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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 Thursday, June 23, 2005
We resume our month-long salute to Superman on the anniversary of his debut in ACTION COMICS #1 [June, 1938]. Forty years later, the Man of Steel finally got around to marrying Lois Lane in ACTION COMICS #484 [June, 1978]. There were two Supermans by this time: the original who lived on Earth-2 and "our" Superman, who lived on Earth-1. Oddly enough, this did not confuse comics readers and, if it did, writer Cary Bates explained it both quickly and well on the second page of the issue-length tale.
The cover was pencilled by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez and inked by Dick Giordano. The editor was Julius Schwartz. The 22-page story - "Superman Takes A Wife" - was written by Cary Bates with pencil art by Curt Swan and inks by Joe Giella. You don't have to put up with my oft-uncertain memory this time because a copy of the story was close at hand.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Though "Superman Takes a Wife" stars the Golden Age Superman, it's more of a homage to the Silver Age version. Jimmy Olsen says "Jeepers!" and wears that hideous green jacket. Lois is as snoopy as she ever was, still obsessed with proving that fellow reporter Clark Kent is really Superman.
The villains du jour are Colonel Future and the Wizard. The former is a super-scientist type whose crimes are always thwarted by Superman. He enlists the Wizard to be a magical hitman and wipe Supes from the face of the earth. To gain the mage's cooperation, Future gives him the Glastonbury Wand, a mystic energy conduit said to have been made by Merlin.
Magic is generally a tricky endeavor. The Wizard does get rid of Superman, but not Clark Kent, though the reporter does lose all memory of his other identity. During the year that follows, Clark becomes more dynamic in his journalistic pursuit of the truth and quite the thorn in Future's side. He also wins the heart of Lois. She accept his proposal of marriage.
Colonel Future sends his goons to kill Clark on his and Lois' honeymoon. Clark doesn't even feel the bullets and never realizes he was the target of a failed assassination. Lois figures out the truth, confirms it, and then, checking out the dozens of criminals who claimed to be Superman's killer, comes to the conclusion that it's the Wizard who did the deed.
Up to this point, this is a nigh-flawless story. Bates hits all the right notes and the art is equally strong. Then, just to move the story to its conclusion, there is a plot twist that pushes my willing suspension of disbelief a tad too far.
Crushed by the world's failure to acknowledge him as the man who killed Superman, the Wizard loses his confidence, is unable to do his magic, and ends up homeless in Metropolis. Lois finds him sleeping on a park bench and convinces him to show the world that it was he who killed the hero...by bringing Superman back from the dead. Which he does to his own swift chagrin and the never-ending chagrin of his fellow criminals.
My displeasure with the tale was short-lived. Because how can I stay mad at a story wherein a selfless Lois prepares to end her marriage to the man she loves, wherein Superman proclaims he loves her, and wherein they repeat their vows - Kryptonian-style - before giant statues of Superman's parents? I didn't exactly cry at this wedding, but it did give me a warm and fuzzy feeling deep within my fanboy heart.
END SPOILERS
ACTION COMICS #484 can be readily obtained in the back-issue market for between one and ten bucks. The story was reprinted in SUPERMAN IN THE SEVENTIES [$19.95] and is currently available for $13.37 through our ACTION IS MY REWARD link.
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COMICS IN THE COMICS
We're going to mix the comics in the comics with a smattering of political commentary today, starting with...
...MEYER'S TAKE for June 5. Meyer "has been a staff editorial cartoonist at the San Francisco Chronicle since 1981. His work has appeared in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Newsweek and The New Republic. He has won numerous national, state and local awards, and his cartoons have been featured in a range of different formats, from encyclopedias and textbooks to dinner menus."
You can find his cartoons here:
www.sfgate.com/comics/meyer
I'm stretching our COMICS IN THE COMICS parameters more than a little to include Darrin Bell's CANDORVILLE strip from June 18. The "comic" it references is Jon Stewart of THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART. But Bell's strip is so consistently excellent that I'll take any opportunity to praise it.
You can read CANDORVILLE online here:
umweb3.unitedmedia.com/wash/candorville
PRICKLY CITY by Scott Stantis may be the most vile mainstream newspaper strip out there. The above strip from June 10 is one of the few strip that doesn't express an extreme right-wing point of view. Taking that point of view isn't necessarily what makes this strip vile, but it certainly helps.
When the AKRON BEACON-JOURNAL added this strip to its comics page, I gave it a few weeks to prove my initial impressions of it were mistaken. They weren't.
The very first strip the ABJ ran started with gay-bashing and moved on to attacking PBS as if were simply adding drawings to the extreme right-wing talking points. Nothing has changed since that first strip. Stantis rarely relents from his extremist screeds and never amuses in the process. There is nothing remotely "fair and balanced" about his expressions and, indeed, he often distorts the facts of issues he discusses. If he drew himself into his strip, his pants would surely be on fire.
The AKRON BEACON-JOURNAL has all but admitted that this strip was added solely to provide some sort of a right-wing viewpoint to its comics with no heed paid to the strip's obvious lack of humor and quality. Not a week seems to go by without the Beacon-Journal running a negative letter about the strip.
Positive letters? There haven't been any.
Trust me on this. The ABJ, like most of the mainstream press, is overly solicitous of the right. If it had received pro-PRICKLY CITY letters, it would have run them.
