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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, April 2, 2005
"The wax figure of Cleopatra--she's alive!"
One thing which Jack Kirby's late 1950s covers show is that he really could draw striking women. This time around, for the cover of HOUSE OF SECRETS #3 [March-April, 1957], he draws the legendary queen of the Nile or a reasonable facsimile thereof.
"Cleo" is another comic-book regular. Iron Man met her over at Marvel. Superboy met her at least once. I have a vague memory of an Ogden Whitney-drawn cover for ADVENTURES INTO THE UNKNOWN or one of the other ACG "mystery" comics which featured her, and also of a romantic interlude between her and the Jaguar who had his own "Archie Adventure Series" title in the 1960s. Feel free to correct me if I have erred on the above; with my comics in deep storage, I'm going strictly by memory here.
"The Three Prophecies" was reprinted in WORLD'S FINEST COMICS #167 [June, 1967]. Besides the Kirby story, HOUSE OF SECRETS #3 also featured:
"The Mystery of Cell #4261" (drawn by Jim Mooney);
"Special Brotherhood Week Quiz" (a Buzzy public service page by writer Jack Schiff and artist Ruben Moreira);
"The Bad Luck Charms" (drawn by Bernard Baily);
a "Shorty" gag page by Henry Boltinoff;
"Ghosts on Parade" (text filler by George Kashdan); and,
"The Mystery of the Martian Menu" (pencils by Mort Meskin and inks by George Roussos). I'm guessing flame-broiled burgers were not on that menu.
(It's Silver Age humor. Pay it no heed.)
I'll have another Jack Kirby cover for you in my next column, but, after that, I'll be spreading them out a bit as I get back to actually reviewing stuff.
Let's see what else I have for you today.
******
COMICS IN THE COMICS
Tom Wilson's ZIGGY expounds on one of the benefits of working in comics in this panel from March 24:
In the wishful thinking department, one of the teen characters in Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman's ZITS poetically expresses interest in the comics:
The strip ran on March 25.
Finally, the ZIGGY panel for March 28 has a friendly nod to a fellow comics-page icon:
That uses up my supply of COMICS IN THE COMICS, but I'll keep an eye out for new ones.
******
PHANTOM TALK
My recent reviews of Frew PHANTOM comic books brought a bunch of appreciative e-mails, but none were more touching than the note I received via postal mail from JOE ELLISON:
I'd like to thank you for writing about the Phantom in COMICS BUYER'S GUIDE. I'm a long-time fan of the Phantom and was glad to see someone writing about the Frew comics. I've subscribed to them for several years and enjoy the stories and art.
I had a chance to have lunch with Frew publisher Jim Shepherd last year when he was visiting King Features in New York. The Frew comics are a great example of a the small independent guy can make it in comics. Jim does more than publish a comic; he's responsible for keeping an icon alive in his country. The majority of US comic fans have no knowledge of the history/significance of the Phantom overseas. It's one of the longest-running comics in Australia and outsells the Marvel and DC comics there.
It concerns me that the Phantom seems to be fading away in the states. I've written King Features several times to encourage them to promote the character and promote licenses items. It seems King doesn't understand the popularity the character could have with a younger generation. The Phantom Sunday strips have been dropped from several major newspapers due to the increased cost of carrying it. My hope is that people will be exposed to these Sunday strips via the Moonstone reprints and see the quality of the Graham Nolan art and stories. I hope the Phantom does not become a memory like Doc Savage and the Shadow.
I enclose a key chain that features art by the great Sy Barry. He drew it for THE FRIENDS OF THE PHANTOM. We are a small group of fans who collect and try to promote the Phantom.
Thanks for writing about the Phantom. I have always enjoyed your work and believe that you have made a significant contribution to comics.
Ancient jungle saying:
"When columnist is moved by touching gift, common flu ailments disappear."
Thank you so much for the Friends of the Phantom key chain. I'm giving the boot to the Mojo Jojo key chain I had been using for several years.
I love the Phantom and have for years. When I was a kid, we only got the Saturday paper - Dad worked every other day - but the paper carried the Phantom and that's where I first discovered him. I followed his comic-book appearances and, after getting into the industry myself, have come close to writing him on at least three occasions that I can recall. Something always got in the way, but it could still happen someday.
