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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 Tuesday, June 14, 2005
We've been celebrating the anniversary of Superman's debut in ACTION COMICS #1 [June, 1938], jumping five years at a time to see the Man of Steel's evolution over the years. We're now entering an era that was very different for me on a personal level.
When ACTION COMICS #424 [June, 1973] hit the newsstands, I was working for Marvel Comics, mere blocks from the DC Comics offices. Sometimes I bought DCs from street-side vendors and sometimes I'd trade Marvels for DCs with some DC staffer or another. Sometimes I'd miss issues. Living in New York City was usually more exciting than what was going on in the comics.
I can't tell you for sure if I got this issue when it came out or after I returned to my native Cleveland. The Nick Cardy cover would have caught my eye had I seen it on a newsstand. I tried to keep up with whatever was coming out of the Julius Schwartz/Nelson Bridwell office because I liked and respected their work. But my memory of "Gorilla Grodd's Grandstand Play" is so dim that I had to research it online.
"Grandstand Play" was written by Elliot Maggin, another DC guy I liked and respected. Plotting wasn't his strongest point, except when he could make some philosophical or subtle political statement in one of his scripts, but his dialogue was first-rate. This story was pencilled by Curt Swan and inked by Murphy Anderson, arguably the best Superman artists of them all.
Digression. My favorite Superman tales by the Man of Steel's creators - Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster - are the ones dealing with social and political issues. If I were ever called upon to write Superman and given enough leeway, I think I'd try to write stories in that vein. End of digression.
In "Grandstand Play," Gorilla Grodd escapes from his captivity in Gorilla City and, in doing so, exposes the hidden civilization to the world. Solovar, the leader of the highly intelligent apes, goes to the United Nations to establish formal relations with the rest of the world. Grodd switches bodies with Solovar and goes on a rampage. Superman eventually sets things to rights and, as near as I can tell, Solovar then uses his mind-powers to wipe knowledge of Gorilla City from the entire world.
Today, I think that's wrong for moral reasons. Back then, I would have thought it was wrong because it was a cop-out. Despite my dislike of, for example, IDENTITY CRISIS, I'm a firm believer in shaking up the status quo on a regular basis. I just don't believe in twisting characters to accomplish that objective.
This issue of ACTION COMICS also featured a Green Arrow story - "The Candy Kitchen Caper" - written by Maggin with art by Dick Dillin (penciller) and Dick Giordano (inker). It's a lightweight story wherein the Arrow mixes it up with some jewel thieves, fails to capture them, visits a candy shop as Oliver Queen, goes nuts for the shop's sweet treats, goes into PR mode to promote the shop, and learns the jewel thieves are using the candy to smuggle stolen gems out of the country. Coincidences and lucky breaks abound with the result that the crooks get pinched and the unwitting candy-maker is able to open her own shop with the reward money.
Don't be impressed. I got all of the above online. My memory of this story is even dimmer than my memory of the Superman/Grodd knockabout. Maybe I'll do better when we reach 1978 in a column or two. Maybe not. Oh, the suspense.
Let's see what else I have for you today.
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COMICS IN THE COMICS
Tributes to a pair of legendary cartoonists are what we have for you in today's installment of COMICS IN THE COMICS.
BRENDA STARR creator Dale Messick died on April 5 this year, just days shy of her 99th birthday. The strip is currently being written by Mary Schmich and drawn by June Brigman, who paid their respects to Messick on May 29.
The name of cartoonist Rube Goldberg (1183-1970) is synonymous with wildly intricate machines which perform very simple functions. In HI AND LOIS for May 29, writers Brian and Greg Walker and artist Chance Browne follow admirably in Goldberg's footsteps.
If you'd like to learn more about Goldberg, you should visit the official Rube Goldberg website at:
www.rube-goldberg.com
Look for more COMICS IN THE COMICS in future TOTs.
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NOTES FROM THE 100
Ten days and as many columns ago, your columnist brought forth upon the Internet his random list of 100 things he loves about the comics. That column is archived here:
www.worldfamouscomics.com/tony/back20050604.shtml
As per that column, I'll be providing some additional notes on my entries throughout the month. Reader GLEN SMITH sent me a great note on my Judge Dredd entry, but, since it also ties in with the Captain America entry, I'm going to hold off on running his cogent comments for a bit.
That brings us to:
24. MARVEL ESSENTIAL EDITIONS. Big thick comic books filled with great and not-so-great stories from the past. At under twenty bucks a pop, I can live with these black-and-white reprints. If I were a gambling man, I'd bet that all of my Marvel stories from the 1970s will be reprinted before the Distinguished Competition even considers doing the same for my Black Lightning tales.
When CBG ran my column, the phrase "Distinguished Competition" was replaced with "another company." After checking my manuscript to make sure I hadn't actually written something so unnecessarily bland, I inquired as to the reason for the change and was told that a highly-placed individual at DC Comics considers "Distinguished Competition" to be an insult. This came as a surprise to me since I worked at Marvel when the phrase was used and never considered it an insult. It was a way of referring to our leading competitor - and showing respect for them - without specifically naming them. Had I intended insult - instead of merely commenting that DC wasn't doing right by my character - I could come up with something more biting than such an innocuous phrase.
