Four-Color Gray Matter: Frank Springer On Dell's BRAIN BOY!

[Scott Shaw!]

Since leaving CBR for my own site, I've mostly resisted posting my weekly plugs here for my ODDBALL COMICS column. But I'm so pleased with the latest one on Dell's BRAIN BOY No. 5 -- and I think many of you will be too -- so here goes:

"New Next Week: ODDBALL COMIC #1,223 -- MONDAY, MAY 5, 2008 -- It’s the triumphant return of one of the greatest ODDBALL superheroes ever -- Dell’s BRAIN BOY! And this time, he’s brought along his arch-enemy, South American dictator Ricorta and his army of 500,000 robots -- plus a tale of “The Strange Dr. Ozimandias”! (And this one beat the “Ozymandias” from Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ WATCHMEN by nearly twenty-five years!) So use your brain, boy -- with scripts by popular paperback author Herb Kastle and artwork by that great NATIONAL LAMPOON cartoonist Frank Springer, you don’t have to be a pre-X-MEN teenage mutant genius to dig this terrific ODDBALL COMIC! (But what are the “devil balls”?)"

What's really cool is that my friend Frank Springer has reminisced about his days freelancing for Dell during a very interesting period for the publisher -- right after they'd split with Western Publishing -- and it's a significant and exclusive part of the column. I think you'll dig it!

Aloha,

Scott!

[Red Oak Kid]

What's really cool is that my friend Frank Springer has reminisced about his days freelancing for Dell during a very interesting period for the publisher -- right after they'd split with Western Publishing -- and it's a significant and exclusive part of the column. I think you'll dig it!

Aloha,

Scott!

Oops. I had a comment about Frank Springer, but I was mistaken.:redface:

[dan bailey]

What's really cool is that my friend Frank Springer has reminisced about his days freelancing for Dell during a very interesting period for the publisher -- right after they'd split with Western Publishing -- and it's a significant and exclusive part of the column. I think you'll dig it!



Really looking forward to seeing this. Not only have I always been intrigued by (but never seen a single issue of) Brain Boy, but also I assume that Dell's Ghost Stories -- a favorite title of mine from childhood, & one I've since accumulated all nonreprint issues of -- fell within the period you mention above. (I'm pretty sure Frank drew several issues of that anthology title all by his lonesome.)

[Scott Shaw!]

Not only have I always been intrigued by (but never seen a single issue of) Brain Boy

Well, I consider BRAIN BOY No. 3 to be the best issue, and you can read all about it here:

http://www.oddballcomics.com/article.php?story=archive2003-11-19&query=Brain%2BBoy

You'll see why it's one of my favorite comic books stories of all time; well written and drawn, but utterly, bizarrely preposterous!

Aloha,

Scott!

[Scott Shaw!]

Well, my new ODDBALL COMICS column on BRAIN BOY No. 5 is now up and available for your enjoyment and edification:

http://www.oddballcomics.com/article.php?story=2008-05-05

Aloha,

Scott!

[Scott Shaw!]

Surprisingly, my favorite panel in BRAIN BOY No. 5 is that 2/3-page shot of Matt and Maria tooling along the border in their car. Dunno why -- after all, it's nothing particularlyunusual -- but its bold composition just knocks me out.

(It kinda reminds me of some of Bob Powell's juicy-inked automotive stuff!)

Aloha,

Scott!

[MichikoS]

Scott, ODD as it may seem, Brain Boy may have been one of the first comics I ever read (in the barber shop, natch) and may be responsible for my lifelong love affair with the four color funnies! I'm so glad you featured the "inside skinny" on Frank Springer, one of the most recognizable creators of the early '60s. I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about Springer's career during the Dell era, and about his views on comics storytelling. Fantastic bonus feature for your column!

It wasn't until you pointed out the problems with this cover (beginning, but certainly not ending, with the unnecessary binoculars) that I realized there was anything at all wrong with this cover. My child's eyes (and child's brain) only absorbed the coolness of being able to fly with the power of your mind, which this cover depicts beautifully. In fact, this relatively trivial ability (superhero-wise) was definitely the one aspect of Brain Boy that completely captured my young imagination.

One thing I can see now about my early exposure to Dells like Brain Boy -- they paved the way for the more sophisticated Marvel Comics I came to love throughout the later '60s. If not for the seeds planted by Springer, Sparling, Glanzman, et al, I would never have had the "schooling" to appreciate the Marvel difference. Springer's astute comments about less skillful writers being "wordy" and describing action that was already being shown are right on target.

Thanks for the excellent coverage of my first comics "crush," Brain Boy!

Michi

[Hintermann]

I had the aforementioned Brain Boy #5 in my collection for years. It had got lost in the pile somewhere, only a few months ago I found it while sorting my collection out and gave it a good read. Quite good.