I don't believe I've ever read any of the Annie Oakley stories published by Marvel Comics in 1948 or 1955/1956, but I'd plunk down my dinero for an ESSENTIAL ANNIE OAKLEY collection in a Wild West minute. The covers I've seen from this 11-issue series - such as the pictured Joe Maneely one for ANNIE OAKLEY #5 [June, 1955] - say "fun" to me. It's true, comic books speak to me. What's scary is that I also speak to them.
ANNIE OAKLEY had two runs at Marvel. There were four issues published in 1948. The next issue didn't appear until 1955 and was the first of seven issues with the last one cover-dated June, 1956. I suspect none of these comics dipped too deeply into Oakley's real life. Their inspiration was more likely the romanticized character of ANNIE, GET YOUR GUN, the Broadway musical which opened in 1946, followed by the 1950 movie of the musical, and the TV series which aired from 1954 to 1957.
Neither ATLAS TALES [www.atlastales.com] or THE GRAND COMICS DATABASE [www.comics.org] list credits for the 1948 run, but Ross Andru and Mike Esposito were the artists on the sexy sharpshooter's later adventures. They even drew one heck of a cover during this second run:
With its smiling heroine, rearing stallion, and bright yellow background, ANNIE OAKLEY #6 [August, 1955] must have caught many an eye during its time on the newsstand. In that issue, Annie starred in three stories: "Bushwhack at Bull's-Eye Ranch," "Grizzly Giant of Vista Valley," and "Skillets and Six-Guns." It should be noted that ATLAS TALES identifies John Romita as the artist of the third story while the GCD says it's Andru and Esposito.
THE OFFICIAL OVERSTREET COMIC BOOK PRICE GUIDE opines that the ANNIE OAKLEY issues shown above would sell for $175 and #135 in the hard-to-find near-mint condition. I couldn't find any current or recently-completed eBay auctions for any of the Marvel ANNIE OAKLEY comics, but there were many issues of Dell's contemporaneous ANNIE OAKLEY AND TAGG - based on the TV show - up for grabs. Judging from this apparent scarcity, I feel I should forego my traditional mocking of Overstreet's pricing.
Since I can't find these comics and couldn't afford them if I did find them, I guess I'll just have to wait for Marvel to publish that ESSENTIAL ANNIE OAKLEY collection.
Sigh.
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COMICS BY TONY
Two more of my Gemstone Comics rewrites are now available for ordering in Diamond's PREVIEWS for June. My role on these stories is best described as that of a script doctor. I am given English-language translations of foreign stories starring Donald Duck and other Disney characters. Working with the existing art, captions, and word balloons, I try to make the stories more entertaining for their new readers, adding gags and character bits where possible, and rewriting dialogue to make it "sound" more American. The work is both challenging and fun.
DONALD DUCK AND FRIENDS #331 [$2.95] has "You Can Run, But You Can't Hide," a Donald versus the Nephews story originally written by Gail Renard with art by Gattino.
UNCLE SCROOGE #345 [$6.95] has "Lost and Found," starring Gyro Gearloose and Uncle Scrooge. This inventive episode was originally written by Paul Halas with art by Colomer.
Gemstone editors John Clark and Sue Kolberg have been terrific to work with. I hope you'll check out these issues as well as the other fine comics which come from their office.
Some more reprints of my 1970s Marvel Comics writing are also in the pipeline. I'll have information on those for you as soon as possible.
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COMICS IN THE COMICS
During our recent hiatus, I put away a good supply of those self-referential comic strips and panels I love so much. If your newspaper funnies guest star characters from comic books or other strips, or if they break the fourth wall to comment on the art of comics, I collect them to share with you here.
First up is DENNIS THE MENACE from May 16:
DENNIS was created by Hank Ketcham, launching in 1950 to great acclaim and success (comic books, merchandise, cartoons, a TV show, and a movie). Ketchum retired in 1994, but continued supervising the work of assistants Ron Ferdinand and Marcus Hamilton until his death in 2001. They did the above panel.
