayed and how they came toegether.

[Wood]

Peter, while I can definitely get the sense you guys were finding your footing, other than reading off the creative team, I thought it was an auspicious start. Brought back a lot of good memories. Keep it up.