Memoirs of a Bronze Age Baby – Tales of the Green Lantern Corps #1

In the spring of 1982, I was 8 years old, turning 9 that October. For me, it was a real golden age as a young comic book fan. There were so many great titles at that time, and my allowance money was enough to keep me in funnybook heaven week after week. I had enjoyed Green Lantern in the GL/GA series (this was the Itty era) and later as it reverted to a solo title. I also enjoyed he JLA and B&B appearances. I wouldn’t say that he was ever my favourite character, but I liked him and the Guardians of the Universe angle allowed for almost limitless possibilities.

At that time, of course, I had no idea who Brian Bolland was – but when I saw this cover on the racks, I just had to have it. It is freaking gorgeous. It still stands out in my mind as one of the most iconic covers of the era. Of course, it was also a #1 and I was always very excited about getting in on the ground floor.

This was really my first introduction to the Corps. I was aware that it existed but I never really understood the size of the undertaking. The first few pages, featuring the gathering of every GL in the universe, were mind blowing. We also get a very quick recap of Hal Jordan’s origin as a GL, after he tells another GL of Abin Sur’s demise. To me, this was a form of mythology – the universe seemed boundless and the dedication of the Corps was impressive to say the least.

I did a quick re-read recently, and this Mike Barr tale holds up quite well. There is actually quite a bit of carnage for a pre-Crisis story, which I found to be surprising. The plot gets a bit fuzzy in places and the sentimentality (which resonated with me at the time) seems a bit forced at times, but that may have to do with cynicism than anything else.

The real treat here is the artwork by the Joe Staton/Frank McLaughlin team. Staton is near the top of the ranks of all-time underappreciated artists. He infuses so much energy in his pencils that they almost leap off the page. He should have become a superstar – but I guess nice guys rarely finish first. I am also a bit fan of McLaughlin as an inker – he work well with all sorts of artists – I am never surprised to see his name in the credits of a book that I’ve enjoyed.

What a great book this was! What a treasure it was to come across as an 8-year old. They simply do not make ‘em like this anymore.

Essential Moon Knight

When I was a kid, I bought a few copies of Moon Knight off the racks (probably enticed by the covers – especially that painted Earl Norem cover), but never truly became a fan of the characters. Things just seemed too complicated – the multiple personalities, the guy with the tea bag etc… I used to hear people talk about how Moon Knight was just a Batman rip-off, but I never really got that. Sure they are some similarities (work at night, rich) – but that also applies to about 99% of heroes. Don’t forget, Batman piloted his own chopper.

The Essentials series gives me the chance to take a second look at a character I’ve glossed over at a very reasonable price. This volume starts off rather slowly with the initial Werewolf By Night issues – nothing special there. The early solo MK stories (in the Hulk Magazine) are pretty hit and miss, as Doug Moench doesn’t quite seem to have a good feel for where he plans on taking his creation just yet. The team-ups with Spidey and The Thing are pretty standard late 70s Marvel fare – pretty good fun, but nothing groundbreaking.

As far as I am concerned, things improved significantly with the launch of the regular series – the Sienkiewicz art really began to take off, very moody but still great with the action. Moench’s writing improved as he began to steer away from using hard boiled pseudo-Spillaine dialogue for MK that he used in the earlier issue. MK’s supporting cast is also fleshed out a bit more – although in including Gena’s kids seemed like overkill. There’s some really good stuff here. It ain’t Watchmen, but it’s pretty solid compared to some of the books Marvel was putting out in 1980. It also works very nicely in the black and white format. Gene Colan fans take note that the master did a very nice job on one fo the Hulk back-up stories. I love the fact that these books have hidden gems like that. I look forward to the second volume.

