Author: NowReadThis

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Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm: Little Snow White, The Three Sluggards & The Shoemaker & the Elves


Adapted by David Wenzel & Douglas Wheeler (NBM)
ISBN: 978-1-56163-130-8

The immortal German folktales gathered by historians, philologists and lexicographers Wilhelm and Jakob Grimm have been told to enthralled generations of children all over the planet for nearly two centuries – they were first collected and published in 1812 – becoming an intrinsic part of human life. However these dark and powerful parables – they all have meanings and moral, after all – became increasingly enfeebled and sanitised over the decades as parents, entertainment purveyors and educators constantly diluted the details for their own reasons.

Here scripter Doug Wheeler (Swamp Thing, Classics Desecrated) and fantasy artist Dave Wenzel (Warlords, The Hobbit) return to the source material – but not too slavishly – for a dark and luscious pre-interpretation of three of the original classics in a glorious, fully painted hardcover edition first released by NBM in 1995.

You already know the key points of ‘Little Snow White’ which takes up the lion’s share of this terrific tome, but major restorations include the fact that the little princess was only seven when the malicious and jealous queen ordered her death; that the triumphant step-mother gleefully eats the heart of a wild pig fully believing it to be Snow White’s and, after finally being murdered (three truly harrowing attempts) in the dwarves’ home, the radiant child was interred in a crystal coffin for seven years – inexplicably maturing there into a beautiful, if dead, young woman before she was finally revived.

When the Prince finally aroused her from the deathly slumber it wasn’t with a kiss either…

Good triumphed at last and evil was sadistically punished in the end, after which ‘The Shoemaker and the Elves’ provides a sweet and savoury palate cleanser in a cheerfully enchanting Christmas tale of Good Deeds rewarded after which ‘The Three Sluggards’ relates in a single captivating page how the laziest king in the world selected his ideal successor.

The original tales are so ubiquitous, so ingrained in our lives that there’s no possibility of any one version ever becoming definitive, but that’s not really the point. These particular iterations, as graphically realised by Wheeler and Wenzel, are a superb synthesis of immortal legend and comic art mastery that will enthral every reader no matter how over-familiar you think they might be. One of those perfect books that belongs on every bookshelf.
© 1995 by David Wenzel & Doug Wheeler.

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Rick O’Shay and Hipshot: The Great Sunday Pages


By Stan Lynde (Tempo Books)
ISBN: 0-448-12522-6

Once upon a time westerns were the most popular genre in American mass entertainment, with novels, magazines, films, radio shows, TV series, comicbooks and of course newspaper strips all devoted to “Men Doin’ What They Gotta Do”: Riding Ranges, Rounding up stuff, Gun-fighting and all the other timeless iconic cultural activities we all think we know…

Over the decades hundreds of western strips have graced the pages and increased the circulation of newspapers; from singing cowboy film-star Roy Rogers to Red Ryder, Casey Ruggles, the Lone Ranger, Lance and so many more. Even staid Britain got into the act with such lost masterpieces as Buffalo Bill, Matt Marriot and Wes Slade ranking highest amongst fans around the world…

With such a plethora of material concentrated in one genre it’s no surprise that different takes would inevitably develop. Thus alongside Stagecoach, The Ox-Bow Incident, High Noon, How the West Was Won, Soldier Blue or Unforgiven there blossomed less traditional fare such as Destry Rides Again, Cat Ballou, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Evil Roy Slade or Blazing Saddles.

Falling straight into the same comedy western territory as The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw and Support Your Local Sheriff – but predating both – came one of the earliest and most successful modern gag-a-day continuity strips, blending iconic scenarios with memorable characters, playing out their daily antics against a spectacular backdrop of lavishly illustrated natural beauty.

Stan Lynde was born in Montana on 23rd September 1931, the son of a sheep farmer who grew up with a passion for comic strips. His first efforts appeared in the High School paper and after studying journalism at Montana State he served in the Navy from 1951-1955, where he created the strip Ty Foon for a Services magazine. After the Navy Lynde tried a succession of jobs and ended up in New York working for the Wall Street Journal.

Whilst there Lynde created Rick O’Shay which eventually found a home with the mighty Chicago Tribune Syndicate (home of Gasoline Alley, Terry and the Pirates and many others) launching as a Sunday page on April 27th 1958 and adding a daily black and white strip from 19th May that year.

Lynde produced the strip until 1977 when he left the Syndicate to produce another wonderful western Latigo (1979-1983). Tribune-News Syndicate owned Rick O’Shay outright and continued the feature with substitutes Marian Dern, Alfredo Alcala and Mel Keefer, but it just wasn’t the same and the strip was allowed to die in 1981.

Rick O’Shay took western conventions to sly and whimsical extremes as it followed the life of Rick, Deputy Marshal of the little town of Conniption. The series was set in the rugged Montana countryside where Lynde grew up and to which he returned as soon as the strip proved successful enough to support him.

Conniption was too small for a full Marshal and whatever order needs to be kept was easily handled by the easy-going Deputy Rick and his friend, grizzled veteran gunslinger Hipshot Percussion. Apart from drinking, fighting and gambling, the township’s most serious problem was criminally bad puns, personified in the likes of saloon owner Gaye Abandon, newspaper editor Clarion McCall, hotelier Auntie Climax, town drunk Mooch McHooch, gunsmith Cap’n Ball, banker Mort Gage, gambler Deuces Wilde and a feisty kid named Quyat Burp. The town’s spiritual needs were catered to by Reverend Jubal Lee and the local Indian tribe is led by Chief Horse’s Neck…

Eventually the dailies began spoofing contemporary events like the James Bond craze, pop music and TV shows but the Sunday episodes (such as the grand selection from 1972-1976 reprinted in this paperback sized, regrettably monochrome collection) retained their integrity and continued to spoof the Old West.

