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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, May 13, 2005
SECRETS OF THE UNKNOWN #222 is yet another Alan Class reprint comic from my small-but-cherished collection of issues published by that British entrepreneur. As you may recall, I am fascinated by these 52-page black-and-white comics, which measured 9-1/8 by 7-1/4 inches and which reprinted stories from several American publishers (Marvel, Charlton, ACG, Tower, etc.) and genres. Their main focus was on fantasy, sci-fi, and super-heroes, but they also did crime, war, western, and more. Among their most entertaining peculiarities was that stories from different American publishers would appear together in some issues.
That's not the case with this issue. It's all prime monster, mystery, and sci-fi from 1959 and 1960 issues of Marvel's TALES TO ASTONISH and TALES OF SUSPENSE. These stories were far superior to their counterparts elsewhere in the American comics industry. Even before the coming of the Marvel super-heroes, there was more snap to the writing than could be found in the likes of HOUSE OF MYSTERY or UNKNOWN WORLDS. Credit editor/writer Stan Lee for that, though I can't positively identify who wrote these particular thrillers. Larry Lieber, Stan's kid brother and an greatly underrated writer, likely wrote or scripted many of them.
The cover is from TALES TO ASTONISH #4 [July, 1959]. It was pencilled by Jack Kirby and inked by Christopher Rule. Here are the contents with art credits and page counts...
From TTA #4:
"I Was a Prisoner of the Martians" (Joe Sinnott; 5 pages)
"The Man Who Floats in Space" (Steve Ditko; 5 pages)
From TTA #7 [January, 1960]:
"We Met in the Swamp" (Kirby/Ditko; 5 pages)
From TALES OF SUSPENSE #1 [January, 1959]:
"Prisoners of the Satellites" (Ditko; 5 pages)
From TTA #13 [November, 1960]:
"My Friend Is...Not Quite Human" (Ditko; 5 pages)
"I Found the Abominable Snowman!" (Kirby/Ditko; 6 pages)
"I Found the Hidden World" (Don Heck; 5 pages)
From TTA #14 [December, 1960]:
"Behold! I am the Master of Time!" (Ditko; 5 pages)
From TTA #5 [September, 1959]:
"I Am the Menace From Outer Space" (Sinnott; 5 pages)
Rounding out the issue, we have "Masquerade", a two-page text story from JOURNEY INTO UNKNOWN WORLDS #38 [October, 1955] and most likely several other Atlas/Marvel comics. Readers tended to skip the prose tales and probably didn't even notice that the same ones would run again and again.
SPOILERS AHEAD
The cover story is a Lee/Lieber speciality. An arrogant and demanding movie director gets kidnapped by aliens while filming a sci-fi movie. His only possible rescuers are the very people he's treated so badly. The tale ends with him wondering if they will be far more kind to him than he ever was to them.
The Ditko art is some of his best: space pirates, space cops, weird science, sorcery, and time travel. He was also well-chosen to ink the two Kirby-pencilled stories.
"We Met In the Swamp" has alien creatures who look a bit like the Toad Men who the Hulk would battle during his short-lived first series. The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide claims these aliens are prototypes of the Hulk villains, but, given such determinations are generally made by dealers looking to increase the value of the books they own, the buyer should most definitely beware.
"I Found the Abominable Snowman" is one of many Atlas/Marvel stories revealing the "truth" about those legendary creatures. I think it would be a hoot to collect all of these disparate versions into a trade paperback aimed at young readers. Add an introduction giving an overview of the legend and supposed sightings through the ages and you'd have a fun book for readers of all ages.
SECRETS OF THE UNKNOWN lasted 249 issues from October, 1962, to March, 1989. As there's no cover date on this issue, I can only guess it came out in the mid-to-late 1980s.
Look for more Alan Class coverage in future TOTs, the better to declare my reckless purchases of these reprints as a legitimate business expense.
Let's see what else I have for you today.
******
COMICS IN THE COMICS
Comics about comics. I love them. I squeal with delight when I find them. I try to share my joy with you.
First up is cartoonist Wiley Miller's NON SEQUITUR comic strip for April 22:
Speaking of Bil Keane, here's his FAMILY CIRCUS circle/panel from April 27:
My initial thought was that Billy had a pretty valuable comic book there, but then I did some checking. Dell published 67 issues of HENRY from October, 1946, to April/June, 1961. Overstreet pegs a good condition copy of any of the last forty issues at just two or three bucks, about the cost of a current comic book.
HENRY is one of those comic strip characters who seems to have been around forever. Created by Carl Anderson, Henry debuted in a single panel cartoon in a 1932 issue of THE SATURDAY EVENING POST. From there, the character branched out into comic strips and comic books. For more information:
http://www.toonopedia.com/henry.htm
One more for today. This is Tom Wilson's "Sweeps Week" ZIGGY panel for April 28:
More COMICS IN THE COMICS to come. I think I still have close to a dozen of them in my files.
