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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 Monday, July 25, 2005
 
Joe Maneely's cover for ASTONISHING #31 [March, 1954] caught my eye when I first spotted it at Greg Gatlin's equally astonishing ATLAS TALES site [www.atlastales.com], but it wasn't until I looked for another scan at the GRAND COMICS DATABASE [www.comics.org] that I realized *why* it had caught my eye. Nearly ten years later to the month, Marvel would reuse the basic visual concept of "The Room That Vanished" for an element of "The Master Plan of Doctor Doom" as unfolded in FANTASTIC FOUR #23 [February, 1964].
Atlas covers didn't always match up with the interior stories they illustrated, so I don't know for sure if the hapless gent who found himself caught in a vanishing room on the ASTONISHING cover actually faced the portrayed peril. But I bought FF #23 right off a drug store comics rack and can confirm that Reed Richards and his merry bunch were almost hurled into space by Doc Doom. I can also name the three enhanced henchmen who captured the FF for the metal-masked malcontent: Bull Brogin, Handsome Harry Phillips, and Yogi Dakor. Good times.
Though next year's OFFICIAL OVERSTREET COMIC BOOK PRICE GUIDE will doubtless declare ASTONISHING #31 a "prototype" of Doc Doom's master plan and up its alleged value, as of the current edition, a near-mint condition of the book is listed at $210. There were no ongoing eBay auctions for or recently completed sales of the issue, but a "really nice copy" of ASTONISHING #30 sold for $102.50 on 15 bids and what looked to be a very good copy of ASTONISHING #35 went for $26.87 on seven bids.
FANTASTIC FOUR #23 was written by Stan Lee, pencilled and more than likely co-plotted by Jack Kirby, and inked by George Roussos. The cover is by Kirby and Roussos. The story has been reprinted a number of times.
Let's see what else I have for you today.
******
THE OMAC PROJECT
Readers and retailers seem to have liked THE OMAC PROJECT #1 far more than I did - see TOT for July 20 - but, of course, I still stand by that review. Moving right along...
I liked THE OMAC PROJECT #2 [DC; $2.50] a little better. One reason is that, having read the first issue, I'm not as in the dark as I was for the premiere. Among the other things I liked in this second issue:
Anything that gives me hope that Batman will regain his sanity and not be such a "richard" is gonna score points with me, though I wish it weren't coming at the expense of turning several of DC's other super-heroes into mind-tampering criminals.
Recognizing how bad things could get, Batman goes to the JLA, lays out why he created Brother MK I, and brings them up to speed on recent events. Yes, by spying on his fellow Leaguers, Batman violated their rights as his had been violated - I hope he comes to realize that - but he's quick to do what he can to prevent things from getting worse and not so pig-headed as to try to go it alone. Maybe he learned something from WAR GAMES.
The Checkmate intrigue is kinda interesting and might be even more so if I had a clue what was up with Max Lord.
The OMAC creatures are cool.
Sasha. She's grown on me, I care about what happens to her, and writer Greg Rucka convinces me that her and Batman might really love one another and even that such a relationship would be a good thing. Why does the line "We have all the time in the world?" keep running through my head?
Add decent art and storytelling by Jesus Saiz to the issue mix and THE OMAC PROJECT #2 earns a perfectly acceptable three out of five Tonys.
I wasn't quite as enamored of THE OMAC PROJECT #3 [DC; $2.50]. The opening action sequence - Batman and Sasha fighting the OMAC creatures - was a pretty good one. Not so the dumb battle in space between Wonder Woman and Guy Gardner - yawn - though Rucka managed to conclude the scene on an alarming note.
There was also a decent scene with Sasha nearer the end of the issue. I'm becoming fond of her and that probably does not bode well for her continued existence.
Max Lord pulls an ace out of the hole at the end of the issue and it's a shocking one. I did something similar at the conclusion of a two-issue TEEN TITANS SPOTLIGHT story back in the day, but I never got the chance to follow up on it.
