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  1. #1
    All-New Member mi27ke85's Avatar
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    Default Favorite Marvel Hidden Gems

    So, curious as to see what everyone thinks are some good, not too well-known Marvel titles. What is it about and why do you like it?

    I'll start: Strikeforce Morituri. The premise is: The "Horde", a savage technologically advanced alien race, invade earth in the 21st century. Fortunately, a scientist develops a weapon to fight back; he develops a genetic process that will give humans super-powers. Inevitably, the human body will reject the process, which is always fatal. Still, the Horde is so savage (nuclear attacks, wanton killing, etc.) that many people volunteer to go through the process. They become the StrikeForce:Morituri.

    I love it because the Strikeforce:Morituri get more savage and desperate over time. They don't know when their body is going to reject the process but they know it's going to happen. The fact that they know they are going to die in the short-term gives them a realistic reason to be reckless and bad-ass. I also think the comic has some weight because you know there's no coming back for these guys like other superheroes.
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  2. #2
    Mighty Member Byakko's Avatar
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    I have that miniseries! It was pretty grim and dire with everyone on a confirmed death-clock, still as sad as each one began to drop.

    One miniseries I have is Spell Force (I think). It's about a girl who finds this magic golden band things that giver her magic powers. Turns out they belonged to a serpent/dragon-like sorcerer, who keeps trying to get them back. The twist is that the antagonist dragon guy used to be a good guy, like her, who defeated an evil sorcerer before him with those same bands. But the power corrupts you the longer you use them, and he tells her he's too fargone, and that she's next. And she was starting to exhibit more and more negative behavior traits as the series went on. I never got the last few issues though, don't think I ever knew how it ended, or I just forgot.

  3. #3
    All-New Member mi27ke85's Avatar
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    That does sound intriguing but I can't find it under the name Spell Force. Let me know if you find a link to it or it has a different title. It sounds like something I would like!
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  4. #4
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    Agents of Atlas is just incredible. I miss it so much, great and strange characters MAKE this series.

    Also, Not really Marvel, but under the Marvel/Crossgen umbrella... Ruse. It is fantastically written and beautifully drawn. It's actually the only comic that my mother would look forward to on a monthly basis.

  5. #5
    All-New Member mi27ke85's Avatar
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    I think I've seen Agents of Atlas but never read it. Never heard of Ruse, though. Pretty good endorsement that your mom and you both enjoyed it.
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  6. #6
    Not New Anymore Some Guy's Avatar
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    I really liked Tom Taylor's Secret Wars Agents of Atlas one-shot and would love to see more.

    Being relatively new to comics, I haven't read anything that isn't fairly recent so I have nothing new to add.

  7. #7
    All-New Member mi27ke85's Avatar
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    Did you read any other Secret Wars? I didn't get into Secret Wars, other than the Renew Your Vows (Amazing Spider-Man.)
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  8. #8
    Mighty Member Moriarty's Avatar
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    Agents of Atlas was great. as for other gems...i always loved Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty. a 12 issue series with stories taking place at various points in Cap's life. the Mark Waid Ka-Zar run is still a favorite of mine too.

  9. #9
    Astonishing Member Thirteen's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Byakko View Post
    I have that miniseries! It was pretty grim and dire with everyone on a confirmed death-clock, still as sad as each one began to drop.

    One miniseries I have is Spell Force (I think). It's about a girl who finds this magic golden band things that giver her magic powers. Turns out they belonged to a serpent/dragon-like sorcerer, who keeps trying to get them back. The twist is that the antagonist dragon guy used to be a good guy, like her, who defeated an evil sorcerer before him with those same bands. But the power corrupts you the longer you use them, and he tells her he's too fargone, and that she's next. And she was starting to exhibit more and more negative behavior traits as the series went on. I never got the last few issues though, don't think I ever knew how it ended, or I just forgot.
    Sounds like SPELLBOUND (vol 2) from 1988 starring Erica Fortune as "The Spellbinder" alongside her siblings who helped her struggle to remain sane while wielding the powers.
    Its was pretty standalone in the Marvel Universe, crossing over only with New Mutants and maybe Power Pack briefly IIRC.
    http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Spellbound_Vol_2
    http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Erica_F...28Earth-616%29

  10. #10
    Not New Anymore Some Guy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by mi27ke85 View Post
    Did you read any other Secret Wars? I didn't get into Secret Wars, other than the Renew Your Vows (Amazing Spider-Man.)
    Yea lol... I actually bought every single issue. xD Loved almost all of them.

  11. #11
    True Brit Captain Wessex's Avatar
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    Dragon's Claws. It's a Marvel UK series that ran ten issues and is available in a trade paperback.

    Earth. 8162. Not a nice place to live. The Moon has drifted out of orbit, taking the seas with it. The remainder of the planet is a dying death-hole, where the World Council created The Game to placate the masses. It's a gladatorial bloodsport that was dominated by the eponymous team. It was eventually banned when it got too violent. Now, some years later, the Claws are recruited by NURSE, a shady government agency, to police the ex-Game teams and perform law enforcement mission.

