The Totally Awesome 80’s Comic Book Mixtape

[@StrangeBrainParts]

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[@profjeff9]

As someone who was born in 1989 and doesn't remember the '80s, I do think it's generally agreed to be the best decade for comics as an artistic medium and with good reason. (Excellent work by the way. I hit the bell.)

[@AngelusNielson]

Being an 80s kid, it has its plusses but it wasn't perfect. art, for example, is much better overall now. But at least it's not the 90s anymore.

[@Toracube]

GrimJack, the elementals, nexus, cerebus, love and rocket, the American, whisper, ambush bug, captain carrot not counting peak xmen..what a time it was. Over in the uk we had battle comic with art by our greatest Joe Colquhoun on Charlie’s war and Johnny Red..my fav… darkies war… and the great 2000ad creations.. loved this vid.

[@kinghatguitars3907]

I absolutely loved this video. I was born in 1970, and started really getting into comics in 1982. Nexus is my favorite book of all time. One addition I would have suggested would be Jose Luis Garcia Lopez’s Atari Force. Great art and distinctly 80s.

[@thomasdempsey721]

Those characters were a delight! Dart, Pakrat, Babe...

[@nilus2k]

I just learned about Grimjack from seeing your video about First Comics and it feels like it’s the ur-text of all the things I loved in the 80s and 90s in comics. It’s such a good book.

[@StrangeBrainParts]

Excellent. I'm glad you've discovered a title that you enjoyed.

[@djconvoy]

when you get to the Munden's Bar backups, you might be surprised to see the level of talent buried in those pages. Grimjack was a very influential book and a lot of people wanted to work on it. Ostrander also was not afraid to blow things up and try again, successful or not. A great series

[@novasite7795]

Thank you for posting this! This was my childhood! Dc and Marvel were great, but I would always gravitate to this indie work.

[@kalel666]

The eighties were an AMAZING time in comics history. So much gold, so many comics just trying to entertain and tell a great story. So many legends made, on the page and off. We'll never see those days again, and more's the pity

[@caincha]

I remember reading The Question when I was a teen and damn it stuck with me. Can't even say what story and why just that it was so enticing I couldn't help but love it. Heck I'll try to find online right now so I can read it again decades later. Thanks for the reminder 😃

[@graefx]

Maturing along side the medium makes me think of how growing up in the 90s and early 00s was the same way with me and video games. I still have a lot of fondness and harp on what it was like for that time of discovery and constant innovation. I don't know if it's true but it certainly feels that way looking back. Part of it I think comes from seeing the underground growth and experimentation, break into mainstream, explosion of popularity, and eventual corporate commodification

[@raimondogenna7912]

As someone who discovered comics in the early 80s and grew up with them afterwards, these brought back so many memories--especially Mage, Grendel, Elementals, Usagi Yojimbo, and my personal favorite--though not always consistent--Nexus. Thank you for this.

[@AlternativeMindz]

it's amazing to see how no matter what background we all came from, somehow we all seem to have found all these great comics in the 80s. all the kids I knew then wouldn't be caught dead reading any of these titles. this is a perfect list. keep up the good work and honestly do a short version of this for Tiktok. every type needs to know about these books.

[@StrangeBrainParts]

I'm thinking of adding these and other suggestions to TikTok. There doesn't appear to be an audience for shorts on KZbin.

[@AlternativeMindz]

@@StrangeBrainParts the shorts can do good but it's not seen like how Tiktok does it. that is also on KZbins end to make the shorts more readily available for the site not separate.

[@StrangeBrainParts]

Indeed! On KZbin I was hoping it might increase the visibility of the channel. But...it doesn't seem to do that at all. In fact, it seems to do the opposite, even though there are many people who say it doesn't. So, I'm thinking of pumping out shorts for TikTok with a hope that the channel gets more exposure. I'm not sure if that's a viable...but it should be relatively easy to translate some of the videos to a vertical, TikTok format.

[@AlternativeMindz]

@@StrangeBrainParts you can post videos on Tiktok horizontal but it will look smaller but, I'd still let If this than that (IFTT) cross post it on KZbin anyway it wont hurt anything.

[@KingfisherTalkingPictures]

This was my era, which is why I love this channel. So many of my self defining comics. I still wear my flaming carrot head to the occasional con, and if I could ever make a superhero tv series it would be Concrete. I’ll just pulled out my Nexus books recently and am looking forward to rereading the run. Thanks so much!

