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November 23, 2013November 22, 2013

Showcase Presents Rip Hunterâ€¦ Time Master

By Jack Miller, Bill Ely, Ruben Moreira, Mike Sekowsky & Joe Giella, Joe Kubert, Ross Andru & Mike Esposito, Nick Cardy, Alex Toth, various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-3521-5

The concept of curious chrononauts is as old as the science fiction genre itself, and every aspect of literature has displayed fascination with leaving the Now for the Then and Thence. As the 1950s closed and the superhero genre slowly re-established itself in comicbooks, National/DC – who had for half a decade been a prime purveyor of bold, he-man fantasy action – successfully scored one last plainclothes hit with the infinite potential of temporal exploration.

With costumed cavorters reappearing everywhere the company combined time-travel vistas with their tried-and-true Adventuresome Quartet format (most effectively utilised for Jack Kirby’s groundbreaking Challengers of the Unknown) and, on a creative high and riding a building wave, introduced a dauntless team of comfortingly ordinary folks as Rip Hunterâ€¦ Time Master debuted in Showcase #20, cover-dated May/June 1959.

Studious yet manly inventor Hunter had just finished building flying globes which could crack the time barrier and, like any sensible man, wanted his best friend Jeff Smith and girlfriend Bonnie Baxter to share in his fun-filled jaunts. Bonnie’s little brother Corky also came along for most ridesâ€¦

Series creator Jack Miller was a serious history buff who filled the stories with the very latest in historical facts and theories, but that never got in the way of strong, rousing storytelling from the outset, and the series’ one potential flaw – the lack of a consistent art-team – became a huge bonus in the early days as a procession of top-flight illustrators took turns rendering the strangest and most evocative moments in comics historyâ€¦ to dateâ€¦

It all began with ‘Prisoners of 100 Million BC’ (Miller & Ruben Moreira): a novel-length introductory exploit which saw the daredevil physicist, engineer Jeff, adoring Bonnie and little Corky travel back to the Mesozoic era, utterly unaware that they were carrying two criminal stowaways.

Once there the thugs hi-jacked the Time Sphere and held it hostage until the explorers helped them stock up with rare and precious minerals. Reduced to the status of mere castaways, Rip and Co. became ‘The Modern-Day Cavemen’ until an erupting volcano caused ‘The Great Beast Stampede’ enabling the time travellers to finally turn the tables on their abductorsâ€¦

Miller was always careful to use the best research available but never afraid to blend historical fact with bold fantasy for Hunter’s escapades, and the epic follow-up ‘The Secret of the Lost Continent’ (Showcase #21, July/August, 1959 and illustrated by Mike Sekowsky & Joe Giella) saw the Time Masters jump progressively further back in time in search of fabled Atlantis.

A dramatic meeting with Alexander the Great in 331BC led the temporal voyagers on a trail of clues back centuries to ‘The Forbidden Island’ of Aeaea in 700BC to uncover the truth about legendary witch Circe before finally reaching 14,000BC and ‘The Doomed Continent’. Only on arrival did they see that the legendary pinnacle of early human achievement was actually a colony of stranded extraterrestrial refugeesâ€¦

Rip Hunter appeared twice more in Showcase before winning his own comic, and those succeeding months would see the Silver Age of superheroes kick into frantic High Gear with classic launches coming thick and fast.

Even so, the Time Masters continued slowly building their own faithful audience, happy to explore the traditionally fantastic. Nearly a year later after the initial run they returned in Showcase #25 (March/April 1960 and spectacularly illustrated by Joe Kubert) as ‘Captives of the Medieval Sorcerer’ after Rip’s old college professor requested passage for a scholarly colleague to the kingdom of Ritannia a thousand years past.

Unfortunately the studious Dr. Senn was a charlatan in search of mystic power and his machinations almost led the time team to doom in ‘The Valley of the Monsters’ before Rip discovered the hoax and ended ‘The Sorcerer’s Siege’â€¦

Kubert stuck around to reveal ‘The Aliens from 2000B.C.’ (Showcase #26, May/June 1960) as Rip and the gang travelled to ancient Egypt to verify recently unearthed pottery shards only to clash with extraterrestrial criminals planning on playing gods with the natives. After a daring ‘Escape from the Doomed Village’ the lads linked up with space cops to crush the baddies and their incredible pet monsters in time to win ‘The War of the Gods’â€¦

Ironically, time moved rather slowly for new titles in those days and Rip Hunterâ€¦ Time Master finally launched another year later sporting a March/April 1961 cover-date. With Ross Andru & Mike Esposito in the drawing seats Miller hit the ground running and ‘The Thousand-year-Old Curse’ captivatingly traced an ancestral doom afflicting the Craig family which brought Rip firstly to New England in pioneer times before further backtracking to Switzerland in 1360A.D. to uncover ‘The Secret of the Volcano Creature’. One final jaunt to feudal Europe revealed the truth after a climactic clash with ‘The Wizard of the 10^th Century’â€¦

Two months later #2 began with a sightseeing trip to Greece spoiled when a giant monster escaped from a hidden cave. Ever-curious, Rip followed the evidence and took the team back to meet ‘The Alien Beasts of 500B.C.’ becoming embroiled in an undocumented civil war.

Deposed dictator Demades had gained control of cosmic animals originally captured by stranded alien Big-Game hunter Nytok and intended using them to reassert his rule over Greece until the Time Masters intervened and caused ‘The Battle of the Alien Beasts’. That debacle almost led to ‘Rip Hunter’s Last Stand’ but of course the ingenious future-man had a trick or two up his sleeveâ€¦

In #3 an old coin with Corky’s face on it took the chrononauts to Scandinavia in 800A.D. and right into a royal power struggle for ‘The Throne of Doom’. As Corky was a perfect doppelganger for incumbent young King Rollo, all manner of deadly confusions occurred, especially once the boy was targeted by wicked usurper ‘Svend – ‘The Duke with Creature Powers’. Luckily modern know-how exposed the truth about the beasts under the villain’s control before ‘The Battle of the Warriors’ eventually saw Right and Justice restoredâ€¦

Nick Cardy took over the art duties with #4 as a time-lost avian Vornian arrived in the modern world and the Timesters offered to return him to his home amongst ‘The Bird-Men of 2000B.C.’ Of course the adventurers became involved in a war between legendary King Hammurabi and Vornian rebels where ‘The Ancient Air Raid’ of the insurgents inevitably led to a clash with ‘The Avenging God of Gilgamesh’â€¦ or did it?

In #5 ‘The Secret of the Saxon Traitor’ saw the team trying to rewrite established history and clear the name of a long-reviled traitor, but the books never mentioned invading spacemen or ‘The Creatures of Doom Valley’ and the spectacular finale of ‘The Ancients vs. The Aliens’ proved that sometimes history gets it right all alongâ€¦

The sensational Alex Toth then came aboard for two issues beginning with ‘The Secret of the Ancient Seer’ in #5, as a convocation of contemporary scientists asked Rip to investigate an 8^th century Baghdad prophet who predicted Columbus’ discovery of America and, more worryingly, imminent doom from a fireball that would strike Earth in one week’s time. On arriving in Asia, the team discovered the prophecy actually originated in ‘The Doomed City’ of Herculaneum just before the eruption of Vesuviusâ€¦

With no solution in the past Rip returned to the present and devised his own astounding solution to ‘The Menace of the Meteorite’â€¦

This astonishing yarn was followed in RHTM #7 by ‘The Lost Wanderers in Time’, as the futurist foursome embarked on a desperate chase through unrecorded history in search of a cure for a disease devastating South American Indians: a spasmodic voyage which eventually took them back a million years to clash with ‘The Last Dinosaur’ before a remedy for ‘The Green Death’ was found in the least likely placeâ€¦

With #8 veteran illustrator Bill Ely came aboard as regular artist, limning almost every story until the series ended. His first venture was ‘The Thieves Who Stole a Genie’, which found the explorers following gangsters who had stolen their spare Time Sphere to secure Aladdin‘s magic lamp. The trail led to 14^th century Baghdad where ‘The Battle of the Genies’ was only interrupted by an invasion. Of course canny Rip had the perfect answer for ‘The Attack of the Ommayads’â€¦

When an archaeologist dug up a rocket-ship he asked the team to travel back and track down ‘The Alien King of 1,000 B.C.’: a breathtaking romp which subsequently found Corky and Rip almost expiring after ‘The Adventure on Planet Zark’, whilst Bonnie and Jeff remained Earthbound and down until a ‘One-Man Alien Army’ saved them and the ancient world from conquest and death.

In issue #10 ‘The Execution of Rip Hunter’ began after a research trip to the 3^rd century A.D. led to Bonnie’s abduction. Whilst Roman soldiers tackled the boys, a hypnotic spell transformed her into ‘Bonnie – Queen of Palmyra’ and controller of an impossibly powerful beast her abductors needed to fend off Roman invasion in ‘All Hail the Conquering Creature’â€¦

A classic science fiction gem surfaced in #11 where ‘The Secret of Mount Olympus’ was exposed after the team visited 2^nd century B.C. Greece. After meeting a witch Jeff was changed into a griffin and supreme god Zeus demanded Rip perform a small task to save him, resulting in a ‘Dead End on Calypso Island’ before the true nature of the pantheon was revealed and ‘The Invasion of Mount Olympus’ resulted in the team’s escape and the gods’ departure.

Long-time Legion of Super-Heroes fans might recognise this tale as the basis for a major plot stream concerning the Durlan member Chameleon Boyâ€¦

For #12 a threat to modern Earth was revealed after a burning meteor erupted from beneath Stonehenge. ‘The 2,200-Year-Old Doom’ first led the heroes back to the building of the monument before at long last travelling into their own future to learn how the fallen star would destroy mankind.

