Unca Cheeks the Toy Wonder's Silver Age Comics Web Site!

GOOD
BETTER
BEST
business..

... or: "HOW 32 BECAME FREAKIN' 50"; and "DON'T PUSH UNCA, YOU LOT. UNCA'S HANDS ARE LETHAL WEAPONS"
(PAGE ONE)

All right, now, you impish, irrepressible li'l gamins and pixies, you.

Unca Cheeks hasn't been inundated with this much in the way of retaliatory e-mail since that article, way back when, revealing the sordid and scandalous details of that whole Howard Chaykin-Loitering-In-the- Shadows-of-the-Grade-School-Playground business.

Unca has (swear to Jesus) read; analyzied; and digested each and every one of said missives, to date; and has (with a reluctance born of equal parts sloth and sullen resentment) increased the total number of gold medal finalists, re: the "Coolest Marvel" and "Coolest DC" listings, to a fat'n'sassy fifty.

EACH.

Unca ain't budging, beyond this point.

Two eminently sane and sensible reasons, mainly:

1.) The aforementioned suggestions are beginning to edge their respective ways deep, deep into The Valley of the Shadow, usability-wise (i.e., post-CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS).

C'mon, people.

You all bloody know the rules, already.

Issue #12 of CRISIS was cover dated March, 1986.

Unca never even considers suggestions any later than that.

2.) When I start receiving long, impassioned defenses, re: "the first Wonder Tot story" and/or DEAD OF NIGHT ("... featuring The Scarecrow"): we've (plainly) pretty much strip-mined the vein of legitimate suggestions, I dare say.

What follows are the final, drop dead and (believe it, troops) inviolate DC and Marvel listings; along with a little commentary, re: Unca Cheeks' Standards for Selection and Inclusion thereon.

Marvel, first:

1.) TALES OF ASGARD #1

2.) AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #16 (1st Spider-Man/Daredevil x-over)

3.) FANTASTIC FOUR #25 & 26 (classic Thing/Hulk/FF/Avengers brawl)

4.) DAREDEVIL #7 (legendary Daredevil/Sub-Mariner confrontation)

5.) SGT. FURY AND HIS HOWLING COMMANDOS #13 (see cover, below)

All four of these have already been completed and posted, as of this writing.

Now: here's what's yet to come --

6.) AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #1 (1st Sinister Six appearance)

Selected because:... with the possible (possible, mind) exception of the "Master Planner" story arc -- which also made the short cut, by the by -- it's the single most "definitive" Spidey saga ever to see print.

7.) FANTASTIC FOUR #39 & 40 (Daredevil and a powerless FF take on Doctor Doom)

Selected because: ... it's pure, prototypical Silver Age Kirby and Lee.

8.) SGT. FURY AND HIS HOWLING COMMANDOS #18 (The Death of Pamela Hawley)

Selected because: ... personal favorite. I'm pretty sure I'm allowed a few of these, dammit. This being MY LIST, and all, I mean.

9.) X-MEN #11 (1st apppearance of The Stranger)

Selected because: ... its only real "competition," era-wise, is the first Juggernaut two-parter. And: I like this one just a smidgen better, is all.

10.) AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #2 (1st Spider-Man/Dr. Strange x-over)

Selected because: ... Unca's received jusssssst enough protestings of this particular entry to bring out the stubborn, mulish side of him, at this juncture.

You're all stone wrong, on this one. You'll see.

11.) FANTASTIC FOUR #48 - 50 (1st Galactus/Silver Surfer story)

Selected because: ... it's the only Marvel nominee listed NOT to receive a single "nay" ballot.

Interesting.

12.) STRANGE TALES #142 & 143 (classic Ditko Dr. Strange two-

parter)

Selected because: ... no, dammit. It's s'posed to be a surprise. You'll find out when you find out. Chill, for cryin' out loud.

13.) FANTASTIC FOUR #57 - 60 (Dr. Doom steals the powers of the Silver Surfer)

Selected because: ... Tom Brevoort made his case.

