The "best" Archive that you'd recommend to an archives newbie

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Author	Topic: The "best" Archive that you'd recommend to an archives newbie
Registered Member# 16603 Member	posted August 25, 2002 10:05 PM I fully realize that "best" is an entirely subjective word (hence the quote marks) but if you were to define the "best" archive in terms of both great art and great stories in one archive, which would you recommend to someone who's never bought an archive? ------------------ "It never hurts to help." - Eek the Cat IP: Logged
Wayne1776 Member	posted August 25, 2002 10:43 PM Silver Age: JLA Vol 1. Golden Age: Starman Vol. 1 Superman/Batman Sampler: World's Finest Vol. 1 Future Age: Challengers of the Unknown Vol 1. IP: Logged
James Friel Member	posted August 25, 2002 10:45 PM Silver Age: Hawkman vol.1, Flash vol.1, or Atom vol.1 Golden Age: Plastic Man vol.3 or All-Star vol.8 IP: Logged
Shazam-0 Member	posted August 25, 2002 11:02 PM Batman Archives Volume Four. This particular volume perfectly displays the dynamic duo at an early stage in their career. Volume four also features over two hundred pages of Dick Sprang's earliest art on the Batman and Robin. The Joker and the Penguin are represented as well, with two stories each. All in all, an excellent introduction to the DC Archives. IP: Logged
Corrosive Kid Member	posted August 25, 2002 11:44 PM Legion Vol. 1. And if anyone gives you any guff over it being "complicated," tell 'em they're a sissy. IP: Logged
greene Member	posted August 25, 2002 11:58 PM Have to echo James' selections, which serve the needs of both high-quality, and providing a sterling 'introduction' to their respective eras. IP: Logged
nightwingoracle Member	posted August 26, 2002 12:33 AM Shazam #1 Plastic Man #1 Wonder Woman #1 All-Star #1 Justice Leage #1 These books represent the most fun of all the DC Archives. IP: Logged
gmp Member	posted August 26, 2002 12:44 AM Hawkman Vol. 1 IP: Logged
James Friel Member	posted August 26, 2002 02:04 AM It's not particularly easy to go wrong here--maybe the middle of the All-Star run, or the later volumes of Superman might be a tad less wonderful than some of the others in those series, but for my money you could almost choose an archives volume blindfolded and be guaranteed well more than your money's worth of great historic comics reading. IP: Logged
Steven Utley Member	posted August 26, 2002 11:01 AM My recommendation would depend entirely upon the person. I once bequeathed a copy of LEGION OF SUPERHEROES Vol. 3 to the seven- or eight-year-old son of a friend who later told me how much the boy had enjoyed them and said, only half-jokingly, "Now I'm going to have to buy the other volumes." For pre-adolescents, I don't think I could do much better than to recommend LSH or WORLD'S FINEST COMICS or SUPERGIRL. I gave a copy of WONDER WOMAN ARCHIVES to a dear gal, a commercial artist and only a few years younger than me; later, we cheerfully argued about Harry G. Peter's art -- was it more like Attic vase painting (her opinion) or medieval woodcuts come through aubrey beardsley (mine)? One nice thing about the Archives line is that gift_giving becomes easier as the series becomes more diverse! IP: Logged
Robyn Hood Member	posted August 26, 2002 05:49 PM The first volumes of PLASTIC MAN, WONDER WOMAN, and THE SPIRIT are all terrific examples of Golden Age at its' best! IP: Logged
Wilks unregistered	posted August 26, 2002 05:51 PM quote: Originally posted by James Friel: ...you could almost choose an archives volume blindfolded and be guaranteed well more than your money's worth of great historic comics reading. Amen! IP: Logged
superboy1988-92 Member	posted August 27, 2002 01:23 AM Since this book started the DC Archives line in 1989, why not Superman Archives volume 1? It worked for me in getting onto the Archives. IP: Logged
Duglis Member	posted August 27, 2002 03:58 AM Silver Age: Legion 5 Golden Age: All Star Comics 8 IP: Logged