Then, after popping back to when the meteor first hit and seeing the destruction of ‘The Impossible Beasts of One Million B.C.’ Rip finally devised ‘Earth’s Last Chance’ to save Today and all our Tomorrowsâ€¦

In #13 ‘The Menace of the Mongol Magician’ found Rip working with a renowned scientist on a magic Chinese tapestry, but their trip to the time of Kublai Khan was only a devious scam to warp history. Once there the villainous â€œProfessorâ€ planned to supply the Khan’s enemies with modern weapons in return for magical secrets. However, after making off with ‘The Hijacked Time Sphere’ he was promptly betrayed by his ally. Luckily, Rip and Jeff had their own answer to ‘The Mongol Ambush’ and everything turned out as it shouldâ€¦

‘The Captive Time-Travellers’ in #14 resulted from Rip and a group of scientists examining an invulnerable artefact purported to have been devised by Leonardo Da Vinci. A subsequent conversation with the great man himself revealed that the container held the world’s most destructive explosiveâ€¦

When one of the 20^th century technicians stole the bomb and a Time Sphere ‘The Future Fugitive’ headed for 2550A.D. to sell the weapon to a dictator, so Rip and Co. followed only to become ‘The Prisoners of Time’. And that’s when the bomb’s actual builders turned upâ€¦

The cleverly captivating fantasy frolics conclude for now with issue #15 and ‘The Earthlings of 5,000,000 B.C.’ wherein a rampaging alien monster in modern-day America proved to be an Earthling of astonishingly ancient vintage.

When Rip and the gang travelled back to search out the answer to the mystery they found an entire unsuspected civilisation and became ‘The Experimental Creatures’ of that society’s scientists. They only barely escaped the cosmic calamity of ‘The Day the Earth Died’ but returned safely with the knowledge of what happened to the last tragic survivor’s speciesâ€¦

These stories from a uniquely variegated moment in funnybook history were the last vestiges of a different kind of comic tale and never really affected the greater push towards a cohesive, integrated DC Universe. They are, though, splendidly accessible and thoroughly enjoyable adventure tales which should be cherished by every frenzied fan and casual reader.
Â© 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 2012 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

November 22, 2013November 21, 2013

Spirou & Fantasio volume 4: Valley of the Exiles

By Tome & Janry, colour by Stephane De Becker & translated by Jerome Saincantin (Cinebook)
ISBN: 978-1-84918-157-0

For the majority of English-speaking comic fans Spirou might be Europe’s biggest secret. The phenomenally long-lived character is a rough contemporary – and shrewdly calculated commercial response – to HergÃ©’s iconic Tintin, whilst the comic he has headlined for decades is only beaten in sheer longevity and manic creativity by our own Beano.

Conceived in 1936 at Belgian Printing House Ã‰ditions Dupuis by boss-man Jean Dupuis, his proposed new magazine targeted juvenile audiences and launched on April 21^st 1938; neatly bracketed in the UK by DC Thomson’s The Dandy (4^th December 1937) and The Beano (July 30^th 1938). In America a small comicbook publisher was preparing to release a new anthology entitled Action Comicsâ€¦

Spirou was to be edited by 19 year-old Charles Dupuis and derived its name from the lead feature, which described the improbable adventures of a plucky Bellboy/lift operator employed at the glamorous Moustique Hotel (a sly reference to the publisher’s premier periodical Le Moustique).

Spirou the hero – whose name translates as both â€œsquirrelâ€ and â€œmischievousâ€ in the Walloon language – was realised by French cartoonist FranÃ§ois Robert Velter under his pen-name Rob-Vel for his Belgian bosses in response to the phenomenal success of HergÃ©’s carrot-topped boy reporter Tintin – a guaranteed money-spinning phenomenon for rival publisher Casterman.

The eponymous magazine launched with the plucky Bellboy (and his pet squirrel Spip) as the leads in an anthology weekly which bears his name to this day; featuring fast-paced, improbable cases which gradually evolved into astonishingly addictive high-flying surreal comedy dramas.

Spirou and his pals have reigned supreme in the magazine for most of its life, with a phalanx of truly impressive creators continuing Velter’s work – beginning with his wife Blanche â€œDavineâ€ Dumoulin, who took over the strip when her husband enlisted in 1939. She was aided by Belgian artist Luc Lafnet until 1943 when Dupuis purchased all rights to the feature, after which comic-strip prodigy Joseph Gillain (â€œJijÃ©â€) took over, introducing current co-star and foil Fantasio to the mix.

Somewhere along the way Spirou & Fantasio switched to journalism, becoming globe-trotting reporter and photographer, continuing their weekly exploits in unbroken four-colour glory. In 1946 JijÃ©’s assistant AndrÃ© Franquin assumed the creative reins, adding a phenomenally popular magic animal dubbed Marsupilami to the cast (first seen in Spirou et les hÃ©ritiers in 1952 and now a solo-star of screen, plush toy store, console games and albums all his own), crafting increasingly fantastic tales until 1969.

Franquin was in turn succeeded by Jean-Claude Fournier who updated the feature over nine stirring adventures which tapped into the rebellious, relevant zeitgeist of the times with tales of environmental concern, nuclear energy, drug cartels and repressive regimes.

Even so, by the 1980s the boy Spirou seemed outdated and without direction; three different creative teams began alternating on the serial, until it was at last revitalised by the authors of the adventure under review here.

Philippe Vandevelde – writing as Tome – and artist Jean-Richard Geurts, best known to lovers of Bande dessinÃ©es as Janry, revisited, adapted and referenced the beloved Franquin era, reviving the feature’s fortunes and resulting in fourteen wonderful albums between 1984 and 1998. This one, from 1989 and originally entitled La vallÃ©e des bannis – ‘Valley of the Banished’ – was their ninth (and the 41^st chronological collection of the evergreen adventurers).

Once their tenure concluded Tome & Janry’s departed and both Lewis Trondheim and the team of Jean-Davide Morvan & Jose-Luis Munuera took over, bringing the official album tally to fifty (there also are a bunch of specials, spin-offs and one-shots, official and otherwise) before in 2009 Fabien Vehlmann & Yoann (Yoann Chivard) were announced as the new â€œKeepers of the Flameâ€…

Valley of the Exiles! concludes the excellent two-part escapade (which began in Running Scared) with the roving reporters retracing the steps and uncovering the whereabouts of two explorers who had vanished in 1938 whilst attempting to climb a mountain and discover a legendary lost valley in the inscrutable, isolated Himalayan nation of Yurmaheesun-shanâ€¦

Since 1950 that tiny nation had been subject to repeated invasions by rival super-powers and was currently a hotbed of rebellion, insurgency and civil war, but Spirou and Fantasio were utterly determined to solve the ancient mystery.

Thus they linked up with renowned eccentric Dr. Placebo: world renowned authority on medical condition Spasmodia Maligna and a man convinced that the only cure for the condition – prolonged, sustained and life-threatening synchronous diaphragmatic flutters (hiccups to you and me) – is to be scared out of one’s wits.

He sponsored a â€œmedicalâ€ mission to find the lost valley and thus the lads, Spip and five disparate, desperate perpetual hiccup-sufferers crept across the Nepalese border despite the most diligent attentions of military overlord Captain Yi.

That formidable martinet was tasked with keeping all foreigners – especially journalists – out of the occupied country as it underwent enforced pacification and re-education, but thanks to native translator Gorpah (a wily veteran guide who once proved invaluable to another red-headed reporter, his little white dog and a foul mouthed-sea captain!) the daring band were soon deep in-country.

Only minutes behind were Yi’s troops in tanks, armoured cars and attack helicopters – which naturally provided plenty of opportunities for the annoyingly obnoxious singultus flutterers to be satisfactorily terrified – but there was still little evidence of a breakthrough cureâ€¦

Just as the fugitives found their first clue as to the site of the lost valley they were taken captive by native rebels. With still no hiccup cure found the beleaguered explorers attempted a daring later escape, but even as they all piled into a lorry a monumental storm broke outâ€¦

When one of their pursuer’s vehicles plunged over a cliff, the valiant escapees formed a human chain to rescue the driver but Spirou and Fantasio were washed away and lost in the raging flash flood â€¦

In The Valley of the Exiles! the story resumes with the battered, weary duo entombed deep within a Himalayan mountain. Slowly, blindly they grope their way towards a faint light and emerge through ancient, barbaric idol’s head into the very place they’ve been seekingâ€¦

Utterly enclosed by peaks the Valley is an idyllic paradise, but its very isolation has led to the development of a number of truly unique species of flora and fauna. There are colossal carnivorous water lily-pads, ferociously determined man-eating turtles, electric geckoes, the seductive Hammock Flytrap and many more bizarre and potentially lethal creatures.

The one that most imperils the lost boys however is the diminutive Manic Midgie – a mosquito-like bug that carries the disease â€œraging hostiliasisâ€. Not long after one bites Fantasio, poor Spirou realises that his best friend has become a homicidal maniac determined to kill him and everything else in rangeâ€¦

The deranged lad soon goes completely off the deep end, and only luck and a handy itching-powder boxing glove plant prevents the reporter’s gory demiseâ€¦

Wounded, hunted by his best friend and perhaps the only human in the apparently inescapable enclosed wilderness, near-despondent Spirou and Spip begin to explore their incredible prison and find a rough shack: proof that at some time other humans had been there.

Further investigation reveals it to be the last resting place of the lost explorers Siegfried and Maginot. The mystery of the 1938 expedition is solved – even though Spirou has no way of filing this scoop!