14.) AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #31 - 33 (The "Master Planner" story arc)

Selected because: ... this list wouldn't even make sense, without this one.

15.) FANTASTIC FOUR ANNUAL #5 (FF/Black Panther/Inhumans team-up)

Selected because: ... Personal Favorite #2. Go ahead and cry to Judge Judy 'bout it, whydon'cha...?

16.) DAREDEVIL #47 ("Brother, Take My Hand"; Lee/Colan classic)

Selected because: ... Unca Cheeks long ago swore a solemn blood oath to disregard any e-mail rebuttal, in matters such as these, which begins with the words: "... although I'll confess I haven't actually read the issue in question..."

17.) NICK FURY, AGENT OF S.H.I.E.L.D. ("Who Is Scorpio?")

Selected because: ... Unca's convinced, already!

Seriously: all you Steranko worshippers, out there, hammered the point home, and then some.

The man's decently represented, now.

18.) AVENGERS #57 & 58 (1st Vision story arc)

Selected because: ... none of the arguments Unca's heard for NOT including "Even An Android Can Cry" bear up under close scrutiny, in his own grumpy, geriatric opinion.

19.) CAPTAIN AMERICA #115 - 119 (classic Red Skull/"Cosmic Cube" story; also introduces The Falcon)

Selected because: ... you have read the brief description, right...?

Selected because: ... this is one of The Three All-Time Coolest "Forgotten" Marvel Comics Stories Of All Time.

21.) FANTASTIC FOUR #94 (1st Agatha Harkness appearance)

Selected because: ... it serves as a stone perfect representation of the manifest charms of the "ignored" period of the Kirby/Lee FANTASTIC FOUR series (i.e., issues -- oh, say -- #70 through #100).

22.) THOR #184 - 190 (Hela claims the God of Thunder!)

Selected because: ... the second of The Three All-Time Coolest "Forgotten" Marvel Comics Stories Of All Time.

23.) MARVEL SPOTLIGHT #3, #4/WEREWOLF BY NIGHT #1 (1st "Darkhold" story arc)

Selected because: ... and: the third of The Three All-Time Coolest "Forgotten" Marvel Comics Stories Of All Time.

24.) CONAN THE BARBARIAN #4 ("The Tower of the Elephant")

Selected because: ... it's the single waycoolest Marvel Comics CONAN adaptation ever. Which counts for plenty, In Unca's book.

25.) AVENGERS #89 - 97 (The Kree/Skrull War)

Selected because: ... the fact that so many of you wrote in to disagree with this one -- DISAGREE! WITH! THIS! ONE! -- means that some way, way serious Reminding and Re-Education is called for, in this case.

People... people:

... this one ain't even decently negotiable, 'kay...?

26.) CONAN THE BARBARIAN #14 & 15 (Elric of Melnibone story arc)

Selected because: ... Personal Favorite #3. Cope. Accept. Deal.

27.) CAPTAN AMERICA AND THE FALCON #153 - 156 (the "Fake Cap of the '50s" arc)

Selected because: ... THE definitive Cap story, for the luvva Allah! The pinacle! The peak! The ne plus frickin' ULTRA! Hellooooooo, people -- !

28.) SUB-MARINER #56 ("Atlantis, Mon Amour")

Selected because: ... brilliant, and consistently underrated.

29.) AVENGERS #113 ("Your Young Men Shall Slay Visions")

Selected because: ... it was pointed out to Unca (and quite reasonably, too) that the unintentional omission of this one really was a fairly horrific oversight, in all shamefaced honesty.

That's one for you guys, then.

30.) AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #121 & 122 (The Death of Gwen Stacey)

Selected because: ... I refuse to even dignify this one with a stated rationale.

I mean: geez.

31.) AVENGERS #116 - 118/DEFENDERS #8 - 10 (The Avengers/

Defenders War)

Selected because: ... anyone who disagrees with the inclusion of this'un is just plain ol' wrong, is all.

Wrong, and evil.

