The Judas Contract a look back

[fastballspecial]

Discuss

Terra Terra Terra (

[KrAzBoY96]

Reading that article, and remembering what it was like to read "The Judas Contract" as it was published, makes me realize how deprived the current comic reading audience is of a well thought out and planned story. It helps that the the Judas Contract was conceived and brought to fruition by true masters of their art.

[spideysenses78]

This was back in the day when writers cared about writing a good story and not doing things just for shock value and sales. I miss those days.

[fastballspecial]

I really do too. About once a year I get to read a really good self contained story. Currently Jupiter's Circle/Legacy is the best I can think of.

[Martin Sinescu]

I'm quite envious of those who read it off the shelves -- it seems a story of this drama and quality would've been earth-shattering back in 1984.

 

I compare it to what I was reading at the time (mainly GI Joe) and, while I found Hama's work to be at a very high standard, JC is just a world apart. To me, this is one of the pinnacles of the Copper Age, up there with DKR, Swamp Thing (which was being published contemporaneously), Kraven, Sin Eater, etc.

 

By the time I read it years later, I pretty much knew the plot, so the "Judas" was not a surprise. Even so, this story is a masterpiece, written at a time when writers were allowed to pace a character's build-up organically over the course of a year or two while keeping various other pots at the front of the stove at the same time.

 

This is why characters such as Bane and Doomsday fell so flat (to me) in the early 90's -- they were specifically brought in with little-to-no (believable) development to just be brute assassins. Boring, lazy, obvious. By the time you get to the actual "Judas Contract" storyline, you're so personally invested in all the characters' relationships, you really feel the drama like a swift punch in the gut. Amazing stuff

[RockMyAmadeus]

 

It is a great story, the best that Perez and Wolfman ever told. And it took them almost two years to develop (from #26 to Annual #3.)

 

It is absolutely one of the best of the age. DC was firing on all cylinders during those years.

 

[nickwire]

titans was one of the few books that rivalled the xmen back then for me. still one of my fav storylines.

 

sadly, with the internet, I don't think you can keep secrets like this anymore. if this was out today, we would have know long before issue 42 that she was evil

[Lazyboy]

titans was one of the few books that rivalled the xmen back then for me. still one of my fav storylines.

 

sadly, with the internet, I don't think you can keep secrets like this anymore. if this was out today, we would have know long before issue 42 that she was evil

 

Yeah, maybe around issue 34.

[fastballspecial]

titans was one of the few books that rivalled the xmen back then for me. still one of my fav storylines.

 

sadly, with the internet, I don't think you can keep secrets like this anymore. if this was out today, we would have know long before issue 42 that she was evil

 

I thought that too, but they were able to pull it off in "Old Man Logan" a few years back. I was stunned by the reveal in that story the likes of which hadn't happen to me since the mid 80s in a comic book.

 

If you haven't read that series yet do yourself a favor and pick up a TPB. Its a requirement if you are an old X-men/Wolverine fan like me.

 

 

[fastballspecial]

Really its just hard for many of us who still read comics.

 

I try to tell myself not to be so objective about new comics, but so many just plain suck. They got no clue how to capture the reader and write a good story.

 

Its like they learned nothing from the 70s/80s writers. Were they just really that good?

 

About twice a year or so I find a book that meets my qualifications. Good story and at least average art. I love and treasure those books. I love when someone turns me onto a book as well that clicks for me. Its just hard these days.

 

 

[500Club]

I'm quite envious of those who read it off the shelves -- it seems a story of this drama and quality would've been earth-shattering back in 1984.

As a monthly reader at the time, issue 34 was just a mind blower.

 

And then... they made you wait. For months. You knew Terra was a traitor. But when would the payoff come...? And would she REALLY betray the Titans? This teenage girl that all we fanboys had come to love vicariously...

[Martin Sinescu]

I'm quite envious of those who read it off the shelves -- it seems a story of this drama and quality would've been earth-shattering back in 1984.

As a monthly reader at the time, issue 34 was just a mind blower.

 

And then... they made you wait. For months. You knew Terra was a traitor. But when would the payoff come...? And would she REALLY betray the Titans? This teenage girl that all we fanboys had come to love vicariously...

