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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, October 26, 2005
Identified on the cover as a "British edition," MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY #2 was published by Strato Publications, Ltd. of London. As with the Alan Class reprint comics, no date appears on the cover or inside the issue. Since the interior stories are from 1957 issues of DC Comics' MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY and GANG BUSTERS, this comic would have came out in the late 1950s or perhaps the early 1960s.
DC had good runs - 67 issues each - with MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY and GANG BUSTERS. Both started out as radio shows with the former running from 1939-1952 and the latter from 1935-1957. Both series branched out into movies, TV, and even Big Little Books.
Ruben Moreira drew the above cover, which originally appeared on MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY #57 [May-June, 1957]. This British issue appears to reprint all the stories which appeared in the American original. There are no writer credits for the stories at the GRAND COMICS DATABASE [www.comics.org], but here are the contents and the artistic credits:
"The Cop With a Convict Father" (8 pages, pencil art by Howard Purcell, inks by Ray Burnley);
"The Lady Loan Shark" (8 pages, Purcell and Burnley);
"The Case of the Bungling Butler" (a non-series 2-page filler drawn by George Papp);
"The Underworld Employment Agency" (8 pages, Purcell and Burnley);
"Telling Crime" (1-page filler by Morris Waldinger and likely reprinted from some earlier DC comic); and,
"Casey the Cop" (1-page gag strip by Henry Boltinoff).
These were tightly-plotted stories focusing on the police work more than the criminals, even if that police work could get a touch fanciful at times. What struck me about the cover story and "The Underworld Employment Agency" is that either one could have been a Batman tale of the period. In fact, I find it hard to believe that the employment agency bit *wasn't* used in Batman.
GANG BUSTERS #56 [February-March, 1957] had even tighter tales of law enforcement. All four of its 6-page stories were reprinted in this issue. They were:
"The Cop With Two Lives" (art by Howard Purcell);
"The Parole For Convict 4673" (Nick Cardy);
"The Baby-Faced Detective" (Leonard Starr); and,
"Cop's Widow" (Bernard Bailey).
We don't know who wrote the above stories, but, according to Jack Schiff, a DC Comics editor who is sadly no longer with us, the writers for the series included France Herron, Bill Finger, Dave Wood, Alvin Schwartz and others. Lean though these stories had to be, they contained clever ideas - "The Cop With Two Lives" is a TV actor who becomes an actual police officer to boost the ratings of the show in which he plays a police officer - as well as likeable and, for comic books aimed at young readers, realistic characters. I have an especially soft spot in my heart for "Convict 4673," who risks his life to save a child after being denied parole, and for the "Cop's Widow" who opens up her room as a boarding house for the unmarried officers her husband worked with.
In and around this batch of stories are more "Casey the Cop" gag pages, fact and public service pages, and a text feature with police news snippets.
The last story in this British reprint is "Secrets of the Test Squad" from GANG BUSTERS #57 [April-May, 1957]. Despite being the cover story of that issue and having terrific art by Ruben Moreira, this one just didn't work for me.
A police lieutenant gets his commissioner to fund a squad for the purpose of testing inventions that might be useful to the cops. He's got just one month to use one of the inventions successfully. Oh, the pressure!
The suction cups meant for rescue work don't work when they're wet. The robot traffic controller blows a fuse. The "seeing-eye" bullets which are supposed to be attracted to the guns in the hands of criminals can't distinguish between the guns and any other metal in the vicinity. Criminals figure out the frequency of the radio-equipped nightstick and use it to mislead the cops.
What ends up working is the one-man fort shown on the cover. While the invention didn't make for a good comics story, similar devices have been used in real-life police work.
MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY and GANG BUSTERS were a product of their era. Even before the Comics Code imposed its strident regulations on crime comics, the DC titles of the late 1940s through the 1960s were clearly suitable for children...and many were so well written and drawn they could also entertain older readers.