Bright and breezy slapstick rib-ticklers and laconic, tongue-in-cheek jokes involving drunks, card-games, guys joshing with each other, the malicious recalcitrance of horses and other inanimate objects plus the perennial duels of Hipshot as a succession of goofy young wannabes regularly called the old gun-hawk out to steal his rep played and replayed continuously; all set against the breathtaking geography of Montana’s “Big Sky Country”…

Lynde is still working in the western genre, producing the strip Grass Roots, new material for Swedish magazine Fantomen, assorted graphic novels and, since regaining the rights to Rick O’Shay for his own Cottonwood Publishing company, new works and chronological collections of this classic strip.

This nifty and delightful book from 1976 actually belonged to my wife until I took greedy full-possession of it: part of that glorious 1970s era of easily concealable paperback collections featuring classic strips like Peanuts, the Perishers, Mad, Broom Hilda, B.C., Wizard of Id and so many other magical ways to lose yourself whilst teachers droned on around you in interminable obliviousness.

Most of the books were even returned at the end of term, although some unscrupulous educators operated a “confiscation is forever” policy…

Fun and fulsome entertainment, this little gem won’t be easy to track down, but if giggles, guffaws and gunfights are your thing you’ll definitely want to round up the latest Rick O’Shay Cottonwood releases…
© 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976 The Chicago Tribune. All Rights Reserved.

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The Rainbow Orchid Volume Two


By Garen Ewing (Egmont UK)
ISBN: 978-1-4052-5047-4

Garen Ewing’s stunning pastiche of the genre pioneered by the groundbreaking Hergé continues in this even better middle instalment of The Rainbow Orchid.

The character of plucky Julius Chancer and his adventuresome pals began popping up around 2003 in self-published mini-comics and small press publications before migrating to and unfolding online (still available to view at the website www.rainboworchid.co.uk ) to rapturous praise from industry and public alike. Tintin publisher Egmont sagaciously picked up the series and this fabulous old fashioned tale of globe-girdling, treasure-seeking derring-do has quickly become a notable addition to the ranks of magnificent all-ages full-colour adventure albums.

The story is set in the Roaring 1920s and relates how young yet capable archaeological assistant Chancer is drawn into a web of international intrigue, corporate skulduggery and rip-roaring peril by his boss’ latest client. Said employer is renowned historical researcher and gentleman breeder of orchids Sir Alfred Catesby-Grey, who once ran a very hush-hush government artefact-hunting department dubbed the Empire Survey Branch.

Now working freelance, Sir Alfred was approached by Lord Reginald Lawrence who had been tricked into an impossible wager by dastardly entrepreneur Urkaz Grope. At stake was the “Trembling Sword of Tybalt Stone” a priceless antique that has been the seat of the family’s honour since 1445, and without which Lord Lawrence would have to surrender all his estates and titles…

To win the wager Lawrence needed an example of Iriode Orchino – the rainbow orchid, a mythical bloom last seen by Alexander the Great over two thousand years ago. After some initial reservations Catesby-Grey dispatched Julius and a disparate group including Lord Lawrence’s daughter Lily to track down the Orchid whilst he pursues some enquires amongst his old clandestine colleagues…

After some deadly clashes with Grope’s murderous fixer Evelyn Crow and her hired thugs, Julius, Lily, American impresario Nathaniel Crumpole and pilot Benoit Tayaut reach India, narrowly escaping blazing doom as their aeroplane crashes. Rendezvousing with British Civil Servant Major Fraser-Tipping the explorers begin the next stage of their trek with Crow and cronies in deadly hot pursuit…

In England journalist William Pickle, who broke the story of the orchid wager, is a prisoner of a secret society although his newshound colleague George Scrubbs is diligently on his trail. Grope’s plans to bully and buy his way into the upper echelons of English Society proceed apace and Catesby-Grey is uncovering some previously unsuspected military and political interest in the project…

In India after another brutal attack by Crow’s goons the desperate voyagers find an unexpected ally in Meru, servant of the dead missionary who was the last man to see a rainbow orchid.

Heading into the wastes of Hasan Wahan, Julius and his enlarged party are unaware that they have a traitor in their group. After making one more incredibly lucky and fantastic discovery and nearing the end of their quest, Evelyn Crow launches another murderous assault and one of our plucky heroes seemingly plunges to their death…

In a saga delightfully referencing the Golden age of Adventure Literature; everything from Margery Allingham’s Campion tales to Conan Doyle’s Professor Challenger stories, Rider Haggard’s Allan Quatermain to John Buchan’s Richard Hannay tales and so very much more, Ewing has managed to synthesise something vibrant, vital, fresh and uniquely entertaining for modern readers of all ages.

Enchantingly engaging, astonishingly authentic and masterfully illustrated in the seductive Ligne Claire style, this is a magical yarn which ranks amongst the very best of graphic narratives. With the final instalment imminently in sight we can only hope that there’s more to follow that long-awaited event.

Pure comics mastery – and where else could you get hot fresh nostalgia, just like your granddad used to love?

© 2010 Garen Ewing. All rights reserved.

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The World of Pont

New, Revised Review

By Graham Laidler, with an introduction by Richard Ingrams (Nadder Books 1983)
ISBN: 0-90654-038-0

Graham Laidler was born in Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne-on July 4th 1908, son of a prominent painter and decorator. Educated at Newcastle Preparatory school and Glenalmond in Perthshire, he was 13 when his father died and the family relocated to Buckinghamshire. Always captivated by cartooning he channelled his artistic bent into more traditionally profitable avenues to support his widowed mother and trained as an architect at the London School of Architecture from 1926-1931.

Always dogged by ill-health Laidler moonlighted as a cartoonist and in 1930 began a long-running domestic comedy strip entitled The Twiffs for the Women’s Pictorial. In 1932 he was diagnosed with a tubercular kidney and advised to live in healthier climates than ours. In August of that year he sold his first cartoon to that prestigious bulwark of British publishing Punch.