[@StrangeBrainParts]

You're very welcome!

[@TheAstrojoe62]

Cerebus I read and loved in the 80s. I was always aware of Nexus and dipped in occasionally but only recently read the whole of the early run. I personally thinks it’s the best of the era and has the most realized universe and side characters. Also the most unique origin and backstory of any comic I’ve ever read. Literally couldn’t put it down.

[@samwill7259]

Oh boy, comics from 20 years before I was born! And right before the medium imploded!

[@amanzeihedioha]

John motherhuffing Ostrander and Usagi-san? You got me for life, sir!

[@chrisw6164]

I got into comics in 1983 when I was ten. I was 100% Marvel until about 1987. I started to sample DC and independents around then. By 1990, I read only 1 Marvel comic (Groo) and was spending a ton of money on all the superb experimental DC comics and even more indies. I had to quit by the end of 1990 strictly because I didn’t have enough money to keep up with the weekly cost. But I personally experienced what was OBJECTIVELY the best time to be a comic book fan. 🤘

[@chrisw6164]

Grimjack is still my favorite all time series. And I’m going to blaspheme and say that the Flint Henry era from issue 55-81 are the best the series ever was. John Ostrander does not get enough credit for that series, it’s a masterpiece.

[@brownskarate]

The 1980s was the true Golden Age of comics - all the publishers, all the different character takes, the massive sales of comics, the amazing aaray of creators doing unique things.

[@rickytoddbotelho9555]

Great job ❤ Megaton man is another stand out standard of absurdity.

[@fad23]

I wish we got more Tales of the Beanworld than the one cover in the beginning, but I'm glad it was included anyway.

[@francisjudge]

Jim Starlin's Dreadstar was an 80's fave of mine, amongst pretty much everything you covered in your list.

[@thomasdempsey721]

That was a fun trip down memory lane! I would add Strikeforce: Morituri to the list.

[@HeyImRosko]

Great video, I also started reading comics in the (late) 80s, and have devotedly loved and collected over half of these titles in the ensuing decades, but absolutely have at least one or more of every title named. I was particularly chuffed to see Reid Fleming included. Such a stupidly fun character! Well done, sir!

[@ctbinary42]

So much good stuff! I cut my teeth on many of these. Out of all of the ones you mentioned Usagi and Grendel were personal favs of mine. I also had a taste for Dark Horse Presents which was my first foray into the indies. Well done 👍

[@StrangeBrainParts]

There's a lot of good stuff! Most of which has fallen through the cracks in time. But worth a look, if one can find them. A good portion should be available digitally...I think.

[@castironchaos]

Love & Rockets started out as something of a parody of superheroes, but as it matured and the storytelling became more (far more!) mature, personal and character-driven, the superhero elements were left behind. Not that anyone minded, because the character stories were so good. Between the stories of the Central American village of Palomar, and Jaime's telling of the coming of age of Maggie and Hopey, these storylines became interesting sagas in their own. Still, the beginnings of Love & Rockets were well-written from the beginning, suitably weird; and they intentionally broke the stereotypes of "superhero" stories. There was "B.E.M" the horror, whose ultimate fate was a twist worthy of anything from E.C. Comics or the Twilight Zone; along with a series of two or three stories involving a young girl and her "Radaron robot" sidekick who have adventures in outer space when a portal to somewhere in the universe opens up in their backyard...until the story ends abruptly and tragically. These are things that could "realistically" happen to mainstream superheroes, but they never will because it would be too tragic for them, and their viewers. Maggie first began the series as a teenage sidekick to the (sort of) rocket hero Rand Race, but she simply grew up and left that job to become a much more realistic character. And then there are the stories of Palomar that were fascinating (and with adult-oriented themes that could earn them an R or X rating if they were ever filmed), which were collected into graphic novels including "Duck Feet" and "Human Diastrophism". The long and varied story of Love & Rockets, and its successor series from the Hernandez Bros., is certainly worth praising and discussing on its own; but I wanted to mention the earliest days of Love & Rockets in the 1980s because not many people talk about it.

