Comic Coverage

Backyard Battlegrounds!

Long before sophisticated video game platforms could stage spectacular, ultra-realistic comic book battles, young comic book fans of the early to mid-1970's resorted to drastic measures when it came to simulated superheroics. We used our imaginations!  

You see, since Atari's PONG (left) was the only thing close to a video game we had at the time, there were basically two non-electronic, imagination-fueled options for reenacting epic comic book clashes. One was to use Mego's line of comic book action figures (not dolls, mind you!):

The Mego figures sparked hours and hours of surreal adventures that only the addled minds of 8 year-old boys could cook up. However, the Mego figures were a little pricey for a mid-70's allowance, and tracking down the full variety of characters was tough before the advent of internet shopping...so as cool as the Mego figures were, we usually turned to the second (and much cheaper) option of improvisational make-believe.

At the insistence of our moms, these elaborate battle royales were staged outside...beginning with each kid loudly declaring which character he was about to play. Next, we shook down our dad's garages for items that could approximate our character's superpowers and/or equipment...such as:

• garbage can lid = Captain America's shield (duh)

• tennis balls = Human Torch fireballs (or any matter or energy-based projectiles)

• sledgehammer (or, in a pinch, a regular hammer) = Mjolnir, hammer of Thor

• rope = Spider-Man's webbing, a bolt of electricity from his enemy Electro, or (if a girl happened to be playing) Wonder Woman's lasso.

• frisbee = Batarang

• ski goggles = the visor of Cyclops (X-Men), along with tennis balls to simulate his force beam.

Get the idea?  Whatever we could get our hands on usually became some sort of imaginary weapon, magic talisman, energy bolt, or piece of high-tech equipment (to the occasional chagrin of a dad wondering what happened to his funnel, welder's mask, or measuring tape).

Satisfied that we'd approximated our hero or villain's powers, we'd then try to agree upon some kind of simple plot to set the tone of the battle...such as "Electro robs a bank, then Captain America fights him" (we also liked sticking heroes with villains from outside their regular "rogue's gallery").  But, sometimes we'd bypass the context-setting scenario and just start mock-fighting.

Once our epic clashes were underway, I remember how we'd even imitate the "battle banter" we read in the comic books...which included grandiose threats from the villains or snappy quips from the hero. Why I remember this, I have no idea...but a favorite pejorative of ours was "Joyboy", which the Spider-Man of mid-70's Gerry Conway scripts would often lob at villains.

Of course, as with all things of childhood summers, we eventually outgrew our "backyard battles" and went on to find new challenges for our imaginations and boyish energy (like girls). Ahh, but I still smile whenever I think about those grandiose (mock) slugfests...and can still sometimes hear the echoes of Batarang frisbees clashing against garbage lid shields and mighty falsetto-voiced oaths.

P.S.: Speaking of summer, be sure to take a crack at my Summer Heat contest...and possibly win a copy of Comic Books 101!  Midnight tomorrow (Wednesday) is the deadline to submit your guesses!

Mail-Order Comics: The Verdict

In response to obnoxiously escalating cover prices, I decided back in April to take the plunge and switch to a discount mail-order service for my comic book fix. In addition to saving me a bundle of money, it figured it would also save me the time and hassle of going to the comic book shop week after week.  Don't get me wrong...my shop is one of the biggest and best in the nation (Source Comics & Games in St. Paul, MN)...but after 30+ years of weekly comic book visits, it was starting to become somewhat of a chore.

So, I did some research and chose Heroes Corner of South Bend, Indiana for my first order (for comics published in June), finished out the month of May at the comic shop, then waited the entire month of June to read a new comic book...which actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Detached from the "pivot point" of New Comics Wednesdays, the immediacy and urgency of routinely buying new comics gradually faded, becoming one less "errand" to fit into my busy routine.

Then, right on time, I received a big fat package of comics on the final Saturday of June, all bagged and boarded and ready to read!  Of course, since I had an entire month until the next shipment, I've been reading them at a much more relaxed clip, instead of consuming them the first day or two after buying them from the shop. So, in addition to giving me a more relaxed attitude toward new comics in general, the once-a-month delivery has gotten me to slow down and savor the comics I order rather than wolfing them all down like a guy in a pie-eating contest.

