By Walt Kelly (Fantagraphics Books)
ISBN: 978-1-56097-920-3
Our Gang (also known as the Li’l Rascals) movie shorts were one of the most popular series in American Film history. From 1922 onwards they featured the fun and folksy humour of a bunch of “typical kids†(atypically though, there was full racial equality and mingling – but the little girls were still always smarter than the boys) having wholesome adventures in times safer and more simple.
The rotating kid cast and slapstick shenanigans were the brainchild of film genius Hal Roach (who worked with Harold Lloyd, Charley Chase and Laurel and Hardy amongst others) and these brief cinematic paeans to a Golden Age of childhood entered the “household name†category of Americana in amazingly swift order.
From 1942 Dell released an Our Gang comic book written and drawn by the legendary Walt Kelly, who, consummate craftsman that he was, resorted to wit, verve and charm to concoct a progression of stories that elevated an American childhood of the War Years to the mythical levels of Baum and Twain.
This third collection, re-presenting the tales from issues #16 to #23, take the eternal scamps from the dog-ends of World War II to the shaky beginnings of a new world (April 1945 – June 1946), but the themes and schemes are as comfortingly familiar as ever, with Froggy, Buckwheat (eventually plain Bucky), Janet, Red and Baxter (not to mention Julep the Goat) foiling crooks, raising cash, lazing around and rushing about in a pictorial utopia of childhood aspiration and unsullied joy.
As always the tales are lovingly reproduced in a gloriously luxurious collection, this time sporting a Jeff Smith cover and an informative introduction by Walt Kelly historian Steve Thompson.
This idyllic paean to long-lost days of games and dares, excursions, adventures, get-rich-quick-schemes, battles with rivals and especially plucky victories is a fabulous window into a better universe. If the eternal struggle palls, here is a beautiful tonic from a master of comics that has truly universal appeal.
By Larry Hama, Andrew Wildman, Art Nichols & Joe Rubinstein (Marvel)
ISBN: 978-0-7851-0199-4
There was a period in the mid 1990s where, to all intents and purposes, the corporate behemoth known as Marvel Comics had completely lost the plot. An awful lot of stories from that period will probably never be reprinted, but some of them weren’t completely beyond redemption.
At one stage the symbiote went into breeding mode, creating a junior version of itself that merged with Cletus Kasady, a totally amoral and completely deranged psycho-killer. Calling him/itself Carnage, it tore a bloody swathe through New York before an army of superheroes caught him and his equally noisome “familyâ€.
There is no love lost between Venom and Carnage.
This collected four-issue miniseries (perhaps the best of a truly lackluster series of self-contained Venom stories released by Marvel) sees the Lethal Protector return to New York just as Kasady, who has sold the rights to his life to an online gaming company, uses a complimentary computer terminal to escape from the Ultra-High Security Ravencroft Hospital for the criminally insane.
That’s about it for plot. Larry Hama is an absolute master of hell-for-leather, gung-ho action, with a dry black wit and sharp ears for a good line, and the art is competent and frenetic, with inker Rubinstein mercifully blunting the worst excesses of the artists, who were fully immersed in the infernally annoying scratchy-line “Image style†penciling of the time.
Shallow and with no discernible lasting merit, this is nevertheless and full-on hoot of superheroic excess and could just be the solution to a dull, wet afternoon.
By Berni Wrightson & various (Mother of Pearl)
ISBN: 0-937848-00-X
I was reviewing the first Un-Men collection (Get Your Freak On!- ISBN: 978-1-84576-748-8) when I decided to simultaneously – and gratuitously – revisit the classic Swamp Thing: it’s odd how your day will take you because I then thought about the rarer stuff that Wrightson did when he was just breaking into the business…
Towards the end of the turbulent 1960s a lot of fresh talent was trying to break into the comics industry in America. Moreover at that time a number of publishers were experimenting with cheaper black and white magazines rather than four-colour comic books. Companies like Warren, Skywald and a small host of imitators were hiring kids who then honed their craft in public.
