Comic Coverage

Random Coolness

Alot of the comic book reading experience is about the "Big Stuff".  Huge drama, intense action, mindblowing revelations, ultra-twisted villains, unparalleled heroism...you know...the Big Stuff!  Although I've touted a bunch of that kind of thing in my Highlight Reel feature...I also have to say that some of the coolest things in comics are the small things that have stuck with me.  They're as varied and random as it gets, but they all have one thing in common...I think they're cool.  Off the top of my head:

1.  Before becoming the second Flash in 1956, Barry Allen was a fan of the original Flash. Of course, Barry later discovered that his comic book hero actually existed on a parallel Earth.

2.  The fireplace of Superman's Fortress of Solitude.
Click on the Barry White clip below for the full effect.

3.  The android superhero named The Vision was actually an upgraded version of the WWII era Human Torch (who, contrary to his name, was actually an android).  Recycling before recycling was cool!

4.  Tony Stark's attache' case with the secret Iron-Man armor panel.

5.  Spider-Man's web-shooters with those cool click-in cartridges.

Oh, you can be assured there will be more random coolness to come. 

What are some of your randomly cool comic book elements?

Random Coolness (Part 2)

To paraphrase Maria from The Sound of Music, here's a few more of my favorite things from the world of superhero comics.  Whether they're big things or small things, they're all things I personally think are pretty cool.  Your mileage may vary.

1. Starting us out is something that probably got terrible gas mileage, but who the heck cares when it's as cool as the original Batmobile?  Although I'd question Batman's wisdom in giving the wheel to Robin (who couldn't have been more than 9 or 10 years old at the time), I commend his taste in highly intimidating automobile design.  If criminals weren't scared of Batman, the eerie "sunken eyes" of the giant bat head barreling toward them probably sent them shrieking for the safety of the nearest police precinct.  I also got a kick out of how the original Batmobile was always drawn using such dramatic perspective angles.  Usually at a 3/4 view, the looming bat-head and windshield area would swiftly taper back and down toward the much smaller back fenders (as you can see in the example below).  Eternally classic and forever cool.

2.  While I'm on the subject of cool vehicles, another one that easily makes the cut is the Fantastic Four's Fantasti-Car.  A vast improvement over the "flying bathtub" of their earliest adventures, the Fantasti-Car could fly as either a single unit or detach into four separate "scout" modules.  As a long-time F.F. fan, I also like how even the name "Fantasti-Car" evokes the slightly square "family feel" of the Fantastic Four.  Like any family, they've got a "family car".  The coolest one around, mind you, but a "car" nonetheless.

3.  The jaggy, heavy-duty treads on the Flash's boots. Sure, the entire costume of the so-called "Silver Age Flash" was perfectly designed for high-speed running, but it's those nifty boot treads that really make the costume for me.  Of course a guy who logs as many miles as Barry Allen (and his successors) are going to need something more rugged than the typical superhero boot...and long before Nike became a household name, Barry had the coolest "running shoes" around.

4.  Steve Ditko's mindblowing mystical landscapes from Doctor Strange.  Already far more interesting than the countless magicians that preceded the good Doctor, it was Ditko's surreal supernatural dimensions that made the early adventures of Sorcerer Supreme a singular (and vaguely unsettling) reading experience.

Speaking of "surreal", was it coincidence or something more that Doctor Strange bore a striking resemblance to a young surrealist painter named Salvador Dali? (click on the photo for a larger, more surreal view)

5.  The art-deco wonder of Superman's Secret Citadel. An early prototype of Superman's Fortress of Solitude, the Secret Citadel was located in a mountain range near Metropolis.  Originally appearing in Superman #17 (1942), the Secret Citadel later became the headquarters of the "Earth-2 Superman", a version of Superman who retained many discarded elements from the early years of the character's history (such as slightly differing origin details and "S" shield design).

