The first Amalgam Comics wave featured 12 issues in April '96 (spinning off from the DC VS Marvel event), and Amalgam wave 2 was another 12 issues in June '97. (There were also the "All Access" and "Unlimited Access" Marvel/DC crossover limited series.)
Dark Claw was undoubtedly the most popular character from DC and Marvel's shared Amalgam universe, bar none! I still have Legends Of The Dark Claw #1 in my collection!
Love hearing praise for Ty, he deserves it. Not only a fabulous cartoonist, but an excellent teacher. I've taken classes with him and learned so damn much about storytelling in an easy to digest way. I wouldn't be putting together comics 100% solo currently if I hadn't taken his classes. Sadly, both he and his wife have been battling cancer lately.
spiderboy team up by Ladronn was one of my first 100 comics and one my favourites for sure, in Italy it got published in a thick square bound comic alongside dark claw adventure and I must have read it hundreds of times. Ladronn was amazing in that and even in the form of a weird mash up his art got me interested in spiderman, superboy and the legion of superheroes
Between the backstory of Amalgam, the art styles, the drab digital coloring, and that hideous graphic design in the ads that were advertising stuff like enhanced CDs from Primus, this is one of the most potent mid '90s time capsules you guys have ever looked at on the channel.
Nice Vid. Marvel Vs. DC felt like a misfire, but the Almalgam Spinoffs were a ton of fun. You can tell the creators were having a blast with the concept.
The Amalgam books all hit between issues #3 and #4 of Marvel vs. DC. The combination of the two universes was a direct story point in #2 that was then undone in #3. That's my memory, anyway.
If I remember correctly, DC vs. Marvel numbers 1, 2 and 3 come first. Characters are merged in part 3. Then, the Amalgam Comics came out, and number 4 comes last. A year later or so, a sequel to DC vs Marvel called All-Access, which is why there are more Amalgalm comics from 1997.
I enjoyed Amalgam- it felt imaginative at the time. "Iron Lantern", "Strange Fate", etc. Also, the "Adventures" line Dc was doing was kinda interesting- Alongside Batman Adventures (that Darkclaw Adventures is obviously referencing) they had a "JSA Adventures" reboot that felt like "The Animated Adventures of.." - It was pretty refreshing of an art style from what was going on at the time and certainly beat that heavily-photo-referenced look that surfaced later.
Amalgam unfortunately happened at a time when the industry was having a huge shift in style (due to digital) and most of the comics looked completely rubbish (to me). Post-1995, things start to get ROUGH. It took me years to become interested in comics again, that was a traumatic time for me.
Yo Strange Adventures is my LCS! So weird to hear it named in the wild. Definitely gonna ask about ordering up that Hulk from them. Funny story too, if you ever got to check out Gus's Pub in Hali, I bought a shit ton of books from some dude who lived above it. Got em for 50 cents each, including two Amalgams. I think it was an Amazons one and the X-Patrol one. Crazy anyway
its always nice to hear nice things about Jim Balent. i love Tarot and hes such a nice guy. Brother answers his dms, wishes his FB friends happy birthday, etc just a real rad dude
Oh man, good times. I actually voted in the Marvel/DC thing. I'd definitely love to see more of these. I'll second Thorion and the Spider-Boys. I'd also like to see the Super-Soldiers, the Challengers of the Fantastic, Iron Lantern, Bruce Wayne: Agent of Shield(early Cary Nord), and Dr. Strangefate. Thank you.
There were two “waves” but not all of them Had the same teams. The first Spider-Boy had Ladronn and was a true standout of the first Amalgam Wave. They were all pretty clever stuff, you got the feeling the creators were excited to work on them and goof on the fun ideas.
There were almost no comics from this time that I liked, and none I loved. EXCEPT this run. They didn't just feel like quickly shoved together (even though they were) but some of them felt like actual characters with value independent of their being an amalgam. Darkclaw, Super Soldier, Strange Fat and one or two more had me reading from cover to cover (something I hadn't really done in over a decade). By the time I saw these they'd come and gone and been in dollar boxes for years. Had I seen when it came out, I might actually have started following comics again. They felt like a fully realized universe (and those metafictional letterpages especially helped with that). I hope if they're ever brought back that they and their fans are given the respect they're deserved.
I'm glad I watched this. I would've never bought Amalgam comics when they were out. That was my senior year of college. However, it was great walking through these pages. The commentary mad it worth looking at. Thanks.
The Batman Adventures, (including all the various versions) sort of bring back a 'house style', after a long run of artists displaying their personal styles. That 'house style' based on the Batman Animated TV series, is still in use now, and so the older comics don't seem to age...
I was just thinking how nice it'd be if that was the style of the main Batman books. Reading through old issues feels weird because the styles change so much. Some is so dated, some feels fresh. The Animated style always works.
I liked the Amalgam books when they came out. It was fun stuff! I’d like for you guys to tackle the DC Stan Lee Just Imagine series after these. Those’ll be some fun episodes!