Some of those neophytes, Bruce Jones, Mike Kaluta and Jeff Jones, as well as Wrightson, all got a chance to grow, and more importantly, by actually drawing pastiches of the EC Comics they had revelled in as youngsters – a market that the comics mainstream scorned. At least at that moment in time…
Culled from various sources this book reprints a number of those fledgling horror, Sci Fi and fantasy tales, showing the sheer skill and virtuosity of the artist. With occasional scripts from Terry Bisson, Dick Kenson, Virgil North and David Izzo, these are primarily self-penned as well as illustrated novelettes. Mother Toad, The Task, the assorted adventures of Limstrel, The Game That Plays You, A Case of Conscience, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Stake Out, The Reaper of Love, Out on a Limb, Conjure Woman, Maudlin Love Comix, Nosferatu, Ghastly Horror Comix, and a delightful untitled pantomimic horror spoof all conclusively display the astounding talent of the young Wrightson, and most importantly his devilishly wicked sense of humour.
Also included is an incredible 17 page portfolio section which even has a selection from his seminal Frankenstein adaptation. Simply as a casual read this would be a fine book to own, but as a chronology of the development of one of the industry’s finest talents it is indispensable. Someone, somewhere take note and republish this book!
By various (Dark Horse Books)
ISBN: 978-1-84576-472-2
Dark Horse Comics have held the comics producing section of the Star Wars franchise since 1993, generating thousands of pages of material, much of it excellent, and some not quite. But as I’ve said before, die-hard fans simply aren’t that quality conscious when it comes to their personal obsession, whether it’s comics, the latest batch of action figures, or another film fiasco.
The company’s Omnibus line is a wonderful, economical way to keep the older material in print for such fans by bundling old publications into classy digests (they’re slightly smaller than US comic-books but larger than the standard manga volume, running about 400 full colour pages per book). Tales of the Jedi chronologically collects the various extrapolations set prior to the first film Star Wars IV: A New Hope.
‘The Freedon Nadd Uprising’ is by Tom Veitch, with art by Tony Akins and Dennis Rodier, coloured by Suzanne Bourdages and lettered by Willie Schubert, It’s set about 4000 years prior to the rise of Darth Vader and first appeared as a two-part comic miniseries of the same name in 1994. Set once again set on the Beast World of Onderon (as there’s such close continuity I strongly recommend first reading volume 1 – ISBN: 978-1-84576-471-5 – of this Omnibus series). There’s a resurgence of Sith sorcery on the newly liberated world, and the dispatch of Nomi Sunrider and a small Jedi team to ferret out the contagion leads to the resurrection of a hideous undying evil…
This is followed by ‘Dark Lords of the Sith’ by Veitch, Kevin J. Anderson, Chris Gossett, Mike Barreiro and Jordi Ensign, Pamela Rambo and Schubert. Set one year later this (originally) six issue tale follows the fortunes of the Sith-tainted royal siblings Aleema and Satal Keto as they first steal the throne of the Empress Teta system and then attempt to extend their rule to the rest of the Republic. Initially opposing them, only to fall prey to the Dark Side is the haughty young Jedi Exar Kun. As the war escalates the fallen Ulic Qel-Droma and Kun fall deeper under the sway of the ghost of Sith Lord Freedon Nadd…
As the Republic totters of the brink of darkness and disaster ‘The Sith War’ (by Anderson, Dario Carrasco Jr., Jordi Ensign, Mark Heike, Bill Black and David Jacob Beckett, Rachelle Menase, Rambo and Schubert) opens with all-out galactic war raging. Another six-part epic, this intense thriller concludes the dramas of all the major players in stirring fashion, paving the way for an excellent and much-needed change of pace.
‘Redemption’ (originally a five part miniseries by Anderson, Gossett, Andrew Pepoy, Dave Nestelle and Schubert) is set ten years later, as Vima, daughter of the great Nomi Sunrider hits her rebellious teen years. Ignored by Jedi masters overburdened by the task of rebuilding civilisation, she runs away in search of somebody, anybody, willing to teach her the secrets of The Force.
Hidden on the dangerous Moon of Yavin she finds the fallen Jedi Ulic Qel-Droma…
Rich in their own complex mythology these swashbuckling fantasy tales can be a little hard to follow, but the sheer bravura exuberance is quite intoxicating and makes this book a thoroughly engrossing reading experience. These are comics stories that act as a solid gold entrance into the world of graphic narrative and one we should all exploit to get more people into comics.
Footrot Flats was one of the most successful comic strips of modern times, but it seems to have passed from sight with staggering rapidity. Created by Murray Ball from his New Zealand farm, it ran from 1975 to 1994 in newspapers on four continents. Thereafter new material was released in book form until 2000, resulting in 27 daily strip collections, 8 volumes of Sunday pages, and 5 pocket books, plus ancillary publications. There was a stage musical, a theme park and a truly superb animated film Footrot Flats: The Dog’s Tail Tale.