If I were given the opportunity to somehow visit five fictional locations, the gleaming, golden facade of the Secret Citadel (preferably at sunset) would definitely be on the itinerary.

Oh, and I'd probably stand just like Superman while visiting it.

Random Coolness (Part 3)

More of the small details that made a big impression:

1.  The Spider-Mobile: In addition to its sporty dune-buggy design, the introduction of the Spider-Mobile in the early 1970's was also a masterful parody of crass commercialism and celebrity endorsements.  As part of their campaign to sell a new non-polluting car engine, the ad agency of Carter and Lombardo convinced a reluctant (yet cash-strapped) Spider-Man to lend his name to the promotion.  With the help of gear-head Johnny "Human Torch" Storm, the Spider-Mobile made its debut in Spider-Man #130 (1974)...becoming a source of constant embarrassment and irritation for Web-Head until it sunk into the Hudson River less than a year later.

2.  Green Lantern's Oath: Evoking the mystery of a magical incantation and the cadence of a childhood nursery rhyme, the solemn verse recited by Hal Jordan as he recharges his power ring never fails to send a shiver up my spine.  Cynics and hipsters hate it for its corny earnestness, but that's exactly why I love it (click on the image to the left for a larger view).

3.  Marvel Comics origin summaries:  Always located on the first inside page (or "splash page") of 1970's Marvel comics, the concise "capsule origins" of the title characters were mini-wonders of streamlined drama hooks.  To be fair, DC tried them here and there, but Marvel's always seemed much more punchy and enticing (click on the image for maximum dramatic effect).

Was it just me, or did you also hear the voice of that "In a world..." movie trailer guy when you read that capsule origin?

4. Kirby Tech: One of the subtle wonders of Silver Age Marvel Comics was artist Jack Kirby's flair for whimsical, highly-stylized machinery.  "Kirby Tech" (as it's since become known) covered costumes, weapons, vehicles, or even entire city-scapes with its imaginative design and hyperactive pseudo-functionality.  Here's what Joe Sinnott (Kirby's greatest inker) said about the jaw-dropping image below (from Fantastic Four #64, 1967):

"One of his most outstanding devices appeared on the splash page of issue #64.  You can imagine just how long it took me to ink this panel.  I must have lost money on that page spending so much time with all that intricate 'Kirby Tech,' but it was well worth the satisfaction of completing such a page with Jack.  Those splash pages were always much anticipated by the fans."

Click on the panel above for full-frontal Kirby Tech!

Random Coolness: The "All Bling" Edition

Sometimes even the smallest details of superhero comics could make a big impression, which includes some of the shiny baubles and costume accoutrements the kids might classify as "bling".  Or not (I'm sure the term "bling" is now hopelessly outdated). Here's four that stand out (click on the images for larger views):

1. The Legion of Superheroes Flight Ring:  You'd think becoming a member of a 30th century club for superpowered teenagers would be cool enough, right?  Wrong!  In addition to the aforementioned cool factor, each (non-flying) member of the Legion of Superheroes would also receive their very own flight ring (which doubled as a communication device).

2.  The Phantom's Skull Ring:  Bad guys punched by the Ghost Who Walks would get an added souvenir: the impression of a skull mashed into their faces by the ring on his right hand!  Crime not only doesn't pay, but it also leaves one heck of a mark!

3.  Warlock's Soul Gem: Created in the hippie-dippy daze of 1967, the man-god known simply as "Him" evolved into a sort of counter-cultural superhero named Adam Warlock in the early 1970's.  Very much a product of the Eastern-tinged Psychedelic era, Warlock sported a "soul-jewel" (later known as the Soul Gem) on his forehead, which gave him the power to manipulate matter, devolve organisms to more primitive states, and absorb the souls of other beings into the gem's alternate reality.  Throw in a snazzy gold belt and wrist bands (not to mention that fanged skull-thing near his flared collar), and you've got yourself some major metaphysical mojo.

