peter john rios

Covers of comics that are (or have been) in my collection at one point or another.

#82 part 1

Avengers West Coast: One of my favorite Marvel crossovers! Operation: Galactic Storm. Cosmic, a large ensemble, locations and situations that could only happen in Marvel, etc. Good stuff. (1992)

BIrds of Prey (2005)

Comics Journal (1983)

Daredevil: Jumped on to the series with the new team of Brubaker and Lark. A good opening story even if I stayed on for only one storyline. (2006)

Excalibur: Even prior to Age of Apocalypse, I was a sucker for these crossover X stories: X-Tinction Agenda, X-Cutioner’s Song, Fatal Attractions - and Phalanx Covenant that introduced Generation X! (1994)

Firestorm (1989)

Flash (1993)

To be continued in part 2…

Covers of comics that are (or have been) in my collection at one point or another.

#158

Flash (2000)

Robin (2007)

Superman (2000)

Wonder Woman: Oh, look! I can see Wonder Girl’s boobs and butt in the same pose! The outrage!!! Oh, wait. It’s Adam Hughes. She looks amazing! (2000)

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From the never owned/never read file:

Daredevil: Frank Miller’s first work on the title - but not the character. That would be Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man 17 a few months earlier. (1979)

Covers of comics that are (or have been) in my collection at one point or another.

#168

Conan (1985)

Marvel Tales (1984)

Robin: I had such high hopes when The Resurrection of Ra’s Al Ghul started. But it really ultimately added little to the overall narrative. Damian is such a great character though. (2008)

Superman: An interesting two-art story (that concludes in Detective Comics 756) where Lois and Batman plot to steal a Kryptonite Ring from the newly elected President Luthor. Only, when they break into the White House, Superman is waiting for them. Great writing, great art, a fun moment with the “new” Krypto and Batman as well as the ever-looming threat of Luthor as President. Especially since Sam Lane, Lois’ father, is on his staff. Loeb really helped to shape an interesting Superman universe at this time. Plus, I love Lois’ face on the cover. (2001)

Wonder Woman (2001)

There are two more issues worth mentioning that aren’t part of my collection:

Daredevil: The first appearance of Elektra! I’ve read the issue in a Frank Miller Visionaries trade years ago. But I never actually owned a copy of the issue. (1981)

Justice League of America: Featuring the Secret Society of Super-Villains in a story called The Last Great Switcheroo. The second part of a two-part story that is the basis for Brad Meltzer’s Identity Crisis maxi-series. Never read this issue, never owned it. But I look for it often in back issue bins. (1979)

Covers of comics that are (or have been) in my collection at one point or another.

#181 part 1

Who knew #181 would be so important edition?

Avengers: I’m not sure I would call this issue iconic but it definitely is a classic moment in Avengers history for a number of reasons: The cover, the limiting of the team roster, including Falcon purely for quota purposes, the beginnings of the true origins of Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, even the first appearance of future Ant-Man Scott Lang. (1979)

Brave and the Bold: Purchased solely for the Hawk and Dove appearance. I try and collect Teen Titans and TT-related character appearances whenever I see them pop up in other titles. (1981)

Cerebus (1994)

Conan (1986)

Daredevil: Last Hand. Arguably the most iconic issue of Daredevil ever. When I first read the Frank Miller run - way after it was actually released - I was amazed how much of a stand alone issue this was from what came before. Yes, it has threads from previous stories, etc, but it really is its own issue. Powerful, brutal for 1982 standards, and, much like the Death of Gwen Stacy or the Dark Phoenix Saga, it casts a long shadow over the title for decades. (1982)

Green Lantern: Hal Jordan gives up being Green Lantern - at least until the Crisis… ends. (1984)

Covers of comics that are (or have been) in my collection at one point or another.

#183

Cerebus (1994)

Conan: Proof that I really was reading just about everything back in the mid-80s. This was the final issue that I picked up though at the time. I have no recollection of the interior story though. Interesting to note that Jim Owsley, otherwise known as Christopher Priest, is the writer on this issue. (1986)

Daredevil: Child’s Play. This story was originally scheduled to be released over a year earlier but the Comics Code Authority squashed it. Reworked and finally released, this story is the first meeting between DD and the Punisher. (1982)

Green Lantern: John Stewart takes over the GL cover gig for awhile (he becomes Earth’s official GL an issue earlier). Even before his time on Watchmen, Dave Gibbons did the “light source from below” thing very well (in reference to the way the shadows and light play on John Stewart’s domino mask). (1984)

Iron Man: The first IM issue I ever picked up on my own at the time of its release. It didn’t even phase me at the time that I was reading about Rhodey rather than Tony Stark. (1984)

