Comic Coverage

The (Slightly Modified) Origin of Batman

From Detective Comics #33, 1939 (click on the panels for a larger view):

Cover to Cover: Attack of the Taxman!

As I made a point of mentioning last year at this time, one of the dreariest dates on the calendar is April 15th, otherwise known as Tax Day. As productive Americans bend under obscene levels of taxation and its accompanying paperwork, take heart: even the members of the mighty Justice League have had to deal with the frustrations and confounding complexities of the tax code:

(click on the covers for a larger view)

Okay, as you've probably figured out, those weren't the actual published covers. Here's what they really looked like (click on each cover for a larger view):

A Tale of Two Iron-Men

Iron-Man © Marvel Comics

So, who's going to see the movie today? I'd love to go tonight, but I'm not sure if the timing is going to work out. We'll see. Whenever I do get to see it, I'll be sure to give you the full report!"

Do-It-Yourself Comic Book Restoration

Comic book restoration has always been a somewhat controversial practice in the world of comic collecting.  The use of meticulous and sophisticated repair techniques can dramatically improve the appearance of lower-quality comics, but not without a hitch.  In addition to being an expensive process, all restored comics are required to be advertised as such and cannot get the same prices as high quality unrestored copies. That aside, seeing the results of these extreme makeovers are dramatic and borderline magical...as you can see from the restoration of Detective Comics #31 (1939) by Fantasy Masterpieces Paper Art Restoration (click for a larger view):

Obviously, this degree of restoration requires highly specialized tools and materials as well as years of experience.

In other words, everything I didn't have when I tried my hand at "comic book restoration" as a young lad. Blissfully ignorant of the strictures of comic book grading, I would sometimes try to "improve" the appearance of various well-read comics in my collection as only a ten year-old boy could.

For example, let's take my "self-restored" copy of Avengers #114 (1973).
No, really...this IS the restored version:

Sure, it's still pretty ratty looking, but let's take
a closer look at a few of my clever upgrades:

How does a kid solve the problem of a detached cover? 

That's easy: staples!...and plenty of 'em!  Note the proximity of comic's original staples along the spine to my additional staples a good half an inch into the cover area. Crude, sure...but the cover was re-attached, so mission accomplished, right?

Next up was the problem of the black areas, which tend to show wrinkles and scuffs much easier than lighter colors.  How could I restore those areas to their original midnight luster?  Enter the Sanford King-Size Permanent Marker!

That's right, I "restored" the glossy black by scribbling all over the cover with a highly toxic permanent marker.  To my ten year-old mind, it was indistinguishable from the luster of a brand new comic book and an official Job Well Done. Click on the close-up to the left to check out my mad magic marker skillz!

Even better, check out the black marker
seepage on the inside front cover. Classy, huh?

As the years went by, and I grew in the ways of comic book care and condition, the Sanford Permanent Marker (a.k.a. "Ol' Stinky") was retired from the comic book restoration toolbox...though I'll still re-staple my comics from time to time (with a bit more precision than I used thirty-some years ago).

How about you? Any do-it-yourself restoration stories
you can recall from your early years of collecting?

Superman@70: Super-Fact

The newspaper headlines of Superman's world:
NOT LIKE OURS!

from Superman #174 (1965)

Superman@70: Happy Daddy-O Day!

As America honors its doting dads today, be thankful your dad never crossed paths with the Knave of Krypton and Kryptonite Kid, the juvenile delinquent arch-enemies of Superboy.

In Superboy #128 (1966), Superboy dreamed that Krypton did not explode and that he grew to a teenager living on his home planet.  The dream quickly turned into a nightmare when young Kal-El met Dev-Em, the "Knave of Krypton", who turned the son of Jor-El evil by exposing him to a mysterious "Heart-Gem". During their elaborate pranking spree across Krypton, Kal-El and Dev-Em met the Kryptonite Kid, who then beamed Kal-El (and Krypto) into the Phantom Zone and formed an alliance with the Knave.

As Kal-El watched helplessly from the Zone, the Delinquent Duo raided the laboratory of Jor-El and exposed him to the Heart-Gem (which also seemed to grant the ability to speak fluent Beatnik):

(click on the panels for a larger view)

So...aren't you thankful your dad was never tricked into destroying the Earth by Heart-Gem weilding cosmic creeps? For that reason alone, wish the guy a Happy Daddy-O Day!

Super Cereal Spokesman...or Creepy Peeping Tom?