4.  The Eye of Agamotto: Speaking of Eastern-tinged psychedelia, one of THE coolest pieces of comic book bling has got to be The Eye of Agamotto, a magical amulet worn by Dr. Strange.  At Strange's command, the amulet opens to reveal an eerie glowing eye, which gives Strange the ability to see through illusions and disguises, invoke scenes from the past, track psychic or magical energy, project shields, open dimensional portals, or weaken evil mystical beings. Ah, but that's not all, as they say on the infomercials.  The Eye can also be used to probe minds or search other-dimensional realms, in which case the eye leaves the amulet and affixes itself to Dr. Strange's forehead...to maximal creepy/cool effect.

Random Coolness (Part 5)

More of the small details that made a BIG impression!

1.  The satellite headquarters of the Justice League: Leaving their original cave hangout behind, the League moved to a spiffy new orbiting satellite in Justice League #78 (1970), undoubtedly inspired by the space station in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).  Despite the "America" portion of the team's name, the satellite seemed to elevate the League's mission to that of international or even planetary protectors. Throw in some Star Trek-like transporters, a trophy room, chairs adorned with superhero logos, and an amazing view, and you've got yourself a headquarters that's never quite been surpassed (before or since).

Oh, and it also taught me the altitude of geosynchronous orbit (22,300 miles above the equator). Who says comic books don't teach you anything?

2.  Jay Garrick's helmet:  Ever since I first glimpsed the original Flash on the back of a Justice League treasury edition, I've been fascinated by Jay Garrick and his fellow first generation superheroes. However, Jay's wing-adorned metal helmet has a pedigree that goes back much further than the 1940's...all the way back to the ancient Greek god "Hermes" (or, as the Romans called him, "Mercury"), the fleet-footed messenger of the Olympian gods.  Ah, but as cool as that ancient/modern world connection is, a recent Jay Garrick story revealed another amazing detail about the helmet. 
Apparently, Jay used his deceased father's World War I helmet for his Flash uniform (obviously buffing it up and adding wings), which is just unbelievably cool. Of course, Jay didn't keep the chin strap despite traveling at sub-light speeds and stopping on a dime (ever heard of "inertia" Jay?), but even that illogical quirk can't stop me from loving that nifty old helmet.

3.  Iron-Man's Specialty Armors: Before toy action figures made variations of a superhero's costume a routine experience, Tony Stark was turning heads and blowing minds with a collection of super-cool specialty armors. Reserved for unique situations, these alternate versions of the Iron-Man armor were rare, but always entertaining.  Starting from the top left:  Deep Space Armor, Stealth Armor, Deep Sea Armor, Arctic Armor, and the intimidating Hulkbuster Armor (click on the images for a larger view).

Random Coolness (part 6)

More of the small details that made a BIG impression!

 1.  Black Bolt: Yeah, he's got one of the sharpest costumes Jack Kirby ever designed, but it was the juxtaposition of his gentle personality with his destructive power that made him such a fascinating and unique character. As the ruler of a mysterious race named The Inhumans, Black Bolt lived his life in silence, conveying his thoughts only through gestures and facial expressions.

Why the silent act? 

Because even the faintest whisper of his hypersonic voice could level a city or knock out the Hulk. It's even said his voice can awaken distant volcanoes or cause earthquakes on the far side of the planet. In fact, at full strength, his voice may be powerful enough to destroy the planet itself!

 2.  Superteam "class photos":  I've always been a sucker for those posed "class photo" style shots of comic book superteams. I love the sense of  tradition and simple camaraderie they promote, especially when they're brimming with as much history as the JLA-JSA grouping below:

3.  Magneto's Helmet: Conveying mystery and a regal charisma, Magneto's helmet evokes the look of a king or warlord from the ancient world. The open interior space reveals a minimal amount of face to maximum effect, as the sunken eyes and gritted teeth instantly communicate his simmering hatred for non-mutants.