My previous review contains more background if you want it (and I’m sure that search engine thingy could fill in any blanks for fact-fans), but as I’ve just found a few books I’ve been missing online, I thought I’d remind you what a wonderful resource it is if you need further doses of farm-fresh, dryly ironic and sheepishly sentimental comedy from a master draughtsman and born cartoonist.
Wallace Footrot Cadwallader is a big, bluff, regular bloke: likes his food; loves Sport. He owns a small sheep farm (the eponymous Footrot Flats) best described as “400 acres of swamp between Ureweras and the Seaâ€. With his farm hand Cooch Windgrass, and a sheepdog who calls himself “Dog†he makes a fair go of it.
Dog is still the star, but by book 2 other unique characters have begun to make their mark. Especial favourites include Major the Pig Dog (I won’t explain: he has to seen to be believed) and Horse, the rough-hewn stone god of self-reliant farm-cats. Ego-pricking and male bluster-busting are provided by the wiry but formidable Aunty Dolly, and a kind of glamour by the local hairdresser and all-around floozie (at least according to the insecure and probably jealous Dog) Darlene Hobson.
Dry, surreal and wonderfully self-deprecating, the humour comes from perfectly realised characters, human and not, plus the tough life of a bachelor farmer in a landscape that likes to amuse itself at our expense. If the New Zealand tourist board knew the natural horrors daily depicted in this wonderful cartoon gem, they’d have packed it in years ago.
Murray Ball is one of those gifted few who can actually draw funnily. Combined with his sharp, incisive world-view the result is pure, acerbic magic. Once again I’m reviewing a 1990s Titan edition, but the same material is readily available from a number of publishers and retailers.
Like Wal, I’m no quitter! You probably need a good laugh, brilliantly drawn, so I’m going to keep on banging on bout Footrot Flats. Go on. Fetch!
By John Whalen & Mike Hawthorne (Vertigo)
ISBN: 978-1-84576-748-8
The Un-Men were originally grotesque graphic cannon-fodder created by Len Wein and Bernie (then Berni) Wrightson for the second issue of the legendary Swamp Thing comic in 1972. They also appeared in Wrightson’s last issue (#10 – see Swamp Thing: Dark Genesis, ISBN: 978-1-56389-044-4) along with their malevolent creator Anton Arcane.
As part of that series’ ongoing theme of pastiching classic horror icons – Werewolves, Witches, Vampires and so forth – they were a grotesque and memorable visual backdrop for the tale of a wizard who dabbled with artificial life forms in an attempt to build a body he could live forever in. And thus far that’s all the overt connection to Swamp Thing in this phenomenally delayed spin-off, although some of the characters and the main premise stems from that landmark series.
In this first volume, collecting issues #1-5 of the Vertigo comicbook, we are introduced to the city of Aberrance, Texas; a tawdry tourist-trap with a unique line in themed entertainment. Government-sponsored, this town is occupied solely by freaks and weirdoes, and derives its income from the two million “normal†Americans who flock there every year to gawk at them.
Unsavoury as that might sound, it’s also a place with a big secret. The ruling hierarchy are not natural freaks in the grand old carnival manner, but rather the supernatural creations of Anton Arcane, who run the place with institutionalized elitism, disdaining all the other geeks, misfits and outcasts – or “Gaffs†– who have congregated there. In Aberrance the Freaks run the show, Gaffs do what they’re told and “Normals†spend their vacations and their cash feeling disgusted and thankful. There’s even a blockbuster Reality TV show “American Freakâ€, storming up the Nielsens…
The town only exists because a whistle-blower alerted the world to the fact that the US Military were running a weapons development facility trying to create better monsters for future wars. When exposed the Authorities sheepishly turned the place – an old Atomic bomb test site – into a Reservation for the Abnormal, with full independence and autonomy, but they’re still poking around there in more or less clandestine manner.