More worryingly, Maginot’s copious notes on the creatures of the valley offer some grim hypotheses as to the nature of the nature in this fantastic hidden gorge: creatures inimical to both the body and mind of man. Plants that cast illusions, murderous mammals that mimic harmless life, bugs whose bite produces madnessâ€¦

Crazed beyond imagining – and burbling hilarious, fourth-wall breaking nonsense – Fantasio is determinedly hunting his old friend and the frantic chase drives the limping hero deep into a hidden temple where he uncovers the secret of a fantastic lost civilisation of Backik: a race banished by Mongol conquerors /to this distant valley. The reluctant settlers lived just enough for the manic-midgies to bring their unlucky lives crashing down into doom and disasterâ€¦

As Spirou lurches through the eerie tombs of the fallen Backiks Fantasio ambushes him and is ready to finish off his former friend when a mysterious figure attacksâ€¦

Some time later Spirou awakens in the warming sunlight of the valley, with deranged Fantasio securely bound beside him. Resolved to escape this fantastic trap and get his crazy pal back to civilisation and medical assistance, our red-headed hero begins to explore his best options only to feel the terrifying sting of a mosquitoâ€¦

Packed with oodles of action and a host of incredible surprises and revelations, Valley of the Exiles is a truly splendid escapade, with thrills, chills, spills, a mountain of choice comedy moments and eccentric, surreal mysteries to keep readers spellbound.

This refreshingly engaging, lightly-barbed, action-adventure is a breath of fresh air in a marketplace far too full of adults-only carnage, sordid cheesecake titillation, testosterone-fuelled breast-beating, teen-romance monsters and cloying barbarian fantasy. Easily accessible to readers of all ages and drawn with all the beguiling style and seductively enticing Ã©lan which makes Asterix, Lucky Luke, The Bluecoats and Iznogoud so compelling, this is another cracking read every bit as deserving of household name-hood as those seriesâ€¦ yes, even that other red-headed kid with the white dogâ€¦
Original edition Â© Dupuis, 1989 by Tome & Janry. All rights reserved. English translation 2013 Â© Cinebook Ltd.

November 21, 2013November 20, 2013

WIN FREE STUFF SPECIAL OFFER! Solve your Christmas Present Woes Here!

Thanks to the generosity of those fine people at Titan Comics we have a spiffy, brand, spanking new copy of Steed and Mrs Peel to give away so it’s time to show your True Brit Grit by answering three little questions – they be waiting for you at the end of this reviewâ€¦

November 21, 2013November 20, 2013

Steed and Mrs. Peel volume 1: A Very Civil Armageddon

By Mark Waid, Caleb Monroe, Steve Bryant, Will Sliney, Yasmin Liang & Chris Rosa (Boom! Studios/Titan Books)
ISBN: 987-1-60886-306-8

Generally when I write about the Avengers here we’re thinking about an assembled multitude of Marvel superheroes, but – until the recent movie blockbuster stormed the world – for most non-comics civilians that name usually conjured up images of dashing heroics, old world charm, incredible adventure and bizarrely British festishistic attire.

It’s easy to see how that might lead to some consumer confusionâ€¦

The (other) Avengers was/were an incredibly stylish and globally popular crime/spy TV show made in Britain which glamorously blended espionage with arch, seductively knowing comedy and deadly danger with elements of technological fantasy from the 1960s through to the beginning of the 1980s. A phenomenal cult hit, the show and its sequel The New Avengers is best remembered now for Cool Britannia style action, kinky quirkiness, mad gadgetry, surreal suspense and the wholly appropriate descriptive phrase â€œSpy Fiâ€.

The legacy of the series is still apparent in many later hit shows as The Invisible Man (both TV spy iterations), Chuck, the new Mission: Impossible movies and even Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Enormously popular all over the globe – even Warsaw Pact Poland was crazy for Rewolwer i melonik (or A Revolver and a Bowler Hat) – the show gradually evolved from a gritty crime/vengeance thriller entitled Police Surgeon in 1961 into a paragon of witty, thrilling and sophisticated adventure lampoonery with suave, urbane British Agent John Steed and dazzlingly talented amateur sleuth Mrs. Emma Peel battling spies, robots, criminals, secret societies, monsters and even â€œaliensâ€ with tongues very much in cheeks and always under the strictest determination to remain cool, dashingly composed and exceedingly eccentric…

The format was a winner. Peel, as played by (Dame) Diana Rigg, had been a replacement for landmark character Cathy Gale – the first hands-on fighting female in British television history – who left the show in 1964 to become Bond Girl Pussy Galore in the movie Goldfinger. However Rigg’s introduction took the show to even greater heights of success and recently bereaved actress Emma Peel’s huge popularity with viewers cemented the archetype of a powerful, clever, competent woman into the nation’s psyche and forever banished the screaming, eye-candy girly-victim to the dustbin of popular fiction.

Rigg left in 1967 (she married James Bond in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service) and another feisty female was found in the person of Tara King (Linda Thorson) to carry the series to its demise in 1969. Its continued popularity in more than 90 countries eventually resulted in a revival during the late 1970s. The New Avengers saw glamorous Purdey (Joanna Lumley) and brutishly manly Gambit (Gareth Hunt) acting as partners and foils to the agelessly debonair and deadly Steedâ€¦

The show has remained a hugely enticing cult icon. There was a rather ill-conceived major motion picture in 1998, and in 2007 America’s TV Guide ranked the TV iteration the 20^th Top Cult TV Show Ever. During its run and beyond, the internationally adored series spawned toys, games, collector models, a pop single and stage show, radio series, posters and books and all the myriad merchandising strands that inevitably accompany a media sensation.

Naturally, as a popular British Television program these Avengers were no stranger to our comics pages either.

Following an introductory strip starring Steed & Gale in listings magazines Look Westward and The Viewer plus the Manchester Evening News (September 1963 to the end of 1964), legendary children’s staple TV Comic launched its own Avengers strip in #720 (October 2^nd 1965) with Emma Peel firmly ensconced. This serial ran until #771 (September 24^th 1966) and the dashing duo also starred in the TV Comic Holiday Special, whilst a series of young Emma Peel adventures featured in June & Schoolfriend.

The feature then transferred to DC Thomson’s Diana until 1968 whereupon it returned to TV Comic with #877, depicting Steed and Tara King until 1972 and #1077.

In 1966 there was a one-off, large-sized UK comicbook from Mick Anglo Studios whilst in America, Gold Key’s Four-Color series published a try-out book in 1968 using recycled UK material under the rather obvious title John Steed/Emma Peel – since Marvel had already secured an American trademark for comics with the name â€œAvengersâ€â€¦

There were also a number of wonderful, sturdily steadfast hardback annuals for the British Festive Season trade, beginning with 1962’s TV Crimebusters Annual and thereafter pertinent TV Comic Annuals before a run of solo editions graced Christmas stockings from 1967-1969 plus a brace of New Avengers volumes for 1977 and 1978.

Most importantly, Eclipse/ACME Press produced a trans-Atlantic prestige miniseries between 1990 and 1992. Steed & Mrs. Peel was crafted by Grant Morrison & Ian Gibson with supplementary scripting from Anne Caulfield.

That tale was reprinted in 2012 by media-savvy publishers Boom! Studios and acted as a kind of pilot for the current iteration under review here. The adventures of Steed and Mrs. Peel Ongoing began soon after and this initial compilation – collecting issues #0-3 from August to December 2012 – form a worthy reintroduction for the faithful and happily accessible introduction for notional newcomers as the dedicated followers of felons return for another clash with memorable TV antagonists The Hellfire Club.

These baroque bounders appeared in the TV episode ‘A Touch of Brimstone’ and so warped the maturing personalities of young Chris Claremont and John Byrne that they later created their own version for a comicbook they were working on – the Uncanny X-Menâ€¦

The drama here opens in ‘A Very Civil Armageddon: Prologue’ (written by Boom! chief creative guru Mark Waid and illustrated by Steve Bryant) as, back in the style-soaked Swinging Sixties, our heroes are called upon to investigate ‘The Dead Future’ and how an active – albeit murdered – agent can seemingly age decades overnight.

The situation reminds Mrs. Peel of the mind-bending, lethally effective fun-and-games perpetrated by the insidious Hellfire Club and its now-defunct leader the Honourable John Clever Cartneyâ€¦

Further inquiries take them to the latest incarnation of the ancient Gentleman’s Club where the futurist Ian Lansdowne Dunderdale Cartney disavows any knowledge of the matter or his dad’s old antisocial habits. In fact the current scion is far more absorbed with the World of Tomorrow than the embarrassing peccadilloes of the past. However it’s all a trap and whilst Emma is attacked by a killer robot maid Steed is ambushed – only to awaken as an old man 35 years later in the year 2000AD!

Forever undaunted, the temporarily separated Derring-Duo refuse to believe the improbable and impeccably strike back individually to uncover the incredible answer to an impossible situationâ€¦

The main feature, by Waid and Caleb Monroe with art from Will Sliney, then sees ‘London Falling’ as the long-dreaded nuclear Armageddon finally happens, leaving Steed, Peel and a swarm of politicians, Lords and civil servants as the only survivors in a battered atomic bunker beneath a utterly devastated Houses of Parliament.

The shattered, shaken remnants of Empire and Civilisation are astounded to discover that the only other survivors are ghastly atomic mutants and a coterie of exceptionally well-stocked and fully prepared members of the Hellfire Clubâ€¦

‘Life in Hell’ finds the former foes joining forces and combining resources, but Steed and Peel are convinced that something is â€œnot kosherâ€. For one thing former members of once-important political committees and knowledgeable generals keep disappearing, but most importantly Ian Cartney and his deplorable sister Dirigent are now known to be masters of their father’s dark arts of illusion, trickery and brainwashingâ€¦

Steed rumbles to the nature of an audaciously cunning Psy-Ops espionage scheme almost too late as Emma is once again transformed into a ferocious, whip-wielding bondage nightmare in the concluding instalment ‘Long Live the Queen’. Of course, a good spy, like a boy scout, is always prepared and the dapper detective cleverly turns the tables on his foes just in time for a rollicking, explosively old-fashioned comeuppanceâ€¦

Wry, arch and wickedly satisfying, this opening salvo in the reborn franchise is a delight for staunch fans and curious newcomers alike and this volume also includes a vast (28) covers and variants gallery by Joseph Michael Linsner, Phil Noto, Joshua Covey & Blond, Mike Perkins & Vladimir Popov and Drew Johnson to astound the eyes as much as the story assaults the sensesâ€¦

OK. All clued in?