Sure, the peripheral vision is non-existent, but when you control Earth's magnetic fields...who needs it?

Random Coolness from Superman: The Movie (Part One)

As I've said before in previous Random Coolness posts, even though much of the comic book reading experience is about the "Big Stuff", I continue to insist that some of the coolest things in comics are minor elements and small details that have stuck with me over the years.

The same principal applies to movies, especially movies that are as familiar and close to my heart as Superman: The Movie. I don't have an exact count, but it's safe to say I've seen the movie dozens and dozens of times...so with that many viewings, I've found that it's often the smaller, more subtle moments that maintain its lasting appeal for me.  Oh, I still enjoy the major "milepost" scenes of the movie, such as Jor-El's speech to baby Kal-El, the helicopter catch, and the earthquake rescues...but there's something about the little details that really "push my buttons" and sustain my interest. 

It's from this perspective that I wanted to discuss Superman: The Movie. From the beginning of my Superman@70 month I'd planned to cover the movie (it would be criminally negligent of me NOT to), but I didn't want it to be just another rehash of the big picture stuff.  Instead, let's take a look at the first twelve of twenty-five Randomly Cool elements from Superman: The Movie.

1. The Comic Book: Not exactly an obscure moment (it is the opening scene, after all), but I can't emphasize enough how brilliant this sequence is. Instead of shying away from Superman's quaint beginnings, the movie embraces them from literally the first frame...which was actually quite a brave thing to do during the anti-establishment fervor of 1970's cinema. The narration of a child earnestly reading a Golden Age comic book instantly brought the audience into a place free from the era's fashionable cynicism and into the realm of innocence, hope and the promise of high adventure.

2.  The S: You know a movie is great when even the opening credits are entertaining. Set against John Williams' perfect score (and I do mean "perfect"), the cosmic journey from Depression-era Earth to Krypton never, ever gets old for me, despite some of the rather dated "space travel" effects. Beginning the journey with a major "wow" factor was the brilliant red of Superman's S-shield accompanied by a hissing blast of power-sound. Disappointingly, the revised sound mix of the DVD version of the movie diminishes the explosive punch of the S when it first appears.  Thankfully I transferred my original VHS version to DVD, so I can continue to savor the original sound mix of this moment.

3. The Temptation of Jor-El: The older I get, the more I appreciate the opening scene of Jor-El presiding over the sentencing of General Zod and his gang.  Throughout the formalized dialog, there's an unspoken backstory between Jor-El and Zod hinted at through the eyes, faces, and body language of the actors. When Jor-El submits the final "guilty" vote, Zod tries to escape his fate by tempting Jor-El to join him. Jor-El's answer is to slowly walk away...turning Zod's measured appeal for collaboration into a raging torrent of threats. Through it all, Jor-El continues to walk into the surrounding shadows...which (to me) symbolize his own morally ambiguous position within Krypton's ruling class. Was he tempted to take control of Krypton from its clueless Science Council, though perhaps not in the way Zod would? This scene certainly makes me wonder.

4.  Jor-El Alone: In another great bit of symbolism, an unpersuaded Science Council has adjourned their meeting and left Jor-El standing alone, with no support for his warnings of Krypton's impending destruction. This scene establishes a theme of solitude and isolation that will continue to surface throughout the movie.

I have to add how much I appreciate the movie's concept of Science Council members wearing a unique family crest or symbol on their robes. When I first saw the film, I thought it strange that Jor-El would wear an "S" symbol, but seen in the context of it being a Kryptonian design that just happens to look like an "S", it brings a whole new dimension to the fictional Kryptonian society, and a refreshing break from the Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers template still being used in the comics. It also helped explain why Superman would wear the symbol on his costume in the first place, since most modest mid-western boys would never think to call themselves "Superman". Instead, it was the symbol of the El family that Kal-El wore on his action togs...leaving the invention of the "Superman" moniker to the members of the press (Lois Lane to be specific). Very elegant and inventive.

