Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Single Issue Hall of Fame: Secret Origins #50

I was pretty ignorant, and avoided this series when it was on shelves in the 80s. I always assumed it was just a rehashing of origins stories, many of which I knew by heart. The nice things about missing things the first time around, is that they become terrific discoveries later on. The terrific super-sized final issue features wonderful stories by two of my very favourite comic book writers: Grant Morrison and Alan Brennert. Morrison's Flash tale is an instant classic, and Brennert's Black Canary story is a tear jerker. There's also a rather interesting Dolphin story, which helps to fill in many of the blanks surrounding that character. This issue features terrific artwork by Joe Staton, the late, great Mike Parobeck and even Carmine Infantino. I love Ty Templeton's clever cover. I recently found a copy of this in a dollar bin, and it might just be the best dollar I've spent all year.

3 comments:

Andrew Wahl said...

Scott:

Yeah, there's some real gems mixed into this run. Off the top of my head I recall some nice Giffen stories, a Marshall Rogers' Batman tale, and a nice character study of Poison Ivy by Neil Gaiman. I don't think I've read #50 so I'll have to try that one out.

Cheers,
Andrew
ComicsBronzeAge.com

Argo Plummer said...

Great series--great issue!!! I did not appreciate this series when it first was published--picked up random issues, but let most of them go over the years. Recently had the opportunity to pick most of it up in bargain bins at my LCS. Love it!!! Need to fill in the holes, but #50 was one of the ones I picked up and loved it. Great choice!!!

Scott M said...

I still have a long ways to go in terms of collecting this series - but hunting really is half the fun.