Top 5 Single Issue Stories ("One and Done")

I've always been a fan of single issue stories or "one and done" issues as they're sometimes called. They're typically intimate, fun tales if done by the current creative team or mediocre (not always) fill-in issues from a back catalog to give the current creative team a rest. And so, I was inspired recently by Comic Geek Speak's Top 5 Single Issue Stories episode to create my own list. And, without further ado and in no real order...

The Flash #73

"One Perfect Gift"

February 1993

Writer: Mark Waid

Artist: Greg LaRocque 

A Christmas tale by the regular creative team of Mark Waid and Greg LaRocque. It's Christmas Eve and Jay Garrick and Wally West hit the town to do some regular good deeds (soup kitchen, shoveling snow) and help one man not make the mistake of his life. It's heartfelt, warm and exciting. Mark Waid is the architect of bringing the Flash's supporting characters together and making it a family book and, to me, this issue is where that can all be traced. Just about the perfect holiday book.

JSA #10

"Wild Hunt"

May 2000

Writers: David S. Goyer & Geoff Johns

Artist: Steve Sadowski

This tale revolves around what should have been a calm night for JSA member Wildcat (Ted Grant), but quickly turns into a brawl. David Goyer and Geoff Johns introduce the new Injustice Society and pit them against our feline bad ass and he beats them down single handedly. This is the book that solidified my love for the character. He's just a tough old boxer in a cat costume. Fun story that I've read countless times.

The Amazing Spider-Man #7

"Return of the Vulture"

December 1963

Writer: Stan Lee

Artist: Steve Ditko

You'd think it would be hard for me to narrow down a favorite issue of any Spider-Man book, but it's not. Sure, I have a lot of favorites, but this is THE favorite. To me it captures everything that's great about Spider-Man and the early Marvel years. There's action, comedy, the Parker luck and even a little bit of romance (with Betty Brant, friends!). I've written ad nauseam about this particular issue in the past on various web pages and will probably devote an entire post to it here in the near future, so I'll spare a complete synopsis. As the title suggests, the Vulture returns and the two square off a couple of times, culminating in a showdown at the Daily Bugle, which is absolutely hilarious. A perfect tale by Spidey's original creators.

Hellblazer #27

"Hold Me"

March 1990

Writer: Neil Gaiman

Artist: Dave McKean

From the time this book started it was firing on all cylinders under the careful, amazing and experimental work of writer Jamie Delano. Here, for a single issue, Neil Gaiman, who had just gotten The Sandman off the ground, with the assistance of long-time collaborator (or at this time, will-be-long-time) Dave McKean tell a creepy, yet strangely heartwarming tale of a dead thing just wanting to feel the warmth of another. I've read this a dozen or so times and it feels like it only gets better with age.

 

The Uncanny X-Men #308

"Mixed Blessings"

January 1994

Writer: Scott Lobdell

Artist: John Romita, Jr.

This one was relatively hard to pin down. Chris Claremont's one and done X-Men issues are some of the best you'll ever read of any title ever, but it's this particular tale by Scott Lobdell that I found myself reading repeatedly in my teenage years. It offered a lot of heart and warmth which, judging by this list, you'd think I long for (and honestly, maybe I do). It takes place on Thanksgiving and features a lot of reminiscing and heart to heart talk between Scott Summers (Cyclops) and Jean Grey (err... many code names) as well as some lighthearted fun amongst the other members of the team at this time (Beast, Forge, Banshee, Jubilee, Bishop, Gambit, Rogue, Iceman, Archangel, Psylocke, Professor X... whew). It's also noteworthy because Scott finally proposes to Jean. The whole issue culminates in Thanksgiving dinner where Charles Xavier gives a nice speech and Scott and Jean announce their engagement. Great stuff from the era where my collecting was in high gear.

There are a ton of other great issues I considered, but it honestly came down to the ones I frequently seek out and give a read to almost annually. Some of the above because they fit nicely in around the holidays and the others just because they're truly great stories.

