My Marvelous Year: 1980

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• One of the best things about this reading club is how it can allow me to relive some of the giddy excitement I would have when reading these comics in my youth. I am really getting a kick out of reading things in order and seeing how it all unfolds.

  As I mentioned in an earlier post I think the Dark Phoenix story is almost without peer. The whole selection of comics from 1980 benefits from being placed next to the saga. I had read almost everything from this year before. As ScottL mentioned, there was a lot of Hulk this year, and as I was a big Hulkophile back in the day, I bought all of these when they came out. I actually have just about all of the She-Hulk series in my collection. I didn’t get the Daredevil books the first time around, but was able to pick them up a few years later just after Frank hit it big with that DC character.

  The only books I had not read before were the Avengers 197-200. And I think the less said about issue 200, the better.

  Picks for Writer, Artist and Hero of the year are all fairly obvious.

  Villain is a little less so. I have to go with “Hellfire/White Queen”, though I wonder why it is not “Hellfire/Mastermind”…the White Queen has a couple of good issues, but she was largely absent from most of the Saga…the Mastermind, however, was really the, um, well, mastermind behind the whole thing. Indeed, I have long felt the implication is that the Dark Phoenix may have never turned “Dark” if not for his manipulations.

  And Issue is a real hard choice. I know the obvious choice would be X-Men 137; it is the powerful cumulation of a story that essentially began in issue 101. But I have to go with 133, “Wolverine Alone”. I loved it when I first read it and I still get a kick out of it. Long before Logan gets his own mag, long before the oft repeated tag line “I'm the best there is at what I do. But what I do best isn't very nice.” got to be repeated far too often, Claremont and Byrne defined the character. And they did it in issue 133 (well it really started in 132, last panel, but how could I choose one panel as issue of the year). Talk about your giddy excitement.

• Wow, what a terrific year. I at least enjoyed everything I read (well, sort of; see my last bullet point) and in some cases was utterly blown away. I think this is the best overall year we've read since the early classic mid 60s years when Kirby and Lee were on fire with Fantastic Four, and really, it may well be the best year yet.

  While I've read Dark Phoenix before, its power doesn't diminish over time; in fact, if anything, it gets better with the context of all of the other comics I now have under my belt thanks to My Marvelous Year. It's really the first time that an extinction level event in Marvel actually feels like something tangible and with enormous consequences (Captain Marvel, for all of its wonderfulness, always felt more abstract than this). The character development is extraordinary for a mainstream Marvel comic (especially considering that we're still entrenched in the Comic Code Authority era!), and the Hellfire Club is truly scary and an extremely powerful group of villains (especially Mastermind). I haven't even mentioned Byrne's artwork, which is so incredibly beautiful and powerful. I know I've used too many adverbs here, but the Dark Phoenix Saga deserves it!

  The issues that took me by surprise this year were the Daredevil ones. I thought Miller's artwork was remarkable, and I loved the overall narrative and noirish feel. They were my favorite of all of The Hulk issues that we read this week. They're not at the level of Dark Phoenix or anything (very little is), but they're still a big highlight of the year.

  Other notable parts of the year:

  - I very much enjoyed Madame Web, who makes a mysterious and powerful debut (I don't know anything about Madame Web, so I'm excited to see what happens next with her).

  - Mockingbird makes a strong debut, though the SHIELD conspiracy stuff was a little too heavy-handed for my taste (though fake Robo-Fury was so bizarre that it went into the realm of great).

  - Avengers #197 was pretty great; it was nice to have a somewhat lackadaisical issue with Avenger more or less lounging about. Finally...

  - Wow to Avengers #200. As you warned, Dave, one of the most misguided and bad ideas ever, but I read it, so I guess it was published!

• For extra fun be sure to compare page 21 of Uncanny X-Men 137 with Fantastic Four 13, page 22

• Hands down, the X-Men ruled this year. The Dark Phoenix story is still one of the most powerful series of issues in Marvel history. So...it's easy to predict my voting this week! I also found that the Hulk was a major character in the early part of the year, but in other characters' books. And it's heart-warming and -breaking to see how many people sincerely try to help Banner out, from Jennifer to Matt to Tony. Most of the other stories were just fine. But, then...Avengers #200. I had heard about this story for years but never actually read it. Probably one of the most repugnant collection of plot and characterization in the MU. I mean, except for the initial post-birth scene where Carol vents her justifiable pain and anger on Janet, the rest of the story makes the Avengers seem pretty awful. I hear Avengers Annual 10 is a good corrective coming up. I look forward to it.

• The Dark Phoenix Saga was one of the first trade paperbacks I ever bought, along with Crisis on Infinite Earths. That blind buy paid off very well, as Dark Phoenix is one of the most pivotal and amazing stories in comics. Claremont and Byrne just keep adding new elements to enhance their story world, most notably Kitty, Dazzler, and the Hellfire Club. On the cosmic side, Lilandra returns, and the Imperial Guard is brought in to provide powerful antagonists for the X-Men. I love the scenes of the X-Men preparing for the big fight, showcasing character traits instead of just going straight to action. The Watcher and Beast enhance the story for me, and the final sacrifice is still heartbreaking.

  X-Men continues to be good after this milestone achievement, with #138 and #140 both being above average. My second-favorite story of the year is X-Men Annual #4 ("Nightcrawler's Inferno"). It is an appropriately terrifying journey through the hell that Dante describes, and it features the X-Men, Doctor Strange, and more backstory about Nightcrawler. I give it five stars and recommend it to everyone.

  My other highlight for the year is Amazing Spider-Man #210, "The Prophecy of Madame Web!" Web has a strong introduction and memorable look, and she gets some nice use in more modern Marvel stories like in the JMS run.

  • Same for me. Back in 1985 I kept on seeing that trade paperback, with its' cool Bill Sienkiewicz cover, on the shelf at the comic book store. It called to me. I had heard of the Dark Phoenix Saga and the Death of Jean Grey. It was all over letters pages, in the X-Men and the FF, and so on in blurbs and magazines. But I was not into the X-Men when it originally came out. But 10 bucks (in Canada) was a lot to pay at that time for a lowly college student. I eventually had to have it, and boy, it blew my mind.
    I almost envy people who may be reading it for the first time. It certainly is a major leap forward in terms of sequential art. The slow build-up of the story over dozens of issues. The introduction of the Hellfire Club, the tension between characters. Claremont and Byrne were definitely working at a different level at this point. I know Millers' work on Daredevil is also transcendent, but I think John and Chris got there first.

• X-Men 136 is imho the single best super hero comic of all-time, with 137 being the second best. I doubt I'm alone in this opinion but thats's fine if I am.

• You probably already know this, but just a quick recommendation:
  Captain America issues 247-255 are all written by Roger and drawn by John Byrne. One of the best (if short) runs on the good Captain. I've read 'em a million times and never have been disappointed.