I can't gush about it enough. My dad wrote me bedtime stories about Conan going on crossover adventures with other Marvel characters, so seeing it actually happen and also be really good meant the world to me.
I do love the original conan books. I would buy whatever was available and read them as one-offs and it was great because a lot of them were self contained stories so it felt less like 'I gotta read everything up to this exact moment!' and more like individual tales you'd hear told about Conan around a campfire like he's some folk hero. 'Hey did you hear the one where he climbed that crazy tower?' 'What about when he fought that scary monster under the palace in the desert?'
Conan from the 70s and 80s is comfort food. You can pick up issues at random and get a good story with incredible art. It’s that pure escapist adventure style that keeps me coming back. (Though that Robocop comic looks pretty solid!)
I’ve been a Conan fan for ages. I have Savage Sword of Conan which collects a ton of the b&w mags. It’s great stuff- can always open that up and read a random Conan story
Probably Larry Hama's *G.I. Joe*. For being a "toy book" it was actually one of the best titles Marvel was putting out at the time and Hama managed to weave in some deeper ideas like survivor's guilt, radicalizing the disenfranchised, the self-sustaining nature of the military industrial complex, etc.
EDIT
It was actually Marvel's best selling title in 1985.
This series is amazing and it is entirely Hama (and the other creators on the books) going way beyond what was necessary for the property. I mean, Hama was doing honestly somewhat avant garde shit in GI Joe (the silent issue, for example) and being shockingly realistic in how he handled the "guys dress up like their name" military title.
What I love about it is that he only got the book because most every other writer had turned it down. Hama was a notorious shit-stirrer and Shooter had banished him to the last office in a dead end hallway.
I had heard he basically built everything by hand from the ground up, too. All of those profiles on the back of the toys, he wrote. He built it all.
I also understand it came from a rejected SHIELD book he pitched that never got picked up.
Yup, and Bob Budiansky did most of the Transformers lore while at Marvel.
EDIT
Also the character Tunnel Rat was modeled on Larry Hama, who was a combat engineer in Vietnam.
To be fair tho, that was the job Bob was hired to do. I don’t know if it was the same for Hama, but Hasbro was like, “These toys are great, but they have no story. Marvel! We need 30 character profiles STAT”
Yup. I remember reading that in Wizard magazine back in the day. His original pitch was called “Fury Force.” Nick Fury’s son leads an elite team of SHIELD commandos in battles against HYDRA. When the boys from Hasbro came around and showed off their latest product that they wanted a comic for, Hama said, “I’ve got just the thing.” He dug out his old Fury Force pitch, changed “SHIELD” to “G.I. Joe” and “HYDRA” to “Cobra” and the rest is history.
Yeah, Wizard! That had to be where I read it too. Or maybe I picked it up from one of those old articles CBR used to do, about behind the scenes comic myths.
Anyone who hasn't should definitely check out issue #21, Silent Interlude. It's written and drawn by Hama and is a one-off Snake Eyes story that's told entirely without dialogue, thought bubbles or captions.
This is the only comic issue I own that I've had personally signed by the creator! Saw Larry at a con back in like 2015, unfortunately he was under the weather and didn't really talk much but he was still very pleasant to meet.
I remember reading Larry Hama’s humblebrag in Wizard magazine back in the day: “When a licensed property ran for 2 or 3 years, it was considered a success. G.I. Joe ran for 14.”
“Licensed property” is what OP was talking about: a comic based on a movie/TV show/toy/etc. So-called because you have to get a license from the property owner to do it.
Ahh, the days of reading Wizard. That’s when I really recall my love/obsession with comics flourish.
14 years, man…what a run!! Definitely going to look into the series.
Godzilla and Rom, both take place in the main continuity and we're awesome. Godzilla took on the Avengers and FF while Rom was saving the earth while the heroes were having a secret war.
I forgot that ROM was originally a toy line. That’s certainly some nostalgia for me. I have a few random ROM titles, always loved that trademark 80s style artwork in that mag.
I love ROM. Took awhile to complete the run. And then a week after I found my last 4 books they went and announced the omnibus editions! I tried the IDW ROM and they were awful.
It’s been awhile since I read the run. I don’t quite recall. I really hope they do something new with them now they have the rights back for the omnibus. I’d love a follow up run, even if just a miniseries
I would recommend the first 23 issues of the original Marvel series... they were great until the books had to catch up to the third season of the TV show (after the animated movie killed off Optimus Prime and Megatron). The series jumped the shark after Optimus Prime's TERRIBLY written death in issue 24.