Superman and Kellogg's go way back...all the way back to the early 1940's with Kellogg's PEP cereal, a frequent advertiser of the Superman radio show. In fact, a rare store display for PEP cereal featured a magnificent painting of Superman visiting with his young fans (click on the image for a larger view).

The Kellogg's/Superman alliance continued into the 1950's when the cereal company became a key sponsor of the Adventures of Superman TV series. In a series of commercials for the new Sugar Frosted Flakes cereal, Superman star George Reeves (as Clark Kent) is shown strolling through 1950's suburbia and occasionally stopping to eavesdrop on families and friends discussing the tasty new cereal.

Peering through fences and pup tents with his x-ray vision, Clark's most egregious violation of privacy occurred when he observed a squabbling brother and sister...who ultimately come together through the healing power of Sugar Frosted Flakes. As "Peeping Tom" Kent summed it up, "Kids may argue, but never about Kellogg's Sugar Frosted Flakes". Check it out:

 

The Kryptonite Chronicles (Part 5 of 5): Late Additions

As Superman@70 month winds down, we've got one last installment of The Kryptonite Chronicles to get to. But wait...with the primary colors, altered states, alloys, and hoaxes already covered, what other varieties could possibly be left? Well, after some intense digging and investigating, I've unearthed five ultra-rare Kryptonite specimens to squeeze into the collection.

Deadly to Jimmy Olsen only.

Fatal yet zesty.

It is...yet is not.

This Minnesota State Fair favorite has the
ability to instantly clog Superman's arteries.

Able to kill Superman, yet
soft enough to throw indoors.

Reed Richards: A Man Among Men!

What is it about those 1960's ("Silver Age") Fantastic Four comics that I love so much?

Fantastic Four #80 (1968) sums it up quite nicely:

1. A fifty-foot robot named Tomazooma, the Totem Who Walks.

2. A dune buggy equipped with a portable bazooka.

3. Reed Richards: Human Projectile and Man Among Men!

Why such high praise for the brainy leader of the Fantastic Four? Here's why: Despite the gritty, butt-kicking reputation of guys like Batman and Wolverine, have either of those two sissies ever been shot out of a bazooka in hyper-compacted form?  That's exactly what Reed Richards did as he attempted to take down the rampaging robotic totem... 

(click on the panels for a Tomazooma-sized view)

So...did Reed's crazy gambit actually pay off? 

Judging from the very next panel...


Yes. Yes it did.

P.S.– Wyatt Wingfoot will not miss.

When Kink Was King

Comic Calculus: Battle Axe Edition

With Back to School sales in full swing and a new school year just

around the corner, a (not so) young man's thoughts turn to math...

The Superhero Tan?

With the Minnesota State Fair in full swing, a common sight at that great people-watching venue is what we in the midwest call the "farmer's tan".  Getting tan or (most likely) sunburned while wearing a t-shirt gives the farmer's tan its distinct "short sleeved" look of pale, untanned skin. Classy, huh?

Well, since comic book superheroes also spend plenty of time in the sun, I was wondering...

Comics Behind the Comics: SHAZAM-The Art of the Deal

One of my favorite comic book concepts has always been Captain Marvel and the power of SHAZAM. A clever synthesis of modern and ancient mythology, the story of Captain Marvel began in Whiz Comics #2 (1940) as orphan Billy Batson was drawn to a mysterious underground chamber. He was met by SHAZAM, a wizard who could channel the power of ancient heroes...all of whom were inscribed as a handy acronym on a nearby wall. Speaking the wizard's name, Billy was magically transformed into the superhero Captain Marvel, who also possessed the abilities of Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury.

As cool as the concept will always be, that acronym of gods, heroes, and a Hebrew king continues to fascinate me. I love the child-like simplicity of its assumption that mythic figures would freely share their power with mortals...but my adult cynicism often kicks in and suggests another story behind the wizard's consolidation of godly power. In other words, it's...

SHAZAM: The Art of the Deal!
(click on the panels for a larger view)

SHAZAM  ©DC Comics

Cease and Desist

(click on the cease and desist order for a larger view)

Comics Behind the Comics: It's Clobberin' Time!

Of all the renowned superhero catch phrases, one of the biggies belongs to Ben Grimm, a.k.a. The Thing of the Fantastic Four. First shouted out as he charged into battle way back in Fantastic Four #22 (1964), "It's Clobberin' Time" has been Ben's tried and true war cry ever since.