32.) CAPTAIN MARVEL #25 - 33 (1st Thanos/Death story arc)
Selected because: ... another one you guys all lobbied (and lobbied hard) for, right from the very git-go.

33.) JUNGLE ACTION #6 - 18 ("Panther's Rage")

Selected because: ... sure, it's a "flawed" work, in some respects.

Still whomps the holy living heck out of what they're doing with the character nowadays, though.

34.) CAPTAIN AMERICA #169 - 176 (the "Secret Empire" arc)

Selected because: ... another one of your repeated) e-mail suggestions. (... and a danged good'un, too!)

35.) DOCTOR STRANGE #1 - 5 (1st Silver Dagger appearance)
Selected because: ... the fact that some of you even questioned this one makes the case for the ultimate necessity of a site such as this one more powerfully and succinctly than any argument Unca could conceivably muster.

36.) MAN-THING #5 & 6 ("Night of the Laughing Dead")

Selected because: ... Personal Favorite #4. (See how admirably stingy Unca Cheeks was with this option, now...?)

37.) ASTONISHING TALES #25 - 27 (the 1st Deathlok arc)

Selected because: ... and yet another repeated "write-in" nominee makes the final grade.

You people are good. I'll give you that much.

38.) TOMB OF DRACULA #31 - 37 (classic Dracula Vs. Van Helsing arc)

Selected because: ... TOD was (along with MASTER OF KUNG FU) the premier, butt-kickin', balls-out, take-no-prisoners ruler of the Marvel Comics roost, storytelling-wise, during the 1970s.

Case closed.

39.) DEFENDERS #22 - 25 (The Sons of the Serpent arc)

Selected because: ... author Steve Gerber broke practically every "rule" in the Marvel Comics storytelling handbook, with this one...

... and: he made it work, by golly, by jingo!

40.) GIANT-SIZE MAN-THING #4 ("The Kid's Night Out")

Selected because: ... possibly the single most controversial Marvel Comic of the '70s; also courtesy of Steve Gerber.

41.) WEREWOLF BY NIGHT #31 - 33 ("Death In White" and the 1st appearance of Moon Knight)

Selected because: ... Personal Favorite #5.

Just wait and see.

You'll all be bloody thanking Unca, after this one.

42.) GIANT-SIZE X-MEN #1 (1st appearance of the "new" X-Men)

Selected because: ... yet another massive e-mail request. (The single biggest one, in fact.)

43.) SUPER-VILLAIN TEAM-UP #1 - 3 (The Death of Betty Dean Prentiss)
Selected because: ... best damned thing Tony Isabella ever wrote for Marvel Comics.

Better than "War Toy," even.

44.) HOWARD THE DUCK #3 ("Master of Quack Fu")

Selected because: ... it's everything the HOWARD THE DUCK movie wasn't.

45.) INVADERS #7 - 9 (1st Baron Blood and Union Jack appearances)

Selected because: ... long-time online bud J.K. Carrier said so...

... and: he was eminently correct, in so doing.

46.) MASTER OF KUNG FU #40 -50 (ultimate Fu Manchu story arc)
Selected because: ... see explanation for #38. above.

47.) X-MEN #129 - 137 (the "Dark Phoenix" arc)

Selected because: ... the second most frequently requested addition to the list, as per your e-mails.

48.) IRON MAN #149 & 150 ("Doomquest")

Selected because: ... you people, again.

Never let it be said -- after all of this -- that Unca never, ever listens... right?

49.) MOON KNIGHT #35 ("Second Wind")

Selected because: ... last "Reader Demand" entry of the bunch to score half a gazillion requests.

50.) SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #107 -110 (The Death of Jean DeWolfe)
Selected because: ... the last truly GREAT Spider-Man story, in Unca's opinion.

Now, then:

Those of you whose interest inclines more towards the DC-ish: head on over to Page Two of this particular site entry, and see where your even more vociferous requestings and remonstrations have got you, Final Listings-wise.

... and, remember:

From here on in: we're talkin' chiseled in freakin' granite, bay-bee.

"Good/Better/Best": (PAGE TWO)

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