******
MEMORABLE MOVIE QUOTES
THE AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE is asking questions...again. On Tuesday, June 21, CBS will broadcast 100 YEARS...100 MOVIE QUOTES: AMERICA'S GREATEST QUIPS, COMEBACKS AND CATCHPHRASES. To compile the quotes, the Institute "distributed a ballot with 400 nominated quotes to a jury of over 1,500 leaders from the creative community, including film artists (directors, screenwriters, actors, editors, cinematographers), critics and historians."
The AFI defines a movie quote as "a statement, phrase or brief exchange of dialogue spoken in an American film. Lyrics from songs are not eligible." The criteria for selection are CULTURAL IMPACT (quotes viewers use in their own lives and situations; circulating through popular culture, they become part of the national lexicon) and LEGACY (quotes viewers use to evoke the memory of a treasured film, ensuring and enlivening its historical legacy).
Akron Beacon-Journal movie writer GEORGE M. THOMAS asked ABJ readers to pick their greatest movie quote, explain why the quote is memorable for them, and, just for kicks, to include the line or quote they found most annoying or cliched.
Here's how I responded:
Memorable movie quote?
It has to be Police Chief Martin Brody's "You're gonna need a bigger boat" from JAWS. It's the perfect response when faced with a situation more challenging than anticipated.
I've used this line dozens of times, as have my teen children. I've heard other people use it as well. It's become part of our national speech pattern.
Most annoying or cliched?
I'm not sure if it was ever actually spoken during a film, but I'd vote for "This time--it's personal!" How can a viewer be truly involved with a film's protagonist if it's NOT personal?! And, if it isn't personal, why should we care enough about the characters or their situations to continue watching the movie?
If you'd like to see the AFI's list of nominated quotes, head over to the Institute's website at:
http://www.afi.com/tvevents/100years/quotes.aspx
My choice made the list. How about yours?
******
TONY'S MAILBOX
Digging deep into my e-mailbox, I find this August, 2004 note from Andrew J. Breitenbach:
Thank you for recommending CHEEKY ANGEL! I bought it over the weekend at ye locale comicks shoppe and just about died laughing by the time I was through reading. It had this intriguingly queasy component to it, which made it a...unique...reading experience for me. Among other things, that Megumi keeps getting derided by Miki who tells her performing certain acts - such as that novel notion of defending oneself against sexual predators - is distinctly un- girl-like and therefore a Very Bad Thing.
This is the first "real" manga I've ever bought (as opposed to American comics published in the manga format, such as the first trade paperback reprint of Michael Chabon's ESCAPIST), and, because of it, I plan to buy more. Thank you sooooo much!
Also...
I recently read your SHADOW WAR OF HAWKMAN mini-series, which I enjoyed enormously! Was that plot/direction abandoned because of CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS? Or *was* it abandoned? Did you write any more HAWKMANs after that mini-series? In any event, THANK YOU for such knockout work!
I'm delighted you enjoyed CHEEKY ANGEL. I'm currently reading the sixth volume in the series and it's still topping my list of my manga favorites.
As for my Hawkman work...
Following THE SHADOW WAR OF HAWKMAN, which sold very well, I continued my story in HAWKMAN SPECIAL #1, DC COMICS PRESENTS #95, and the first several issues of an ongoing HAWKMAN book. I managed to miss the CRISIS confusion by virtue of the mini-series and the special coming before that event...and my other issues coming out after it. That was a bullet well dodged.
Sadly, the bullet I couldn't dodge were the serious creative differences which arose after Alan Gold, my original Hawk-editor, left DC Comics. I had envisioned and gotten approval for carrying the Earth-Thanagar conflict to an epic war that would have involved - though not to the extent of CRISIS - the other DCU super-heroes. Eventually, with the war on Earth won, Hawkman and Hawkwoman would have taken the fight to Thanagar.
Space doesn't permit me to go into everything I'd planned for this multi-year series, but I will say that every year of the book would have been different than the one before and there would have been surprises and thrills a'plenty. Then the new editor decided I should wrap everything up in two issues. I tried to figure out how to do it, couldn't come up with anything worth doing, and quit the assignment. Sales dropped after my departure and the book was canceled within months.
The Earth-Thanagar war ended with a deus ex machina button on a Thanagarian ship. When pressed, it sent the Thanagarian invasion fleet into Space Limbo or some such. No matter how hard I might have tried, I don't think I could have come up with a dumber ending than that one. I don't fault the very talented creator who wrote that concluding chapter - he had his orders and one issue to polish off a story originally intended to run much longer - but what was published was a joke.
After that, I watched many of the ideas I had come up with for my extended HAWKMAN run form the basis for company-wide crossovers and bits of smaller stories in individual DC comics. With nary an acknowledgment or payment to me.
When DC next launched a HAWKMAN series, the decision was made to start anew...as if the Silver Age Hawkman introduced by editor Julius Schwartz, writer Gardner F. Fox, and artists Joe Kubert and Murphy Anderson had never existed in the DC continuity. There were some incredibly talented people working on this reboot, but it just never felt like the "real" Hawkman to me.
Hmm...that was far more long-winded than I intended. Where's an editor when you actually need one?
Thanks to all for spending part of your day with me. I'll be back tomorrow 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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Medina, OH 44256
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