It's funny how the "Legends of the Dark Claw" comic has an ad of Paradise Lost and the tagline is: "Metallica meets Sisters of Mercy", it's like a mashup inside a mashup.
I really loved this book when it came out. Huge wolverine fan and to this day I think that as characters they fill very similar roles. Both detectives, way underpowered compared to their teams, mentoring kids when they can, etc...
Amalgam comics were fun but somewhat disappointing. A lot of missed opportunities it seems to me. Some amalgams were fun like Super-Soldier and Iron Lantern but most were uninspired or boring. Dark Claw was boring.
The first Amalgam Comics wave featured 12 issues in April '96 (spinning off from the DC VS Marvel event), and Amalgam wave 2 was another 12 issues in June '97. (There were also the "All Access" and "Unlimited Access" Marvel/DC crossover limited series.)
Couldn't agree more about Ty Templeton being massively underrated
Dark Claw was undoubtedly the most popular character from DC and Marvel's shared Amalgam universe, bar none! I still have Legends Of The Dark Claw #1 in my collection!
6:27 Ad for Paradise Lost, wow. Different times.
It wasn't too long before the JLA/Avengers crossover by Busiek and Perez in 2003/4 for another intercompany crossover.
Love hearing praise for Ty, he deserves it. Not only a fabulous cartoonist, but an excellent teacher. I've taken classes with him and learned so damn much about storytelling in an easy to digest way. I wouldn't be putting together comics 100% solo currently if I hadn't taken his classes. Sadly, both he and his wife have been battling cancer lately.
spiderboy team up by Ladronn was one of my first 100 comics and one my favourites for sure, in Italy it got published in a thick square bound comic alongside dark claw adventure and I must have read it hundreds of times. Ladronn was amazing in that and even in the form of a weird mash up his art got me interested in spiderman, superboy and the legion of superheroes
How can this channel have less than at least 150.000 followers by now? "Life is not fair" confirmed.
I can never unsee the faust similarity. Imagine a Bruce timm Faust lol .
Between the backstory of Amalgam, the art styles, the drab digital coloring, and that hideous graphic design in the ads that were advertising stuff like enhanced CDs from Primus, this is one of the most potent mid '90s time capsules you guys have ever looked at on the channel.
Nice Vid. Marvel Vs. DC felt like a misfire, but the Almalgam Spinoffs were a ton of fun. You can tell the creators were having a blast with the concept.
My favorite Amalgam character is Ororo of Themyscira. The Wonder Woman/Storm amalgam.
Written and illustrated by John Byrne, baby!
Yeah, Templeton did the flip side of those Mad Dog comics. His work on those issues is fun.
I got this off the spinner in a music store in Stuttgart, Arkansas when i was 12.
The Amalgam books all hit between issues #3 and #4 of Marvel vs. DC. The combination of the two universes was a direct story point in #2 that was then undone in #3.
That's my memory, anyway.
I love your show! Best comic books content every! Shoutout from Poland💜
As a kid in the '90s, I was a big Amalgam mark. I got whatever I could get my hands on; Spider-Boy was great. Bizzarnage? What an idea.
If I remember correctly, DC vs. Marvel numbers 1, 2 and 3 come first. Characters are merged in part 3. Then, the Amalgam Comics came out, and number 4 comes last. A year later or so, a sequel to DC vs Marvel called All-Access, which is why there are more Amalgalm comics from 1997.
God help me, I love Amalgam comics. The Ladronn Spider Boy issue, JLGL with Nowlan on Dr Strangefate, JRJR Thorion... There are some really good ones
If I remember this correctly, each company had a run at the characters? I gotta go into my boxes.
This crossover was my favorite thing ever in junior high. Y’all gotta look at Lobo the Duck.
Since no one has commented yet, I'll start. Love the energy in this video guys, keep up the good work!
I hope y'all go over Spider-Boy Team-Up #1. Jose Ladronn art is a blast. This is where I first came across him and became a fan.
Oh shit! You guys were in Halifax? My home city. Fucking love you guys 🤟
I'm so happy you guys finally talked about this
Larry Hama is one of the creators of G.I. Joe and wrote most of the original file cards for the characters…he is a super legend 💪🏾
My uncle had the Amalgam comic and when i saw this mashup my 5 year old head exploted. 🤣
Ty templeton is a delight. You should check out his stigs inferno
I enjoyed Amalgam- it felt imaginative at the time. "Iron Lantern", "Strange Fate", etc. Also, the "Adventures" line Dc was doing was kinda interesting- Alongside Batman Adventures (that Darkclaw Adventures is obviously referencing) they had a "JSA Adventures" reboot that felt like "The Animated Adventures of.." - It was pretty refreshing of an art style from what was going on at the time and certainly beat that heavily-photo-referenced look that surfaced later.
I always loved the concept of the Amalgam comics more than the actual comics that resulted.
