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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 Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Today is a double-header in our month-long salute to Superman in his anniversary month. Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the Man of Steel made his first public appearance in ACTION COMICS #1 [June, 1938]. We've been tracing his ACTION career at five-year intervals, which brings us to...
ACTION COMICS #745 [June, 1998]. The cover is by penciller Stuart Immonen and inker Jose Marzan, Jr. The editors of the issue were Maureen McTigue and Joey Cavalieri.
I love the Immonen cover, but I'll be darned if I can remember anything about the Immonen tale - "Polyesteryear Part 1: Ready, Fire, Aim" - which the cover illustrates. And that's even *after" reading this GRAND COMICS DATABASE summary:
The Queensland Span Bridge has been sold by Oswald Loomis, The Prankster, to a bunch of people who think it is all theirs. Superman holds it together to save them and then after a brief talk at the office, goes to see the Prankster. Prankster pleads his innocence, using double-speak to get around Superman's questions, who leaves promising to be back. Lois and Jimmy have a conversation about missing Clark after he moved upstairs to do TV. Lana Lang interviews the Captain of the SS Von Pratt, the largest cruise liner ever made. When Superman arrives at the liner (where Clark was already supposed to be) the people lining up to get on are noticing a problem with their tickets. They appear to all be flypaper and identical. When he arrives, the Captain decides it's time to split. Turns out it is the Prankster in disguise. A small riot breaks out on the dock while Superman saves some people and breaks it up. Then he takes after the fleeing ship, which now appears to be heading on a collision course with an iceberg (which turns out to be sugar). Superman steers the ship away from the collision. He finds the Prankster inside with Lana Lang handcuffed and wearing a corsage rigged to inject her with a poison if he does anything. Prankster then points out that since Superman steered the ship away from danger he is the acting captain and asks him to marry the Prankster and Lana.
So I'm going out on a limb to tell you Superman does marry the Prankster and Lana. The marriage turns out to be a happy one and Supes discovers a new purpose in life as captain of a DC Universe version of the Love Boat. He hires Lucy Lane as cruise director, Jimmy Olsen as first mate just so Jimbo can be tormented by how hot Lucy is, and Jefferson Pierce as bartender because Jeff is one of the only three black guys he knows. Lois is crazy jealous because all the ladies want to sit at the captain's table...if you know what I mean and I think that you do.
How's that for a great story, kids? And I just saved myself hours of digging through comics boxes.
ACTION #745 was pencilled by Anthony Williams, inked by Marzan Jr. and Jimmy Palmiotti, colored by Glenn Whitmore, and lettered by Bill Oakley. Remember: Love won't hurt anymore. It's an open smile on a friendly shore. Yes LOVE! It's LOVE!
The very cool cover to ACTION COMICS #802 [June, 2003] is by David Bullock. The GCD [www.comics.org] credits him for "pencils" only, so I'm guessing the "inking" was done in the coloring. Eddie Berganza is the editor, Tom Palmer Jr. is the associate editor, and Jerry Mathers is, as ever, the Beaver.
I never read "The Harvest: Part One" by Joe Kelly (story), Tom Derenick (pencils), and Bob Petrecca/Norm Rapmund (inks), but some quick online research reveals I would have been utterly confused if I had read it.
Not really. But this issue came out during the administration of President Lex Luthor and I was mostly going around saying "Black Lightning is in Luthor's cabinet?!" These days, I just lament that no one took advantage of the intriguing story possibilities which could have come from that situation.
The most helpful site this time around was THE DOUG'S FORTRESS [http://thedoug.superman.ws]. Among other things, "The Doug" has a list of post-Crisis Superman comics books with brief summaries of the stories they contained and it's a mind-boggingly useful online resource. When I get a spare hour, I'm taking the crash course in contemporary Superman history.
Here's the skinny on "The Harvest":
Regular folks around the world are exhibiting super-powers and many of them are out of control. Superman and Prez Lex each try to contain the trouble while the post-Crisis version of General Zod is looking on from Pokolistan. This happens before "The Harvest" as does some issues about a town called "Heroville" and the villainous Hollow Men.
There be SPOILERS AHEAD.
Luthor and Zod form an alliance to deal with all of those new metahumans. Superman and a whole bunch of other super-heroes find out the new supers have been infected with Kryptonian. Zod reveals himself to be an identical twin of Superman, but with none of that cute "Patty Duke" or "Parent Trap" stuff. The decision is made to turn the sun red. Superman and Zod go on a outer space road trip to make it so.
In subsequent issues of ACTION COMICS, General Zod returns to Earth pretending to be Superman while the real deal is trapped in space. Zod tries to conquer the world. Luthor rescues Superman. Zod prepares to execute every superhuman on Earth. Superman leads a squad of super-villains from the moon to stop him. Supes wins. Luthor gets Brainiac to turn the sun back to normal. LexCorp gets a no-bid contract for billions of dollars.
Okay, I'm just kidding about that last one. Not even Luthor would be so crooked as to use his government position to enrich the company he owns and used to run.
