Rand Bellavia is back to share his fond memories of decades of comic collecting and reading in this month’s Random Access Memory.

Author’s Note: Random Access Memory is me looking back at the specific comics that shaped my life. Each month I go back in time – in five year intervals – to examine key comics that came out those months. (The idea is that after five years of monthly columns, I will have covered an entire lifetime – in this case, fifty years – of reading comics.) I also list all the comics I read that particular month. This will afford readers the opportunity to chastise me for not reading specific comics, and/or laugh at the horrible, horrible choices I made in the past.

November 1977

Avengers 168

The Avengers meet Henry Peter Gyrich, special agent from the National Security Council, the Two-Gun Kid disappears before Hawkeye’s eyes, and Captain America finally come to blows with Iron Man. Also, Korvac murders Starhawk. (Spoiler alert: Starhawk gets better.)

Spidey Super Stories 31

The inevitable Star Wars parody issue. The most significant memory I have of this issue is that my younger brother couldn’t tolerate the notion of a bald Princess Leia, so he went through the issue and drew hair onto every image of Moondragon, providing me with my first lesson on the meaning and importance of ownership – prior to this incident my brothers and I lived in a Socialist paradise.

November 1982

Captain America 279

This issue, Steve gets a lesson in privilege (and, let’s be honest, basic human decency) from his old friend Arnie. Arnie’s “roommate” Michael died, and Steve just can’t seem to keep his mouth shut when they visit Michael’s gravesite.

Arnie’s having none of it, and immediately confronts Steve about his self-centered ramblings.

While Arnie is talking primarily about the honor associated with being Captain America, the subtext of Steve’s heterosexual privilege is also clear.

X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills

The X-Men get an original graphic novel, and you know what that means! Well, I sure didn’t. I mean, I certainly didn’t think it would mean Kitty Pryde would drop an N-bomb…

Or that it would be the beginning of a strange pattern. Weirdly, this is the first of three times that Kitty uses the N-word, each time in response to (or comparing the word to) “Mutie.” I’m not pretending to miss the point, but – even in the context of the X-Men comics – “Mutie” seems about as hurtful and dangerous a word as “Honky.”

But of course, at the time, all anyone could talk about was how cool Wolverine was while he casually threatened to murder random strangers.

The plot of God Love, Man Kills involved a politically powerful TV minister (ah, the 80s…) who encouraged his followers to hate (and hunt and kill) mutants, arguing that they are not human.

If Chris Claremont were more familiar with the Bible, he could have drawn a pretty cool connection between Mutants and the Nephilim, but I digress. Firmly establishing herself as the heart of the team, Kitty risks her life to stand by her friend.

(Though not really, since we all know she could just phase a bullet through her body.)

And, thanks to the magic of comic book storytelling, we turn the page and see the reverend never even fired his gun.

It was the dead-eyed cop all along! And while his “just doing my job” moustache remains firmly in place, another cop (straight out of Irish Beat Cop central casting) makes it clear that not all forms of authority are opposed to mutants.

Other Notable Comics From November 1982

Amazing Spider-Man 238

The first appearance of the Hobgoblin! Determining the identity of the Hobgoblin was a shockingly important part of – and, when finally revealed, one of the minor disappointments of – my early teens.

November 1987

Spectacular Spider-Man 136

The Death of Jean DeWolff is the four-issue storyline that put Peter David on the map. This is kind of strange when you think about it. David’s continued fame can mostly be attributed to his wicked sense of humor, yet – as the story tries to warn you with its title – The Death of Jean DeWolff is a Stone Cold Bummer (by Manipulate). Police Detective Jean DeWolff was a popular supporting character in the Spider-Man universe, and remains much missed.

Her murderer (a religiously obsessed – and insane – police officer who went by the subtle same Sin-Eater) showed up for another humorless Peter David scripted three-part story, which ends this issue with Sin-Eater’s death by gunshot. In fact, Peter David’s PPSSM run – while full of great stories – was almost entirely humorless. And a lot of the stories end with someone being fatally shot. Whatever was bumming him out, I’m glad he got over it.

November 1992

Fast Forward 2

The cover story (and far and away the main attraction) is Kyle Baker’s short story “Lester Fenton and the Walking Dead.”

No one draws big dumb white guys with their tongues hanging out like Kyle Baker. And just wait until you see his “big dumb white guys with their tongues hanging out and their heads bashed in.”

This is on my short list of the best two panel sequences in the history of comics:

If you like funny art, clever dialog, and zombies, give this a look. While the Fast Forward anthology is long out of print, this story is currently available digitally through Comixology.

Other Notable Comics From November 1992

Hellblazer 61

After all his nattering on about how Constantine’s greatest power might just be that we’ll never know if he’s a true master magician or just a super talented trickster, Garth Ennis kinds of tips his hand by having Constantine cheat the devil once again, this time by cutting a masking sigil onto the soul of a demon. Whatever that might mean, it certainly isn’t something you could pull off with cheeky bravado alone.

This issue also features probably the worst line of dialogue ever to appear in a Hellblazer history, as the demon Triskele – who apparently doesn’t know what words mean – actually says out loud, “But only Iscariot has ever done that – and then only in the last Apocrypha!”

