What Classic Comic Have You Read Lately?

[Flawless P]

The Death of Superman.

[InfoBroker]

II didn't really love the whole Harold H. Harold stuff and the move to Boston and if there was a shark jumping candidate, the issue introducing Harold would be it. I really feel like there were already enough supporting character, and much of the 'comedy' created by Harold and Aurora was pretty weak.
<ULP!> Well maybe they come across better in their original form. These were some of my favorite Drac tales, and they set the stage for the humor side of Buffy,Charmedand several other WB primetimers. I also took the annoucement of Marv Wolfman's to heart and began buying 4 copies (a buck's worth) of these issues and onward for several months to help the title stick around.

Overall, I think that the series maintained a consistently high level of quality through this volume and the Wolfman/Colan/Palmer team was a creative force to be reckoned with.
Strongly agree! Running concurrent was the Englehart/Colan/Palmer Dr. Strange run. Every bit as potent, in a cosmic/mystical style.

As an aside, I loved seeing Don Heck on some of the Giant Sized issues, but some of the inking really ruined his work.
I'm trying to remember these issues in their original form. I think you can blame the fact as much on the production process that Marvel is using for some of these Essentials. The bulk of Marvel's reprinting has come from using the reduced-size photstats that were used for color guides. This goes all the way back to the Marvel Tales/Collector's Items books of the 60s. Steve Ditko and Don Heck's work seem to suffer the most. Yet oddly I noticed that the Iron Man Essential managed to hold together well. Wish I could say the same for the Ant-man Essential. The original comics had much better production values, even though Marvel didn't even have a Bullpen in those days.

Grade: B+
Aw... Harold H Harold and Aurora could hold off a whole school of Sharks. Bring 'em on!

-jb the blood-curdling ib :cool:

[Cei-U!]

But I haven't read that story. I suspected that it wasn't the first mention, thus the disclaimer.

No criticism meant, Slam, just trying to be informative and, hopefully, helpful.

Cei-U!
I gots the factoid FEVAH!

[Kirk G]

last Night before going to bed i read:

Amazing Spider-man #114
Today, between Lunch and waiting for my ride (I have lots of time), I will be reading:

Suicide Squad - 9,20, 21,
Justice League (Griffen) - 51, 52,
Spectacular Spider-man - 190,
Web of Spider-man - 63, 79, 82,
Flash (Wally West) - 26, 29, 36, 39,
Avengers Annuals - 11, 13,
Fantastic Four Annual - 15

I probably won't have time to read all of them, but that's what's on me to read today.

May I strongly recommend that you search for the classic FF Annual # 17, which I believe has the black border around the outside of the portrait of the FF on the cover. The main thrust of the story is the Torch's girlfriend who takes a little vacation to upper New York state and has a wild FF adventure.
I STRONGLY RECOMMEND IT!

[Kirk G]

Byrne's little run on She-Hulk. She-Hulk #1-8. I thought issue 4 was the best out of the eight.


May I suggest if you like the first 8, try picking up the rest of his run from about 21-50. It's really worth seeing where he was sending the rest of the series.

[InfoBroker]

Some wise person somewhere once said that if you don't read Edgar Rice Burroughs before you're 12 or so, it will be too late. Meaning your tastes will have matured enough that the raw pulpy adventure style will no longer challenge or sustain your interests.

On a personal level there may be some kernal of truth to that, because I have never been able to get past the first few Tarzan books, (My favorite being Jungle Tales of Tarzan), but I have always enjoyed the comic adaptations and still do.

My first serious exposure to Tarzan, Korak, John Carter and Carson of Venus were these DC comics edited by Joe Kubert from the early 1970s. I was 17 at the time, past the prime 12 year ERB entrance perhaps, but these comics made a great second doorway for latecomers like me.

I loved the Tarzan tales, especially all the early work of Joe Kubert's, along with the reprint issues that highlighted the newspaper work of Brune Hogarth and Russ Manning.

Murphy Anderson's Mars stuff was fine, but the series that real caught my imagination was Carson of Venus, the back up feature in Korak and later renamed Tarzan Family.

Len Wein was doing the adaptations and staying very true to the books. The art chores were given to a then very young Mike Kaluta. I believe this was his first regular series at DC and its very classy and also an interesting study in watching a fledgling artist mature as a visual story teller.

I loved his exotic realizations of the Venusian landscape...

http://webpages.charter.net/astrozoid/carson2.jpg

...and the cultural environs of the Venusian clans, especially this spacious room that was the major opening panel for the second installment.

http://webpages.charter.net/astrozoid/Carson1.jpg

My enchantment for this kind of well realized fantasy backdrop is what also fascinated me about the MYST and RIVEN games. Kaluta's visions were are par with Steve Ditko's Doctor Strange and is a great continuation of the work done at EC comics, and the comic strips of Flash Gordon and Tarzan (of course). But it is uniquely Kaluta's styling we see here, which includes a lot of 1930 Art Deco florishing.

But I also like Kaluta's expressive faces, here is a small sampling of them

http://webpages.charter.net/astrozoid/carsonfaces.jpg


Kaluta has a good sense of panel-to-panel progression, and didn't let the pretty pictures get in the way of telling a story. I love these pan out shots, and when the words pace to the panning, it's a special kind of magic that only comics can provide.

http://webpages.charter.net/astrozoid/carson4.jpg

This series does a faithful adaption of ERB's initial chapters in the Carson of Venus series. The creative team loved this material. It was also a very exciting time for DC from an artistic standpoint. These are my favorite adaptations in comic book form.

Grade: A+ all the way

-jb the ib

[PeteGunn]

I just happened to come across my copy of Marvel Superheroes #27 featuring Daredevil vs. the Sub-Mariner, the Hulk vs. the Leader and the Humanoids, and the X-Men vs. Unus the Untouchable.

Kirby's art on both the Hulk and the X-men were sensational.

[Slam_Bradley]

I loved the Tarzan tales, especially all the early work of Joe Kubert's, along with the reprint issues that highlighted the newspaper work of Brune Hogarth and Russ Manning.

Murphy Anderson's Mars stuff was fine, but the series that real caught my imagination was Carson of Venus, the back up feature in Korak and later renamed Tarzan Family.

Len Wein was doing the adaptations and staying very true to the books. The art chores were given to a then very young Mike Kaluta. I believe this was his first regular series at DC and its very classy and also an interesting study in watching a fledgling artist mature as a visual story teller.

This series does a faithful adaption of ERB's initial chapters in the Carson of Venus series. The creative team loved this material. It was also a very exciting time for DC from an artistic standpoint. These are my favorite adaptations in comic book form.

Grade: A+ all the way



Nice look at the books, JB. I'd kill for ERB, Inc. and whoever holds the comic rights to bring those old DC books out in trades. Given that ERB's books are still huge sellers it seems like a natural for bookstore sales, not to mention places like the Science Fiction Book Club.

[Slam_Bradley]

I finished up Captain America Classics, Vol. II reprinting the Cap tales from Captain America Comics 6-10. Interesting stuff. Simon & Kirby's work was very kinetic. I have to say that it made no sense whatsoever for Steve Rogers to be a private in the Army and have to sneak out to work as Cap.

[Slam_Bradley]

Johnny Hazard Sunday’s from 5/12/45-4/21/46. This is from Dragon Lady Press a company I really miss. The magazine has a great Toth cover after Robbins. There is a goof-up on the dates covered on the cover which is a little odd. The mag has one full story and the start of a second.

The first finds Hazard and Brandy, a female reporter, discovering a crashed NAZI cargo plane in Mongolia. Brandy is ultimately captured and Hazard and “The Admiral” another Air Corps pilot rescue her with the aid of a horribly stereotyped Mongolian named Gid-Jee. The artwork by Robbins is very good and the story moves right along. It’s clear that there had to be a bit of a shift in the story when the war ended mid-way through.

The beginning of the second story finds our heroes returning to the States from the war and getting involved in with some unscrupulous types that have found a “floating” metal from Burma.

This is really good stuff. Caniff’s influence on Robbins is clear. And while it’s not on par with Caniff’s best on Terry or Steve Canyon, for the first taste I’ve had of Hazard, it left me wanting a lot more. Grade: A -.

[Halloween Jill]

I recently re-read Showcase #73 and Creeper #1 & 2, because I bought those (again) a while ago.

The first story is really dodgy -- I'm not sure Don Segall was quite following Ditko's ideas, a la Stan Lee, and the explanation of the powers and stuff is really... oblique.

The writing on the regular stories is better, courtesy of a pseudonymous Denny O'Neil. The art (and printing) sometimes disappoints -- it's odd that two fairly inconsistent art jobs (Showcase #73 and Creeper #2) should be bookending one of the all-time GREAT Ditko jobs in Creeper #1. That one gets a 10 just for the art.

I should get some of the Blue Beetle books again sometime. I might even make a non-Ditko post on here at some point, but I'm on that kind of a kick right now...

[Lone Ranger]

I recently re-read Showcase #73 and Creeper #1 & 2, because I bought those (again) a while ago.



You make some very good points, Jill.

I agree that #1 is much better than the other two - and the series had a bit of trouble finding its legs. Of course, as momentum was building it was cancelled (or did Ditko quit - I think Jack Sparling did some of the work on the final issue).

In term of his power, I seem to recall that there are many letters written by fans asking for an overview of his powers - as they seemed ill-defined and convenient.

I have always wondered what the story behind the covers for #5 and #6. There are obvisoulyseem to be designed for the same story - but why did the use the Ditko cover and then the Gil Kane cover for the next issue?

I thought you might know as you're obviously a big fan of Ditko.

[Halloween Jill]

No idea, really, except that Ditko dropped out after doing a few pages of #6, so that last one's a bit of a shambles all round.

[Slam_Bradley]

I'm in the middle of Pacific Comics Club's third volume of Charlie Chan by Alfred Andriola. I'm not very familiar with Andriola's work beyond knowing he did "Kerry Drake" for a number of years and that he was a disciple of Caniff. His work on this feature is not up to Caniff's standards, but then little is. This is an older book and the reproduction isn't great. There's no information on when the stories initially appeared and that information can't be gleaned from the strips themselves. The stories are ok and Andriola's art is good. But the book itself definitely is detracting from my enjoyment.

[TheHistorian]

What's the title of that volume? My notes show only two Charlie Chan volumes from Pacific.

[Slam_Bradley]

What's the title of that volume? My notes show only two Charlie Chan volumes from Pacific.


I'm pretty sure that it's just Charlie Chan, Vol. 3. I'm at work so I can't check. Have to pay some bills by my house at lunch so I'll stop by and check.

[Halloween Jill]

Oh well! Now I've re-read Showcase #75. I'm sure I had read this before, but years ago, so remembered almost none of it. I thought the Creeper's origin was dumb! This time we get the voice of Orson Welles: 'YOU WANT SUPER POWERS? VERY WELL! SO BE IT!'

As methods of getting around explanation go, this one takes the prize. :-)

Quite a fun comic, though.

No recent classic non-Ditko reading to mention, I'm afraid. I read the first of Byrne's new Demon book, but if I tried to call that 'classic' I might get kicked off the board. ;-)

[T GUy]

As methods of getting around explanation go, this one takes the prize. :-)As Chris Bacon once said in an article in The Panelologist: Just zap the buggers with radiation and have done with it.I read the first of Byrne's new Demon book, but if I tried to call that 'classic' I might get kicked off the board. ;-)Unless Byrne has replaced Sir Tim as the moderator...