Amalgam unfortunately happened at a time when the industry was having a huge shift in style (due to digital) and most of the comics looked completely rubbish (to me). Post-1995, things start to get ROUGH. It took me years to become interested in comics again, that was a traumatic time for me.
Yo Strange Adventures is my LCS! So weird to hear it named in the wild. Definitely gonna ask about ordering up that Hulk from them. Funny story too, if you ever got to check out Gus's Pub in Hali, I bought a shit ton of books from some dude who lived above it. Got em for 50 cents each, including two Amalgams. I think it was an Amazons one and the X-Patrol one. Crazy anyway
its always nice to hear nice things about Jim Balent. i love Tarot and hes such a nice guy. Brother answers his dms, wishes his FB friends happy birthday, etc just a real rad dude
Oh man, good times. I actually voted in the Marvel/DC thing. I'd definitely love to see more of these. I'll second Thorion and the Spider-Boys. I'd also like to see the Super-Soldiers, the Challengers of the Fantastic, Iron Lantern, Bruce Wayne: Agent of Shield(early Cary Nord), and Dr. Strangefate. Thank you.
This is a fun look at these books. I think I had one or two of those Amalgam comics at the time.
Marvel VS DC and Amalgam were the first books I bought, they were in Walmart. Nostalgia
Awesome that you have both, man!😮
Love how the cover of the one is like the batman TAS art
There are two miniseries; DC Versus Marvel Amalgam and DC/MARVEL ALL ACCESS
A Dark Claw book by Jae Lee would have been fun!
There were two “waves” but not all of them
Had the same teams. The first Spider-Boy had Ladronn and was a true standout of the first Amalgam Wave. They were all pretty clever stuff, you got the feeling the creators were excited to work on them and goof on the fun ideas.
There were almost no comics from this time that I liked, and none I loved. EXCEPT this run. They didn't just feel like quickly shoved together (even though they were) but some of them felt like actual characters with value independent of their being an amalgam. Darkclaw, Super Soldier, Strange Fat and one or two more had me reading from cover to cover (something I hadn't really done in over a decade). By the time I saw these they'd come and gone and been in dollar boxes for years. Had I seen when it came out, I might actually have started following comics again. They felt like a fully realized universe (and those metafictional letterpages especially helped with that). I hope if they're ever brought back that they and their fans are given the respect they're deserved.
I'm glad I watched this. I would've never bought Amalgam comics when they were out. That was my senior year of college. However, it was great walking through these pages. The commentary mad it worth looking at. Thanks.
Another Awesome vid. Keep up the great work guys 🤟🤟
If you're going to continue your Amalgam coverage, I always thought the 2 Dave Gibbons Superman/Captain America mashups were the best...
The Batman Adventures, (including all the various versions) sort of bring back a 'house style', after a long run of artists displaying their personal styles. That 'house style' based on the Batman Animated TV series, is still in use now, and so the older comics don't seem to age...
I was just thinking how nice it'd be if that was the style of the main Batman books. Reading through old issues feels weird because the styles change so much. Some is so dated, some feels fresh. The Animated style always works.
I remember marvel vs dc and the Dark law comic but my first time seeing the animated style book. Just bought RedRoom 1
I loved the spiral Harley character always wanted more !! I remember someone did an envelope fan art of her in a wizard magazine lol
Speaking of, how about a Mike Parobeck episode. He was such a strong and fun cartoonist
I think marvel vs dc was first. As a kid i loved Amalgam, still cool jams.
I have the second volume of this, I got it from the sale section of Forbidden Planet when I was a kid. Lobo the duck would make a great episode.
I liked the Amalgam books when they came out. It was fun stuff! I’d like for you guys to tackle the DC Stan Lee Just Imagine series after these. Those’ll be some fun episodes!
Amalgam comics were fun
Would you guys consider looking at some Ron Wagner Morbius issues around when the movie comes out?
It's funny how the "Legends of the Dark Claw" comic has an ad of Paradise Lost and the tagline is: "Metallica meets Sisters of Mercy", it's like a mashup inside a mashup.
Everything got two waves. They would have like "amazing spiderboy" and then "spectacular spiderboy"
Bwahahahaha Omega Red+KGBeast that is hilarious
I got speed demon recently amalgam is a awesome crossover
"Ninja Titties" - Ed Piskor
All about lobo the duck
Speed Demon was an amazing design.
Fellas, Thorion is the move next
I really loved this book when it came out. Huge wolverine fan and to this day I think that as characters they fill very similar roles. Both detectives, way underpowered compared to their teams, mentoring kids when they can, etc...
Amalgam comics were fun but somewhat disappointing. A lot of missed opportunities it seems to me. Some amalgams were fun like Super-Soldier and Iron Lantern but most were uninspired or boring. Dark Claw was boring.
First dc vs marvel then a season 1,2,3 of these and then it climaxes in something called a.i. access
Trash comics!!!