He was so popular that editor E.V. Knox took the unprecedented step of putting him under exclusive contract. With financial security established and his unique arrangement with Punch in place Laidler travelled the world and drew funny pictures, mostly of The English both at home and abroad generating 400 magnificent, immortal cartoons until his death in 1940, aged 32.

A charmingly handsome and charismatically attractive young man, Laidler visited Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, America and many other places. He won his nickname and nom-de-plume in Rome during an incident with two “Vestal Virgin” travelling companions after which he was forevermore “Pontifex Maximus”…

His greatest gift was a surgical gift for observation of social and cultural minutiae: gleaning picaresque detail and broad attitude which translated through his gently humorous graphic commentaries into simultaneously incisive and gentle, baroque and subtle picture plays encapsulating the funniest of moments on every subject pertaining to the great Enigma of Being English in Public and Getting Away with It…

His work was collected into a number of books during his lifetime and since, and his influence as humorist and draughtsman can still be felt.

Although he excelled in the strip cartoon format Pont’s true fully mastery was in telling a complete story with a single perfect drawing. His cartoons exemplified the British to the world at large and to ourselves.

During World War II the Nazis, with typical sinister efficiency, used his drawings as the basis of their anti-British propaganda when they invaded Holland, further confirming to the world the belief that Germans Have No Sense of Humour.

As Pont, for eight too-brief years, Graham Laidler became an icon and global herald of English life and you would be doing yourself an immense favour in tracking down his work. If you like Ealing comedies, Alistair Sim and Margaret Rutherford, St Trinian’s and the Molesworth books or the works of Thelwell or Ronald Searle, you won’t regret the search.

Unbelievably, despite his woefully small output there still doesn’t seem to be a definitive collection of his work. One again I implore any potential publisher reading this to take the hint, but until then, for the rest of us there’s just the thrill of the hunt and the promised bounty in seeking out The British Character, The British at Home, The British Carry On, Most of us are Absurd, Pont and this magical compendium The World of Pont, which comprises the perfect primer by sampling the best of his drawn divinations from his themed Punch series’ ‘The British Observed’, ‘The British at War’, ‘Popular Misconceptions’, ‘The British Woman’ and last but certainly not least, ‘The British Man’.

If you love good drawing and sharp observational wit you’ll thank me. If you just want a damn good laugh, you’ll reward yourself with the assorted works of Pont.
© 1983, 2007 the estate of Graham Laidler.

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Hawkmoon: the Jewel in the Skull


By Michael Moorcock, adapted by Gerry Conway, Rafael Kayanan, Rico Rival & Alfredo Alcala (First Publishing)
ISBN: 0-915419-32-7

Michael Moorcock began his career as a comics writer and editor at age 15, writing and editing such classic strips as Tarzan, Dogfight Dixon, Jet Ace Logan, Captain Condor, Olac the Gladiator and many, many other British stalwarts before making the jump to prose fiction, where he single-handedly revitalised the genre with the creation of Elric and the high-concept of the Eternal Champion.

As literary fantasy heroes began finding comicbook outlets and analogues it was only a matter of time before Moorcock’s astonishing pantheon of paladins began making inroads into the graphic adventure market. After a series of superlative adaptations of his epochal Elric epics were released by Marvel and First Publishing in the 1980s, the latter company expanded the franchise and began publishing miniseries of the darkly satirical and highly engaging History of the Runestaff.

Also part of Moorcock’s vast and expansive “Eternal Champion” shared universe, the novels comprising The Runestaff detail the struggles of an embattled and beleaguered band of heroes in a dystopic future Europe struggling to survive the all-conquering armies of decadent and fascistic superpower Granbretan. The astonishingly addictive and archly hilarious core books The Jewel in The Skull, The Mad God’s Amulet, The Sword Of The Dawn, and The Runestaff have been collected into an omnibus edition entitled The History of the Runestaff if you feel the inclination to check out the source material…

In a mischievous reversal of British comics tradition the proto-steampunk Dark Empire of Granbretan are ruthless, rapacious, all-conquering bad-guys whilst the beleaguered underdog heroes are French and the star is a German!

Stuffed with English phonetic in-jokes and puns the series is a deeply witty and sardonic critique on the times it was written in. Wicked Baron Meliadus is ruler of the fabulous duchy of Kroiden – famed today for its trams and… well, not even trams really… and the debased gods the Wicked Englander marauders worship include Aral Vilsn, Chirshil, Jhone, Phowl, Jhorg and Rhunga – sound ’em out; we’ll wait…

In this adaptation of the first novel, originally released as a four issue miniseries in1987, the wonderment begins as doughty warrior Count Brass inspects the land of the Kamarg; domains he won after destroying the previous demented, despotic incumbent. After an eventful tour Brass returns home and renews a long-standing debate with his aide and friend Bowgentle about the relative merits of the burgeoning Empire of Granbretan.

A seasoned campaigner, the Count feels the Empire’s initial depredations are acceptable if the world stands united at the end whilst the philosopher/poet feels that there’s a creeping sickness corrupting the souls of the agents of expansion. The comrades get a chance to assess for themselves when Ambassador Baron Meliadus of Kroiden arrives seeking a non-intervention pact with the tiny but powerful state Brass shepherds.

Offering every courtesy to the visiting dignitary the Count allows himself to be swayed by the Baron’s honeyed words until the Granbretanian, obsessed with Brass’ daughter Yisselda, refuses to take “no” for an answer and attempts to abduct her. After grievously wounding Bowgentle, Meliadus is soundly thrashed and sent packing by the outraged father and henceforth a state of war exists between the Empire and the Karmarg.