stoter1 Member	posted August 27, 2002 11:36 AM Volume 3 is fantastic, as is GL 1 and JLA 1. I also think Plastic Man 1 is great, but the art is a bit cartoony, although lots of fun. I actually sat down with 5 seven year old kids and offered to read them any archive they wanted. I offered them Superman, JLA, Plastic man, Batman, GL or Shaza. They opted for Plastic Man and loved it. I have since read them stories form several archives, but they love Plas. IP: Logged
James Friel Member	posted August 27, 2002 11:53 AM quote: Originally posted by stoter1: Volume 3 is fantastic, as is GL 1 and JLA 1. I also think Plastic Man 1 is great, but the art is a bit cartoony, although lots of fun. I actually sat down with 5 seven year old kids and offered to read them any archive they wanted. I offered them Superman, JLA, Plastic man, Batman, GL or Shaza. They opted for Plastic Man and loved it. I have since read them stories form several archives, but they love Plas. Just out of curiosity, had these kids ever heard of Plastic Man before? IP: Logged
stoter1 Member	posted August 27, 2002 01:27 PM quote: Originally posted by James Friel: Just out of curiosity, had these kids ever heard of Plastic Man before? No they had never heard of Plastic Man. They also had not heard of JLA or green lantern. They were enthralled by Platic Man, and begged me to continue reading them stories. I was amazed... IP: Logged
Maldoror Member	posted August 27, 2002 03:40 PM DOOM PATROL vol.1 IP: Logged
Registered Member# 16603 Member	posted August 27, 2002 05:19 PM Thanks for all the great suggestions everyone. ------------------ "It never hurts to help." - Eek the Cat IP: Logged
Wilks unregistered	posted August 27, 2002 08:43 PM I don't know why I didn't think of this before... I still agree with James Friel's comment that you really can't go wrong with any archive. However, if you'd like to introduce someone to the Archive format (by this, I mean as a gift), you may want to consider Batman #1. True, the art's not "great" (to use your criteria), but with DC's overproduction of this volume and recent price drop to $20, it's hard not to consider this a starting point for the format. Plus, you get the origin of the character (as opposed to jumping in at a vol. 5 for example).... IP: Logged
Pig Iron Member	posted August 27, 2002 09:47 PM For art I would recommend Atom vol 1 and Hawkman vol 1. For Fun, Shazam vol 1, Supergirl or Legion vol1 IP: Logged
India Ink Member	posted August 27, 2002 11:47 PM The Batman Archives, vol. 1. It's cheap, it's thick, and it contains some of the greatest comics ever written. IP: Logged
NecessaryImpurity Member	posted November 13, 2002 09:40 PM Always topical, so BUMP IP: Logged
ck New Member	posted November 13, 2002 11:14 PM I'll recommend Hawkman Vol 1, Flash Vol 1, GL Vol 1. If you want to explore cheaper (non-archive) alternatives, go get Hawkman TPB published in 1990 (?) which covers 80% of Hawkman vol 1 material, or get The Greatest Flash Stories Ever Told - one of my favorite TPBs IP: Logged
NecessaryImpurity Member	posted January 08, 2003 02:29 PM STILL topical, so BUMP. Since I never chimed in with my opinion, I'd recommend "Batman Archives, V1", "Doom Patrol Archives, V1", "Atom Archives, V1", "Hawkman Archives, V1", and "Spirit Archives, V1" for anyone wanting to start at the beginning of a series. If you don't mind coming in on the middle, then "Green Lantern Archives, V3" and "V4", "Plastic Man Archives, V2", "V3", and "V4", and "Justice League Archives, V3" and "Justice League Archives, V4" are all great reads. I can't recommend the higher volumes of JLA yet, because I don't have them. Of course, if there's a particular character you are interested in, that's the place to start. ALL the Archives are interesting, if not always entertaining. I have about half of them and don't regret a single one. IP: Logged

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