Quick Comic Reviews

Eternals #1
Marvels has tried and tried to make a success of the Eternals, one of the most ambitious concepts to come from the brain of the King. Upon seeing this book on the rack – I was not so sure how the team of Neil Gaiman and John Romita Jr would mesh. I’ve got to report that I was very happily surprised. A very strong start – I’m in for the whole miniseries. Grade: A

All-Star Superman #4
Nope – this one just didn’t do much for me. I love Jimmy Olsen and can certain appreciate someone trying to revisit some of his Silver Age charm, but this one just fell flat on its face. I think that all of the ironic ‘references’ to the 60s Olsen got in the way of the storytelling. Of course, there are worse books out there but this was a real disappointment after such a long wait. Grade: B-

Marvel Westerns #2: Kid Colt & Arizona Annie
Fun, fun, fun! What’s not to about a mixing the Old West with Skrulls? The Philadelphia Philly story also demonstrated a good mixture of humour and action – it was like watching an old episode of Maverick. This was such a fine issue – I really wish Marvel would consider making some sort of regular series with a rotating cast of characters, like Astro City. Not too thrilled with the reprints here – as they are all in the Rawhide Kid Masterworks. Grade: A-

Moon Knight #3
This series is starting to pick up some speed. I wasn’t so sure where they were heading with the whole ‘depressed Marc Spector’ angle – but we are now officially getting somewhere. I want to be patient with books, but this story was unraveling so slowly that I wasn’t sure if I would be able to maintain focus here. I am now officially in the groove, and you can count me in for at least another 5 issue. I thought the whole ‘How come you never told me?’ conversation with Frenchie was a bit ham-fisted. Grade: B+

Detective Comics #821
The last time I bought a copy of Detective Comics (some time in the last year or two), I was truly saddened to see how far this iconic title had fallen. I caught wind of the fact that Paul Dini was hopping aboard for some single-issue stories so I thought I’d check it out. This was good stuff – actual detective work once again. I liked the J H Williams art – but I am not a fan of that ‘punch effect’ he uses. Grade: A-

Atom #1
I haven’t a clue what happened to Ray Palmer – and don’t really care at this point – but I am a sucker for any hero who shrinks. This wasn’t a bad debut – but the overall tone is a bit unfocused and the initial shrinking scene was nothing new. There is some potential here, though – so I may stick around for a couple of issues. I am hoping they keep some of the ‘science’ motif that made the 60s series so great. Byrne is the wrong choice here. 25 years ago with Terry Austin inks, perhaps – but not today, we need a cleaner, more dynamic line here. Grade: B-

The Return of the Mighty Marvel Western

How happy to you think I was to see this book on the shelf at my LCS? I was all like – Whaaaaa? A Mighty? Marvel? Western? I was so stoked to see that Marvel was giving western the same treatment that they gave Monsters last year.

It’s a pretty kooky idea – mixing old with new, action with humour. It worked with many of the Monster books, so I hoped that it work well here too. Dan Slott’s Two-Gun Kid story is a perfect example of why there should be more ongoing western titles today. It’s about as entertaining as anything you’ll read this year. You’ve got missing cattle, werewolves and Lone Ranger and Tonto look-alikes. It makes for a great story. The key here is Slott’s obvious love for the genre. Cowboys and comics are a great fit, and Slott seems to know it. The Barreto art was a perfect - he has a very good feel for portraying the Old West.

The second story is a pretty funny gag story by Keith Giffen. Nothing special, but these shorter tales are in keeping with the Silver Age Western tradition (minus the doll sex, of course). Finally, we’ve got an infamous Kirby drawn Rawhide Kid story. As we are living in the Age of Irony, this seems like a very appropriate reprint, as it shows just how hilarious things were back at the dawn of the Marvel Age. I’d actually prefer to see a more straightforward story against either a villain or a band of outlaws so that modern fans can see that Silver Age stories could be very entertaining without resorting to living totems.

But then, who am I to complain? I certainly never thought I’d see the words Mighty Marvel Western again.

The Passing of Alex Toth - Part 1

Alex Toth has died.

I guess like all things, it was inevitable. Still, there seemed to be so much life left in the man, his thoughts so sharp, his opinions so strong, that it looked like immortality might actually be in the cards.

In some ways it’s odd that such a giant in the comic book field, is best known by the general public much more for his contribution to the animation world. Today’s ‘Adult Swim’ crowd might not even realize that the likes of Space Ghost and Harvey Birdman were created by one of the best damned artists to work in the funnybook business.

