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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, June 3, 2005
The moppets of Casa Isabella are participating in sports like nobody's business and that's why you're getting comic-book covers instead of a full-scale column today.
Eddie is playing recreation league baseball, as he has since elementary school. He's in the senior league (ages 15-18) of the Medina Youth Baseball Association. His team is the Indians and is sponsored by the Visage Surgery Center.
Eddie generally plays the infield (second base) and outfield (all fields), but, this year, he'll also see service as a closing pitcher. A southpaw, he's got a sweet sidearm delivery that keeps the batters guessing. His first game is tonight.
Kelly is playing two sports this summer. As she has for five years now, she's on a travel softball team which plays teams from surrounding communities. Her team has been playing for a few weeks now and, sad to say, they are struggling.
Kelly has been tremendous in the field and is starting to hit as well, but there just aren't enough quality players for the two travel teams our hometown is maintaining. I applaud the league and the coaches for their roles in letting as many girls experience travel ball as possible, but these teams will be at a disadvantage when playing more elite opponents.
Kelly is also playing in a summer basketball league. This is a somewhat casual league made up of girls aged 12-14. Her team had their first game Wednesday night, playing against a team of giants. Four of the girls on the opposing team were a full head taller than our tallest girl, but, even so, the team's best player was a raven-haired dynamo no taller than my Kelly. Our girls lost, but it was an exciting and competitive game.
This week, all this sports activity adds up to games every day from Tuesday through Saturday. Next week, I think we'll have games Monday through Saturday. I might as well sign over my paychecks to the gas station.
I'll try to keep the sports-related column interruptions to a minimum, but, hey, my kids come first.
Our lead cover is ALL-TIME SPORTS COMICS #5, published in 1948 by Hillman. I pity that poor batter, but at least the cover artist didn't have to draw any faces.
BABE RUTH SPORTS COMICS #1 was published by Harvey Comics in 1949. One wonders if the three witches who were the guardians of Wendy the Good Little Witch had anything to do with the recently-lifted curse of the Bambino...or that Ruth only had a head shot on the cover of the first issue of his own comic.
SPORTS ACTION [June, 1950] is one of a handful of sports comic books published by Atlas/Marvel. The cover is by Joe Maneely, the artist who could draw anything and draw it incredibly well. Here Maneely portrays "Hack" Wilson, whose baseball career ended a mere four years after he set a record for most runs batted in, the sad result of the slugger's excessive drinking.
From 1951 and Ziff-Davis, here's BILL STERN'S SPORTS BOOK #10, which was actually the first issue of the title. According to the cover, Stern was America's leading sportscaster and that's pretty much on the money for the era. Among other accomplishments, Stern hosted the first sports talk show. The cover painting is by Ogden Whitney, most remembered as the artist of HERBIE, the fat fury who starred in his own comic book in the 1960s.
I don't know if Stern was actually the editor of this comic book, but the GRAND COMICS DATABASE [www.comics.org] credits him as the writer of "My Greatest Sports Thrill." Stern's choice was the June 28, 1939 boxing match between champ Joe Louis and challenger "Two-Ton" Tony Galento. Louis was knocked down in the third round, but came back to knock out Galento in the fourth.
Outside of Charlton's hot rod and racing titles, sports comics were largely gone from newsstands by the 1960s. Perhaps inspired by the success of its car comics, Charlton published ALL-AMERICAN SPORTS #1 in 1967. Despite a swell cover by Tony Tallerico, there was never a second issue.
DC took three swings at sports comics in the 1960s and 1970s. THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #45-49 were tryout issues for STRANGE SPORTS STORIES. Edited by Julius Schwartz with outstanding art by Carmine Infantino and clever sci-fi stories by Gardner Fox and John Broome, these issues are fondly remembered by comics fans of the era, but they didn't sell well enough to lead to an ongoing title.
Next up to bat was editor Joe Simon and his CHAMPION SPORTS #1 [October-November, 1973]. Simon wrote all the stories, which were pencilled by Jerry Grandenetti and inked by Craig Flessel. Despite the talent involved, the title only ran three issues.
DC had little more success with STRANGE SPORTS STORIES, which returned in its own title in 1973 and 1974. Though again edited by Julius Schwartz, it was canceled in six issues. The writers this time around were Frank Robbins, Denny O'Neil, Elliot Maggin, Cary Bates, and Martin Pasko. The artists were Curt Swan, Irv Novick, Dick Giordano, and John Rosenberger.
Sports comic books are yet another area of the field of which I know little. But, if you're interested, I'll revisit the genre in a future edition of this column.
Thanks for spending a part of your day with me. I'll be back soon with more stuff.
Tony Isabella
<< 06/02/2005 | 06/03/2005 | 06/04/2005 >>
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.
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