And have doubtless done so in the past.
Putting aside the question of whether CBG should have replaced the phrase in deference to the DC fellow - though you should surely feel free to discuss this on my message board - I'm curious as to whether anyone else thinks or *ever* thought the phrase an insult. Because I honestly never saw it that way.
I like and respect this DC guy a lot, as do the folks at CBG. I don't want to imply that he demanded or requested the change. In fact, I'm certain he wasn't aware of the change. I only mention it here because of my curiosity as to how people perceive the phrase. If I'm to give offense, I'd rather it be done deliberately rather than unwittingly.
Pride in one's work and all.
More NOTES FROM THE 100 to come.
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TONY POLLS
There will be new several TONY POLLS questions posted today. Depending on when you're reading this column, they may already be online and awaiting your votes.
DC Comics gets our focus in this week's polls. The company is doing some exciting stuff this summer and, while all of it may not be to my taste, I have no doubt that DC is engaging and inflaming a great many of its readers. I don't see this as being bad for the company or for comicdom.
So, this go-round, we're asking you to pick your favorite from four recently-launched pre-Infinite Crisis mini-series:
DAY OF VENGEANCE by Bill Willingham
THE OMAC PROJECT by Greg Rucka
THE RANN/THANAGAR WAR by Dave Gibbons
VILLAINS UNITED by Gail Simone
In addition to the lead question, we're also asking you choose your favorite first-season episodes from four different DC or DC-related animated series: JUSTICE LEAGUE, STATIC SHOCK, TEEN TITANS, and THE BATMAN. We've provided the episode titles and the URLs of EPGUIDES.COM web pages where you can refresh your memories of those episodes. I don't know about you, but I'm gonna have a tough time deciding on these. So many terrific episodes and only one vote per series. You can cast your ballots at:
www.worldfamouscomics.com/tony/poll
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TONY POLLS MAILBOX
Picking up from yesterday's TOT - wherein we ran the results of your selection of comics-related vacation spots - here are some of the e-mails and write-in votes I received.
First up is TONY HOWSON:
I voted "other" in two categories. For the Marvel Universe, I went with Central City, the birthplace of the Fantastic Four...or so they claim. For Independent Universes, I voted for Iron City, where Bob Burden's Flaming Carrot used to operate when he wasn't himself vacationing in Smallville.
In the DC Category, I *really* wanted to vote for Challenger Mountain, or that 30th Century asteroid with the giant puppets from ADVENTURE COMICS #316, but how could I pass up a trip to Blackhawk Island and a chance to drive the War Wheel?
Great Tonys must think alike. Challenger Mountain was on one of my preliminary lists of choices, only to be removed in favor of Blackhawk Island.
The determining factor was...the War Wheel.
I also heard from DAVE ZIEGLER:
I'd vacation in Opal City for a couple reasons:
Starman is still my favorite series ever. James Robinson and company made the characters come alive for me in a way very few creators have.
There's so much to see in Opal. The city's architectural history alone is so varied and diverse one could probably spend weeks or months studying it. The Starman Museum would no doubt rival Keystone City's Flash Museum for sheer wonderment and heroic history. Combine that with the surrounding Turk County area, and you've got a one-stop vacation wonderland.
It would finally answer, once and for all, where exactly Opal City is in the DCU. See? I don't want much!
ANDREW LAUBACHER wrote:
If I could go on vacation to any of those DC Universe places, which would I choose?
Skataris, the stomping ground of THE WARLORD. Which kind of figures considering that my answer to the Marvel Universe question was the Savage Land.
The Savage Land was a surprisingly easy "no vote" for me. On the plus side...dinosaurs! On the minus side...the potential for being eaten by dinosaurs. On the plus side...Shanna the She-Devil! On the minus side...Shanna's jealous husband.
I went with Wakanda where I figured the biggest danger I might face would be ridicule for some of the youthful excess of my 1970s Marvel writing.
Finally, we have this unique - as in no one else mentioned it - choice from my good friend GEORGE BRODERICK:
I voted "other" for the fourth vacation question. My choice was my own beloved Townburg City, home to Courageous Man and Spunky and Stardust and Thor and...
I've always enjoyed my visits to Townburg City and would not hesitate to recommend it to other comicdom travelers. I direct TOT readers of all ages to...
www.georgebroderick.com
...where they will find a wonderful selection of Townburg City products and, once a couple bugs get worked out of George's PayPal links, an even more wonderful selection of spiffy comic books from George and like-minded cartoonists.
There are no write-in choices for our current poll questions, but feel free to discuss your picks at the official Tony Isabella message board:
www.comicscommunity.com/boards/tony
That's all for today, kids. Thanks for stopping by.
I'll be back tomorrow with more stuff.
Tony Isabella
<< 06/13/2005 | 06/14/2005 | 06/15/2005 >>
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:
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