Needless to say, Heroes Corner has my business for the foreseeable future...not only for the ease of ordering from them, but also for their top-notch customer service. Polite, professional, responsive, and knowledgeable...all the factors I like in a comic book shop without having to actually visit one. Oh...and the 40% to 75% discounts are pretty nice, too (and, no, I'm not on their payroll.  Just my honest assessments).

Sure, there are a few drawbacks to a once-a-month delivery schedule.  For example, the highly anticipated Wednesday Comics project from DC (weekly "comic strips" in a newspaper-like format) is something I'll have to wait awhile to experience...and the good reviews coming in for this week's premiere issue make the wait even tougher. Don't think I haven't caught the irony...I finally break the "hamster wheel" routine of New Comics Wednesday, and my first regret comes from missing out (albeit temporarily) on something called "Wednesday Comics".  Arrrghh!

Still, that's a small price to pay for paying smaller cover prices, not to mention great service and selection (they have anything you see in Previews available to order).

For those of you looking for the same kind of savings and service, give Heroes Corner a try!  

The Exposition League of America

"You talk too much, you talk too much,
I can't believe the things that you say everyday
If you keep on talking baby,
you know you're bound to drive me away."

"You Talk Too Much" by George Thorogood and the Destroyers

Although the target of Thorogood's blues/rock classic was a chatty girlfriend/wife, it very well could have been directed at the Silver Age Justice League of America!

Confession time: Although I generally enjoy the simple pleasures of Silver Age (1950's-60's) DC comics, I have to admit there are some titles that are a really tough slog for me....such as The Justice League of America.

Having collected several DC titles from that era, I'm well aware of the factors that made them such a unique and often peculiar reading experience. However, there's always been something about the JLA stories of writer Gardner Fox and artist Mike Sekowsky that drives me away ...despite my best efforts to appreciate them. In fact, my latest attempt took place just last week when I checked out the Justice League of America Archives (volume 4) from the library.

Reprinting issues #23 (1963) through #30 (1964), I began reading in the most charitable frame of mind I could muster...only to be bored senseless a paltry two stories in! Once again I asked, "What is it about these stories that instantly turns me off?"

Well, one of the most obvious turn-offs remains Mike Sekowsky's stiff and stocky figure work which, as my pal Scott Tipton observed, made the JLA resemble "a bunch of middle-aged businessmen dressed up for a Kiwanis Club masquerade party".

Adding to Tipton's impression is a recent observation of my own that Sekowsky's JLA looked more like stiffly-posed action figures than dynamic, living beings. In short, not my cup of tea.

However, as bland and uninspiring as the artwork was, it's recently dawned on me that my biggest hang-up with the Silver Age Justice League is the writing of Gardner Fox. A prolific writer during the 1940's (a.k.a. "The Golden Age of Comics"), Fox was the co-creator of The Justice Society of America, comics' first superteam and the direct predecessor of the Justice League. Still, as impressive as the Fox resume was, his gimmicky, plot-driven Golden Age sensibilities didn't translate especially well to the emerging character-driven style of the Silver Age. Of course, it didn't help having Julius Schwartz as his editor, who was legendary for his own infatuation with stories low on characterization and high on plot-driven gimmickry. Further dampening Fox's effectiveness was DC editorial's over-arching preference of heavy exposition over visual storytelling to propel their stories forward...with characters often telling the audience (and each other) what they were doing rather than letting the visuals convey it (as their new crosstown rival Marvel Comics was able to do so masterfully).

In other words, the Justice League of Gardner Fox (at the direction of DC editorial) was extremely heavy on the talky-talk and skimpy on visual storytelling and spectacle...as this montage of random panels more than demonstrates (Warning! Do no drive or operate heavy machinery while reading these long, rambling word balloons!)...

Although supervillains have always been known for their self-indulgent monologuing, Fox's JLA villains took it to an entirely new level of eye-glazing blather (click to enlarge)...