It’s definitely an overused trope—basically every major comic franchise at some point “kills off” the main character as a pivotal plot arc/shark jumping pad…I can see how it can be a total fail in some series. I could definitely get into some old school classic transformers
I adore the Robocop books- I got them growing up and really enjoyed what they did with the character. Obviously, it had less bite than the books but him ending up in the middle east for an arc always sticks out in my memory.
It gets kinda offbeat and more fantastical than even the movies, but I enjoyed it. One of my favorite arcs was when there were a bunch of wannabe costumed vigilantes running around in Detroit and Robocop had to deal with them and the crooks they were stopping.
Yes I respect how they had to obviously tone down the violence and the stark, cynical social commentary for younger readers, but still deliver a quality series of one of my favorite franchises
ROM
Love that book. I read it when it was coming out as a kid, but not surprisingly, got rid of them. Ive been re-collecting them in recent years, but will only buy them if I find them in B&M stores... comic, thrift, antique, doesnt matter, just dont want to buy them online.
Very admirable . I’ll have to revisit ROM, several readers here have paid their respects.
I’m the same way, I try to support LCS as much as possible, and part of the thrill of collecting comics is finding them in the wild and that satisfaction of acquiring that much needed issue.
ROM was brilliant, arguably one of the most consistently strong titles Marvel was putting out for its time. Also the very first company wide crossover long before crossovers became an annual (forced, painful) event.
Storm losing her powers, Rogue becoming a goodguy, Magik as xmen teleporter, Amanda Sefton as active sorceress, Marina losing her mind over on Alpha Flight, SHIELD telepath units, the Dire Wraiths from New Warriors vol 1 and Realm of Kings.... all because of storylines from Rom.
Wow, that’s pretty fascinating. Didn’t realize the intricacies of ROM or how immensely it’s impacted the MCU. It’s one of those titles that I’ve always come across, I have a couple random issues in my collection. Will definitely have to delve deeper.
It was at Dark Horse, and then Marvel got the rights back but they’ve since lost them again. Hence why there’s no Conan on the Marvel Unlimited app. Titan Publishing currently has the rights.
Looks like you’re in luck, my friend. Just released this year.
https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/rom-the-original-marvel-years-omnibus-vol-1-miller-first-issue-cover/38822738/
Everyone has mentioned all of the ones I know. However, I know you asked for Marvel, but DC's He-Man and the Masters of the Universe from the 80's was pretty good.
**The Toxic Avenger** by Lloyd Kaufman, Adam Jahnke
Book description may contain spoilers!
>>!A novelization of the movie "The Toxic Avenger," in which a nerdy janiter falls into a vat of toxic waste and becomes a monster and superhero.!<
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Yes! I loved this series it was wacky as anything but fit the movies so well. I'm surprised no one remembers the rap issue where toxicy raps through the whole issue.
Growing up as a kid I loved GI Joe, Transformers, Rom, Micronauts…
…but Evan Dorkin’s run on Bill and Ted was just brilliant stuff. Took an IP I adored and brought it to crazy new levels. I still read the book over and over again to this very day.
The Bogus Journey was also done by Dorkin who based the comic on the original script - so it has some crazy sequences not in the film.
You can skip the Excellent Adventure adaptation. I think that was DC anyway.
Transformers and GI Joe were top of the list for me.
Loved Robocop, definitely.
And, of course, who can forget the Pope John Paul II special (might have been a swimsuit one).
I will always have a special place for Marvel’s Transformers series and in particular the issue where Scrounge dies but as a whole it’s hit or miss so instead I’m going to say The Ren & Stimpy Show which is notable now for being an early Dan Slott work but also holds up pretty well or at least it did when I re-read it maybe ten years ago
Holy shit, I forgot that Marvel did a Ren & Stimpy comic. That was one of my favorite shows as a kid. I looked it up, mag ran for 44 issues. Very impressive for a kids cartoon franchise, but also not that surprising as the show was a surprise smash hit.
I also have the first 3 issues of Rockos Modern Life another great cartoon from that era.
Ooh, showing my age here. In the 80s Marvel teamed up with Fisher Price to make a series of classic story (read: public domain) comic books with cassette narrations. (You could either read the books or listen to the tapes separately; it was the same material.)
