Author: Now Read This

Wondering, “WHAT SHALL I GET HIM FOR CHRISTMAS?”

By Jeff Smith, coloured by Steve Hamaker (DC Comics)
ISBN13: 978-1-84576-389-3

This is a wonderful book.

No soft-soap, no easing you in. Jeff Smith has come the closest yet to recapturing the naive yet knowing charm that made the World’s Mightiest Innocent far and away the most successful super-character of the Golden Age in this reworking of one of his greatest adventures.

Billy Batson is a little homeless kid with a murky past and a glorious destiny. One night he follows a mysterious figure into an abandoned subway station and meets the wizard Shazam, who gives him the ability to turn into a full-grown superhero called Captain Marvel. Gifted with the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles and the speed of Mercury, the lad is sent into the world to do good.

Accompanied by the talking tiger-spirit Mr. Tawky Tawny, Billy sets out to find the little sister he didn’t know he had, fighting evils big and small, but impetuously causes a ripple in the world’s magical fabric that endangers the universe. He also encounters evil genius Dr. Sivanna, US Attorney General and would-be ruler of the universe, and the deadly and hideous minions of the mysterious Mr. Mind, whose Monster Society of Evil is dedicated to wiping out humanity! Can he make amends and save the day…?

The original saga ran in Captain Marvel Adventures #22-46, from 1943 to 1946, an ambitious and captivating chapter-play in the manner of the popular movie serials of the day, and is still regarded as one of the most memorable achievements of Golden-Age comic books. It’s fairly safe to say that this reworking is going to stay in people’s hearts and minds for a good long time, too.

Jeff Smith has accomplished the impossible here. He has created a superhero tale for all ages and hopefully returned some part of the genre to the children for whom it was originally intended. Monster Society of Evil is exciting, spectacular, moving and unselfconscious; revelling in the power of its own roots and the audience’s unbridled capacity for joy.

This volume is also stuffed with added features. The dust-jacket opens into a truly magical double-sided poster, there are sketch and script pages for the reader with industry aspirations, biographies and historical sections, a lavishly illustrated production journal, puzzles and even a modern version of the secret code used as a circulation builder in the 1940s. Most important though is the mesmerising quality of the story and artwork. This volume (originally published as a four issue prestige format miniseries) is a true gem.

Words are cheap and I’ve used enough: now go get this is a wonderful, marvellous book.

© 2007 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

By Craig Conlan (Slab-O-Concrete)
ISBN: 1-899866-22-1

The so-groovy chick with the abundant, animated coiffure returns for another collection of saucy, surreal and superbly stylish adventures which reference and glorify everything important to the modern Man or Miss in this second collection from Craig Conlan.

Within this slim tome you will find Hairy Mary pursuing a new career as a Spokes-Model, nearly marrying a vampire, spoofing Japanese Rubber Monster Movies and pursuing her latest One-True-Love to the Sushi-Bar and the Plastic Babylon Zoo.

In a dazzling variety of formats (including an illustrated prose novella and activity pages) the hirsute heroine and her fabulous cast of eccentrics enjoy the kind of sassy exploits that other comics characters can only dream of, and provide the reader with a breathless and captivating riot of graphic euphoria that is sadly missing from modern storytelling.

Fun, and proud of it!

© 1998-1999 Craig Conlan. All Rights Reserved.

By various (Archie Comics)
ISBN: 1-879794-01-2

Adapting seamlessly to every trend and fad of youth culture, the creators who’ve crafted Archie Comics over the decades have made the “everyteens” of Riverdale a touchstone of American childhood and a visual barometer of growing up.

After initially jumping on the superhero/mystery-man bandwagon in 1939, Maurice Coyne, Louis Silberkleit and John Goldwater (MLJ) were quick to spot a gap in their blossoming market. In December 1941 the costumed heroes and two-fisted adventure strips were supplemented by a wholesome ordinary hero, an “average teen” who would have ordinary adventures like the readers, but with the laughs and slapstick emphasised.

Pep Comics #22 introduced ‘Archie’ a gap-toothed, freckle-faced red-headed goof showing off to pretty blonde Betty next door. Taking his lead from the popular “Andy Hardy” movies starring Mickey Rooney, Goldwater developed the concept, tasking writer Vic Bloom and artist Bob Montana with the job of making it work.

The strip was an instant hit. By the winter of 1942 Archie had his own title, the company’s first non-anthology magazine and with it began the transformation of the entire company. When rich, black-haired Veronica Lodge arrived all the pieces were in play for the industry’s second Phenomenon (Superman being the first). By May 1946 the kids had taken over, so the company renamed itself ‘Archie Comics’, retiring its heroic characters years before the end of the Golden Age and becoming to all intents and purposes a publisher of family comedies. Its success, like the Man of Steel’s, changed the content of every other publisher’s titles, and led to a multi-media industry including TV, movies, pop-songs and even a chain of restaurants.