When Fox wasn't trying to break the world record for long-winded blabbity-blah, his Justice League stories featured some of the strangest, most surreal whack-nuttery of DC's Silver Age era...which could often be fun in DC's other books...but when you're barely engaged in a JLA story to begin with, stuff like leg-swapping superheroes, flowing "success factor", recharging "victory force" and pantomiming dinosaurs would have the opposite effect...and obliterate whatever minimal interest or goodwill it might have earned up to that point.

For those who genuinely enjoyed the Fox-Sekowsky Justice League stories, my apologies...and, frankly, a small measure of envy. I really wish I could look past their limitations and enjoy them like I can with so much of DC's Silver Age output...but for the reasons I touched upon (and maybe some others I haven't yet identified), the Fox/Sekowsky JLA stories remain in the "I don't get it" column.

Volstagg's Tales of Valor: Seeking Cowards Below!

  

Since I'm still feeling a bit lazy from a wonderfully relaxing 4th of July weekend, why not devote today's entry to Volstagg, the very embodiment of "deferred responsibility"?

Opening with one of Jack Kirby's wonderful full-page crowd scenes, we find Thor arm-wrestling the braggart Goldolff...that is, until the Lion of Asgard's humongous hindquarters do their destiny-altering work (click on the pages for a larger Volstaggesque view)!

If you're looking for me, I'll be below searching for 
cowards (and sharing a pint) with The Voluminous One!

Change We Can Believe In: The Eighth Wonder of Space

For the past couple of years, the word "change" has been thrown around ad nauseum, but as many understand (or are just now beginning to understand), not all change is good. Nowhere has that principal been better understood than within the comic book superhero community, as shocking physical transformations have afflicted their ranks for decades.

A frequent target of these freakish mutations was none other than The Batman. Originally a dark and moody character, the science fiction craze of the late 1950's and early 60's pushed Batman to jaw-dropping levels of lighthearted sci-fi insanity....such as the bizarre transformation that occurred in Batman #140 (1961).

Mistakenly transported to the alien planet Xlur, Batman and Robin where transformed by its strange atmosphere into green, bug-like aliens with magnetic antennas!

When they returned to Earth, Batman and Robin's strange new appearance was feared and distrusted by their crime-fighting colleagues and the people of Gotham. After they apprehended The Yellow Sweater Gang (yes, you read that correctly), the alien-mutation wore off...allowing Batman and Robin to return to their (relatively) normal appearances.

The Highlight Reel: Whose Your Daddy?

Who better to celebrate Father's Day with than one of the "Big Daddies" of superhero comics: ODIN!

Traditionally the chief god of ancient Norse mythology, Odin made the jump to modern mythology courtesy of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's Thor series. Like all legendary patriarchs, Marvel's Odin was as wise and regal as he was remote and wrathful. Most of the time, Odin (and his inexhaustible supply of fabulous headgear) ruled from on high, leaving the messy clash of battle to his loyal subjects. However, once in a great while, Odin would set aside his fancy helmets, step down from his throne, and take matters into his own all-powerful hands.

One such rare intervention took place over a span of three issues in Thor #143-145 (1967). Arriving from another dimension, a mysterious trio named the Enchanters sought to conquer Asgard and Earth using their "limitless power". Possibly a foreshadowing of Kirby's Celestials, these eerie, elaborately-armored beings make quick work of Thor and his fellow Asgardians...drawing the attention and challenge of Odin himself!

(click on the panels for a larger view)

The action jumped back to Thor and company taking down the remaining two Enchanters, so the conclusion of Odin and Forsung's battle wouldn't be revealed until the following issue. As the smoke clears in the realm of Asgard, Odin stands victorious over the vanquished Forsung...with only a lost helmet to show for it! Ah...but instead of stopping there, Odin sends a message to any who would dare challenge him....

That message? 

Don't mess with Dad!

To all of my fellow (not so) All-Powerful
 Patriarchs, have a Happy Father's Day!

Friday Pop-Quiz: Father Issues!

Since Father's Day is just a few days off, this edition of the Friday Pop-Quiz gets literal as I put your knowledge of comic book "pops" to the test!

Quizzes by Quibblo.com

Simply the Best: Startling Secrets and Ruling the World!

