Highlighting House Ads: Superman 1957

Ones of the things that I enjoy about house ads is that they a truly a snapshot of a moment in time. Here's one that would have been published in late 1957. What we can tell from the ad is that the George Reeves TV show has not yet been cancelled  and that the Lois Lane comic has yet to his spinner racks. Both of those events would occur in 1958. A little more digging shows that the comics pictured here have a December, 1957 cover date. There's nothing all that special about the add, but I find the word 'Still' to comes across as a bit desperate. I also find it interesting that Superboy is not included in the ad, either in his eponymous series or Adventure Comics. It's funny how a simple little ad can get the gears of the brain rolling.

Happy Halloween

Nothing really to say today. Just wanted to put this pic up, as it always gets me in the Halloween mood.

Trade Marks: The Goon - Chinatown

I have read a number of Goon stories and, while I have always enjoyed Eric Powell's work on the series, I can't say that I ever loved it. This has changed with Chinatown. With this tale, Powell has found the right balance of action, humour and emotional impact. Much of this has to do with the flashbacks presented here, as they fill in certain gaps in the Goon's past and help the reader to better engage with him as a character. The character design is also very strong here, as Powell pays homage to Eisner by filtering both the good guys and the villains through a fun house mirror of sorts. I'm not sure if this is a great introduction to the character, but it is not a bad place to start and fans of pulpy action will find a lot to like. Trade Mark: A-

Add It to My Want List: Attack #48

While trying to sort out art credits for some recently purchased Charlton war comics I noticed this doozy on the Grand Comics Database. All Wally Wood art? A Jack Kirby cover? Count me in! There is some talk that one story is just Wood inking Bill Molno (likely, my least favourite Charlton artist), and I am guessing that much of the heavy lifting was by Wood's assistants, but I can live with that. This is the final issue, and you folks know that I love those. The thing is, sometimes these 80s Charlton books can be tricky to find, but the fun is in the hunt, isn't it?

You've Been Warned: Green Arrow #8

I am not really thrilled with what DC has done with the New 52, but I will follow Oliver Queen just about anywhere so I scooped up a few discounted trades. Over time, I have learned that I am not a huge fan of Ann Nocenti's writing. I know that many fans love her work on Daredevil, but it never really did much for me at all. Nocenti is trying to do something great here, as she references both King Lear and Dr. Moreau in the same story arc. In the end, however, it fails to be anything more than a mindless punch up with poorly fleshed out characters - the new Ollie chief among them. The artwork is beyond atrocious, sacrificing storytelling for ridiculous poses. It represents just about everything I cannot stand about today's comics and it is such a shame that this has happened to a character with such a strong track record. Jeff Lemire has taken over the series, so I look forward to catching up with his work on it to help cleanse the palate.