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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, March 12, 2008
Here's another story-that-never-was from my checkered career. I'll warn you my memory is a bit foggy on this one.
It was during my mercifully brief time as a DC Comics editor. One of "my" titles was The Unknown Soldier. Among the best stories during writer David Michelinie's run on the title strip was a meeting between the Soldier and the fiery Mademoiselle Marie of the French Resistence. Marie blamed the Solider for the deaths of some of her men and had vowed, once the war was over, to kill him for this. What a great story that would make! And why should we wait until the end of the war for it?
With apologies if I'm misremembering this...
David felt defeating the Axis was the Soldier's only reason for living, that he'd likely kill himself when the war was over. I felt Marie would be as good as her word re: killing the Soldier herself. How could we get to that story without actually ending the war?
I'm ashamed to admit the solution came from a movie I'd heard about but never seen: 36 Hours. It was based on a story by Roald Dahl and starred James Garner as an American officer. In the film, Garner is kidnapped by Germans who try to convince him the war is over to get details about D-Day from him.
This being comics, I envisioned the Germans building a "post-war" village and filling it with actors. They would pretend they had already lost the war as a means to trick Marie and the Solider into revealing vital war secrets. Of course, they had no way of knowing that Marie and the Soldier had their own post-war plans. With the built-in cliff hangers of Marie trying to kill the Soldier and the Soldier trying to kill himself, I figured this would make for a solid three-issue storyline.
You know the drill. The story never got any further than the above springboard. Immodest guy that I am, I think it would have been terrific, the kind of story readers would've talked about for years to come.
******
BLOGGY BITS
The good news...is that I landed the assignment I mentioned in yesterday's column. The not-terrible-news...is that I'm forced to load the middle of this week with reprints in order to accommodate the assignment I mentioned yesterday.
Today's TOT is a short reprint. Tomorrow's TOT will be a much longer one. Neither is being "charged" to your "Tip The Tipster" donations, which have so generously paid for new columns well into April and for which I thank you.
I also thank you for spending part of your day with me. I'll be back tomorrow with more stuff.
Tony Isabella
<< 03/11/2008 | 03/12/2008 | 03/13/2008 >>
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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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