The First Day of Classic Comics Christmas '06

[Cei-U!]

And so it begins.

Gyro Gearloose's little robot helper is one of the great Carl Barks creations, a sidekick in the grand tradition of Sancho Panza and Lear's Fool. Helper's pantomime adventures in the corners of the main story are gems of minimalist storytelling, providing an often-hilarious commentary on Gyro's latest exploit.

But what landed him on my list is the simple fact that he was the very first character I ever drew.

Cei-U!
I summon the trigger!

[SamuraiJack]

ZORRO!

The first time I was exposed to Zorro was through television, particularly Saturday afternoon re-runs of the old live-action Disney show. I was immediately in love, both with Guy Williams’ portrayal of the masked swordsman and the incredibly beautiful Jolene Brand, who played the ravishing Anna Maria Verdugo. I forget exactly when, but one day my uncle pulled up a chair beside me and after watching a few minutes of the show, said, “You know, I used to have a bunch of Zorro comic books when I was a kid. I bet they’re still up in the attic, if you want to have a look with me.”

(I have to interject something here so you understand where I’m coming from: my uncle used to take me to the 7-11 every weekend and purchase a large stack of funny books, and when we got home we’d camp out either on his bed or mine and read for hours on end. I was a wee lad, maybe 6 or so, so some of the wordplay went right over my head, but I LOVED every second of it. He instilled in me a love for reading, and to this day I thank my uncle every chance I get. I’m trying to do the same for my kids, but with all the whiz-bang toys out now, and the mind-numbing influence of video games, it’s a challenge to get them to just sit down and read.)

So, now that you know this, you can come to the obvious conclusion. I don’t honestly know how quickly I made it up to the attic, but I distinctly remember tossing old clothes, boxes, and other odds and ends out of the way in search of the cardboard box which contained my grail of the moment. Sadly, Bill found them first so I was robbed of the victory shout, but the moment I flipped the cover on Zorro #12 I was convinced heaven existed. Featuring Alex Toth artwork and sporting not one but TWO awesome stories, this little boy’s feet didn’t touch the ground for a couple of hours. I think some of it was the comic, and some of it was pride. Here I was, a precocious little tyke, holding a four-color comic that predated me by almost 15 years, and there weren’t adults freaking out or telling me to put it down. Instead, my uncle urged me to dig deeper in the box and pull out whatever I wanted to read. He never cared about how I’d treat the pages (knowing as he did I’d handle them well). It’s funny looking back on it, because I knew at that point he was so proud to share a part of his childhood with me, and I was ecstatic that he trusted in me enough to include me in it. We ended up bringing most of the box downstairs and spent the rest of that day as well as Sunday reading and re-reading all the awesome adventures contained between the photo covers of Guy in costume.

One of the ones that stands out in my memory (I don’t remember the issue) dealt with a bunch of imposters running around causing havoc, trying to wreck Zorro’s good name and reputation. Yeah, the stories were kinda weak in hindsight, but to a young pup like me they were candy, and I ate them up. I wanted to be Z so badly I had my mom make me a costume and I wore it until it literally fell off my body. He was the embodiment of everything I craved- action, adventure, intrigue, and romance. Yeah, I said it- romance. Don Diego was a good-looking cat, and all the ladies loved him. Everything a growing boy wants to be, right?

I still love Zorro. And I really wish they’d bring him back to comics. Only this time I want him to stick around for a while…

[Lone Ranger]

In putting together my list, there was always the temptation to pick some 'cool' characters or really influential ones, but I really just focused on the ones I love the most.

My list, therefore, will not be 'cool' and there will be many predictable superheroes from the Big Two.

I begins, however, with a bit of an Oddball choice - but this is a characer I absolutely love and wouldn't dream of leaving off my list.

12. Charlie Droople

Charlie Droople is the greatest one-shot character of all-time.

It’s a shame that more people don’t know about Charlie Droople as he should be a folk hero to comic book geeks everywhere. This is a guy who chose life inside a comic book over a woman!

For those who have yet to meet Charlie, he was the star of the wonderful little Steve Skeates/Jim Aparo tale “The Best of All Possible Worlds” that appeared in The Many Ghosts of Dr. Graves #6 (it was later reprinted in # 66). In the story, Charlie and his girlfriend Dorothy slowly discover that they are inside of a comic book story (so post-modern!). Charlie is intrigued by the notion of living inside a comic. Of course, he and Dorothy don’t exactly see eye to eye on this, and the next thing you now; there’s one more Charlton book on the stands.

