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Post by Philip Ayres on Nov 20, 2017 16:47:38 GMT
OK, some Silver Surfer help required: v2 Freedom 1-14
v5 Thanos Quest 39-50, Annual 3
v6 The Infinity Gaunlet 51-66 Annual 4 How do you divide 15-38 & annuals 1 & 2 between two volumes? What's padding it out? I make that, at most, 28 issues (24 from the series, 2 each from the annuals) worth of material. The same month as Surfer 38, www.mikesamazingworld.com/features/newsstand.php?type=cover&month=6&year=1990&publisher=marvel&sort=alpha&checklist=null, Marvel Fanfare #51 has the Surfer in it too. 29 issues The same months as Surfer 18 & 19, www.mikesamazingworld.com/features/newsstand.php?type=cover&month=12&year=1988&publisher=marvel&sort=alpha&checklist=null, Parable 1 & 2, came out, 31 issues. Beyond that .... I need 9 more issues of material to get me to 40. Any offers? I thought annual 3, out same month as Surfer 38, might provide the solution as it's Lifeform part 4. which might bring in parts 1-3 (Punisher Annual 3, Daredevil Annual 6 and Hulk Annual 16) but Annual 3 is in Epic 6 and I can't see 3 Silver Surferless annuals plumping up Epic 5 with the resolution in he next volume. |
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Post by Philip Ayres on Dec 8, 2017 23:53:02 GMT
Sub £20 Mutant Genesis Epic Collection en route!
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Post by Philip Ayres on Dec 12, 2017 6:19:50 GMT
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Post by Philip Ayres on Dec 13, 2017 10:50:02 GMT
Been reading X-Men Epic Collection 19: Mutant Genesis and it's a rather odd trade.
So the previous volume closes with Uncanny X-men 277, where the X-Men finish their adventure in Shiar space. That's also the last Jim Lee drawn issue of Uncanny.
This volume opens with the Kings of Pain annual story, which I don't think has ever been properly collected. The series was released in May/June 1991 alongside X-Men 278/279 & X-Factor 68/69: New Mutants had ended Feb 91 alongside X-Men 275/X-Factor 65 so New Mutants Annual 7 was set and released after New Mutants 100, Indeed X-Force 1 came out the same month, but it's missing from the hardcover. So I was rather keen to get this traded. The main story, the first part, isn't in this trade!!! The material from New Mutants annual 7 is just the first part of the Freedom Force The Killing Stroke back up strip, 13 pages inc the cover. That's there to give the X-Men portion some context. New Warriors Annual 1, the second part, is skipped completely. X-Men Annual 15 is complete, with the 2nd part of the Killing Stroke, and relies on a recap to bring readers up to speed. Although released alongside X-Men 279 it's set during 274-277 and involves Moira McTaggert's faux X-Men team, one of which I'm pretty sure should be locked up in the basement at his point! So no proper X-Men involved. X-Factor Annual 6 rounds off the story and also provides The Killing Stroke conclusion, a story I always found in somewhat poor taste, particularly the way Silver Sabre gets bumped off. But it serves the function of getting rid of the team and putting Pyro & The Blob where Liefield can use them for his new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants in early X-Force issues. I'm not that fond of the main Kings of Pain story either, it's a bit of a mess TBH, but I wish they'd printed all of it.
Next up there's four X-Factor issues 65-58. It's not an X-Men story, no more than any X-Factor issues are, and the only reason I can see that it's in here is because of it's historical significance. I'm not 100% sure I'd have included it over the rest of the Kings of Pain as it's inclusion doesn't have much bearing on the X-Factor issues they did need to include. I'm saying this even though it's my favourite post Walt Simonson X-Factor story with some fab Portacio art and it's easily the best bit of the book. I think that throwing it in here will make this volume far too similar to the X-Factor volume covering the same period. Has it ever had a proper Marvel trade before? I've got the square bound comic reprint which I will now need to page by page compare to make sure the Epic is complete.