 

Ahh, that's so cool. I remember Hama doing the same type stuff in GI Joe, weaving various subplots throughout the Cobra hierarchy over the course of several years. Moench was doing the same thing with Batman back in the early-mid-80's. And how long did the Hobgoblin thing drag out in Spider-man? 50+ issues. Also, looking at Starlin's work on Silver Surfer in the early 90's, he brought Thanos in at issue 34 and nurtured that plot over the course of 1-1 1/2 years before we got to the Infinity Gauntlet proper. Guess they knew back then they had us on the hook for at least 5-6 years, so they had plenty of room to work. These days, it seems if a plot isn't wrapped in 4-6 issues, it's meandering and directionless. And they all have to be high drama or the readers won't stay on. It also doesn't help that there are constant reboots. Hang on, got some kids on my lawn.....

 

FBS, I remember reading an article a little while back where someone in the industry was making the point that, back in the Silver and Bronze Ages, writers were all coming from outside the comics industry so they were all bringing a professional writing background with their own ideas about pacing, characterization and development. At one point, fanboys were growing up to be writers, so it kind of became this watered-down, incestuous thing where nothing new was being done because the fanboys were raised on the familiar devices which became cliche.

 

Now that I've typed that, I feel like it was Alan Moore.

[cd4ever]

It is a great story, the best that Perez and Wolfman ever told. And it took them almost two years to develop (from #26 to Annual #3.)

 

It is absolutely one of the best of the age. DC was firing on all cylinders during those years.

 

Exactly. I always thought Titans was better then the X-Men. Not even close, really. And I wish you'd change your Spoilers thing. I enjoy your posts and would rather not have to extra-click to see them.

[Lucky Baru]

Good story told by a great team. The only writers that might be able to pull something like that off today are Rucka and Loeb. They'd have to have a great artist helping them.

[spideysenses78]

Geoff Johns did amazing work on Green Lantern. He set the stage for the Sinestro Corps Wars which led to The Blackest Night which took about 50 issues to tell.

[spideysenses78]

I'm quite envious of those who read it off the shelves -- it seems a story of this drama and quality would've been earth-shattering back in 1984.

As a monthly reader at the time, issue 34 was just a mind blower.

 

And then... they made you wait. For months. You knew Terra was a traitor. But when would the payoff come...? And would she REALLY betray the Titans? This teenage girl that all we fanboys had come to love vicariously...

I didn't catch it on the shelf but in trade paperback. Wolfman and Perez knew what they were doing and knew not to blow their load too soon. Some writers nowadays don't know how to build a story with a traitor character. Terra became the staple in the series of why they never trusted new team members right away. She wasn't just a one off character with no lasting impact.

[Rip]

Titans was the amazing! One of the books that really got me into the DC comics universe.

Wolfman and Perez are true masters developing real world people grounded into what felt like a real world. Yes I do believe it was superior to X-Men.

[Gatsby77]

Not to diminish the Judas Contract (or any of the Wolfman/Perez Titans run

) but I think there are more than a few modern storylines that have done long-form well.

 

And, by "modern" I mean roughly 2000-2012, since I haven't read anything since then.

 

But the two that come to mind are both from about 10 years ago:

 

Daredevil vol. 2, # 26-40 (Bendis/Maleev) &

 

Batman: Hush, # 608-619 (Loeb/Lee)

 

That story always struck me, because

 

a) I'm a huge Batman fan, & it stands out among the several hundred that I've read, and

 

b) the whole "Batman fights his entire Rogue's Gallery" thing had been done at least twice before in my short lifetime (in Batman # 400 & Knightfall), but this one blew them both away.

 

Yeah - it got hype at the time for Jim Lee's art, but it was Loeb's story that made it a classic.

 

 

[chrisco37]

Good call on DD V2. Great stuff from Bendis/Maleev and then Brubaker. Such a solid book for many years.

 

I thought Hush was underwhelming. It felt "forced" to me with all the villains; like the editors told Loeb to make sure you get them all in there so Jim can draw them. I thought that Long Halloween was a far superior Loeb story (another one that included many/most of the villains).

 

 

[Gatsby77]

Yeah - I'll hold up Daredevil vol 2 # 16-87 against anyone who says "modern books suck" or "modern superhero books" don't cut it.

 

I've read nearly every issue of Daredevil through 2007, and that unbroken run easily surpasses both of Frank Miller's.

 

But # 26-40 fit the frame here because it's essentially one continuous story, albeit told over two story arcs:

 

The Kingpin discovers Matt's identity, reveals it to the world, and Matt, Foggy, & everyone else deal with the fall-out.

 

And here, "everyone else" includes Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, Elektra, & White Tiger.