Would you like to own this book without paying? If so then this is your chance.

All you have to do is enter this piffling little contest and trust to luckâ€¦

It’s free and absolutely anybody can join in. You can enter as many times as you want but there’s only one prize and my word is final in every instance.

Below are three multiple choice questions. Simply send your best guesses using Leave a Reply and we’ll pull a correct entry out of our digital bowler hat on December 1^st.

Do Not Text, Tweet, Telephone or Telepath us. Just append the name of the lucky person you want to receive the prize with the three letters of your divination in the review’s comment section and we’ll take it from there.

Please do not send us your address. If you win we’ll contact you and ask for where you want the book sent.

Unless you’re residing at the ends of the Earth (in which case the parcel may take a little longer to arrive) the winner should have this treasured possession in time for Christmas, even with British post-privatised post practisesâ€¦

Readyâ€¦ Setâ€¦ Go!

The Avengers were known by what title in Poland?
1. A Revolver and a Bowler Hat.
2. Hard Hat and Leather Boots.
3. Umbrellas and Kicks.
Mrs Peel was Steed’s second karate-kicking female fighting partner. Who preceded her?
1. Sue Storm.
2. Tara Tempest.
3. Cathy Gale.
Patrick MacNee & Honor Blackman produced an infamous Avengers spin-off novelty pop single in 1964. What was it called?
1. These Boots Are Made for Kicking.
2. Have some Madeira, M’Dear.
3. Kinky Boots.

Good luck one and allâ€¦

November 20, 2013

Uncanny Avengers volume 3: The Apocalypse Twins

By Rick Remender, Gerard Gorman Duggan, Daniel AcuÃ±a & Adam Kubert (Marvel/Panini UK)
ISBN: 978-1-84653-564-2

In the aftermath of the Avengers versus X-Men publishing event, company-wide reboot MarvelNOW! repositioned and recast the entire continuity in the ongoing never-ending battle to keep old readers interested and pick up new ones.

What You Need to Know: Once upon a time mutant Avenger Wanda Maximoff – daughter of arch-villain Magneto and known to the world as the Scarlet Witch – married android hero The Vision and they had (through the agency of magic and her unsuspected chaos-energy fuelled ability to reshape Reality) twin boys. Over the course of time it was revealed that her beloved sons were not real and they subsequently vanished (for further details see Marvel Platinum: the Definitive Avengers).

As years passed her loss slowly drove Wanda mad, and when she finally slipped completely over the edge the resultant slaughter-spree destroyed many of her Avengers team-mates. The effects of her actions subsequently reshaped the entire Marvel Universe, resulting in climactic reboot Avengers Disassembled.

The team had barely recovered from that catastrophe before she overwrote Reality again, altering recent Earth history such that mutants ruled over a society where humans or â€œsapiensâ€ were an acknowledged evolutionary dead-end living out their lives and destined for extinction within two generations.

It took every champion on Earth and a huge helping of luck to put that genie back in a bottle (another colossal crossover – House of M), and in the aftermath less than 200 mutants were left on Earthâ€¦

The Witch was partially rehabilitated and began her quest for redemption during the aforementioned Avengers versus X-Men with the World’s Mightiest Heroes striving against the remaining mutants for control of Hope Summers: a girl born to be mortal host to the implacable force of cosmic destruction and creation known as The Phoenix.

However the primal phenomenon instead possessed a quintet of X-Men, corrupting them by manifesting their dream of making Earth a paradise for besieged, beleaguered Homo Superior.

In the ensuing conflict humanity was briefly enslaved before, inevitably, the selfish appetites of the Phoenix Force caused those possessed to turn upon each other. Soon its transcendent power transformed rallying figurehead and mutant freedom-fighter Cyclops into another apparently unstoppable, insatiable â€œDark Phoenixâ€.

At that crossroads moment his beloved mentor Charles Xavier, founder of the X-Men and formulator of the aspiration of peaceful mutant/human co-existence returned, only to be killed by his most devoted discipleâ€¦

Professor X’s death united X-Men and Avengers but, in the days following the expulsion of the Phoenix Force, progress and reconciliation stalled. The mostly human world festered with resentment even as new mutants began to manifest, and liberated mankind again fell into its old habits: intolerance, violence and bigoted, vigilante outragesâ€¦

When undying Ã¼ber-Nazi the Red Skull stole Xavier’s brain and appropriated the deceased mutant’s awesome telepathic abilities, his terrorist outrages were halted by a new team of Avengers: one formed by Captain America and S.H.I.E.L.D. to counter the rising tide of inter-species hostilityâ€¦

Having been born out of one wave of genocidal race-hatred, the Sentinel of Liberty was painfully aware that America’s mutant minority had been poorly served – if not actively institutionally discriminated against – and sought to make amends by continuing Xavier’s utopian vision. To that end he convened the high-profile, affirmatively-active Avengers Unity Division, comprising human and mutant heroes working together.

The quintessential Avenger chose former government agent Havok (Cyclops’ brother Alex Summers) to lead the team, which consisted of himself, Thor, Scarlet Witch, Rogue, Wolverine, Sunfire,and the squad’s bloody baptism of fire saw them stop the Skull’s freakish army of bio-engineered S-Men and seemingly prove the promise of the premise.

However at a very public press conference inducting two new members – Wonder Man and the Wasp – they were attacked by ancient enemy Grim Reaper. The clash ended when mutant Rogue slaughtered the psychopath in full view of the horrified watching world. In one shocking instant the entire enterprise seemed utterly undermined with all that hard-won pro-mutant progress wastedâ€¦

Collecting Uncanny Avengers #6-11 (cover-dated June to October 2013), and the spin-off Uncanny Avenger AU #8 (July), this astounding celebration of the magic of Fights ‘n’ Tights fiction kicks everything into time-busting cosmic overdrive as the harried heroes fall prey to the bewildering machinations of arch-nemesis Kang the Conqueror and his most potent pawns The Apocalypse Twinsâ€¦

It all begins in Scandinavia in 1013AD where/when a young, cocky and rebellious Thor is attacked by En Sabah Nur, immortal mutant Apocalypse and agent of the all-powerful Space Gods dubbed Celestials. The grotesque creature believes he is safeguarding the future by promoting the triumph of only the very strongest mutants, but all the petulant Thunderer knows is that he has been shamed and thrashed by a freak with an unfair advantage – star-forged armourâ€¦

Apocalypse is guided in his seemingly random attacks by former enemy Pharaoh Rama-Tut who advocates pre-emptive attacks on certain beings: those whose descendents would one day unite to resist the mutant advocate of Survival of the Fittest: the ancestors of a group called Avengersâ€¦

In Asgard Thor learns that his father Odin is subject a non-aggression pact with the Celestials but is too headstrong and angry to put aside his grievance. When sternly told to drop the matter, the furious godling finds suspiciously handy help from his malevolent half-brother Loki who shows him a spell which can enchant Thor’s battle-axe JarnBjorn into a weapon capable of rending even Celestial armourâ€¦

Delighted with his new unstoppable blade, Thor goes looking for a rematch and does not see that a stranger has been masquerading as his brotherâ€¦

The Storm Lord arrives in primitive London just as Apocalypse attacks the next name on Rama-Tut’s list; a warrior named Folkbern Loganâ€¦

The Pagan soldier has been attacked by Apocalypse’s Four Horsemen and Thor is the answer to his prayers, wielding JarnBjorn with devastating effect. Saving Logan, destroying the servants and grievously wounding Apocalypse he returns to Asgard only to be severely admonished by Odin, even as elsewhen Apocalypse realises he has been played for a fool by Rama-Tut. The real winner is Kang who quietly takes his intended prize – a weapon even Space Gods cannot endureâ€¦

In our present, Apocalypse has been recently killed and many deadly creatures vie for the dubious honour of assuming his mantle and role as mutant messiah/exterminator of humanity. Thus on solar-orbiting Starcore Station his appalling son Genocide petitions the Celestials to accept him as their new agentâ€¦

The Celestials are a crucial component in the mechanics of the cosmos, their only interest being the raw, unstoppable processes of evolution. However when the enigmatic Apocalypse Twins materialise, they exercise their claim as true heirs by using JarnBjorn to achieve the impossible: executing the omnipotent Celestial Gardener and thereby endangering the very fabric of existenceâ€¦

On Earth Havok has just successfully defended Rogue from murder charges at a S.H.I.E.L.D. hearing and attempts to keep her busy and out of sight by sending her after Magneto when news arrives that Earth’s alien early warning satellite The Peak is under attack.

Wanda meanwhile is trying to talk with WonderMan. Their relationship has been strained ever since she killed and resurrected him and the traumatised energy being is undergoing a few confusing life-changes. For one thing he’s now become a pacifist. He will help the team in every way possibleâ€¦ except by fightingâ€¦

Despite all efforts the Avengers are unable to save The Peak from the Twins, who use the fallen Celestial’s vehicle to send the station crashing down on Rio de Janeiro. Although Thor and Sunfire are able to save the city from obliteration the rest of the team are more concerned with a secret they have just uncovered: Wolverine’s hidden role in the death of the Twin’s birth-father – the former X-Man Warren Worthington, AKA Archangelâ€¦

Whilst all this is occurring Captain America is fighting for his life in war-torn South Sudan and manoeuvred into uncovering a message from a mysterious ally purporting to know what is actually going on.