Sadly, I must deduct points for the come-ons in this issue's last panel. They direct readers to read issues of SUPERMAN, ACTION COMICS, ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN, and WONDER WOMAN before they read THE OMAC PROJECT #4. Which means that, instead of this issue being No. 3 of 6 - as the cover has it - it's No. 3 of 10. Is that fair? Not from where I'm sitting.
THE OMAC PROJECT #3 scores a disappointing two Tonys. I hate it when comics publishers pull this stuff.
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DAMN NATION
Zombies or even zombie-like vampires. I'm afraid I just don't see the attraction.
Yes, the original NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD was a spiffy keen movie which deserves the recognition it received. Yes, I enjoyed my time as editor of Marvel's TALES OF THE ZOMBIE magazine back in the day. Yes, SHAUN OF THE DEAD is hilarious. But, whenever I've dipped my foot into other zombie movies or comic books, they seem very much of a piece and it's not a piece that interests me to any great extent. I just don't get it.
In last Wednesday's TOT, I reviewed DAMN NATION #1 from Dark Horse. I gave it two Tonys. I have since read DAMN NATION #2 and #3, the concluding chapters of the first story arc, and, as my old friend and mentor Don Thompson often said of comics he reviewed, if you like this sort of thing then you might enjoy these comics, too. I don't care for this kind of thing.
Some quick comments:
The inside front cover credits page could and should've been designed to include some "What Has Gone Before" information. This sales and storytelling tool is such a no-brainer when it comes to multi-issue comic-book stories than I am astonished when publishers don't take advantage of it.
Andrew Crosby's story doesn't add anything of interest. The zombies still want to eat the humans and a mysterious cure for the zombie vampire disease has been developed on the wrong side of the now totally fortified border between the United States and Canada. The "USA behind bars" notion is mildly fresh, but the source of the cure is a stale cliche.
Something that could've been intriguing had it been developed better and to a greater extent is a paranoid plot element that our former allies hate the USA so much that they don't want the cure to be found. They want their nations to fill the power vacumn left by our nation's fall. It's a neocon's nightmare, but, as used here, it's simply not convincing.
On a positive note, J. Alexander's painted art isn't as muddy in these issues as it was in the first. On a purely visual level, this made it easier to read the comics.
DAMN NATION #2 and #3 bored me. I can't dance around that nor can I award them more than one Tony apiece.
******
COMICS IN THE COMICS
Since one of the most popular characters in Brad J. Guiger's online GREYSTONE INN strip is semi-reformed super-villain Lightning Lady, it's not surprising comic book references pop up from time to time. Especially since she's not working for an evil corporation run by super-villains. The above example is from June 18 and the one below is from June 11.
Coming this August is a BEST OF GREYSTONE INN: LIGHTNING LADY collection. You can order the book at the same place you can enjoy the ongoing strip:
www.greystoneinn.net
A second GREYSTONE INN book is also coming in August and, if you pre-order the books from the website, you get a discount on the cost of the books and the shipping charges.
Meanwhile, in the newspapers, IDENTITY CRISIS continues to be a bad influence on the comics world, as witness this PHANTOM strip from June 16:
It's sad. Even in the Deep Woods of Bengalla, our legendary heroes are going in for mind-tampering.
By the way, THE PHANTOM is looking and reading better than it has in years. Graham Nolan is drawing the Sunday strips, Paul Ryan is drawing the dailies, and Tony DePaul is writing some excellent stories. You can read the Phantom online - albeit on a three-week delay - at the King Features website:
www.kingfeatures.com/features/comics/phantom/about.htm
More COMICS IN THE COMICS to come.
******
TONY POLLS
Every Tuesday, we post new questions on our world-famous TONY POLLS page. We kept this up every during this column's hiatus, so we've been in catch-up mode with the results.
Here are the results of our early July questions:
Our final BATMAN BEGINS questions. Grade the performance of Michael Caine as Alfred.
Near-Mint.....64.79%
Fine.....25.35%
Very Good.....5.63%
Good.....2.82%
Fair.....0%
Poor.....1.41%
I love Michael Caine and wasn't at all surprised to watch him give a NEAR-MINT performance as Alfred.
Grade the performance of Liam Nesson as Ducard.