This fall, Fantagraphics will publish HANK KETCHAM'S COMPLETE DENNIS THE MENACE 1951-1952 [$24.95], a 624-page collection of the feature's first two years. Also on the Fantagraphics schedule is a new edition of THE MERCHANT OF DENNIS THE MENACE by Hank Ketchum [$19.95]; it's a 256-page illustrated memoir and scrapbook that was originally published by Abbeville Press.
And it's not too early to start bombarding those fine folks at Fantagraphics with requests for reprints of those great DENNIS THE MENACE comic books of the 1960s. They would look great on a comics rack next to ARCHIE, LOONEY TUNES, UNCLE SCROOGE, and other child-friendly entertainment.
Other comics characters are reading comics, too. Check out HI AND LOIS for May 20:
HI AND LOIS was created by Mort Walker and Dik Browne and is now being produced by their sons: writers Brian and Greg Walker and artist Chance Browne. All three are carrying on another tradition as well. Between them, they have eight children, new inspirations for one of the most popular strips of all time.
The cartoonists got their chance to outshine their creations at this year's NATIONAL CARTOONIST SOCIETY REUBEN AWARDS WEEKEND, depicted by Greg Evans in his LUANN strip for May 29.
Mark Evanier gives his first-hand report of the festivities at his always-worth-reading NEWS FROM ME blog:
If you're not reading Spurgeon on a daily basis, then you're missing the best comics coverage online.
Congratulations to all the Reuben winners and nominees. Look for more COMICS IN THE COMICS in upcoming columns.
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TONY POLLS
Four new TONY POLLS questions were posted yesterday and, as I bet you could guess from the above classic comic-book cover, they all involve vacations:
If you could go on vacation to these comics-related places or events, which one would you choose?
If you could go on vacation to these DC Universe places, which would one you choose?
If you could go on vacation to these Marvel Universe places, which one would you choose?
If you could go on vacation to these comic book or comic strip places, which one would you choose?
Each question gives 19 choices and an "other" write-in option. However, if you choose "other," you'll need to e-mail your choice to me at:
These poll questions will remain active until sometime after midnight next Monday and will be replaced by new questions sometime on Tuesday. To cast your votes, go here:
More than half of the voters thought it was good or better, so that should please DC. The new logo doesn't do much for me, so I graded it at FAIR. Especially after someone - and I apologize for not recalling who - described it as looking like the logo for some cleaning or kitchen product.
It's movie-time! How would you rate your expectations for BATMAN BEGINS?
Extremely high.....16.46%
High.....40.24%
Middle of the road.....29.27%
So-so.....7,32%
Low.....5.49%
Extremely low.....1.22%
I rated my expectations at HIGH, which surprised me, given how many times viewers have been burned by comics movies and TV shows. Look for a review after the movie hits the theaters.
Rate your expectations for FANTASTIC FOUR.
Extremely high.....1.85%
High.....19.14%
Middle of the road.....29.63%
So-so.....22.22%
Low.....17.28%
Extremely low.....9.88
I'm MIDDLE OF THE ROAD on this one. It's gonna be difficult for the actors to get these characters right, even if the story and special effects are...fantastic.
Rate your expectations for SUPERMAN RETURNS.
Extremely high.....5.59%
High.....18.01%
Middle of the road.....36.02%
So-so.....21.12%
Low.....17.39%
Extremely low.....1.86%
Right now, I'm SO-SO on this movie. There are so many wrong turns it could take. I'd be delighted to discover my pessimism is unfounded.
Rate your expectations for V FOR VENDETTA.
Extremely high.....7.95%
High.....23.18%
Middle of the road.....24.50%
So-so.....20.53%
Low.....13.25%
Extremely low.....10.60%
Are over 30% of you on crack? The more I learned about this movie's inane deviations from its source material, the lower went my expectations...all the way to EXTREMELY LOW. Perhaps this film might have merits of its own, but as a cinematic adaptation of the Alan Moore/David Lloyd series, forget about it.
That's all for today. Thanks for dropping by and visiting for a spell. I'll be back soon with more stuff.
I review The Amazing Adventures of Nate Banks #1: Secret Identity Crisis, Secret Identity Crisis: Comic Books and the Unmasking of Cold War America and The Walking Dead Volume 2: Miles Behind Us.
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:
Anything Goes Trivia
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