However, did "It's Clobberin' Time" just kinda happen...or did Ben Grimm try (and reject) a number of different phrases before landing on that famous phrase?

* from Hanna-Barbera's wretched "Fred and Barney Meet the Thing"

21st Century Advancements: Cool Costumes!

As you can see from this 1974 Sears Catalog page, options for Halloween costumes were extremely limited, especially if you wanted to go as a superhero (click on the image for a larger view). Unless you were a kid who had a world-class seamstress for a mom, anyone who wanted to trick-or-treat in an authentic-looking Superman or Batman costume had to dramatically lower their hopes and expectations.

You see, this was the era when adults who designed such costumes believed that as long as there was at least a vague resemblance to the actual comic book costumes, it was good to go. That mindset certainly explains the decidedly non-tough, pajama-like look of the Superman and Batman costumes...not to mention the non-sensical red mask for Superman and that eerie plasti-face mask for Batman. Those types of masks, besides being incredibly dangerous (by virtually eliminating peripheral vision) were also somewhat claustrophobic, hot, and tough to breathe through...making tripping and kid collisions a common occurence in darkened yards.

Flash forward thirty-four years and you can see that Halloween costume-tech has come a long way since those dark days of inauthentic jammy-costumes and creepy "old man face" plastic-masks. Let's do a side-by-side comparison of the 1974 Superman costume with readily-available versions sold today:

In almost all respects, the modern costume looks very convincing, and a dream come true for a young Superman fan.  I think the fake muscle padding is the most significant "advance" from the Bad Old Days...and, of course, tossing aside that bizarre red mask (whose idea was that, anyway?).

The modern Batman costume offers an even greater contrast with its 1970's predecessor. Gone is the giant chest emblem with the "Batman" label and the weird, expressionless mask, replaced by a torso of synthetic muscles, a cool scalloped cape, and a nifty-looking cowl. Man...if we had anything close to these modern costumes in the 70's, our superhero Halloweens would have been even more exciting and certainly alot less dangerous.  

Of course, even if we did have cool costumes like this back in my day, I'm sure my mom still would have made me wear a jacket over it.

Wishing You a Thanksgiving Feast of JUSTICE!

Smashing the stuffing out of Injustice! 

Sending evil to the kiddie table! 

Clubbing criminals with his deadly drumsticks! 

It's a bird! It's a serving tray! 

It's Captain Thanksgiving, the Turkey Terror of Crime!

I wish all of my readers a wonderful (and safe) holiday weekend!

Dr. Doom's SCARY SANTA Gallery: The SEQUEL!

••• PART TWO •••

"Greetings, ignorant curs! I am Victor Von Doom, the greatest enemy of both the Fantastic Four and the insipid holiday known as Christmas!  As I revealed last year, I have been undermining Christmas for years through 'Operation Santa Scare', a secret campaign to frighten children with my army of sinister Santa agents planted in department stores across the United States. The sheer terror generated by these Bearded Beazlebubs has made a normally joyful time into an unholy trauma for countless mewling brats...their tear-stained screams serving as sweet music to my ears!"

"This year, I shall reveal ten more of my most prized "Sinister Santas"...some of whom may be plying their anti-Christmas craft at a shopping mall near you!"

1. "Agent F-77's dingy yellow beard can't hide the malevolence behind those shifty, calculating eyes. Why, even the cartoon character on the boy's shirt is scared witless!"

2. "Not even the wails of a screaming infant can wake the creepy, narcoleptic Agent Z-ZZ...bundled snugly inside his beard and hat while dreaming evil dreams."

 

3. "Don't let the smile of Agent Q-32 fool you...those angry eyebrows and the claw-like death grip on the hysterical child reveal his inner moral rot!"

4. "Feel your willpower slip away under the blank, hypnotic gaze of Agent X-1000, a fully robotic operative capable of terrorizing three children at once!"

 

5. "One of my greatest agents, C-33 boldly displays his anger and contempt for all that is good and decent."

6. "Can you feel the waves of evil (and menthol) wafting from Agent D-53?"

7. "Though not a truly living agent, the cyclopean stare of my miniature Santa Drone accomplishes the same goal: Total and utter hysteria!"

8. "Look how youthful innocence is eclipsed by the slovenly, highly-intoxicated evil of Agent Y-45!"