The Twins are also aware of layers of deceit. Raised by Kang in time-warped isolation Eimin and Uriel are beginning to suspect their patron’s motives and each other’s dedication. These qualms do not prevent them from detonating an atomic blast just as the rest of the Avengers arrive to supplement Thor and Sunfireâ€¦

The Marvel Universe is a busy place and whilst this saga was unfolding another major event was simultaneously unfolding in the pages of Age of Ultron. There, a time-warping event created an alternate Earth where the malign mechanoid took over the world from a point in Earth’s future. The epic spawned a plethora of â€œextraâ€ issues – such as Uncanny Avengers #8AU – wherein the characters from the alternate timeline spawned by the temporal tribulations offered decidedly different tales of our most famed champions.

In this chronal digression – written by Gerard Gorman Duggan and illustrated by Adam Kubert – we glimpse the formative years of the Apocalypse Twins as Kang temporarily frees his twisted children from his private concentration camp in 4145AD. The Lord of Time had been raising them in such harsh conditions to temper them for future roles, but now seeks to test his charges with a first mission of assassination.

The target is veteran Red, White and Blue Sentinel of Justice Colonel America but the operation does not go according to planâ€¦

Returning with #9 to the regularly scheduled tale Ragnarok Now! displays the deepening rift in the Unity team as the resurgent adult Apocalypse Twins continue their campaign for mutant ascendancy by constituting their own squad of Horsemen to winnow humanity and its heroes. These heralds of Mutant Rapture and human disaster are not the bio-engineered creatures their true father preferred however.

The children of En Sabah Nur instead opt for a quartet of dead horrors to pave their way to triumphâ€¦

In Sudan meanwhile, Captain America digests information received from the godlike Immortus – another â€œmaster of timeâ€ and purportedly Kang’s reformed future self. The decidedly untrustworthy savant has entrusted the Star Spangled Avenger with the actual nature of reality and revealed why the Twins must be stopped as well as the ghastly consequences should they win the ongoing war to control all times, spaces and realitiesâ€¦

When Cap then learns of Wolverine’s murderous past actions the team splits over philosophy and pragmatism. Havok is hard-pressed to keep the heroes united before the onslaught of the Twins’ zombie Horsemen, Sentry, Banshee, Daken and Grim Reaper: all deadly killers with deep emotional ties to the heroes and all of whom died at the hands of Avengersâ€¦

As the Unity squad splits up to tackle the Apocalypse agents, the calamitous clashes only mask the Twins’ secret agenda: they have seemingly seduced the reality-shredding Scarlet Witch to their cause, convincing her to use her world-warping curse to bring about their long-desired ascendancy as instigators of the Mutant Raptureâ€¦

To Be Continuedâ€¦

Scripted by Rick Remender and illustrated by Daniel AcuÃ±a, this rather confused and somewhat convoluted, but exceedingly spectacular, complex and ambitious epic may be a bit daunting for casual readers but dedicated followers of mutant mayhem will no doubt adore the fantastic premise and blockbusting scope of events.

Also provoking much applause and approbation are a gallery of covers and variants by John Cassaday & Laura Martin, Milo Manara and Jim Cheung, whilst the selection of 21st century extra content in the form of AR icon sections includes trailers, character bios, creator commentaries and oodles more. The Marvel Augmented Reality App pages grant access to story bonuses once you download the little dickens – free from marvel.com – onto your smart-phone or Android-enabled tablet. So you should do that too, right?
â„¢ & Â© 2013 Marvel & Subs. Licensed by Marvel Characters B.V. through Panini S.p.A. All rights reserved. A British Edition published by Panini Publishing, a division of Panini UK, Ltd.

November 19, 2013

Spain: Rock, Roll, Rumbles, Rebels & Revolution

By Manuel â€œSpainâ€ Rodriguez (Burchfield Penney Art Center/Last Gasp)
ISBN: 978-0-86719-782-2

Manuel Rodriguez was one of the pioneering lights of America’s transformative Underground Commix movement: a mainstay of the counterculture which subversively reshaped the nation’s psyche in the 1960s and 1970s. However, although always a left-leaning radical, infamous for his raucously hyper-violent, audaciously sexual urban vigilante Trashman, Spain was also a quietly dedicated craftsman, historian, educationalist and graphic biographer.

Born in Buffalo, New York state in 1940, the Hispanic kid spent a lot of time with notorious biker gang the Road Vultures and these experiences, as much as his political upbringing and formal education at the SilvermineGuildArtSchool in New Canaan, Connecticut (1957-1960), moulded and informed his entire creative career.

In the 1960s he became a regular contributor to landmark alternative magazine the East Village Other, which not only utilised his burgeoning talents as illustrator and designer but also commissioned, in 1968, his groundbreaking tabloid comicbook Zodiac Mindwarp. That insert proved so successful that EVO subsequently sponsored a regular anthology publication. Gothic Blimp Works was a turning point and clarion call in the evolution of underground publishing.

However, the excessive exploits of Trashman – â€œAgent of the 6^th Internationalâ€ – against a repressive dystopian American super-state were only the tip of the creative iceberg. Ardent left-winger Spain founded the trade organisation the United Cartoon Workers of America whilst contributing to many of the independent comics and magazines which exploded out of the burgeoning counterculture movement across the world.

Manuel Rodriguez was also an erudite and questioning writer/artist with a lifelong interest in history – especially political struggle and major battlefield clashes, and much of his other work revealed a stunning ability to bring these subjects to vibrant life.

The breadth, depth and sheer variety of Spain’s work – from gritty urban autobiography (American Splendor, Cruisin’ with the Hound: the Life and Times of Fred TootÃ©) to psycho-sexual sci fi (Zap Comix, Skull, Mean Bitch Thrills) is a testament to his incredible talent but the restless artist also found time to produce a wealth of other cartooning classics.

Amongst his dauntingly broad canon of comics material are literary adaptations (Edgar Allen Poe, Sherlock Holmes’ Strangest Cases), historical treatises (War: The Human Cost) and biographies (ChÃ© {Guevara}: a Graphic Biography, Devil Dog: the Amazing True Story of the Man who Saved America {Marine Major General Smedley Darlington Butler}) as well as educational and design works such as You Are a Spiritual Being Having a Human Experience and Nothing in This Book Is True, But It’s Exactly How Things Are (both with Bob Frissell).

He also produced the ongoing comics serial The Dark Hotel for American current affairs, politics and media news aggregation website Salon.

In 2012 Spain finally lost a six-year battle against cancer and this superb book – actually the Exhibition catalogue for a career retrospective at the prestigious Burchfield Penney Art Center at Buffalo State College – celebrates his tumultuous life and spectacular contribution to the art form of graphic narrative with a compelling series of essays as well as a superb selection of the great man’s best pieces including some little known lost treasures.

The appreciation begins with ‘Stand Up’ by Anthony Bannon (Executive Director, BPAC), before the biographical ‘Grease, Grit and Graphic Truth’ by Edmund Cardoni (Executive Director, Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center) explores Spain’s past, whilst

‘Keep the Flames of Buffalo Burning’ by Don Metz examines his lasting effect on comics and society.

However the true value of this chronicle is in the 60+ covers, designs, story-pages, roughs, panel excerpts and strips both vintage and recent, monochrome and full-colour which demonstrate the sheer talent and drive to communicate that fuelled Spain for his entire life.

The Partial Spain Bibliography 1969-2012 and Selected Spain Exhibitions only hint at the incredible depth and lasting legacy of his career and I’m praying that some enlightened publisher like Fantagraphics or Last Gasp is already toiling on a comprehensive series of â€œComplete Works ofâ€¦â€ volumesâ€¦

Stark, shocking and always relevant, the communicative power of Spain is something no true lover of comics can afford to miss.
Â© 2012 Burchfield Penney Art Center. All rights reserved.

November 18, 2013November 17, 2013

Wolfsmund volume 2

By Mitsuhisa Kuji, translated by Ko Ransom (Vertical)
ISBN: 978-1935654-79-7

There’s not much to found regarding pseudonymous woman of mystery Mitsuhisa Kuji other than that she has worked as assistant to both Kentaro Miura (Berserk) and Kaoru Mori (Emma, Anything and Something), but this simply means that we can appreciate her solely through her work, such as this fearsomely nihilistic and bleakly beguiling historical re-enactment of the legend of William Tell as collected in this second English-language volume of Wolfsmundâ€¦

Set in 14^th century Switzerland and drawing on historical records, the serial debuted in 2009 as Ookami no Kuchi: Wolfsmund in Seinen publication Fellows! – with four tankÅbon volumes collected thus far – and details the struggle of three formerly autonomous alpine cantons, Uri, Unterwalden and Shwyz, for freedom and independence from the oppressive domination of invaders from what is rapidly becoming the oppressive and savagely rapacious Habsburg Empire.

Unconventionally, rather than starring dashing heroes, this interpretation of the oft-told folktale centres around the monolithic fortress of Wolfsmund, situated in the Sankt Gotthard Pass: an impenetrable keep, barrier and waystation between mountain passes which dictates and controls the population’s ability to move, flee and find allies, intelligence or war materiel. The castle complex forms a crucial trade bottleneck between Germany and Italy and houses a garrison of hard-hearted soldiers commanded by a human monster in angelic form.

