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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, April 14, 2005
From COMICS BUYER'S GUIDE #1604:
"Friends are people who know the words to the song in your heart, and sing them back to you when you have forgotten them."
- Anonymous
It falls on me to take exception to a statement made by John Jackson Miller, editorial director par excellence who nonetheless couldn't be more wrong were he trying to milk a cow by pulling on its nose. I'm not exactly sure if that's the most apt comparison, but, as dairy jokes usually go over big in Wisconsin, home state of this fine publication, I figured I'd go with it.
Don't get me wrong. I love Miller like some cousin or in-law I see once or twice a year, the one who thinks that Uncle Manny is as big a jerk as I think he is, the one that makes family functions survivable. That one.
Miller is a good editor and writer. His "Longbox Manifesto" essays are always entertaining, informative, and thoughtful...even the one that has me shaking my head today.
I again admonish you not to misunderstand me. Miller's "eBay: Feast Or Famine For Comics Collectors" [CBG #1602; March, 2005] is an excellent report on an experiment he conducted to determine the availability of back issues on eBay. What raised my ire was this aside in his column:
We've also seen a jump just in the last year in listings for comics in eBay's 1970s category. (And that - sorry, eBay - is the only way we'll refer to that grouping. Collectors might all agree on a "Bronze Age" one day, but '70s comics lack the luster the name requires.)
When fans aren't arguing about when the Silver Age started and ended, some turn to the subject of the Bronze Age...and they also argue about when that started and ended. For the purposes of this column, I'll put forth my conjecture that the Bronze Age began when Jack Kirby left Marvel for DC, gained momentum when Stan Lee handed AMAZING SPIDER-MAN and FANTASTIC FOUR to others, and stumbled along for the rest of the decade before changing into something not quite "Bronze" as the direct market expanded.
There are those who share Miller's disdain for the comic books of the 1970s and, to those naysayers, I say:
Great Caesar's Ghost! Look at all the talent that came into its own during the 1970s. Creators like Len Wein, Berni Wrightson, Marv Wolfman, Jim Starlin, Steve Gerber, George Perez, John Byrne, Chris Claremont, Steve Englehart, Frank Miller, Dave Cockrum, Wendy and Richard Pini, Paul Levitz, Dave Sim, Howard Chaykin, and many others. Creators who changed comics forever. Sure, the Bronze Age had its share of bad and perhaps even moronic comics, but it was an wild ride despite those bumps, a decade different enough from what had gone before and what was still to come that it deserves to be considered an "age" unique unto itself.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
******
Rebellion's 2000 AD EXTREME EDITION has proven so popular with readers that the reprint magazine will now be published every eight weeks. I'm not at all surprised. Each oversized issue (9" by 11-3/4") features over a hundred pages of classic material from the UK weekly which launched characters like Judge Dredd and the careers of some of comicdom's best writers and artists. On this side of the ocean, the cover price is an extremely reasonable $5.99.
2000 AD EXTREME EDITION #6 spotlights the weekly's first star, secret agent John Probe, also known as M.A.C.H. 1. Answering the obvious questions:
Dredd didn't make his debut until the second issue.
M.A.C.H. = "Man Activated by Compu-puncture Hyperpower," an acronym which doesn't begin to explain how truly wild and weird and wonderful the strip was. Think the Six-Million-Dollar Man with a mean streak and a prickly computer in his head.
From the start, writer Pat Mills made sure his young readers knew just what was going on. Many of the earliest Probe adventures start with this helpful information:
Data: Compu-puncture is a computerised form of acupuncture. By inserting special electro-needles into Probe's body, his energy flow will increase until he has the strength of fifty men.
This increased energy made Probe a physical superman who could outrun a motorcycle, punch his way through stone walls, and take an incredible amount of punishment. To make sure no overly stimulated readers tried to mimic Probe's feats, many of his adventures ended with this cautionary caption:
Only an idiot would copy a superhuman like MACH 1. Readers of 2000 AD aren't idiots, of course - but don't let your fantastic paper fall into the hands of a "dum-dum!"
Probe's missions are short and brutal. He prevents terrorists from unleashing nerve gas over London, assassinates the dictator of "Irania," rescues assorted scientists and beautiful women, prevents an fanatic American general from starting World War III, and even wins over a Soviet "M.A.C.H. Woman" sent to kill him. Enemy agents and other villains tend not to survive their encounters with Probe, even as he argues his humanity with his computer.