9. "Agent T-63, a hatless madman, triggers instant fear with hair resembling SNL character Rosanne Rosannadanna and smelling like a filthy Texaco bathroom!"

10. "Ah, Agent B-00...my pride and joy!  This eerie emissary of evil gives even me, DR. DOOM, a shiver of fright...as his cold, dead eyes and grave-pale skin consume all innocence, happiness, and light within a five mile radius. Exquisite."

"Now that I have crippled you with fear and despair, I take my leave.  I shall spend every moment between now and thrice-cursed Christmas monitoring the misery spawned by my Sinister Santas! Slowly, but surely, I shall bring an end to this fetid holiday of rank hypocrisy...one screaming baby at a time!"

"WhooHa Ha HAAAH!"

Bethlehem or Bust!

Of all the superhero Christmas covers I've come across (some of which can be seen here and here), the DC Super-Star Holiday Special (a.k.a. DC Special Series #21, 1980) stands apart as one of the most surreal. While the other covers focus on predictable secular imagery (stockings, presents, Santa Claus, etc), this one depicts a disparate band of DC characters following a blazing star to, presumably, the ancient city of Bethlehem...in other words, indisputably religious territory!

Illustrated by Garcia Lopez, the unusual traveling companions included (from top to bottom) four teen heroes from the 30th century, Superboy from the 20th, deformed western anti-hero Jonah Hex, an anonymous witch, horror mag hosts Cain and Abel (seated on the camel), WWII hero Sgt. Rock, and an uncharacteristically cheery Batman beckoning us to join them on their spiritual pilgrimage!

Though I don't actually own this issue (yet!), I'm reasonably sure the stories inside don't depict the Merry Band arriving in Bethlehem to visit the newly-born Christ Child.  However...I couldn't resist visualizing what that incredibly bizarre Nativity scene might have looked like if they did!

(click on the Nativity scene for a more glorious view)

I should note that the three tiny Legionnaires in the foreground are part of DC's line of "Pocket Super Heroes", all of which feature the original uniforms of Lightning Lad, Phantom Girl, and Saturn Girl (unlike the groovier mid-70's versions depicted on the cover). Wildfire (behind Batman) was actually a custom figure someone made (man, that guy was hard to find), while Cain and Abel were actually taken from a set of DC Direct bookends. The others were all "official" action figures from DC Direct (except for the witch...I didn't bother looking for the witch).

So there you have it.  A Nativity scene like no other....and a ticket straight to Hell for Yours Truly!

Super Self-Improvement for 2009!

As we all know, New Year's Day brings with it a renewed determination for self-improvement...even for comic book superheroes! 

Like Superman did at the dawn of his 70th year, he and his DC Comics colleagues kick off 2009 with some surprisingly common New Year's resolutions... 

(click on covers for a larger view)

A Happy & Healthy New 

Year to all of my readers!

UPDATE: To make your New Year's Day even happier, check out this hilarious piece at The Onion. Somebody over there knows their comics!

Those Who Can...Teach.

It's the duty of every adult to pass along knowledge to the next generation... even Superman! Back in Action Comics #282 (1961), the Man of Steel agreed to be a guest teacher at a Metropolis public school. The subject matter? Natural history...specifically dinosaurs!

(click on the panels for a larger view)

 

"Saddles", you say? That's right...saddles! Because, what better way for students to learn the names of dinosaurs than to ride on the backs of their frozen carcasses while Superman spins them like a Merry-Go-Round? 

Wheeeeeee!

Now YOU Can Write Like Grant Morrison!

Writer Grant Morrison is undoubtedly one of the biggest stars in comics today. Known for an utterly unique brand of wonky, non-linear storytelling, Morrison's positioned himself as some kind of cosmic shaman brimming with avante-garde, metatextual wonders. In some cases, like his 1990's JLA run and the recent All-Star Superman, he can create some truly fresh and transcendent stuff...but other times, his preoccupation with gonzo concepts and deconstruction has lead to some very esoteric storytelling. The best example of this latter category can be seen in DC's Final Crisis event, the supposed "Crisis to End All Crises" that many (including Yours Truly) have found to be a cold, incoherent experience. So much so, that I believe this parody of his own style could be Morrison's way of signaling his imminent departure from mainstream superhero comics to think Great Thoughts, converse with the Universal Harmonic, or whatever such advanced beings do.

