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Reviews and commentary by Tony Isabella
"America's Most Beloved Comic-Book Writer & Columnist"
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TONY'S ONLINE TIPS
for Thursday, February 10, 2005
It's a really busy month here at Casa Isabella and I'm still trying to get my puppies all in a row. While I work towards that end, let's see what I have for you today.
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ARCHIE
Four complete stories for two bucks and change. That's what you get from ARCHIE #554 [$2.19], not to mention a Valentine's Day-theme cover by Stan Goldberg and Bob Smith and a pair of special features. That makes for a good-but-not-great deal.
George Gladir wrote three of the stories. "Small is Big" has its moments, but it didn't work for me because of the presence of Adam, Archie's rival for Betty's affections. Were this Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the polite and thoughtful Adam would be revealed to be a demon. As this is Riverdale, he commits an even greater evil. He's boring. Betty makes the goody-goody stuff sing; Adam doesn't. Adding a fourth to the eternal Archie/Betty/Veronica triangle has worked in the past - witness Cheryl Blossom - but this Adam drags down every story in which he appears. Gladir redeems himself with "Stuff and More Stuff" (Archie becomes a de-cluttering consultant to other messy teenagers) and the predicable-but-still funny "The Prediction." In any given month, Archie readers can always count on Gladir for several good scripts.
Greg Crosby's "A Likely Story" is also quite good. I saw the ending coming here as well, but the story was well-paced and well-told from start to finish.
I did note with some alarm that there were fewer features this go-round: a half-page "I Love Archie Photo Contest" and a half-page "Editor's Notebook." The interior page count for this issue was 24 pages, the lowest in recent memory.
ARCHIE #554 picks up three out of five Tonys. You'll find the explanation of my ratings system elsewhere on this page.
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ARCHIE NEWS
Looking over the Archie Comics shipping schedule for May, I see a few items worth special mention.
Josie and the Pussycats will guest-star in SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH #67, which ships on May 25. "Model Behavior" is written and drawn by Tania del Rio.
ARCHIE #557 (ships May 11) finds the Riverdale teens paying a visit to the Bronx Zoo bears who first made their appearance in the title's 550th issue. They will help introduce "Grizzly," the soon-to-be famous stuffed spokes-animal for wildlife conservation. The story is written by George Gladir with art by Stan Goldberg and Bob Smith.
JUGHEAD #165 (ships May 4) features two recurring characters as our hero "pits the bane of his existence, Trula Twist, against the bad luck-dispensing Jinx Molloy" in a tale by Craig Boldman and Rex Lindsey.
Look for more Archie news in future TOTs.
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BATMAN: THE MAN WHO LAUGHS
Writer Ed Brubaker revisits and expands Batman's first battle with the Joker in BATMAN: THE MAN WHO LAUGHS [DC; $6.95]. Though I'm usually a tough sell when it comes to this sort of thing - and the omission of any credit for original writer Bill Finger is just plain disgusting - I thought Brubaker and artist Doug Mahnke did a fine job here.
That the fledgling Batman was unprepared for an extreme madman like the Joker rings true as does his being a quick study once the game is afoot. Captain James Gordon is also used to great effect in this 64-page thriller, doing solid police work while assisting Batman surreptitiously as well as walking the fine line between the duty and the politics of his job. A high point of the story is a very public appearance by the Batman - one of his first - and the stunned reactions of the citizens on the scene.
I have been critical of Mahnke's art on other DC titles, but his work here is outstanding. Colorist David Baron keeps the hues appropriately dark, but adds a brighter contrast whenever the story allows him to do so. It's a good-looking book.
THE MAN WHO LAUGHS isn't perfect. Bruce Wayne's using himself as a kind of guinea pig for an antidote to the Joker's poison, even though it moves the plot forward at a critical point, strikes me as more than a little insane. Additionally, belying the quickness of wit he shows elsewhere, Batman takes way too long to figure out the Joker's true plan. I saw it coming pages before he did, but, to be fair, I've probably read a lot more comics and pulp novels than he has. These flaws annoy, but do not fatally damage the entertaining adventure before us.
BATMAN: THE MAN WHO LAUGHS gets four Tonys.
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NEWLY ARRIVED
I receive a great many review items every month, too many for me to actually review, though, naturally, I keep trying to get to them all. At the start of this month, I decided to try something different and now I'm curious as to whether it's meeting with your approval and/or interest.
