Atlantis Attacks.

[Cold Water]

Even *I* feel too young for this thread.


That NEVER happens.

[MajorHoy]

. . . The weirdest Annual crossover had to be the Lifeform storyline though. It went from the Punisher to Daredevil to the Hulk to the Silver Surfer.

That is strange . . . I wonder why Punisher was included.

[resipsaloquitur]

That is strange . . . I wonder why Punisher was included.

If anything, you'd wonder why the Silver Surfer was included. The story worked, but it really was four chapters that had no connection other than the same villain.

[Zero Hunter]

That is strange . . . I wonder why Punisher was included.

They always found a way to include him. He had Atlantis Attacks and Evolutionary War tie in Annuals also. Plus the Lifeform kept getting stronger.

[resipsaloquitur]

Let's not forget that the Avengers AA Annual gave us this gem:

[MajorHoy]

If anything, you'd wonder why the Silver Surfer was included. The story worked, but it really was four chapters that had no connection other than the same villain.

Well, Silver Surfer and Hulk had both been members of the Defenders in the past, and Daredevil had also appeared with them.

[Tazpocalapse]

I loved both Atlantis Attacks and Evolutionary War. I didn't mind the ones from before that where they would take 3 or 4 Annuals and tell one story either. Stuff like The Korvac Quest, Subterranean Wars, Terminus Factor, and Days of Future Present were all pretty good.

The weirdest Annual crossover had to be the Lifeform storyline though. It went from the Punisher to Daredevil to the Hulk to the Silver Surfer.

Yeah remember that small annual crossover with Capt, DD, and Punisher , with SHIELD tracking down HYDRA experiments?

[resipsaloquitur]

Yeah, but Lifeform wasn't even close to a Defenders story. Other than DD appearing in a flashback in the Hulk story, the characters didn't even apear in each other's chapters.

[Reviresco]

I never saw this sponge when Atlantis Attacks was coming out, but I wonder if it was one of the first Marvel promos?

[cranger]

If anything, you'd wonder why the Silver Surfer was included. The story worked, but it really was four chapters that had no connection other than the same villain.

That is strange . . . I wonder why Punisher was included.

For the same reason for most crossovers, to get readers to try out something else and hopefully start reading it.

[Zero Hunter]

Yeah remember that small annual crossover with Capt, DD, and Punisher , with SHIELD tracking down HYDRA experiments?

The "Von Strucker Gambit". I have those somewhere.

Also how about the one that ran in the Spider Man Annuals (Amazing Spider Man, Web of Spider Man, and Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider Man) called the "Vibranium Vendetta" that had Spidey teaming up with Iron Man and the Black Panther to take on Kingpin, the Ghost, and Ultron.

[Nomads1]

The "Von Strucker Gambit". I have those somewhere.

Also how about the one that ran in the Spider Man Annuals (Amazing Spider Man, Web of Spider Man, and Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider Man) called the "Vibranium Vendetta" that had Spidey teaming up with Iron Man and the Black Panther to take on Kingpin, the Ghost, and Ultron.

Guess you'll like this:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/078...=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Peace

[Reviresco]

Even *I* feel too young for this thread.


That NEVER happens.

LOL! Yes, there are plenty of us old geezers still around. ;p

Let's not forget that the Avengers AA Annual gave us this gem:

Is that where that came from? Awesome.

No. There weren't any 7-11s around where I lived. The closest one I was vaguely aware of was well beyond an easy bicycle ride. I bought my comic books primarily from a local stationary store with a good magazine section.

Stationary store? Those are mostly gone now, too, aren't they?

7-11s are regional. They were everywhere in Colorado, but we don't have any or very few down in the South. As a kid we used to have Majik Marts, but now I think the convenience stores are Circle K and others -- though they don't carry comics now.

No, really, I always thought this was a great time for annuals. Lately they're used as an extra oversized issue of a main book, or a dumping ground for stories that didn't fit in the main book. With the annuals around 1988-1991, you got 1) a main story that usualy worked on its own, but was also part of a larger story, 2) a bunch of short backup stories, and 3) a "history of the Marvel universe" type backup which again supported the main story. All in all, I really felt like those annuals gave you your money's worth.

I didn't think of it that way, but they are stories that can fit outside of the narrative of the ongoing. And while they don't have all that wonderful extra stuff you mention, I've enjoyed reading a couple of the trio of annuals format Marvel is using now. I think it's also a try out for writers and artists, much like it was in the past.

[strathcona]

I loved Atlantis Attacks, and Evolutionary War too. Reread them many times. I have been thinking about them recently and thought that Marvel should revisit this format for their events. I know they wouldn't be able to sell as many tie-ins, but there would be less complaints from people, and I am sure sales would remain. Have one Annual a week across three or even four months, you'd get 12-16 oversized issues, all part of the main story, and not derailing the main series. Have them written by the same writer as the regular series, or have one popular writer write all the issues... whatever Marvel thinks would work best. They could even run multiple events a year (which they do anyway) by varying the length of the story and then starting a new one as soon as the old one is done. 52 weeks a year, Marvel probably has approximately that many on-going titles... an Annual a week.

[resipsaloquitur]

By the way, there were a few Atlantis Attacks stories outside the Annuals. One was a short Hulk story in Marvel Comics Presents where the Hulk fights a crazy whale at a thinly-veiled Sea World parody. Another was in an issue of West Coast Avengers which really served as a lead-in to that book's annual. (I think it was literally a panel.) Finally, there was the crazy oversized What If...? #25 where Namor dies, the Punisher and Moon Knight are turned into snakes, and Thor fails in his quest to recruit the Demogorge, so set basically wins. A lot of What If...? comics are dark, but man, that one was dark.