[@RayMescallado]

Love this video and all the memories it brings! When I think of growing up on comics in the eighties, I fondly remember the European BD from the likes of Catalan Communications and NBM / Flying Buttress. (A lot of it was first serialized in Heavy Metal, but Heavy Metal scared me off at first - it looked too porny in my younger years!) Catalan especially introduced me to Enki Bilal, Guido Crepax, Munoz y Sampayo, Lorenzo Mattotti, Jacques de Loustal, Milo Manara, and so many others - many of those BD remain on my shelves to this day, and decades later there are still Catalan titles I eventually want to read (I never got to read the Bell's Theorem trilogy or Anarcoma).

[@juniorjames7076]

My first independent comic was Comico's Elementals & Justice Machine team-up crossover. I was slowly branching away from Marvel/DC and even though the more expensive independents were harder on my miniscule budget I couldn't resist titles like Grendel and Airboy.

[@angelaarmie5789]

I saw bits and pieces of these titles as a kid. Almost 30 years I found tons of these back issues at a local comic shop in this new town I moved to.

[@alfredolopez9642]

This is a great list of great 80's comics. Thank you again, Overlord, for recommending some killer titles that I had never heard of and that now I have to read for the first time. Much appreciated. ✌🏻

[@StrangeBrainParts]

You're welcome and thanks for watching! I hope some turn out to be favourites.

[@cjam8293]

Thanks for a fine video, a lot of my favourites here and a few I've never heard of. A few titles that I would include are 'Eddy Current' by Ted Mckeever and 'Bacchus' by Eddie Campbell. Oh, and 'Yummy Fur' by Chester Brown.

[@kosbos2650]

Never thought I would hear you say the word "poopy"

[@christianbarraza1589]

If you haven’t already, I recommend you check out Bill Willingham’s Pantheon. It was billed as a sort of ending to Elementals, of where the story would have gone if it could’ve concluded. It has an interesting premise with cool characters and ideas thrown in. Sadly it’s one of those hard to collect comics. The original 13 issue run is in black and white and they released a tpb collecting the first 6 issues with a bonus story in color. But if you can find it online it’ll all be in color.

[@StrangeBrainParts]

I had completely forgotten about Pantheon! And I didn't know it was an unofficial ending to the Elementals. Now I have to look both series over again! Thank you.

[@CorbCorbin]

Love and Rockets is probably a top 5, in terms of influencing other writers and artists, that they could do comics too.

[@StrangeBrainParts]

100% agree.

[@cozen_kevalas]

Thank you.

[@StrangeBrainParts]

Oh wow! That is very generous of you. Thank you very, very much!

[@lanternsown3525]

An Awesome List! My Favorite 1980s comic was John Byrne's run on Fantastic Four.

[@galeofdarkNES]

I was at a comic shop while in San Diego in June, and a random customer insisted I buy Reid Fleming Worlds Toughest Milkman. It was $3 I believe and its been sitting on my desk unread since. Such a crazy coincidence to see the cover in the opening segment!!

[@darlalathan6143]

This video has at least half my comic book collection! I also see that I have some catching up to do!

[@psychomammoth9640]

0:25 Zot! My favorite!

[@RarebitFiends]

Great video, the titles you listed are all among my favorites! The black and white explosion is very fondly remembered. I came of age at the same time and IMO there have been a couple eras that were clearly more creative and interesting. The pre-code era was anything goes and saw publication of some of what are to this day the best comics ever created. The next era that was so creatively great was the 80s, thanks to the size the direct market had grown to by that time. Again I would argue (as you do in this video) some of the best comics ever published came out in this era. I think this creativity extended into the 90s although it was subsumed by the easy money from exploiting the speculator bubble. And I think we are currently in the 3rd great age of comicbook creativity, thanks to new distribution and funding models we're once again getting a very wide range of material from a wide range of creators. I mean on KS alone there's generally something north of 500 active comicbook campaigns running at any given time. The fact that these comics are not all coming through a single distributor and widely available in all LCS also brings back some of the thrill of discovery, which had been all but lost to the hobby after direct market distributor consolidation in the late 90s.

[@paulnash9851]

You did Concrete !!!... Thank-you SBP. Still the best comics channel IMHO...