The largest chunk, five issues worth, finally features some proper X-Men with the story in Uncanny 278-280 & X-Factor 69-70. Order is UXM 278, 279, XF 69, UXM 280, XF 70, which finally kills off the Muir Island Shadow King story that had rumbled on for years since at least Uncanny 254. I recall being thoroughly fed up with it by this time.
Uncanny 278 is Paul Smith and he looks better with Hilary Barta inking him than he did in the Milgrom X-Factor issues but nowhere near as good as in the amazing Uncanny 160s/170s issues he did with Bob Wiacek. I'm not sure the last page of the issue is Smith: it's nowhere near his style and looks rushed and a mess. There's also the matter of how & why Guido, last seen in 273 delivering Lila Cheney to the ruins of the X-Mansion, is now on Muir Island. Rogue I could understand, she knows the place, but Guido? You could put both down to being under the Shadow King's control but the Shadow King hasn't encountered either of them before.
Uncanny 279 is Andy Kubert, and doesn't look too bad: his stuff annoys me later. I need to air a nearly 30 year old continuity grudge here: The issue ends with Colossus with Professor-X. Last issue of Uncanny written by Claremont.
X-Factor 69 reunites the Professor with his original students: Colossus is standing behind him, silent in human form. Once they're on the sub going to Muir Island, Colossus is nowhere to be seen. You'd have thought he'd be on the sub and would travel to the Island with X-Factor wouldn't you. Fab looking stuff though, more Portacio, his last X-Factor. And yesm, this issue confirms my suspicion from above, Lorna should still be imprisoned in the basement of Muir Island!
Uncanny 280 Two pencillers - Andy Kubert & Steven Butler - plus a multitude of inkers produces a really disjointed issue. You get the feeling everyone's eyes were on the forthcoming X-Men 1 and not what they're doing here. Tom Palmer over Kubert doesn't work but there's worse than that here. Against that there's some mazing panels and pages: a couple of panels of Banshee & Forge on p300, bits of p307-309 - does anyone know who's responsible? P289 contains the panel that REALLY annoys me: There's Colossus with the X-Men! How did he get there? Did he arrive with the Professor's group on the sub? Tracking Colossus from his position at the end of Uncanny 279 to here does my head in. These last few issues felt a mess at the time and still feel like a mess now. I wish they were Claremont/Lee straight through, bookending what had been a great run by the pair. It'd be interesting to know exactly what was happeneing behind the scenes when in relation to these issues: I get the feeling that Harras yanked Lee off the title to get a head start on X-Men 1.... but was 279 still being written when Claremont left after X-Men 3?
X-Factor 70 is a Peter David written coda to the Muir Island story. Does it's job, functional art but Lee/Portacio had somewhat raised expectations across the two books.
The volume ends with X-Men 1-3. I've bought them at least 5 times in various forms and I don't particularly like them! Something has gone from the storytelling, it's just not as good as the Uncanny run between Lee & Claremont. I did think "Why is this in there?" but I suppose it does provide a nice bookend to the Claremont run finishing the volumes printing his issues. It enabled the next volume to start the post Claremont Uncanny issues cleanly and nowhereon the book does it says Uncanny X-Men Epic Collection: for all I know they may be intending to use v20 onwards to print Uncanny and adjectiveless side by side.
HUGE chunk of bonus material at the back: There's a Jim Lee poster from speakeasy which has an odd X-Men team configuration on it: were the teams in flux going forward or did they release specific mixed up images to muck with people's heads? There are others - definitely a Portacio one somewhere, and I think an odd X-Factor one too. There's also a fabulous Jim Lee tryptic poster set which I had hanging on my wall at University which I think depicts where they intended the team before they came up the merger with the X-Factor members: If that isn't in Volume 18 I will be VERY cross!
So yes a real mish mash of a volume: the best thing in it shouldn't be there in my opinion! An interesting record of what was an important point for the X-Men.