I'm the last guy you'll see casually throwing around the phrase "old school covers". The vaguely derogatory term seems to imply that some kind of profound historical shift occurred in the way comic book covers should be perceived and discussed.  It's as if to say comic book covers of decades past could still be considered "good"....but good with an asterisk.  "Good" in a condescending, less sophisticated kind of way that doesn't quite measure up to today's Olympian "new school" standards. 

That said, I do recognize that comics of twenty-plus years ago had a flair and a style all their own. Best of all, covers of that era (roughly the 1960's through the late 80's) grabbed your interest by telling a story! An extremely brief and melodramatic story, but a story nonetheless. Contrast this style with today's obsession with "stock pose" covers that don't tell you much about the story inside or do much to hook your interest.  Sure, the art is usually top-notch...but like a movie poster or the cover of a novel, not much more than a one-note image.  Nice to look at, sure...but can they compel someone to buy them with the force of, say, Fantastic Four #199 (1978)?

(click on the cover for a larger view)

This one's got it all:

Character-defining word balloons: The best word balloons of this era would give you a quick-yet-defining snapshot of the speaker. In this case, we know in an instant that Dr. Doom (A) desperately wanted to rule the world (B) was willing to kill his son to get there and (C) was therefore a really bad guy!

Dramatic "acting": Like a professional actor, a comic book illustrator should be able to capture and convey intense emotions, especially when you're trying to grab a potential buyer's attention with a cover design. In this case, the snarling determination of Victor Von Doom II is the emotional core around which the entire cover revolves. Do yourself a favor and click on the image for a super-sized look at Doom Jr.'s face. Those sunken eyes and gritted teeth always rivet my attention. Add to that my enthusiasm for characters with amalgamated powers (like Doom Jr.'s F.F. abilities), and that 35¢ was as good as spent back in 1978.

I miss the days of covers trumpeting "startling secrets" in a deliberately melodramatic, non-ironic way. And villains who wanted to rule the world. And questions that didn't always end with question marks.

Layouts that amplify the cover's narrative: In this issue's story, Victor Von Doom II was actually a specially engineered clone of Dr. Doom who ultimately turns against his creator to defend the Fantastic Four. This change of heart is wonderfully foreshadowed on the cover by Doom Jr.'s very protective presence, made even more dramatic by his dynamic, twisting stance and the camera angle.

Also, note how the angled energy blasts from Dr. Doom's hands lead the eye directly to the word balloon exchange and, more important, the helpless members of the Fantastic Four Doom Jr. is obviously defending.

Joe: As great as Keith Pollard's layout was, I give most of the credit for this cover's success to Joe Sinnott, whose sublime inking evokes this era of crisp, clear storytelling more than any other visual cue.

Dear Editor: (Affirmative) Action Comics

As one of the greatest speeches ever delivered, Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech continues to highlight how far we have come since that late August day in 1963, yet at the same time, it shows us how far we still have to go. As one of his central points, King proclaimed,

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

A noble goal if there ever was one, but how to reach that goal has been a struggle for our nation ever since. Do we just stand back and hope that King's color-blind ideal will happen spontaneously, or does it need to be officially "helped along" by government or institutions, usually in the form of so-called "affirmative action" policies...which sometimes seem to flatly contradict King's vision? As with so many matters involving race, the answers to those questions don't come easy, and may actually exist somewhere in between those two approaches.

Illustrating this tension was a suggestion from a Brooklyn school teacher named Lawrence Isaacson. In a letter printed in Avengers #54 (cover-dated July of 1968), Mr. Isaacson wrote:

Makes sense, right? Adding a black superhero to the Avengers would demonstrate that the once white-dominated world of comic book superheroes could become more diverse...so what's wrong with that? Well, invoking the spirit of Dr. King's immortal words, Marvel responded:

Once again, makes perfect sense, right?  Character and ability should be what defines someone...not their skin color, ethnicity, or religion.  Looks like the Avengers didn't subscribe to the Affirmative Action philosophy...or did they?  Again, as with so many things involving race, the picture wasn't quite as clear as Stan Lee's (or Roy Thomas') answer implied.  