Great cover though, right?

Comics I Read from November 1992

A1 2
Animal Man 55
Batman: Sword of Azrael 4
Cerebus 164
Doom Patrol 62
Flash 72
Grendel: War Child 4
Incredible Hulk 401
Peepshow 3
Ren and Stimpy Show 2
Sandman 45
Shade the Changing Man 31
Spectacular Spider-Man 196
Spider-Man 2099 3
Swamp Thing 127
X-Factor 86

November 1997

JLA 14

The remnants of the JLA continue to fight Darkseid in a future where Darkseid has already won!

Batman faces off against Metron, and Grant Morrison demonstrates once again why Batman is the most dangerous member of the JLA.

But the most glorious part of this issue is Green Arrow and the Atom’s final face-off against Darkseid. As had been demonstrated again and again, Darkseid possesses an impenetrable protective force field that renders him nearly unstoppable. After defeating the most powerful heroes in the world, Darkseid turns to face a tiny scientist and a man with a bow and some arrows.

This moment is almost surely the height of Morrison’s JLA run, and perhaps the highlight of his entire super-hero writing career.

November 2002

Truth: Red, White, and Black 1

This culturally important story was based on a simple, cynical (though not at all unreasonable) premise: There’s no way that the World War II era US military would have used a super soldier serum on white dudes without first testing it on black guys.

The grimness of the story is relieved somewhat by Kyle Baker’s super cartoony artwork.

November 2007

Goon: Chinatown and the Mystery of Mr. Wicker

Like Sam Kieth, Eric Powell’s early work was powerfully influenced by Berni Wrightson. And, also like Sam Kieth, Powell quickly developed a style all his own. If you’re not familiar with it, Eric Powell’s Goon is a genuine treasure. Powell creates a dark and gritty world that is filled with horror and sudden violence, but then injects it with so much warm humor that – frankly – it shouldn’t work as well as it does. But it does!

Chinatown and the Mystery of Mr. Wicker is unique in two ways – it is the only Goon story that was originally released as a graphic novel (all other Goon narratives have been released as serial comics), and it is the only Goon narrative that is utterly devoid of humor.

While not touted as such, this is the Goon’s origin story, or Goon: Year One if you will. It’s a pretty simple story. After the kind of childhood that would have left most of us dead or insane, the Goon manages to carve out a life for himself as a small town enforcer. Then he falls in love with a woman named Isabella and makes plans to leave his old life (and old friends) behind.

But this is a noir story, so Isabella only exists to break our hero’s heart:

After this scene, Powell does something extraordinary. He devotes the next six pages to the Goon’s reaction. In a series of full page splashes, we see him looking at himself in the mirror. How much time goes by isn’t clear, but his transition from an emotionless gaze to a full-on ugly crying is a remarkable artistic gamble – and, arguably, why Powell felt the need to publish this story as a graphic novel (this would have made for a very oddly paced individual issue).

The Goon flies into a suicidal rage, nearly getting killed, but showing everyone is town that rumors of his going soft were greatly exaggerated. Meanwhile Franky, the Goon’s only real friend, confronts Isabella as she’s leaving town

After making it clear that if he ever sees Isabella again, he’ll kill her, Franky seeks out his friend

As the promotional material states: “He’s a sensitive man in insensitive times. But be warned: This book ain’t funny.”

November 2012

Indestructible Hulk 1

Mark Waid checks in with a brilliant (and, like a lot of brilliant ideas, kind of obvious) take on the Hulk:

Rather than devoting his “Banner time” to seeking a cure – or worse, wandering the American heartland in large purple pants and a worn out trench coat – Bruce will seek to use his limited time and limitless intellect making the world a better place. He asks only that SHIELD provide him with the funding and resources to support his work.

And what he offers SHIELD in return is the ultimate weapon. The Hulk as SHIELD’s magic bullet: Now that’s a pretty great idea.

Other Notable Comics From November 2012

Amazing Spider-Man 698

Greatest – and most intentionally misleading – use of dialog on a comic book cover ever.

Comeback 1

My introduction to the great (and wildly unappreciated) work of Ed Brisson and Michael Walsh. If you enjoy overly complex time travel stories, I’ve got a graphic novel for you to buy.

Nowhere Men 1

What if Science really was the new Rock and Roll? This story follows the lives of four brilliant scientists who form a business (i.e., supergroup) that captures the imagination of the world.

Clearly meant to invoke the Beatles – their look, attitude, and cultural impact matches Beatlemania, and the first panel of the first issue opens with the line “Let me tell you how it will be,” the first line of “Taxman,” the opening track of Revolver, The Beatles first “mature” – and most critics’ choice as the Beatles’ best – album.

Assuming the reader’s knowledge of The Beatles’ history and impact on the world, the story opens with our scientists in their prime, and then quickly cuts to “the present” where one of them is dead, and the other three are fighting over the rights to their work and its future implications.

If you enjoy intellectual science fiction with lots of pop culture reference mixed in, this is for you.

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RANDom Access Memory – November 2017