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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 Monday, April 18, 2005
When I spotted this seriously creepy Bill Everett cover from JOURNEY INTO UNKNOWN WORLDS #13 [Atlas; October, 1952], I thought to myself "Now *that's* a perfect image for a Monday morning!" I scare myself sometimes.
The cover and content information for this issue comes from Greg Gatlin's amazing ATLAS TALES [www.atlastales.com] website, one of my favorite stops on the Internet.
The contents:
"Witch Woman" [7 pages, possibly drawn by Carmine Infantino];
"The Thread" [2 pages, text story];
"The Thing in the Graveyard" [5 pages, drawn by Jack Keller];
"It Waits in the Box" [6 pages, drawn by Manny Stallman]; and,
"The Bookworms" [6 pages, written by Hank Chapman, drawn by Ed Robbins].
My spanking new edition of THE OFFICIAL OVERSTREET COMIC BOOK PRICE GUIDE opines that a near-mint condition copy of this issue is worth $400. Last year's edition of THE STANDARD CATALOG OF COMIC BOOKS pegs it at $260.
There were no recently completed sales of the ish on eBay, but a fair copy of JOURNEY INTO UNKNOWN WORLDS #14 sold for $28 on five bids. A very good condition copy of the same issue with a starting bid of $94.95 failed no attract any bidders.
Let's see what else I have for you today.
******
BEST OF STAR-STUDDED COMICS
Bill Schelly has become our foremost comics fandom historian. In his THE BEST OF STAR-STUDDED COMICS [Hamster Press; $25], he has collected "the best complete comics from the classic fanzine and more," surrounding them with historical research and keen insights on the comics and their creators.
The comics are largely as unpolished as you would expect from material created by amateurs and sometimes drawn on ditto masters. Schelly treats the material with perhaps greater reverence than a dispassionate considering of it warrants, but there is no denying the moments of genius to be found herein.
"The Liberty Legion" is as hackneyed a super-hero team story as I've ever seen, but one of its members - Doctor Weird - has an intriguing origin. A time traveler who died before he was born, he somehow received amazing supernatural powers which he uses to fight evil until his pseudo-life catches up with the moment of his birth. How much could one of our better comics writers of the present do with a super-hero who absolutely knows when he will cease to exist? I love that concept.
Biljo White's art channels the embryonic original comic books of the 1940s, but his core concepts were quite good. The Eye is a crime-fighter who poses as a professional assassin. The Blade is an amnesiac, horribly disfigured hero who battles jungle villains. The Lion is a hero whose career begins with a publicity stunt that goes awry. Each shows considerable potential.
That's the pattern for the comics presented here. Some good art (Landon Chesney, White, George Metzger, Sam Granger, Ronn Foss, and Alan Hanley), some entertaining stories (mostly the White and Hanley stories), and some historically important work by creators who went on to work in the comics industry, such as Roy Thomas, Jim Starlin, and Alan Weiss.
For his part, Schelly tells the story behind the stories and presents the history of STAR-STUDDED COMICS. His enthusiasm equals that of the fan creators of the past and so colors his judgment in extolling their virtues, but he once again adds to our knowledge of comics fandom and, indeed, comics history. That dedication and the overall quality of this book's presentation earns him and THE BEST OF STAR-STUDDED COMICS four out of five Tonys.
If your local retailer doesn't carry this book, you can order it and similar volumes at Schelly's website:
www.billschelly.com
The site also has a helpful FAQ on comics fandom, cool photos of Schelly with comics and comics fandom legends, and a selection of spiffy artwork. Definitely worth a visit.
******
LIONS, TIGERS, AND BEARS
The monsters in Joey's closet are real. It's bad enough that his mom's new job meant they had to move away from his friends and his grandma and his treehouse and everything else that said "home" to him. The monsters are real and they're coming for him and his only defense is The Night Pride, a set of stuffed animals given to him by his grandma. Fortunately, his guardians are as real as the monsters in his closet.
LIONS, TIGERS, AND BEARS #1 [Image; $2.95] kicks off a story that is, by turns, heartbreaking, heartwarming, and pseudo-scary. I don't know if it was eligible for the current Eisner Award in the category of best publication for a younger audience - it carries a January, 2005 date - but if it was, its absence from the ballot is a shame. If it isn't eligible until next year, let be me among the first to say it deserves nomination.
Creator and writer Mike Bullock does an excellent job getting us into Joey's emotional state. We get his sadness at leaving his home, his love for his grandma, and the fears of a boy in a strange new place. Bullock packs a lot into this first 22-page chapter and still left me wanting more.
Artist Jack Lawrence is nothing short of terrific; his work is downright ebullient. There is no credit for colorist, so, for the moment, I'll assume Lawrence did that as well. It's also terrific; bright where it should be, shadowy where it should be, and always in service of the story.
LIONS, TIGERS, AND BEARS is a comic book you're going to tell your friends about. It gets the full five Tonys.
