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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 Saturday, February 26, 2005
We're rummaging through my "back pages" today, starting with a copy of CREEPY #18 [January, 1968] I recently purchased on eBay. Alerted that the issue included a long forgotten fan letter I had written to the comics magazine, I went hunting for a copy and found one in pretty sweet condition for ten bucks.
James Warren is credited as both editor and publisher on the contents page. The cover painting is by Vic Prezio, but the scene isn't from any of the issue's five stories. The inside front cover is a "Creepy's Loathsome Lore" page drawn by the legendary Roy G. Krenkel and reprinted from issue #9.
My letter critiques CREEPY #17, which likely means I wrote it and sent it to the magazine with days of buying that issue. I was going to run it here, but I'm holding off while I try to find and buy a copy of the issue. I think it would be fun to run my review of that issue from back then and compare it to my thoughts on the issue once I reread it.
You know I'm all about the fun.
I will mention that, in response to my query about the return of Adam Link - Otto Binder and Joe Orlando had been adapting those famous and wonderful Binder prose stories about a robot possessed of free will - "Uncle Creepy" assured me a new Adam Link was in the works and to look for it in the very next issue. That turned out to be a cruel lie as no such story appeared in CREEPY #19, or any later issue. If you can't trust a horror comic host...
Rereading issue #18, it was a far better issue than I recalled from my youth. Ron White's "Mountain of the Monster Gods" is good, ah, creepy fun with delightfully unsettling artwork by Roger Brand. "The Rescue of the Morning Maid" by Raymond Marais is a hauntingly beautiful tale pencilled by an uncredited Pat Boyette and inked by Rocco Mastroserio. Though the first wave of CREEPY/EERIE artists (many of them EC alumni) appeared to have departed the titles with former editor Archie Goodwin, Johnny Craig wrote and drew a modern werewolf story ("Act, Three") for this issue.
From EERIE #2, the issue reprinted "Footsteps of Frankenstein" by Goodwin and artist Reed Crandall. That was followed by "Out of Her Head" by writers Clark Diamond and Terry Bisson (whose name is misspelled as "Brisson" in the credits). The art by Jack Sparling is among his better work for the period, but it would've benefitted from some grey tones.
Page after page of "Captain Company" ads fill out the issue, offering wondrous items. Novelty items. Back issues of all of the Warren magazines. Model kits and 8mm versions of classic (and not so classic) horror films. Record albums with covers by Wally Wood. Adventure, horror, and science fiction paperbacks. I'm told this was an extremely profitable sideline for the publisher, but I never ordered any of these items. Living in the relatively large city of Cleveland, I could find this stuff easily enough. Even those back issues of Warren mags could be had at Kay's Book Store, a legendary emporium frequented by, among others, Harlan Ellison in his youth. The formidable Mrs. Kay could be a terror, but she took a liking to me early on and even threw a discount my way on occasion. I miss her and that store to this day.
I'll keep looking for CREEPY #17. In the meantime, let's turn a few more of my back pages.
******
MY FIRST CONVENTION
This bit of memory originally appeared in COMICS BUYER'S GUIDE #1602 [March, 2005]:
The first convention I attended wasn't a comic-book con. It was TRICON, the 24th World Science-Fiction Convention. It was held September 1-5, 1966, at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. The name signified that the convention was being hosted by SF fans of three cities: Cleveland and Cincinnati in Ohio, and Detroit in Michigan. I was not quite 15 and starting my sophomore year of high school. If memory serves, I was only able to attend two days of the convention.
The highlights? I met my lifelong friends Harlan Ellison and Don and Maggie Thompson, though I doubt our first meeting made much of an impression on them. I met Fred Cook, publisher of a cool Doc Savage fanzine (BRONZE SHADOWS), who later asked me to write for BS. I saw a special screening of FANTASTIC VOYAGE at a downtown theater and heard Isaac Asimov speak for the first time. I saw the pilot episode for the soon-to-debut STAR TREK, though my friend and frequent collaborator Bob Ingersoll insists a later episode was the one shown at the convention. It's possible more than one episode was aired at the event.