Here's what I mean: When the Black Panther made his debut in Fantastic Four #52 (1966), the first black superhero wore a costume that covered his entire body, including his face. In a handful of subsequent appearances, he continued to wear the full mask. However, when he joined the team in Avengers #52, he suddenly began wearing a new version of his mask...one that seemed to call special attention to his race rather than downplay it. In other words, contrary to Marvel's claim of color-blind impartiality, the sudden appearance of the cowled half-mask seemed to be making his skin color a defining characteristic... and hardly the non-factor Marvel claimed it to be.

As if realizing they'd overplayed their hand, Marvel restored the full mask a mere four issues later, which has remained the Black Panther's look ever since. Is this a textbook example of screaming hypocrisy?  No...not at all.  But is does serve to illustrate the inherent difficulties and paradoxes of the long journey toward a truly color-blind world.

The Many Faces of Namor

Following last year's big 70^th birthday party for Superman, the seven-decade celebrations just keep on coming for the superheroes who followed his 1938 debut. Of course, the most high profile member of the "Class of '39" would be the other half of DC's opening act: The Batman...but just behind him were the "Big Two" of Marvel precursor Timely Comics: The Human Torch and the Namor, the Sub-Mariner.

Making their debut as separate features in Marvel Comics #1 (spring of 1939), the unconventional approach that would one day define Marvel Comics was already in play, as the Torch and Namor were portrayed more as freaks and dangerous forces of nature than DC's costumed crimefighters (though, to be fair, the early Superman and Batman had a bit of an edge to them as well).

In fact, right from the very beginning, Namor was comics' first anti-hero, whose arrogance and constant, rage-fueled attacks on the surface world (and the Human Torch) made him very much the dark flip-side of Superman's stoic benevolence. Later, once America entered World War II, Namor abandoned his war on humanity and joined with other Timely heroes (including Captain America) to "kick some Axis"...yet his hatred for humanity has continued to ebb and flow like the tide.

However, Namor's loyalties weren't the only thing to shift over the years. More than any other superhero, the Sub-Mariner's physical appearance has varied so dramatically, has been so consistently INconsistent (or, as we say in the biz, "off-model"), it truly has to be seen to be believed....which is where I come in.

First of all, here's Subby as those of us in the "modern era" know him. Taken from two of my favorite covers, we've got Namor's green Speedo look alongside the regal dark-blue jumpsuit he currently wears. Both looks are consistent in their general look (wrist bands, ankle wings, arrogant body language), yet there is enough variation in his eyebrow arch, hairline and head shape to hint at the eye-popping permutations of earlier times.

In this snippet from his first cover appearance (Marvel Mystery Comics #4, 1940), Namor's facial features and head shape look fairly normal, with his pointed ears and angular eyebrows the only sign of his exotic heritage. Ah...but check out that funky light brown hair...an odd look for a character better known for a steely-black head of hair.

By 1941, Namor's face begins to take on a much more exaggerated, almost elvish appearance, as seen here on the second issue of All-Winners Comics. Topping it off (literally) is a crop of firey red hair (must have been from all those fights with the Human Torch)!

Four years later, on the cover of All-Winners Comics #17, Namor's face had become so elongated...so harshly angled, that it looked more like an African Fang Mask than the regal undersea scion we met back in 1939.

Incredibly, like some sort of "Golden Age Michael Jackson", Subby's already bizarre face became even more crazy and extreme by 1946. As you can see in these excerpts from All-Winners Comics #19, Namor's head became an eerie, utterly inhuman abstraction.

Forget about his human/Atlantean heritage...by this point, Namor looked like a cross between an alien, Dick Tracy villain Flattop, and Charles Burns' Big Baby character!

Mercifully, the post-WWII collapse of the superhero craze banished this rather demented version of Namor. After a several year hiatus, the Sub-Mariner briefly resurfaced during the mid 1950's...this time with a much less cartoonish cranium and a major league hatred for Commies.

Following this brief return, Namor once again vanished from the newsstands... and wouldn't return until Stan Lee and Jack Kirby reintroduced him in Fantastic Four #4 (1962). So...with his transition to the more refined Silver Age of comics, Namor's bizarre facial distortions became a thing of the past, right? 

Eh....not quite.