Frustrated and humiliated Meliadus swears an oath by the mythical Runestaff to defeat Count Brass, possess Yisselda and ravage the Kamarg. Returning to the dark heart of the Empire the Baron plots a horrible revenge, unaware of the staggering forces his incautious oath has set in motion…

His vile thoughts turn to Duke Dorian Hawkmoon von Köln, a recently captured prince who valiantly resisted the Empire’s brutal conquest of his nation. Now a broken toy of Granbretan’s debased scientists, Hawkmoon will be the perfect instrument of revenge once the devilish doctors of Londra have done with him…

Meliadus offers Hawkmoon freedom if the broken hero will infiltrate the Karmarg and steal Yisselda and the Duke agrees, but rather than accept his word Meliadus takes the precaution of having a black jewel inserted into Dorian’s skull. Not only will it relay back all the Duke sees, but should he rebel it will eat into his skull and consume his brain…

The second chapter opens with Hawkmoon’s cunningly staged epic escape and soon the Hero of Köln is welcomed into the safe haven of Count Brass’ castle. His mission well underway the princely pawn is troubled by dreams of a Warrior in Jet and Gold, but his waking hours are filled with spiritual healing as the champions of the Kamarg and especially lovely Yisselda mend his broken warrior’s soul.

Moreover Brass is not fooled for a moment and undertakes to free Hawkmoon from the influence and lethal effects of the ebony jewel…

The reprieve is temporary and the Jewel in the Skull is only rendered dormant. To completely remove its threat Hawkmoon must travel to far Hamadam in search of the wizard Malagigi, who holds the secret of neutralising the brain-devouring bauble. However, before that can be contemplated the little kingdom must face the massed armies of Granbretan under the furious command of twice-thwarted Baron Meliadus…

With a revitalised Hawkmoon commanding a troop of harrying rough-riders the impossible feat is accomplished in grand style (thanks in no small part to the powerfully imaginative illustration of Rafael Kayanan and inkers Alfredo Alcala & Rico Rival) and as the Dark Empire retreats in stunned astonishment to lick its wounds and assuage its shaken pride, the tormented Duke heads East to Turkia seeking his personal salvation.

The final chapter sees him find his destined squire/companion Oladahn (smallest of the Mountain Giants), finally meet the mysterious warrior in Jet and Gold, defeat decadent sorcerer Agonosvos the Immortal and forge a new alliance when he rescues warrior-queen Frawbra and her city from insurrection instigated by Granbretan.

Masterminding the attempt is the rapacious and quite mad Meliadus, leading to a fate-drenched final confrontation…

There’s a tremendous amount of plot stuffed into each issue, often giving a feeling of ponderous density to the proceedings but it’s always leavened with plenty of action and one spectacular high concept idea after another. Whilst no substitute for Moorcock’s stunning fantasy tour de force, the graphic novel Jewel in the Skull is a bombastic and devastatingly effective adaptation that will delight all fans of fantastic fantasy.
© 1988 First Publishing, Inc and Star*Reach Productions. Original story © 1967 Michael Moorcock; used with permission.

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Ultimate Spider-Man: Death of Spider-Man: Prelude


By Brian Michael Bendis, David LaFuente, Sara Picheli, Joёlle Jones, Jamie McKelvie, Skottie Young & Chris Samnee (Marvel/Panini UK)
ISBN: 978-1-84653-486-7

Marvel’s Ultimates sub-imprint began in 2000 with key characters and concepts retooled to bring them into line with the tastes of modern readers – a potentially discrete and fresh new market from the baby-boomers and their descendents content to stick with the universe which had sprung from the fantastic founding talents of Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and Stan Lee – or most likely – one unable or unwilling to deal with the five decades (seven if you include the Golden Age Timely tales retroactively co-opted into the mix) of continuity baggage that had accumulated around the originals.

Eventually this darkly nihilistic alternate universe became as continuity-constricted as its predecessor and in 2008 the cleansing event “Ultimatum” culminated in a reign of terror which apparently (this is still comics, after all) killed dozens of super-humans and millions of lesser mortals.

Although a huge seller (for modern comics at least) the saga was largely slated by the fans who bought it. The ongoing new “Ultimatum Comics” line quietly back-pedalled on its declared intentions, quietly soldiering on without “mentioning the war…”

The key and era-ending event was a colossal wave that inundated the superhero-heavy island of Manhattan and this latest compendium (assembling issue #15 of the post-Tsunami Ultimate Comics Spider-Man series and #150-155 of the same comicbook after it reverted to its original pre wash-rinse-reset-spin-cycle numbering) continues the superhero soap opera of young survivors readjusting to their altered state.

However time is a great reconciler and now the revitalised imprint is slowly gaining ground and winning favour as this third collection of the other Wallcrawler surely attests.

Peter Parker is fifteen (but looks 12), the perennial hard-luck loser kid: a secretive yet brilliant geek just trying to get by in a world where daily education is infinitely more trouble than beating monsters and villains. Between High School and slinging fast food (Burger Frog is his only source of income since the Daily Bugle drowned) he still finds time to fight crime although his very public heroics during the crisis have made him a beloved hero of police and citizenry alike – which is the creepiest thing he has ever endured.

He lives in a big house with his Aunt May and despite his low self-esteem inexplicably has stellar lovelies such as Gwen Stacy, Mary Jane Watson (his ex-squeeze) and others seemingly hungry for his scrawny bod. He even briefly dated mutant babe Kitty Pride: remember when not having a girlfriend was the very definition of “loser”?

Many kids were made homeless after the deluge and with schools and accommodation stretched to breaking point, May Parker opened her doors to a select band of orphaned super-kids like the Human Torch, Iceman and even the troubled – and tempting – Gwen, all living anonymously in the relatively unaffected borough of Queens.