M.A.C.H. 1 is gloriously grim-and-gritty thrills with a chewy center of moral philosophy. 2000 AD EXTREME EDITION #6 earns an energetic four out of five Tonys.
******
Super-hero comics are frequently being written "for the trade paperback" these days. Instead of done-in-one issues, we get story arcs. It's not a trend I'm particularly fond of - we can all point to hopelessly padded arcs - but, much to my surprise, I'm enjoying reading some of my favorite titles as much or more in collections than I do when I read them an issue at a time. Indeed, when I can be reasonably confident that those trades will be forthcoming, I'm dropping the monthlies in favor of the larger format.
ASTONISHING X-MEN is my favorite of the current X-Men titles. Written by BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER creator Joss Whedon and drawn by John Cassaday, it starts many of my favorite X-Men characters, has a strong sense of purposeful continuity, and regularly knocks me over with this or that surprising element. Though I'm switching to the trades on the title, I have to say that few writers know how to end an individual chapter better than Whedon. Each issue ends on a "wow" and almost every one delivers a satisfying payoff to the "wow" in the very next issue.
ASTONISHING X-MEN VOL. 1: GIFTED [Marvel; $14.99] collects the first six issues of the Whedon/Cassaday run. Though I hadn't read many X-Men titles over the previous year, I never felt lost in the story. Natural conversations explained the new relationships and situations sufficiently.
The book opens with the X-Men making yet another new start of it. Cyclops and Emma Frost - her agenda deliciously mysterious - are running Charles Xavier's school and recommitting the X-Men to be not just heroes, but very visible heroes. Complications arise when a new foe makes his appearance and a former colleague of the Beast's announces a cure for the mutant gene. During the course of this book, every lead character and several supporting characters get their time in the spotlight. We - and they - learn something important about them and, for the most part, the revelations feel very right to me. Nick Fury doesn't quite work for me, but, given the uncertain ebb and flow of American government, I can't say his portrayal is at all out of step with reality.
Whedon scores high marks on all of the story elements. I like his characterization, dialogue, pacing, and overall plotting. No player is good or evil simply because their being such is needed to move the story. They are not simple constructs.
Cassaday's visual storytelling is nearly the equal of Whedon's skills. The characters look real and move realistically. He never draws less than the story requires. He's one of the finest artists working the adventure side of the comics street.
Quibbles? Yeah, I do have a few and, if I weren't doing this whole reviewing thing, they'd be too few to mention.
Ord of the Breakworld - the new foe - looks really dumb. He's a scary dude with a better-than-average reason for wanting to bury mutants wholesale, but he looks really dumb.
An X-Men ally shows up in the second chapter, pulls a pretty cool save, and isn't seen again. Did Whedon and Cassaday forget about him?
Mutant students watching their teachers beating the cheese out of each other is exciting and funny the first time we see it in the book and much less exciting and funny the second time. If this is a running gag, it needs to run far, far away.
Overall, though, ASTONISHING X-MEN VOL. 1: GIFTED measured up to my high expectations which naturally came with the creative team of Whedon and Cassaday. It picks up the full five Tonys and leaves me astonishingly eager for its subsequent volumes.
******
Gold Key's few super-heroes never captured my imagination or loyalty the way first DC's and then Marvel's costumed cut-ups did, but, even when I was a kid, I recognized they were quality comics. I didn't buy every issue of Doctor Solar, Magnus Robot Fighter, The Phantom, or Mighty Samson, but I bought a lot of them and I don't recall the decisions being at all difficult. When I had money left after buying my Marvels and DCs, I would buy the latest issues of Solar and the rest. It was that simple.
Decades later, and despite my thinking they were a bit pricey when compared to the thicker DC Archives editions, I still didn't hesitate to get the first Dark Horse Archives editions of DOCTOR SOLAR - MAN OF THE ATOM and RUSS MANNING'S MAGNUS ROBOT FIGHTER ($49.95 each), and, just as in the '60s, these comics are instantly recognizable as quality works. Maybe not as regal or as senses-shattering as the DCs and Marvels of the era, but wonderful comics all the same.
I liked Solar more than Magnus back then. Solar had the cool "atomic scientist fighting spies" riff going for him and Magnus had silly shorts and go-go boots. In his introduction, Mark Evanier compares the early issues of Solar - before the doc traded in his lab coats for super-hero tights - to the TV shows of the day, and, in retrospect, I can see some Quinn-Martin or Warner Bros ambiance in those comics.