[@KiloEcho75]

Once again, another amazing video. Your content never fails to be thoroughly entertaining and informative. I was lucky enough to have an amazing comic book shop when I was younger and I remember every single one of these titles and some of which I thoroughly enjoyed. A few personal favorites I remember from the 80’s were the “Shadowline” titles from Epic and “Jon Sable Freelance”. Like other comics of that era, these hold a special place because of the time I read/discovered them.

[@kall2662]

Great video! I have read some of the titles listed but the first time I have heard about all of the titles mentioned here was from Wizard Magazine back when the internet was still starting and Wizard was my only source of comic book news and recommendations.

[@joedent3323]

Some great picks here! It's nice to be reminded of good stuff. ☺

[@bujilou]

So many gems. Definitely need to look into love & rockets even for the art alone

[@robsyers8647]

That was a pure nostalgia ride for me!

[@carloscrecelius9597]

Man, this brought back some great memories! Being from a rural area these were some hard books to find, but always worth the effort. To me, the 60s and 80s produced some of the best books. This is the video I've been waiting and begging for, thaks buddy!

[@StrangeBrainParts]

You're welcome!

[@stevetheduck1425]

1980s was a decade that also saw the end of some things, Starslayer as you show in the opening was an example of the Killraven, He-Man, Warlord, Zed from the film Zardoz, 'man with a weapon in his underwear' type of hero typical from the mid 1960s to the end of the 1970s, but creeping into the 1980s as well. Such bare-chested heroics has become rare since them.

[@MySceneTVLA]

Excellent video! I fondly remember, currently have and enjoy most of the books on your list. For me, it tops off with The Question. This book made me discover and embrace Philosophy and man's conflicted nature. Great series. Plus, I still collect Love and Rockets - when I can find the new series. Anyway, loved the video. Only wish you would have had The Shadow on the list as well. Great job!!

[@StrangeBrainParts]

I overlooked the Shadow! I realized when I was finishing off the video that I had forgotten about it.

[@MySceneTVLA]

@@StrangeBrainParts Thanks for the reply. The Shadow was my pre-teen alternative to Batman. Loved it. Question: did you prefer the Howard Chaykin mini or the series proper?

[@StrangeBrainParts]

Honestly...I liked the series much more than the Chaykin miniseries.

[@thomasdempsey721]

I was so thrilled when Dynamic Comics put out the trade paperbacks for this series! Helfer and Baker were on fire, and I wish they could've continued. The Shadow Strikes!, which followed bored me to tears!

[@MySceneTVLA]

@Thomas Dempsey I actually have the original comics. I love the 1st arc of the of the series but when Baker and hefler took over, it was kind of weird but fun.

[@randalldowling1068]

Great video! Grim Jack and Nexus are on my reading bucket lists. I'd love to see some of your hits from the 90s or 00s. How about a "guilty pleasure" reading list? Your Mage assessment was spot on, BTW. 1st was a classic, the sequels fizzled.

[@gregorio1580]

Thanks for all the recommendations :)

[@PaulNtabuyeButera]

This Concete book looks interestig. I will hunt it down.

[@mathewguglielmi8451]

What a shame that most of these series are not currently in print in collected editions. This a great overview of the 1980's demonstrating innovative examples of the storytelling medium. The Question was republished in an Omnibus edition by DC last year with the rest of the run solicited to be published in a second volume around November or December. The mixture of philosophical themes and urban crime and political corruption would make for a compelling tv mini series adaptation.

[@StrangeBrainParts]

A fair amount is available digitally. But, you're right...many of these comics have been collected but are out of print.

[@williamgeorge2580]

I have yelled about Love & Rockets for 40 years now and sometimes I want to chain someone to a chair like it was A Clockwork Orange and make them read it.

[@StrangeBrainParts]

I feel the same way! I've always wanted to do a dedicated video about the series but then end up just re-reading them. Ha ha ha.

[@shadowofbosstown]

Pretentious

[@noneofyourbusiness4616]

​@@shadowofbosstown Unhelpful.

[@williamgeorge2580]

@@shadowofbosstown Sad

[@vicaldama9314]

Your taste very similar to mine ..I guess a lot of us according to the comments! Man Alive! How blessed or lucky are we to live in this timeline?!! Thank you again over lord .