At the end of the previous volume a shapeshifting villain replaced Parker, virtually assaulting both Mary Jane and Gwen and committing crimes as Spider-Man whilst the real Peter and J. Jonah Jamison languished in captivity. During their eventual escape the ruthless publisher deduced Parker’s Arachnid identity and got shot in the head. Now with super-spy organisation S.H.I.E.L.D taking charge of the aftermath Peter finds his fate in the hands of a bunch of take-charge adults who think they know what’s best for him…

The grown-ups, including Government super-team Ultimates Iron Man, Thor and Captain America, decide to teach him how to be a proper hero, so not only does the poor kid have to untangle the mess the Chameleons made of his turbulent love-life, but Peter has to go to a “summer school” where he’s the only pupil…

Meanwhile at his regular school old enemy Bombshell – another jailbait hottie – enrols in his class, claiming she’s turning over a new leaf just as Mary Jane and Gwen face off resulting in one of them running away from home…

Meanwhile extreme burglar Black Cat and criminal mastermind Mysterio have come to an impasse regarding a piece of property previously owned by the recently murdered Kingpin. Unfortunately the Zodiac Key is an extinction-level artefact activated by thought so as they struggle for it whole chunks of New York are vaporised.

Having drawn the short-straw Iron Man is Spidey’s reluctant mentor when the disaster hits and the two supremely outclassed science-geeks are all that’s available to save the day in a crisis which could end the Earth itself…

In the aftermath Peter and once nemesis Jonah Jamison strike an unexpected deal and all Peter’s girl problems converge as Gwen, Mary Jane and Kitty Pryde attend his sixteenth birthday party. It all ends on a remarkably happy note but this volume is, after all, only a prelude…

As ever these stories are as much about the tribulations of growing up as saving the world and writer Bendis superbly blends comedy, teen angst, melodrama and frantic action in a seamless stream of clever scenes and thrilling set pieces, all superbly illustrated by David LaFuente, Sara Picheli, Joёlle Jones, Jamie McKelvie, Skottie Young & Chris Samnee to produce one of the most enjoyable takes on the wall-crawler in decades.

This series is constantly improving and always offers marvellously compelling and enjoyable costumed drama that easily overcomes its opportunistic origins. An absolute must for every fun-loving jaded superhero fan…

™ and © 2011 Marvel Entertainment LCC and its subsidiaries. All rights reserved. A British edition released by Panini UK Ltd.

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Showcase Presents Metamorpho, the Element Man


By Bob Haney, Ramona Fradon, Joe Orlando, Sal Trapani, Charles Paris & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-0762-5

By the time Metamorpho, the Element Man was introduced to the costumed hero-obsessed world the first vestiges of a certifiable boom were just becoming apparent. As such the light-hearted, almost absurdist take struck a right-time, right-place chord, blending far out adventure with tongue-in-cheek comedy.

The character debuted in Brave and the Bold #57 (December 1964-January 1965) and after a follow-up try-out in the next issue catapulted into his own title for an eclectic and oddly engaging 17-issue run. This canny monochrome compendium collects all those eccentric adventures plus team-up tales from Brave and the Bold #66 and 68 and Justice League of America #42

Unlike most of these splendid Showcase editions the team-up stories here are not re-presented in original publication order but closeted together at the back, so if stringent continuity is important to you the always informative credit-pages will enable to navigate the wonderment in the correct sequence…

‘The Origin of Metamorpho’ written by Bob Haney (who created the character and wrote everything except the JLA story) with art from Ramona Fradon & Charles Paris, introduced glamorous he-man Soldier of Fortune Rex Mason, who worked as a globe-trotting artefact procurer and agent for ruthlessly acquisitive scientific genius/business tycoon Simon Stagg. Mason was obnoxious and insolent but his biggest fault as far as his boss was concerned was that the mercenary loved and was loved by the millionaire’s only daughter Sapphire…

Determined to rid himself of Mason, Stagg dispatched him to retrieve a fantastic artefact dubbed the Orb of Ra from the lost pyramid of Ahk-Ton in Egypt, accompanied only by Java, a previously fossilised Neanderthal corpse Rex had discovered in a swamp and which (whom?) Stagg had restored to full life. Mason planned to take his final fabulous fee and whisk Sapphire away from her controlling father forever…

Utterly faithful to the scientific wizard, Java sabotaged the mission and left Mason to die in the tomb, victim of an ancient, glowing meteor. The man-brute rushed back to his master, carrying the Orb and fully expecting Stagg to honour his promise and give him Sapphire in marriage.

Trapped, knowing his time had come; Mason swallowed a suicide pill as the scorching rays of the star-stone burned through him…

Rex did not die but mutated into a ghastly chemical freak capable of shape-shifting and transforming into any of the elements or compounds that comprised the human body: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, calcium, iron, cobalt and so many others…

Hungry for vengeance, Mason followed and confronted his betrayers but was overcome by the alien energies of the Orb of Ra. An uneasy détente was declared as Mason accepted Stagg’s desperate offer to cure him …if possible.

The rich man was further horrified when Rex revealed his condition to Sapphire and found she still loved him. Totally unaware of Stagg’s true depths of duplicity, Mason began working for the tycoon as a metahuman problem-solver: Metamorpho, the Element Man.

Brave and the Bold #58 (February-March 1965) revealed more of Stagg’s closeted skeletons when old partner Maxwell Tremayne kidnapped the Element Man and later abducted Sapphire in ‘The Junkyard of Doom!’ The deranged armaments manufacturer was once intimately acquainted with the girl’s mother and never quite got over it…

The tryout comics were an unqualified success and Metamorpho promptly debuted in his own title, cover-dated July-August 1965 just as the wildly tongue-in-cheek “High Camp” craze was catching on in all areas of popular culture; blending ironic vaudevillian kitsch with classic movie premises as theatrical mad scientists and scurrilous spies began to appear everywhere.

‘Attack of the Atomic Avenger’ saw nuclear nut-job Kurt Vornak try to crush Stagg Industries only to be turned into a deadly, planet-busting radioactive super-atom, whilst ‘Terror from the Telstar’ pitted the charismatic cast against Nicholas Balkan, a ruthless criminal boss determined to sabotage America’s Space program.

