Yeah, FF # 51, "This Man, This Monster". It's a great one, one of the classics.

And it's a one-issue story, the likes of which you don't see often in the modern era.
In the current period, it would be stretched for 6 or 8 issues to fill a trade paperback. Which would blunt some of its impact.

Even in expanded stories of the 60's, 70's and 80's, with subplots that went beyond a single issue, the story would come to some kind of a conclusion at issue's end, that would give a sense of having read a complete story, even though elements of it were continued the next month.

Some of my favorites, that are largely single-issue stories, despite plot elements that are continued:
  • Jack Kirby's Fourth World books:
    JIMMY OLSEN 133-148,
    FOREVER PEOPLE 1-11,
    NEW GODS 1-11,
    MR MIRACLE 1-9 ( all from 1970-1972)

    And Kirby's KAMANDI, DEMON, O.M.A.C., DAYS IN THE MOB, WEIRD MYSTERY 1-3, JUSTICE INC, SANDMAN and others.

    And really, just about every DC comic, prior to 1985.

    Neal Adams' Deadman (STRANGE ADVENTURES 206-216), BATMAN, DETECTIVE COMICS, GREEN LANTERN, SPECTRE and other series.

    I greatly enjoy all the Batman titles from 1970-1975, mostly scripted by O'Neil, Robbins and Haney, with art primarily by Novick, Aparo, Brown and Giordano. As well as Neal Adams, who I just listed above, whose style from 1970 forward set the style for all the other batman artists. With some great work by Simonson (DETECTIVE 437-443, 450), Almendola (DETECTIVE 439 especially!!!) and others.


    Wein/Wrightson SWAMP THING 1-10(recently reprinted in the SWAMP THING: DARK GENESIS trade)

    The McGregor/Russell Killraven series, in AMAZING ADVENTURES 18-39 (1973-1976, and the KILLRAVEN graphic novel in 1983). Some of the best writing in comics, on an Alan Moore level.
    McGregor's Black Panther series in JUNGLE ACTION 6-24 is another close contender.

    Starlin, Englehart/Gulacy, Moench/Gulacy, Moench/Zeck and Moench/Day MASTER OF KUNG FU 15-120 (1974-1982).

    Starlin's CAPTAIN MARVEL and WARLOCK series (1973-1977)

    Mike Grell's WARLORD series. The first 14 issues especially, which Grell wrote, pencilled and inked. He wrote and pencilled up to issue 50, and while it was still good, it wasn't quite as beautiful as when he did everything himself.

    Grell's STARSLAYER series(1981-1983)

    Grell's JON SABLE FREELANCE series (1983-1986).


    AMAZING SPIDERMAN ANNUAL 14 and 15 (1980 and 1981 respectively) by Dennis O'Neil and Frank Miller.
    From a period when, with others like AVENGERS ANNUAL 7 and MARVEL 2-IN-1 ANNUAL 2 (both by Starlin, 1977),
    and X-MEN ANNUAL 3 (Claremont/Perez/Austin, 1980),
    and AVENGERS ANNUAL 10 (Claremont/Golden/Gil, 1981) were truly an annual event.

    The ultimate annual ever for me is AMAZING SPIDERMAN ANNUAL 1 (1963) by Lee and Ditko (I have it reprinted as ANNUAL 6, which is actually better because it collects a few other great early Marvel stories, where Spiderman first clashed with the FF.)

    Michelinie/Byrne AVENGERS, issues 181-191. A tremendously fun storyline. The whole run surrounding it, mostly by Englehart, Shooter, Michelinie and Perez, from issues 141-220, I enjoy only slightly less.
    A very consistent and fun series.

    Stern's AMAZING SPIDERMAN 224-250, with John Romita Jr. (1982-1984). For me, the definitive Spiderman.


    Stern's CAPTAIN AMERICA 247-255 with John Byrne. Again, definitive.

    Stern's DOCTOR STRANGE 46, 48-73 (with Golden, Rogers, Paul Smith, Salmons, Green, Leialoha, and others). The definitive Doctor Strange, the book I think Stern poured the most love into. A LOT of great single-issue stories.

    LEGION OF SUPERHEROES 285-306, by Levitz and Giffen. I've rarely enjoyed comics more than when I read this series (1982-1984), partially reprinted in the LEGION: GREAT DARKNESS SAGA trade.

    And even Alan Moore's highly acclaimed SWAMP THING series, while telling a larger story, is broken into smaller one-issue, two-issue and three-issue storylines that can largely be understood independent of the rest of the series, particularly:
    "The Anatomy Lesson" (issue 21, 1983),
    "Pog" (issue 32),
    "Abandoned Houses" (issue 33),
    "The Nukeface Papers" (issues 35-36),
    "Still Waters/Fish Story" (issues 38-39),
    "The Curse" (issue 40),
    "Southern Change/Strange Fruit" (issues 41-42),
    "Ghost Dance" (issue 45, my favorite !),
    and "My Blue Heaven" (issue 55).


Y'know, I just don't get the modern, "stretch it to fill a trade" mindset. You can fill a trade with single issue stories !
So I mean, really, WHY ?!?
It's just lazy hack writing. And I choose not to support it.

I'd highly recommend the new FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE JUSTICE LEAGUE trade. Even within the six-issue trade, the stories are largely broken into one and two issue segments. Clever, funny and tightly scripted. Again, it's the most fun I've had reading comics in a long time. A refreshing taste of what's largely been gone for the last 10 to 15 years.

Likeable characters, instead of intimidation, attitude, sadism, profanity, graphic violence and gore ( shock elements which are almost always a substitute for real talent. I'm referring specifically to Azzarello, Bendis, Ellis, Ennis, Morrison and Millar. I would like if in real life, someone would do some of the terrible things to them that they do to the characters they script. Vile excrement. )


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"This Man, This Wonder Boy..."