[@terribled]

Another great video. I love the shorts you've been doing, but these long form essays are my favorite. Instead of watching them immediately, I will actually set time aside to really focus on them. As I've mentioned in other comments, your recommendations have become trusted after I decided to check out Go-man. Through the Habitrails, Warlock 5, Wasteland, The Shadow, and Peter Cannon have all been great, or at least enjoyable. I just got Rising Stars in the mail a few weeks ago. Grendel is an all time favorite, as with the original run of Doom Patrol, and Saga of the Swamp Thing, so your thoughts on those series have been enjoyable too. I know this is stretching on, so I'll end with a question; do you have any creators or sites you follow/visit for comic coverage or reviews? Thanks again, and keep up the amazing work.

[@capsjukebox]

Alien Legion always felt like a series that didn’t get it’s due. Would make an amazing prestige sci-fi TV adaptation. And my first introduction to Larry Stroman’s amazing artwork.

[@DanielleA2023]

Miracleman, Omaha the Cat, Flaming Carrot, Eightball

[@richmcgee434]

Going by the opening 90 seconds our reading list seems to have been nearly identical. Shame on your for leaving Dynamo Joe out though. Best Western mecha comic ever made, bar none. :)

[@johnmurphy9385]

Great video! It brought back lots of good memories and reminded me of things I don't want to forget. Thanks! Keep this kind of thing coming ...

[@lizardart99]

Ive been waiting for you to talk about Concrete for a while! It sucks that the books are really hard to find nowadays, i really wanna read it

[@carloscarmona1523]

The idea of hearing someone as well spoken as you saying the word "poopie" was so funny to me for some reason

[@StrangeBrainParts]

Ha ha ha. Good!

[@eschnabel.4665]

Nicely done. For me, the watershed comic of the decade was Miracleman.

[@shoddyworkmanship4934]

I've always wondered why people favor the music, movies, comics, etc from their adolescence. According to what I've read it's because those years are so formative to your development as a person that the content you absorb during that time becomes a part of who you are. I got into comics in the 2000s*, but my favorite era has always been the 50s and 60s American comics. EC Comics, silver age Superman, and early Marvel titles are all fantastic. That era has an art style that I prefer above most others. Maybe because older content is easier to find via the internet it's led to people consuming alternatives to the current artistic zeitgeist. For instance it's not unusual to find a teenager in love with the early jazz of the 20s. *I was in my twenties by the time I started reading a lot of comics. Superheroes have never especially peaked my interest thus I didn't have the innate attraction to the titles of the time. So I missed all of the Image-type stuff that was popular during my adolescence.

[@noneofyourbusiness4616]

Only offering this in case you find it helpful (not intending offense): the expression is "piqued my interest."

[@shayneweyker]

Other 80s indie comics that I'd love to see reviews of in part 2 are: Pirate Corps, The Fringe, Outlander, Savage Henry, Signal to Noise, and The American.

[@ryaneasterling1556]

great video, going to use as a guide when looking for something new to read

[@ryanleatigaga7596]

I just wanted to ask: what's the music you play in the background? It's really nice!

[@StrangeBrainParts]

It's called We Always Thought the Future Would Be Kind of Fun by Chris Zabriskie. It's credited in the description under the video.

[@Tarkus337]

great video, I've read a bit of the O'neil's Question. I Outta try and finish it sometime

[@StrangeBrainParts]

It's definitely a favourite of mine.

[@jobrodgers-foster3403]

Great video! Incredible stuff! Thank you...

[@Ubernerd3000]

Read all these series; loved all of them except Electra, which I only liked…but these were some of my faves from the era…

[@chrisward5263]

Usagi Yojimbo, GrimJack, the Tick and Mage are my four picks from this list. I have read each of them atleast once all of the way through. Some really good quality writing and art. Definitely worth reading.

[@vinnyc365]

Agreed with everything you said about Mage.

[@MiniGamerDusty]

I'd love to hear more of your thoughts on Nexus. It's one of my favs.

[@barriolimbas]

For me, Green Arrow by Mike Grell, 80s zeitgeist.

[@jdtroup198683]

I like the list but would Detectives Inc be on that same list because it had a taboo subject that many people still don't talk about?

[@GeorgeIsaacsZzz]

One nitpick: Akira was first published/translated in the U.S. (and colorized digitally) by Marvel comics (not an indie). Other indie companies had already given us an number of manga translations, many of which are no longer in print (to my knowledge).