Toth has always been seen as the ‘Cartoonist’s Cartoonist’. He is well respected within the creator community and has a very strong fan base. All of this for a man who bounced around from project to project, and company to company – never really having a definitive character, title or even genre for that matter.

I really don’t know all that much about the technical aspects of putting a comic book story together. My eyes tend to glaze over a bit when people get into a deep conversation about inking with a brush or spotting blacks. Deep down I really just prefer to rely on my immediate emotional response to the artwork. Perhaps more than any other artist, Alex Toth felt that there was a right way and a wrong way to tell a comic book story. He looked to the likes of Noel Sickles and Milt Caniff for inspiration. Early in his career, Toth was mentored by Sheldon Mayer, who encouraged him to master all aspects of comic book storytelling. Toth always felt that the job of the artist was to tell the story, and that anything else (such as what he called the ‘Kubert money-shot’) simply muddied the waters.

People will often look at a piece of Toth art, and talk about how it is brilliant because of the fact that he decided to leave out unnecessary details. I prefer to say that he took the time to contemplate precisely what needed to go into the page, and used only those elements. His use of silhouettes, his sound effects, the cut-off close-ups: all of these things gave a certain quite dynamism to the page and enabled him to catch the reader’s eye without relying on the double page splash. Simply put, Toth had his own way of telling a story and, more often than not, it was the right way.

The Passing of Alex Toth - Part 2

Let’s take a trip down memory lane.

Alex Toth got his start in the mid-40s, including some work for Famous Funnies Publications. A good way to see some early (and cheap) Toth art is to track down a copy of Heroic Comics. This is a very strange (by today’s standards) series depicting real life acts of heroism, usually in a two or three page story with a rotating cast of artists including Toth, Sid Greene and Fred Guardineer. It’s a pretty silly title, and Toth’s artwork may not be instantly recognizable, but they are a fun example of Golden Age goodness and can usually be found on eBay for under $5.

A year or so later, Toth began doing work for DC/National – including stints on the Green Lantern strip and All-Star Comics. Funnily enough, while Toth’s artwork was quite strong, it didn’t really seem full energized until the introduction of Streak the Wonderdog in Green Lantern. This was perhaps the first indication that Toth strengths might be away from the cape and tights crowd. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a big western fan, and for my money the high watermark of the genre was Toth’s run on Johnny Thunder in All-American Western. I have been picking these up whenever I see them for over a decade, and I am one issue (#121) shy of putting together a complete run. I’ll never understand why DC hasn’t given this strip the ‘Archives’ treatment, but anyone looking for inexpensive samples should track down a copy of Showcase #72 or the Johnny Thunder reprint title from the early 70s. Toth worked on other DC western titles, such as Jimmy Wakely and Dale Evans, but it is apparent that he preferred working on Bob Kanigher’s Johnny Thunder stories than any others at that time. The page I’ve included is a good example of Toth’s stylish approach to western storytelling.

Toth’s work really diversified in the 50s, as he worked for several companies in a wide range of genres. Standard/Nedor/Better Comics is nearly forgotten today, but this company brought us the likes of Black Terror and Xela airbrush covers in the 40s. By the 50s, under the Standard imprint, they published a variety on non-superhero titles including ultra violent war titles such as Joe Yank, schlocky horror titles such as The Unseen and plenty of old fashioned romance books. These books can be tough to find, but a little effort may be rewarded by strong artwork by Toth, Mike Sekowsky and Ross Andru. Romance comics are all but ignored by many of today’s comic book fans, but they once represent a vital part of the industry. A good story is a good story, and Toth brought a real freshness to the romance genre. The example I’ve included here is the first page to a short 3-page story from Today’s Romance #6 from 1952. I’d love to see an inexpensive collection of Toth’s romance work, but that’s not likely to happen.

Later in the decade, Toth began doing quite a bit of work for Dell. This included many movie adaptations for the Four Color title. Although I stated earlier that Toth is not truly associated with one character or series, he comes closest with Zorro. These adaptations of the Disney TV show allowed Toth to explore Old California and instill a good mixture of action and humour. Perhaps more than any other Toth work, these stories are a feast for the eyes as the reader is treated to an incredible sense of movement. These stories were reprinted in black and white (with Toth contributing to the new tones) first by Eclipse (I belive) and then later by Image. For anyone interested in getting a glimpse of what makes Toth so great, I strong recommend these reprints, as the black and white is a vast improvement on the colour versions.