5. "He will never be alone.": As a counterpoint to the previous image, Jor-El reassures his wife Lara that their Earth-bound son "...will not be alone. He will never be alone." Anyone who's seen the movie knows that Jor-El will essentially "live on" through the Kryptonian super-science of the crystals, so there's some very literal foreshadowing going on here. Shading the meaning a bit more may be Jor-El thinking about his own solitude (see #4) and how he's determined to prevent that for sonny boy.

6. Horror: In the comic book depictions of Krypton's destruction, the typical approaches were either (A) shots of buildings tumbling down or (B) a long shot of the entire planet exploding. Largely absent from those approaches were the people of Krypton, so the horror and enormity of what was happening was somewhat muted. That's why the shots of screaming Kryptonians falling into fiery chasms were so powerful and haunting. At that point, you realize the sound of Krypton's destruction wasn't so much the planet exploding, but the helpless, agonized death-cries of its people.

Random Coolness from Superman: The Movie (Part 2)

 

 

Earlier this week, I took a look at the little things that made a big impression on me from Superman: The Movie. In  Part One, I covered the beginning of the film through its unforgettable Smallville scenes. Let's pick things up as Clark concludes his journey to the frozen Arctic (click on the photos for a larger view)...

13. The Blankets: As Clark opens his backpack to remove the glowing Green Crystal, a sharp eye will catch a glimpse of the red, blue, and yellow fabrics stuffed inside. These can only be the Kryptonian blankets sent along with baby Kal-El's rocket ship. According to the comic book origin, these were the same fabrics used to create Superboy's indestructible costume...and it's likely that the backpack blankets were the fabrics used for the Superman costume we'd be seeing shortly.

14. "Speak." One of my absolute favorite sequences is the mysterious communion between Kal-El and the pseudo-spirit of his father Jor-El. After emerging from a cascade of light, the image of Jor-El assures his son that he will answer his many questions about his true heritage. Just before turning the conversation over to Kal-El, Jor-El says, "So, my son. Speak." With only this brief line, Marlon Brando (with face slightly upturned) conveys a regal, even imperious bearing...which perfectly sets the birth father apart from the humble adoptive father who raised Clark Kent.

15. Superman Revealed: After twelve years (!) of Jor-El's mentoring, Kal-El is now ready to enter the world with full knowledge of his Kryptonian heritage and power. I still recall the thrill of seeing Christopher Reeve take flight for the first time and soar so smoothly past the camera, giving us viewers enough of a thrill to wait another half hour before seeing any Superman action scenes. Keeping him somewhat in the shadows as he flew past was also a great move, simultaneously revealing him while retaining a bit of mystery. Combined with the heraldic blast of the Superman March, the origin story arc ends on an epic, triumphant note.

16. Speeding Bullet: Seemingly shot by a mugger, Clark reveals that he "must have fainted" to an underwhelmed Lois. As she walks away (without offering her new co-worker a hand up), Clark reveals the bullet he snatched from its path with a knowing smirk. In an instant, the core appeal of the Clark Kent character is revealed: "There's more to me than what appears".

17. "Um...Lois?" Of course, another major aspect of the Clark Kent character (in the sense that Clark is now very much a "performance" of Kal-El's) is the lengths of humiliation he willingly subjects himself to. Without getting too much into the amateur analysis, I believe Superman's willful buffoonery as Clark is actually an important (and very necessary) psychological safeguard for the most powerful being on the planet.

A textbook example of this practiced humility begins when Lois slips into the ladies room and is followed (almost puppy-like) by a clueless Clark. Shooing him out and shutting the door, Clark's coat gets caught in the door. Perfectly in character, Clark softly knocks on the door for Lois to open it. After freeing the captive coat, Clark proceeds down the hall, misses an elevator, gets yelled at by a guy in another elevator, then is completely ignored by two coworkers he bids "good night" to. The sequence ends with Clark standing alone in that dreary hallway, hands at his side...able to destroy the building with the stamp of a foot, yet choosing to remain the fool.