Wolfram the Bailiff is a sadistic sentinel with a dark genius for ferreting out insurrection, disposing of freedom fighters and crushing the people’s hopes. So far nobody has survived falling under his excoriating gazeâ€¦

The horrific murderously medieval passion play resumes with ‘Hans and Eva Part One’ as another would-be rebel dies from torture and the aging innkeeper of Uri again publicly rows with his lovely and extremely young wife. Gossip is rife amongst the villagers and for once it’s all true: she married him for his money; he wanted her for her body.

Neither of them is fulfilling their side of the bargain, howeverâ€¦

The resistance fighters of the area are more concerned with their impossibly bad luck. Somehow, valued, experienced men keep falling to Wolfram’s agents: it’s almost as if someone is informing on themâ€¦

Eva is unhappy. She loves jewels and wants Hans to buy her more, and so the grizzled barkeep makes another secret journey to Wolfsmund to relate conversations overheard in his hostelry. In the meanwhile however Eva haughtily dons all her bling and defiantly parades around Uri where some very desperate men at last put two and two togetherâ€¦

The dark fable concludes in ‘Hans and Eva Part Two’ as with their cover blown the innkeeper and his repentant bride seek safe passage from Wolfram only to learn to their cost what the beautiful psychopath thinks of traitors and betrayers.

The pair are left to the tender mercies of the rebels and only the intervention of the mysterious dark prostitute who plies her trade in the inn outside the mountain keep’s gates – known as the Wolf’s Mouth – prevents Eva’s death at the hands – and nastier members – of the resistance men. The greedy child does not escape justice thoughâ€¦

The remainder of this increasingly dark and shocking saga relates the appalling story of ‘Cedar and Juwel’ as, with the struggle intensifying and Wolfram’s reprisals hitting ever harder, an itinerant street performer and her little girl arrive at the pass. The debased woman Cedar wants to return to her home in Germany and will happily ply the tricks of more than one trade to get there, and she doesn’t seem to care whether her daughter Juwel comes with her or notâ€¦

However, after seducing a Bishop she comes to the attention of Wolfram – a far harder audience to impress. The savage games he plays with both mother and child lead to a concatenation of tragedies which compel the mysterious Madam of the Inn to blow her own cover, heralding the foreboding return of the land’s inevitable liberatorâ€¦ the last son of William Tellâ€¦

This stunningly bleak and breathtakingly vicious examination of the human cost of national liberation is rendered with astounding skill in a powerful semblance of woodblock-etching (in the manner of Albrecht DÃ¼rer): stark, uncompromising illustration which perfectly compliments the daunting milieu, adamantine scenery and cruelly brutal episodes wherein heroes of â€œthe Eternal Allianceâ€ repeatedly try and fail to pass through the Wolf’s Maw or fool the brutally deadly cherub in commandâ€¦

Harsh, uncompromising and visceral, this unhappy saga is best enjoyed by older readers, and those who realise that not every ending is a happy oneâ€¦

Wolfsmund is printed in the ‘read-from-back-to-front’ manga format.

November 17, 2013November 16, 2013

Marada the She-Wolf

By Chris Claremont & John Bolton (Titan Books)
ISBN: 987-0-85768-632-9

Scantily clad hot chicks swinging swords have been a staple of fantasy comics from their very inception, and probably nobody has done it better – certainly visually – than Chris Claremont and John Bolton. So this smartly recycled, supremely satisfying, luxuriously oversized (302 x 226mm) hardback compilation of their collaborative fantasy saga should be a welcome addition to the shelves of all aficionados of wild adventure and stirring sagas – especially in a world where mystical/historical dramas like Game of Thrones, Atlantis and Da Vinci’s Demons are garnering new interest in â€œThings Old, Things Forgottenâ€â€¦

As detailed in Jo Duffy’s Introduction and collection Editor Steve Cook’s background essays ‘Birth of a Warrior’, ‘The Art of War’, ‘Epic Tales’ and ‘Legacy’ these stories – set in the cosmopolitan days of Imperial Rome – originally ran in Epic Illustrated (Marvel’s answer to Heavy Metal magazine) beginning with #10, February 1982. Originally the strip appeared in beautiful monochrome wash-and-line, and although I would have preferred them to have been left that way for this collection, Bolton’s sensitive conversion of the art to painted colour is lush, lovely and stunningly effective.

By the way, that possibly waspish crack about recycling doesn’t just refer to the art, superb though it is. The original story started life as a Red Sonja yarn for black and white anthology Bizarre Adventures, before Claremont & Bolton reworked the thing and, by inserting the whole kit and caboodle into the â€œrealâ€ world of the Ancient Roman – albeit embroidered with Celtic myth and legend – added a satisfying layer of dramatic authenticity to the mix which still leaves it head-and-shoulders above all other Sword and Sorcery â€œBad Girlsâ€ tales, as well as most fantasy fictionâ€¦

The literary pre-game warm-up also includes an effusive memo from the author as ‘Claremont on Bolton’ offers more creative insight on why these seldom-seen stories are just so darn good before the wonderment unfolds in the initial tale ‘Marada the She-Wolf: The Shattered Sword’.

The ferociously independent warrior woman is a wandering mercenary whose grandfather was Julius Caesar. When her parents fell into political disfavour she was whisked from the Eternal City to live free and grow wild. Now, years later in the deserts around Damascus she is rescued from slavers by charismatic Warrior-Magician Donal MacLlyanllwyr, but the indomitable Marada he remembers is gone and all he liberates is a broken doll, traumatised by some unspoken horror and utterly devoid of will and spirit.

Mystically transporting her to the arboreal citadel of Ashandriar amidst the misty hills of distant Britain, the baffled soldier seeks the aid of patron sorceress Rhiannon to diagnose, if not cure her malady.

As she gradually recovers the warrior woman forms a bond with Donal’s daughter Arianrhod; a girl of vast, if unschooled, magical power. Before long the ghastly secret of Marada’s malaise is revealed when a demonic creature invades the mystic keep, killing Donal and abducting Arianrhod.

Enraged and desperate Marada is forced to brave Hell itself and slash her way through an army of devils to rescue the child she now considers as much daughter as friend from the wizard and demon conclave who initially broke her as part of a convoluted scheme to reign on Earthâ€¦

The re-galvanised She-Wolf is ultimately victorious but the horrific confrontation leaves her and Arianrhod stranded in East Africa. With no other option, the triumphant, exhausted duo begin the long walk home to Albionâ€¦

From Epic #12, ‘Royal Hunt’ is a shorter, self-contained tale wherein Marada and Arianrhod, after escaping the Infernal Realm, are taken by Ashake, barbaric Empress of the Amazonian kingdom of MeroÃ«. The Battle Queen offers her captives the dubious distinction of being her quarry in a hunt (a competent if cheekily uninspired variation of Richard Connell’s landmark 1924 short story – and equally influential 1932 movie The Most Dangerous Game).

Sadly both predator and prey are unaware that malign male mercenaries are lurking about, with the worst of all intentions for the unsuspecting womenâ€¦

Hard fought combat and the sudden intervention of the sneaking male scum makes allies of Ashake and Marada and leads to the voyagers’ final tale, ‘Wizard’s Masque’ (Epic Illustrated #23-24, April & June 1984) which finds the long-lost Europeans aboard the merchant ship Raven, bound for Roman port Massilia. However impetuous Arianrhod gets bored with their slow progress and attempts a transportation spell, opening a portal to nether realms and letting something really ghastly out of hellâ€¦

Beating the beast back, Marada falls though the gap in reality to materialise on an Arabic pirate ship currently engaged in a life-and-death clash with soldiers of an Eastern Kaydif. Her sudden presence turns the tide and soon she is partner to flamboyant corsair Taric Redhand, who swears to get her back to her home and lost â€œdaughterâ€â€¦

Unfortunately Marada has also been noticed by sinisterly seductive sorcerer Jaffar Ibn Haroun Al-Rashid. Although he purports to be a friend – and potential lover – able to reunite her with The Raven, he conceals a connection to the same demonic alliance that originally targeted the She-Wolf in faraway Rome. He is also, in all things, a creature of passion and self-serving convictions, capable of absolutely anything to achieve his own endsâ€¦

Ultimately however, the lost warrior woman knows she can only depend upon herself to find her way back to Arianrhod and homeâ€¦

Moody, passionate and powerfully evocative, this is a classic work of comics fantasy that at last has a home and format worthy of it, and will certainly all delight fans of the genre.
Â© & â„¢ 2013 John Bolton and Christ Claremont. All rights reserved.

November 16, 2013November 15, 2013

The Art of Archie: the Covers

By various, edited by Victor Gorelick & Craig Yoe (Archie Books)
ISBN: 978-1-936975-79-2

Win’s Christmas Gift Recommendation: A perfect celebration of the magic of comicbooksâ€¦ 10/10

For most of us, comics mean buff men and women in capes and tights hitting each other, lobbing trees about, or stark, nihilistic genre thrillers aimed at an extremely mature and sophisticated readership of confirmed fans – and indeed that has been the prolific norm for nearly twenty years.

However, over the decades since comicbooks were invented in 1933, other forms of sequential illustrated fiction genres have held their own. One that has maintained a unique position over the years – although almost now completely transferred to television â€“ is the teen-comedy genre begun by and synonymous with a carrot topped, homely (at first just plain ugly) kid named Archie Andrews.

MLJ were a small outfit which jumped wholeheartedly onto the superhero bandwagon following the debut of Superman. In November 1939 they launched Blue Ribbon Comics, promptly following with Top-Notch and Pep Comics. The content was the accepted blend of costumed heroes, two-fisted adventure strips and one-off gags. Pep made history with its lead feature The Shield – the industry’s first superhero clad in the American flag – but generally MLJ were followers not innovators.

That all changed at the end of 1941. Even while profiting from the Fights ‘N’ Tights phalanx, Maurice Coyne, Louis Silberkleit and John Goldwater (hence MLJ) spotted a gap in their blossoming market and in December the action strips were joined by a wholesome, ordinary hero; an â€œaverage teenâ€ who had invitingly human-scaled adventures that might happen to the readers, but with the laughs, good times, romance and slapstick heavily emphasised.