Near-Mint.....33.33%
Fine.....47.83%
Very Good.....11.59%
Good.....4.35%
Fair.....1.45%
Poor.....1.45%
I wasn't overly impressed by Nesson's performance. I wavered a bit, but the best grade I could give him was GOOD.
Grade the performance of Katie Holmes as District Attorney Rachel Dawes.
Near-Mint.....2.90%
Fine.....13.04%
Very Good.....30.43%
Good.....30.43%
Fair.....15.94%
Poor.....7.25%
I wasn't impressed with Holmes here, but her character served her purpose - showing the sacrifices Bruce Wayne will make because he's chosen to be the Batman - and I got a kick out of her taking down one of the film's villains. I erred on the side of generosity and graded her performance as GOOD.
Grade the new Batmobile introduced in the movie.
Near-Mint.....24.29%
Fine.....27.14%
Very Good.....14.29%
Good.....17.14%
Fair.....10%
Poor.....7.14%
I expected to hate this new Batmobile, but the movie made it work. I give it a VERY GOOD.
Which story from the third season of TEEN TITANS is your favorite?
TITANS EAST.....44.19%
Bunny Raven.....11.63%
Can I Keep Him?.....11.63%
X.....9.30%
Haunted.....6.98%
Revolution.....4.65%
The Beast Within.....4.65%
Betrothed.....2.33%
Deception.....2.33%
Spellbound.....2.33%
Crash.....0%
Wavelength.....0%
This is just how it is. The voters love the big episodes, especially if they have guest heroes. I lean towards the human and the wacky stories. I voted for REVOLUTION, which featured a return appearance of the Mad Mod.
Today is your last day to vote on our current MIGHTY CRUSADERS questions. They will be taken down sometime after midnight and new questions will be posted sometime tomorrow.
You can cast your votes at:
www.worldfamouscomics.com/tony/poll
******
TONY'S MAILBOX
Today's letter is from STEVEN M. BERGSON, (Librarian, Jewish Public Library of Toronto). He writes:
That was a nice overview of STRANGE TALES you ran in your May 15 column. I didn't know about Roy Thomas wanting a Jewish writer for the short-lived Golem stories. Something for me to mention in my Jewish comics forum.
They say the good ol' letter column days are gone, replaced by Internet bulletin boards, Usenet groups and e-mail. Call me old- fashioned, but I always loved reading both a reader's comments and the editor's responses at the end of the issue. It gave us readers a sense of community, those of us who weren't anywhere near the big conventions, and potentially a way to get feedback from the people who make comics.
I remember two interesting editorial comments in Strange Tales from the short-lived Golem try-out. One defended a charge of Marvel showing its pro-Israel, anti-Arab bias in the first Golem tale. The other comment was an apology from someone explaining that they just didn't know how to handle a character like the Golem, how to make it work. Maybe they should have thought it through better before they started publishing it?
I have to admit, though, I have yet to see a successful (i.e. long-running), well-written, well-drawn Golem from any publisher, minor or major. The original MENDY AND THE GOLEM probably lasted the longest, but it was even worse, in some ways, than the current series...which you reviewed a long time ago.
Most of the Marvel Bullpen *was* probably pro-Israel in those days, not surprising given that the Bullpen included a great many Jews and Italians. Having lived in New York neighborhoods with the same mix, I felt there were far more similarities than differences between the Italian and Jewish households. If there was an anti-Arab bias, it was due more to the often simplistic good/evil nature of the stories we were writing than any profound prejudice. Which is not to deny that prejudice of many kinds existed then and still exist today at various comics companies.
If I were asked to write a Golem series today, I would likely strive for a more balanced authorial viewpoint...and just as likely get EVERYBODY mad at me.
Thanks for the note, sir.
For interested TOT readers, I direct you to the JEWS IN COMICS website at:
www.geocities.com/safran-can/JWISHC.HTM
...and the JEWISH COMICS FORUM at:
groups.yahoo.com/group/jewishcomics
Thanks to all for spending a part of your day with me. I'll be back tomorrow with more stuff.
Tony Isabella
<< 07/22/2005 | 07/25/2005 | 07/26/2005 >>
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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