And thus we meet Phineas Kilcrop, albino Federal Agent for the US Department of Energy whose sorry remit is to ensure all those monstrosities stay where they’re put. When he returns a murdered escapee to Aberrance, he becomes embroiled in a war for independence, a bizarre conspiracy and the sheer insanity of a plan to rewrite nature. Moreover, the heads of the Un-Men elite all seem to know more about his clouded past than he does…
Fast paced and sharp tongued, this is an above average conspiracy thriller that could develop into something really special, although this first book doesn’t always hit satisfactory notes. Tinged with black comedy and with a lot to say about image, isolation and society, it hasn’t yet said anything here. You might want to pick this up for its potential to deliver, but I suspect most fans will wait to see how succeeding episodes play out…
By Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson (Vertigo/DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-56389-044-4
The first fan-sensation of the modern age of comics (or perhaps the last of the true Silver Age?), Swamp Thing has powerful popular fiction antecedents and in 1972 was seemingly a concept whose time had come again. Prime evidence was the fact that Marvel were also working on a man-into-mucky, muddy mess character at the very same time.
For whatever reason, by the end of the 1960s superhero comics had started another steep sales decline, once again making way for a horror/mystery boom: a sea-change augmented by a swift rewriting of the specific terms of the Comics Code Authority. At DC, House of Mystery and its sister title House of Secrets returned to short story anthology formats and gothic mystery scenarios, taking a lead from such TV successes as Twilight Zone and Rod Serling’s Night Gallery with EC veteran Joe Orlando as editor.
Referencing the sardonic narrator/storyteller format of the EC horror titles, Orlando created Cain and Abel to shepherd readers through brief, sting-in-the-tail yarns produced by the best creators, new and old, that the company could hire. Artists Neal Adams, Mike Kaluta, and especially Berni Wrightson undoubtedly produced their best work for these two titles and the vast range of successors the horror boom generated at DC.
The twelfth anthology issue of House of Secrets cemented the genre into place as the industry leader. In it writer Len Wein and Wrightson produced a throwaway gothic thriller set at the turn of the 19th century, wherein gentleman scientist Alex Olsen is murdered by his best friend and his body dumped in a swamp. Years later his beloved bride, now the unsuspecting wife of the murderer, is stalked by a shambling, disgusting beast that seems to be composed of mud and muck…
‘Swamp Thing’ cover featured in HoS #92 (June-July 1971), and it struck an immediate chord with the buying public. The issue was the best selling DC comic of that month, and reader response was fervent and persistent. By all accounts the only reason there wasn’t an immediate sequel or spin-off was that the creative team didn’t want to produce one.
Eventually however, bowing to interminable pressure, and with the sensible idea of transplanting the concept contemporary America, the first issue of Swamp Thing appeared on newsstands in the Spring of 1972. It was an instant hit and an instant classic.
Wein and Wrightson produced ten issues together, crafting an extended, multi-chaptered tale of justice/vengeance and a quest for answers that was at once philosophically typical of the time and a prototype for the story-arc and mini-series formats that dominate modern comicbook production. They also used each issue/chapter to pay tribute to a specific sub-genre of timeless horror story whilst advancing the major plot.
The origin ‘Dark Genesis’ finds Alec and Linda Holland deep in the Bayou Country, working on a “bio-restorative formula†that will revolutionise World Farming. They are working in isolation, protected by Matt Cable, a Secret Service agent, when representatives of an organisation called The Conclave, demand that they sell their research to them – or else. Obviously the patriotic pair refuse, and the die is cast when their lab is bombed. Linda dies instantly but Alec, showered with his own formula and blazing like a torch hurtles to a watery grave in the swamp.
But he does not die.
Transformed by the formula (and remember, please, that this is prior to Alan Moore’s landmark re-imagining of the character) he is transformed into a gigantic man-shaped monster, immensely strong, unable to speak, and seemingly made from living plant matter. Holland’s brain still functions however, and he vacillates between finding his wife’s killers and curing his own monstrous condition. Cable, misinterpreting the evidence, also wants revenge, but he thinks that the monster is the cause of death of his two charges…
Over the next nine issues, Swamp Thing travelled the world, encountering the black sorcerer Anton Arcane and his artificial homunculi, The Un-Men (recently the subject of their own Vertigo series), Abigail Arcane and her tragic Frankensteinian father The Patchwork Man, and a werewolf on the moors of Scotland, before returning to America and finding ‘The Last of the Ravenwind Witches’. In the wilds of Vermont he encounters Paradise on Earth, care of an old clockmaker but is attacked by the voracious Conclave, leading to one of the most evocative and revered team-ups of the 1970s.