I suppose the lack of support for PRICKLY CITY is good news. I wonder when the paper will have the courage to admit its mistake and rid itself of this miserable waste of space. Not that I expect the Beacon-Journal to give me a call, but, if they did, my choice for a replacement would be...
...NANCY by Guy and Brad Gilchrist. The strip is beautifully drawn, consistently funny, and promotes good values. I'd praise it even if I wasn't already looking for an excuse to post the bizarre "Nancy Freaks Out" episode from June 11.
You can read NANCY online at:
www.comics.com/comics/nancy
If you thought I was stretching it with CANDORVILLE and NANCY, well, even I can't pretend there's any reason to run Dan Piraro's June 21 BIZARRO panel other than I like it a lot. You can see more of this clever feature by going to:
www.bizarro.com
COMICS IN THE COMICS will return in a near-future edition of TONY'S ONLINE TIPS. I'll try to keep the next installment more on topic than this one.
******
NOTES FROM THE 100
Many moons ago - okay, it was on June 4 - I ran my random list of 100 things I love about comic books. I've been working my way through the list a second time, adding additional commentary and/or information.
You can read the original list here:
www.worldfamouscomics.com/tony/back20050604.shtml
Here's today's addendum...
28. CLAYPOOL COMICS. Editor Richard Howell helms a small line of titles - DEADBEATS, ELVIRA, SOULSEARCHERS AND COMPANY - with a style all their own. This year, while wrapping up many plotlines in exciting and surprising ways, the Claypool crew also crafted a series of "jump-in issues for new readers."
DEADBEATS #70 [$2.50] was one of those jump-in issues. "Dark Shadows of the Past" reveals the history of Hermano, "philosopher king of the undead." For centuries, the relatively benign Hermano has warred with the more flamboyant and vicious Dracula to rule all vampires. This dense tale by writer/penciller Richard Howell and embellisher Ricardo Villagran - who have been the creative team on the book from the start - also includes brief-but-vital scenes with other members of the large DEADBEATS cast.
DEADBEATS owes as much to TV soap operas as it does to vampire lore. While it isn't precisely my cup of blood, I'm impressed by how well Howell juggles dozens of characters while moving complex storylines forward. Some of those characters talk too much and in speech patterns too stilted for my tastes, but they come across as individuals and interesting individuals at that.
Claypool has designated 2005 as the "Year of Climaxes." Every issue of DEADBEATS and SOULSEARCHERS AND COMPANY will have a payoff to one of the many plot threads in those titles. In DEADBEATS #71 [$2.50], we see the culmination of Dracula's "Five By Five" plan to increase his vampiric energy. The plan requires the enlistment of a fifth member of the Deadbeats, a band of evil vampires from which the series gets its title, and for that fifth member to kill every member of his family. We're talking seriously twisted families on both sides of this hunter/prey dance.
DEADBEATS is not going to work for every reader. The series carries the weight of its large cast of characters and some of the most complex storylines in comics. Sometimes writer Howell labors too hard to make each line of dialogue fraught with meaning and/or dry wit. A touch more realism in said dialogue would make the book more accessible. Yet there's no denying readers who dig this sort of dark soap opera will more than get their money's worth from each issue's 24-page tale. Howell and Villagran give you excellent bang for your two-and-a-half bucks.
Even before the jump-in issue, DEADBEATS was not unfriendly to new readers. The inside front covers feature head shots of a dozen major characters with a few words describing each. Following the letters column, the full-page "Deadbeats Story" also provides new readers with a summary of past events. Each of these leg-ups could use some renovation, but they remain helpful.
Since I seem to have snuck a review into this section, I might as well hand out some disembodied columnist heads. On our scale of zero to five - see the handy chart off to the left - DEADBEATS #70 and #71 each picks up four Tonys.
More NOTES FROM THE 100 will be coming your way soon.
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TONY'S MAILBOX
My random list of 100 things I love about comic books included prose novels starring comics characters. That prompted this e-mail from SCOTT ROTH:
I very much enjoyed the "100 Things I Love About Comics" list. One of the items was that you enjoy prose novels about comic-book characters. I'd like to look into that myself, maybe branch out to start collecting them. Would you have a list of prose novel titles and authors you'd be willing to share?
Alas, I have no such list...though I would dearly love to have one. The best I can do - while waiting for a member of the loyal legions of TOT readers to come up with an online location for such a wondrous catalog - is to point you in the direction of a couple websites of which I'm aware.
MARVEL COMICS IN PROSE is an unofficial guide created by Keith R.A. DeCandido, himself an editor and writer for many of the titles mentioned therein, including CAPTAIN AMERICA: LIBERTY'S TORCH by me and Bob Ingersoll. You can find the website here:
www.sff.net/people/krad/marvel.htm
The Masked Bookworm's REVIEWS OF COMIC BOOK NOVELS can also be found online at:
www.geocities.com/SoHo/Study/4273/novels.html
Marvel is gearing up to do a new series of prose novels while DC has been releasing what seems like a book a month for well over a year now. Other American comics publishers - Dark Horse and IDW come to mind - are getting into this area as well. In the United Kingdom, Judge Dredd and other 2000 AD characters are also starring in prose novels. Collecting and reading all these novels could be a full-time occupation. If/when a list of comics characters prose novels comes my way, I'll share that information with you and your fellow TOT readers.
Thanks to all of you for spending a part of your day with me. I'll be back tomorrow with more stuff.
Tony Isabella
<< 06/21/2005 | 06/23/2005 | 06/24/2005 >>
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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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