Mad multi-millionaire T.T. Trumbull used his own daughter Zelda to get to Simon Stagg through his heart (accidentally proving to everyone who knew him that the old goat actually had one) as part of his attempt to seize control of America in ‘Who Stole the U.S.A.?’ but the ambitious would-be despot backed up the scheme with an incredible robot specifically designed to destroy Metamorpho. Happily Rex Mason’s guts and ingenuity proved more effective than the Element Man’s astonishing powers…

America saved, the dysfunctional family headed South of the Border becoming embroiled in ‘The Awesome Escapades of the Abominable Playboy’ as Stagg tried to marry Sapphire off to Latino Lothario Cha Cha Chavez. The wilful girl thought she was just making Mason jealous and had no idea of her dad’s true plans and Stagg senior had no conception of Chavez’s real intentions or connections to the local tin-pot dictator…

With this issue the gloriously stylish Ramona Fradon left the series to be replaced by two artists who strove to emulate her unique manner of drawing with varying degrees of success. Luckily veteran inker Charles Paris stayed on to smooth out the rough edges…

First up was E.C. veteran Joe Orlando whose two issue tenure began with the outrageous doppelganger drama ‘Will the Real Metamorpho Please Stand Up?’ wherein eccentric architect Edifice K. Bulwark tried to convince Rex Mason to lend his abilities to his chemical skyscraper project. When Metamorpho declined Bulwark and Stagg decided to create their own Element Man… with predictably disastrous consequences.

‘Never Bet Against an Element Man!’ (#6 May-June 1966) took the team to the French Riviera as gambling grandee Achille Le Heele snookered Simon Stagg and won “ownership” of Metamorpho. The Creepy Conchon’s ultimate goal necessitated stealing the world’s seven greatest wonders (such as the Taj Mahal and Eiffel Tower) and only the Element Man could make that happen…

Sal Trapani took over the pencilling with #7’s ‘Terror from Fahrenheit 5,000!’ as the acronymic super-spy fad hit hard and Metamorpho was enlisted by the C.I.A. to stop suicidal maniac Otto Von Stuttgart from destroying the entire planet by dropping a nuke into the Earth’s core, whilst costumed villain Doc Dread could only be countered by an undercover Metamorpho becoming ‘Element Man, Public Enemy!’ in a diabolical caper of doom and double-cross…

Metamorpho #9 moved into the realm of classic fantasy when suave and sinister despot El Mantanzas marooned the cast in ‘The Valley That Time Forgot!’ to battle cavemen and antediluvian alien automatons before a new catalysing element was added in ‘The Sinister Snares of Stingaree!’ with the introduction of Urania Blackwell – a secret agent who had somehow been transformed into an Element Girl with all Metamorpho’s incredible abilities. Not only was she dedicated to eradicating evil such as the criminal cabal Cyclops, but Urania was also the perfect paramour for Rex Mason… he even cancelled his wedding to Sapphire to go gang-busting with her…

With a new frisson of sexual chemistry sizzling beneath the surface, ‘They Came From Beyond?’ found the conflicted Element Man battling an apparent alien invasion whilst ‘The Trap of the Test-Tube Terrors!’ saw another attempt to cure Rex Mason of his unwanted powers allow mad scientist Franz Zorb access to Stagg Industry labs long enough to build an army of chemical horrors.

The plot thickened with Zorb’s theft of a Nucleonic Moleculizer, prompting a continuation in #14 wherein Urania was abducted only to triumphantly experience ‘The Return From Limbo’…

Events and stories grew increasingly outlandish and outrageous as the TV superhero craze intensified and ‘Enter the Thunderer!’ (#14, September-October 1967) saw Rex pulled between Sapphire and Urania as the extraterrestrial Neutrog terrorised the planet in preparation for the awesome arrival of his mighty mutant master. The next instalment heralded an ‘Hour of Armageddon!’ as the uniquely menacing Thunderer assumed control of Earth until boy genius Billy Barton assisted the Elemental defenders in defeating the mutant horror.

Trapani inked himself for Metamorpho #16; an homage to H. Rider Haggard’s “She” wherein ‘Jezeba, Queen of Fury!’ changed the Element Man’s life forever. When Sapphire Stagg married playboy Wally Bannister, the heartbroken Element Man undertook a mission to find the lost city of Ma-Phoor. Here he encountered an undying beauty who wanted to conquer the world and just happened to be Sapphire’s exact double.

Moreover the immortal empress of a lost civilisation had once loved an Element Man of her own: a Roman named Algon who had been transformed into a chemical warrior two millennia previously. Believing herself reunited with her lost love Jezeba finally launched her long-delayed attack on the outside world with disastrous, tragic consequences…

The strangely appetising series came to a shuddering and unsatisfactory halt with the next issue as the superhero bubble burst and costumed comic characters suffered their second recession in fifteen years. Metamorpho was one of the first casualties, cancelled just as (or perhaps because) the series was emerging from its quirky comedic shell with the March-April 1968 issue.

‘Last Mile for an Element Man!’, illustrated by Jack Sparling, saw Mason tried and executed for the murder of Wally Bannister, resurrected by Urania Blackwell and set on the trail of true killer Algon. Along the way Mason and Element Girl uncovered a vast, incredible conspiracy and rededicated themselves to defending humanity at all costs. The tale ended on a never-resolved cliffhanger: when Metamorpho was revived a few years later no mention was ever made of these last game-changing issues…

The elemental entertainment doesn’t end here though as this tome somewhat expiates the frustrating denouement with three terrific team-up tales beginning with Brave and the Bold #66 (June-July 1966) ‘Wreck the Renegade Robots’ as a mad scientist usurped control of the Metal Men just as their creator Will Magnus was preoccupied turning Metamorpho back into an ordinary mortal.

Two issues later (B& B #68October-November 1966) the still Chemically Active Crime-buster was battling the Penguin, Joker and Riddler as well as a fearsomely mutated Caped Crusader in the thoroughly bizarre ‘Alias the Bat-Hulk!’ – both tales courtesy of Haney, Mike Sekowsky & Mike Esposito.