The Passing of Alex Toth - Part 3

By the 60s, Toth was doing less comic book work and much more animation work, but was still making significant contributions, especially to DC. Eclipso is another in a long line of truly odd heroes introduced by DC in the 60s, perhaps trying to keep up with the House of Ideas. The strange concept of the villain as hero was made even stranger by Toth’s artwork on the strip – which veered away from superhero norms of the time. I’ve included a page here from House of Secrets #65 to give a sense of just how unique Toth’s approach to superhero comics was at the time. Another good example is the oft-reprinted Brave and Bold #53, featuring one of the better non-Batman team-ups. Toth also contributed several stories to DC’s line of mystery titles in the early part of the decade. Later in the 60s, he did some strong work for some DC romance titles as well as Hot Wheels.

Stan Lee was well known for asking many DC artists to work for him (many under pseudonyms) in the 60s as the Marvel line was expanding. Artists such as John Romita and Gene Colan were given almost a fresh start at Marvel, and yet somehow Alex Toth made only minimal contributions. The best known example is X-Men #12, which has been reprinted several times, but the reader won’t get a true sense of what Toth could do, as he was working from Kirby layouts, who had a very different approach from Toth. A better example is the story ‘The Warning’, a very strong back-up story from Rawhide Kid #46. I own the title page from this story, and it is incredibly different from anything published from Marvel at that time. I can only assume that Stan Lee felt that Toth was simply a poor fit for his books, and didn’t offer any more work. Outside of DC and Marvel, other strong colour work from Toth can be found in some in Dell/Gold Key titles such as Frogmen and Twilight Zone. These can be found for a fraction of the price of a DC or Marvel book from the same era.

The Passing of Alex Toth - Part 4

Jim Warren’s black and white magazine line gave many creators a sense of artistic freedom that they were denied by mainstream publishers. Some of Toth’s strongest work ever can be found in the Warren magazine. Blazing Combat is still one of, if not the, greatest war comics ever, and Toth’s contribution were integral to the series. These have become unbelievably pricey in recent years, and I’d love to see the stories reprinted in an affordable format. Toth’s work for the horror books was just as strong, and much of his work through the 70s would be in the horror genre. The page I’ve included here is from a mid-70s story and it demonstrates the dynamic layouts imagined by Toth, as the action all but leaps off the page. I've been trying to track down a copy of Creepy #139 for a few years now, as it is an all-Toth issue but I've had no luck.

Warren was not the only place to find good horror stories, as DC’s revamped horror titles, edited by Joe Orlando tried to tap into the market revitalized by Jim Warren. Like many anthologies, the stories can be hit and miss, but Alex Toth made several contributions and they are all quite strong. Jack Oleck should be a much bigger name in the comic book work as he wrote some of the best horror stories ever, and he and Toth made for a formidable team. “The Devil’s Doorway” is only of the best DC horror stories ever published, and it’s rather shocking ending stands in stark contrast to the pap produced by DC just a decade earlier. The recently published Showcase Presents House of Mystery features a handful of Toth drawn stories including “The Devil’s Doorway” and is well worth checking out, as this price is right, they look good in black and white and these books can be tough to find.

It could be argued that Toth’s strongest work is from the 70s. Some of these stories, such as “White Devil…Yellow Devil” from Star Spangled Stories #164 and “Death Flies the Haunteds Sky” from Detective Comics #442, are very well known and have been reprinted several times. For my money, DC’s best story from the entire decade (that’s saying a lot!) is a back-up from Adventure Comics #431. The story entitled ‘Is a Snerl Human’ harkens back to an earlier time in comic book history when readers were often treated to 8-page morality plays. The story, written by Toth mentor Sheldon Mayer is comic book perfection, and it’s a crime that DC has not seen fit to reprint it in one form or another. As I’ve mentioned in an earlier blog entry, one of the hidden gems of the 70s is Atlas-Seaboard’s Thrilling Adventure Stories #2. The black and white magazine can be tough to track down, but the reader is rewarded with art by Walk Simonson, John Severin, Russ Heath and a very interesting story drawn by Toth.