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

So effective and all-pervasive was the impact and comforting message the new kid offered to the boys â€œover thereâ€ and those left behind on the Home Front that Archie Andrews and the wholesome image of familiar, beloved, secure Americana he and the Riverdale gang represented, one could consider them the greatest and most effective Patriotic/Propaganda weapon in comics historyâ€¦

It all started with an innocuous 6-page tale entitled ‘Archie’ which introduced the future star and pretty girl-next-door Betty Cooper. Archie’s unconventional best friend and confidante Forsythe P. â€œJugheadâ€ Jones also debuted in that first story as did the small-town utopia they lived in.

The premise was an instant hit and in 1942 the feature graduated to its own title. Archie Comics #1 was the company’s first non-anthology magazine and began an inexorable transformation of the entire company. With the introduction of rich, raven-haired Veronica Lodge, all the pieces were in play for the industry’s second Phenomenon (Superman being the first).

By May 1946 the kids had taken over and, retiring its heroic characters years before the end of the Golden Age, MLJ renamed itself Archie Comics, becoming to all intents and purposes a publisher of family comedies. This overwhelming success, like the Man of Tomorrow’s, forced a change in the content of every other publisher’s titles and led to a multi-media industry including a newspaper strip, TV, movies, pop-songs and even a chain of restaurants.

Intermittently the costumed cut-ups have returned on occasion but Archie Comics now seems content to specialise in what they do uniquely best.

The eponymous high-schooler is a good-hearted lad lacking common sense and Betty – pretty, sensible, devoted girl next door, with all that entails – loves the ridiculous redhead. Ronnie is spoiled, exotic and glamorous and only settles for our boy if there’s nobody better around. She might actually love him too, though. Archie, of course, can’t decide who or what he wantsâ€¦

This never-tawdry eternal triangle has been the basis of seventy years of charmingly raucous, gently preposterous, frenetic, chiding and even heart-rending comedy encompassing everything from surreal wit to frantic slapstick, as the kids and an increasing cast of friends grew into an American institution.

Adapting seamlessly to every trend and fad, perfectly in tone with and mirroring the growth of teen culture, the host of writers and artists who’ve crafted the stories over the decades have made the archetypal characters of Riverdale a benchmark for youth and a visual barometer of growing up American.

Archie’s unconventional best friend Jughead 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. There’s even a likeably reprehensible Tybalt figure in the crafty form of Reggie Mantle – who first popped up to cause mischief in Jackpot Comics #5 (Spring 1942).

This beguiling triangle (plus annexe and outhouse) has been the rock-solid foundation for decades of comics magic. â€¦And the concept is eternally self-renewingâ€¦

Archie has thrived by constantly reinventing its core characters, seamlessly adapting to the changing world outside the bright, flimsy pages, shamelessly co-opting youth, pop culture and fashion trends into its infallible mix of slapstick and young romance.

Each and every social revolution has been painlessly assimilated into the mix with the editors tastefully confronting a number of social issues affecting the young in a manner both even-handed and tasteful over the years.

The cast is always growing and the constant addition of new characters such as African-American Chuck – an aspiring cartoonist – his girlfriend Nancy, fashion-diva Ginger, Hispanic couple Frankie & Maria and a host of others like spoiled home-wrecker-in-waiting Cheryl Blossom all contribute to a wide and refreshingly broad-minded scenario. In 2010 Archie even jumped the final social repressive hurdle when Kevin Keller, an openly gay young man and clear-headed advocate, joined the cast, capably tackling and dismantling the last major taboo in mainstream comics.

A major component of the company’s success has been the superbly enticing artwork and especially the unmistakable impact afforded via the assorted titles’ captivating covers. This spectacular compilation (a companion to 2010s Betty & Veronica collection) traces the history and evolution of the wholesome phenomenon through many incredible examples from every decade. Augmented by scads of original art, fine art and commercial recreations, printer’s proofs and a host of other rare examples and graphic surprises no fan of the medium could possibly resist, this huge hardback (312 x 235mm) re-presents hundreds of funny, charming, gloriously intriguing and occasionally controversial images plus background and biographies on the many talented artists responsible for creating them.

Moreover, also included are many original artworks – gleaned from the private collections of fans – scripts, sketches, gag-roughs, production ephemera from the art-to-finished-cover process, plus an extensive, educational introductory commentary section stuffed with fascinating reminiscences and behind-the-scenes anecdotes.

The picture parade begins with some thoughts from the brains behind the fun as ‘It’s a Gift’ by current Publisher/Co-CEO Jon Goldwater, ‘You Can Judge a Book by its Cover!’ – Editor-in-Chief/Co-President Victor Gorelick – and ‘On the Covers’ from cartoonist and Comics Historian Craig Yoe take us to the 1940s where ‘In the Beginningâ€¦’ details the story of Archie with relevant covers and the first of a recurring feature highlighting how later generations of artists have recycled and reinterpreted classic designs.

‘A Matchless Cover’ leads into the first Artist Profile – ‘Bob Montana’ – and a wealth of cracking Golden Age images in ‘Who’s on First!’ before chapters on specific themes and motifs commence with a celebration of beach scenes with ‘In the Swim’ after which artist ‘Bill Vigoda’ steps out from behind his easel and into the spotlight.

‘DÃ©jÃ Vu All Over Again’ further explores the recapitulation of certain cover ideas before ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll!’ examines decades of pop music and â€œguestâ€ stars such as the Beatles, whilst ‘Archie’s Mechanically Inclined’ examines a short-lived dalliance with an early form of home DIY magazines. The life of veteran illustrator ‘Al Fagaly’ leads into a selection of ‘Fan Faves’ ancient and modern and the biography of ‘Harry Sahle’ then segues neatly into a selection of cheerleading covers in ‘Let’s Hear It for The Boy!’

It wasn’t long after the birth of modern pop music that the Riverdale gang formed their own band and ‘Ladies and Gentlemen, The Archies!’ focuses on those ever-evolving musical prodigies with scenes from the Swinging Sixties to the turbulent Rap-ridden 21^st century after which the history of artist ‘Joe Edwards’ leads into a barrage of smoochy snogging scenes in ‘XOXOXO!’

Always a keen follower of fads and fashions the Archie crowd embraced many popular trends and ‘Monster Bash!’ concentrates on kids’ love of horror and recurring periods of supernatural thrills after which a bio of ‘Dan Parent’ leads unerringly to more ‘Celebrity Spotting!’ with covers featuring the likes of George (Sulu) Takei, Michael Jackson, Simon Cowell, J-Lo, Kiss, the casts of Glee and Twilight, and even President Barack Obama all eagerly appearing amongst so very many others.

‘Art for Archie’s Sake’ dwells on the myriad expressions of junior painting and sculpture and, after the life story of the sublimely gifted ‘Harry Lucey’, ‘The Time Archie was Pinked Out!’ details the thinking behind the signature logo colour schemes used during the company’s pre-computer days.

‘Life with Archie’s a Beach!’ takes another look at the rise of teenage sand and surf culture through the medium of beautifully rendered, scantily clad girls, whilst after the lowdown on writer/artist ‘Fernando Ruiz’, ‘Dance! Dance! Dance!’ follows those crazy kids from Jitterbug to Frug, Twisting through Disco and ever onwardsâ€¦

‘The Happiest of Holidays’ highlights the horde of magical Christmas covers Archie, Betty and Ronnie have starred on whilst ‘Rhyme Time’ reveals the odd tradition of poetry spouting sessions that have been used to get fans interested and keep them amused.

A history of the inimitable ‘Samm Schwartz’ precedes a look at classroom moments in ‘Readin’ Writin’ an’ Archie’ – with a separate section on organised games entitled ‘Good Sports!’ – after which the life of legendary artist ‘Dan DeCarlo’ neatly leads to another selection of fad-based fun as ‘That’s Just Super!’ recalls the Sixties costumed hero craze as well as a few other forays into Fights ‘n’ Tights fantasyâ€¦

‘Let’s Get this Party Started’ features covers with strips rather than single images and is followed by a biography of ‘Bob Bolling’ before ‘A Little Goes a Long Way!’ concentrates on the assorted iterations of pre-teen Little Archie comics. This is then capped by the eye-popping enigma of teen taste as visualised in the many outfits du jour revealing ‘A Passion for Fashion’â€¦

‘Come as You Aren’t!’ is devoted to the theme of fancy dress parties after which the modern appetite for variant covers is celebrated in ‘Alternate Realities’ (with stunning examples from Fiona Staples, Tim Seeley and Walter Simonson amongst others) all wrapped up by the gen on artistic mainstay ‘Bob White’.

The entire kit and caboodle then happily concludes with an assortment of surreal, mindblowing covers that defy categorisation or explanation in ‘And Now, For Something Completely Different’, proving that comics are still the only true home of untrammelled imagination: featuring scenes that literally have to be seen to be believedâ€¦

Mesmerising, breathtaking graphic wonderment, fun-fuelled family entertainment and enticing pop art masterpieces; these unforgettable cartoon confections truly express the joyous spirit of intoxicating youthful vitality which changed the comic industry forever and comprise an essential example of artistic excellence no lover of narrative art should miss.

Spanning the entire history of American comicbooks and featuring vintage images, landmark material and up-to-the-minute modern masterpieces, this is a terrific tome for anybody interested in the history of comics, eternally evergreen light laughs and the acceptable happy face of the American Dream.
â„¢ & Â© 2013 Archie Comics Publications, Inc. All rights reserved.

