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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 Friday, April 1, 2005
Today's trio of Jack Kirby covers have in common that, while Kirby drew them, he did not draw the interior stories on which they were based.
First up is HOUSE OF SECRETS #11 [July-August, 1958] and "The Man Who Couldn't Stop Growing!" It's an exciting cover whose hero bears a striking resemblance to "Prof" Haley of Kirby's Challengers of the Unknown and who wears a jumpsuit that, though more colorful, looks like one of those worn by Prof and his pals. Heroes becoming giants was one of those themes that DC went back to time and time again in the 1950s and 1960s. Challenger Rocky Davis got big on a post-Kirby cover of the title, as did Challenger pal June Robbins. Good times.
The Challengers were introduced in SHOWCASE around 18 months prior to this HOUSE OF SECRETS. After four tryout issues, the lads graduated to their own title in an issue dated April-May of 1958. As Kirby's biggest success of the late 1950s, the Challengers were clearly on his mind when he drew the HOS cover.
Inside HOS #11, "The Man Who Couldn't Stop Growing" was drawn by Lou Cameron. The issue's other stories were:
"The Guardian of the Past" (drawn by Nick Cardy; reprinted in House of Mystery #197, December, 1971);
"The Sinking Islands" (drawn by Howard Purcell); and,
"The Supernatural Swindler" (art by George Roussos; reprinted in THE UNEXPECTED #161, January-February, 1975).
Paid advertising must have been light the month this issue of HOS was published. It ran 5.5 pages of fillers by Henry Boltinoff (Professor Eureka and Moolah the Mystic), Morris Waldinger ("true" supernatural occurrences), and George Kashdan (the text story which secured second-class postage rights for the title).
The cover for HOUSE OF MYSTERY #78 [September, 1958] features "The Lady in Black!" Kirby could certainly draw intriguing women and this femme fatale grabs our attention even before we learn that "whenever she appears, disaster strikes!" But, talking to the guys here, haven't we all known women like that?
The contents of HOUSE OF MYSTERY #78:
"The 13th Hour" (drawn by Howard Purcell);
"The Town That Was Tricked" (drawn by Bill Ely);
"The 100 Lives of Napolean Burke" (pencilled by Mort Meskin, inked by George Roussos); and, of course,
"The Lady In Black" (drawn by Nick Cardy).
HOUSE OF MYSTERY #79 [October, 1958] has perhaps the weakest of the covers Kirby drew for the various DC "mystery" titles. The problem is the dull design of "The Creature From Inner Space." I'm not impressed that "it's walking on water and burning everything in its path." It's still a really dumb-looking monster and one, I'm guessing, which was originally envisioned by Ruben Moreira, artist of the story.
HOUSE OF MYSTERY #79 also featured:
"The Fantastic Sky Puzzle" (drawn by Nick Cardy);
"Duel of the Sorcerers" (drawn by Bill Ely); and,
"A Date With Disaster" (drawn by Lou Cameron).
CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN was probably keeping Kirby too busy to draw many interior stories for DC beyond that title and, over in ADVENTURE COMICS, Green Arrow. But, with Challengers being a bona fide hit, the editors likely hoped Kirby covers would attract some of that title's readers to the "mystery" books.
I have several more Kirby covers to share with you, so we'll be continuing this series for the immediate future.
Let's see what else I have for you today.
******
APRIL FOOLS DAY
I take note of the day only to assure you that TOT will not be playing any gags on you herein. Take what comfort you can from the knowledge any unbelievable nonsense you find in today's column is just my usual silliness and/or stupidity.
******
COMICS IN THE COMICS
The above MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM, which ran in newspapers on March 23, is another one of those strips that doesn't fit our theme but made me laugh so hard I had to share it. The strip that ran the following day does fit our theme:
After a cluster of self-referential comic strips and panels in recent weeks, my supply is dwindling. Just the same, look for more COMICS IN THE COMICS over the weekend.