18. Straight Outta the Comic Book and Onto the Screen: Although Christopher Reeve was Superman in every frame he appeared in, the close-ups on the roof of the Daily Planet following the helicopter rescue are quite simply the comic book come to life. Not just the look, but the earnest & positive personality Superman should exude.

 

Random Coolness (part 7)

More of the small details that made a BIG impression!

 
1. Cutaway Diagrams: As a kid, one of my favorite little surprises in a comic book story would be when they'd feature a cutaway diagram of a superhero's (or superteam's) headquarters. The level of detail would always make the fictional world of the characters seem just a bit more real as living quarters and other human touches could be seen amongst the more familiar meeting, training or equipment rooms. 

One of the most detailed (and consistent) diagrams was the Fantastic Four's Baxter Building headquarters (seen here), with other cutaway diagrams occasionally appearing in the Avengers, Superman, Justice League, and Batman titles.

2. The Spider-Signal: Yeah, Batman's much more high-profile Bat Signal is cool, but I like Spider-Man's spin on the concept, too.  As a sort of "super-halogen" style light projector housed in his utility belt, Spidey is able to shine a giant circular version of his face mask design on walls or streets, thereby "announcing" his arrival at a crime scene. Seldom used against the "big fish", the Spider-Signal is primarily used to freak out small time criminals (and Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal).

3. Mogo: Long known for their dazzling diversity of life forms, the intergalactic police force known as the Green Lantern Corps had one member that topped them all in its almost incomprehensible immensity. First appearing in Green Lantern #188 (1985), Mogo was a sentient planet who operated as a Green Lantern (with a green equatorial stripe and lantern logo that made it look a bit like an giant striped billiard ball).

Springing from the fertile imagination of writer Alan Moore (who else?), Mogo's participation in the Corps has been somewhat limited considering it's planet-sized gravitational field puts a bit of a crimp in socializing or interacting with other standard-size life forms. It's current role is to serve as a training ground for newly-recruited Green Lanterns...and to remain one of the randomly coolest things in all of comicdom.

Random Coolness (Spooky Edition)

More of the small details that made a BIG impression... only this time with a spookier edge befitting this month's Blog of Horror theme. The three randomly cool-slash-spooky items below are just that: completely random elements that, for a variety of reasons, have been instant and enduring favorites of mine.

Doctor Fate's helmet: From my very first glimpse of the character on the back cover of a Justice League treasury edition, I've been fascinated by the character of Doctor Fate. A super-sorcerer who made his Golden Age debut in (the oddly titled) More Fun Comics #55 (1940), Fate's appeal for me wasn't so much his hocus-pocus as it was his arresting visual presense, particularly his golden, gleaming helmet. Completely obscuring his human face, the helmet made Fate an eerie, mysterious presence in stories that were already quite weird and surreal.

Even more eerie were the helmet's solid black eye holes, which was the standard look for Fate's Golden and early Silver Age appearances. Sure, the white "glowing" eye slits of his modern incarnation are plenty cool looking, too...but that helmet with the black, blank eyes?  That's what an eldritch sorcerer with ties to ancient magic should look like!

 

The Puppet Master as drawn by Jack Kirby: By no means an A-list threat, Fantastic Four foe Phillip Masters, a.k.a. the Puppet Master (as originally drawn by Jack Kirby) is nonetheless one of the creepiest chracters in all of comicdom. Creating dolls from radioactive clay, the Puppet Master could control the minds of their human counterparts...which alone is a disturbing concept...but combined with a face featuring the splayed lashes and toothy grin of a vetriloquist dummy (those things have always freaked me out), well...let's just say he made an utterly unforgettable impression on me. Succeeding artists have either gone light on the dummy-features or have simply portrayed him as a non-descript bald guy, which obviously drained the character of all the freaky power of Kirby's original vision.