To better prepare for Morrison's ascension into the metaphysical mists (or to do his own solo projects), who's going to take the Enlightened One's place in the comic book firmament? Why, ANY of us, of course! That's right, using the Grant Morrison Guide to Writing, you'll be writing your own mindblowing Morrisonisms in no time!

AHEM!

Who can forget that awkward "shiny sheets" scene from Superman II, when Supes and Lois Lane turned the Fortress of Solitude into the Fortress of Turpitude? Well, you might be surprised to know that this wasn't the first time Superman and Lois did the ol' hippity-dippity. Way back on the cover of the appropriately-named Action Comics #154 (1951), this bizarre scene makes it's metaphoric point loud and clear.

But first...a little music to set the proper mood (take it away, Barry)

 

"HEY-OOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHH!"

The Real (Idiotic) Origin of The Flash

The only good thing to come out of DC's wretched Final Crisis event was, of course, the official (though sadly underplayed) return of the Barry Allen Flash! 

Thankfully, his homecoming will take center stage in April's Flash: Rebirth, a high profile mini-series by Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver. As a long-time fan of Barry, I'm thrilled to see him getting a shot at A-list treatment for two reasons.  First, because of the long absence following his "death" in 1985's Crisis on Infinite Earths. Second, and most important, because of the often harebrained way they handled Barry when he was around.

Although the final two years of Barry's solo title remain the worst examples of this creative cluelessness, another story came close in The Flash #167 (1967).

  

Perhaps spurred on by other superheroes with their own mischievous, magical imps (above), DC introduced Mopee, a "tenth-class Heavenly helpmate". Making matters much, much worse, it was revealed that this diminutive dimwit was responsible for Barry Allen gaining his super-speed powers! 

Imagine how this excerpt from "The Real Origin of the Flash" was received by fans of The Flash, a pseudo-scientific series that had (up until then) managed to avoid this sort of campy crud...

 

But wait...you don't have to imagine what Flash fans thought of the story. Taken from the Flash-Grams letter column several issues later, here's a sampling of their opinions regarding the green-robed schlub:

Now, to be fair, some fans wrote saying they liked the addition of Mopee....but thankfully the "Heavenly Helpmate" was never to be seen (or even mentioned) again...and Barry once more returned to being a "Ten Quadrillion-Billion to One" scientific freak of nature.

Just as it should be.

How to Stop an Alien Invasion

Things were so much easier in the old days.

Unlike the recent Secret Invasion by the Skrulls, which required an 8-part series and multiple tie-ins to defeat, it didn't take much to repel the first invasion of the shape-changing aliens back in Fantastic Four #2 (1962).

Posing as the defeated Skrull agents who'd been impersonating them, the Fantastic Four visited the Skrull mothership to convince its commander to call off the invasion. What did ultra-genius Reed Richards use to strike fear into the Skrulls?  Expose them to the common cold virus? Show them a mighty super-weapon of his own invention? A giant projected illusion of Earth's spaceship armada? The Ultimate Nullifier?!!?

Nope. He used panels from sci-fi comic books...specifically from titles Marvel was still publishing!

(click on the panels for a larger view)

 

A number of questions and observations come to mind:

1. Whose comic books were those, anyway? You could assume they belonged to young Johnny Storm (who's just a teenager at this point in time), but the fact that Reed was even aware of the images suggests the comics might have been his!  Personally, I think Ben Grimm was comic book reader, since the vaguely subliminal nature of each F.F. member's powers suggests Ben was familiar with the grotesque array of Marvel Monsters, and may have,in effect, become one when the cosmic rays did their thing. Sue? Come on...girls don't read comics (KIDDING!!!). As you can see from the final panel, she seemed more concerned about her hair than silly old comics, anyway.

2. How do you get promoted to the position of Skrull Armada Commander without being able to tell the difference between drawings and photos?

3.  Those are some big, honkin' comic book panels Reed "clipped".

4.  So, which (if any) actual comics were those images taken from? Using my vast Marvel Monster knowledge (and the Grand Comics Database), I didn't see any Journey Into Mystery covers that matched Reed's monster images...but several Strange Tales and Tales to Astonish covers did have some candidates:

The Red Monsters: These guys seem to be a combination of Rommbu from Tales to Astonish #19 (1961) and one of the red "Space Beasts" from the cover of Tales to Astonish #29...although the latter wasn't published until March of '62 (but may have been on the drawing board).

