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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, August 4, 2005
The lovely and mysterious Blonde Phantom again graces TOT this morning. The cover of BLONDE PHANTOM COMICS #13 [Spring, 1947] was by Syd Shores, who pencilled the two Blonde Phantom stories which ran in this issue.
Here's the contents of that issue:
Blonde Phantom in "Peril From the Past" (9 pages) by Stan Lee, Shores, and possibly inker Ken Bald;
Blonde Phantom in "Horror In Hollywood" (10 pages) with art by Shores and inker Don Rico;
Miss America in "Burning Witness" (5 pages) by Lee and artist Ken Bald; and,
Sub-Mariner in "Cruise of Death" (4 pages) by Lee and artist Vernon Henkel.
As you can see, BLONDE PHANTOM COMICS dropped in over-all page count between issues. Also worth noting, if only because it caught my eye, is that the villain in "Peril From the Past" is called "The Redcoat." I've never read this story - or, as best I can remember, any Blonde Phantom story - but that seems to indicate the villain was a British soldier from the 1770s or thereabouts and that would have been an odd choice given our close alliance with the British in the barely-concluded World War II.
The OFFICIAL OVERSTREET COMIC BOOK PRICE GUIDE opines a near-mint copy of this issue would sell for $1275. I couldn't find any completed or ongoing auctions on eBay.
I'm starting this column before the construction crew arrives at Casa Isabella, but, at the end of their labors yesterday, they had constructed a temporary plywood wall in my kitchen and expected to spend a few hours today working on the addition to the kitchen. It's not pretty - hence my continuing need for the Blonde Phantom - but at least I'll be able to use the kitchen again.
Moving right along, let's see if I can get some reviews going before the hammering starts anew.
******
BANANA SUNDAY
What a fun comic book! BANANA SUNDAY #1 by writer Root Niboy and artist Colleen Coover [Oni, $2.99] is the first in a four-issue series about high-school student Kirby and the three "accelerated" monkeys attending school with her. Kirby is cute, sweet, and more or less realistically portrayed as she faces the terrors of a new school, which include getting knocked unconscious by that handsome boy she just met - an accident - and dealing with a new friend who is also a teen journalist trying to uncover the secrets of Kirby's monkeys. At least Kirby doesn't have to deal with vampires, meteor mutants, or unsolved murders.
I love the monkeys. Chuck is the intellectual giant of this trio; Kirby asks him not to show up the teachers. Knobby is male teen hormones on overdrive, a hairy Casanova with a slick story to charm the ladies. Go-Go the gorilla knows he likes food and naps; maybe he's the smartest of the bunch.
Nibot's script flows well, introduces the characters nicely, and doesn't force the humor. Coover's art delights the heck out of me; it's clear and expressive, drawing the reader completely into the BANANA SUNDAY world.
BANANA SUNDAY #1 gets the full five Tonys.
BANANA SUNDAY #1: 28 pages, black-and-white.
******
BATMAN BEGINS
I never expect movies to be as good as comic books. Blame it on my low opinion of Hollywood and the movie industry in general. It's arrogant and craven and unconcerned about real people, which is kind of ironic when you considered how Hollywood is reviled by our country's right wingnuts, one of the very few groups of people who are more arrogant, more craven, and less concerned about real people than Hollywood. But I digress.
BATMAN BEGINS is a swell movie. Its Batman is not a perfect Batman, but he's still pretty much a white hat by Hollywood hero standards. He doesn't claim the right to be judge/jury/executioner to the villains he faces, but he doesn't feel he has to save them from dooms of their own making.
The script moved along well. Gotham City was brought to life in all its gloomy splendor, but, unlike so many Batman movies - and comics - was not a place completely devoid of hope. The Bat-gear was a bit too bulky for my taste, but it was what I expected from a Hollywood which rarely captures the sense of wonder to be found in traditional super-hero comics. It didn't bother me and I even took a liking to the tank-like Batmobile.
Christian Bale gave a fine performance as Batman, holding his own in his scenes with Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman. Only Gary Oldman - as Jim Gordon - gave a better performance.