Swamp Thing #7’s ‘Night of the Bat!’ featured the final showdown with remorseless robber-barons of The Conclave in Gotham City, and a landmark collaboration with the resurgent Batman, himself finally recovering from the hyper-exploitation of the “Campy†TV show era. Wrightson’s rendering of the superhero through the lens of a horror artist inspired a whole generation of aspiring comics professionals and firmly set the caped crusader to rest, replacing him with a Dark Knight.
Somewhat at a loss after the end of his quest (Swamp Thing came out bi-monthly, so the tale had taken well over a year to tell – unprecedented at a time when most comics still had two or more complete stories per issue) the Moss Monster shambled through America’s hinterlands encountering a Lovecraftian horror in the New England town of Perdition, a ghastly but misunderstood alien and finally the unquiet ghosts of slaves and plantation-owners. This grim and powerful closing tale also featured the return of Arcane and the grotesque Un-Men.
The initial series staggered on under some very capable and talented hands (up until #24), but the fever of inspiration was never re-kindled, meaning that the very best of that iconic saga can be easily contained in one volume. This is a superb slice of old-fashioned comics wonderment, from a less cynical and sophisticated age, but with a passion and intensity that cannot be matched. And, ooh, that artwork…
By Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky & various (DC Comics)
ISBN13: 978-1-84576-342-8
The third volume of these cheap ‘n’ cheerful black and white compendiums of past Justice League classics covers a period in DC’s history that still makes many a fan shudder with dread but I’m going to ask them to reconsider their aversion to the “Camp Craze†that saw America go superhero silly in the wake of the Batman TV show (and, to a lesser extent, the Green Hornet series that introduced Bruce Lee to the world). I should also mention that comics didn’t create the craze. Many popular media outlets felt the zeitgeist of a zanier, tongue-in-cheek, mock-heroic fashion: Just check out DVDS of Lost in Space or The Man from U.N.C.L.E if you doubt me…
The third annual JLA/JSA team-up starts the fun, a largely forgotten and rather experimental tale wherein the Johnny Thunder of Earth-1 wrested control of the genie-like Thunderbolt from his Justice Society counterpart and used its magic powers to change events that led to the creation of all Earth-1’s superheroes. It’s JSA to the rescue in a gripping battle of wits in #37’s ‘Earth – Without a Justice League’ and the concluding ‘Crisis on Earth-A!’
Issue #39 was an Eighty-Page Giant reprinting Brave and the Bold #28 and #30 and Justice League of America #5, so this volume makes do with just a cover reproduction before continuing with issue #40 and the ‘Indestructible Creatures of Nightmare Island’ a challenging conundrum wherein an astral scientist’s machine to suppress Man’s basest instincts almost causes the end of humanity, but also an action packed psycho-thriller stuffed with super-villainous guest-stars.
Issue #41 introduced a modern version of an old Justice Society villain. The Earth-1 mastermind called The Key is a diabolical scientist who used mild-altering psycho-chemicals to control the behaviour of our heroes in ‘The Key – Master of the World!’ He was followed by a guest-appearance from DC’s newest superhero sensation. Acquitting himself splendidly against the Cosmic Force named The Unimaginable, he was naturally offered membership in the team but astonishingly, he declined in the in the controversial ‘Metamorpho says – No!’
Justice League of America #43 was cover dated March 1966 and introduced a villainous team led by an old foe. ‘The Card Crimes of the Royal Flush Gang’ is a fine “Goodies and Baddies†romp and the first issue to feature the legendary DC “Go-Go checkerboard†banner at the top of the cover. This iconic cover-feature still generates a frisson of child-like anticipation in many older fans and is often used in pastiches and homage today to instantly create an evocative mood. It also marked the end of a brilliant career, as veteran inker Bernard Sachs put down his brushes for the final time and retired from the League and the comics field.
The next issue was inked by Frank Giacoia, a tense bio-thriller entitled ‘The Plague that Struck the Justice League!’, and he was joined by Joe Giella for the witty monster-menace double-feature ‘The Super-Struggle against Shaggy Man!’ in issue #45.
A wise-cracking campy tone was fully in play with the next issue, in acknowledgement of the changing audience profile. It was the opening part of the fourth annual crossover with the Justice Society of America. This time the stakes were raised to encompass the destruction of both planets in ‘Crisis Between Earth-One and Earth-Two’ and issue #47’s ‘The Bridge Between Earths’, wherein a bold – if rash – experiment pulls the two sidereal worlds into an inexorable hyper-space collision, whilst to make matters worse an anti-matter being uses the opportunity to explore our positive matter universe.