Just for fun, here are a few honorable mentions:

- Daredevil #219 "Badlands" - June 1985

- The Amazing Spider-Man #248 "The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man" - January 1984

- Batman #247 "Merry Christmas... and a Deadly New Year" - February 1973

- Wolverine #9  "Promises to Keep" - July 1989

- Hellblazer #11 "Newcastle: A Taste of Things to Come" - November 1988

- The Batman Adventures #10 "The Last Riddler Story" - July 1993

Retro Ads #2: Special Horror Edition

It has been a minute since I've posted an old ad, so I feel like I've found something completely appropriate for this month and perfect for following up my last post. I bring you this gem from the back covers of Count Duckula #6 & #7 from 1989.

In a grab to mimick the excellent Hostess super hero ads, Colgate gets in on the game with a team-up of epic proportions: Colgate Junior and Captain America. Their villain? Count Plaqula!!!!!!

Hallowtober Readin'

Finally we've hit my favorite month of the year. To celebrate, I'll not only be posting on a more regular basis here (ahem...), but I've set a goal to read the entire 70 issues of Tomb of Dracula!!

My schedule is super crazy right now and I'm easily distracted, but this is a goal I'll stick with.

I've only ever read the first two issues and that was probably six or seven years ago, so I'm going into this with practically zero knowledge. It's a gaping black hole in my Marvel reading, so here we go...

 

This first issue is cover dated April of 1972. It was written by the legendary Gerry Conway and drawn by the magnificent Gene Colan. It introduces Frank Drake, who is down on his luck and out of options. Well, mostly out of options. He's conveniently inherited an old family castle in Transylvania. Turns out his family's last name used to be "Dracula" until they changed it to avoid the terror and curiosity it caused. And this castle? Yup, the original Castle Dracula.

He and his best friend, Clifton Graves, have come up with a grand idea to re-open the castle as a tourist spot to capitalize on its infamy. Along for the ride is his girlfriend (and ex-girlfriend of Clifton... drama), Jean. The trip to the castle is anything but fun as they have car trouble in the pouring rain. They hitch a ride via carriage to within walking distance of the place because the locals won't go any closer.

Once inside they become separated and Clifton Makes a startling discovery...

Yes, it's true. There is only one "cat" that could be inside a tomb labeled "Count Dracula". Despite some dated dialogue and questionable exposition, which was a staple of comics for the longest time, the story deftly moves along. The Count is reanimated thanks to Clifton, who is quickly thrown into a pit to await an unknown fate at a later time. 

Ol' Drac immediately sets to his old ways and finds a villager. He feeds on her in his trademark way and her body is discovered by the townsfolk. What does any average terrorized villager do? Grab a torch, organize a mob and set the castle on fire, of course!

During the course of this, Dracula manages to beat the crap out of his "cousin", Frank Drake. Using mirrors and the occasional crucifix, Drake manages to keep his weird, pale family member at bay. But he can do this for only so long and, in the end...

If I'm honest, while I did enjoy the story, it's nothing too special. It feels like it could have fit neatly into one of Marvel's horror, monster-of-the-month anthology books. It's in its infancy and I'm not entirely sure where it's going with its story at this point, but I am interested. That alone is the key.

As for its characters: Frank Drake just doesn't do a whole lot to get me to like him. Jean is a typical damsel in distress right up until the end when she turns. This is about the only time I find her remotely interesting. Clifton's a throw-away character at this point, but I'm interested in seeing what Dracula has in store for him, if anything. Dracula's the winner in this group. He's clearly the most interesting at this point, but he doesn't do much here beyond your stereotypical vampire bad guy.

I've read elsewhere this book doesn't really hit its stride until Marv Wolfman takes over the writing, which is by issue #7. Fortunately, Gene Colan stays with the book during its entire run. The art is appropriately dark and actually pretty creepy. 

For a first issue, I'd give it an overall 3/5. It's interesting, but it's not quite stellar. Yet.