[Halloween Jill]

Perhaps Ditko should've used the radiation gimmick. Given his stance on religion, I'm not sure he'd like some of the interpretations this story could be given. (Neither do I, come to that, which is why I opted for hearing Orson Welles' voice. :-))

[T GUy]

Yes, I've wondered about that in the past (and the present).

[SuperJ]

Ok - every other board has a thread like this, so I thought it would be very suitable here.

What have you read within the last week or so?
Was it any good?
What did you like/dislike?
Is it worth tracking down?

Avengers #186

This issue explains a bit of Wanda and Pietro's 'Wundagorigins'. It is pretty good, but I am not a huge Quicksilver fan, and this book was 90% Pietro. Grade: C+

Tarzan #175

Great story in which Tarzan encouters the ant-men, and is shrunk down to their size. Lots of action, cool Russ Manning art. There is also a Leopard Girl story I haven't yet read, but I am sure it is 'entertaining but not groundbreaking'. Grade: B+

Star Spangled War Stories #183

Whoa! I just got a stack of these via eBay. This is Dave Micheline's first issue - the story is called "8,000 to 1" - serious moral dilemna for Unknown Soldier. Gerry Talaoc also put himself into the underappreciated artist pool. I don't know much of his work - but this stuff is pretty powerful. Grade: A


Hmmm...lately? I'm not sure if these count, but I have been reading all of the b&w reprints in the Essential Fantastic Four and Essential Avengers. Some good stuff, and a great way to relax out on the patio with a light breeze from the North and a mai-tai at hand. :)

[Slam_Bradley]

Hmmm...lately? I'm not sure if these count, but I have been reading all of the b&w reprints in the Essential Fantastic Four and Essential Avengers. Some good stuff, and a great way to relax out on the patio with a light breeze from the North and a mai-tai at hand. :)


If the Essentials don't count then I'm in big trouble. With some time-outs for classic strip reprints and the odd Archives most of my classic reading is in Essential format.

[Lone Ranger]

Wow!

What do you have to do to be banned and have a line through your name?

I've never seen that before.

[Sir Tim Drake]

Wow!

What do you have to do to be banned and have a line through your name?

I've never seen that before.

It's a new feature. All banned posters now have lines through their names.

[PeteGunn]

If the Essentials don't count then I'm in big trouble. With some time-outs for classic strip reprints and the odd Archives most of my classic reading is in Essential format.

You can't get more classic than Essentials! :)

[Slam_Bradley]

Vault of Horror # 12 The cover by Johnny Craig is ok…A little too much exposition for it to be really effective.

Story #1, “Portrait in Wax” by Johnny Craig finds an artist killing his artist friend and passing the friends work off as his own. When the he runs out of the purloined engravings, he makes a deal to exhibit life-like wax replicas of the recently dead as his work. Of course there is a twist EC ending, that causes our antagonist to “get his” in the end. Nicely told story with nice art by Craig, that, while not flashy is the quintessence of good story-telling. Grade: B +.

Story #2, “The Werewolf Legend” by Harrison & Wood. An English aristocrat becomes convinced that a family curse of lycanthropy has descended on him and that he is responsible for a rash of deaths around his manor. He attempts to get the police to stop him…and they do stop the murderer. The resolution of this one is pretty obvious. The art is moody, but a tad crude compared to the other stories. I don’t detect a lot of Wood in this one. There are a few places his influence comes through, but overall this is the weakest story in the book. Oh, and the Harrison is Harry Harrison, future science fiction writer. Grade: C.

Story #3, “Horror in the Night” by Harvey Kurtzman. The proprietor of a vacation resort is haunted by a remarkably real dream of madness and murder in one of his cabins. Could it be just a dream or prescience? The story itself is rather compelling, but again, the payoff is expected. I’m a lot more familiar with Kurtzman’s humor work than his work in other genres. To me there looks to be something besides just Kurtzman here on the art…but it could just be my untrained eye. Grade: B-.

Story #4, “Terror Train” by Al Feldstein. A woman flees her husband by train. As the story progresses, she recounts his attempts to kill her and possible motivations. And…she seems to see him following her at every turn. A nice paranoic script and plot. The payoff is again a little weak, but the lead-up makes it less glaring. Feldstein’s art certainly isn’t flashy, but like Craig’s the storytelling is excellent. Grade B.

Overall, a nice solid book. It’s all about telling a compelling story in 6-7 pages and it does it admirably. None of the stories are masterpieces…but none of them come close to failing. Overall score: B.

[InfoBroker]

Of the set, the final story "Terror Train" is my top rated story from that issue.

[spoiler warning]
I guess because it is a good example of the mental disorder and psychoanalysis themes that were receiving attention at the time. It is a very crowded tale though, lots of things happening, very disjointed. And future stories would explore the buried-alive nightmare theme more directly, and with more interesting visual perspectives.
[/spoiler warning]

My favorite Harvey Kurtzman work would be the war books at EC. In fact, while I enjoy some of the horror, and I can appreciate several classic examples of visual storytelling techniques, I find the two war books to be vastly superior in content, and for using the medium of comics to tell a story.

There is some Kurtzman horror that enjoy. In particular, a piece called Television Terror from Haunt of Fear #17. Experimenting with panel presentation methods, and using the early technological limitations of live television as the boundaries for both visual panel layout and story progression, Harvey tells a tale of a broadcaster who spends the night in a haunted house.

I always like to read this one in tandem with the Dr. Strange tale from Strange Tales #120. Again it starts with a live telecast of a broadcaster daring to venture into a haunted house. The results, while not quite so sinister, are still a lot of moody, mysterious fun.

Slam, Are you reading your copy of Vault from the Gemstone hardbacks or the 1990s color reprints?

-jb the "goosebump stricken" ib :cool:

[Slam_Bradley]

Of the set, the final story "Terror Train" is my top rated story from that issue.

[spoiler warning]
I guess because it is a good example of the mental disorder and psychoanalysis themes that were receiving attention at the time. It is a very crowded tale though, lots of things happening, very disjointed. And future stories would explore the buried-alive nightmare theme more directly, and with more interesting visual perspectives.
[/spoiler warning]

I did think this was a very good story. It felt quite frantic and their was a palpable sense of paranoia.

My favorite Harvey Kurtzman work would be the war books at EC. In fact, while I enjoy some of the horror, and I can appreciate several classic examples of visual storytelling techniques, I find the two war books to be vastly superior in content, and for using the medium of comics to tell a story.

I'm mostly familiar with Kurtzman's humor work. I will be reading some issues of Two-Fisted Tales here in a bit. Haven't found Frontline Combat yet.


Slam, Are you reading your copy of Vault from the Gemstone hardbacks or the 1990s color reprints?



The 1990's color reprints. Over the last few months I've picked up 18 of the "annuals" on E-bay that collect 5 issues of the Gemstone color reprints. So, as of now, I've got about 90 EC books to read. I'm going to try to read them in somewhat chronological order to try to get a feel for the evolution of the line. I read Weird Science #12 last night. I'll post a review sometime after morning court.

[Slam_Bradley]

Weird Science #12. The cover by Feldstein is nothing special. The logo is so big and combined with a word ballon and text box, doesn't leave a lot of room for the art. The pic itself is nothing we couldn't have seen on a number of Doll-Man covers.

Story #1, Lost In the Microcosm, by Feldstein and Kurtzman finds our protagonist subject to a miniaturizing gas and falling through universe after universe, within the hand of his scientist/mentor. Even in 1950, this was a story that had been told a few times in prose. But overall the story was good. Kurtzman's art is great. The splash for the story is worth the price. This is still not the Kurtzman I'm used to in his humor and later war work. I note a lot here that looks like Ditko, so I'm thinking that it may have been an influence on his work. This is a case of the story letting the art down. Grade: B.

Story #2, Dream of Doom, by Feldstein and Wally Wood, finds our hero unable to decide if he's awake or dreaming. He goes through a series of events, continously waking up to find he's still dreaming. Again, the story is not the equal of the artwork, though the artwork perplexes me. I'm a pretty big fan of Wood and can usually pick out his work. This story looks to me, more like the first story by Kurtzman, or, again, Ditko. I'd almost guess that Kurtzman at least laid it out. There are some really great scenes in the story though. The protagonist is also a comic artist which leads to some interesting in-jokes, including the publisher being named "Gil Baines." Grade: B-.

Story #3, Experiment In Death by Feldstein and Jack Kamen is a difficult story to review. The science is just SO out of date that you just have to kind of put it aside and look at the story with eyes in the past. A scientist and his assistant are experimenting with bringing dead animals back to life after a 15 minute period. It works and, of course, the scientist decides to experiment on himself, without fully seeing the results of the animal experiments. It's really standard, comic-book scientist fair. I find Kamen to be one of the weaker EC artists from a purely stylistic point of view. He's a good storyteller, but nothing flashy. He's kind of like Irv Novick...which is no insult...I love Irv Novick. Kamen has a weird way of everyone's eyes kind of popping out of their head. Grade: C -.

Story #4, Things From Outer Space by Al Feldstein is a fairly standard covert alien invasion story. Probably the most compelling thing is that it has a female in a pivotal role. Feldstein is a good storyteller, but he has some very stock characters and poses that I'm already seeing repeat themselves in his art. Grade: C.

Overall impression. This is a weaker book than the first issue of Vault of Horror. Some of that may come from my familiarity with the science fiction from 1935-1960. I'm a lot more familiar with the conventions of SF of that time than I am of the horror conventions. I will say that the splash pages of the first two stories are incredible. And, in something I usually don't notice, the coloring of the first two stories is very interesting and effective.

Overall Grade: C+.

[Cei-U!]

I'd almost guess that Kurtzman at least laid it out.

If memory serves, Kurtzman did the layouts for all his scripts. The art board was given to the artist with all captions and dialogue already in place.

Cei-U!
I summon the dim recollection!

[MWGallaher]

BRAIN BOY #4.
I'd read some fond recollections of this series, supposedly one of Dell's better efforts at "superheroes." I can't say I was too impressed at this one, in which Brain Boy (a teenage mental wonder, who can read minds and has telekenesis) travels through time seeking the assistant who killed the inventor of the time machine. BB hits the old west, medieval Spain, and ancient Egypt in his journeys. Jack Sparling draws. I feel kind of bad criticizing Jack, because he obviously put some effort into this work, but it's all just so ugly. It would have been right at home in early 60's textbook illustration (which I never liked when I was the target audience!), but it's hard to imagine many kids opting for this on the stands over the likes of Kirby, Swan, and Infantino.
One thing I did appreciate about reading Brain Boy is that I think it's given me the answer to a puzzle that's long eluded me. The wonderful Bob Burden implied in early issues of Flaming Carrot that the Carrot was the grown-up version of a previous comic book character, and that very few had correctly guessed who it was (the obvious choice was Herbie Popnecker, which was supposedly incorrect). Now, I think the Carrot is an adult Brain Boy, who used up most of his brain power as a young adventurer. Really! Just read one of these things (if you've got 'em) and imagine FC reciting lines such as: "Your hand is weak! Your fingers cannot hold the gun! Now you will free me of the mummy wrappings."

[The Shadow]

Just got Thor Annual #1... 1st appearance of Hercules!

[InfoBroker]

Originally Posted by Lone Ranger
I read those 3 books today, Kurt - we'll have to compare notes.

<*Drags Kimosabe by mask over to this thread*>

Are those your first ever reads of Jack's Eternals? I remember buying them fresh off the racks in 1976. It was so refreshing to have a Kirby "Gods" comic book to read again. The flavor of this was very different from his Fourth World Saga. I like both versions, probably have a slight edge of preference for the tale s being told at DC (had more a greek drama feeling in its presentation), but I liked both avenues that were being explored, and as always, Jack's characters were wonderful.