Sekowsky also drew the last story in this volume. Justice League of America #42 (February 1966) had the hero join the World’s Greatest Superheroes to defeat a cosmic menace deemed “the Unimaginable”. The grateful champions instantly offered him membership but were surprised when and why ‘Metamorpho Says… No!’ in a classic adventure written by Gardner Fox and inked by Bernard Sachs.

The wonderment finally subsides after a lovely pin-up of the Element Man and his core cast by Fradon and Paris.

Individually enticing, always exciting but oddly frustrating in total this book will delight readers who aren’t too wedded to cloying continuity but simply seek a few moments of casual, fantastic escapism.
© 1965-1967, 2005 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Look-In Film Special: Clash of the Titans


By Mary Carey & Dan Spiegle (ITV Books)
ISBN: 0-900727-87-X

Comic adaptations of major motion pictures aren’t nearly as common these days as they were in the days before video, DVDs, Bluray and movies-on-demand or downloadable entertainment and I, for one, regret the loss. Today the traffic more often goes the other way as comics of all sorts and quality become grist for Hollywood’s insatiable mill…

Once funnybook versions were there to keep the film in the public’s attention before and after the fact; providing publicity pre-release and acting as mementos once the blockbuster had come and gone.

Often the printed article lacked plot accuracy as most adaptations were produced from an original shooting script and directors always change stuff about and edit in post-production (just compare Marvel’s first Star Wars adaptation to the final cinematic version), most of the gorier moments were excised or compressed and of course the whole process required the audience to participate by learning to read…

What they did often offer, however, was a chance for an artist to escape the narrow confines of comicbook genres and really flex their imaginative muscles such as in this extremely impressive – and mostly spot-on – interpretation of the 1981 Ray Harryhausen fantasy classic.

This tie-in interpretation of Clash of the Titans (the film was actually directed by Desmond Davis by the way) is a singular epic experience which displays the masterful artistry of the hugely undervalued Dan Spiegle, released in America by the monolithic Whitman Publishing under their Golden Press imprint. The script was adroitly adapted in America by Mary Carey for an over-sized edition with plenty of spectacular full-page sequences which illustrator Spiegle utilised to superb effect as he detailed the story of the demigod boy-hero Perseus.

The lad was sired by the god Zeus on mortal princess Danaё of Argos, for which her father King Acrisius tried to kill both mother and child by sealing them in a crate and throwing them into the sea. Rescued by Poseidon, they washed up on the shores of Seriphos where the baby grew to be a simple fisherman, unaware of his celestial antecedents. To punish Acrisius Zeus unleashed the Kraken, last of the terrible Titans, to destroy the entire island kingdom of Argos…

The gods are acrimonious and seldom kind. When the son of divine Thetis hunted the winged horses, Zeus transformed him into a monster. Originally promised to beautiful Andromeda, this Calibos was forever after shunned and his mother decreed that if he could not marry the princess of Joppa no man would…

As a result of the gods’ eternal squabbling, young Perseus was unwillingly dispatched to Joppa where he fell for Andromeda, battled Calibos and was manipulated into undertaking a fantastic quest to destroy the Kraken before Thetis could use it to destroy Andromeda and her people forever…

All the incredible characters and creatures are included here: vain gods and marauding monsters, bold heroes, dastardly villains, winged Pegasus, the ghastly Gorgon, the ferryman of Hell; magic weapons, three-headed dogs and annoying mechanical owls all dazzle and delight in this breathtaking magical interpretation which is still readily available – at least in its British edition.

Whilst there might be no commercial necessity for adapted comics anymore, spectacular books like this prove that there should always be a place to see our greatest artists and our favourite filmic fables working in perfect harmony.
© 1981 Metro-Goldwyn Mayer Film Co. All rights reserved.

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Y: the Last Man volume 10: Whys and Wherefores


By Brian K Vaughan, Pia Guerra & José Marzán Jr. (Vertigo)
ISBN: 978-1-84576-903-1

Some sense of disappointment is probably unavoidable when an acclaimed and beloved serial finally ends, but at least there’s a sense of accomplishment to savour and if you’re lucky perhaps a hint of more to be said and an avenue for further wonderment…

When every male creature on Earth suddenly dropped dead, only student Yorick Brown and his pet monkey Ampersand survived in a world instantly utterly all-girl. Unexpectedly a crucial natural resource, the wilful lad was escorted across the unmanned American continent to a Californian bio-lab by a government super-spy and a prominent geneticist, but all he could think of was re-uniting with his girlfriend Beth, trapped in Australia when the disaster struck.

With his reluctant companions Agent 355 and Dr. Allison Mann – who were trying to solve the mystery of his continued existence – the romantically determined oaf trekked from Washington DC to California, getting ever closer to his fiancée… or so he thought…

Each of his minders harboured dark secrets: Dr. Mann was crucially connected to the plague and the lethally competent 355 had hidden allegiances to organisations far-more far-reaching than the First Ladies of the remaining American government….

Also out to stake a claim and add to the general tension were renegade Israeli General Alter Tse’Elon and a post-disaster cult called “Daughters of the Amazon” who wanted to make sure that there really were no more men left to mess up the planet. Further complications included Yorick’s sister Hero, who stalked him across the ultra-feminised, ravaged and completely dis-United States and the boy’s own desirability to numerous frustrated and desperate women he encountered en route to Oz…

After four years and incredible adventures Yorick (a so-so scholar but a proficient amateur magician and escapologist) reached Australia only to discover Beth had embarked on her own odyssey to Paris. During the trek Dr. Mann discovered the inconvenient truth: Yorick was only alive because his pet Ampersand (an escaped lab-specimen) was immune and had inoculated his owner via his disgusting habit of chucking crap which Yorick didn’t always avoid. He didn’t keep his mouth closed enough either…

With this book, reprinting issues #55-60 of the award-winning series, comes to a final full-stop in ‘Whys and Wherefores’ wherein the various cast members all rendezvous in Paris. As well as Yorick and 355, his sister  Hero is there, having successfully escorted baby boys born in a hidden Space sciences lab to the City of Lights as well as Yorick’s baby daughter and the determined would-be mother who raped him to conceive her…

Also on scene and hungry for blood is General Tse’Elon with a dwindling squad of Israeli commandoes: rapidly diminishing because of their leader’s increasing instability and her habit of killing anybody who crosses her.