Cillian Murphy - as Jonathan Crane and the Scarecrow - did a little scenery-chewing, but still impressed me. More so than did Liam Neeson as the disguised Ra's Al Ghul; Neeson gave a standard villainous zealot performance.
Katie Holmes did a good job as Bruce Wayne's childhood friend, but the script worked against her. I did enjoy her going mano-a-mano with the Scarecrow.
One of my biggest complaint with Batman movies has been their habit of featuring too many major villains, which I define as more than one per movie. This one had two, but wisely didn't have them compete against one another. The Scarecrow did his part away from what his employer was doing. It worked. But, generally speaking, I think a single strong villain in a strong script is preferable to two or more villains in an overcrowded script.
BATMAN BEGINS is going to be worth owning on DVD and watching again. I give it four Tonys.
******
FANTASTIC FOUR
FANTASTIC FOUR doesn't look as expensive as BATMAN BEGINS, but I enjoyed it more. The heroes on the screen were pretty much the heroes from the comic books I loved. The story wasn't complicated - just your typical origin story with vengeful villain - but it did entertain me and that's all I ask for from movies. Like I said, I expect more from comic books.
Michael Chiklis and Chris Evans were perfect as Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm. Ioan Gruffudd brought an endearing shyness and even modest lack of confidence to super-brain Reed Richards. I thought Jessica Alba was good as Susan Storm. If there were rough edges to the movie or any of these performers, I consider what others have opined, that this is the early Fantastic Four as pencilled by Jack Kirby and inked by Dick Ayers. It's got that Stan Lee charm, that rough-and-tumble Kirby/Ayers action, and that special human touch. What's not to love?
Well, okay, Julian McMahon is pretty much a washout as Doctor Doom. He's a smarmy corporate raider with an ego that makes Donald Trump look like a wallflower. He's not the Victor Von Doom of the comics. Of course, Victor Von Doom didn't become the Victor Von Doom of the comics until well into the Fantastic Four's third or fourth year of publication. This movie sets up that Doctor Doom and I can live with that.
What else is not to love is Doom blowing a hole through one of his business enemies, an unnecessarily gory murder that makes the film less family-friendly than it could've been. As in the comics industry itself, Hollywood suffers from a decided lack of "thinking things through."
FANTASTIC FOUR is going to be a must-have DVD for me, a movie I expect to rejoin many times. It gets four Tonys.
******
SKY HIGH
Super-hero-loving guy that I am, it makes me feel good to go to our local cinema multiplex and see *three* super-hero movies on the marquee. BATMAN BEGINS and FANTASTIC FOUR are still doing okay business there and this movie - SKY HIGH - is doing better than had been expected. It's also a better movie than the initial reviews in my local newspapers had led me to expect.
SKY HIGH is as family-friendly a super-hero movie as you will find this summer, but it's great fun for viewers of all ages. The son of the world's greatest super-heroes goes to Sky High to learn how to use his super-powers...except he doesn't appear to have any super-powers and is thus relegated to the "sidekick" track of the school. High school is hell even when it floats hundreds of miles above the world.
Our young hero's powers kick in when he's attacked by another student, the son of a super-villain his father sent to prison for life. Then he goes from being one of the "out" crowd to being the darling of the "in" crowd...and makes pretty much all the ethical lapses you would expect.
I'm not going to give you much more than that. The super-hero gags are funny, even when they are less than accurate vis-a-vis the genre. There are delightful performances by Bruce Campbell, Cloris Leachman, Dave Foley, and Kevin McDonald. Kevin Heffernan shines as bus driver Ron Wilson, who, despite being the son of two super-powered parents, has no super-powers. And Lynda Carter, who plays the principal, has the same effect on my aging hormones as she did when she played Wonder Woman.
SKY HIGH is a charming and honestly fun movie with a terrific if predictable message. It's not a big-budget spectacular, but it earns every one of its three Tonys honestly.
That's all for now. Thanks for spending part of your day with me. I'll be back tomorrow with more stuff.
Tony Isabella
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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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