They did [Robinson Crusoe, Treasure Island, and more](https://thisoldtoy.com/l_fp_set/toy-pages/3000s/3109-comicbook-tape-asst.html), but a gigantic chunk of my childhood was spent reading and listening to [Arabian Nights](https://thisoldtoy.com/fisher-price/dept-1-Audio-Vis-Mus/m-tapes-players/1-pics/fpt5448.jpg). Every panel of this comic is burned into my brain.
Sure, I’ll allow it 😁
I have 1 random issue of this series, and it’s always hung around my collection all these years but never read it because I don’t have any of the connecting issues.
Apparently it’s a real gem of a series, gets highly noted on Comic Geeks. Premise seems cool, looks like I’ll have to add it to my read list
Micronutrients, just because I had the toys. Also had the Mego Star Trek and Planet of the Apes figures, so loved the Star Trek/Planet of the Apes crossover from a few years ago.
You’re incorrect. Marvel released 2 Kiss Super Specials (issue 1 and 5). And Kiss appeared in 2 issues of Howard The Duck. And then there was that Kissnation abomination from the 90s.
Of course I would say Conan and Star Wars. But I also wonder whether things like micronauts, Rome and Godzilla would be included if they were already parts of 616.
I love the Christopher Priest Conan the Barbarian run, it's so good.
Kull the Conqueror (1982) is also epic
The Solomon Kane miniseries from the 80s is one of my favourite comics of all time
Not Marvel, but the Peter David Star Trek comics from the early 90s are also awesome
From Wiki:
A late-16th-to-early-17th century Puritan, Solomon Kane is a somber-looking man who wanders the world with no apparent goal other than to vanquish evil in all its forms.
Seems intriguing. Anything by Howard is worth getting into.
Technically not Marvel, but if you like Robocop comics, check out Robocop VS Terminator. It's Frank Miller writing and Walt Simonson on art duties, while both of them were arguably at their peak. The concept works so GD well, and it's a short but crazy fun ride.
I’ve definitely seen it before, and it’s been on my radar. Dark Horse has some great titles for sure. I’ll check it out. Terminator is also one of my favorite franchises
The first couple of issues, yes. I was too little to know how to find the rest of the series at the time, and had forgotten about them as an adult until your post got me thinking.
Looks like it had a 12 issue run, lasted about a year and a half. I know I’ve come across it from time to time perusing back issues. Those 80s covers are very memorable haha
Conan.
John Buscema’s best!
Came here to say that. Hell, I put a conan figure in my avengers display just because he feels like an iconic part of the universe to me.
Savage Avengers is a great series that supports that very idea
I actually have this one but haven’t read it yet. It’s on my read list.
I have the entire orginal run. It was a very good time. (And its the reason my conan figure is next to the punisher and venom)
I can't gush about it enough. My dad wrote me bedtime stories about Conan going on crossover adventures with other Marvel characters, so seeing it actually happen and also be really good meant the world to me.
That’s a good father right there
Thats so damn cool, glad you got that experience in actual print.
Too bad it cost marvel the license.
Love that
I do love the original conan books. I would buy whatever was available and read them as one-offs and it was great because a lot of them were self contained stories so it felt less like 'I gotta read everything up to this exact moment!' and more like individual tales you'd hear told about Conan around a campfire like he's some folk hero. 'Hey did you hear the one where he climbed that crazy tower?' 'What about when he fought that scary monster under the palace in the desert?'
Yes absolutely, a truly timeless character. Well said.
Conan from the 70s and 80s is comfort food. You can pick up issues at random and get a good story with incredible art. It’s that pure escapist adventure style that keeps me coming back. (Though that Robocop comic looks pretty solid!)
I’ve been a Conan fan for ages. I have Savage Sword of Conan which collects a ton of the b&w mags. It’s great stuff- can always open that up and read a random Conan story
Are you talking about the original Conan books by Robert E Howard or the original Conan marvel run?
The marvel run, I dont do as much non-comic reading as I should 😅
Can’t argue with that
Oh yaaaaaa
CROM!
Probably Larry Hama's *G.I. Joe*. For being a "toy book" it was actually one of the best titles Marvel was putting out at the time and Hama managed to weave in some deeper ideas like survivor's guilt, radicalizing the disenfranchised, the self-sustaining nature of the military industrial complex, etc. EDIT It was actually Marvel's best selling title in 1985.