Peppered with wisecracks and “hip†dialogue, it’s sometimes difficult to discern what a cracking yarn this actually is, but if you’re able to forgive or swallow the dated patter, this is one of the best plotted and illustrated stories in the entire JLA/JSA canon. Furthermore, the vastly talented Sid Greene signed on as regular inker with this classic adventure, adding expressive subtlety, beguiling texture and whimsical humour to the pencils of Mike Sekowsky and the increasingly light, comedic scripts of Gardner Fox.
The next issue was another Eighty-Page Giant (reprinting Brave and the Bold #29 and #30 and Justice League of America #2 and 3, represented here by its stirring Sekowsky/Murphy Anderson cover, followed by the ‘Threat of the True-or-false Sorcerer’ in which a small team of the biggest guns (Batman, Superman, Flash and Green Lantern) must ferret out a doppelganger Felix Faust before he inadvertently dissolves all creation. There’s no excessive hoopla to celebrate the fiftieth issue but ‘The Lord of Time Attacks the 20th Century’ is another brilliantly told tale of heroism, action and sacrifice that, uncharacteristically for the company and the time, references and includes the ongoing Vietnam conflict. With “Batmania†in full swing editor Julie Schwartz also deemed it wise to include Robin, The Boy Wonder with regulars Aquaman, Flash, Green Arrow, Wonder Woman, Snapper Carr and Batman.
Issue #51 concluded a long-running experiment in continuity with ‘Z – As in Zatanna – and Zero Hour!’ in which a comely young sorceress concluded the search for her long-missing father with the assistance of a small group of Leaguers and guest-star Ralph “Elongated Man†Dibny.
Zatarra was a magician-hero in the Mandrake mould who had fought evil in the pages of Action Comics for over a decade beginning with the very first issue. During the Silver Age Gardner Fox had Zatarra’s young and equally gifted daughter, Zatanna, go searching for him by guest-teaming with a selection of superheroes Fox was currently scripting (if you’re counting, these tales appeared in Hawkman #4, Atom #19, Green Lantern #42, and the Elongated Man back-up strip in Detective Comics #355 as well as a very slick piece of back writing to include the high-profile Caped Crusader via Detective #336 – ‘Batman’s Bewitched Nightmare’).
Experimentation was also the basis of #52’s ‘Missing in Action – 5 Justice Leaguers!’, a portmanteau tale that showed what happened to those members who didn’t show up for issue #50. Hawkman – plus wife and partner Hawkgirl – Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter and Superman reported their solo yet ultimately linked adventures, whilst the Atom referred them to his time-travelling escapade with Benjamin Franklin from the pages of his own comic (The Atom #27 ‘Stowaway on a Hot Air Balloon!’). Batman still managed to make an appearance through the magic of a lengthy flash-back, showing again just how ubiquitous the TV series had made him. No editor in his right mind would ignore a legitimate (or even not-so) chance to feature such a perfect guarantee of increased sales.
‘Secret Behind the Stolen Super-Weapons’ found Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow and Hawkman – again with Hawkgirl guest-starring – deprived of their esoteric armaments and in desperate need of the Atom, Flash, Aquaman and Superman. Card-carrying criminals returned in ‘The History-Making Costumes of the Royal Flush Gang’, a taut mystery-thriller with plenty of action to balance the suspense. This fed perfectly into another summer-spectacular team-up with the JSA.
Boasting a radical change, the Earth-2 team now starred an adult Robin instead of Batman, but Hourman, Wonder Woman, Hawkman, Wildcat, Johnny Thunder and Mr. Terrific still needed the help of Earth-1’s Superman, Flash, Green Lantern and Green Arrow to cope with ‘The Super-Crisis that Struck Earth-Two’ and ‘The Negative-Crisis on Earths One-Two!’
This cosmic threat from a dying universe was in stark contrast to the overly-worthy but well intentioned ‘Man – Thy Name is Brother!’ in issue #57, where Flash, Green Arrow and Hawkman joined Snapper Carr in defending human rights and equality via three cases involving ethnic teenagers; a black, a native American/Apache (and if that modern phrase doesn’t indicate the necessity and efficacy of such stories in the 1960’s then what does?) and an aid-worker in India. Beautifully drawn and obviously heartfelt, I still ponder on the fact that all the characters are male… but eventually comics would confront even that last bastion of institutionalised prejudice.