In recent years, Alex Toth’s contributions to the comic book work have been limited to the odd pin-up or cover, but his ongoing contributions via memoirs to magazines such as Comic Book Artists and Alter Ego have provided a much needed window to the industry’s past. His passing means an end to these columns, and the silencing of a very important voice.

Rest in Peace, Alex – you’ve earned it.

Whither the Try-Out Book? - Part One

Last month, at the Paradise Toronto Comicon, I snagged a big stack of books from bargain bins. Among these were 10 or so copies of Marvel Premiere from the late 70s and early 80s. I have had some books from this title previously (the Liberty Legion, Ant-Man and Doctor Who issues), and I was happy to pick up some more. To me, this is a great way to introduce a new or revamped character. In particular, I always liked the Scott Lang Ant-Man books, along with his appearance in Marvel Team-Up.

Both Brave and the Bold and Showcase served DC well as a launching pad for new ideas in the 60s. Sure, it was a bit hit and miss and for every Justice League of America, there was a B’wana Beast, but it’s impossible to deny how much goodness came out of these two titles.

In the 60s, Marvel was able to (and forced to, due to distribution limits) introduce many of its successful new characters in already established titles, but these were not true try out books. By the 70s, however, Marvel decided the time had come to launch titles whose primary goal was to test how well readers would respond to new or revamped characters. By the mid-70s, Marvel had two titles dedicated to the premise. Ostensibly, Marvel Spotlight was supposed to give existing characters (Nick Fury, Deathlok) another kick at the can, whereas Marvel Premiere was to introduce brand new characters and concepts. Of course, there were exceptions to this rule, but I’ve read that was the plan.

Personally, I think try-outs books were a great way to test the waters, but I can’t see how they’d work in today’s Direct Market. In the 70s, a kid was likely to spot an issue and buy it off the shelves, but today’s marketplace does not really allow impulse buying. That’s too bad – but c’est la vie. Here’s a quick look at some of my recent reads

Marvel Premiere #32: Monark Starstalker

This is a decent little space western, with Chaykin transferring a Jonah Hex-like character to the deepest regions of space. It’s not bad stuff, better than most of the high concept stuff produced by both Marvel and DC. Chaykin’s artwork gets a it muddied in the printing process, but there was some real promise here – as Chaykin’s demonstrates that he is a unique creator (With hindsight, we know he covers much of this ground repeatedly, but judged on its own merits, it’s a good read.

Marvel Premiere #33 & #34: Mark of Kane

Roy Thomas and Chaykin team up for a pretty pedestrian adaptation of a Robert E Howard story. The Solomon Kane stories in the b&w magazines were superior to this one, but that’s not saying much. Kane is a one note character, and absolutist philosophy makes one feel like they are reading a Steve Ditko comic. There’s not much characterization here, as the second half of the first issue is one prolonged swordfight. The second issue takes us on ridiculous manhunt to Africa - with some typical 70s voodoo and gorilla justice thrown into the mix. I guess Howard fans must have been happy to see their Puritanical hero in colour, but I wasn’t feeling it. I guess not every pulp hero truly deserves his own title in the 70s.

Marvel Premiere #54: Caleb Hammer

This time, Marvel doesn’t even bother putting Jonah Hex in space. This smells, looks and feels like a Jonah Hex comic book (right down to the Clint Eastwood-like appearance and Tony DeZuniga inks), but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. After years of publishing only reprinted western tales, Marvel reenters the western genre (as it is on its death bed) with this Peter Gillis about a Pinkerton with a tragic past. This art by the Gene Day/DeZuniga team is perfect for the story and in a different era, Caleb Hammer might have had a future. Sadly, this was 1980 and six shooters were out of vogue. There is one major flaw with this book – as occurs with most Marvel books. We learn Hammer’s full back story in this single issue. Part of the charm of Jonah Hex was his mysterious background, and analyzing the various hints that were dropped regarding his Confederate jacket and his scar.