Solar got his powers from a bit of atomic pile sabotage and, though he survived, he had to limit his contact with normal folks afterwards. You could tell it bothered him, but he didn't dwell on it. He just threw himself into his work, sometimes, literally, as he could now transform his body into pure energy and do incredible things with it.
Writer Paul S. Newman created sophisticated stories that were also suitable for most ages. There were a few grim deaths here and there, but they were more than offset by the imaginative ways Solar would use his powers. The science may have been shaky on occasion, but Newman always made it believable.
Artists Bob Fujitani and Frank Bolle brought a realistic look to the art, matching the best newspaper strip artists of the day. Even when he had to draw Solar in the red jammies, Bolle still kept it real. Reading the seven issues reprinted in this volume gives me an even greater appreciation for what Newman and these artists were able to accomplish back then.
Manning's Magnus stories have also aged well. His hero has a definite purpose - trying to keep mankind from being too dependent on robots and protecting his fellow humans from the various robot menaces that popped every issue - and has a messianic quality going for him. He clearly has the gorgeous Leeja Crane's heart and trust from the first robot he busts up for her and, by his second issue, he was being invited to council meetings. Not bad for a hero who didn't appear to have a home.
Artist Manning drew all the stories in this collection, wrote a couple of them, and worked with TV screenwriters Robert Schaefer and Eric Freiwald on the rest. Like Solar, these stories could be enjoyed by young and old. Serious philosophical issues were often addressed - never laboriously so - and villainous actions sometimes resulted in injury or death.
With adventures set in the year 4000 A.D., Manning could draw epic battles between man and robot. There are striking images in every one of the seven issues collected here, but, for this reader, the most unforgettable scene occurs during the Manning-written "The Power of the One Thousand."
Telepaths Magnus had freed from a mad robot's diabolical human computer use their power to enable Leeja to send her love and their strength to Magnus, himself now imprisoned a galaxy away. There's a panel of Leeja's thoughts brushing those of a telepathic entity on another world that stopped me dead in my tracks when I saw it in 1964 and had the same effect on me four decades later. That's the standout shot for me, but there are dozens of other panels almost as powerful. Manning was a true genius.
Dark Horse is to be commended for publishing these fantastic collections. The first volumes of DOCTOR SOLAR - MAN OF THE ATOM and RUSS MANNING'S MAGNUS ROBOT FIGHTER earn the full five Tonys. I'm so glad to have them.
******
Next up are two black-and-white crime comics written by pals of mine, which doesn't guarantee them good reviews anymore than it guarantees they'll still be speaking to me after reading my reviews of their work. I knew the job was dangerous...
GRAVEDIGGER: THE SCAVENGERS #1 [Rorschach; $3.50] is the first print publication of a story that originally appeared as an online weekly. Written by Christopher Mills and drawn by Rick Burchett, the done-in-one comic introduces professional thief "Digger," just out of prison and teaming with other hardened criminals for a heist which will reward him with a comfortable retirement.
Mills is an underappreciated writer. He has solid skills and uses them to good effect here. Digger and the other characters are well-realized, even those destined to play but minor roles in the caper. The pacing is solid, the writing appropriately hard-boiled. He threw some good curves, too; I saw one of them coming only to be fooled by the second. Solid.
Artist Burchett is a consummate storyteller as well. All the visual elements - character designs, panel and page construction, backgrounds - are in service of the story. That he draws so well adds to the quality of the presentation.
GRAVEDIGGER: THE SCAVENGERS #1 picks up four Tonys.
******
TEMPLE & NASH: THE COCKROACH CONSPIRACY [League; $1.25] is the first in a series by writer Ron Fortier and artist Johnny Atomic. Fortier shares with me a love of cop dramas - 87th Precinct, Law & Order - and I'm delighted to see him exploring the genre in comics form. This black-and-white comic weighs in at 20 pages with 16 of those pages devoted to the story.
Detective Vincent Nash teams with Officer Nora Temple to catch a serial killer of prostitutes. Nash is a cynical veteran; Temple is eager to make detective. Their debut is interesting, but I hope future issues will allow for some fleshing out of their characters. They don't quite come to life in this one.