I think part of the reason for the Phantom's decline in the US is that we're not, generally, a culture with a respect for history. I love the adventures of the past Phantoms and, of course, the long tradition of Phantoms over the centuries, but those probably don't play as well as they once did.
I think they could. Buffy the Vampire Slayer had pretty much the same tradition, the same "passing of the torch" as the Phantom family. It was just cast in a more modern form.
If I ever get another opportunity to write the Phantom and it comes at a time when I actually have the time, I would take it into some new directions. There's still too much of the old colonialism in the strip, though Lee Falk made great strides over the decades. He did much the same for Lothar in Mandrake.
I am pleased to see some of the recent changes in the Phantom. He's facing tougher opponents and getting his head busted every now and then. For a while, he was so perfect it seemed as if he never raised a sweat. The Nolan art (Sundays) is lovely and Paul Ryan is doing a great job as well.
I'll continue writing about the Frew Phantoms in TONY'S ONLINE TIPS and other venues open to me. Eventually, when I get my unread comics sorted, I'll review the Moonstone books as well. Because the Phantom's too good and too important a character not to receive more press than he's currently getting.
Thanks again for the gift.
******
TONY'S MAILBOX
I chatted about Dell's ANDY HARDY comic books in February 21's TOT. writing this:
"Presumably based on MGM's long-running movie series starring Mickey Rooney, the comic books don't appear to portray the title character as looking anything like Rooney. There could be a number of good reasons for that, including an inability or unwillingness to shell out for the actor's likeness rights."
Shortly thereafter, I received an e-mail from my long-time pal ANTHONY TOLLIN. He is very good at correcting me when I'm wrong, which is something I value why I have never turned him over to the authorities. He wrote:
Since the ANDY HARDY series of movies were released between 1938-1946 and the comic book was published from 1952 through 1954, I think it's far more likely that the Dell series was tied in with the HARDY FAMILY radio series. The radio series ran 1949-50 in MGM transcribed syndication and from January 3, 1952 through January 1, 1953 over the Mutual network. Mickey Rooney and Lewis Stone starred in the series, reprising their famous screen roles. And if the comics were a radio tie-in, there was less reason to pay for rights to Rooney's likeness, since Mickey was getting a little long in the tooth to play teenagers on screen, and most juvenile radio listeners - the target audience of the comic book - were far too young to have seen the original movies.
When researching 1940-50s popular culture tie-ins, it's really important not to forget radio (and pulps, for that matter). Archie and Jughead were clearly created to capitalize on the popularity of Henry Aldrich and his buddy Homer Brown. Radio was the dominant form of pop culture during the 1940s and early 1950s, even more than Hollywood films.
Characters like Batman, the Phantom and the Green Hornet owe a lot not only to The Shadow but earlier pulp heroes like Johnston McCulley's Zorro and especially Frank Packard's Jimmie Dale, the Gray Seal. The latter character, largely forgotten, had a huge influence on pulp and comic book crimebusters and lives on in every millionaire playboy who befriends the police commissioner, fights crime by donning a mask by night and leaves a seal (ala the Green Hornet and the Phantom) to mark his departure. And the opening and closing of Bill Finger's first Batman story were directly lifted from Packard's first Gray Seal story.
Thanks for the information, Anthony. Although Jimmie Dale is, as you say, largely forgotten, his adventures appear to have fallen into public domain and are available as ebooks. A Google search will lead you to several of these.
In addition, THE GRAY SEAL: THE ADVENTURES OF JIMMIE DALE by Frank L. Packard is available from Wild Cat Books in either print ($14.99) or download ($2.61) format. If any TOT readers want to buy a copy - and with the warning that the cover art for the collection is incredibly bad - you can order it here:
www.lulu.com/content/92805
That wraps up another edition of the online column that rarely sleeps. Thanks for spending part of your day with me.
I'll be back soon with more stuff.
Tony Isabella
<< 04/01/2005 | 04/02/2005 | 04/03/2005 >>
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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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