[@StrangeBrainParts]

That's a fair nitpick! I should have used the Marvel/Epic covers in this video.

[@kuzer.comics]

OMG! Ty so much for the information, I just got “love and rockets” 🚀

[@deetee4403]

I really enjoyed this and concur with much of this. How about part 2 and a suggestion.... crossfire by mark evanier and Dan speigle

[@mickdarcy3063]

My spare cash from being in the Air Force went to a comic shop pull list comprised of almost all of this list

[@loudermusic]

Just awesome, im glad i found this channel.

[@StrangeBrainParts]

Thank you very much! And welcome aboard.

[@graefx]

I'm rather pleased that most of these I have already bookmark to get. And displeased that that wish list has been going for nearly a decade with little to no dent made in it

[@m.scottmcgahan9900]

Awww... I thought you were gonna talk about The Elementals. 😕 I agree with most things you said though.

[@muttjones222]

Brilliant rundown!

[@StrangeBrainParts]

Thank you!

[@rolandbush8463]

I love horror comics and Pacific Comics put out the best Bronze Age comics Alien Worlds and Twisted Tales. Kitchen Sink's run of Death Rattle was the creme de la creme of Copper Age horror comics.

[@thegreygoblin5165]

Nice, I got to check some of these characters. I'll be honest, my favorite comic characters are the Ninja Turtles so my 80s mixtape is most of that original Eastman-Laird comics (along with the guest era)

[@greyspeight8776]

This is an amazing video for people who are looking for more amazing comic recommendations with incredible art. You've got fine taste sir. EDIT: If this does well you should make a second.

[@StrangeBrainParts]

Thank you! I was thinking exactly what you suggested: If this does well, I could do further videos along these lines. Like, for the 90's, 2000's and 2010's. And, maybe a sequel to this one because once I started I found I had a LOT of titles to recommend. Not to mention, I get asked all the time about comics I would suggest for new and older readers. So this helps to answer that question. :)

[@johnmurphy9385]

@@StrangeBrainParts I'm ALL in favor of more recommendation videos! They do two kinds of good work: introducing viewers to things of which they may not be aware and offering fresh perspectives on things they think they already know.

[@kinghatguitars3907]

Yeah, please make a second one

[@StrangeBrainParts]

Like most KZbinrs, views and such influence my future choices. So, if this video pops off, I'll definitely consider more along the same lines.

[@Nono-hk3is]

Very nice overview!

[@hatendiscontent]

What video is used for the totally awesome introduction? I found the link to the music, _from 2009_

[@StrangeBrainParts]

That song is I Eat Cannibals by Total Coleo.

[@CapitalDOOM]

Keep videos like these coming!

[@tedharrington5432]

Man, I thought I was the only one who read those comic books during the 1980's.

[@MannyBernabe]

Excellent editing.

[@StrangeBrainParts]

Thank you very much!

[@SIQN-]

Still amazed that The Mystery Men got a movie.

[@cubbyjo]

Nexus is still my favorite. I would add Zot! to the list.

[@comiccontinuity6167]

I was born in 2000, but I'm more of a silver-age fan myself (when it comes to Marvel at least), but I would agree that the greatest comic book stories of all time came forth in this decade, in fact, I would say it was the decade where comics had peaked, and I don't think we will ever see anything like it again.

[@richmcgee434]

9:40 Another factor in why Usagi Yojimbo feels like manga is the fact that Stan Sakai has been the creator for the entire book. There's none of the jarring discontinuity you get with Western comics where creative teams change regularly, characters get "re-imagined" by vain writers looking to put their own stamp on things and erase earlier work, and editorial mandates take precedence over a team's own plans for the book.

[@helenbartlett6085]

Excellent choices!

[@jerr0.]

Great comics. Great video.

[@garytucker3563]

Man, I gotta find those😂!!!

[@MrScroogedmcduck]

Bald !!! Punks i cut my hair this way ! Then the Worlds Toughest Milkman grabes the bumper of the car ! After he enjoys IVAN on tv

[@stephennewberry9815]

MORE please. You've missed some. Eclipses reprints and run of Mircleman spring to mind.

[@StrangeBrainParts]

You are correct. Except, at this point, I've mentioned Miracleman so often it's almost a mantra. Ha ha ha.

[@shidiwen9329]

We have pretty much the exact same collection