******
TWO BITS
Both of the series previewed in TWO BITS #1 [Image; 25 cents] are inspired by the imagination of children. In "The Imaginaries," creator/artist Mike S. Millar and writer Ben Avery (with co-artist Greg Titus) ask what happens to imaginary friends when the children no longer believe in them. In the more grim "Lullaby," Alice - of Wonderland fame - is now the strong right battle-arm of the Queen of Hearts. This second series is by creator/artist Hector Sevilla and writers Millar and Avery.
The twelve pages of "The Imaginaries" just begin to set up the premise of the series. It's not quite enough to entice me to read the comic, but it has the saving grace of a funny bit involving the strip's super-hero gaining entrance to the "Imagined Kingdom." I wasn't sold on the writing or art, but some character sketches did catch my interest. This one's a coin toss.
"Lullaby" started slow, but had a great "Wow!" moment with the reveal of Alice's new role and a further intriguing moment when we learn what drives her to perform so well in that role. I'll likely read this comic when it comes my way.
Both strips would benefit from color. I fear the lack of it will limit their appeal in the current market.
As a sales tool, TWO BITS is a great concept at a great price. Based on that and the material this first issue presents, I give it four out of five Tonys.
******
COMICS IN THE COMICS
MISTER BOFFO creator Joe Martin is recognized as "the world's most prolific comic strip artist" by the Guinness Book of World Records, which isn't surprising given he currently produces three daily comic strips and a daily comics panel. Our pal Don Hilliard tipped me off to the above strip from April 14 and the below strip from April 10. Thanks, Don!
If you'd like to learn more about Martin and his comic strips, head over to his home page at:
www.mrboffo.com
Look for more comics in the comics in future TOTs...and don't be shy about sending me the ones you spot.
******
LET'S GO SURFING
This feature is going on a brief hiatus from April 21-25 and, ridden with guilt over abandoning you this way, I feel compelled to recommend other destinations for your web-surfing entertainment and edification.
Tom Spurgeon's THE COMICS REPORTER has "comics news, reviews, interviews, and commentary." He covers both the national and the international comics scenes better than anyone I can think of. He may be the best reporter in comicdom. Visit him at:
www.comicsreporter.com
John Lustig's magnificently mad LAST KISS comic strip can be found every Saturday right here at World Famous Comics:
www.worldfamouscomics.com/lastkiss
The origin of this strip goes like this:
In 1987, Lustig bought the rights to the 40-issue FIRST KISS comic book series from the going-out-of-business Charlton Comics. He got 40 issues of sometimes good and mostly mediocre art, stories that only occasionally made any sense, and an inspiration to remake them in his own twisted image. The result is one of the funniest strips in comicdom. It can be found in COMICS BUYER'S GUIDE, in his LAST KISS comic books, at World Famous Comics, and also at his own website:
www.lastkisscomics.com
Wherever you find it, it will make you laugh.
My final recommendation of the day is DWAYNE McDUFFIE's Delphi Forum. I'm gonna outright steal his opening remarks to give you an idea of how cool his forum is:
This is the official discussion group of Dwayne McDuffie, co-creator of the Emmy award and Humanitas Prize-winning cartoon, STATIC SHOCK and co-owner of Milestone Media, Inc., the most successful black-owned comic book company in history. I've been a writer and/or editor for Marvel Comics, Milestone Media, DC Comics, Harvey Comics, Archie Comics, Valiant/Acclaim Comics and several other companies I've either forgotten about, or am ashamed to admit to. In addition to the comic books I write on those increasingly rare occasions when I can score an assignment, I'm a script editor on STATIC SHOCK! (the KIDS WB! animated series based on my comic book, STATIC) and am a producer on the Cartoon Network animated series, JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED. In addition to episodes of those shows, I've also written for JUSTICE LEAGUE, WHAT'S NEW SCOOBY DOO? and TEEN TITANS. Upcoming comics work includes the all-new THE ROAD TO HELL graphic novel (with co-writer and creator Matt S. Wayne and artist Rick Parker).
Any and all of that stuff is on topic here as are pop culture, politics, news, creative issues and general bulls****ing. In fact, we've yet to discover *anything* that isn't on topic here. See if you can stump us.
I'm a daily visitor to Dwayne's forum, though I don't post as often as I'd like. Check it out at:
forums.delphiforums.com/Milestone
I'll have more of these online recommendations for you in the next edition of TOT.
******
TONY POLLS
Today is your last day to cast your votes on our current STAR TREK-oriented questions. We're asking how long you think Paramount should wait before launching a new Trek series, who should helm a new series, and what concept would you like to see used in the new series. These questions will come down sometime after midnight, so engage the warp engines and set a course for:
www.worldfamouscomics.com/tony/poll
Will there be new poll questions posted on Tuesday? Truth be told, I haven't decided yet. But, if there are, I'll tell you all about them in the next TONY'S ONLINE TIPS.
Thanks for spending a part of your day with me. I'll be back soon with more stuff.
Tony Isabella
<< 04/17/2005 | 04/18/2005 | 04/19/2005 >>
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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