L. Sprague DeCamp was guest of honor. I probably knew of him through his work with Robert E. Howard's Conan. I couldn't stay at the show late enough for the costume party, but I've seen photos of writer Don Glut in his homemade Spider-Man outfit. It was a truly amazing experience and I came away from it with even greater regard for three heroes: Conan, Doc Savage, and Harlan Ellison.
The official head count was a mere 850 science fiction fans, making it one of the smallest comics or SF cons I've attended in my life. But, in 1966, it seemed like the biggest and best gathering I could imagine.
******
MY FIRST DAREDEVIL
"The Bottom Line" is a factoid feature which runs across the bottom of each page of CBG's price guide and presents information on entire runs of comics titles. This sidebar of mine originally appeared in CBG #1603 [April, 2005]:
When "The Bottom Line" mentioned my writing DAREDEVIL [CBG #1601], its issue count was off by one. Before the four-part Hydra serial in DD #120-123, I wrote the done-in-one "They're Tearing Down Fogwell's Gym" for DD #119. My intention was to give a nod to attorney Matt Murdock's boyhood in Hell's Kitchen with a old-time boxing movie ala Marvel Comics.
More than one comics enthusiast has singled this issue out as the first time Matt's religion - he is Roman Catholic - was used in a story. DD's faith was a key element in Frank Miller's classic "Born Again" story. Much as I'd like to take credit for inspiring Miller, however minutely, I'm not convinced.
My reluctance to claim this honor has three sources:
1) I didn't make a big deal out of Matt's religion. There was a priest in the story - Father Gawaine - and Matt clearly knew him, but I didn't develop their relationship past the need to set up the story I wanted to tell.
2) Though he was boxer Kid Gawaine at the time, the padre made his first and only other appearance in the Roy Thomas-written "The Phoenix and the Fighter" [DD #68; September, 1970].
3) Matt Murdock was a Irish kid growing up in Hell's Kitchen in the 1940s/1950s.
What else was he gonna be...an Odin-worshiper?
If comicdom forces me to take credit for this minor milestone in the legend of Daredevil, I'll graciously accept it. But I think the jury's still out on this one.
By the way, my all-time favorite movie is The Quiet Man [1952] with John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara. It's about a boxer who returns to his boyhood home in Ireland after a tragedy in the ring. Make of this what you will.
******
TONY POLLS
Several recent TONY POLLS questions have asked you to choose which comic books and other items you would most like me to review. Here are more of those results.
Which of these items would you most like reviewed in TONY'S ONLINE TIPS?
IT'S A BIRD.....12%
Doom Patrol #8.....10%
JSA #70.....8%
Justice League Unlimited #6.....8%
Deadshot #3.....6%
Fables #34.....6%
Firestorm #10.....6%
Flash: Ignition.....6%
Hellblazer: All His Engines.....6%
JSA Strange Adventures #6.....6%
Justice League Elite #8.....6%
Flash #218.....4%
Human Target #18.....4%
JLA Classified #3.....4%
Detective Comics #803.....2%
Gotham Central #28.....2%
Hawkman #36.....2%
Intimates #4.....2%
Hellblazer #204.....0%
Hellblazer Special: Papa Midnite.....0%
The voting was very close with this batch. You can expect to see my review of the Steven T. Seagle and Teddy Kristiansen IT'S A BIRD within the next week or so, followed shortly thereafter by my overview of John Byrne's current DOOM PATROL series. We do aim to please here at TOT Central.
Thanks for spending a part of your day with me. I'll be back soon with more stuff.
Tony Isabella
<< 02/25/2005 | 02/26/2005 | 02/27/2005 >>
Discuss this column with me at my Message Board. Also, read Heroes and Villains: Real and Imagined.
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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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