That’s it for now – I’ll be back with a look at some more Marvel Premiere books in the near future.

An Offer You Can Refuse

The Godfather - Part III

I was given the trilogy on DVD a couple of years ago, and although my wife and I watched parts I & II right away, we were a bit Corleoned out and waited to watch this one. It caused quite a bit of controversy back in the day, as it people's expectations were so high that it was almost bound to fail. Sofia Coppola took most of the heat, and

As a standalone film - it's not bad. It's not great - but it would have been seen as a decent, elegantly shot mob family film. In comparison to Parts I and II, it comes across as disjointed, meandering and poorly written.

Sofia Coppola seemed to take the brunt of critisims on her shoulders - and although she is certainly not Olivier, the movie has enough flaws that they can be shared amongst the principals. Her Dad is mostly to blame as he is the architect for this slowly paced, highly repetitive story. The first two films were tightly woven, with a feeling a menace in almost every scene. So many scened in Part III make the viewer feel as though they are eavedropping on a boring family conversation.

While Ms. Coppola may not be much of an actress, she can hardly be faulted as she was just starting out. What excused does Eli Wallach have for his almost laughable job as Don Altobello. Honestly, my wife and I were giggling during the scene in which he chases after Joe Mantegna after he's left the boardroom. Trying to compete with him ham for ham are the rest of the principals, most notably Talia Shire - whose role was augmented here with fewer and fewer of the Corleone siblings still alive. It's a big shift from Brando, Caan, Duvall and Cazale to Wallach, Shire and Mantegna.

All of that being said, there as some decent moments - even if some of them (the opera 'excecutions across Europe' scene) echo scenes from the earlier films - but nothing really brings it all together. The found the entire Vatican business deals angle is really convoluted, and I used to work as an M&A lawyer!

I really wanted to like this film, as I don't mind being contrarian. I certainly didn't hate it, but I am really glad I didn't watch it immediately after the first two films, as I really think the flaws would have jumped out even more.

My Favourite Places in the World Pt. 2

Copacabana in Montreal

Montreal is full of bars. It’s full of great bars. Anyone who has ever visited the city is likely familiar with the Crescent St. liquor factories, has ordered cheap pitchers at a Peel Pub or has checked out the beautiful people lining up for a trendy place on St. Laurent.

When you spend 4 of your prime drinking years in Montreal like I did, you got through a type of evolution of bars. At the beginning, it is impossible not to be lured in by the siren song of the ‘All you Can Drink’ establishments that seem to have a 400:1 patron to bartender ratio. The next step (after stopping by at least 2 Peel Pubs to collect your free Birthday pitcher) is to check one of the countless bars on St. Laurent. There is something for everyone here – from pick up joints to mosh pits. When it comes down to serious drinking and laughs – you need a place with plenty of seating, cheap drinks and dim lighting to keep the amateurs at bay.

For me, as well as my nearest and dearest friends back then, that place was the Copacabana (which could not have more of an anti-Rio vibe if it tried). If you’ve seen the Oscar-winning short “Ryan”, you may recognize this place. It’s next door to the more popular Café Frappe and underneath the more (in)famous Double Deuce (where they seemed play the original version of ‘Jane Says’ every night). The Copa was the place to go when you’d had enough of the pseudo-hipster scene. As a added bonus, it was only a short 3 block walk back to my apartment on St. Urbain.

A few years ago, I was in Montreal for a conference along with one of my old McGill roommates. We decided to duck out of an afternoon session to walk around and soak up a little Montreal. Not less than a half hour later, we found ourselves sharing a pitcher at the Copa, as happy as pigs in shit. There are some things in life that just feel ‘right’.

Memoirs of a Bronze Age Baby: The Lazarus Affair

How do I even begin with this one? This story arc than ran in Batman #332 to #335 is rarely brought up in ‘Batman’s Greatest’ type discussions, but I can’t think of anything I’ve re-read as often as The Lazarus Affair. What makes this one so special? How about a little Ra’ Al Ghul? How about Catwoman in her purple Golden Age costume? How about the return of King Farraday? How about the sexual tension that’s about as thick as a 100 Page Super Spectacular?