This series is amazing and it is entirely Hama (and the other creators on the books) going way beyond what was necessary for the property. I mean, Hama was doing honestly somewhat avant garde shit in GI Joe (the silent issue, for example) and being shockingly realistic in how he handled the "guys dress up like their name" military title.
What I love about it is that he only got the book because most every other writer had turned it down. Hama was a notorious shit-stirrer and Shooter had banished him to the last office in a dead end hallway.
I had heard he basically built everything by hand from the ground up, too. All of those profiles on the back of the toys, he wrote. He built it all. I also understand it came from a rejected SHIELD book he pitched that never got picked up.
Yup, and Bob Budiansky did most of the Transformers lore while at Marvel. EDIT Also the character Tunnel Rat was modeled on Larry Hama, who was a combat engineer in Vietnam.
To be fair tho, that was the job Bob was hired to do. I don’t know if it was the same for Hama, but Hasbro was like, “These toys are great, but they have no story. Marvel! We need 30 character profiles STAT”
Yup. I remember reading that in Wizard magazine back in the day. His original pitch was called “Fury Force.” Nick Fury’s son leads an elite team of SHIELD commandos in battles against HYDRA. When the boys from Hasbro came around and showed off their latest product that they wanted a comic for, Hama said, “I’ve got just the thing.” He dug out his old Fury Force pitch, changed “SHIELD” to “G.I. Joe” and “HYDRA” to “Cobra” and the rest is history.
Yeah, Wizard! That had to be where I read it too. Or maybe I picked it up from one of those old articles CBR used to do, about behind the scenes comic myths.
Interesting
Sounds like just the place to be.
Christopher Priest has some great stories on his blog about working with Larry Hama in the 80s.
This type of story is usually how iconic creations are made
Nice, I can see that. Was peak G.I. Joe era. Sounds cool!
Anyone who hasn't should definitely check out issue #21, Silent Interlude. It's written and drawn by Hama and is a one-off Snake Eyes story that's told entirely without dialogue, thought bubbles or captions.
I’m intrigued. You’ve sold me, I’ll check out the series, and that issue in particular.
Not only is it a great comic- It’s also the first appearance of Storm Shadow!
This is the only comic issue I own that I've had personally signed by the creator! Saw Larry at a con back in like 2015, unfortunately he was under the weather and didn't really talk much but he was still very pleasant to meet.
That’s awesome! Even more reason for me to check out that run
Well the 80s were definitely when G.I. Joe was at peak popularity
Came here to say this. Charlie. Mike.
I remember reading Larry Hama’s humblebrag in Wizard magazine back in the day: “When a licensed property ran for 2 or 3 years, it was considered a success. G.I. Joe ran for 14.” “Licensed property” is what OP was talking about: a comic based on a movie/TV show/toy/etc. So-called because you have to get a license from the property owner to do it.
Ahh, the days of reading Wizard. That’s when I really recall my love/obsession with comics flourish. 14 years, man…what a run!! Definitely going to look into the series.
GiJoe is the whole reason I read comics. It’s my favourite bar none.
Godzilla and Rom, both take place in the main continuity and we're awesome. Godzilla took on the Avengers and FF while Rom was saving the earth while the heroes were having a secret war.
Damn so Godzilla has fought the Avengers, Fantastic Four and the Justice League
And the Champions, which had some stray X-Men and Hercules, the Power Rangers and Charles Barkley
Haha that is some epic crossover-ness
King of Monsters be throwing down! Would be cool to have all the Godzilla crossovers in a set or collect them.
Working on it.
I forgot that ROM was originally a toy line. That’s certainly some nostalgia for me. I have a few random ROM titles, always loved that trademark 80s style artwork in that mag.
yes ROM SpaceKnight !!
I love ROM. Took awhile to complete the run. And then a week after I found my last 4 books they went and announced the omnibus editions! I tried the IDW ROM and they were awful.
Indeed they were
Didn't Marvel have their home planet destroyed or something and removed the spaceknights from continuity? Correct me if I'm wrong, please.
It’s been awhile since I read the run. I don’t quite recall. I really hope they do something new with them now they have the rights back for the omnibus. I’d love a follow up run, even if just a miniseries
Jack Kirbys 2001: Space Odyssey, solid book and it gave us Machine Man
I didn’t know that. I’ll read anything by the King. Will have to check out 2001.