At the end of each day, I gather whatever has arrived at Casa Isabella or my post office box...and post that information on my message board:
www.comicscommunity.com/boards/tony
These aren't actual reviews, just a notice that I've received the items. One thing I've discovered is...when a lot of items come in at once, it takes me a day or two to catch up with the postings. I got a huge box from a publisher on Tuesday and I'll be amazed if I have it all logged in by tonight.
The idea behind the posts is that if you spot something you'd like me to write about, you'll let me know and I'll then do my best to read and review it as soon as possible.
Additionally, for the shy and retiring among you, whenever I receive a sufficient number of review items, I'll throw a "Which of these would you most like Tony to review?" question up on my TONY POLLS page. The first such poll was posted on Tuesday and you can check it out at:
www.worldfamouscomics.com/tony/poll
You can expect to see another such poll or three as soon as I get through the afore-mentioned huge box.
This has been my long-winded way of asking you if you enjoy my NEWLY ARRIVED posts and the subsequent polls. I'll keep them going as long as you can stand them.
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NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS
I'm not doing badly with my sort of New Year resolutions, but there's room for improvement. My 2004 taxes aren't finished on account of I'm still waiting on some paperwork. I haven't managed to keep TOT on a daily schedule for more than a few days at a time. I had to push back my "write comics again" start date to the first of March, though I retain some hope of changing that start date for the better. My review copies are still in disarray...which is the answer to the frequently-asked question of "When you are going to review the comic book I sent you?" The organizing of all my vast quantities of stuff for sale isn't even close to getting underway. I haven't found a church I feel comfortable with or, failing that, figured out how to start my own. However, I am gaining ground on almost all of the above.
That's something, isn't it?
One of the things I want to do is include more of your e-mails in these columns. Coincidentally enough, I have a e-mail from J.L. LEWIS - sent to me in January - discussing his own resolutions for the new year. He writes:
1. Try to figure out why black characters are so poorly represented in comics.
2. Organize my comics collection.
3. Try to get Shaq and Kobi to make up.
4. Organize my comics collection.
5. Create a college bowl system that makes sense.
6. Organize my comics collection.
Talk about an impossible dream...and, by that, I mean trying to organize a comics collection. Next to that, the remaining items on the list should be a piece of cake.
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WORLD OF SUSPENSE
I remain fascinated by the Atlas (Marvel) books of the 1950s, the era just before I started reading comics. Greg Gatlin's ATLAS TALES [www.atlastales.com] has become a daily stop on my surfing of the Web, which means you're gonna get a steady diet of comics I've swiped from his site.
This one is WORLD OF SUSPENSE #8 [July, 1957], the last issue of the run. The cover is by Richard Doxsee, a sometimes stiff but nonetheless appealing artist of the era. Charlton Comics used to turn interior splash pages into covers on a regular basis, but not to so striking as effect as Atlas did it here...taking a non-splash interior page and making it an eye-catching cover.
Would that I could afford to buy these old Atlas comics by the stack! Virtually every top comics artist of the decade showed up in their pages and the writing was often exceptional. I think that Marvel is missing a bet and some decent bucks by not getting this material back into print.
Sigh. Maybe my new year's resolution should have been to win the lottery. Sigh.
Thanks for spending a part of your day with me. I'll be back tomorrow with more stuff.
Tony Isabella
<< 02/09/2005 | 02/10/2005 | 02/11/2005 >>
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THE "TONY" SCALE
ZERO: Burn your money before buying any comic receiving this rating. It doesn't *necessarily* mean there's absolutely nothing of value here - though it *could* - but whatever value it might possess shrinks into insignificance before its overall awfulness.
ONE: Buy something else. Maybe I found something which wasn't completely dreadful in the item, but not enough for me to recommend it when there are better comics available. I only want what's best for you, my children.
TWO: Basic judgment call. I found some value, but not enough to recommend it. My review should give you enough info to decide if you want to take a chance on it. Are you feeling lucky today, punk? Well, are you?
THREE: This denotes something I find perfectly respectable. There are better books out there, but I wouldn't regret buying this item. Based on my review, you should be able to determine if it's of interest to you. Let the Force guide you.
FOUR: I recommend anything earning this rating. Unless you don't like the genre, subject matter, or past work of the creators, I believe you'll enjoy this item. Isn't it uncanny how I can look right into your soul that way?
FIVE: Anything getting this rating is among the best comicdom has to offer. You should buy/read this, even if the genre/subject matter doesn't appeal to you. It's for your own good. Me, I live for comics and books this good...but not in a pathetic "Comic-Book Guy" sort of way.
Please send material you would like me to review to:
Tony's Online Tips
840 Damon Drive
Medina, OH 44256
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