It’s beyond brilliant and everyone should try to grab a copy as Charlie is such a great character. In a matter of 8 pages, we are made to feel like we’ve known him all of our lives. By the end, even though we’d love to spend some more time with him, we know that he’s moved on to a better place.

[Hintermann]

#12: LOTHAR: I refer to Mandrake the Magician's friend and assistant, Prince Lothar. Big, strong, honest, intelligent and yet modest, the big man is a superb role model for the classic 'good guy'. He is always ready to stand up for the little fellow and expects no accolades for his efforts. There are plenty of times when his physical prowess is more useful to overcome a tricky situation than Mandrake's magic. The example I like best to illustrate this is in the unsual story "The Giant Toothache"; everyone including Mandrake is rendered helpless because they have dental fillings which enables the villain to give them a terrific toothache. But Lothar, who has an excellent set of teeth and never needed any filling, is unaffected and proceeds to capture the thief. Lothar is one of few comic characters where latter day 'modernisation' actually improves the image. - He now is an independent person with his own life, more a friend than assistant to Mandrake.

[Aaron King]

12. Mole Man
The twelve-spot was the hardest to decide, but it was the most educational for me. See, by the time I reached the bottom of the list, there was no burning passion for the characters; it was more of an itchy nostalgia that landed characters in the running. However, it was still a battle royale: Hulk, Thor, Metamorpho, Aquaman, Ant-Man, the Atom, Multiple Man, and Martian Manhunter were all in the running. However, there’s one thing in common as far as I’m concerned with these characters: I only like them under certain writers and artists. Who transcended these “real life” attachments and had the amazing ability to make me look twice at any comic he appeared in, regardless of creator?

Mole Man.

For those of you that don’t know, Mole Man ushered in the Marvel Age of comics. His realistic dialogue, well-rounded character, and constantly evolving continuity soon became the norm for the comic book industry, putting earlier underground archetypes such as Cave Carson to shame. According to some sources, Stan Lee initially based Mole Man on Edgar Rice Burrough’s heroic David Innes, the protagonist of Burrough’s “hollow earth” series of novels, but editor Archie Goodwin had Jack Kirby deflate Mole Man’s role so as not to compete with the title characters, the Fantastic Four.

Seriously, though, Mole Man is my favorite villain. Despite discovering a huge society underground and being a brilliant scientist, no one listened to him. So he retreated beneath the earth and ruled the Moloids of the caves and passages… and he ruled the monsters. Someone that can control monsters is someone I look up to. In his time, Mole Man has developed into a kind of benevolent monarch of Monster Island and Subterranea. He let Adam Warlock and his Infinity Watch base their team activities on Monster Island in return for UN recognition as a sovereign nation. He helped the Fantastic Four save the world from the giant overdimensional overlord of all monsters. Writer Mike Carey recently made the Mole Man of the Ultimate Marvel Universe the breakout character of 2006.

Make Mine Mole Man: Fantastic Four #1; Fantastic Four & Iron Man: Big in Japan #1-4; Ultimate Fantastic Four Annual #2; Warlock and the Infinity Watch #7

Mole Man Drawn by J. Bone

[MWGallaher]

#12: HAWKMAN.

Hawkman is the only classic comics character that I ever seriously changed my mind about, so much that he went from one of my least favorite Silver Age DC characters (which was my opinion throughout the 70's) to one of my favorites.

I wouldn't be surprised if the 70's generated very few Hawkman fans. In the first half-decade of my comics buying, he was around much: he was the JLA's resident grouch, did a few team-ups, and had an inconsequential backup series in several comics—comics that buyers most likely didn't buy in order to get their Katar Hol fix. So I wasn't disappointed when they shipped him back to Thanagar. In fact, I thought his farewell JLA appearance was the only good Hawkman story I'd read; it put a tear in more than Green Arrow's eye! I felt like DC knew that "nobody liked Hawkman", and that they were doing JLA readers a big favor by retiring the guy that flew and talked to birds.

But…there were those reprints…Kubert and Anderson at their best, drawing a very different kind of flying character, a character that didn't zoom but soared, and glided, and swooped. Maybe it was just the Dillin version I didn't like? The JLA version? I didn't give too much thought to the enjoyment the reprints gave me, because it was the new stuff that really mattered, and when Hawkman came back, there was nothing in it to appeal to me. The art, the plight of "equalized" Thanagarians, none of it lit my fires.