 

The Giant Ants: The closest thing I could find to a giant ant army were the covers of Strange Tales #73 (1960), featuring Grottu, King of the Insects or Krang the Unbelievable from Tales to Astonish #14 (1960)... although neither of them appear to be as large as the ants in Reed's clipped panel.

 

The Orbiting Space Mine: I got nothin'...though I have to say, I hope somebody at the Pentagon gives it some thought.


5. How did the Fantastic Four resist bursting out into loud, bawdy laughter at the toolish idiocy of the Skrull commander? Their poker faces in the final panel are amazing!

6. Despite the jaw-dropping desperation of Reed's last-ditch ploy, it nonetheless demonstrates one of the many practical uses for comic books (besides scaring off potential friends): Alien Invasion Preventer! Keep a few handy just in case!

The Great Disconnect

As a lifelong fan of comic books, I enjoy learning about their history and the people who created them. One of the absolute best sources for this kind of information is TwoMorrows, the publisher of several magazines, books, and DVDs dedicated to the artform I follow so closely.

However, having read several of their magazines (among them Alter Ego, Comic Book Artist, and Back Issue), I've noticed something of an underlying trend in their interviews with comic book creators...particularly those with older "first generation" writers, artists, and editors. What often comes through is a subtle "disconnect" between the interviewers (usually comic fans and/or scholars of the first order) and their subjects, who have either long forgotten the details of their early careers or...if they do remember...don't share the interviewer's enthusiasm or flair for minutia.

The disconnect is usually a subtle thing that doesn't impact the interview...but in one case, the gulf between the interviewer's assumptions and the reality that confronted him was so dramatic, I just had to convey the flavor of it here.

Back in 2001, the seventh issue of Alter Ego featured a retrospective of Mac Raboy, one of the greatest illustrators of comics' Golden Age. Best known for his spectacular work on Fawcett's Captain Marvel Jr., Raboy also drew the Green Lama and the Flash Gordon newspaper strip. Part of the Raboy coverage included Roger Hill's interview with Raboy's adult son David, whose recollections of his father's career and character were not at all what Hill was expecting to hear, making for an uncomfortable and somewhat depressing conversation.  Appropriately enough, the interview was titled "Nothing is Ever Good Enough".

I obviously won't be reprinting the entire interview...but here's the point where I started getting the feeling that Mac Raboy wasn't the guy Roger Hill had assumed him to be.

Roger Hill: Was he the kind of artist who saved copies of everything he did?

David Raboy: No, but my mother did. She was the family archivist, I guess you could call her. He had a habit of destroying his work, so it was hard to get it, sometimes.

RH: You mean, Mac would be dissatisfied with something he had drawn and he would just tear it up?

Raboy: Yeah. Nothing was ever good enough. Therefore it couldn't be seen by anyone because it would reflect poorly on him.

After that odd prelude, the conversation moved on to Raboy's Flash Gordon work...and a blunt response Hill clearly didn't anticipate.

RH: Did your father seem happy drawing Flash Gordon?

Raboy: He hated it!

Undeterred, Hill pressed on...as if what he'd just heard couldn't possibly be true.

RH: That seems strange to me. I mean, a lot of the artists who started in comic books back in those days thought it was the supreme opportunity to get a respected newspaper strip, or any newspaper strip, for that matter. In Mac's case, he was able to take on one of the most famous adventure strips of all time and was able to follow in the footsteps of the great Alex Raymond.

Raboy: He hated it.

RH: Did he seem happy or appreciative that he got his originals back from King Features?

Raboy: I don't know if there ever was a reaction. I'm not aware that he really cared one way or another.

RH: And I don't suppose he ever talked about selling these originals?

Raboy: No. That would never even have been a consideration. They were put into the closet and they were not shown to anybody, and they were not available to anybody.

Hill continued to push, until it was apparent he had crossed a line...

RH: Mac never gifted any Sunday page originals to anybody?

Raboy: No. Absolutely not. When you originally contacted me and wanted to talk about my father...you see, there's a lot that you don't know that is very personal within the family.  There was and still is a reluctance about all of this. Even in the stuff that I'm telling you, it's not the whole picture, if you know what I mean.

Ookayy. At that point, Hill wisely moved away from the comics questions and onto the safer waters of Raboy's other artistic pursuits...but still unable to accept Raboy's contempt for his comic strip work, he once again returned to the topic of Flash Gordon:

RH: It's strange to me that he took great pride in his woodworking, sculpting, and set-designing abilities, and yet he just didn't have it for his pen and ink work on Flash Gordon.