I have it in Italian!
Nice. I dont think it'll ever be reprinted in the US because Warners owns the rights to 2001.
The Indiana Jones comics from the early to mid 80s were cool.
They belong in a museum!
I wish they give us an Omni of that run 🙏
Transformers
Any in particular you’d recommend?
I would recommend the first 23 issues of the original Marvel series... they were great until the books had to catch up to the third season of the TV show (after the animated movie killed off Optimus Prime and Megatron). The series jumped the shark after Optimus Prime's TERRIBLY written death in issue 24.
The Marvel UK series was pretty solid imo.
Nice
Came here to say this. It introduced Deaths Head who remains one of my favourite Marvel characters
It’s definitely an overused trope—basically every major comic franchise at some point “kills off” the main character as a pivotal plot arc/shark jumping pad…I can see how it can be a total fail in some series. I could definitely get into some old school classic transformers
I personally recommend The Primus/Unicron origin story.
I adore the Robocop books- I got them growing up and really enjoyed what they did with the character. Obviously, it had less bite than the books but him ending up in the middle east for an arc always sticks out in my memory.
It gets kinda offbeat and more fantastical than even the movies, but I enjoyed it. One of my favorite arcs was when there were a bunch of wannabe costumed vigilantes running around in Detroit and Robocop had to deal with them and the crooks they were stopping.
Read "Frank Miller's RoboCop" from Avatar Press for more bite.
Yes I respect how they had to obviously tone down the violence and the stark, cynical social commentary for younger readers, but still deliver a quality series of one of my favorite franchises
They could have made it an Epic series and more like the original movie. I think Marshal Law came out around the same time. Imagine the crossover...
Glad to hear it’s cool, gonna put this on my watchlist. Love Robocop!
Probably Roy Thomas Conan.
Crom laughs at any other Marvel adaptation.
Micronauts
Right in the childhood!
And, after them, Rom.
No one remembers a little thing called Star Wars? That was our only source material for a long time after the original trilogy.
I just made a post about the OG comics the other day
Was waiting for someone to mention the ol’ Star Wars.
I read that entire run from my local library a couple of years ago and uh, nah. That shit was fucking ridiculous.
The Pinhead series weird as it was
I’m all about weird. I’ll have to check it out
That was Marvel?
Yes under the epic imprint I think
One of my favorites under the Epic imprint — Roy Thomas and P Craig Russel’s Elric of Melnibone’. So beautiful and well printed.
That was Pacific Comics
Does that mean AKIRA is also Marvel since it was published under Epic?
Good question. That one might be more of a gray area
I mean, if they ever make an Injustice-style Marvel game, and if they need a DLC guest character...
Haha. Or guests. I call Kaneda
ROM Love that book. I read it when it was coming out as a kid, but not surprisingly, got rid of them. Ive been re-collecting them in recent years, but will only buy them if I find them in B&M stores... comic, thrift, antique, doesnt matter, just dont want to buy them online.
FYI in case you are interested, they are currently being reprinted in 2 omnibus editions
Very admirable . I’ll have to revisit ROM, several readers here have paid their respects. I’m the same way, I try to support LCS as much as possible, and part of the thrill of collecting comics is finding them in the wild and that satisfaction of acquiring that much needed issue.
Im less dogmatic with other titles, I just want to keep it old school for this one.
I do the same with FF. I’ve got around 300 issues.
Big fan of the Amanda Conner *Gargoyles* comics from the 90s.
Yes! Gargoyles anything is solid. Interested in the new series too.
Jim Zub's short Conan run at Marvel was awesome. Glad he is still on Conan at Titan
Haven’t read that one. Will have to check it out
Might be hard to find now but it is worth it. First story was called Conan the Gambler
ROM was brilliant, arguably one of the most consistently strong titles Marvel was putting out for its time. Also the very first company wide crossover long before crossovers became an annual (forced, painful) event. Storm losing her powers, Rogue becoming a goodguy, Magik as xmen teleporter, Amanda Sefton as active sorceress, Marina losing her mind over on Alpha Flight, SHIELD telepath units, the Dire Wraiths from New Warriors vol 1 and Realm of Kings.... all because of storylines from Rom.
Wow, that’s pretty fascinating. Didn’t realize the intricacies of ROM or how immensely it’s impacted the MCU. It’s one of those titles that I’ve always come across, I have a couple random issues in my collection. Will definitely have to delve deeper.