There’s one last Eighty-Page Giant cover in this gloriously cost-effective monochrome compendium (issue # 58 reprinted Justice League of America #1, 6 and 8), and it was produced by Carmine Infantino and Murphy Anderson. That’s followed by the extremely odd conceptual puzzler ‘The Justice Leaguer’s Impossible Adventure’ before the volume closes with the return of an old adversary and another “hot†guest-star. Issue #60 featured ‘Winged Warriors of the Immortal Queen!’ and pitted the enslaved and transformed team against DC’s newest sensation – Batgirl.
These phonebook-like collections – each in excess of 500 pages – are an absolute gift for modern fans with a desperate need to catch up without going bankrupt. They’re also the perfect gift for youngsters needing an introduction to a fabulous world of adventure and magic. Of all the various reprint editions and formats available for classic material, these monochrome tomes are my absolute favourites.
By Pat Mills & Kevin O’Neill (Titan Books)
ISBN: 9781-84576-943-7
Though not strictly a graphic novel this copiously illustrated book finally collects the prose stories starring the deeply troubled superhero hunter that appeared on Nick Percival’s Cool Beans website between 2000 and 2002. A continuation of the character first published by Epic Comics and Dark Horse as well as the British Apocalypse Comics, these stories are intended for adult readers – whatever that means, these days.
In the dystopian metropolis of San Futuro, the returned dregs of America’s latest war litter the streets. Once again soldiers have been abandoned by their country as soon as the conflict ended, but his time drugs trauma and stress aren’t the only long-term problems. Genetic engineering made US troops into superheroes, but it couldn’t unmake them so now they’re just a dangerous problem the Authorities would love to ignore.
Joe Gilmore is one such returnee who took a different route. He’s a cop who uses his cursed abilities to remove the worst of the super-scum from the streets. He is Marshal Law and far too infrequently since 1987 he’s been a tool of brutal criticism and satire on the overweening cult of superheroes in American comicbooks.
In the comics incarnation the series is characterised by nudity, creative profanity, barbed parody, sexual situations (I don’t think I’ve ever typed that phrase before!) extreme violence and fabulous hilarity. O’Neill’s art is always stuffed with extras and both creators blatant dislike for costumed heroes shines out like a batsignal.
This book then is a mixed blessing. It’s great to see two more canonical tales ‘The Day of the Dead’ (a showdown with a band of superhero serial killers) and ‘Cloak of Evil’ (the suspicious suicide of San Futuro’s top Sex Worker leads to way more than anybody expected) but Mill’s choppy prose won’t be to everybody’s taste. Moreover even with O’Neill’s wonderful illustrations (19 black and white double page spreads) a vital story element is absent. On a Marshal Law page as much goes on in the backgrounds and margins and the scenery walls as in front of the camera, but that simply isn’t possible here.
This compilation is interesting and powerful, but not as effective as a new comic would be. We’re waiting…
Young Paris – don’t call him Michael, he hates it – may finally have had a turn of good luck. Not only has he inherited some property from his reclusive grandfather, but the residents of picturesque little hamlet Raven Hollow are desperate to buy it from him, sight unseen. Nonetheless he makes his way their and finds that it’s not all so cut and dried.
The property is a cemetery named The Boneyard and not everything within its walls is content to play dead. There’s Abby, a beautiful vampire chick, a foul-mouthed skeleton, a demon with delusions of grandeur, a werewolf who thinks he’s a cross between James Dean and the Fonz, a witch, a hulking Frankensteinian monster and even talking gargoyles over the gate. Most worrying of all: There’s even a voluptuous (married) amphibian who adds worlds of meaning to the phrase “predatory man-eater.â€
The place is a veritable refuge for the restless dead and every sort of Halloween horror, but somehow they all seem more human and friendly than the increasingly off-kilter townsfolk whose desperate measures to make Paris sell show that not all monsters haunt graveyards.
Reprinting issues #1-4 of the independent comic book in full process colour, this is a charming, sly and irresistibly addictive book, a warm-hearted comedy of terrors that is one the best humour series to come out of the States since Charles Addams first started reporting from that spooky old house in the 1940s.
This is a must-have for Horrorists, Humorists and especially Romantics with an open mind, which can even be read by younger teenagers.