Archie is a well-meaning boy who lacks common sense. Betty is the pretty, sensible girl next door, with all that entails. She loves Archie. Veronica is rich, exotic and glamorous; she only settles for our boy if there’s nobody better around. She might actually love him though. Archie can’t decide who he wants…

Archie’s unconventional best friend Jughead Jones is Mercutio to Archie’s Romeo, providing rationality and a reader’s voice, as well as being a powerful catalyst of events in his own right. The wholesome eternal triangle (+ one) has been the basis of more than sixty-five years of charming, raucous, gentle, frenetic, chiding and even heart-rending comedy ranging from surreal wit to frantic slapstick, as the kids and an increasing cast of friends grew into an American institution. So pervasive is the imagery that it’s a part of Americana itself. When you watch Happy Days, that’s the 1950s Riverdale crowd you’re tuning in to, and that’s never more apparent than in this second volume containing some of the best stories of that iconic decade.

According to many fans and purists it’s also the absolute zenith of quality material. That mythical America of Drive-Ins, Bobbysocks, Big Cars with Fins, Men in Hats and Malt-Shops was the ideal environment to perfect the strip and blend innocence, innuendo and ingenuity (all fine teen-ager qualities) with raucous knockabout comedy that ranked with the best that Hollywood and the new medium of Television could offer.

In this volume the kids of Riverdale deal with everything from the threat of Atomic War, to Hula Hoops, fads and fashions and the timeless struggles of Boy Vs Girl, Boy Vs Rival Boy, Boy Vs Alarm-Clock, Boy Vs Girl’s Father and every permutation in between.

With such writers as Frank Doyle, George Gladir, Sy Reit, Tom Moore and artists like Bob Montana, Bob Bolling, Dan DeCarlo, Joe Edwards, Samm Schwartz, Bill Vigoda and the legendary Harry Lucey (who famously only drew clothes on the first page of his stories – leaving production assistant Terry Szenics to cover up those hormone-crazed teens) these tales are timeless masterpieces of their type, and still capable of splitting sides and charming the pants off most readers today.

© 1953-1959, 1992, 2007 Archie Publications Inc. All Rights Reserved.

By Bob Harras, Paul Neary, Kim DeMulder & Bernie Jaye (Marvel)
ISBN: 0-87135-554-X

Nick Fury the spy debuted at the height of the 1960s espionage fad, following on the heels of James Bond, Danger Man, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and so very many others. He was also already the star of Marvel’s only war comic Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos, an improbable and decidedly over-the-top WWII series similar to The Dirty Dozen. For a few brief years with Jim Steranko in charge the S.H.I.E.L.D. series was one of the best strips in America if not the world, but when the writer/artist left and the spy-fad ended the whole concept faded into the background architecture of the Marvel Universe.

In 1989 a six issue prestige format miniseries reinvigorated the concept. As a company targeting the youth-oriented markets Marvel had experienced problems with their in-house clandestine organisation. In most of their other titles US agents and “the Feds” were more often than not the bad guys, and here Bob Harras used this theme as well as the oddly quirky self-referential fact that nobody aged in comic continuity to play games with the readers.

When Fury discovers that everybody in the organisation has been “turned” and is now a threat to freedom and democracy he goes on the run, hunted with all the resources of the world’s most powerful covert agency. Can he turn the tables on the edifice he created with every friend against him and reclaim S.H.I.E.L.D. for the forces of Good? Can he even survive until morning?

Crafted to blend Invasion of the Body-Snatchers with The Spy Who Came in From the Cold this is a frantic all-out thriller that pays little attention to common-sense or the meticulous and stifling minutiae of continuity but concentrates on momentum to tell an entertaining tale. Daft, fast-paced and as paranoid as a bag of monkeys on goof-balls – as any decent spy-thriller should be – there’s lot’s of fun to be had here for readers not too tied in to pedantry or history.

© 1989 Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

By Chuck Dixon, Kevin West & Bob Almond (WildStorm)
ISBN13: 978-1-0-84576-634-4

Here’s a rare treat for readers other than dyed-in-the-wool teen-slasher fanatics as the two tales in this compilation (collecting issues #1-3 and #5-7 of the comic-book) offer at least the possibility that the victims can escape an inevitable fate in a far above average example of how to write a licensed horror property.