Gene Colan's Dracula: From my earliest days as a comic book fan, I've loved the moody, murky style and cinematic flair of illustrator Gene Colan. However, as great as his superhero stuff was, I believe his greatest and most lasting contribution to the art form...his masterpiece, if you will, is his long, critically-acclaimed run on Marvel's Tomb of Dracula. At the core of this appeal is his depiction of the title character himself. Sure, initially Marvel's Dracula was merely continuing the visual archetype popularized in movies and costume balls, but Colan took the character several steps further by moving away from the charismatic model featured in films too many to number. Instead, Colan portrayed Dracula less as a suave seducer and more a demonic, supernatural force...which was powerfully driven home through the fluid, flickering shadows of the artist's style. Of course, some of the acclaim should also go to inker Tom Palmer, who understood how to interpret Colan's flowing pencil work like no other.

Random Coolness (Part 9)

More of the small details that made a BIG impression, picked at random from the cobweb-caked recesses of my comic-addled brain.

1. Corner Box Icons: Few things evoke the comics of my youth more readily than the corner cover icons of 1970's Marvel Comics. To borrow a term from the internet age, these tiny "avatars" in the corner boxes not only looked cool, but were also a clever way to grab a kid's attention on a crowded spinner rack. Their competitor DC Comics half-heartedly tried a few similar approaches, but never stuck with a design long enough to make them as effective a marketing tool as the Marvel corner icons.

2. John Romita's Hulk: Although I've always been fond of Marvel's Hulk character, he was a HUGE favorite of mine as a kid. Unfortunately, the character's primary artists during that era were Herb Trimpe and Sal Buscema...who, despite their long stints on the title, never quite nailed my ideal vision of the Jade Giant.  That honor belonged to cover artist supreme John Romita Sr., whose portrayal of the Hulk is the definitive version as far as I'm concerned.

As you can see from the head shots below, whether he pencilled and inked, or just inked over another artist (like squares 2 and 3), Romita's Hulk remained remarkably consistent or "on model" as we say in the cartooning biz.

 

Here's a few of the distinctive Romita Hulk characteristics:

A) A big, shaggy head of hair

B) A heavy brow over wide-set eyes, 

C) A compact nose with wide, flaring nostrils

D) A large upper lip area

E) Exaggerated "parenthesis" lines framing the area between the nose and mouth

F) A pronounced lower lip set above a surprisingly blunted chin

3. The S.H.I.E.L.D Helicarrier: Several years before the Death Star of Star Wars surpassed it, the mammoth S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier was probably the largest (and coolest) man-made construct in all of science fiction...or at least it was in my little corner of the cosmos (click on the image for a larger view). Built by a cooperative of scientists and industrialists (including Reed Richards and Tony Stark), the Helicarrier fuctioned as both a flying aircraft carrier and a mobile headquarters for the planet's premiere intelligence/defense agency . 

Although the design has changed a bit since its debut in Strange Tales #135 (1965), the array of gigantic helicopter rotors keeping it aloft have remained...a staggeringly impossible (yet endearing) feat of engineering that could only work in the pseudo-scientific skies of superhero comic books. In fact, even as a kid I wondered how fighter jets could land on a surface buffeted by the hurricane-force winds generated by the rotors...or how those same winds and the engine stress didn't tear apart the entire Helicarrier. However, if there's one thing I learned to do early on with superhero comics books, it was to sweep those nagging scientific objections under the rug and just enjoying the awesome spectacle of it all. The Helicarrier flew because it did. 'Nuff said!

Random Coolness (Part 10)

With so many epic, life-changing events happening here in the late spring/early summer (high school and college graduations, weddings, etc.), this might be as good a time as any to look at three more random aspects of superhero comics that made an EPIC, LIFE-CHANGING impact on me (or, at the very least, are pretty cool. In a random kind of way).