END OF SPOILERS
If I had planned out this Superman salute better, I could be writing about ACTION COMICS #862 [June, 2008] tomorrow. Instead, for the big finish, I'm going to review the current issues by Gail Simone and John Byrne. Should be fun.
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COMICS IN THE COMICS
We have two comics panels by THE FLYING McCOY BROTHERS for you today. Brothers Gary and Glenn McCoy seem to use a lot of comic-book references in their feature and, thus far, every panel of this nature has earned a chuckle from me. The panel above appeared in newspapers on June 8, the panel below on June 22.
My supply of COMICS IN THE COMICS is starting to run low, so feel free to send me examples you think I may have missed.
******
GOLDEN AGE OF DC COMICS
Reading THE GOLDEN AGE OF DC COMICS: 365 DAYS by Les Daniels, Chip Kipp, and Geoff Spear [Abrams; $29.95] is a minor part of my daily routine here at the home office, albeit a most enjoyable one. However, the entry for June 24 took me aback:
Billed as "The Buckskin Batman," Tomahawk was DC's most successful western character. He first appeared in 1947 in STAR SPANGLED COMICS, and in 1950 got his own comic book with Fred Ray as chief artist and writer until 1972. Ray started at DC in 1940, and was much admired for a series of slick covers featuring top super heroes; the style he employed for the later frontier series was looser and rangier. He eventually left comics to do paintings and illustrations on historical subjects. The series probably got a boost from the Disney-induced Davy Crockett boom of 1955, but Tomahawk had begun wearing the coonskin cap years earlier.
Putting aside for the moment the question of whether Tomahawk is properly considered a western series, other "facts" of the above didn't ring true to me.
Did Fred Ray write any Tomahawk stories? An admittedly quick visit to the Grand Comics Database only turns up a pair of one-page fact fillers with which he is credited as writer and about a dozen short stories which he may or may not have written.
Was Fred Ray the chief Tomahawk artist when that frontier hero got his own title? He certainly did a lot of the early covers and a great many interior stories, but another quick scan of the GCD indicates that Bruno Premiani drew more of the early stories. Bob Brown and Nick Cardy also drew TOMAHAWK during the character's long and adventurous career.
My question to the learned legions of TOT readers and comics historians is: Am I correct in questioning what Daniels and company have put forth in their book? Let me know.
TOMAHAWK is one of those DC titles I'd love to see reprinted. It was fairly unique among the company's publications and I don't think I've ever read any of the pre-1960s issues. Maybe DC should consider devoting one of their new black-and-white reprint volumes to the "Buckskin Batman."
DC does exist to make *me* happy, doesn't it?
******
TONY'S MAILBOX
When I started this column's month-long salute to Superman, I wrote this:
"June is generally considered Superman's birth-month by virtue of his debut in ACTION COMICS #1 [June, 1938]. This year isn't one of those landmark anniversary, but do we need a landmark to salute the character and the creators - Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster - who transformed the comic book from a novelty item to a multi-million dollar industry? I think not."
ANTHONY TOLLIN responded with this:
This looks like a job for...(deep) ANTHONY TOLLIN!
Actually, 2005 is the 65th anniversary of the SUPERMAN radio series, which was heard daily by five-and-a-half million listeners at a time when ACTION COMICS was selling 800,000 copies/month and DC's bimonthly SUPERMAN title was selling 1.2 million copies every two months. The radio series introduced the characters of Perry White, Jimmy Olsen and Inspector Henderson, plus Kryptonite and the Superman/Batman/Robin team who would later team in WORLD'S FINEST COMICS. And the radio show also introduced the litany - written by Bob Maxwell and Allan Ducovny - that became almost as famous as Superman's blue-and-red costume: "Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound! Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Superman!"
Hey, if you need something to celebrate this year, that's pretty super as far as I'm concerned!
I also heard from JIM KINGMAN, editor and publisher of COMIC EFFECT. He wrote:
I thoroughly enjoyed your look back at Action Comics #424 in your June 14 column. The moment I saw that cover, I was mentally whisked back to the spring of 1973. Overcast days, long bike rides to Circle K and 7-Eleven to pick up the latest comics. As you mentioned, those were the days when Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson were illustrating Superman, and it was also when Joe Kubert was on Tarzan, Joe Orlando was editing the mystery titles, Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson were making history on Swamp Thing, and Jack Kirby was batting out high adventure in Kamandi, The Last Boy on Earth and doing his own take on virtually every Universal monster in The Demon. Boy, did I love the Demon story loosely based on Phantom of the Opera.
Those are and remain the good old days of my early comics collecting. And, yes, I admit to a more critical eye when I reread those comics today, but the comics of the good old days are always a nice break from the hectic days of the now. Thanks for taking me back and making my day more enjoyable.
I know how you feel, Jim. There are days when I feel the need to wallow in gooey nostalgia. Fortunately, most of your fellow TOT readers are kind enough to indulge me on those days.
For those readers who would like information on Kingman's own COMIC EFFECT fanzine, check out his website at:
www.comiceffect.com
That's a wrap for today. Thanks for spending a part of your day with me. I'll be back soon with more stuff.
Tony Isabella
<< 06/28/2005 | 06/29/2005 | 07/20/2005 >>
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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