You need to hunt down the first (and only) Eternals annual for a story focused on my favorite Eternal/Deviant, Karkas. I was in College when that comic came out. It was one of the few titles I was still actively buying during that money strapped time period. A company out of Denver had just started a Mail-order service and I was a customer of there's for about a year or so. I wonder whatever became of them?

-jb the mile-high ib :cool:

[Cei-U!]

Karkas is my favorite character from The Eternals too, jb. In the notes I've prepared for the unlikely evantuality that I ever write The Avengers, bringing the Big K into the team is at the top of my list.

Cei-U!
I summon the secret plan!

[T GUy]

Slam_Bradley:
I'd almost guess that Kurtzman at least laid it out.

Cei-U:
If memory serves, Kurtzman did the layouts for all his scripts. The art board was given to the artist with all captions and dialogue already in place.I thought that Weird Science was written by (Gaines and) Feldstein? Except for the stories drawn by Kurtzman, which, of course, he wrote himself.

[Slam_Bradley]

I thought that Weird Science was written by (Gaines and) Feldstein? Except for the stories drawn by Kurtzman, which, of course, he wrote himself.


I'm having a very difficult time finding online resources for EC credits. The GCD is indicating that Feldstien wrote the Weird Science scripts. I think this is reasonable since Feldstein held the cover of Weird Science and was the nominal editor on that book (recognizing Gaines' editorial force).

I keep finding stories that are credited to Wally Wood, that just don't look like Woody's work. Either his style changed dramatically after about the first year of the EC books, or he worked with Harry Harrison a lot more than I was aware. The stories in question look a lot like Harrison's work.

[InfoBroker]

Harry (Stainless Steel Rat) Harrison and Wally Wood worked together early in their comic careers. Shared a studio, worked on the same pages, that kind of thing. So there is a lot of mixing and matching of techniques and styles at that time.

Graphic Story Magazine did an interview with HH that goes into details about their early 1950s collaborations.

-jb the (painless plastic rodent) ib :cool:

[Lone Ranger]

<*Drags Kimosabe by mask over to this thread*>

Are those your first ever reads of Jack's Eternals? I remember buying them fresh off the racks in 1976. It was so refreshing to have a Kirby "Gods" comic book to read again. The flavor of this was very different from his Fourth World Saga. I like both versions, probably have a slight edge of preference for the tale s being told at DC (had more a greek drama feeling in its presentation), but I liked both avenues that were being explored, and as always, Jack's characters were wonderful.

You need to hunt down the first (and only) Eternals annual for a story focused on my favorite Eternal/Deviant, Karkas. I was in College when that comic came out. It was one of the few titles I was still actively buying during that money strapped time period. A company out of Denver had just started a Mail-order service and I was a customer of there's for about a year or so. I wonder whatever became of them?

-jb the mile-high ib :cool:

Actually - my very first exposure to the Eternals was a long, long time ago - and didn't leave me with a great impression.

Back in 1978 or so, when I was a wee lad in Grade 1 & 2, I often spent my lunch hour in my school's 'recreation room'. They had lots of board games and puzzles, as well as a stack of comic books.

I don't know who left these books - but if memory serves, there wasn't a Batman or Spider-Man book to be found. It was almost all Eternals and Devil Dinosaurs and that kind of thing. Well, those books are a bit too weird and dense for a 6-year old: and I really didn't like them (because I didn't understand them). In many ways, Kirby's art looked 'ugly' to my young eyes, which were much more accustome to Jim Aparo's Batman.

As i matured, I became a much more open minded reader, and have seen the odd Eternals book here and there.

Sitting down and reading issues #1-4 yesterday, was enlightening, as I have a much great sense of Kirby's vision, and the comic book industry as a whole - and how rare it was for him to have the creative freedom he eventually got from both Marvel an DC.

I really like the general concept of Space Gods and the 3 levels of Earth creature - there is something both fantastic and plausible about it. Kirby was obviously having a lot of fun with the designs of the Deviants, the Celestials, the machinery and the weaponry.

To be honest, some of the 'human' dialogue in issue #1 was a little awkward (the 'enough college humour' stuff), and it stands in stark contrast to the gradiose statement of the Deviants and Eternals. It leads me to think that the Damians are just stock characters that Jack pulled out of his '1960 Monster' file. Hopefully, we'll see some more development in the later issues.

I don't want to get into too much of a 4th world comparison, but it is almost impossible. I did think that the 'deviant flying devils' looked a little too much like para-demons - and this made the whole New York attack seem to much like the Kalibak vs. Turpin issues of New Gods.

To be fair - I am reading these too closely together, and the 4 or 5 year gap that people had in the 70s was probably helpful.

After 4 issues - I am very intrigued to see where it is all going - I find that I really like Ikaris (I have always felt that his costume design was very cool), and whole Eternal/Human/Deviant trinity is very, very compelling.

The action is good, and Jack's artwork is at its bold best. The full page or two page spread really help give as sense of the grandeur of the events.

Overall - the series is in the B (maybe B+) range for me - very promising, with just a few kinks to work out.

[Slam_Bradley]

Vault of Horror # 13 The cover by Johnny Craig is a step up from the last one. Still a little busy for my tastes.

Story #1, “The Dead Will Return” by Al Feldstein finds a young wife and her lover killing the lighthouse keeper/husband and dumping his body in the ocean. Unfortunately, corpses are want to return in these EC tales. But do they take their revenge? A decent story with nice art by Feldstein. Remember…always check the bodies of your murder victims. Grade: B.

Story #2, “The Curse of Harkley Heath” credited to Wally Wood, I think this is by Harrison and Wood. A trio of less than gracious relatives kill their uncle for his money, only to find out that it was all left to only one of the cadre. Thus begins a series of murders…that ultimately leaves only death as the big winner. The story is nothing new or special. The art is ok…but it isn’t the Woody that we’ll learn to know and love. There is an interesting use of morphine as a murder weapon, complete with needle. Grade: C.

Story #3, “Doctor of Horror” by “Ghastly” Graham Ingels. This is a tale of an overly ambitious anatomy professor who turns grave robber. Faced with not having enough cadavers, he arranges to create some…only to have his plan hideously backfire. Though the ending is easy to see, this is one of the better stories of the first two issues. Ingels is a consumate horror artist. Though familiar with his work, this story really showed me the influence he had to have had on Bernie Wrightson. Very good stuff. Grade: A-.

Story #4, “Island of Death” by Harvey Kurtzman. As I read this, I wanted to look up the publication date of “The Most Dangerous Game.” Because one is almost assuredly a rip-off of the other. There’s just nothing original in this tale of the great hunter hunting the stranded human game. Kurtzman’s art is really the only thing that saves this story. It shows the signs of the greatness that will come in his war tales. Grade C-.

Overall, the book was a bit of a step down from the previous issue. While the art met the same standards, or was a little better, the stories, except the third one weren’t as good. It’s also a little irritating to only have the Vault-Keeper in the first story rather than the classic lineup of him on two and the Old Witch and the Crypt Keeper on one story apiece. Overall score: C+


Weird Science # 13. Nice flying saucer cover by Feldstein. A little busy still….I’m not sure this one would have grabbed me from a newsstand…but when you really look at it, it’s a gem.

Story #1, “The Flying Saucer Invasion” by Al Feldstein finds reports of flying saucers coming in from all over the country. The public must know whether their really are flying saucers or not. The Secretary of Defense brings together all the witnesses and of course determines that they aren’t real. Interestingly, The Secretary is only of the aliens from the previous Feldstein Weird Science story. A fabulous twist. And nice Feldstein art, make this the best of the two series’ thus far. Grade: A.

Story #2, “The Meteor Monster” credited to Wally Wood, I think this is by Harrison and Wood. A falling meteor discharges an ugly, but very persuasive alien, who in a short period of time takes over an entire town, only to fall victim to the one person who he’s physically incapable of controlling. But he may not be the last of his kind. art is ok…but it isn’t the Woody that we’ll learn to know and love. The story is fairly standard bug-eye monster fair. Grade: C.
Story #3, “The Micro-Race” by Jack Kamen. Reclusive scientist creates and evolves an entire civilization in a petrie dish. OK, maybe not quite a petrie dish, but almost. We’ve seen this a number of times since, including on The Simpsons, but I’m not sure I remember seeing it before this time. Of course the civilization becomes a little too advanced for the Doctor‘s own good. This is a pretty good story with some nice art by Kamen. Grade: B.

Story #4, “The Man Who Raced Time” by Harvey Kurtzman. This story presents the dark side of super-speed. Denied a promotion in favor of a more socially ept colleague our protagonist subjects himself to an experiment that gives him super-speed for a short period of time. Finding that he’s lost the girl he’s infatuated with to this same colleague, he turns from petty pranks and crimes to attempts at murder. But who will end up dead? Kurtzman’s art is excellent, and the story is a nice untraditional take on a traditional super-power. Grade A-.

Overall a great issue. Grade: B+.

[Cei-U!]

Story #4, “Island of Death” by Harvey Kurtzman. As I read this, I wanted to look up the publication date of “The Most Dangerous Game.” Because one is almost assuredly a rip-off of the other.

Richard Connell's classic short story was first published in 1924. The first film adaptation hit the theatres in '32.

Cei-U!
I summon the quick 'n' dirty lookup!

[Slam_Bradley]

Richard Connell's classic short story was first published in 1924. The first film adaptation hit the theatres in '32.

Cei-U!
I summon the quick 'n' dirty lookup!


Thanks for the look-up. I could use you around the office when I have research projects. You could turn me very lazy.

[Chris CCL]

I recently picked up Comic Cavalcade Archives Vol. 1 (reprinting CC #1-3). I think it has the single greatest introduction to an Archives yet. MIchael Uslan and Robert Klien basically give a "Reader's Digest" version of the birth and the differences in all the early DC/All-American books that came out in the late 30's and early 40's.
Beacuse of this (and with my love of Golden Age books) this has quickly become one of my most treasured Archives.

Chris CCL

[Slam_Bradley]

I recently picked up Comic Cavalcade Archives Vol. 1 (reprinting CC #1-3). I think it has the single greatest introduction to an Archives yet. MIchael Uslan and Robert Klien basically give a "Reader's Digest" version of the birth and the differences in all the early DC/All-American books that came out in the late 30's and early 40's.
Beacuse of this (and with my love of Golden Age books) this has quickly become one of my most treasured Archives.

Chris CCL


Cool. Hey, Chris! Have you gotten the "Rarities" Archive yet? I'm really interested in it.

[Lone Ranger]

New Gods #5

A good for this story is “Kalibak Goes to New York”. Poor Dave Lincoln, can’t get a moment’s piece. Just as he is start to chill out, Kalibak boom tubes his way to the Big Apple and a major fight involving Orion, Lightray and half the NYPD ensues. Lots of good action and serious badassness by Orion. We also get a Manhunter back-up – which is very cool, and a short little segment on Speedbak (sp?). Maybe the highlight of the whole book is the Kirby self-portrait. This is the first issue with Mike Royer inking, and I think he did an admirable job. It’s also fun Grade: A

NOTE: As a younger reader, I was always more than a little confused by Kirby’s 70s output. As I have said elsewhere – the art was just so different from other books and the high-concept storylines confused my little brain. Now, I ‘get’ them much better. I think that it is good to read a bunch of these back to back to back so that you can really get into the flow of things.

[Slam_Bradley]

Vault of Horror # 14 Cover by Johnny Craig is a real standout. Ties in to the first story in the comic and is very visually appealing…to the extent that voodoo rituals can be appealing.