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Post by Philip Ayres on Dec 13, 2017 10:52:35 GMT
In terms of my X-Men in trades collection Epic 19 plugs an obvious gap and because of it I now have a run from 265-300 traded up!
In terms of which X-Men volume I'd like to see next, the previous one 18 with Days of Future Present, X-Tinction Agenda and the Claremont/Lee trip to Shiar space wouldn't be too bad. They bunged a new Xtinction Agenda trade out a few years back.
Alternately v11, the previous volume to the already released 12 The Gift, would be gold with unreprinted JRJR and Kitty Pryde & Wolverine.
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Post by Philip Ayres on Dec 31, 2017 21:32:20 GMT
Trade of the year?
A few real contenders I think: the X-Men epic with the first New X-Men issues because, although the majority has been collected before the extras feel like it's made it feel like a definitive edition.
The Amazing Spider-Man epic with the properly coloured Kraven's Last Hunt which we've been wanting for years. As a bonus we get Spider-Man vs Wolverine, the ASM double sized issue that follows and the wedding annual in the same volume.
The Excalibur epic collection
The Ladronn Cable trade
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Post by Andy Turnbull on Dec 31, 2017 22:47:52 GMT
I'd have to say the Excalibur Collection probably takes it for me.
Andy
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Jim
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Post by Jim on Jan 2, 2018 22:33:14 GMT
I didn't get many new trades in 2017, but I think the best one I did get was the New Mutants Epic Collection v1.
I'm in the same mind regarding what I get in terms of value for money - I'm really mostly only tempted by the Epics, and for budget reasons I currently wait for them to be on sale somewhere or other.
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jan 2, 2018 22:58:53 GMT
I didn't get many new trades in 2017, but I think the best one I did get was the New Mutants Epic Collection v1. I enjoyed New Mutants, but I had everything in it in trades already from New Mutants Classic and Magik is placed one issue too early, it should flow straight into NM 14 which is her first issue in the title: the kids in the snow is in both Magik 4 and NM 14. |
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Jim
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Post by Jim on Jan 2, 2018 23:07:23 GMT
My only exposure to early NM has been cross-over issues reprinted in X-Men collections, so it was mostly new stuff to me; I'm slightly disappointed they aren't going straight to volume 2!
I think this was also the first year I abandoned an Epic; I just wasn't getting on with Black Panther, some nice art but dreadful writing. On the to-sell pile.
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jan 2, 2018 23:14:56 GMT
The next volume - something like 13-28, Annual 1 & Marvel Team Up 149 - is the real backbone of the title's fame. www.dcindexes.com/features/series.php?seriesid=4050&page=galleryOk guess the rest.... V3: 29-43, New Mutants Special Edition, X-Men Annual 9 V4: 44-56, New Mutants Annuals 2-3, X-Men Annual 10 We know v6 is 71-87 So v5 would be 57-70 & Annual 4, which looks 2 issues light. So which 2 issues worth of big NM appearances have I forgotten about? Or can the material be stretched somehow? 21, 50 & 60 are double sized as are the annuals (4 may count as triple depending how much they print) Special edition is Tripple sized. Aha! Think X-Men 231 needs to bein v5 www.dcindexes.com/features/comic.php?comicid=50204 |
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jan 4, 2018 13:42:07 GMT
Came home to discover a book I was waiting for had parted company with it's packaging en route :-( Email sent to retailer
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jan 5, 2018 21:31:44 GMT