As big a booster as I am of getting this kind of material back into print, and even if licensing issues could be resolved, I'm not sure these comics would find an audience today. We like our police stories grittier, even those of us who, by and large, have a great respect for those charged to protect and serve us. The idealized cops and reasonably polite criminals of these tales show their age and naivety all too well. Still...
I enjoyed the stories and would love to read more like them. The OFFICIAL OVERSTREET COMIC BOOK PRICE GUIDE puts even the least expensive issues at $95-$120 in near-mint. Maybe it's time to hit eBay and see if there are bargains to be had.
Our week of British reprints continues Monday with SINISTER TALES from the 1950s.
******
COMICS IN THE COMICS
Bill Amend's paid tribute to a classic comic strip in his FOXTROT for October 25. This one's a keeper; it makes me smile every time I read it.
For the official FOXTROT website, go here:
www.foxtrot.com
******
COMICS IN THE COMICS II
Two weeks ago, I made a joke about POPEYE entertaining a guest from DC Comics in his September 30 strip...
...and wrote this about it:
Okay, maybe it's not *the* Black Lightning, but it is *a* bolt of black lightning. Veteran TOT readers - or just those who have had to listen to my war stories for lo, these many years - should recall that a black lightning bolt did play a role in my creation of Jefferson Pierce's costumed identity. I'll give you the weekend to think about it.
Then I completely forgot that I was supposed to explain those comments last week. Mea culpa.
Here's the scoop.
It was 1976. I had created a new super-hero and his name was the stuff of legends...JEFFERSON PIERCE!
That's right. I had created Jeff, figured out his background (some of which has never been seen in print), figured out what his basic story was (teacher becomes super-hero to protect the students he teaches), figured out his supporting cast, and even figured out who his first major foe would be.
What I hadn't yet figured out was what his super-hero identity or powers would be.
So I'm strolling around the DC Comics offices, having started to do some writing for the company, and I happen to spot a WONDER WOMAN cover on the wall in the legendary Julius Schwartz's office. It was this cover:
I thought "black lightning" had a ring to it. I capitalized it to "Black Lightning" and then started adding electrical elements to Jeff Pierce's extracurricular activities.
That's my story...and I fully expect my pal Craig "Mr. Silver Age" Shutt to incorporate the question into the next fan/pro trivia contest he conducts at Wizard World Chicago.
Just don't anyone tell Mark Waid about this column.
******
GET MORE TONY
In time for Halloween, Marvel Comics has published ESSENTIAL WEREWOLF BY NIGHT VOL. 1 [$16.99]. The hefty black-and-white tome reprints MARVEL SPOTLIGHT #2-4, WEREWOLF BY NIGHT #1-21, and a trio of Werewolf tales from other comics of the 1970s. The writers and artists include Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway, Mike Ploog, Len Wein, Tom Sutton, Marv Wolfman, Gil Kane, Gene Colan, Mike Friedrich, Don Perlin, Doug Moench, Ross Andru, and yours truly. My contribution is "Tigra the Were-Woman" from GIANT-SIZE CREATURES, the tale which turned a earlier super-heroine (the Cat) into the feline fury who eventually became an Avenger.
Now my story has released been reprinted elsewhere (GIANT-SIZE MARVEL) and in full color, but there are 26 other reasons to pick up a copy of this collection. There were some cool art, stories, and characters in these comic books and, even sans color, they are still lots of fun.
Moreover, judging from my own experience, Marvel is good about paying royalties on these reprint volumes. You get some terrific comic books at a bargain price and the creators of those comics get checks. Now that's a good thing.
******
TODAY'S FINAL THOUGHT
Between getting ready for root canal surgery and dealing with the "Contractor From Hell," I've been off my reviewing game for the past few days. The former is scheduled for tomorrow and the latter situation draws ever nearer to a close. Thanks for your continued patience with the chaos of my life.
I'll be back Monday with more stuff.
Tony Isabella
<< 10/25/2005 | 10/26/2005 | 10/31/2005 >>
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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.
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