Story #1, “Voodoo Vengeance” by Johnny Craig finds an aging man cuckolded by his young wife and her lover. He uses a voodoo doll of her to keep her from seeing the object of her affection. Unfortunately these things have a way of going awry. Overall a nice story. And though the old man isn’t entirely innocent, it’s nice that the young wife brings about her own demise. Grade: B.

Story #2, “Werewolf” credited to Wally Wood, I think this is by Harrison and Wood. A mountain climbing group in the Carpathians may have a werewolf in their midst. A moderately interesting twist at the end is all that saves this dismal tale. Both the story and the art are well below par. Grade: D.

Story #3, “Rats have Sharp Teeth” by “Ghastly” Graham Ingels. Local historian Abner Tucker takes a job as the maintenance man at the local cemetery to give him the chance to rob the graves of those buried with jewels, money, etc. Unfortunately the cemetery is honeycombed with rat holes and Abner has to fight them to get his booty. The story is pretty interesting, and Ingels’ art is atmospheric and simply extraordinary. The only problem is that the payoff is a little weak. But overall it is a very good tale. Grade: A-.

Story #4, “The Strange Couple” by Al Feldstein . A driver, force onto a back road by bad weather is beset by auto problems. Of course the only house in the area is owned by an apparently dastardly couple. But are they what they seem, or is it all in his mind? Feldstein’s art is very nice, but that‘ is all there is to like about the story. The second person narrative is annoying and the story is little more than a rehash of an earlier “Weird Science“ tale, with a horror slant. Grade C (for the art)-.

This issue is a tale of two extremes. The Ingels story and (to a lesser extent) the Craig story are what are good about EC. The other two are the polar opposite, clichéd and derivative in the case of the Feldstein story and just plain bad in the case of the one credited to Wood. Grade: C

[Halloween Jill]

Kirby is great for going back to. I didn't like the New Gods when I was a teenager. Apparently, loss of innocence is good for appreciating Kirby and not so good for appreciating Lee... which argues with a lot of cliches about Kirby's naivete, I think.

[InfoBroker]

New Gods #5
Grade: A

Whew! Wait until you get to the next two issues Kimo. They just keep building on the grandness of this issue.

I think that it is good to read a bunch of these back to back to back so that you can really get into the flow of things

This was the ideal reading approach that Kirby was aiming for with his material from about 1965 onward. By the 70s he was pitching different formats to DC, including what has now become the commonplace trades. He definitely wanted his Fourth World material presented in a polished upscale format, with bright colors and better paper stock, with a series of stories collected together into a single package.

When you get to his 2001 comics, you need to take in stride the first two or three and read beyond them. They aren't padding, they are set up for the issues to come. But by the 9th issue two things have happened. One good, one not so good. The Good Thing is Mr. Machine/Machine Man makes his debut, a dynamic character whose potentials shifts Jack's enthusiam and ultimate direction for the 2001 comic license. There was also feelings at Marvel that this was a more commerically successful vehicle that the broader spectrum of 2001 concepts that Jack was exploring. Not sure I agree. I loved Jack's Mr. Machine/Machine man, but I also loved what was just starting to unfold heading down the 2001 path.

The not so good thing, is that Marvel was on the brink of establishing a ruling that writer's would no longer edit their own material, and editors could not write their own books. It was a policy that was meant to break up fiefdoms that had formed at Marvel, but I never felt it had any creative merit. There was also an editorial deshire forming to have Jack's books be dialogued by someone other than Jack. Both actions would impact the structure of Jack's storytelling, most especially his enthusiam and as Cei-u mentioned elsewhere the spontenaity that was part of the charm of Jack's storytelling skills.

-jb the (cursing the thing that Marvel has mutated itself into) ib :cool:

[Chris CCL]

Cool. Hey, Chris! Have you gotten the "Rarities" Archive yet? I'm really interested in it.

Would ya believe, no. I'm kicking myself for not getting it yet. In fact, you can listen to my latest podcast. I speak on CC Volume 1 and Rarities. But I made a mistake when I said that Rarities collect All-Star 1 and 2, which of course it does not.
Chris

[Slam_Bradley]

Would ya believe, no. I'm kicking myself for not getting it yet. In fact, you can listen to my latest podcast. I speak on CC Volume 1 and Rarities. But I made a mistake when I said that Rarities collect All-Star 1 and 2, which of course it does not.
Chris


You're right, it doesn't. But it oughta. Those books are rarities.

[Slam_Bradley]

Weird Science # 14. Interesting Earth after holocaust cover by Feldstein. A little busy still….I’m not sure this one would have grabbed me from a newsstand.

Story #1, “Destruction of the Earth” by Al Feldstein finds a scientist warning the Pentagon not to explode the H-Bomb. His calculations indicate it will lead to the destruction of the Earth. Of course he’s dismissed as a crackpot. Until the bomb goes off. The science on this one is horrible. Feldstein’s Secretary of Defense makes another appearance. The art is vintage Feldstein. The last panel twist is moderately interesting, but this just isn’t a great story. Grade: C-.

Story #2, “The Sounds From Another World” by Harvey Kurtzman. An eccentric scientist invents a listening device and begins picking strange alien sounds. Where are they coming from? He finds out, but can’t convince anyone else that he’s not insane. Kurtzman’s art is excellent and the story is fairly interesting, if nothing spectacular. Grade: B-.

Story #3, “Machine From Nowhere” by Harry Harrison. A mysterious machine shows up in a lab assistants’ dreams and he builds it, without knowing what it will do. As his scientist/boss arrives to check it out a small ship comes out of the machine and goes forth to gather uranium. Where did the idea for the machine come from and what is its purpose. This is a pretty good story but it‘s a good thing Harrison went in to the writing of science fiction, because he wasn‘t a great artist.. Grade: B-.

Story #4, “The Eternal Man” by Jack Kamen. Dr. Einheim, inventor of the atom bomb is being given an award by the UN for his contributions to science. But it isn’t the real Dr. Einheim, who has died of exposure to radiation, but a robot duplicate. The story is a bit of a naïve take on the creation of atomic power meshing Einstein with the Manhattan Project. The robot replaces the Doc and builds on his work. Interestingly there is no twist ending on this story at all. Kamen‘s art is nice as usual and this is a pretty upbeat story for EC. Grade B-.

Overall the most even issue so far. None of the stories was horrible, but really, none of them were better than ok.. Grade: B-.

[Cei-U!]

I'm enjoying your EC reviews, Slam. I've never really shared the reverence for their stuff that other folks feel. With the exception of Frontline Combat, Two-Fisted Tales and some of the later books like Aces High (do I have that title right?), I find their comics constipated, for lack of a better word, and criminally overwritten. Yes, they have beautiful art but most of it is handcuffed by rigid page layouts and hidden behind hordes of redundant, corny, turgid dialogue and prose. Even the comic book version of Mad annoys me. I don't deny that they were superior in quality and imagination to the drek their imitators spewed out and their influence on later creators (especially among the underground pioneers) is obvious but I just don't think they stand up well today.

Cei-U!
I summon the hersey!

[Slam_Bradley]

I'm enjoying your EC reviews, Slam. I've never really shared the reverence for their stuff that other folks feel. With the exception of Frontline Combat, Two-Fisted Tales and some of the later books like Aces High (do I have that title right?), I find their comics constipated, for lack of a better word, and criminally overwritten. Yes, they have beautiful art but most of it is handcuffed by rigid page layouts and hidden behind hordes of redundant, corny, turgid dialogue and prose. Even the comic book version of Mad annoys me. I don't deny that they were superior in quality and imagination to the drek their imitators spewed out and their influence on later creators (especially among the underground pioneers) is obvious but I just don't think they stand up well today.

Cei-U!
I summon the hersey!


I appreciate the input, Kurt. So far I've found them to be a mixed bag, but I'm just touching the surface, so I'll reserve final judgment. I do think that the reverence with which they're held has a lot to do with the competition at the time. I'm trying to look at them with an eye for where they were coming from at the time. And at least in some cases it's still very derivative.

[T GUy]

I summon Cei-U! With the exception of Frontline Combat, Two-Fisted Tales and some of the later books like Aces High (do I have that title right?), I find their comics constipated, for lack of a better word, and criminally overwritten.A clutch of minor points:

1. Aces High is the correct title, and I find it one of the most constipated EC books of them all. No accounting for taste, is there?

2. Try the Johnny Craig material, especially that in Crime SuspenStories; he was overlooked for years by many EC fans in favour of the more obvious horror and sf books, I suspect in the first genre because his style is far more restrained than that of Ingels and Davis. I'm a bit of an admirer of his technical mastery... but maybe some would find his work a trifle cold?

And a brace of major points:

Slam's at the very begining of EC's reign at the moment - they take a couple more issues to settle down into classic period EC. There's also a change a couple of years later as Gaines and Feldstein bring in outside writers (Wessler, Oleck) and some new artists (I think I recall other artists than Krigstein coming in in 1953 or '54 - i'm not a great expert so could be mistaken).
criminally overwrittenI once made the observation that Gaines wanted his comics to be the best bargains out there, so, on the principle that a picture is worth a thousand words, he gave his readers the picture and the thousand words.

[Slam_Bradley]

Crime Suspenstories # 1. Nice cover by Craig that ties in to the Ingels story inside. It still suffers from the overly large logo. It just doesn’t jump out at you.

Story #1, “Murder May Boomerang” by Johnny Craig starts out as a pretty heartwarming story of a son and his widowed dad. The dad works hard to give the son all possible advantages. After receiving his college education and obtaining a nice job, the son takes dad on a vacation to a hunting lodge, that is just a little too close to a penitentiary. Craig’s art is very effective and the story takes a nice turn in turning a happy outing in to a lesson in the dangers of revenge. One of the best stories thus far. Grade: A-.

Story #2, “Death‘s Double Cross” by Wally Wood. Girl loves boy, but boy loves adventure. Girl marries boys twin brother, who apparently loves only business. Twin brother comes back and plots murder with girl. But which brother really dies? This thing reads more like a bad romance comic than a crime story and I saw the twist coming as soon as the twin was introduced. On the plus side this is pure unadulterated Wood. The art is as beautiful as the story is unspectacular. It makes it hard to grade, frankly. Grade: Story: D+; Art: A-… overall C+.

Story #3, “Snapshot of Death” by Graham Ingels. A lady with a short time to live hires a hitman to take herself out. There’s really not a lot more to say. The story isn’t much, though it does get a few points for having a somewhat non-EC twist. This one has a happy ending. I love Ingels’ work on the horror books, but I’m not convinced that he works in a more modern setting. His people just look gawky in this story. There are a number of bizarre unnatural poses. He seems to have a hard time with women, which is a problem given the nature of the story. Grade: C-.

Story #4, “High Tide” by Harvey Kurtzman. A supply boat leaves a prison island. Because of the distance and the tides, it is the only way on or off. One of the four people on the boat is a mad-dog killer who has snuck on the boat. But who is it? This may well be the best EC story that I’ve read so far. The story, by Kurtzman is suspenseful and interesting with a couple of nice twists. His art is spot on. This is the first story that really deserves the kind of reputation the EC’s have gotten. Grade: A+.

This is a rather schizophrenic book. Two exceptional stories and two with significant problems. Interestingly the problems are the opposite in the two. Woods art is great in a weak story. Ingels’ art is pretty weak in an ok story. I did note, after reading Kurt’s post yesterday that the first three stories were VERY heavy in exposition from the narrator. The Kurtzman story avoided this and read a lot better. Grade: B.

