Shrike02

I read very little current stuff - I'm currently diving into more Defenders, and Thor & Avengers from the beginning but I can say what I've read from the last couple years in the mutant titles aka House of X has been really good. Very coherent across the various titles.

Yes, but they are still quite poor. Digital sales (it's only because of the pandemic that I count myself a digital subscriber because I much prefer holding a physical book) and movie deals really are keeping Marvel and DC afloat.

I have a decent collection which has been properly stored so it's in good shape but can't really imagine taking the trouble to inventory and try to sell anything. Highlights of what I have are a very long run of Amazing Spider-Man (180 or so past 400) and the complete run of Sandman (which has lots of sentimental value not much secondary value since it was reprinted a lot), Hellblazer, Excalibur etc.

I can report that the original Captain Marvel run (1968) is not really worth anyone's time, unless you want to see the earliest incarnation of Carol Danvers.

I plan to participate and I have to disagree in the sense that the PWO forums offer a good clean way to organize and archive participation. Using Discord, Zoom and so forth is all well and good but any useful and stimulating discussion should ultimately be codified/transcribed here for future use. Putting out podcasts on the PWO feed well before the voting period is obviously another avenue.

Speaking of George Perez I have to speak up for his Wonder Woman run. I'm much more of a Marvel guy but that series holds up well, although he eventually runs out of steam as he was both writing and illustrating the title most of the time.

Has to be Jumbo. His 70s stuff is tremendous. Akiyama stands out too, as does Dynamite Kid.

This is an interesting observation given that, for example, Bruno Sammartino didn't crack the top 100 in 2016 despite being a huge star with tons of matches that feature big, very hot crowds. I suppose by this line of reasoning, many voters felt he didn't make the most of those opportunities. Personally, I'm much more inclined to rate Bruno highly because he was extremely charismatic, had a special connection to the crowd, and yes delivered some all-time great promos in the epic feud with Larry. The fact that Bruno didn't do a lot of fancy moves really doesn't matter to me. Anyhow, I hope to participate in 2026 and it's definitely a good idea to try to establish consensus on what the criteria should be for this project a long ways out.

Silver Agent special is a real gem. I don't tear up easily reading comics but that story got me sniffling too.

I can't provide a specific reference point but Jericho has mentioned lots of times how growing up in Winnipeg he went to AWA shows. Stands to reason Bockwinkel was an influence for him.

That's fair I don't think there's much disagreement here to be honest. I will say some of the best promo work will establish a character or gimmick very well and then will carry over in the ring in both obvious and not-so-obvious ways. If it's a great heel promo it can just accentuate or stoke the viewing audience's desire to see the heel get his comeuppance. For example, anyone with half a brain should realize Mr. Perfect is not throwing a football to himself; he's a fraud. So unless you're just a lifelong heel fan you should just want even more to see Hennig lose to the babyface and drop the IC title.

Promos and character work on the apron during matches - or jawing to the crowd during an entrance before matches - are part and parcel of judging wrestlers. This isn't a match ranking project. So I take a contrary view to Elliott's position. Certain guys climb my personal rankings because of this. It's like the cherry on top of a sundae. Two guys that come to mind in particular for this are Roddy Piper and Ken Patera; they get bonus points for how entertaining they are. It's a value-added product. Likewise, the tremendous entertainment value of Million Dollar Man or Mr. Perfect promo segments are too good to ignore.

Short answer is yes. In particular there's the discovery of a lot of great French Catch footage which has been a revelation of a lot of great stuff and great workers who were formerly quite unknown or impossible to evaluate because of a lack of footage. And there certainly has been new stuff showing up here and there from other places and times. I particularly enjoyed a Piper-Valentine house show brawl that precedes their famous Starrcade '83 match.

They were, up until he did a face vs. face curtain jerker against Sal Bellomo, as I recall. But by then Backlund's aura and popularity had completely waned from that six year peak when he was champion.

In AJPW you had rigid hierarchy but also some pretty great moments where the aces of the company (Jumbo, Misawa) would really put over guys with great selling and some very famous losses. So I'd say they were at various times very unselfish top guys.

Speaking as an actual lawyer who has refrained from commenting until now, the conclusion reached here is ... grossly ignorant about legal ethics. Asking for money damages on behalf of a client is not grounds for disbarment in almost any circumstances. I have no opinion to share about the merits of the case, because like everyone else on this message board, I don't know nearly enough to offer an informed opinion. Much as I detest sexual abuse.

I too am a big fan of 70s Marvel doing work with literary IPs such as Howard's Conan stories and Burroughs' Barsoom novels. I'm not sure the latter are available on Marvel Unlimited, however. I should go look. There are a couple of very famous cover illustrations featuring Dejah Thoris and John Carter from that period. Marv Wolfman was the writer.

It's very good too, I'd have to re-read to say definitively which I prefer. By default I think Claremont's run (obvious warts and all) is the all-time best, followed by Morrrison, Gillen, and the current offerings.

Marvel Unlimited is definitely worth it. Been subscribing for close to a year. Since my interest is primarily in older comics, it's a gold mine. I've been impressed with some modern stuff; the current X-Men titles as a whole are very very good. Probably the best overall since Grant Morrison's New X-Men run.

The animal pelt dude has just been arrested.

Allow me to agree, I've always really enjoyed it. I'd stipulate that WWE doesn't put on great steel cage matches all that often, but when they do succeed they are outstanding, like this one was. Since I'm an older fan I'd rate Hart over Bryan because I have way more emotional investment and familiarity with Bret's career, but there's no doubt that Bryan is a fantastic worker and has been for a long time. Most days of the week if you ask me what is the best match in WWE company history, I'll say Bret vs. Owen at WM X; Hart vs. Austin at WM 13 would be way up there too. That goes a long way with me.

Same here, which is why the pandemic pushed me into reading lots of 60s, 70s, and post 2000s Marvel. I'd read and collected a ton of 80s and 90s Marvel in those decades.

I've been reading Byrne on FF myself. And high on my docket in the new year is Simonson's Thor.

I've been meaning to do a deep dive on the Starlin stuff from the 70s I have not yet read (Captain Marvel and Warlock) and I'm encouraged by the opinions voiced here. Will move that towards the top of my list.

He was truly a great performer whose contributions far exceeded his in-ring career. He will be missed.