Raboy: No, it was just--you have to understand. He had no use for King Features. He had no use for newspapers.

RH: But they paid him good money.

Raboy: Well, that's how he supported his family, but he didn't admire them. He didn't respect what he was doing. I told you, he hated Flash Gordon and detested what he was doing.

To review: Mac Raboy hated everything! Happily, David Raboy finally threw poor Roger Hill a bone toward the end of the interview:

RH: Did Mac ever talk about his days working for comic books?

Raboy: Only in terms that were rather derogatory. I think he took some pride in having helped create Captain Marvel Jr. I do think he felt good about that.

Wheeeeee!  Something Mac Raboy actually felt proud of!  Does this mean the interview ended on a positive note?  Eh...no. Not really...as the conversation inevitably turned to Mac Raboy's death.

RH: Was Mac buried up in (his hometown of) Golden's Bridge?

Raboy: No. There was no service, and my father was cremated. My father was an atheist, as was my mother. So there would not have been any ceremony of any kind. I too am an atheist and would not engage in ceremonies of that kind.

On that uplifting note, I think it's safe to say that the professional life of Mac Raboy (at least as characterized by his son) was a bit of a disappointment to the interviewer. Again, this level of disenchantment wasn't the norm for these sorts of interviews, yet it remains a painfully awkward reminder that fanboy assumptions about legendary comic book creators don't always mesh with reality.

If Ever a Whiz There Was

To really shine in the world of comic book superheroes, you've gotta have three things going for you:

Those three qualities add up to what we call an "A-Lister".  You know who they are: Superman, Spider-Man, Captain Marvel, Wonder Woman, Iron-Man, Batman, Captain America, and other icons...all of whom have cool powers, compelling origins, and classic names.

Although three is the gold standard, it's been shown that you can be a reasonably successful "B-Lister" with only two of those qualities. For example, you could have cool powers, a cool origin, yet have a not-so-hot name (like Green Lantern or J'onn J'onzz) and still get some high visibility and good gigs.

However, possessing only one of the three qualities isn't going to get you anywhere but the C-List. 

Let's take young Robert Frank, for example.  Making his debut in USA Comics #1 (1941), his power of super-speed certainly qualified as cool...but calling himself The Whizzer (while wearing a bright yellow costume, no less) instantly disqualified him from the "cool name" category.

Granted, when the word "whiz" was used back in the 1940's, it wasn't the snicker-inducing word it is today, as the term "gee whiz", "Whiz Comics" and this 1948 ad for a motorized bike can attest...

But still...I would think even by the less puerile standards of the 1940's, "The Whizzer" was an odd choice for a superhero name.

Ah...but what about his origin?  Don't these super-speedster origins usually involve cool stuff like lightning or secret formulas?  Well, not in this case. In fact, it's no exaggeration to say that the Whizzer probably had the lamest origin in the 70+ years of superhero comic books. Don't believe me?  Here, check out a summary of his origin from Marvel Premiere #29 (1976) for the laughably insane details (click on the image for a larger view):

That's right, Robert Frank gained super-speed from an emergency transfusion of mongoose blood...and when even writer and Golden Age acoylyte Roy Thomas seems embarassed by your name and origin, you've got problems.

Happily, the Whizzer was revived for a short time during the 1970's for a series of well-received Avengers stories. Returning to action as a much older man, he was initially thought to be the long-long father of the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver (later disproven), but ultimately sacrificed his life to give a second chance to his actual son, the mutant known as Nuklo. 

Which goes to show: In the proper hands, even a C-list strike-out like the Whizzer (mongoose blood and all) has a great story just waiting to be told.

The Wonder (and Chunder) of Comic Book Technology!

 

A pillar of science fiction tradition, the hand-held ray gun has been the weapon of choice for multiple generations of comic book supervillains and space heroes.

Well, that fictional reality just got one step closer thanks to a tech firm here in the good ol' United States. According to an article posted at The Register (an British online tech publication), the hand-held arms race is off to a...colorful...start.