[tricksterpup]

For me the most recent classic stuff I just read was the IDW TPB of Grimjack appeances in Star Slayer. I know people bitched and moaned about those extra 8 pages but you know what, it made me smile and it was Ostrandler's way in welcoming back his fans. Its like I never left Mundan's bar and having Bob steal my drinks.
The book also gives us a glimpse on how much Truman's art work as progressed over the years but never really changed. He is now by far a better artist but he never changed his style.
And if you are not reading the New Grimjack mini series, for shame. We are seeing the return of First comics, with Grimjack, Jon Sable and when ever it comes out the TPB's of American Flagg, hell, I would love to see new stories on that as well. Now we need to see is the return of E-MAN, Whisper, Badger, and Nexus.

[Slam_Bradley]

Two-Fisted Tales # 18. The first thing you notice is, while the logo is still big, Kurtzman uses the whole cover for his drawing. It’s a huge difference from what has gone before. Nice simple design very well executed.

Story #1, “Conquest” by Harvey Kurtzman. The adventures of Captain Juan Alvorado, Spanish conquistador and titular conqueror of the native city of Diablo. This story is very interesting in that it is quite sympathetic to the native peoples. Gives a very nice look at a campaign of guerilla warfare. The story is a tad overwritten, but overall is very interesting. Kurtzman’s are is great, but the coloring on the story actually steals the show. A very nice story. Among the better thus far. Grade: B+.

Story #2, “Hong Kong Intrigue” by Al Feldstein. Tough guy American Gregg King is in Hong Kong and happens to save a blonde dish from a “slant eyed oriental.“ Her father has information that is vital to the security of someone but has been captured. King and the dame take on the yellow menace, and though they may not save the father, they save the day. I’m torn about this story. I’m actually a fan of Yellow Menace pulp writing. I love Fu Manchu. Unfortunately the bad guys here are just plain stupid and that makes it harder to deal with. Feldstein, while his art is up to the task, is far too in love with his writing. There’s never any explanation of who exactly the “plans” are going to help. I have to assume it isn’t the Communist Chinese government, though that would seem to be the case. A story with too darn many flaws to be good. Grade: C-

Story #3, “Revolution!” by Wally Wood. Two good friends, pilot soldiers of fortune, head to a mythical Central American nation to fight on opposite sides of a civil war. Of course they are destined to meet up on the field of battle. Up to this point it’s a story with some potential. Unfortunately the execution is lacking and the pay-off is ridiculous. Wood’s art is fabulous, however. I could look at him draw Latin lovelies all day long. The cheesecake artists of today could definitely take some lessons on how to draw beautiful women from Woody. Grade: C.

Story #4, “Mutiny” by Johnny Craig. A sea captain, alleged to have recently been paid in diamonds is forced to take on a crew of unknown sailors. They mutiny in order to find the loot. This is actually a very simple story, but it is incredibly effective. Just a very rousing adventure tale. Craig’s art is perfect for the story. This one looks like it could have been taken from the very best newspaper strips of the classic adventure era. One of the best EC stories thus far. Grade: A.

Again a rather schizophrenic book. Two exceptional stories and two with significant problems. Still, there is a lot here to suggest that Kurtzman’s books are going to be something significantly different than Feldstein’s. Grade: B.

[kramden]

i just reread my NOVA VOL1 from the 70`s.i loved this title until carmine infantino was brought on to pencil than it went downhill and got canceled. the first 10 issues or so were great and the villians were inspired. my favorite Marv Wolfman creation.John Bushema drew the series in the beginning.today 10 year old boys are already interested in girls, when i was 10 i wanted to be Nova

[Beta Ray Bill]

I recently finished the SUPERMAN VS. THE FLASH TPB that DC put out a couple of weeks ago.

--It contains--
Superman #199 (August 1967)
The Flash #175 (December 1967)
World's Finest Comics #198 (November 1970)
World's Finest Comics #199 (November 1970)
DC Comics Presents #1 (July-August 1978)
DC Comics Presents #2 (September-October 1978)
Adventures of Superman #463 (February 1990)
DC First: Flash/Superman (July 2002)

My personal favorite of the eight would have to be The Flash # 175 -- The Race To The End Of The Universe! The cover artists for this issue were Carmine Infantino and Mike Esposito, the writer was E. Nelson Bridwell, the penciller was Ross Andru, and the inker was Mike Esposito.

My least favorite of all the issues was the Mr. Mxyzptlk story in AOS #463. I've always hated that character with a passion. Anyways, it's a good book and a fun read. What else can I say?

[Slam_Bradley]

Vault of Horror # 15. Very nice cover by Craig. Simple, yet disturbing. This one grabbed me.

Story #1, “Horror House” by Johnny Craig. A writer of either comics or pulp stories finds that he can’t concentrate due to too many friends coming to his apartment. Instead of telling them not to bug him while he’s working, he naturally buys a haunted house upstate. Some of the friends come for a visit and decide to pull a prank haunting. But it could be that the house really is haunted. This story really doesn’t have a lot going for it other than Craig’s art, which is nice as always. The story itself doesn’t really go anywhere and the payoff is, at best, anti-climactic. Grade: C (on the merit of Craig‘s art). .

Story #2, “Terror in the Swamp” by Al Feldstein. Suffice to say, that while Feldstein may have done it earlier, this story was much better done by Wein and Wrightson working on Swamp Thing. Scientists go in to swamp, experiment, create swamp monster. Yehaa! Feldstein’s art is nice as always, but there is nothing in the story that hadn’t been done better both before and since. Grade: D+

Story #3, “Report From the Grave” by Jack Kamen. As part of his initiation in to The Vault-Keepers Club, Warren Lake, must dig up the recently deceased member whose place he is taking and report back as to what time his watch reads. But the body he digs up is too old…and it all points to murder. There is NO indication of why he is to dig up the body, what the club is about or really why we’re reading the story. Kamen’s art makes it semi-worthwhile, but the story sure doesn’t. Grade: C-

Story #4, “Buried Alive” by Graham Ingels. A circus side-show performer, who’s act is to be buried alive concocts a scheme with his wife, to bilk money out of her lover by employing his talent for “shallow breathing.” Of course, she double crosses him, but all the guilty parties get theirs in the end. Ingels’ art works better in period pieces than in more contemporary pieces like this one. The story, while not top-notch is definitely a cut above the rest in this issue. Grade: B-.

This is really just a stinker of an issue. Of the four stories, three were saved by the artwork. The other had a decent if not great story, but inferior art from Ingels. Possibly the worst book so far. Grade: C-.

[Slam_Bradley]

Weird Science # 15. Interesting alien cover by Feldstein. .

Story #1, “Panic!” by Al Feldstein. An interesting take on the Orson Welles War of the Worlds panic. Following the radio panic, our hero is called on to recreate the program. However, there seem to be some definite differences. Overall a pretty darn good alien invasion story. Grade: B+.

Story #2, “The Radioactive Child” by Harvey Kurtzman. Two South American peasants are exposed to radiation from an A-bomb test. The woman lives to give birth to the child exposed in utero. The child is a Einsteinian intellect, raising his poor dictator ruled country to a place of prominence. A nice take on the horrors of mutants arising from atomic testing, but a good twist. Kurtzman’s art is as effective as ever in support of a pretty good story. Grade: B+

Story #3, “House in Time” by Graham Ingels. A young couple rent a house from a scientist, with the proviso that they not go through a certain door. When strange noises occur outside…they of course go through the door, only to find themselves in the primordial past complete with dinosaurs. The story is somewhat interesting if and the twist is good. Ingels’ work is better here than it is on most of his stories with a more contemporary setting. Grade: B-

Story #4, “I Created a Gargantua” by Jack Kamen. Small fry John Paulson is tired of losing out to bigger men. He provides himself as a human experiment to a scientist testing a growth formula. Unfortunately, John doesn’t stop growing. Kamen’s art is fine. The story is interesting, and the plight of a man the size of a skyscraper has merit. The last panel, unfortunately is too over-the top and detracts from the rest of the story. Ok, but not great. Grade: C+

Overall a pretty good issue. Grade: B.


Crime Suspenstories # 2. The cover by Craig is just too darn busy. Big logo, caption and two big word ballons.

Story #1, “Dead-Ringer” by Johnny Craig. The splash page on this one is excellent. Unfortunately the story doesn’t live up to it. A stockbroker being taken for a “ride” by some gangsters, claims he is a ringer for the real broker and took his place. Nice art by Craig, but the story leave much to be desired. Grade: C+.

Story #2, “A Moment of Madness” by Graham Ingels. A brain surgeon starts having blackouts…blackouts during which he appears to be killing people. A pretty good story with a nice twist. Ingels’ art works pretty well on this one. The ending is really fairly unexpected and is a pretty nice touch. Grade: B+

Story #3, “The Corpse in the Crematorium” by Johnny Craig. An artist is stricken with cataleptic spells. One occurs in public, without his having identification on him, and he’s declared dead. His fiancé must try to find him before it’s too late. The story isn’t bad, and it’s a bit of a change of pace for EC, that is if you can suspend your disbelief that he can be pronounced dead, when he clearly would have had a pulse. Craig’s art looks a little different here, so I wonder if he had some help. It’s the first time I’ve seen two stories by one artist in an EC book. Grade: B

Story #4, “Contract For Death” by Jack Kamen. Doctor contracts with a man about to commit suicide for his body in one month for $5,000 at the time of contract. Of course when the month is up, our suicide finds he has reasons to want to live. A portion of the twist is very reminiscent of an earlier story from Vault of Horror. Kamen’s art is fine, but this is the weakest story of the book. Grade: C.

Overall an ok issue. Grade: B-

[Lone Ranger]

Tarzan #207 & #208

As the first two issues of DC's version of Tarzan is a two-parter, I review them together.

Although I am big fan of Gold Key's version of Tarzan with the great Russ Manning art (and to a lesser degree - nice work by Paul Norris and Mike Royer), even I will admit that the series was getting a little stale.

The move to DC seemed to provided the property with a creative kick in the pants. Joe Kubert decided to wipe the slate clean and start from scratch, re-telling the origin story. It is quite faithful to the ERB book, and Joe infuses it with the right atmosphere. Some beautiful writing along with the gorgeous artwork. The pages are just bursting with energy.

I can' say the same about the John Carter back-ups. I am also a huge John Carter fan, and I must say that this back-up pales in comparison to the Tarzan lead. The artwork (by Murphy Anderson in 207 and Gray Morrow in 208) is nice, but the script doesn't quite come together and the whole cave/out of body experience origin story seems pretty stupid. Granted, it is pretty stupid and difficult to pull off but I expect more of Marv Wolfman. I really liked the series when it moved over to Weird Worlds, but this was a pretty weak debut.

Grade - Tarzan: A, John Carter: B-, Overall: B+

[InfoBroker]

I never quite got into the John Carter series either, but I loved Kubert's Tarzan and bought it consistantly from 1972 - 1975/6. Keep you eyes peeled for 209 and 210, they complete the origin. The extra material that Joe uses to frame the story comes to a solid conclusion as well. It was a very clever way to cohesively pull together all four issues and keep things present tense in Tarzan's adult world, while unraveling the actions of his childhood.

Joe's page layouts are masterpieces of storytelling. Direct, but deceptively complex despite the seeming simplicity of his penmanship and brushwork. Circa 1969 I got over my prejudices of Joe's seemingly cavalier style. By the time these Tarzan's were published I was a major Kubert fan, and this Tarzan run further enriched my appreciate of Joe's excellent visual storytelling skills.

When you get the chance, I'll be interested in your reactions to the initial episodes of Gullivar of Mars in Creatures on the Loose comics. They were contemporary with DC's snagging the ERB license. An interesting work-around by Roy Thomas, spinning an adaptation from a book that came out before ERB's Mars books.

