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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 Friday, August 12, 2005
We're looking at SINISTER TALES #129 today, a black-and-white British reprint comic published by a gent named Alan Class. Since the issue has no date, I can but estimate that it came out sometime in the later 1970s or early 1980s.
The thing I love about Alan Class comics is that you can never be sure what any given issue will feature. He bought stories from Atlas/Marvel, ACG, Archie, Charlton, and other American publishers. Some issues feature material from a single publisher, others from a combination of publishers. My interest in these reprints is far from unique; they are eagerly sought by collectors in this country, in England, and in Europe.
SPOILERS AHEAD
"Gorgilla Strikes Again" is wild even for a marvelous monster yarn. It's a sequel to an earlier story wherein scientists found and were rescued by the "missing link," a gigantic half-man, half-ape. The scientists decided to leave Gorgilla in peace, but they failed to reckon with the big guy's longing for the company of men. He stows away on a cargo ship and gets to the United States, only to be feared and attacked by humans. He could have been a charter member of the X-Men.
Gorgilla hides in New York's sewer system, breaks up a Yankees baseball game, prevents Communists from assassinating the premier of a third-world country and chases the Commie leader to the Statue of Liberty. A police bazooka ends the lonely creature's life, but, even as he falls from the Statue, he holds the spy chief so as not to injure them.
"How ironic that the wrong one survived the fall!"
Pencilled by Jack Kirby with inks by Dick Ayers, the story is from TALES TO ASTONISH #18 [April, 1961]. It was likely plotted or at least conceived by Stan Lee and written by Larry Lieber.
Trivia time. When "Gorgilla Strikes Again!" was reprinted in Marvel's own WHERE CREATURES ROAM [March, 1971], the actual cover wasn't used. Instead, they re-lettered and ran the cover of TALES TO ASTONISH #24 [October, 1961], which featured the very different-looking "Abominable Snowman..."
There are two other 1960s stories in this issue. "Beware!!! Of the Little Toy Men!!" hails from JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #58 [May, 1960] and is drawn by Steve Ditko. It's a typical-for-Ditko five-page "surprise ending" story involving a mysterious man who gives away wind-up dolls and, in this case, the ending is unintentionally hilarious. A suspicious reporter catches a glimpse of the modern-day Santa Claus without his overcoat and sees that the man also has a wind-up key in his back. The exclamation-point-loving writer of this was Lee, Lieber, or some combination thereof.
"I Was Trapped in Horror House!" is from JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #59 [July, 1960]. Drawn by Paul Reinman, its murderer-protagonist escapes from Death Row and takes refuge in...the House of Mystery? Don't get excited. The six-page thriller isn't the first DC/Marvel crossover. "House of Mystery" is just what various characters call a deserted carnival attraction that is actually some sort of portal to Hell.
The other six stories in SINISTER TALES #129 are all four-page mystery or science-fiction yarns. The four-page length let Marvel cram more stories into each comic, but the stories varied wildly in logic and quality.
"Prison Without Bars" from JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #41 [December, 1956] has a convict given an early release on the condition that he be hypnotized to be unable to commit crimes. But he still thinks about committing crimes, still plans crimes, and racks up a couple crimes on his way to robbing his employer's payroll before finally listening to the voice in his head and foiling the robbery...which he planned. Amazingly, that squares things with the law. The big reveal is that the hypnotist died two weeks earlier and the convict was listening to "the good in [his] own heart." I didn't realized post-hypnotic suggestions expired with their maker. This tale was drawn by Ed Winiarski.
Drawn by John Forte, reprinted from JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #40 [November, 1956], "The Question That Can't Be Answered" would have better been titled "The Answer That Makes No Sense." A reporter is ready to expose a hypnotist who claims to be able to get people to access past lives. Then the reporter has a flashback in which he is a man from the future accessing one of his past lives. Then he goes all bug-eyed, falls to his knees, and cries out for someone to tell him who he is. I blame the liberal media.
Also from JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #41, "The Swirling Mist" has a reporter traveling back in time to a Mississippi gambling boat and liking it there. The art is by Joe Sinnott.
"Humans...Keep Out" [JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #42; January, 1957] has two groups of settlers vying for domination of the Moon. The big reveal is that the losers bio-engineered the winners to be able to survive on the airless satellite and are now being driven off by their "creations."
Also from JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #42, "The Disappearing Man is from Venus, gets roped into becoming a prizefighter, and gets the girl. This one was drawn by Gray Morrow.
SINISTER TALES #129 wraps up with "The Savages," which is also from JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #42. Drawn by Angelo Torres, it tells of explorers from Mars who crash land on Earth in prehistoric times, devolve over generations into cavemen, and whose future descendants are...us! And we're going to Mars! And we think any life on Mars must be very primitive! This would be so boring if Torres didn't draw such terrific jungles, dinosaurs, and other ancient creatures. The reproduction on Alan Class comics isn't A-1, but you can still see some great art through it.
Thanks to various eBay purchases and the generosity of a dear friend in England, I have dozens of Alan Class comics waiting to be read and written about. By all means, you should encourage me to write about them often.
******
TONY POLLS CORRECTION
My current TONY POLLS question - just the one this week - asks you to choose which of the new TV dramas or genre shows for the new fall season you're most looking forward to seeing. However, when I first listed the 19 choices, I forgot NBC had changed the name of FATHOM to SURFACE. My bad.
If, per chance, you would have voted for SURFACE if you knew it was an option, e-mail me [tony@wfcomics.com] and let me know if you want to change your vote and what you voted for in the absence of SURFACE. I'll put my laughable math skills to the test and make the correction on the final results.
If you haven't voted on this question yet, you can do so via a quick visit to:
www.worldfamouscomics.com/tony/poll
This question remains active until sometimes after midnight on Tuesday morning and will be replaced by new poll questions. Maybe even more than one this time.
Thanks for spending a part of your day with me. Have a great weekend and I'll see you back here on Monday.
Tony Isabella
<< 08/11/2005 | 08/12/2005 | 08/15/2005 >>
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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