JCC Debo's Attic

see threepio understandably got the **** away from that death squad commander.

 

That was actually the thing I remembered most about the movie. I pointed it out immediately and I think I posted about it here.

 

That's not a Jawa, that's a Sandtrooper.

 

I still have a lot of Legos left, and to this day I still build em'. I also have most of my Micro-Machines somewhere under my bed.

 

I was too stupid for Legos. I couldn't even build a simple wall, let alone a poop shed.

 

I thought all you danish kids could do the lego.

 

Remember Lego in the 70s, how basic it was? Car antennas functioned as lightsabres.

 

Yeah, I even had have the original minifigs without arms, legs or faces.

 

Oh right, man. I had one or two of those. They look like Softenon victims.

 

That, friendly people of the JC (idiots excluded), is what is commonly referred to as a 'comic stash'. These comics hadn't seen a human face for more than two decades when I upturned the box. The instant I saw these covers again, I remembered them as if I had last seen them only yesterday (there you go, the first cliché). Especially the most anciest ones--1982, 1983. They look remarkably well, considering they've been taken to the beach, the swimming pool, to the coal cellar whenever I was locked up there by my parents for having "girly manners"--to everywhere really. I always took my stuff along with me like a hobo.

The quality of these photos won't knock you off your seat, but if that's what you want I can come to your house and punch you in the face. No problem. Now back to these old comics. Let's see what we have here.



Nothing screams "ARE YOU KIDDING ME, EIGHTIES?" more than this Prince/Michael Jackson hybrid called "Ace". His superpowers were: lightning reflexes, riding on a motorcycle that changed its appearance every other panel, and a heightened sense of fashion. This was the time of street gangs, graffiti, flashing blades, ghettoblasters. And it's everywhere in these old Marvel comics. You can't cross a street without running into some young thug with a headband and a knife.



Watch out! Black people! This street fetish is one of the forgotten themes of the 80s. The streets, back then, meant danger. You could see it in music videos, films, comics, cartoons... I developed severe Agoraphobia because of it. But I guess it reflected the times. This was when Times Square (NYC) was a sleazy place with cheap cinemas, crack dealers, prostitution, high crime; it wasn't as tourist-friendly as it is now. And it wasn't just NYC, all the big Western cities had problems (same with Amsterdam, where I live, and London, Paris, et cetera). Then in the 90s, almost all of them were cleaned up and "Disneyfied", but of course they weren't really cleaned up: as it so often goes, the problem was simply transported to another area. ANYWAY. If you're still paying attention, great. I love you (in a platonic way).

Look at this:



This, it seems to me, is a typical shot out of a Marvel Bronze Age comic. A reflective image in the middle of all the fight scenes. Several faces strung together against a sort of nebulous, otherworldly background. In this case it's... Well, I recognize Nighthawk, Hulk, Dr. Strange, Starfox, and, top left, Valkyrie. The others I don't remember. It has been a while.

Speaking of Hulk, as we seem to be doing, this storage box also contains some late 80s ones:



Judging by the style, they must have been drawn by Todd McFarlane. He was a hugely popular artist back then, but I was never a fan: every character seemed to be made out of wrinkled snot. They bled easily, they dripped, they melted--maybe not snot, but a kind of sticky, wet clay. I preferred the clean, precise lines of Sal Buscema, which is closer to my own style of drawing (for very early samples, see above). But I was alone.

 

This thread is amazing!

 

how did i miss this "ace" character. michael jackson with super powers was exactly what i wanted to be when i was 9.

 

And a changeling motorcycle for a steed, no less.

 

I <3 this thread. And Debo!

 

Probably because he was only in 2 issues.
http://www.comicvine.com/ace-spencer/4005-44830/

 

Attic time, Debo?

 

Yessss

 

I should. I really should.

 

You should

You really, really should.