- jb the vine-swinging ib :cool:

[Rob Allen]

Well, I for one loved Murphy Anderson's John Carter series. In my mind's eye, those are the definitive versions of the characters. I could appreciate the Kane/Nebres art in the Marvel series, but it was never as real to me as Anderson's.

[Lone Ranger]

Well, I for one loved Murphy Anderson's John Carter series.

I do quite like it as well - it's just the first two stories didn't really grab my attention. I do feel that the series improved once it got to Weird Worlds.

Believe me - a so-so review from me of a Gray Morrow drawn story is a rare thing, indeed.

[Slam_Bradley]

Haunt of Fear # 15. The cover by Craig is almost a little psychedelic. Odd and not terribly compelling.

Story #1, “The Wall” by Johnny Craig. Craig always seemed to have more interesting splash pages than most of the rest of the EC crew. This story is no exception. The story itself owes a lot to Poe’s “Tell-Tale Heart” with just a hint of the “Casque of Amantillado thrown in. Our protagonist’s disposal of his shrewish wife is done-in by his overactive mind. A decent story with nice art. Grade: B+.

Story #2, “House of Horror” by Harvey Kurtzman. Fraternity hazing at a haunted house goes tragically wrong for three pledges and the nasty upperclassman that set them up. There‘s nothing terribly original in this story and the payoff comes with a whimper not a bang. Kurtzman’s art is fine, though I suspect Feldstein wrote this one. There is a ton of exposition in the story. A weakish effort. Grade: C+

Story #3, “Mad Magician” by Harrison and Wood. A stage magician is convinced that there is actually magic in the world and attempts to prove it by sawing a man in half and putting him back together. Of course he’s doomed to fail and bring about his own downfall. Not the best of stories. Harrison’s art is a major weak spot for EC. Grade: C.

Story #4, “The Thing in the Swamp” by Al Feldstein. I didn’t like this one the first time I read it, when it was reprinted in Vault of Horror. I didn’t like it any better this time. Grade: C-

Weak first issue. Craig‘s story is the only one that is better than ok, and it is still very derivative. No sign of The Old Witch. Grade: C+


Haunt of Fear # 16. There’s just too darn much going on in this Craig cover for it to be really effective.

Story #1, “Vampire” by Johnny Craig. Another nice splash page on this one. The story finds a small-town bayou doctor determining that a vampire is on the loose. The townpeople have a problem with that idea. He determines who it is and tries to save the beautiful daughter from the vampire father. But does he have the right vampire? Nice art by Craig, the story is a bit overwritten, but is decent enough. Grade: B.

Story #2, “Horror A Head” by Harrison and Wood. Extremely weak story with very weak art. The story revolves around the purchase of a “shrunken head” and how it was originally acquired. But there just isn’t a lot too this one. Grade: D+

Story #3, “The Killer in the Coffin” by Graham Ingels. Husband decides to escape from nagging wife to be with lover by faking his death. Wife ends up dead and mistress lets hubby down. A weakish story saved by “Ghastly” Graham Ingels’ artwork. There’s some good coloring on this one as well. Grade: C-.

Story #4, “The Mummy‘s Return” by Jack Kamen. Ahhh, love triangles continue throughout the ages, or at least until the mummy done wrong avenges itself across the ages. Kamen’s art saves a pretty darn standard mummy tale. Frankly there only seems to be one mummy tale in all of fiction. Grade: C-
.
A very weak issue. Grade: C

[spoon_jenkins]

Weird War Tales #101

My local comic shop is having a 50% off back issue sale, so I decided to sample a different genre.

Anyway the issue has an introductory splash page and four stories (including the first appearance of G.I. Robot). I didn't expect the comic to be so decisively anti-war, but of course it was the post-Vietnam era. I liked the art (though there were no names that I recognized), however in the various stories there were times when the panel transitions seemed lacking.

The G.I. Robot and "war calculator" stories were well-executed. The "Dry Run" story (about kids and war - don't want to give it all away) was brief but very good. "Twice a Traitor" was a neat concept and had a cool ending, but I felt otherwise the execution was lacking.

I like Death as the host/narrator. I like this ish enough that I may buy more Weird War Tales. If anyone has recommendations, lemme know.

[Roquefort Raider]

I do quite like it as well - it's just the first two stories didn't really grab my attention. I do feel that the series improved once it got to Weird Worlds.


Really? I thought it went downhill fast when the writers decided to fuse the plots of the first two novels.

I'm afraid that as far as John Carter and my tastes are concerned, Gil Kane is the alpha and the omega. (If one excepts Frank Cho, but that's for *ahem* different reasons).

[InfoBroker]

<shrunched up face - trying hard to hide it>

As I read Slam's reviews I find myself matching his grades pretty close. Some higher at times, some lower, but not by much in either direction. Altough I will offer some minor defense in regard to the stories not always being groundbreakers. They purposely borrowed from the classics. Sometimes in a legitimate fashion, sometimes not so legitimately. Sometimes with great style, and stunning visualizations. But there were also lot of duds containing trite exposition and very poor character motivations/development. The duds also outnumbered the classics. In many ways I find the second age of horror comics from the late 60s and early 70s far more interesting and of a higher calibre.

As I have stated before, the material of EC Comics that I have enjoyed the most are the War comics edited by Harvey Kurtzman, his Mad work, a dozen or so of the science fiction tales, especially the adaptations of Ray Bradbury, especially There Will Come Soft Rains, and a handful of the horror tales, with my hand pointing at Johnny Craig and Ghastly G. Engels material.

I loved several of the more gristly Jack Davis horror pieces, more for their humor and over-the-wall absurdity than the shock and horror factor. But again I prefer reading/seeing his war/humor work with HK. I loved Wally Wood's work, especially the science fiction material, but there weren't enough good stories to match his strong visuals. His humor work was also very very good. My favorite tale being "ARGHH!"

So why am I skrunching my face into tight knots of regret and pain.

Because, I decide to splurge a few weeks ago and buy the War Against Crime and Crime Patrol hardbacks that were published in the early 90s. This is early EC material, most pre-dating the Weird/Crypt/Tomb tales that would be the landmarks of the company.

There is a lot of early Wood, Craig, Harrison and Feldstien here. There are some hints of their greatness to come, but there is also all the evidence of the gory and gruesome. Not that I don't mind good gore and grue. But this is bland stories, forced dialog lacking the strong visual presentation that would follow. Besides I never cared for shock for shock sake, so if an author ventures there, his tale is going to require other levels to gain my respect.

So far things aren't going to well.

It's difficult for me to read more than a couple of stories per setting. I have yet to encounter a tale that deserves special commentary or high praise. For me they are curiosity pieces. A glimpse at the early stages of a company that would eventual be the marker that other horror comics of the time would be measured against.

I'm still hoping to encouter a watermark story. Once I bump into one I will gladly share my reactions and reflections.

-jb the disappointed ib :cool:

[InfoBroker]

Well it just so happens that I have a handful of Weirdness lurking within one of the four comic boxes that I managed to spring from my storage locker.

Issues one and three through six. Not sure how or why I missed issue two.

The first issue debuted the second month that DC had moved from 36 pages to 52 pages, July of 1971 to be exact. Fortunately I was about four months into my return to buying comics and this cover was blessed with Joe Kubert's fine artistic hand so I snatched it from the rack, along with Conan #10 (also 52 pages for a quarter), Astonsihing Tales #8 (ditto), and Mister Miracle #4. No New Gods or Forever People, they premiered at 52 pages the month before.

Oops, sorry. I got side-tracked from War Tales.

These initial issues were mainly reprints from the late 50s and early 60s with a wrapper tale that provided a host and some ongoing continuty. It made for a nice package, especially with Joe Kubert doing the artwork.

The first story has some classic Russ Heath material with a story called "The Fort Which did Not Return." The splash page is a cockpit detail, you can see a factory outside the window, that is obviously the bombing target for this mission. From the earphones one of the crew is yelling:

"Bombadier to Pilot! Lining up the target now, SKIPPER! Watch your drift! HOLD IT! HOLD IT -- HOLD IT!

DC rarely used more than one exclamation point in their word ballons, until Jack Kirby got there. But they did use a lot of larger type fonts. Far more varied that Marvel's of that same time frame. Very creative. Makes you wonder why today's editor like the blandness of a single font, and everything in lowercase. Like it adds a sophistication or something? In my mind it is a boring presentation technique, losing the charms of comic book storytelling convention.

But that is a side note, to the more intriguing aspects of this splash page. You see, the pilots are missing, and the two seats are riddled with bullet holes. It's a great splash page, similar to tone to several Harvey Kurtzman war tales from Frontline Combat or Two-Fisted Tales.

Nice teaser leading into a nice story.
Grade: A for the splash page. B+ for the rest of the tale.

Hey this is cool... the house ad at the conclusion of this tale is for Mister Miracle #4 - The Magic of Kirby!
Grade: A (Hey its a great cover and a well laid out advert).

Ah, still only one excalmation point... guess I need to find an actual Kirby comic to get my quota of exclamating. Not just an ad for one.

WOW! I completely forgot about the classic Joe Kubert reprint that is the second story in this issue. A sea adventure about a German U-boat called the Sea Wolf.
Grade: solid B

The final story is called "Baker's Dozen" and while I agree with the GDC that Irv Novick does most if not all of the pencils, the inking is harsher than his usual style. He may have been working to match a desired editoral style, but there are places, several in fact, that look like Joe's brush was in service doing some of the inking.

It's a bit of a gimmick story, and not as visually interesting as the previous two tales.
Grade: C+

The wrapper story starts and finishes the comic. Guess that's why I'm calling it a wrapper. It's only a handful pages all told, but Joe's layouts are suberb, and page three of the tale has a great shot of trees with large gaping moths and gobs of teeth. Well I like it anyway.
Grade Art: A+ Story: B

-jb the "make war no more" ib :cool:

[Cei-U!]

The Essential Monster of Frankenstein is the only of my four most recent Essentials acquisitions to contain stories I've never read before. I'd bought the first five issues back in the day and enjoyed them a lot. Gary Friedrich did an outstanding job adapting the original novel and, while I'm not a *big* Mike Ploog fan, I thought his art was well-suited to its subject, dripping with atmosphere and menace. So I was looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

As long as Friedrich is writing, the series stays strong, even after Ploog's departure and John Buscema's assumption of the art chores. But when Doug Moench takes over, something goes wrong. It's not the quality of the plotting or writing I object to (although Moench's penchant for purple, alledgedly poetic prose always annoys me to no end), it's his transformation of the title character from the novel's intelligent, articulate tortured soul to the grunting, homicidal Hulk-lite of the Universal movies. Without that strong personality at the series' center, it quickly becomes just another mid-Seventies Marvel horror comic, better than Werewolf By Night, markedly inferior to Tomb of Dracula.

It doesn't help that the second half of the run, both of the regular comic and the Monsters Unleashed stories, is drawn by Val Mayerick. While I appreciate Mayerick's adept staging and pacing, I've never warmed up to his figurework. Faces, especially, tend toward amorphism, with features floating across the head and no indication of the bone-and-musculature beneath. This weakness severely undermines the emotional content of Moench's scripts.

Still I'm glad I picked this Essentials volume up.

Grade: Issues 1-5 get an A+; everything else comes in somewhere between B and C-.

Cei-U!
I summon the lightning!*

*Hey, it fits this time!