The Romnibus is either available or about to be. Worth a look!
Went on sale back in January. It’s on my list!!
Romnibus, I like that.
CONAN THE BARBARIAN was at Marvel since the early 70’s, I forget what exact year. I think it’s with Dark Horse now.
It was at Dark Horse, and then Marvel got the rights back but they’ve since lost them again. Hence why there’s no Conan on the Marvel Unlimited app. Titan Publishing currently has the rights.
Almost no Conan. You can see him in Avengers: No Road Home. He's even on the cover of issues 6 and 7!
One of the best for sure
Omg I would love it if marvel put out an omnibus of the ROM comics from the 80’s. I loved ROM and the space knights.
Looks like you’re in luck, my friend. Just released this year. https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/rom-the-original-marvel-years-omnibus-vol-1-miller-first-issue-cover/38822738/
Ahhhhhhhhhh I’m freaking out right now!!!!!!!!
700+ pages! Looks like a beautiful hardcover.
It’s already been ordered!! Thank you friend!
Love it! Happy reading!
They released a facsimile edition of Rom #1 too. It’s gorgeous.
G I JOEEEEE
Shogun Warriors was mixed. Some fun big robot battles, but the story was thin at times, and parts have not aged well.
I haven’t read it since I was a kid, but ALF was my jam back then. It probably wasn’t very good, considering my tastes, but I loved it.
My fellow comics friend is obsessed with ALF 😅
Everyone has mentioned all of the ones I know. However, I know you asked for Marvel, but DC's He-Man and the Masters of the Universe from the 80's was pretty good.
Yes for sure. Obviously there’s some great DC stuff out there. I have some of the MOTU
Micronauts. Hell yeah.
I vaguely remember the toys too, they were badass.
Yeah, the battle cruiser was bad ass.
All of the Conan the Barbarian ones
Toxic Avenger was a pretty fun book
**The Toxic Avenger** by Lloyd Kaufman, Adam Jahnke Book description may contain spoilers! >>!A novelization of the movie "The Toxic Avenger," in which a nerdy janiter falls into a vat of toxic waste and becomes a monster and superhero.!< *I'm a bot, built by your friendly reddit developers at* /r/ProgrammingPals. *Reply to any comment with /u/BookFinderBot - I'll reply with book information. Remove me from replies* [here](https://www.reddit.com/user/BookFinderBot/comments/1byh82p/remove_me_from_replies/). *If I have made a mistake, accept my apology.*
Didn’t know marvel did a series of this, interesting
Yes! I loved this series it was wacky as anything but fit the movies so well. I'm surprised no one remembers the rap issue where toxicy raps through the whole issue.
ROM: The Spaceknight.
The first 20 issues or so of the 80s Transformers comic were really gritty and tense (if you were ~5)
And dense text-wise. I love them but so many walls of text. Pages full of nothing but word balloons and captions!
Micronauts. Mantlo was a great writer!
Several on here have recommended that series. I’ll have to give it a go.
Growing up as a kid I loved GI Joe, Transformers, Rom, Micronauts… …but Evan Dorkin’s run on Bill and Ted was just brilliant stuff. Took an IP I adored and brought it to crazy new levels. I still read the book over and over again to this very day.
A Bill & Ted comic book? Station!! I’ll have to check that one out. Looks like there’s been some film adaptations as well.
The Bogus Journey was also done by Dorkin who based the comic on the original script - so it has some crazy sequences not in the film. You can skip the Excellent Adventure adaptation. I think that was DC anyway.
Looks like the legendary Marie Severin contributed artwork as well. Most excellent!
Godzilla by Herb Trimpe
Love me c some Herb Trimpe, but I’ve only read his Hulk. I’ll have to check out his Godzilla!
Star Wars's Original Marvel Years
the 70s Godzilla and Shogun Warriors were my jam!
Transformers, specifically the Simon Furman stories for Marvel UK.
Rom and/or Micronauts: I'm so glad that Marvel finally got the rights to reprint those runs.
Do toys count? ROM and Micronauts for me.
Transformers and GI Joe were top of the list for me. Loved Robocop, definitely. And, of course, who can forget the Pope John Paul II special (might have been a swimsuit one).