1. The Cosmic Treadmill: Once you accepted that Barry Allen could invent a ring that shrunk, stored, and expanded his Flash costume, its was easy to accept that this same forensic scientist could also figure out a way to break through the time barrier! Making its debut in Flash #125 (1961), the Cosmic Treadmill converted Barry Allen's tremendous speed into specific vibrations that could launch him forward in time, backward in time, or to alternate dimensions. Sure, it looked just like any treadmill you'd see down at the gym...and the concept of mechanical gears being able to withstand reality-melting friction was patently ridiculous... but those are exactly the reasons why I love comic book contraptions like the Cosmic Treadmill. Utterly nutty, but if it could allow a man to literally run through time, I'm all in. 

2. Kirby Krackle: Of all the many contributions of artist Jack Kirby, one of his greatest wasn't a specific character or concept...but a visual effect! During his 1960's stint at Marvel Comics, Kirby gradually developed a technique using formations of simple dots to give the illusion of seething power or vast cosmic energies. Many artist adopted the technique, but nobody could lay down the krackle quite like King Kirby (click the covers for a larger view).

3. Spider-Man's "I am SO screwed" thought balloons: Covers of the 1970's were probably the wordiest in comic book history, most of them featuring heroes blurting out some kind of alarming Statement of the Obvious to amp up the drama. Of all that wonderful melodramatic dialogue, my favorite remains the "I am SO screwed" thought balloons of Spider-Man. Yeah, every hero engaged in this sort of pessimistic cover-talk from time to time, but Spider-Man's hard-luck "Charlie Brown" status only seemed to amplify the almost comically pessimistic attitude he exhibited on so many covers. Which just goes to show you, with great power comes great melancholy! 

Click here for more Random Coolness!

Random Coolness (Part 11)

More of the small details that made a BIG impression on me, randomly plucked from the nostalgia-drenched regions of my comic-addled brain. 

1.  The technical drawings of Eliot R. Brown: As soon as The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe hit the stands in 1983, I was instantly hooked. A fifteen issue mini-series, the Handbook exhaustively 

chronicled Marvel's massive catalog of characters (living and dead), vehicles, weapons, headquarters, artifacts, and other minutia geeks like me gobble up. As exacting and interesting as the information was (they even listed how much weight characters could bench press!), one of the coolest aspects of the Handbook series was the amazing technical drawings of a designer and science-whiz named Eliot R. Brown. Despite the absolute impossibility of comic book tech...well...actually working, Brown's highly detailed drawings and schematics somehow made them seem (kinda-sorta) plausible.  I mean, look at this guy go....and these are just Iron-Man's gloves and boots (click to enlarge)!

Pure malarky, of course...but speaking as a kid who'd spent hours drawing breakaway diagrams of the Six-Million Dollar Man's bionics, I loved this stuff. 

2. Kirby Mouths: Jack Kirby drew like nobody else...and that included parts of human anatomy that bore little resemblance to the way real body and facial features functioned. 

One of those endearingly exaggerated body parts was the male mouth, which Kirby often drew with the lower corners hitched well below the bottom lip line. It's a mouth position you can imitate with some effort (come on...you know you want to try it), but it's not a facial expression you're likely to see reflected anywhere in reality. But that's part of the magic of Kirby's Marvel years...where anatomically illogical quirks and shortcuts wonderfully conveyed the hyper-drama and explosive action The King perfected.

3. Marvel's bottom-of-page promo blurbs: A bit like cable news text crawls along the bottom of the TV screen, Marvel's bizarre little promo blurbs were also curiously irresistible to read. Printed in tiny type at the bottom of each story page, these snappy phrases not only plugged other Marvel mags on sale that month, but they also made it clear that things were happening all across the Marvel Universe. A very simple but effective little gimmick that (to this day) is still an endearing and (inexplicably) comforting aspect of 1970's Marvel Comics.