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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, May 2, 2008
In every issue of Comics Buyer's Guide, in addition to my "Tony's Tops" column, I write a short feature called "Tony's Back Page" wherein I recall some hopefully interesting snippet from my life in comics. Here are two of them.
From CBG #1641:
"The Burning Man"
When I was contributing to Marvel's black-and-white horror magazines in the 1970s, I wrote a bunch of single-page comics about monster lore and legend. I enjoyed writing these. They gave me an excuse to read books filled with such "true" stories, which I would then reduce to four or five snappy panels.
"The Burning Man" was one of these. Appearing in Monsters Unleashed #7 [August, 1974] and drawn by Ernie Chan, it told of a mysterious flaming figure that terrorized German's Black Forest in the 11th Century. Coincidentally, I became the editor of the title with that very issue.
A veteran comics writer had submitted several full scripts to the magazine's previous editor. That editor had never responded to the writer's inquiries, so I inherited the unenviable task of telling the writer they weren't suitable for our needs. However, because of the long wait between submission and rejection, I bought two of his scripts, knowing they needed to be heavily rewritten. Memory fails, but I either did this on my own time or paid another writer out of my own pocket to do it for me.
I sent the writer a letter and some copies of our magazines, explaining what I was seeking in one-offs and continuing series. Thus encouraged, he sent me a pitch for an ongoing series with the afore-mentioned "Burning Man", except that he called the character - wait for it - the Human Torch. What made this even more bizarre was that, back in the 1940s, he had been one of the writers of the original Human Torch.
To this day, I don't know what he was thinking. If his pitch had been at all suitable, I might've worked with him on developing it under the "Burning Man" name. But there wasn't anything in it that could justify my buying even a pilot story.
I wish I'd been able to work with him. He had worked for over a dozen publishers during his long career. It would've been worth working with him just to hear his stories about all those comics companies. Sadly, he passed over a decade ago and, to the best of my knowledge, without ever being interviewed by any of the amazing historians who have been so tirelessly preserving the real stories of our industry.
When I wrote about my memory failing me, I was far more on the money then I realized. Before the issue hit the newsstand, I had reason to doubt my recollection of the events reported in the above feature.
From CBG #1642:
"The Burning Man 2"
Last issue, I wrote of "The Burning Man" of Germanic legend, how I had written of this creature for a single-page "true" comics story for Monsters Unleashed #7 [August, 1974], and how a veteran writer had subsequently pitched me, the spanking new editor of Monsters Unleashed, on an ongoing Burning Man series he called...the Human Torch. What made the anecdote for me was that, in the 1940s, the writer had been a writer for the original Human Torch and, apparently, didn't realize a new version of the Torch was a member of the Fantastic Four, the super-hero team that put Marvel back on the map. Intending no disrespect to the writer, it stunned me that someone in our industry was so unaware of Marvel's flagship title.
But maybe it wasn't as big a lapse as I recalled.
Elsewhere, I have written about the uncertainty of memory that makes the comics historian's quest for information difficult. When I shared my "Burning Man" anecdote with a friend who is also one of comicdom's most eminent historians, he quickly guessed the writer's identity and asked me how I knew that said writer had worked on the original Human Torch. I suddenly realized I couldn't recall how I had learned this information.
A quick check of the Grand Comics Database and Jerry Bails' Who's Who in Comic Books could not confirm the information of which I had been so certain. I plumbed the depths of my memory for the source of my knowledge. Did the writer himself tell me that he'd written for the original Human Torch? Was it information shared with me by Sol Brodsky or George Roussos or one of the other comics veterans with whom I worked while I was on staff at Marvel Comics? I just don't know.
If there is a lesson to be learned from this now-questionable tale from my past, it's that memory can be a darn strange critter. Comics historians must be cognizant of this. As Aldous Huxley once put it:
"Every man's memory is his private literature."
Or, to put it in carpenter terms:
Measure twice, cut once.
******
COMICS IN THE COMICS
All week long, we've been running Comics in the Comics with Superman appearances or mentions. It's a never-ending battle to get through all the comics in my files.
First up today is Mike Peters' Mother Goose and Grimm from August 28, 2007:
Sent to me by TOT reader Tom Duffy, here's Herman from August 30, 2007:
I wasn't familiar with Herman, so I went to Wikipedia and found this:
Herman was a daily single panel comic strip written and drawn by Jim Unger. It was syndicated from 1975 continuously through 1992, when Unger retired. In 1997, Herman was returned to syndication with reprints of classic strips and occasional new material mixed in. The eponymous Herman is actually anybody within the confines of the strip - a man, a woman, a child, any animal, or even an extraterrestrial. All characters are rendered in Unger's unique style as hulking, beetle-browed figures with pronounced noses and jaws, and often sport comically understated facial expressions.
Dan Piraro's Bizarro from September 17, 2007:
The Flying McCoys offer some Kaiju in the Comics on the side in their panel from September 25, 2007:
Just one more for this week. Here's Dave Whamond's Reality Check from October 4, 2007:
Superman remains one of the most recognizable comics figures of them all. He appears so frequently in comic strips and panels that I could do a second week of this theme. However, for the sake of variety, I'll have something else for you next week.
Thanks for spending a part of your day with me. Have a happy and safe weekend.
I'll be back next week with more stuff.
Tony Isabella
<< 05/01/2008 | 05/02/2008 | 05/05/2008 >>
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:
Tony's Online Tips
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Medina, OH 44256
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