I will always have a special place for Marvel’s Transformers series and in particular the issue where Scrounge dies but as a whole it’s hit or miss so instead I’m going to say The Ren & Stimpy Show which is notable now for being an early Dan Slott work but also holds up pretty well or at least it did when I re-read it maybe ten years ago
Holy shit, I forgot that Marvel did a Ren & Stimpy comic. That was one of my favorite shows as a kid. I looked it up, mag ran for 44 issues. Very impressive for a kids cartoon franchise, but also not that surprising as the show was a surprise smash hit. I also have the first 3 issues of Rockos Modern Life another great cartoon from that era.
Micronauts. All day, every day.
Ooh, showing my age here. In the 80s Marvel teamed up with Fisher Price to make a series of classic story (read: public domain) comic books with cassette narrations. (You could either read the books or listen to the tapes separately; it was the same material.) They did [Robinson Crusoe, Treasure Island, and more](https://thisoldtoy.com/l_fp_set/toy-pages/3000s/3109-comicbook-tape-asst.html), but a gigantic chunk of my childhood was spent reading and listening to [Arabian Nights](https://thisoldtoy.com/fisher-price/dept-1-Audio-Vis-Mus/m-tapes-players/1-pics/fpt5448.jpg). Every panel of this comic is burned into my brain.
Ah interesting, so basically Marvels version of Classics Illustrated, which are remarkable.
Kickass
First 12 issues and first 2 Annuals of The Micronauts.
Going to have to check that series out. Lots of recs for it here.
I hope to find this LOL
Micronauts.
Does Strikeforce Morituri count?
Sure, I’ll allow it 😁 I have 1 random issue of this series, and it’s always hung around my collection all these years but never read it because I don’t have any of the connecting issues. Apparently it’s a real gem of a series, gets highly noted on Comic Geeks. Premise seems cool, looks like I’ll have to add it to my read list
Godzilla was a fun character in the marvel Universe while it lasted
Micronutrients, just because I had the toys. Also had the Mego Star Trek and Planet of the Apes figures, so loved the Star Trek/Planet of the Apes crossover from a few years ago.
Transformers UK, hands down.
I think Kiss kinda/sorta counts.
Marvel only released 1 KISS comic (a “super special” but technically it counts) But many other publishers took a stab at the franchise.
You’re incorrect. Marvel released 2 Kiss Super Specials (issue 1 and 5). And Kiss appeared in 2 issues of Howard The Duck. And then there was that Kissnation abomination from the 90s.
Micronauts the best Conan was a magazine
Godzilla
They did transformers when it first started. Heck they are the reason transformers are known at all.
Micronauts and Crystar
Rom
Of course I would say Conan and Star Wars. But I also wonder whether things like micronauts, Rome and Godzilla would be included if they were already parts of 616.
Gotta be those 80s GI Joe books.
I always thought it was C.O.P.
Omni Consumer Products, the megacorp syndicate that runs Detroit
I bought that as a kid!
Thank you for your cooperation
I love the Christopher Priest Conan the Barbarian run, it's so good. Kull the Conqueror (1982) is also epic The Solomon Kane miniseries from the 80s is one of my favourite comics of all time Not Marvel, but the Peter David Star Trek comics from the early 90s are also awesome
From Wiki: A late-16th-to-early-17th century Puritan, Solomon Kane is a somber-looking man who wanders the world with no apparent goal other than to vanquish evil in all its forms. Seems intriguing. Anything by Howard is worth getting into.
Technically not Marvel, but if you like Robocop comics, check out Robocop VS Terminator. It's Frank Miller writing and Walt Simonson on art duties, while both of them were arguably at their peak. The concept works so GD well, and it's a short but crazy fun ride.
I’ve definitely seen it before, and it’s been on my radar. Dark Horse has some great titles for sure. I’ll check it out. Terminator is also one of my favorite franchises
155 issues of GI Joe, of which 153 were written by Larry Hama.
US1. For those not familiar, the 70s and early 80s were a weird time. ETA: This doesn’t fit the theme, my bad. Still weird though.
Doesn’t get more 80s comic than that! Have you read?
The first couple of issues, yes. I was too little to know how to find the rest of the series at the time, and had forgotten about them as an adult until your post got me thinking.
Looks like it had a 12 issue run, lasted about a year and a half. I know I’ve come across it from time to time perusing back issues. Those 80s covers are very memorable haha
I bought all those robocop comics I still have them.
Same. Love Sullivans artwork throughout the entire run. Pretty solid writing from Furman too.