[Grimly Fiendish]

At the moment I have been buying alot of Avengers issues and lots off of ebay (most recently bought a lot of 42 issues (301-342) in NM condition for $23). Yesterday received two issues in the mail that I had previously bought off of ebay (126 & 130).

Of the two, 126 was my personal favorite. Villains were Klaw and Solarr. Storyline had alot of non-pc moments (white man not wanting to shake the hand of a black man), but still a good story.

130 had the Titantic Three (Titanium Man, Crimson Dynamo, Radioactive Man) plus the 1st appearance of the Slasher (aka: Razorblade). Not as much action as the cover promised, but still a pretty good read. Added some more insite into the origin of the character Mantis.

[Perry Holley]

I just finished rereading my run of Grimjack, and am currently making my way through the first run of Scout.

Damn, there were some good comics in the 80's.

[Slam_Bradley]

Still reading the EC reprints. Just haven't had time to do separate reviews. Of those I'm reading, Haunt, Vault, Weird Science, Crime and Two-Fisted, Two-Fisted Tales is by far the most consistently good read.

[Sir Tim Drake]

Mickey Mouse #244: This was a 100-page anniversary issue that reprinted a lot of old Mickey Mouse strips. The centerpiece was a very long Gottfredson story, "The Miracle Master." In this story Mickey discovers a magic lamp which contains a genie, but when he tries to use it to save people from poverty, his plan backfires.

This was a very entertaining story with funny dialogue and vigorous art. At some points it just degenerates into a series of jokes, which I guess is the result of its daily strip format, but overall I enjoyed it.

I don't remember if Gottfredson had any role in writing this story. The primary writer was Merrill de Maris, who I've never heard of in any other context.

[T GUy]

Grimly Fiendish on The Avengers No. 126: Storyline had alot of non-pc moments (white man not wanting to shake the hand of a black man), but still a good story. I recall that issue as being really quite PC, i. e. the white man being viewed as a villain by the story.

[dan bailey]

just got through reading jungle actions 6-9, though now i've run into a roadblock because i haven't yet managed to acquire #10 (doubly annoying because i believe it marked billy graham's debut on the title), though i have 'em all after that. not sure when i started reading the comic back when it was on the stands ... probably around 13-14.

i know a lot of people found mcgregor's writing overly wordy, but i'm liking these comics at least as much as i did back in the mid-'70s. (i almost had a heart attack when kirby took over the title with black panther #1. indeed, i still find his '70s marvel stuff quite distasteful.)

strong inks by klaus janson, too, whom heretofore i'd forgotten to rank in my pantheon of fave inkers (terry austin, bob mcleod) from those days.

also, courtesy of a "free comic book day" sale at one of the 2 local shops, i'm about 6 stories into the essential ant-man. very simplistic, but very fun. the nostalgia factor will be kicking in toward the end of the book, because tales to astonish 60 was one of the first vintage comics i bought after the fact (as opposed to the ones i picked up new on the stands in the mid-to-late '60s, of course) -- half-price (*6 cents*) at a used bookstore in texarkana circa 1973 ...

[Rob Allen]

At Free Comic Book Day, the shop I went to had a table out front with "scratched & dented" GN's and books for $6 each. I picked up volumes I & II of The Ring of the Nibelung by P. Craig Russell, and the Little Annie Fanny 1962-1970 collection, all for $18 total. I've been reading the latter book; it's a hoot. The stories are non-linear, dream-like, and anyone who wasn't around back then would definitely need annotations of some kind to understand all the topical gags & pop-culture references.

[InfoBroker]

<*borrows the Ringmaster's hat*>

<*set's the funny badge in front spinning and whirling *>

<*points in the direction of Rob*>

"You are feeling drowsy"

"Look at the spinning whirlygig-thingy and concentrate on what I am about to say"

"Take the Ring of Nibelung volumes, wrap them in a snug container, and mail them to The Information Broker, in Rochester Minnesota."

"Confirm that you understand me Rob"

"Rob?"

WAKE UP ROB!

- jb the greedy ib :cool:

[Brad Curran]

From E-Bay come:
The New Two Fisted Tales- This is a prestige format anthology edited by Harvey Kurtzman featuring war stories from different eras and artists. It was released after Kurtzman's death. The only thing I've read, however, is definitely a classic comic; A Corpse on the Imjin by Kurtzman. It's my first exposure to his work, and much like the Spirit color album, it was a real treat Speaking of Eisner and his masked detective:

Will Eisner Quarterly #1- Features a full color Spirit story, pages from Life Force, and a Mr. Mystic reprint drawn by Bob Powell. However, the most interesting part of the magazine (besides the fact that it cost less than most monthly comics do today) is the interview between Eisner and Neal Adams, which covers Adams entire career to that point, from his attempts to break in to the business to his work on Green Lantern/Green Arrow. Their comments about the Direct Market are especially interesting, from today's perspective. The only problem I had with it was the fact that some pages were missing, breaking up the interview and the Life Force story. That's said, I'm still glad I got this (especially because it came with two Eisner GNs).

I have the Free Comic Book Day Uncle Scrooge comic and Daredevil: Born Again to read over the weekend, plus Essential Spidey 4's still laying around the place.

[Slam_Bradley]

From E-Bay come:
The New Two Fisted Tales- This is a prestige format anthology edited by Harvey Kurtzman featuring war stories from different eras and artists. It was released after Kurtzman's death. The only thing I've read, however, is definitely a classic comic; A Corpse on the Imjin by Kurtzman.


That's funny, I just won that on E-bay as well. Haven't received it yet. It came in a lot with the Weird Fantasy Annual, Vol. 2.

[Rob Allen]

"Take the Ring of Nibelung volumes, wrap them in a snug container, and mail them to The Information Broker, in Rochester Minnesota."

Hee hee hee!

Nice try, jb! unfortunately for you, I never go online without my Acme anti-hypnosis filter covering my screen! Your scheme is foiled, greedy one!

Actually, the fact that you're in Rochester, MN tells me that you're not the same "jb" that I've been conversing with on the ditkokirby list; he's in Cincinnati.

Now, where'd you get that hat?

[Lone Ranger]

Tor #1-3

Joe Kubert turns the clock back 20+ years and brings back Tor, a character he had created for St. John in the early 50s. With the variety of genres it the 70s, it was a good time to reintroduce Kubert’s Caveman with a Heart of Gold.

The first issue is a series of reworked art from the 50s, and it has a fresh look, fitting right in with DC’s other sword and sorcery and fantasy books from the period. Our pal Tor becomes an outcast, and this sets the scene for his adventures. The real highlight of the issue (for the comic book history buff, at least) is the article on the history of the character by Alan Asherman.

The second issue and third issues provide the reader with much of the same delightful art and stories. The covers a real eye catchers (the first one is particularly striking), and Kubert’s artwork makes up for the slightly clunky script (this was the 50s at St. John’s folks). What can’t be denied is the characterization of Tor himself – he is a fully developed moral hero, and the reader can really feel his struggles.

The ‘Danny Dreams’ back-ups are a bit too ‘50s’ for me, just a waste of pages. I know that Kubert had good intention, trying to plug into a child’s imagination, but this did not age as well as the main strip. Another highlight is reading the lettercol, as many readers remember seeing the original version of Tor on the racks and are thrilled to see it return. I guess it didn’t perform too well, as Tor was sent packing after just a few more issues. Oh well, hopefully they let him keep Chee Chee (sp?) the monkey. Overall Grade: B+ (it’s Danny’s fault).

[Rob Allen]

"Bombadier to Pilot! Lining up the target now, SKIPPER! Watch your drift! HOLD IT! HOLD IT -- HOLD IT!

DC rarely used more than one exclamation point in their word ballons, until Jack Kirby got there. But they did use a lot of larger type fonts. Far more varied that Marvel's of that same time frame. Very creative. Makes you wonder why today's editor like the blandness of a single font, and everything in lowercase. Like it adds a sophistication or something? In my mind it is a boring presentation technique, losing the charms of comic book storytelling convention.I took the liberty of sending this comment to letterer extraordinaire Tom Orzechowski to see what he thought. Here's his reply:


Well, first, I wish people had a better grasp of what they were saying when they invoked "fonts." Until the font thing become pervasive just a decade ago, this was hand work, and the approach came down to personal styles.

Quite a few of today's editors didn't hold the job when lettering was done by hand. Back then, letterers were regarded as sort of lesser artists, as we were putting ink on the boards, too. Also, the books went through fewer levels of editors, so the lettering was less likely to be revised at a whim. Corrections were done by people on staff, not as part of a mechanical process, and maybe I'm deluding myself but I think lettering was then considered differently as a result.

Regarding the passage quoted in the post, I don't know who lettered it so I can't speak to it specifically. However, a great number of stories in the Big Five DC war books were lettered by Gaspar Saladino, and he roared over those pages. A look at any Sgt. Rock story, easily available in reprint, will prove my point. I've developed a yelling font that I use from time to time, and which got liberal use in the Bruce Timm/Paul Dini Harley & Ivy mini about a year ago. I think this gets to the heart of the question. Some stories are wild enough to call for wilder lettering. Saladino had been lettering Kanigher/Kubert Sgt. Rock stories for years, and his approach fit Joe's art to a "T." He was much more restrained on the Julie Schwartz sf and hero comics. It may have been the personal temperment of Artie Simek and Sam Rosen to letter those early Marvels with restraint. Sam's 40s work at Quality comics was looser, certainly on Jack Cole's Plastic Man stories. Maybe if Stan had paid them better...?!

(Feel free to post this if you want.)

[Perry Holley]

Just finished reading my collection of Scout (including Scout: War Shaman, Swords Of Texas, and New America).

Overall I enjoyed the series very much, although I was a little disappointed with the end of the first run of Scout; Emmanuel basically becomes a supporting character in his own book, as Monday's actions take center stage. Other than that, great stuff.

And to this day, New America remains one of the best comic book stories regarding a sympathetic hero becoming a tragic villain, ever.

[InfoBroker]

I took the liberty of sending this comment to letterer extraordinaire Tom Orzechowski to see what he thought. Here's his reply:

Cool, thanks for sharing my meager review of Weird War Tales #1 and my minor commentary about lettering styles in that piece and it's comparison to personal techniques and house standards over the years. It is great to get insight and detail from masters of the trade. Tom is one of my favorites.

I love the bits about roaring and shouting fonts. What a neat and creative way to refer to the looser, wide ranging styles that were more prevelant in the DC titles like the War Books of the silver-age, that I compared to more restrained Marvels that were my main comic diet back then. I also appreciate the comments about Sam Rosen and Artie Simak, and also the added insight about Sam's work on Plastic Man.

The crux if the matter that my minor lettering comments alluded to is that the lettering style should, like you say, match the style of the story, which is why I hold to my dislike for the single, lower case font contraint that seems to be the current policy at a particular "house" company. I have no major disagreement with companies defining a house-style for the overall design and look'n'feel of their product. But in a creative context, those should be seen as guidelines, NOT rules. Sensitivity to the story, the creative staff and the sensibilities of the audience should take precedence. But even within the more restrained house style at Silver-Age Marvel (and this is a generality about the overall style), Sam and Artie could and did explore ways to enhance. It seems the rule now doesn't provide anything approaching that latitude. Which is why I admired DC for having a broader sensibility when it came to design issues like this. This is probably as much a benefit of the seperate Editorial fiefdoms that DC had developed at the time. A mixing of the editorial with the personal styles.

Not that the Marvel decision in the sixties was a wrong choice either. The limited number of books they had on the shelf were greatly aided by having a very standard look that made them easy to spot by fans like me who wanted more of the Marvel-style. However, I still admire and respect the broader range of styles that DC editorial allowed then and now.