Been thinking about what Epic collections I'd like to see next: Iron Man - 9, issues up to 157, 12 (196-214, Annual 8) or 14 (233-244 + ? Crash ?) Thor - something 5-10 (175-302, annuals 3-8) Spider-Man - 14 (up to 258), 16 (273-288 GN22: Hooky marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Marvel_Graphic_Novel_Vol_1_22), 18 (295-310 ? Annual 22) or 19 (311?-325 Annual 23) - those last 2 are the McFarlane Volumes though! Avengers - 8 (129-148, GS2-4) or something 10-15 (167-263, Annuals 8-14). 10 itself would be fab FF - anything! A just after 200 onwards volume would be fab, not in Essentials Captain America - 5-8 (160-246, Annuals 1-4) or 10-11(267-301, Anuuals 6 & 7) EDIT: vol numbers corrected Daredevil - no real prefence. 20 (345-364) to plug that one volume gap! Defenders - 9 (138-152) never reprinted or a Gerber volume Doctor Strange - no real preference. Stern/Paul Smith would be nice! Hulk - Stern run, which was done in last Essentials, or early Mantlo (not reprinted) The gap between the Byrne & David runs has never been traded either (320-330) Silver Surfer v4 (15-30, Annuals 1 & 2) or 5 (31-38) Wolverine - no real preference. All the stuff I want would be v0! Uncanny X-Men - anything 160-188 (probably v9-11) New Mutants - no real preference. v8 or v9 so I can see how they're going to split Xtinction Agenda. X-Factor - v2 (10-??) depending on how Mutant Massacre is handled. Then there's the Thor issues with Iceman, Hulk issues.... But I think it looks like 10-20, Annual 2, Thor 373-374, 377-378, Powerpack 27 & Hulk 336-7 X-Force - v2 so I can get rid of the remaining hardcovers! |
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jan 6, 2018 17:53:28 GMT
OK, some Silver Surfer help required: v2 Freedom 1-14
v5 Thanos Quest 39-50, Annual 3
v6 The Infinity Gaunlet 51-66 Annual 4 How do you divide 15-38 & annuals 1 & 2 between two volumes? What's padding it out? I make that, at most, 28 issues (24 from the series, 2 each from the annuals) worth of material. The same month as Surfer 38, www.mikesamazingworld.com/features/newsstand.php?type=cover&month=6&year=1990&publisher=marvel&sort=alpha&checklist=null, Marvel Fanfare #51 has the Surfer in it too. 29 issues The same months as Surfer 18 & 19, www.mikesamazingworld.com/features/newsstand.php?type=cover&month=12&year=1988&publisher=marvel&sort=alpha&checklist=null, Parable 1 & 2, came out, 31 issues. Beyond that .... I need 9 more issues of material to get me to 40. Any offers? Ah! Silver Surfer HC Judgement Day www.mikesamazingworld.com/features/comic.php?comicid=65427 3 issues worth there! Interesting afternoon with the spreadsheets now means I think I know what's what v4 is, I think, 15-26 (25 is double sized) + Annual 1 (double sized) + Parable 1 & 2 + Judgement Day Graphic Novel (equivalent of 3 issues) = 20 issues v5 is, I think, 27-38 (31 is double sized) + Annual 2 (double sized) + The Enslavers Graphic Novel (equivalent of 3 issues) + Marvel Fanfare 51 (double sized) = 20 issues I've also found I possess the Rebirth of Thanos TPB ( Silver Surfer 34-38, Thanos Quest #1-2 and material from Logan's Run #6) which I didn't know I had an have never read! |
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jan 6, 2018 22:56:44 GMT
Silver Surfer: Thanos Quest: Oi Cosmic Jim, do your research: The She Hulk met the Silver Surfer in SSv3#1 when he breached the barrier surrounding the Earth and also in the Avengers/WCA annual crossover when everyone dies at the baseball game. Apparently I have read Rebirth of Thanos, even if I named it wrong in the above post. Thanos Quest is in the book, but that looks like it's referring to SS#36, which is in tis book but not pat of Thanos Quest! The complaint caught my eye earlier but I had no memory of what it was about or any of the rest of the book till I read it tonight! |
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Post by Philip Ayres on Feb 10, 2018 22:41:22 GMT
Iron Man Epic Collection 15: Doom is here - the one Amazon still think is out 2nd June. I've come to the startling realisation that it starts with The issue after I stopped buying the title! That's kind of putting me off reading it in an odd way! Looking at what else was out then I think I bailed on Avengers Spotlight, Classic X-Men (it had reached where I had from) and Silver Surfer the same month having shed Captain America, Thor, Marvel Comics Presents & Strikeforce Morituri a few months earlier. The survivors were X-Men, X-Factor, New Mutants, Wolverine, Excalibur, Alpha Flight, Spider-Man, GI Joe & Transformers which were joined by FF when Simonson came on board.
