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Topic: Top 5 Roger Stern Runs Post ReplyPost New Topic
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Greg McPhee
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Posted: 18 May 2022 at 7:01pm | IP Logged | 1 post reply
Roger Stern is one of my favourite comic book scribes, but I also feel he is one of the most underappreciated by some as well. Looking back over his career I wanted to put together a Top 5, and found it more difficult than I would have thought given the quality of his output. But, here is what I narrowed it down to:

  1. The Amazing Spider-Man / Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man - What sets Roger's Spidey runs apart is 4 things, and they all work: Humour, Roger gets Peter Parker, Shying Away from Typical Rogues and real Momentum 
  2. Doctor Strange (inc Doctor Strange / Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment) - Even though we didn't get the Strange that was advertised teaming Roger with Frank Miller, what we got was a real focus on the character of Dr. Strange and some of his most sweeping and brilliantly illustrated adventures. And Triumph and Torment with Mike Mignola on art may be the best self-contained Dr. Strange story of all
  3. The Avengers / West Cost Avengers (mini) - After a bit of a slow start where Roger had to tie up loose ends from the previous writer, things really kicked in and this is one of the best periods for The Avengers. The mechanics of team were looked at, characterisation was built up on well known and lesser known characters and the stories could range form the personal to the cosmic. The highlight of the run is "Under Siege" for me with the WCA mini a close 2nd. It's just a shame the run had to end just as it seemed bigger and better things were on the horizon, and we never got to see Roger realise his pans for the WCA.
  4. Starman - This was a clever concept by Roger and the late Tom Lyle. It was the basic comic trope about a "normal" person suddenly given powers evoking the Ditko / Lee Spider-Man. However, what made Starman a bit different was that he was a good deal more meta-fictional about it all. Here was a guy who, once he had powers, actually studied superheroing and based himself on what he thought a superhero should be. A great aspect of Stern and Lyle's run on Starman is that they wrote and drew every issue of their 25 issue run - no fill-ins for either one of them. Along with Firestorm it is the most Marvel concept / style book DC has done.
  5. The Incredible Hulk - Another great run that utilised the history of Banner / The Hulk and touched on the psychological angle of the character, but not deep in to the whole MPD aspect that later writers seized on. Nice mix of classic Hulk characters Thunderbolt Ross, Doc Samson, Jim Wilson, Glenn Talbot, Clay Quartermain The Leader and Tyrannus. Mixed in with characters from the wider MU like The Power Broker, The Corporation, Goldbug, The Tinkerer and many more.
I'll give honourable mentions to his 11 years on Superman. A great run, but it was one part of a bigger whole. Roger was one of the few writers to really make a go of the post-Crisis Lex Luthor as a evil business tycoon. Bar Marv Wolfman and JB not many others seemed to make it work.

Captain America. Just a run that was cut too short.
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Petter Myhr Ness
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Posted: 18 May 2022 at 8:17pm | IP Logged | 2 post reply
I can't do a list, but to me, his runs on Superman and Spider-Man stand out. 

When JB quit Superman, Stern picked up the pieces (along with Jerry Ordway), and wrote some of my favourite issues. His Spider-Man was also top notch. 
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Matt Hawes
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Posted: 18 May 2022 at 11:35pm | IP Logged | 3 post reply
1. The Avengers
2.Captain America (with JB)
3. The Amazing Spider-Man
4. Doctor Strange
5. Starman
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Dave Phelps
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Posted: 19 May 2022 at 12:39am | IP Logged | 4 post reply
#3 and 4 flip around frequently, but I'd say -  

1. Avengers
2. Spider-Man (counting Spec and ASM as a single run)
3. Captain America
4. Doctor Strange
5. Marvel Universe (gone far too soon :-( )
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Doug Centers
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Posted: 19 May 2022 at 12:46am | IP Logged | 5 post reply
Captain America
Marvel: The Lost Generation
Hulk
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Eric White
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Posted: 19 May 2022 at 1:24am | IP Logged | 6 post reply
Everything he wrote was great but his Avengers run was just fantastic. 
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Robert Bradley
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Posted: 19 May 2022 at 1:53am | IP Logged | 7 post reply
The Avengers
Captain America
The Amazing Spider-Man
Doctor Strange
Marvel Universe (thanks for reminding me of that series Dave Phelps!)
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Brian Miller
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Posted: 19 May 2022 at 2:19am | IP Logged | 8 post reply
Spider-Man

Avengers

Captain America

Doctor Strange

Hulk



Haven’t read any of his DC work. Was he really on Superman for 11 years?

Edited by Brian Miller on 19 May 2022 at 2:20am
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Kevin Brown
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Posted: 19 May 2022 at 3:03am | IP Logged | 9 post reply
Was he really on Superman for 11 years?

**********************

Not quite.  Closer to 6 years.  He wrote Action Comics from #601-700, missing only 5 issues.  It was in its weekly format for 9 months though.
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Eric Jansen
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Posted: 19 May 2022 at 7:50am | IP Logged | 10 post reply
CAPTAIN AMERICA
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
AVENGERS
DR. STRANGE
INCREDIBLE HULK
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Greg McPhee
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Posted: 19 May 2022 at 8:42am | IP Logged | 11 post reply
Was he really on Superman for 11 years?

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Not quite.  Closer to 6 years.  He wrote Action Comics from #601-700, missing only 5 issues.  It was in its weekly format for 9 months though.

=======================================================

I'll correct myself. Roger wrote the following Superman titles between 1988 - 1998. The 11 years came from the time span he started until his last special / one off on the character:

Action Comics - 600–642, 644–657, 659–665, 667–693, 696–700, 737, Annual #2–3 (1988–1994)

AoS - #453–454, 457, 462, 500 (1989–1993)

Superman - #23–28, 30–34. Annual #2, 7 (1988–1995)

Superman MoT - #1–10 (1995–1998)
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Greg McPhee
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Posted: 19 May 2022 at 8:44am | IP Logged | 12 post reply
Haven’t read any of his DC work. 

=====================================================

Brian, I'd highly recommend Starman for his non-Superman DC work.
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