    It's great, typical British dystopian SF with a lot of Disco/Glam rock stylings.
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  12. #12
    Astonishing Member Abe's Avatar
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    The Agents of Atlas one-shot was such a treat !

    We need more !!! We need collected editions too !!! Marvel, give us what we need !!!!!! (the 6 ! are absolutely needed at this point)

  13. #13
    Astonishing Member Arfguy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by mi27ke85 View Post
    So, curious as to see what everyone thinks are some good, not too well-known Marvel titles. What is it about and why do you like it?

    I'll start: Strikeforce Morituri. The premise is: The "Horde", a savage technologically advanced alien race, invade earth in the 21st century. Fortunately, a scientist develops a weapon to fight back; he develops a genetic process that will give humans super-powers. Inevitably, the human body will reject the process, which is always fatal. Still, the Horde is so savage (nuclear attacks, wanton killing, etc.) that many people volunteer to go through the process. They become the StrikeForce:Morituri.

    I love it because the Strikeforce:Morituri get more savage and desperate over time. They don't know when their body is going to reject the process but they know it's going to happen. The fact that they know they are going to die in the short-term gives them a realistic reason to be reckless and bad-ass. I also think the comic has some weight because you know there's no coming back for these guys like other superheroes.
    I remember a long time back, there was a lot of talks of making Strikeforce: Morituri into a TV show. I think they renamed the brand to "1000 Days" or something. I remember reading about the premise of the comic in Wizard magazine and thinking it was really cool. Something like that could be done really well as a TV series. Hell, it could be on Netflix.

    I've got one that I remember Marvel publishing and it was one of my earliest comics that I bought with my own money. It has a lot of sentimental value. However, it was a licensed property.

    Double Dragon.

    I remember reading this book and loving it. It had amazing art by Tom Raney and it had a ton of action and cool powers and bad guys. I always kind of hope they'll collect it in a trade.
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  14. #14
    Amazing Member yojimbo's Avatar
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    I agree on those who mentioned Agents of Atlas. The first miniseries was fabulous.

    Here's some other nice mini, that came out just on top of my head:

    Daughters of the Dragon: story about Misty Knight and Colleen Wing. Very well written and drawn, with lots of urban heroes and villains. Feels like an action-packed old style movie.

    Killraven: written and drawn by Alan Davis. It's basically a retelling of the classic sci-fi story (Killraven was created in the '70s) with a modern taste. The Marvel version of John Carter, I guess, only much better than the movie.

    The Defenders by Busiek and Larsen: I think this is the best new version of the group. Is funny, crazy and weird and has all the classic Defenders line-up.

    Astonishing X-Men - Xenogenesis: I love Warren Ellis and this is a wonderful story with the X-Men in Africa. It has moral issues and great characterisations of the "classic" line-up, just before everyone went crazy and split. Plus the drawing of Andrews are something to remember.

  15. #15
    Extraordinary Member Nomads1's Avatar
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    I'll mention two very dear to my heart and that I consider some of the best the company has ever published.

    Heroes for Hire, by John Ostrander and Pasqual Ferry. The book was hindered by the basic premise that they were supposed to take the Avengers place in a world lacking it's greatest heroes, once the Avengers and the FF dissapeared for one year following the Onslaught menance. Once Heroes Reborn was over, and the big guns were back, the book seemed to loose a bit of it's prominence, and, unlike Thunderbolts, failed to find it new path, eventually leading to the book's cancelation, depite it's continuing strong quality. That book had, among other things, the best Luke Cage I've ever read, keeping it's roots on the character's origins, yet still moving foward and adding new layers. Soon after, Bendis came along and ruined the character for me, writing a stereotypical angry black man Cage who seemed almost ashamed of his super-hero past (as Bendis always gave me that vibe that he always seemed to feel a bit ashamed of writing silly super-hero comics). The art was awsome. Characterization was fantastic. The Black Knight revamp was marvelous. Plus, I still think that She-Hulk and Power Man was a much more intresting pairing than Cage and Jessica Jones. A fantastic book, but way too short. Kind of a cult book among those who had the pleasure of reading it.
    and...
    Deathlok, by Gregory Wright, Dwayne McDuffie and (for the most part) Denis Cowan. The premise of the book was, IMHO, one of the most original Marvel ever came up with. A pacifist trapped in the world's most advanced killing machine. It was an unexpected twist on the 90's excessive trend of gun-totting, Blood this, Death that, anti-heroes to find a true blue old-fashioned (killing is bad and must be used only as a last resort) hero in Deathlok. The art of the book was never much to my liking, but, IMHO, serviceable enough, although it did get a lot of bad fillers after Cowan left. But the stories were great. The first 15 or so issues were collected in TPB at the beggining of this year. Anfd the awsome mini that led to the series also has a HC collection. Worth checking it out.

    Peace

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