FIRST LOVE

First Comics, that is...

When I was a fresh-faced young teenager in the 1980’s, the fabled Direct Market was exploding. And, as a result of that explosion, the rise of the independent publisher occurred. And, as a kid who was already head over heels in love with comicbooks, I was so f**king there for it.

So, yeah… I dove pretty deep on the exciting new publishers that were establishing themselves as legitimate alternatives to Marvel and DC. Companies like Pacific Comics, Eclipse, Comico, Dark Horse, Vortex… all of these fine folks made a significant impact in this growing marketplace. From graphic design… to production… to paper stock… to the creative content itself, their products tended to be the cutting edge of comicbook publishing technology. To me, anyway. And it was fantastic to be a young reader during that period, buying up this stuff and having my mind expanded in a big way.

But in 1987/1988 specifically, I definitely had a favorite of the bunch. In my humble opinion, the best independent publisher at that time, pound for pound, was First Comics.

I’m not going to bother getting into a long, tortuous history lesson on First Comics. For that, you can check out their Wikipedia entry. But aside from the various, high-quality titles published under its banner, my main takeaway from First Comics of that period -- or, more accurately, just before -- was co-founder and president, Mike Gold. By 1987, Gold had actually moved on to be a bigwig editor at DC Comics, where he brought quite a few of the best creators publishing at First with him: Mike Baron, John Ostrander and Tim Truman, to be specific. Not to mention, he helped to bring Mike Grell and Howard Chaykin back to DC. Together, they produced some of my all-time favorite DC comicbooks.

But back to First Comics. Let’s take a quick trip down memory lane, shall we? Here are the offerings from First Comics that I bought in January 1988 (all of them sporting cover dates of May/June 1988). Seeing all of these covers together in one place definitely evokes a moment in time for me. It represents some great creators at the top of their game. In these books, I see the inspirations for a lot of the work that I’ve done in my career. The description texts below are taken from the editorial page that appeared in First Comics that month…

BADGER #36

A big bad wolf, a big bad bully, some big bad blades, and a totally crazed Badger in the legend of the “Dire Wolf.” By Mike Baron and Ron Lim. Cover by Mike Zeck. $1.75.

I was big on Badger from its very first issue. It had a cool, homemade quality to it that always appealed to me, but especially as a young kid. As the series went on, it started to feel a little scattershot. But I sure as hell was still buying it. And I love that a Mike Zeck cover was a selling point.

CHRONICLES OF CORUM #9

The malevolent forces of Chaos renew their attack. By Mike Baron, Ken Hooper and Kelley Jones.

Although I’m sure I bought this particular issue, I also know that this series was definitely losing me at this point. In fact, this might’ve been one of the last issues I brought home. The thing is… I’d never been much of a Moorcock fan to begin with, and although I was undoubtedly high on Mike Baron during this period, the loss of the series’ original penciller, Mike Mignola, kind of sealed the deal. Once it was clear that he wasn’t coming back, its days were numbered. I still highly recommend those Mignola-drawn issues, though.

DREADSTAR #36

Everyone is stunned by the death of a major character! By Jim Starlin, Luke McDonnell and Val Mayerik.

I snapped up the first few issues of Dreadstar when it was originally published by Marvel/Epic. I mean, it was Jim Starlin writing and drawing, pretty much at the peak of his powers. But something about the series couldn’t keep me around. In hindsight, I’ve never completely fallen for pure science fiction in comicbooks, no matter how well-crafted they might be. What made me buy this issue -- and the short run it was a part of -- was penciller, Luke McDonnell, who I’m a big fan of. From Marvel’s Iron Man to DC’s Justice League of America and Suicide Squad to this, his art in that period just hit me in the right place.

HOWARD CHAYKIN’S AMERICIAN FLAGG! #1

The return of Howard Chaykin in an all-new monthly AF! series! No more simp, wimp, boyscout (sic) junk – the real Reuben Flagg is back!

The big release of the bunch. After coming back to the original series in its last handful of issues -- ostensibly to right a ship that had been listing for over a year -- original Flagg! creator, Howard Chaykin’s mission statement for this relaunch was a bid to recapture the past glory of a comicbook that was much more influential than anyone seems to want to admit, even to this day. For me, the excitement was palpable when I finally had this issue in my hot teenage hands. It was more than a comicbook, it was an objet d’art. Chaykin approached the gig like a traditional TV showrunner, directing a hand-picked creative team to execute his vision in a very specific manner. As such, his presence was definitely felt here. I mean, if you couldn’t have pure Chaykin on art, Mike Vosberg was the next best thing. To this day, I still pull this issue out occasionally just to experience the same kinetic vibrations I get just holding it.

LONE WOLF AND CUB #10

Ogami helps two children regain their family honor. By Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima. Cover and introduction by Frank Miller. 64 pages. Perfect bound. Black-and-white. $2.50. Note: Contains brief nudity.

This was basically the first manga I ever read, drawn to it by Frank Miller’s endorsement around the time of his Ronin series (where you can see the obvious inspiration taken from this work). In hindsight, it’s interesting that First Comics went the traditional comicbook sized format for this, with the “prestige format”/squarebound spine that was clearly meant to evoke Miller’s Dark Knight Returns, even going so far as recruiting Miller to create the covers for the first twelve issues. It wouldn’t be until many years later that manga was presented in its original, more authentic size/format (including this seminal work, eventually reprinted in that same format, as well).

NEXUS #45

Nexus, Judah and Badget return to the bowl-shaped world on a mission to save the solar system. The beginning of a special six-part crossover. By Mike Baron and Steve Rude. $1.75.

Without a doubt, Nexus was one of my favorite series of the 1980’s. And this was peak Nexus, no question. Baron and Rude are as important to me, personally, as Wolfman/Pérez, Claremont/Byrne and Miller/Janson ever were. This issue began the lead up to what was probably the pinnacle of the series, issue #50.

Of course, there were other First Comics released that month, but I wasn’t buying Evangeline, Grimjack, Psychoblast or Sable. In particular, the lack of Grimjack on my purchase list might elicit cries of “blasphemy!” from other comicbook fans of my generation… and my only defense is that I was simply loyal to Tim Truman’s art when that series began. When Truman left, unfortunately I lost interest.

Like I said, this was a moment in time. And I’m painfully aware that it has as much to do with me -- and where I was at the time -- as it does with the actual comicbooks themselves. But the teenage me simply doesn’t exist anymore. However, these comicbooks still do. That’s part of their magic. Even writing about them here… it stirs a dull ache deep within my soul. Not necessarily in a strictly elegiac manner, but the way in which nostalgia can take you somewhere, usually a place that doesn’t exist anymore.

What these particular comicbooks do is evoke a simpler time… they evoke a purity of both content and intent that -- if I stopped to really think about it -- I would suspect is in much shorter supply in the current industry I work in.

But that’s okay. After all, innocence isn’t meant to last forever. And I wanted to lose mine. That was the trade-off I made -- quite deliberately -- when I broke into comicbooks as a professional. Honestly, I wouldn’t change a thing.

Until next time…

Joe Casey

USA