******
QUESTIONS THREE
Here's something I found while digging through my e-mail files for material. About nine months ago, one of the bigger comic-book sites asked several industry professionals, myself included, a trio of questions and then - apparently - decided not to run my answers. I don't believe there are eye-opening revelations here, but I hate letting anything I write go to waste...unless, of course, it really sucks. So...
How do you think the comics industry has changed since you first became a professional?
In countless ways and not all of them good. The industry was opening up when I went to work for Marvel in 1972. It was tough to get work and tough to make ends meet with the lousy rates and the need to be in New York City, at least when you were starting out. But there weren't nearly as many mean-spirited folks in positions of major and minor authority. Editors looked out for freelancers (to some extent) and freelancers looked out for each other. When I was an editor, it was not unusual to get a call from a freelancer seeing if I had some work for another freelancer. In those days, you could usually come up with something.
The industry always and sadly discarded talent frivolously, but it was never as without reason as today. When I think of the amazing talents sitting on the sidelines, talents who routinely delivered hundreds of thousands of sales to publishers, it makes me a little crazy. There is little sense of craft or history in the corridors of power.
On the other hand, today's creators are learning from the mistakes of those who came before them and are not quite as easily swindled as the comic-book pioneers were swindled.
On the third hand, the publishers are learning as well, trying to make egregious contracts, contracts in which creators have scant control over the ancillary rights of their creations (movies, toys, etc.), the standard of the industry. The publishers are like the creatures in TREMORS; they never stop learning new ways to devour the talent.
It's not all gloom-and-doom, of course, especially creatively. Creators can find an audience for material of a personal nature and the art form has benefitted from that. We have many more sources of information that allow today's creators to be better informed as to their rights and opportunities. The smarter creators become, the more they protect and retain their rights, the better comics will become in the future.
Can you also tell us your first published work and the year it was released, please?
Assuming that you mean published work for which I actually got paid, I couldn't pin it down exactly. I had a couple pieces in a tabloid paper called THE MONSTER TIMES, which would have come out close to the same time as the first issues of THE MIGHTY WORLD OF MARVEL weekly I was editing for the British market. Those pieces might have overlapped with my first assignments (text articles) for various Marvel black-and-white magazines. It was a challenging and glorious time in my life and I fear I was much too excited to keep decent records.
What is your favorite comic convention memory?
There have been many, usually occurring at one of my pal Roger Price's Mid-Ohio-Con events; it's impossible to narrow it down to just one. I've had the pleasure of working with some of my heroes from the comics and entertainment fields at Mid-Ohio. I've watched the show's terrific volunteers grow from fine young men and women to equally fine adults.
If I must narrow it down, even though I can only guess which Mid-Ohio-Con was its setting (perhaps 1993?), that memory would be meeting artist Eddy Newell and seeing his incredible work for the first time. I remember thinking that he was absolutely the perfect artist for my second Black Lightning run. Once we started working on the series, I realized that I had underestimated him. I had a visual concept for the series and he did more than merely achieve it. He gave it a life and reality that surpassed my vision. Eddy was as dedicated to the characters and the stories as I was. He swiftly became my favorite artist and, just as quickly, he and I became good friends. One of my ongoing regrets is that we haven't been able to work together on a regular basis since. Stupid stupid editor creatures.
I've had many great convention memories. Meeting Mark Evanier at one of Phil Seuling's New York events. Being "adopted" by Jack and Roz Kirby at my first San Diego show. Becoming good friends with Arvell Jones, Len Wein, Marv Wolfman, and Bernie Wrightson at a Detroit Triple Fan Fair. If I started writing about all of them, I'd use up all your bandwidth and have to go looking for more. So many wonderful memories.
Outside of Mid-Ohio, I'll quite possibly never attend another comics convention. But, boy howdy, did I have fun at the dozens of them I attended in the past.
******
That's all for now, my loyal legions of TOT readers. Thanks for spending a part of your day with me.
I'll be back soon with more stuff.
Tony Isabella
<< 03/31/2005 | 04/01/2005 | 04/02/2005 >>
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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.
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