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Post by Philip Ayres on Feb 13, 2018 9:45:08 GMT
Iron Man Epic Collection 15: Doom is here. That was an interesting read, but possibly not because the stories were that great! Starts off well enough: Annual 10 by Micheline and Paul Smith though it lacks any of Smith's style used on The X-Men. Probably not read that since the week it was published! Part of Atlantis Attacks which I recall being very up & down: the X-Men annual (13) is particularly poor. Regular issues start at 245 shortly after Tony Stark's been shot (243) and is either confined to a wheelchair or using the armour to mobilise. A play on the original armour keeps the heart going perhaps? The feeling I get is that Dave Michelinie was going somewhere with this storyline but it's all wrapped up very quickly in 248 with 249 & 250 a separate story, a not very good sequel to IM 150 after which Michelinie is gone. So I suspect the Stark in a wheelchair story was killed by the editor and the writer may have walked because of it. 251-257 are a bit of a mess, rotating cast of writers and artists. 255 was meant to be JRjr's return, that gets delayed to 256, and he then vanishes again (returning in 258 in the next volume with John Byrne) Two annuals close the book, the first two parts of the Terminus Factor. Captain America annual 9 reads more like an Iron Man annual guest starring Cap and Iron Man annual 11 reads more like a Machine Man story that's moving the pieces round to set up Machine Man 2020. Neither really feature Terminus as I remember him, and a reference to his previous appearances mentions Avengers (256 & 257) which is good, and Quasar, which I don't remember. Neiher story gets an issue reference in the comic! Quasar? Had to check if I had the issue, 7, and it appears I do but no mention of his more famous Fantastic Four introductory appearance or his X-Men annual appearance. So decent first half, the whiff of behind the scenes shenanigans and then it all goes to pot! I bailed on the title at 244 and I think I jumped a few issues too early! |
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Post by Philip Ayres on Feb 13, 2018 17:03:03 GMT
Actually....
Pinwig, I seem to recall from past comments that you read Iron Man around here. Does the "Witney Frost is dead/Someone else is Madam Masque" plot line go anywhere? I don't recall it mentioned in the following Epic Collection (16 War Games)
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Post by Pinwig on Feb 13, 2018 17:50:05 GMT
These days, I can't remember what happened in last week's 2000AD. The chances of me remembering anything I read 30 years ago are zero! I remember more about rifling through comic boxes at Central Hall to find them than the contents!
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Post by Philip Ayres on Feb 13, 2018 19:23:56 GMT
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Post by Philip Ayres on Feb 24, 2018 15:47:14 GMT
New Excalibur and Daredevil epics secured and en route to the Death Fortress. Checking daily for Amazon putting some new ones up, nothing since start of December! tmukhub.proboards.com/post/302097/thread |
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Post by Philip Ayres on Feb 26, 2018 15:27:45 GMT
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Post by Philip Ayres on Feb 26, 2018 16:41:50 GMT
a quick poke in Amazon's general listings reveals A LOT of FF in July/August/Sept www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=sr_pg_1?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_30%3Amarvel%2Cp_45%3A0%2Cp_46%3Aafter%2Cp_47%3A2006&sort=date-desc-rank&ie=UTF8&qid=1519662983Fantastic Four: Behold…Galactus! Sep 11, 2018
Fantastic Four by John Byrne Omnibus Vol. 1 Sep 11, 2018
The Fantastic Four Omnibus Vol. 1 Sep 11, 2018
Fantastic Four: The World's Greatest Comic Magazine Sep 4, 2018
Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman: The Complete Collection Vol. 1 Sep 4, 2018
The Human Torch & The Thing: Strange Tales - The Complete Collection Aug 28, 2018
Heroes Reborn: Fantastic Four Aug 21, 2018 Plus the two epics, above, and another, further above. New FF series for then? |
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Post by The Doctor on Feb 26, 2018 18:38:57 GMT
Or a movie or tv related announcement which I think is more likely. We've seen this pattern before.