But then Tony Isabella got hold of him. Back when the miniseries was a fresh idea, The Shadow War of the Hawkman seemed worth buying, even if I didn't like the character.

But I did. I did like the character. Tony showed me that. With the help of Rich Howell and Alfredo Alcala, he showed me all the cool stuff. Their Hawkman wasn't just a guy flying around without a shirt, their Hawkman was a cathartic powerhouse, and suddenly I find myself appreciating everything about him: the awesome headgear, the bare-chested boldness, the weapons of the past, the science of the future…this guy was a dynamite character! I still don't rationally grasp how Isabella and Howell sold me so completely on Hawkman. It likely had a whole lot to do with getting him away from the rest of the DC heroes (which is the only environment I'd much experienced him in). It likely had a lot to do with their pure creative magic. I don't really care to know exactly how they converted me, but they did. Thanks Tony, Rich, and, out there somewhere, Alfredo Alcala and Don Heck.

Like most or all of my choices this Classic Comics Christmas, "favorite character" means, in part, one that I'll follow through thick and thin (if not thickest and thinnest). I've had my ups and downs following Hawkman since my conversion. His comics have been some of the best superhero comics on the stands (the early issues of the current run, now titled "Hawkgirl") to some of the worst (the later issues, if not the entire run, of the preceding "Hawkman" series). I think there's mileage left in this character, and I'm genuinely looking forward to his upcoming return in the promising new "Justice Society of America" series.

[dan bailey]

12 -- The Voluminous Volstagg

If one of the top criteria for ranking a character amongst my favorites is whether I would automatically buy (price permitting, of course) any comic with him or her on the cover &/or featured fairly prominently therein, then choosing Volstagg is what young people nowadays call a no-brainer.

He's one of my favorite comic-relief (no pun intended) characters of all time, & occasionally rises above even that exalted station. I've read somewhere that he & the other Warriors Three, Fandral the Dashing & Hogun the Grim, died for good awhile back during some Ragnarokian event, but I say thee nay -- not in my Marvel Universe!

And just for the record, he was a favorite of mine even before my own girth started approaching his ...

[dan bailey]

Great entry, Lone Ranger! My ever-expanding want list just gained yet another item.

[Aaron King]

Man, I'm kicking myself for forgetting about Volstagg. These are all so fun to read!

Edit: And who else want's to see Cei-U's drawing of Gearloose's assistant?

[Hintermann]

Great entry, Lone Ranger! My ever-expanding want list just gained yet another item.

I agree! I admit that I had never heard of this Charlie Droople, but LR's comment is very interesting. It seems to be "The Truman Show" of comic books.

[Cei-U!]

Man, I'm kicking myself for forgetting about Volstagg. These are all so fun to read!

Volstagg will be reappearing on these threads come Saturday.

Edit: And who else want's to see Cei-U's drawing of Gearloose's assistant?

You gotta be kidding! I drew it 45 years ago, dude, when I was three!

Cei-U!
I summon the time machine!

[Slam_Bradley]

12. J. Jonah Jameson

I'll argue long and hard that Spider-Man has the best supporting cast of any major super-hero. In the Number Twelve spot is Spidey's greatest enemy, J. Jonah Jameson. Forget the Goblin. Forget Doc Ock. Forget Flash Thompson. Over the years Jolly Jonah has given Spidey more problems and more sleepless nights than any mere super-villain.

Jonah is a complex man. Insecure in his abilities, yet blustering. Petty and vindictive, but deep down caring. And besides, my son Nathan really loves Ol Smiley.

[MWGallaher]

I agree! I admit that I had never heard of this Charlie Droople, but LR's comment is very interesting. It seems to be "The Truman Show" of comic books.

I think there's gonna be a lot of "How did I forget him!?!" moments over the next 12 days! Charlie Droople's an excellent choice. Be grateful that LR didn't show any more of that story, which is jam-packed with great, and very, very funny stuff. If only someone would reprint it with properly-registered color...

[SamuraiJack]

Awesome choices, all! And MW, I LOVE that Hawkman pic!

[dan bailey]

(I have to interject something here so you understand where I’m coming from: my uncle used to take me to the 7-11 every weekend and purchase a large stack of funny books, and when we got home we’d camp out either on his bed or mine and read for hours on end. I was a wee lad, maybe 6 or so, so some of the wordplay went right over my head, but I LOVED every second of it. He instilled in me a love for reading, and to this day I thank my uncle every chance I get.

What an incredibly neat guy he must be! What's the age difference between you guys?