Like you, I view letterers as artists, and I have a great deal of respect for comics tales that encompass a full range of lettering techniques and conventions that have become part of the comic lexicon.

One last clarification. My usage of font is in the sense of its definition.

font: A complete set of type of one size and face

Doesn't matter to me if the source for presenting the font was a chinese brush, speed-ball or calligraphy pen points, lead pulled from a California Job Case, linotype, typewriter, machine lettering (not that cared much for the machine that Charlton use - but some artists showed good skill and sensitivity using even that), or computer software from Adobe. If the size changes it's a different font. If the style/face changes, once again it is a different font. What Adobe and computer operating systems have been calling "fonts" are really "faces" and yea you know it, and I know it, and anybody who took a typography, graphic arts, printing or calligraphy class know it. Computer Engineers are another matter...

Make no mistake about it, I love seeing well designed, creative lettering in my comics.

- jb the "calligrapher's bump" ib :cool:

[InfoBroker]

Now, where'd you get that hat?

...er, um...

this cat stopped by one day to clean the house, in his haste leaving he left it behind. I did discover that his previous engagement was at a circus...

-jb the (flustered but shall try again) ib :cool:

[berk]

Omega the Unknown #1.

Since I'm not going to read Marvel's upcoming revival of this concept, I figured it would be a good time to go back and re-read the original series.

[Reptisaurus!]

Omega the Unknown #1.

Since I'm not going to read Marvel's upcoming revival of this concept, I figured it would be a good time to go back and re-read the original series.

D'ya like it? Gerber's one of my very favorite-most Mainstream-type comic-book writers ever, but I've never ended up with any of this series.

[berk]

Mark Andrew said:
D'ya like it [Omega]? Gerber's one of my very favorite-most Mainstream-type comic-book writers ever, but I've never ended up with any of this series. Oh yeah, I'm a longtime fan, although I haven't read this for many years. Too bad Gerber and Skrenes were never given the opportunity to put the finishing touches to their creation. Too bad as well, and how very typical of Marvel's corporate attitude, that they've revived the character only to hand it off to another writer altogether. If Cervantes had written Don Quxote for Marvel, we'd be reading a spurious sequel written by some hack instead of Cervantes's own Part 2.

[tilleycs]

I've been trying to read some partial runs so I can free up some space in my closet. I know I don't want to keep them, but I DO want to read them, so I picked a place to start and just read. So far, I've read the following:

- Green Lantern Corps #'s 201-224. I'd never read any of these issues before (I was NOT happy when they changed the title), but I went in assuming it was going to be pretty bad. I was pleasantly surprised at how good they were. Once they got into the history of the Guardians and the Central Battery of Power, it took a little effort to keep it all straight, but that's better than wishing you'd never bothered reading it. Good reading material, and very cheap & easy to find.

- Marvel Two-in-One #'s 51-100. I still lack 8 issues from having the first 50, so I just started with #51. Much lighter reading then GLC, and the Thing is my all-time favorite Marvel character. I never read this title when it was out (I preferred the FF title back then), and I assumed that every issue was a stand-alone story since every issue has a different guest star.

Not so. There are several 2- and 3-part stories (the previous guest star would still be there, and the "new" guest star would join the story), and even a 6-part story (the Pegasus Project, although the PP was a long-running storyline that was woven into different issues for a long time; I think it was a storyline in Iron Man as well). Most of the stories were VERY well done. Some of the endings felt rushed, but overall, more great reading material that can also be had for VERY cheap.

One odd thing about issue #100 is that there's no announcement that it was going to be the last issue. Usually they know it ahead of time. It almost seems like they didn't with MTIO.

Has anyone else read any GLC or MTIO issues lately? I'd be curious what your thoughts are.

[T GUy]

What berk said. I must dig out that run one day and re-read it - I've not read it since it came out virtually thirty years ago!

[spoon_jenkins]

- Green Lantern Corps #'s 201-224. I'd never read any of these issues before (I was NOT happy when they changed the title), but I went in assuming it was going to be pretty bad. I was pleasantly surprised at how good they were. Once they got into the history of the Guardians and the Central Battery of Power, it took a little effort to keep it all straight, but that's better than wishing you'd never bothered reading it. Good reading material, and very cheap & easy to find.

[snip]

Has anyone else read any GLC or MTIO issues lately? I'd be curious what your thoughts are.

I haven't re-read my GLCs recently, but it's one of the first titles I ever collected regularly and I really enjoy it. I'm missing a few of the later issues. It's was an interesting experiment, and it's too bad it didn't last long as the corps was basically destroyed in the end. Previously minor character were fleshed out, and character with the same power were strongly differentiated based on personality. The excursion into a funny animal story in #204 (backstory of Ch'p and Dr. Ub'x) is IMO an overlooked classic.

[tilleycs]

Previously minor character were fleshed out, and character with the same power were strongly differentiated based on personality.

Good point, and that's one of the things that made the run interesting. They were able to focus on different characters in different issues, and keep things fresh. Kilowog was probably the most lovable character (the poozer!), and it was interesting to see him lean toward communism based on how it looks on paper (and then discover what really went on behind closed doors). That cover was probably the best one of the GLC run, too.

They also tied in a LOT of GL history. The place in the future that had kidnapped Hal several times in the past. Brought back Sinestro, killed him, brought him back again, killed him again. :)

[Simon Garth]

I've been flicking through a number of those Essentials books recently, and I can't get over how horrible most of the art looks.

I've never been a fan of Kirby, but when I orignally read those stories, they were in the old B&W Marvel UK weeklies which were bigger than the originals, and it somehow let the art 'breathe' a bit, and made it look better (or maybe I was just 35 years younger and didn't care so much!). Equally, the original colour comics had the vitality of the colour to add to the pencil/ink art.

However, seeing them in this format, (which seems to have smaller oage size than the original books), the art just looks cramped and dark and messy and mostly, just downright bad. Essential Avengers #3 picked up a lot with the Buscema art, as IMHO, he's 10x the artist that Kirby is (I'm not arguing that Kirby wasn't a great ideas man - I just don't think he could draw very well). The Cockrum stuff in the X-Men volumes looks awful as well.

[Rob Allen]

Cool, thanks for sharing my meager review of Weird War Tales #1 and my minor commentary about lettering styles in that piece and it's comparison to personal techniques and house standards over the years. It is great to get insight and detail from masters of the trade. Tom is one of my favorites.
And this thread-within-a-thread continues. I sent your message to Tom and he replies:


A few comments, if you'd be kind enough to pass 'em along, for jb the information broker, as he knows what he's talking about:

Fonts (and I say this as one who's developed about a dozen of 'em) are bodies of design polished to their particular luster... and then frozen in time. Manipulate them as we will, they come out pretty much as they went in. Hand lettering is flexible at the whim of the crafter. The outcome can succeed or fail, or be an interestingly tangential exercise because, as Colin Clive pointed out, it's alive. The first generation of comics letterers, strip and book, came from the tradition of draftsmen and sign writers. The tools were flexible pens, and the best of the designs were based on brushwork. My point being, the brush is fluid, and the font is cast metal. While anyone can get their hands on either a lettering pen or a font, the pen invites you to find your own way to express yourself. The notion of "font" is deservedly its own category.

Marvel ran its body copy in upper and lower case for about a year, at the behest of then-publisher Bill Jemas. I suppose he felt that, since every other use of print leans mostly on the lower case, that comics ought to do so as well. Also, of course, it would give Marvel a different look. A tight deadline forced me to develop my own font over a weekend, and it was pretty stiff as a result. Others were a lot better. They all scanned pretty well, I thought, and an unexpected benefit was that they could be used smaller and still read just fine. It was telling, though, that, when Jemas was shuffled elsewhere, things went back to the old standard.

Sam Rosen had work all over the Quality line, starting with the cover blurbs. The upper-and-lower case (majuscule and minuscule, I should say, as it was hand work) captions in their earliest books were his trademark. Sam was doing this as a staffer at Eisner and Iger, who packaged the content. He lettered the Spirit stories for a while as well, though the work we remember fondly was by Abe Kanegson. (sp?)

To finish the thought, I'm not sure if any mainstream comics are lettered by hand anymore. My last was Spawn 115, I think, just over three years ago, and I may have been the last in swinging entirely over to pushing pixels full time. So it goes.

Regards,
Tom Orzechowski

[MWGallaher]

GUNFIGHTERS #52, Charlton, 1967. Editor Dick Giordano makes a poor choice to lead off the issue with a story called "The Hero." The splash and first panels depict a man writing a letter to his sweetheart, promising to explain why he can't come back to her as he had promised. Not exactly a thrilling visual--it looks more like the intro to a Charlton romance comic. On top of that, this story has the worst art of any of the three herein, by someone I can't begin to identify. The lettering is by Charlton's legendary "A. Machine," and "A." does what may be "his" worst work ever! Every single balloon is approximately two times too large for its contents. So, lackluster (and that's a generous description) art, airy balloons, dull kick-off, but an unexpectedly surprising and good story (probably the work of Steve Skeates, who I know wrote the second story in this issue)! The titular "hero" proceeds to make shocking choices: he's locked up on a mistaken charge, but then busts out with the leader of a gang of outlaws, and intentionally murders the sheriff in the process, all the while clearly remaining the intended sympathetic protagonist of the story! He participates in kidnapping, a violent attempt at retaking his new partner's former gang, and finally gets knocked out and left to take the fall for the sheriff's killing--for which, I remind you, he was in fact responsible! With one page to go, our "hero" is on the run from the law, hence the letter to his darling, to whom he can never return.

Then comes the surprise ending (and I genuinely never expected surprises in a Charlton western!): the "hero" has actually settled down with another woman in another town, and doesn't have the guts to tell his former girlfriend the truth about why he isn't coming back! The outlaw stuff was all fiction!

Next, we get "The Coward" by Steve Skeates and Jim Aparo. Wow! Hand lettering! Quality art! And a story that Skeates told me he was quite proud of, and rightfully so. Sticking doggedly to the "Gunfighters" theme, Steve and Jim weave a tale of a coward who got lucky in a gunfight once, and let it go to his head, although he was always careful to pick on unworthy opponents. When the sheriff runs him out of town, he knows better than to call out this superior gunslinger, and rationalizes his flight to another town, where he resumes his ways. Skeates gives us another suprise ending, with a Twilight-Zonish chance for the coward to shoot it out one more time with the ghost of the man he'd had the luck to defeat years before. The consequences of that encounter cement his true, cowardly character over his hot-shot reputation for the rest of his life. A relatively insightful character portrait, another thing I never expected from a Charlton western.

The final story is another good one, written in the usually-annoying second person. We follow a hired gun as he flees an assasination and moves on to his next job. He stops for a drink in his hometown, where he reacts with self-disgust at the icy reception he gets, and wallows in a bit of self-pity. He moves on to his next job, in a new town, where the local drunk offers to give him some information on his target, the new sheriff. The killer brushes him off; he makes a point of learning as little about his victims as possible, which makes it easier for him to be cold-blooded. This of course proves to be his undoing; his target, although a sheriff, is not a man of Western-style integrity and honor. The assasin is ambushed by the sheriff's hidden confederate. Which, frankly, doesn't offend my sense of honor at all.

Art in this final tale by someone else I don't recognize, with much better skills than the lead-off penciller. Early pages feature detailed inks that remind me of Joe Maneely, with an overall Atlas western feel, but the work gets obviously more hurried, so that by the final panel, the faces have the sketchy, distorted look I associate with latterday Charlton mainstay Sanho Kim.

I'm pretty certain that all the stories were written by Steve Skeates.