-Ralph
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Post by Philip Ayres on Feb 26, 2018 18:45:51 GMT
So obviously pleased with that FF volume: from early in the run and the next volume up so it's an obvious one. Marvel Two In One has been near the top of my wanted Epics for some time. This volume isn't particularly exciting in terms of contents but it's nice to get the party started. 5 or 6 volumes should complete the run. 100 issues, 3 double sized (50, 75 & 100) but 21 and 99 have rights issues: so 101 standard sized issues. 7 Annuals, double sized, 114 issues. Marvel Team Ups 47 (Thing) 100 (FF) 132 (Mr Fantastic) & 133 (FF) might help pad it a bit. There's another Thing MTU but that's 6, prior to MTIO starting. And Avengers Annual 7, although it doesn't feature Ben, is the first half of the story continued in MTIO Annual 2. And you can't own those two enough times! Now how about The Marvel Team Up Epic collections? And Power Man Iron Fist 3 for Sept/October? |
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Post by Philip Ayres on Feb 26, 2018 18:46:25 GMT
Or a movie or tv related announcement which I think is more likely. We've seen this pattern before. -Ralph Oh yes. But something FF going down around then. |
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Post by Philip Ayres on Feb 28, 2018 19:33:44 GMT
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Post by Philip Ayres on Mar 5, 2018 19:35:50 GMT
Excalibur Epic Collection 2: The Cross Time Caper is here. The Cross Time Caper nearly killed me on this comic first time out. Goes on FOREVER - turns out it's 12 issues. There's fill in artists of variable quality in the middle: Chris Wozniak is capable of drawing decent looking pieces and absolute tosh in the same issue while another fill in so dramatically changes style half way through I wondered if it might be deliberate. Then there's an inventory issue (20) which made me think I'd missed something the first time I read it as it has nothing to do with the ongoing story. Alan Davis is back for the last two issues, 23 & 24, but by that point my interest had long gone. In the interests of curiosity and because it is now all in one place, it was split in the previous Excalibur classics, I am going to try reading it again! www.mikesamazingworld.com/mikes/features/series.php?seriesid=4069&page=galleryDavis leaves straight after anD Claremont bails an issue or 2 later and then it gets really bad! It doesn't improve till Davis' return in 42. I don' know how that page at Mike's is displaying for the rest of you, but for me it's 8 issues per row. Issues 37-39 are all on the same row next to each other, I'd never spotted they were a Triptych before!
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Post by Philip Ayres on Mar 5, 2018 19:40:45 GMT
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Post by Philip Ayres on Mar 5, 2018 20:30:35 GMT
Contents research: realised the other day that I'd labelled Captain America: Dawn's Early Light as v8 rather than 9. That makes the contents of 10 & 11 easy to guess, and indeed gives us a run from 9-16 which we know the contents for: | EPIC | ISSUES | ANNUAL | EXTRAS | | 9 Dawn's Early Light | 247-266 | 5 | | | 10 | 267-283 | 6 | Defenders 106 | | 11 | 284-301 | 7 | | | 12 Society of Serpents | 302-317 | | Marvel Fanfare #18 | | 13 Justice is Served | 318-332 | 8 | Amazing Spider-Man #278
Material from: Marvel Fanfare #29, 31-32 | | 14 | 333-350 | | Iron Man 228 | | 15 The Bloodstone Hunt | 351-371 | | | | 16 Streets of Poison | 372-386 | 9-10 | |
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