November 15, 2013November 14, 2013

The Complete Crumb Comics volume 8: The Death of Fritz the Cat â€“ New Edition

By R. Crumb & guests (Fantagraphics Books)
ISBN: 978-0-56097-076-7

This book contains really clever and outrageously dirty pictures, rude words, non-condemnatory drug references and allusions, apparent racism, definite sexism, godless questioning of authority and brilliantly illustrated, highly moving personal accounts and opinions. It also painfully displays a genius grappling with his inner demons in a most excruciatingly honest and uncomfortable manner.

If you – or those legally responsible for you – have a problem with that, please skip this review and don’t buy the book.

Really.

I mean itâ€¦

Robert Crumb is a truly unique creative force in comics and cartooning, with as many detractors as devotees. From the first moments of the rise of America’s counterculture, his uncompromising, forensically neurotic introspections, pictorial rants and invectives unceasingly picked away at societal scabs, measuring his own feelings and motives whilst ferociously ripping way civilisation’s concealing curtains for his own benefit. However, he always happily shared his unwholesome discoveries with anybody who would take the time to lookâ€¦

In 1987 Fantagraphics Books began the Herculean task of collating, collecting and publishing the chronological totality of the artist’s vast output, and those critically important volumes are being currently reissued for another, more liberated generation.

The son of a career soldier, Robert Dennis Crumb was born in Philadelphia in 1943 into a dysfunctional, broken family. He was one of five kids who all found different ways to escape their parents’ highly volatile problems, and comic strips were paramount among them.

Like his older brother Charles, Robert immersed himself in the comics and cartoons of the day; not just reading but creating his own. Harvey Kurtzman, Carl Barks and John Stanley were particularly influential, but also comic strip legends such as E.C. Segar, Gene Ahern, Rube Goldberg, Bud (Mutt and Jeff) Fisher, Billy (Barney Google) De Beck, George (Sad Sack) Baker and Sidney (The Gumps) Smith, as well as classical illustrators like C.E. Brock and the wildly imaginative and surreal 1930’s Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies animated shorts.

Defensive, introspective, frustrated, increasingly horny and always compulsively driven, young Robert pursued art and self-control through religion with equal desperation. His early spiritual repression and flagrant, hubristic celibacy warred with his body’s growing needs. â€¦

To escape his stormy early life, he married young and began working in-house at the American Greeting Cards Company. He discovered like minds in the growing counterculture movement and discovered LSD. By 1967 Crumb had moved to California and became an early star of Underground Commix. As such he found plenty of willing hippie chicks to assuage his fevered mind and hormonal body whilst reinventing the very nature of cartooning with such creations as Mr. Natural, Fritz the Cat, Devil Girl and a host of others. He worked on in what was essentially a creative utopia throughout the early 1970’s but the alternative lifestyle of the Underground was already dying. Soon it would disappear: dissipated, disillusioned, dropped back â€œinâ€ or demised.

A few dedicated publishers and artists stayed the course, evolving on a far more businesslike footing as Crumb carried on creating, splitting his time between personal material and commercial art projects whilst incessantly probing deeper into his turbulent inner world.

This eighth volume mostly covers – in chronological order – material created and published in 1971 (with the merest tantalising smidgen of stuff from 1972), when the perpetually self-tormented artist first began to experience creative dissatisfaction with his newfound status as alternative cultural icon: a period when the no-longer insular or isolated artist was at his most flamboyantly creative, generating a constant stream of new characters, gags, commercial art jobs, short strips and with longer material popping up seemingly everywhere.

It was also the moment when he began to realise the parasitic, exploitative nature of many of the hangers-on exploiting his work for profits which he never saw himself – particularly filmmaker Ralph Bakshi, whose phenomenally successful movie of Fritz the Cat prompted Crumb to kill the cunning kitty character offâ€¦

That and more are all faithfully reproduced in this compilation – which makes for another rather dry listing here, I’m afraid – but (as always) the pictorial material itself is both engrossing and astoundingly rewarding. But please don’t take my word for it: buy the book and see for yourselvesâ€¦

After a passionate if meandering photo-packed Introduction from wife and collaborator Aline Kominsky-Crumb – whom he first met in 1971 – the stream of cartoon consciousness and literary freewheeling begins with the salutary tale of ‘Stinko the Clown in Stinko’s New Car’ from Hytone, rapidly followed by the strange romance of ‘Maryjane’ originally seen in Home Grown Funnies, which also provided the (now) racially controversial and unpalatable ‘Angelfood McDevilsfood in Backwater Blues’ – with that horrific homunculus The Snoid – and twisted â€œloveâ€ story of ‘Whiteman Meets Big Foot’â€¦

The underground Commix scene was awash with artistic collaborations and a selection of jam sessions kicks off here with ‘Let’s Be Realistic’ from Hungry Chuck Biscuits wherein Crumb, Jay Lynch, Jay Kinney & Bruce Walthers surreally free-associated, whilst in Mom’s Homemade Comics Denis Kitchen, Don Glassford, Dale Kuipers, Jim Mitchell, Pete Poplaski, Wendel Pugh, Jay Lynch, Dave Dozier, Bruce Walthers & Dennis Brul joined forces with the bespectacled outsider to make some ‘Kumquat Jam’â€¦

From ProJunior, ‘Perdido Part One’ and ‘ProJunior in Perdido Part Two’ saw the Dagwood-esque everyman experience the growth in social violence courtesy of Crumb and fellow legend S. Clay Wilson.

All on his own again Crumb captured the appalling nature of ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash!’ (from Thrilling Murder) and crafted a lovely ‘Nostalgic Books catalog cover’ for their Summer/Fall 1971 issue, after which a tranche of material from Big Ass #2 (August 1971) starts with a paranoiac perusal of ‘The Truth!’, before another obnoxious jerk resurfaces to dominate sexy bird creatures in ‘Eggs Ackley in Eggs Escapes’ even as the intimately contemplative domestic explorations ofÂ ‘A Gurl’ dissolve into the raucous, earthy humour of ‘Anal Antics’ to end the first black and white section of this challenging chronicle.

A vividly vivacious Color Section celebrates a wealth of covers, opening with ‘The Last Supplement to the Whole Earth Catalog’(March 1971), followed by ‘Home Grown Funnies’ and its angsty back cover strip ‘The Desperate Character Writhes Again!’. Moving on, ‘Big Ass #2’, ‘Mr. Natural #2’ – front and back covers – leads to ‘Bijou Funnies #6′ and the rainbows end on the sublimely subversive front for ‘The People’s Comics’.

A return to monochrome provides two more strips from Big Ass #2 beginning with the savagely ironic ‘A Word to you Feminist Women’ and the cruelly hilarious ‘Sally Blubberbutt’ after which the contents of Mr. Natural #2 (October 1971) unfold with ‘Mr. Natural â€œDoes the Dishesâ€’, before ruminating and sharing more timeless wisdom with resident curious â€œStraightâ€ Flakey Foont in ‘A Gurl in Hotpants’.

This leads to ‘Sittin’ Around the Kitchen Table’ and meeting ‘The Girlfriend’, after which two untitled Mr. Natural graphic perambulations result in a cult war with the adherents of the aforementioned Snoid and everything ends with the sage and his buddy The Big Baby being released from jail to go ‘On the Bum Again’â€¦

From Bijou Funnies #6 comes another taste of ‘ProJunior’ as the poor shmuck seeks employment to keep his girlfriend quiet, whilst the jam feature ‘Hef’s Pad’ (by Crumb, Lynch & Skip Williamson) exposes the darker side of selling out for cash and fameâ€¦

A strip from Surfer Magazine vol. 12, #6 trenchantly heralds the advent of work from 1972 when ‘Salty Dog Sam â€œGoes Surfin’!â€’, whilst the cover of Zap 7 (Spring issue) and the Nostalgia Press Book Service Catalog cover neatly segues into three superb landmark strips from The People’s Comics beginning with a deeply disturbing glimpse inside the befuddled head of the â€œGreat Manâ€ in ‘The Confessions of R. Crumb’.

That poignantly outrageous graphic outburst leads to a cruelly sardonic polemic in ‘The R. Crumb $uck$e$$ Story’ which merely serves as a sound narrative investment for the shockingly self-satisfied, liberating cartoon catharsis achieved by killing off his now-unwelcome signature character in ‘Fritz the Cat â€œSuperstarâ€’â€¦

If Crumb had been able to suppress his creative questing, he could easily have settled for a lucrative career in any one of a number of graphic disciplines from illustrator to animator to jobbing comic book hack, but as this pivotal collection readily proves, the artist was haunted by the dream of something else – he just didn’t yet know what that wasâ€¦

Crumb’s subtle mastery of his art-form and obsessive need to reveal his every hidden depth and perceived defect – in himself and the world around him – has always resulted in an unquenchable fire of challenging comedy and untamed self-analysis, and this terrific tome shows him at last mastering – or at least usefully channelling – that creative energy for the benefit of us all.

This superb series charting the perplexing pen-and-ink pilgrim’s progress is the perfect vehicle to introduce any (over 18) newcomers to the world of grown up comics. And if you need a way in yourself, seek out this book and the other sixteen as soon as conceivably possibleâ€¦

Let’s Be Realistic Â© 1971, 1992, 1997, 2013 Crumb, Jay Lynch, Jay Kinney, Bruce Walthers & R. Crumb. Kumquat Jam Â© 1971, 1992, 1997, 2013 Denis Kitchen, Don Glassford, Dale Kuipers, Jim Mitchell, Pete Poplaski, Wendel Pugh, Jay Lynch, Dave Dozier, Bruce Walthers, Dennis Brul & R. Crumb. All other material Â© 1971, 1972, 1992, 1997, 2013 Robert Crumb. All contributory art material and content Â© the respective creators/copyright holders. All rights reserved.

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