Of course, all of these elements are mixed together into a wonderful mélange by Marv Wolfman and drawn by the awesome team of Irv Novick and Frank McLaughlin. Novick certainly deserves to be counted among the top Batman artists, and I would use his great pencils here as proof. Of course, the Jim Aparo covers are even better! As an added bonus, we are treated to an ongoing solo Catwoman feature drawn by Don ‘Effin Newton! This is Bat-Heaven, folks!

I would have been 8 years old, going on 9 when these issues hit the stands and I was absolutely blown away by the intricate, cliffhanger filled storyline. Issues #333 starts of with a great Bond-like opening, complete with a ski chase (how did Batman click into those binding?). Sure this may not be Frank Miller, but it’s pretty darned engaging all the same. This was my first exposure to Ra’s Al Ghul, and I was really struck by his pure evilness. That scene with the guy escaping on the raft really made an impression on me. I also don’t think that I really understood all of the various relationships in Batman’s life until I saw Talia and Selina getting snippy with each other. I was also intrigued by the obviously strained relationship between Dick and Bruce. King Farraday was also a very mysterious, yet appealing figure and I was vaguely aware of the fact that he was a DC character from way back when.

This is all great stuff, with a lot of international intrigue thrown in for good measure. This was one of the first times I can remember experience physical pain while waiting for the next issue to be released. I don’t believe that this story arc has even been collected in a TPB, and that is a real mystery to me. There must certainly be a demand for it, as these issues have been getting pricier and pricier with each passing year. Pick it up if you can, it’s a great read. I still love revisiting the Lazarus Pit every couple of years.

I Need Some Back-Up Here !!

In many ways, Marvel has always done a good job of keeping its Silver Age alive through constant reprints. Whether through reprint titles such as Marvel Tales or Marvel Triple Action in the 70s, or through the Essentials and Masterworks line more recently, Marvel has shown that it is proud of of its past.

Sadly, one aspect of Marvel's past is in danger of falling off the radar screen. No, I am not talking about the Human Fly or Team America - I am talking about the science fiction back-up stories that continued to run during the early days of the Marvel Age. As you know, many superheroes such as Iron Man, Spider-Man and Thor debuted in titles that were previously dedicated to monster and science fiction stories.

Even after the debut of these superheroes, there was still some room left at the back of the comics, so the back-ups continued for a couple of years until replaced by additional suphero strips. Anyone who has ever read one of the 5-page mini-opuses is aware of how fun and charming these stories can be. Some of these were reprinted in scattershot fashion across many titles during the 70s, but many have not seen light of day in 40 years.

Granted, Marvel has indicated that it is willing to dig deep into their non-hero vaults, as evidenced by the Tales to Astonish Masterworks, but my guess is that they will simply focus on the pre-hero monster tales as a way of capturing the Jack Kirby fans. I am afraid that they will overlook these tales that ran concurrently with the superhero stories and are only available by purchasing the original comic - and who really wants to fork out the money for a Jounrney Into Mystery #83 to read a story about an intelligent lion?

I was recently re-reading Strange Tales #112, and was struck by the quality of the two back-up stories, featuring artwork by Steve Ditko and Larry Lieber, respectively. It occurred to me that Marvel should float a trial balloon, and package together an Essentials 'Tales' - featuring Tales of the Watcher, The Wasp Tells a Tales (luckily already cover in the Ant-Man volume), and back-up stories from Tales of Suspense, Tales to Astonish, Strange Tales and Journey Into Mystery. In one package, we would get tons of great reading - with dymanic art by Kirby, Ditko, Lieber and Heck among others.

Is this a pipe dream? Sure - but a guy can still dream, can't he?

You Don't Know Jack... Keller, that is.

Sadly, I’ll bet that Jack Keller will be all but forgotten as a comic book artist in 25 years time. Why? Well, for one thing, he was never a ‘big name’ in the first place, and he has been filed under ‘workmanlike Silver Age artist’. Secondly, he spent most of his time toiling in two genres that have all but fallen off the pop culture radar screen: westerns and hot rods.