Justice League of America: It’s another JLA/JSA team-up, this time bringing Jack Kirby’s Fourth World to the DCU in a major way. Kirby had long left the characters by this point, and although Mr. Miracle found some play here and there outside of New Gods-related titles, this is their first major interaction with the heavy hitters of the DCU. I wonder what the reaction was at the time? This also marks the final issue of artist Dick Dillon’s incredible 115 issue run. In all that time, since issue 64 in 1968, he only missed five issues. Incredible. (1980)

Superman: The final issue of the Jeph Loeb/Ed McGuinness run. I’m about to get my hands on these issues once again and I can’t wait. They were big, fun Superman books and would lead the way to the great Superman/Batman series. I’m looking forward to reading these once more. (2002)

Uncanny X-Men: Another fantastic standout issue, from the opening scene between Kitty and Colossus talking about his time on the Secret Wars planet, to the Rachel/Selene subplot to the bar fight between Colossus and Juggernaut over a misunderstanding. Characterization galore, great art, the kind of story that made the X-Men stand apart from other titles. (1984)

Wonder Woman (2002)

Covers of comics that are (or have been) in my collection at one point or another.

#190

Brave and the Bold: Most likely I picked this up for Adam Strange. And then, as a bonus, there’s a Nemesis back-up tale featuring artwork by Dan Spiegle. (1982)

Cerebus: I just got my hands on a bunch of issues around this time (Thanks Chris Beckett!) - so I’ll add them from here on out even though there are few that I could add to previous posts. (1995)

Daredevil: Elektra… Resurrected! And all in white. Interesting to see some of the Klaus Janson art and how it helped to shape the look of the book for Mazzucchelli, Weeks, etc. (1983)

Green Lantern (1985)

Justice League of America: A well designed cover by Brian Bolland which was recreated by artist/animator Big Jim Miller for the CGS homepage, which you can see here. (1981)

Uncanny X-Men: The chilling yet awesome Kulan Gath two parter begins - a character that hadn’t been used since Claremont resurrected him for a Marvel Team-Up story in 1979! I was always a fan of these two issues - and just like every good alternate history tale, it’s dark with many deaths. Eventually it all gets reverted back to the norm and it’ll be another 15 years before the sorcerer is resurrected during the Busiek/Perez Avengers run. (1985)

Wonder Woman (2003)

Covers of comics that are (or have been) in my collection at one point or another.

#191

Avengers (1980)

Daredevil: Roulette! A fantastic closing story to a seminal run. Frank Miller’s DD run is one of Marvel’s must-read runs of the 80s. It’s interesting to see his growth during this run as both an artist and a writer, to his transitional story in Ronin, and then becoming Frank Miller the man who redefined Batman with Dark Knight Returns and Year One. Looking forward to DD being part of this series for awhile. (1983)

Fantastic Four (1978)

Green Lantern (1985)

House of Mystery: I had this issue! A hand-me-down. Look at the creator list: Neal Adams cover, Len Wein writing, Sergio Aragones funnies, with more art by Tony DeZuniga and Bernie Wrightson. The old horror books are always full of fantastic artists. (1971)

Justice League of America (1981)

Uncanny X-Men (1985)

Wonder Woman (2003)

Covers of comics that are (or have been) in my collection at one point or another.

#207

Cerebus (1996)

Daredevil: This is the first issue of DD I pulled off the shelf myself at the time of its initial release. I forgot that Black Widow was part of this issue as well. I liked DD back then. It’s a character that I keep on the - no pun intended - radar to see if I’m interested enough to jump back in to read. Usually with the big guns or stories. Born Again. Fall from Grace. Kevin Smith. Ed Brubaker. I haven’t tried out the latest incarnation and I really should. (1984)

Flash: There it is. Michael Turner’s first cover on the title. It’s the issue that brought me back to Flash at the time. Mostly because I knew Howard Porter was going to join the book as regular artist. But also that cover. It stood out on the shelves and screamed look at me! Sure the anatomy is a bit wonky - but I discovered at a past San Diego Comic Con that there are definitely people out there that look like a Turner drawing come to life. Long torsos, thin waists, long legs. Don’t let the detractors fool you - people come in all shapes and sizes. I think a lot of what makes this cover so eye-catching is the coloring and lightning bolt. Good stuff. (2004)

Green Lantern Corps: This was the final issue of GL/GLC that I picked up at the time of its release. I would get out of comics for a few years around the time of Millennium. So I’m not sure why I stopped picking this title up for another few years. Could be that, as much as I liked the change from a solo book to a team-up book, it didn’t hold my interest. (1986)

Justice League of America: Crisis on Earth-Prime begins! Awesome Perez cover. Crime Syndicate! All-Star Squadron! Earth-2! I didn’t pick this up at the time of release, but I quickly added it to my collection once I knew Perez did JLA covers and interiors. Fun five part story. (1982)

Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes (1975)

Superman (2004)

Uncanny X-Men: The ending of this issue needs only one word to define it: SNIKT! (1986)

X-Men (2008)