US firm says handheld puke ray is ready to go

Pistol style chunder-gat and torch/vom-sabre models

A US industrial laser company says it has developed a functional puke-ray system, ideal for use by cops or military personnel wishing to take down their opponents without shooting them. The firm proposes to issue the "non lethal light fighting technology" in two form factors - light-sabre/torch and blaster-pistol. The so-called Dazer Laser™ technology comes from Laser Energetics Inc, of New Jersey, which has been supplying more conventional laser equipment since 1991. Now, however, the company is pleased to announce its new Defender™ and Guardian™ chunder-beam weapons.
     "This life saving non-lethal weapon will help all branches of the military, law enforcement, correctional facilities, security, border patrol, piracy control, homeland security, airport security and much more," says Laser Energetics CEO Robert Battis.

     Battis says that his regurge-ray weapons are better than the well-known Taser electrojolt stungun as they have a longer effective range and aren't single-shot. If an embattled cop, soldier etc. misses the target at first he can simply swing the dazzle-beam onto his opponent's face and leave him slipping and stumbling helplessly in a self-generated chunky puddle.

 "Chunder-Beam" = Awesome

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 elfish 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.

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.

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!

Super-Bloopers: Tangled in the Web of Alliteration!

Despite chronicling the adventures of superhuman beings, comic book creators are prone to the same all-too-human foibles the rest of us are. However, unlike most of us, their gaffes, goofs, and bloopers were published for all the world to see. Sure, the errors are usually fixed if the stories are reprinted, but the originals live on as an endearing testament to demanding deadlines and human fallibility.

My goal is to make an ongoing series out of these delightful little slip-ups (so email me your suggestions!), but to get things started, here's a doozy from none other than The Amazing Spider-Man #1 (1963). Granted, there was a seven month gap between his debut in Amazing Fantasy #15 and this first issue of his solo series...but of all the details a writer can get wrong, the name of the main character shouldn't be one of them. Instead of "Peter Parker", the alias of Spider-Man (for two panels, anyway) was...Peter Palmer??!

Considering the surplus of alliterated names in superhero comic books (Reed Richards, Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Martian Manhunter, etc.), it's understandable Stan blanked out on Pete's last name. Further muddying the waters was an actor named Peter Palmer, the star of both the Broadway play (1956) and film adaptation (1959) of the Lil' Abner comic strip, something a comics guy (and future Hollywood pitchman) like Stan Lee certainly must have been aware of.

Regardless of where "Peter Palmer" came from, this Super-Blooper is definitely one for the ages.

Change We Can Believe In: Quadro-Morphosis!

As is becoming increasingly clear, 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.

Justice League of America #7 (1961) featured not one, not two, not three, but FOUR such transformations...all at the hands hostile aliens from the planet Angellax!

Luring the heroes into a booby-trapped funhouse packed with exotic weaponry, Green Arrow, the Flash, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern race through an open door...only to "feel the tug of mysterious cosmic forces" transforming them into:

As a surprise to exactly nobody, cool-headed teamwork won the day... allowing the Leaguers to return to normal, defeat the Angellaxians and banish them to 100,000 years of suspended-animation space travel.

A harsh punishment?  Sure...but at least Wonder Woman didn't have to go on a crash diet!

Oh...and one final bit of heroic inspiration: Lego Green Arrow...who, instead of wallowing in self-pity over his boxy body, figured out a clever way to rise above his temporary handicap!

To quote the diminutive Mr. Queen: "Stand aside Aquaman! I'm raring to turn a few shafts loose!"

Super-Bloopers: Paging Doctor Blake...

Despite chronicling the adventures of superhuman beings, comic book creators are prone to the same all-too-human foibles the rest of us are. However, unlike most of us, their gaffes, goofs, and bloopers were published for all the world to see. Sure, the errors are usually fixed if the stories are reprinted, but the originals live on as an endearing testament to demanding deadlines and human fallibility.

This edition of Super Bloopers comes to us courtesy of reader David Morefield. Back in Avengers #2 (1963), teenage sidekick Rick Jones encountered the Incredible Hulk (actually the shape-shifting villain known as The Space Phantom). Considering Rick was the one responsible for Doctor Bruce Banner's transformations into the Hulk...and had been a constant companion of Banner/Hulk ever since...he apparently couldn't remember good doctor's name.

"Doctor Don Blake" was, of course, the human alter-ego of Thor, Asgardian god of thunder and the Hulk's fellow Avenger. Well, look at it this way: By giving the wrong name, Rick's error actually protected the identity of Bruce Banner from the wily Space Phantom, right?

Thanks for the tip and the scan of the panel, David! If any of YOU have some great super-blooper suggestions, send 'em to me.  Or, better yet, send me a scan of the panel and I'll post it here!