A Nightmare on Yancy Street

 

Even though the Thing was my favorite FF member, I didn't mind when She-Hulk took over for a while. She meshed well with the rest of the team, no doubt due to John Byrne's excellent writing.

I don't think I've seen the Fantastic Four go up against Nightmare before, or even had much interactions with magical characters in their own title.

Hare vs. Hare Match

My first issue of Captain Carrot and his Amazing Zoo Crew! was the title's last. The Changeling  (from the Teen Titans) was a guest star, and that made me pick up the book. I enjoyed it a lot, so I went scouring for back issues. A TPB collection would be most welcome, DC.

Oh, and Happy Easter to all!

Miracle Misters

I only read parts of Miracleman's story in issues of Warrior Magazine, back when he was still known only as Marvelman. Later reprinted then continued by Eclipse Comics, I never bought those issues since Chuck Beckum/Austen's art didn't appeal to me, neither did Rick Veitch's work. The later John Totleben issues were a masterpiece, though. But Alan Davis is still the single artist I really think of when I see the character (not a knock on Garry Leach, who also did excellent work).

As for Stardust the Super Wizard, I only learned of him a few years ago, and the stories are bat-$#!+ crazy. Give his adventures a read at the Digital Comic Museum.

One Punched Man

This was a confusing title from Red Circle. It started out as Lancelot Strong: The Shield , then became Shield/Steel Sterling then settled on just Steel Sterling for the remainder of its short run. Before Steel Sterling took over as the main character, the Shield was seen fighting Deathstar (it's a wonder Lucasfilm didn't sue) as they plunged into a volcano, never to be seen again. Did they both die? I can't remember if he kept appearing in Mighty Crusaders after that, but it seemed like an unresolved plotline. This is my take on Deathstar re-emerging and Steel having to take him on in the Shield's memory.

The Ghost Who (Cat)Walks

This is obviously a riff on Sheldon Moldoff's cover for Detective Comics 241, featuring "The Rainbow Batman." It's kind of appropriate for the Phantom, since his costume is colored differently across several countries. The most famous one is the iconic purple, but in other countries it's either red or blue, mostly in Europe. I think I've read somewhere that creator Lee Falk intended it to be gray, like how it looks in the daily newspaper strips.

AVP: Arachnid vs. Predator

Among Spider-Man's major foes, Kraven was the one I liked the least. Maybe it was his goofy costume. I don't know. Even when I read Kraven's Last Hunt for the first time, I thought it was just okay (awesome Mike Zeck and Bob McLeod art, though). I loved it, though, when I re-read it when I was older. I guess my appreciation for it grew when I matured. And, yeah, I think I like Kraven much better now, too... Goofy costume and all.

Claws Encounter

The brown suit is still my favorite Wolverine costume. It was during those times that Logan was still not ridiculously over-powered (or OP, as the kids say nowadays). He was hard to kill, but it wasn't impossible.

I've always liked Native American characters when I was growing up, and Puma is no exception. He debuted as a Spider-Man adversary, but even then he didn't seem villainous. I think he's more of a Deathstroke-like character, straggling the line between friend or foe.

Arak in a Hard Place

 

I was maybe 8 or 9 years old when I bought Arak no. 4 on a whim at a small general merchandise store. I don't know why it caught my eye, the cover was Arak about to attack a monstrous tree with some people struggling to free themselves from its grasp. I liked it well enough, but it didn't compel me to buy any more Arak comics. I guess I was too much into superheroes back then (although I would buy DC's horror/mystery books whenever I'd see them. Go figure). I was already an adult when I bought a few more from back issue bins.

Rock 'n' Wrestling

Ben Grimm, the Thing, is my favorite Fantastic Four member. I guess it also holds true for a lot of readers since he was the only one who spun off successfully on a solo series (a number of them, actually). Marvel was trying to do the same with the Human Torch, but with little success. I guess Ben's troubled nature while still trying to be a positive guy resonated more with fans, as opposed to Johnny's cocky young man who has everything going for him.

Risky Business

 

John Byrne's take on Lex Luthor as a ruthless businessman (based on Marv Wolfman's idea, I believe) was very different from the mad scientist of the Pre-Crisis universe, but it worked. He became much more dangerous in my eyes, and it became difficult for Superman to bring him to justice since he could just employ an army of lawyers to avoid being imprisoned.

I think this clash would be something Ted Kord would lose, since during those days Ted was not too keen on running a company. Indeed, by the end of the Blue Beetle series his father had wrested control of the business from him.