I realize that since I hit that magical age of 50 last year, my nostalgia factor has kicked into high gear. Perhaps it’s because I know that I’m middle-aged and can no longer recover my youth physically, but that reminiscing frequently helps me keep close those memories that are so valued.
Recently, I had the chance to be interviewed on two occasions for a podcast about Valiant Comics. I wrote a column about Valiant Comics a few years ago as the little comics company that could. Valiant has gone through multiple iterations over the years, and I was able to discuss the earliest years of the company and how they set the stage to challenge Marvel and DC as comics giants.
I had a blast discussing Magnus Robot Fighter and Solar Man of the Atom during those two sessions. (The podcast is called Klang!, which is a sound effect used in the Valiant Comic called Quantum and Woody. Unless you’re a comic geek like me and love Valiant Comics, you might get lost in the nerdiness.)
Valiant started in the early 1990s, and that’s what I focused on. The comic shop owner in New Ulm, Sheldon Rieke, suggested I try Magnus when it came out. I was really just a Marvel and DC guy, but I remembered a Magnus comic that I had run across as a youngster, one that involved volcanos. My memory of it was that it was very cool, so I decided to give the new version a try.
And now I own every Valiant comic. Thanks, Sheldon.
I prepped for the interviews by re-reading comic book runs from the early stages of Magnus and Solar. I was instantly brought back to 1991, as I was going into my senior year of high school, and I was filled with that nostalgia that’s been so very present lately. The thing with the early time at Valiant was that they were run by Jim Shooter, who had been editor-in-chief at Marvel Comics in the late 70s and into the 80s.
And that’s the time I was introduced to comic books, especially Marvel Comics.
I’m part of a group on Facebook that covers Marvel Comics from 1961, the year they started, to 1986, the year many in the group consider the “end” of Marvel Comics as they knew them. I’m probably among the younger members of this group. I’ve read a lot of the 1960s and 1970s Marvel, but I did not become a collector until my first subscription to Amazing Spider-Man in 1979.
The folks who started this group consider 1986 the final height of glory for Marvel Comics, since the style of the comics started to change after that. It was Marvel’s 25th anniversary and they were working toward the future.
Here’s the thing: I love the Mavel Comics of the 1980s more than any other era. That’s what I grew up with, so that’s where I first met Spider-Man, Captain America, the Hulk, and the X-Men. I got to know them at that point in their history. I’ve read the beginning runs of all of them and recognize the brilliance that went into creating these stalwart heroes, but those comics of my youth will forever be my favorites.
So I get it. A lot of people in this group don’t like how Marvel Comics changed. But when Shooter started Valiant Comics, it seemed like those old Marvel ideas were being reborn in a new comic book universe.
Marvel was new and revolutionary in 1961 because all their characters interacted with each other in the comics. Daredevil would see Spider-Man swinging across the skyline of Manhattan. Iron Man might encounter Dr. Strange after a battle. The Fantastic Four might be called in to help the Avengers. Continuity counted, and there could be ripple effects from the Silver Surfer comic that impacted Thor in his book.
Valiant did the same thing. During my discussions with Clint, the host of the podcast, we talked about how a minor character from one comic might make their first appearance in a different magazine, seemingly just an offhand mention, and then play a role for a long time elsewhere. Valiant also worked in “real time,” meaning they would have dates and times throughout their comics, as if the characters were aging as they went. That was new and different!
And I think that’s one reason I loved Valiant Comics - they reminded me of the Marvel Comics I loved, the comics that were slowly but surely changing.
I stepped away from comic book collecting after Jayna was born. (Money, you know!) When I resumed, comics had really changed a lot. I didn’t think I would like them as much. But now that I’ve been collecting again for over a decade, I’ve adjusted to the changes. This is evolution, just like music or television (topics I’ve written about in the last year!).
When I need a hit of nostalgia, I’ll go on my Marvel or DC app and read some older books. Recently, I’ve been trying to finish off issues of the Hulk I have never read, and I love them! This is the Hulk I know and love; the newer version of him in the comics is very meta and not my style. But I understand why it’s very popular, and I won’t just fold my arms and get mad.
Nostalgia is fun, and I’m grateful I got a chance to visit with Clint and talk about a love of comics.
I’m also grateful that I continue to get support to keep writing here. This is my 600th column. Every time I’ve hit a column with two zeroes at the end, I’ve focused on comic books with that number. But there aren’t many that have made it to issue #600, and this seemed like a good way to celebrate. Thanks for reading!
Word of the Week: This week’s word is efface, which means to erase or make inconspicuous, as in, “Some fans tried to efface Marvel Comics after 1986 because they only wanted to remember their favorites.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!