THE COCKROACH CONSPIRACY is a done-in-one story, which works against it. Like the TV shows which wrap up a case in an hour less commercials, there aren't many layers or much detail to this tale. As a result, the killer's motivation doesn't ring as true as I'd like. Fortier could have done so much more with just another eight pages or so.
The art is interesting, sometimes very striking and sometimes stiff. When Atomic draws a full figure, his people look stunted. I don't dislike his art, but I think he needs to work on elements of it. He's definitely worth watching.
The thin characterization and plot cost TEMPLE & NASH points, but the low cover price makes the comic an attractive purchase. I give this one a respectable three Tonys.
Fans can buy a copy of this issue by going to:
www.comixpress.com
******
Those crime comics resemble bright balloons and cute puppies compared to PERVERSO [Alternative Comics; $4.95], a mature readers comic so dark I hesitated to review it here. The deciding factor was Rich Tommaso; his work here is too good to ignore.
Roy is a middle-aged photographer who makes a living shooting nude women for sexually explicit magazines. His marriage is over, his life pathetic, and he's about to quit his job rather than shoot a model who looks like she's only ten years old. His life takes a number of surprising turns after he meets her.
No one - least of all your trusty reviewer here - is kidding about the "mature readers" label. This is not a comic book for the queasy. I'm not sure it's for me. But Tommaso's story, dark as it is, is so absorbing and so well-told that I think it deserves to be reviewed. I give it four Tonys.
******
ADDENDUM
The above column originally appeared - in edited form - in CBG #1604 [May, 2005]. Consider this a director's cut...in which I've restored my opening remarks on the "Bronze Age" of comics.
John Jackson Miller phoned me after reading this column to see if I'd be okay with his removing those remarks. If they appeared, he thought, he'd have to respond to them and that would eat up his column for a month. But, geez, how many words would he have needed just to admit I was absolutely right?
Seriously, given my obvious disagreement with his comment and the ages-old debate over the ages of comics, Miller thought that it would be fun and interesting if the two of us - along with fellow editors Maggie Thompson and Brent Frankenhoff, and columnists Craig "Mr. Silver Age" Shutt, and Andrew "Captain Comics" Smith - had a round-robin conversation on the subject. Since I can occasionally play well with others, I consented.
That round-robin conversation is currently scheduled to run in CBG #1606 [July, 2005]. After the feature appears, I'll rewrite my contributions to it into a stand-alone column and share them with the loyal legions of TOT readers.
******
In the meantime, CBG #1605 has arrived in my mailbox, so it'll be showing up any day now at the better comics shops and bookstores throughout this great world of ours. The issue features a "Tony's Tips" column on 100 things I love about comics, a few other reviews by me, and the first installment of a "Tony's Back Page" series on rejection. Plus the usual goodness from CBG's other contributors. You should check it out; I know I'm looking forward to reading *my* copy from cover and cover.
******
ONE MORE THING
I'm tired of and angry about the casual use of the phrase "gay agenda" in American society. Even though it is sometimes used in an innocent if thoughtless manner, such as by the CBG letter-writer who praised Howard Cruse's STUCK RUBBER BABY in issue #1604, it is and remains a buzz-phrase for bigots.
If there is any gay agenda, it's the same "agenda" embraced by most human beings: equal rights for all people.
CBG has come quite a long way since, in a misguided attempt to be "fair," it ran hate-speech by a particularly virulent homophobe in its letter columns. I don't necessarily think CBG should have edited/rewritten the "gay agenda" phrase from the letter mentioned above, but, I think I would have. Dressing up intolerance doesn't make it any less intolerance.
I stress I'm not attributing any malice to the writer of this letter. Who among us has a perfect score when it comes to choosing our words wisely all of the time? But the phrase's use within the writer's praise for Cruse's work tripped my switch. I had to write about it somewhere.
Obviously, "bigot" is not a term of endearment. However, just so you know, I use it very deliberately.
It's an ugly word, but it accurately describe those who oppose equal rights. They can dress up their intolerance in their Sunday best. They can selectively apply "family values" and "morality" to actions and attitudes that are neither. I see through their finery and deceit. But, while I deplore the hardness of their hearts and minds, I also know their views will inevitably be relegated to the dustbin of history.
The fight for equality is rarely easy, but it's always a fight worth fighting.
Thanks for spending a part of your day with me. I'll be back soon with more stuff.
Tony Isabella
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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:
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