At long last the Last Man is reunited with his long lost true love, only to find that she wasn’t…

Tragically though his actual one-and-only is forever lost to him when Tse’Elon captures him and the babies, leading to a shocking final confrontation…

For the last chapter ‘Alas’ the action switches to Paris sixty years later. Thanks to cloning and gene manipulation the human race is secure and other species are returning too. Men are still rarer than hen’s teeth though, as the women seem to prefer girl babies…

The geriatric Yorick is saviour of humanity, but since he keeps trying to kill himself he has to be locked up and constantly guarded. In a desperate attempt to cure his seeming madness the leaders of the matriarchal new world – which suffers just as much from most of the problems and stupidities of the old – have brought in the best of the Last Man’s seventeen viable clones to talk him round and find out what’s bugging him. However the intervention doesn’t go as planned and the old escapologist has one last trick up his straitjacketed sleeve…

Illustrated by Pia Guerra & José Marzán Jr. these concluding adventures are packed with revelation, closures and disclosures plus some moments of genuine painful tragedy, so keep tissues handy if you’re easily moved.

The last of Y the Last Man is as controversial and challenging as ever it was: perfectly providing an ending to everything; lifting you up, breaking your heart and still leaving the reader hungry for more. And that’ just the way it ought to be…

© 2006, 2007 Brian K Vaughan & Pia Guerra. All Rights Reserved.

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Captain America: Hail Hydra


By Jonathan Maberry, Sergio Cariello, Tom Scioli, Phil Winslade, Kyle Hotz & Graham Nolan (Marvel/Panini UK)
ISBN: 978-1-84653-488-1

Everything changed for a little company called Marvel when, in issue #4 of the Avengers, the assembled heroes recovered the body of US Army Private Steve Rogers floating in a block of ice and consequently resurrected World War II hero Captain America. With this act bridging the years to Timely and Atlas Comics (which had in fact begun with the revival of Sub-Mariner in Fantastic Four #4), Marvel instantly acquired a comforting longevity and potential-packed pre-history: lending an enticing sense of mythic continuance to the fledgling company that instantly gave it the same cachet and enduring grandeur of market leader National/DC.

In 2010, after years of conflicting continuity (and with a movie in the offing), Marvel updated those pivotal events and early future-shocked days in the contemporary world with the stunning re-interpretation Captain America: Man Out of Time before repeating the operation with another generational miniseries: this time following the returned Sentinel of Liberty as he fought an extended campaign against a fearsome and undying foe.

Captain America: Hail Hydra! focuses on five crucial skirmishes fought over the Red, White and true Blue hero’s long years of valiant service wherein the he continually clashed with an organisation of insidious evil and astounding ambition,  with each issue illustrated by a different artist in a pastiche of the relevant time.

The action, illustrated Sergio Cariello, begins in 1944 as Captain America and teen partner Bucky helped German anti-Nazi freedom fighter Trude Lohn smash a plot by the baroquely bonkers, certifiably mad Doctor Geist, who had discovered how to reanimate the dead. During the apocalyptic struggle Cap was injected with the unholy serum and although the triumphant trio succeeded in depriving Hitler of an undead army they had no idea of the sinister scientist’s greater scheme, the ancient society he belonged to or what effect his devil drugs would have on America’s greatest warrior…

Tom Scioli pictured the second instalment in tribute to Jack Kirby, wherein more hints into the history of the cult that would become Hydra were interspersed with Cap’s first days as an Avenger following his half-century enforced hibernation. After reuniting with the now geriatric Trude, he and his new comrades clashed with ex-Nazi Baron Strucker and Geist’s unliving army only to be thoroughly overmatched and outmanoeuvred. The deranged doctor seemed more interested in gathering blood samples from Cap and Thor than winning the battle he had instigated…

A few years later the plan becomes clearer when the Sentinel of Liberty, partner in crime-fighting the Falcon, and African Avenger Black Panther were attacked by an army of zombies attempting to steal the fabled Elixir of Life from a hidden Wakandan repository of knowledge called the Grotto of Solomon. Lavishly rendered by Phil Winslade, the spectacular clash was also lightly dusted with further glimpses of the order’s historic attempts to gather arcane knowledge and artefacts pertaining to their mysterious millennial goal…

For a brief period the US government replaced the Star-Spangled Avenger with a less independent agent and Steve Rogers took the identity of “The Captain”. Kyle Hotz delineates an adventure from those turbulent times as the unencumbered hero tackled Geist’s latest monstrosity and worked with Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. to get one step ahead of Hydra.

After thwarting a terrifying attack on the heart and soul of America Rogers is forced to consider not only what Geist is truly after but also what his devilish serum might have made of Captain America that fateful night in 1944…

Graham Nolan closes the saga in captivating style as Rogers, now Director of the Avengers, and old partner Bucky (the current Captain America) enlist a garrison of guest stars as they home in on Strucker and Geist just as their incredible seven-thousand year scheme comes to a shocking culmination. Even the World’s Mightiest Heroes would be hard-pressed to overcome the incredible beings Hydra has finally birthed…

This book does have a few niggling plot flaws but nothing so flagrant that it disrupts the overall flow of action and delicious flavour of nostalgia; so unless you’re a dedicated, nit-picking devotee the striking art and rollicking rollercoaster thrills and chills should carry the day nicely, providing a solid dose of immortal, enticing entertainment

Fast-paced, full-on spectacle and clever infilling of the established canon makes Captain America: Hail Hydra! a striking saga that should serve to make many fresh fans for Marvel’s eternally evergreen old soldier.

™ and © 2011 Marvel Entertainment LCC and its subsidiaries. All rights reserved. A British edition released by Panini UK Ltd.