Hot Rods? Yup – Hot Rods. Once upon a time, Hot Rod comics were an actual genre unto themselves. They featured young daredevils having all sorts of 8 cylinder adventures. The high water mark of the genre was likely DC’s Hot Wheels series featuring artwork by Alex Toth. Almost completely forgotten today, though, is that Charlton (the little company that could) had some high quality Hot Rod titles the seemed to be almost single handedly by Jack Keller. Keller really seemed to know his way around the racetrack and was able to portray the excitement of a race or a chase – something that is quite tough in the comic book medium.

I haven’t had too much exposure to these books – but from what I’ve seen they are simply a lot of high-octane fun. They might seem beyond silly today, but there must have been a decent market for this stuff once upon a time. These are not all that tough to find, and can be had for mere peanuts.

Keller, of course, is best known for his long running stint on Marvel’s Kid Colt, Outlaw. Kid Colt is not my favourite of the Marvel/Atlas gunfighters (that honour goes to Rawhide Kid), but under the guidance of Stan and Jack (Keller, ‘natch) is always a consistently good read. Many of Marvel ‘western’ characters had villainous counterparts that had similarities to its 20th century heroes with the ‘Circus of Crime’ being the most blatant. It’s probably not just coincidence that the coolest 60s villains, Doctor Doom, had a near twin in the coolest western villain, Iron Mask. I assume that Iron Mask was designed by Jack Kirby, but deep down I like to the Jack Keller played a role.

Keller gave this book a very distinctive look – there is a certain beauty in its simplicity. One of the things that may have kept Keller out of the limelight is that he was rarely give the opportunity to provide artwork for the cover. Through the 50s, covers were done by the likes of Joe Maneely and John Severin. Later, Jack Kirby contributed numerous memorable covers – followed by the likes of Dick Ayers and Larry Lieber. Why was Keller so rarely chosen to do the cover to what was essential his book? Who knows? I have added one of the few Kid Colt covers by Keller – it’s pretty cool, in my humble opinion.

I realize that the above is basically just babbling, and that 99% of people really don’t care about Keller once way or the other. For those who are interested, let me point you towards a wonderful article written by Doc V http://www.comicartville.com/jackkeller.htm - , who writes much better than yours truly and provides some nice example of art from his wonderful collection.

Memoirs of a Bronze Age Baby: Avengers #161

This is the first in a (hopefully) series of reflections on my early comic reading days. I will try to relive how I felt at the time, and what impressions various books, characters, creators had upon me - as opposed to the majority of my other posts which real more with my impressions as an old guy.

I really started buying my own comics around 1979 or 1980. Until then I really just read whatever my parents picked up for me or whatever was available in our school’s rainy day recess room (where copies of Devil Dinosaur went to die). I was very fortunate to grown up with a comic shop within a 10 minute walk of my house. I call still recall staring at their copies of Amazing Spider-Man #1, Avengers #1 and Fantastic Four #1 on display in their window (I wonder how sun faded those copies look today).

It was at this juncture in my comic book fandom that I discovered back issues. Working alphabetically through the bins, it wasn’t long before I came upon the Avengers. I had read a few issues of this title and was also a big fan of Captain America and Iron Man, so I was in heaven gazing upon these incredible covers. One of those that really caught my eye was #161. What 8-year wouldn’t love the notion of superheroes being attacked by ants?

Upon reading the book, it wasn’t the ants that stuck with me, nor was it the infighting amongst the Avengers, nor was it the shiny android named Ultron (my first exposure – I’’ admit that he scared the heck out of me). Nope, what really resonated with me the most was the emotional instability of Hank Pym/Ant-Man. Most of the superheroes I’d come across to that point were pretty much flawless humans (like Captain America or Superman). Even if a superhero had a problem, it was usually something pretty mundane, such as Spidey running late for a date.

There was something different about Hank Pym, and I noticed it even at a young age. Of course, his problems issues have been visited and revisited ad nauseum over the next 25 years, but it seemed very novel at the time. Between the ants, Ultron, Hank Pym and the rest of the Avengers – it was clear that a good chunk of my allowance money would be spent buying back issues of the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.