First is ‘Freddy’s War’, the tale of army brat Jade Arnstrum who moves into the accursed suburban backwater of Springwood with her brother Brad and retired Marine dad. Even before she’s unpacked she’s having weird dreams. A little girl nobody sees gives her vague warnings and there’s a sense of menace…

When her brother burns to death she finally finds a kid willing to tell her the story of Freddy Krueger, but unlike the beaten sheep of the town she decides to include her dad in the secret and together they take the fight into the dreamworld. This time Freddy’s got a battle on his hands. Drawn in a powerfully underplayed manner by Kevin West and inked by Bob Almond, Chuck Dixon’s taut script even provides an unexpected conclusion for we jaded know-it-alls.

‘The Demon of Sleep’ by the same creative team is another welcome variation on the theme. Every school has its outsiders and the smart nerdy outcasts of Springwood know that as well as the Jocks and the Popular cliques making their lives hell, eventually so will the spectral monster that kills in dreams. Unlike normal kids though, these bright sparks know how to cooperate, and they have a plan…

This dark, sardonic tale has plenty of shocks and twists in a nasty little adventure that mirrors supernatural trauma with the true horror of High School life and once again the story provides enough surprises to provide some genuine moments of tension.

In a genre that swims in predictability these gory yarns prove that a little thought can still work miracles. This book is a rare treat for all horror fans.

© & ™ MMVII New Line Productions, Inc. A Nightmare on Elm Street is ™ New Line Productions, Inc, (so7). © 2006, 2007 New Line Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

By Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning & Wes Craig (WildStorm)
ISBN13: 978-1-0-84576-638-2

I’ve already mentioned that I have aesthetic reasons for disliking a lot of generic “Teen-Slasher” fiction, so I’ll only briefly recapitulate here. If an evil is unstoppable, and the humans/victims have no chance of escape or survival then all narrative tension is lost and all you have is a body-count and an exercise in grotesque imagination, not a story. That said I have to admit that this sequel to the remake of the legendary cannibal gore-fest wherein a slaughterhouse worker uses his chainsaw to gut hapless kids is… unfortunately just another one of those.

A follow-up FBI team arrives in the town of Fuller, Texas in 1974 to gather evidence on the greatest mass-murderer in American history – and who is still at large – just ahead of a mobile TV news crew, only to discover that not only have the killings not stopped, but the killer had a large family with the same tastes. Moreover the entire town was complicit in the deaths. This daft plot rapidly degenerates into the ever-escalating bloodbath the target audience is waiting for and it all ends as you’d expect – with nothing resolved and another sequel on the cards.

Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning and artist Wes Craig work at the best of their capabilities and I’m sure dedicated fans will be happy enough but I fear there’s nothing here for the casual or more discerning reader.

© MMVII New Line Productions, Inc. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) © 1974 Vortex, Inc. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) © MMIII New Line Productions, Inc. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning © MMVI New Line Productions, Inc. Leatherface and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre are ™ Kuhn/Henkel. All Rights Reserved. © 2006, 2007 New Line Productions, Inc.

UK EDITION

By Brian Michael Bendis & various (Panini Publishing UK)
ISBN13: 978-1-905239-68-9

Although wearing the trappings of the new, darker, more in-your-face Marvel Universe, this tale is at heart an old fashioned “Who Can Save the World?” tale featuring the latest – possibly most sales-savvy – team of superheroes to carry the fabled Avengers ID card.

Reprinted from Giant-Size Spider-Woman #1 and issues #14-20 of the monthly New Avengers comic book, illustrated by Frank Cho, Steve McNiven, Mike Deodato Jr., Rick Mays, Jason Martin, Dexter Vines and Joe Pimentel this story by Brian Michael Bendis clarifies – or perhaps further muddies the true allegiances of double-agent Jessica Drew who, as the Avenger Spider-Woman is also an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the terrorist organisation Hydra.

As if that’s not grief enough Captain America and Iron Man go public with possibly the least popular roster in history comprising the mutant Wolverine, Spider-Man, Luke Cage and the mysterious all-powerful basket-case known as the Sentry. At least Carol Danvers (Ms. Marvel, Binary, Warbird and probably a bunch more code-names by the time you read this) is on hand to pitch in when necessary…

Couple all that with a positively hostile US Government and a new S.H.I.E.L.D. boss who’s ruthless when defied, then the unstoppable threat from space that is cutting a swath of death and destruction across the planet seems almost the least of the team’s worries.

Sharp, entertaining, competent if a little complex for the newcomer or returning fan, this disaster-movie style follow-up to the House of M crossover event is an unassuming and amiable read for fans of the “fights ‘n’ tights” scene.

© 2006, 2007 Marvel Characters Inc. All Rights Reserved.