Chroma: The Art of Alex Schomburg

Chroma: The Art of Alex Schomburg

By Jon Gustafson (Father Tree Press)
ISBN: 0-936861-00-2

The fields of science fiction and comicbook publishing have lots of historical links. Indeed many publishers of “pulps” moved into the funnies industry (such as Avon, Fiction House or Marvel) with varying degrees of success. One of the most individual and impressive creators of science fiction covers was possibly also the most unique and iconic comic cover artists of the Golden Age. His name was Alex Schomburg.

This lovely volume, part biography, part gallery, lavishly represents some of the glorious pulse-quickening masterpieces of his twin careers with lots of highly informative detail that nonetheless never intrudes on the many lavish and spectacular illustrations of this hugely talented individual.

Although by no means a complete archive of Schomburg’s output, his landmark covers (throughout World War II he was the regular cover artist of Marvel Mystery Comics, Captain America Comics, All Winners and many other Marvel titles, and performed the same painterly role for Pines/Better/Nedor – whose character pantheon formed the basis for Alan Moore’s America’s Best Comics a few years ago) are a visual treasure trove for any fan, and the sheer beauty and wonderment of his other work will delight any reader with a passion for fantasy.

This volume also includes appreciations and paeans of deserved praise from such luminaries as Stan Lee, Kelly Freas, Brian Aldiss, Harlan Ellison and others. A beautiful addition to any collection of art-books and a nostalgic delight for fans gifted with a sense of wonder.

© 1986 WaRP Graphics, Inc., Jon Gustafson & Alex Schomburg. All Rights Reserved.

Batgirl: Silent Running

Batgirl: Silent Running

By Scott Peterson, Kelley Puckett, Damion Scott & Robert Campenella (DC Comics)
ISBN: 1-84023-266-8

After Gotham City was devastated in an earthquake (Batman: Cataclysm ISBN13: 978-1-56389-527-2) it was abandoned by the US government in a spookily prescient foretaste of what would happen to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit in August 2005 (see Batman: No Man’s Land Volumes 1-3, ISBN 13’s: 978-1-56389-564-7, 978-1-56389-599-9, and 978-1-56389-634-7 respectively). In the rubble, a number of heroes struggled to protect the innocent. One of these was a brand new incarnation of Batgirl.

As the crisis ended and a semblance of normality returned to the battered metropolis, the new heroine got her own series and a mentor in the form of Babs Gordon, the wheelchair-bound crime-fighter called Oracle, who was also the first Batgirl.

The current holder of the title is an enigmatic problem. Raised as an experiment by martial arts super-assassin David Cain, she cannot communicate since her language centres have been over-ridden in an experiment to make combat her only communication tool. An apparent runaway, she has been adopted by the Batman as a weapon in his never-ending battle, but the more humane Oracle has become her guardian and teacher.

In this first volume (collecting issues #1-6 of the monthly comic-book) the new Batgirl is trying to find her way, bereft even of the ability to learn, whilst revelling in the role of defender of the helpless, but her development as a human being threatens to diminish her capacity as a weapon, and the mystery of her past would indicate that she is possibly a two-edged sword in Batman’s arsenal…

Spellbinding, overwhelmingly fast-paced and with very little dialogue, these tales are a breakneck, supercharged thrill-ride that concentrates on non-stop action yet still manages to be heavily plot-based with genuine empathy and emotional impact. This is superb comic story-telling and should be on every fan’s wish-list or bookshelf.

© 2000, 2001 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

10, 20 and 30 Volume 1

10, 20 and 30 Volume 1

By Morim Kang (Net comics)
ISBN 13: 978-1-60009-183-4

Some stories are great because of their innovation and novelty, whilst others just tell the same old tale over and over. When these latter tales succeed it’s solely because of the nuance, skill and artistry with which the commonplace has been shaped to feel fresh and new.

10, 20, And 30 is an evergreen saga of women and the search for love, tenderly observed, pragmatically and humorously told. Rok Nah is a young teenaged girl (a “10-Something”) going through those difficult years. She has boyfriend – sort of – but is obsessed with all the other confusions of growing up to deal with.

Her mother Krumb Yoon (“30-Something”) is a widow with a thankless job at a fashion company. Recently though, the company boss has been taking an inappropriate (but chaste) interest in her. The “20” part of the equation is Krumb’s niece Belle Woo who has become like an older sister to Rok since her parents have all but disowned her for having sex and refusing to get married. As the totally different, yet painfully similar, problems of love confront the three heroines, their natures and unique responses make for an entrancing and addictive read.

Although a standard soap-opera romance in conception, the light treatment and strong characterisations give this Manhwa (manga style comics produced in and for South Korea) a compelling edge that might win it fans across not just the age but also the gender divide…

© 1998 Morim Kang. All Rights Reserved.
English text © 2007 NETCOMICS. All Rights Reserved.

Batman and Son

Batman and Son

By Grant Morrison, Andy Kubert & Jesse Delperdang (DC Comics)
ISBN13: 978-1-84576-429-6

Expectations were high when Grant Morrison was announced as the new scripter for Batman, so disappointment was always a risk. This volume (collecting Batman issues #655-658 and 663-666) tells only half the story of the eponymous son, however, so perhaps it’s a little premature to rush to judgement. Still, if I was a newcomer picking up a Bat-book for the first time…

The Joker is back on a murderous rampage when the Caped Crusader, finally snapping, shoots him in the face… The revelation that the shooter was an impostor is brushed aside and the obsessive hero goes on a vacation to London where Talia, a criminal mastermind and ex-girlfriend, attacks a charity ball with an army of mutated ninja Man-Bats, kidnaps the Prime Minister’s wife and leaves behind a sword-wielding boy she claims is their son.

Bringing the boy home, Batman tries to assimilate him into his life but the murderous child, trained from birth by the world’s greatest assassins, proves to be a bit of a handful. Even though he assaults Alfred, attempts to murder Robin and actually beheads a minor villain, Batman brings him along for a final confrontation with his mother and her Were-bat army.

After an interlude with the Joker (a prose story that took up a whole comic book issue – cloyingly overwritten to the point of self-indulgence, but with photorealistic illustrations by John Van Fleet) the saga reconvenes with Gotham plagued by more brutal Batman impostors terrorising the underworld and the populace, whilst son Damian (back with his mum) is still proving a trial…

Jump forward (for no apparent reason) a couple of decades and Damian is the new Batman: A savage, murderous mastermind in a monstrous world staving off the end of everything with uncompromising ruthlessness. And that’s where we end…

Although magnificently drawn by Andy Kubert this mess is just a pretty-but-vacuous triumph of style over content as Morrison “phones it in” for a change, in his typical iconoclastic fashion. Ending with Damien as a new Batman in a future the author knows full well won’t be part of the “real” continuity appears lazy and gratuitous, and although possibly good for the publicity machine, the faithful fan-base surely can’t be appeased with shallow stunts.

My own problem is the sudden stop without any attention to a narrative pay-off. People who buy books want endings as well as middles, no matter how familiar they think they are with the characters and scenarios. Let’s hope there’s a satisfactory conclusion coming, and soon.

© 2006, 2007 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

Archie: Best of the Forties

Archie: Best of the Forties

By Bob Montana & various (Archie Comics)
ISBN 1-879794-00-4

When you mention comic books in conversation most people’s thoughts turn to buff men in garish tights hitting each other and lobbing trees or cars about, and indeed that has been the prolific norm of late. Throughout the years though, other forms and genres have waxed and waned in the comics consumers attention. One that has held its ground over the years 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 comics publisher who jumped on the “mystery-man” bandwagon following the debut of Superman. In November 1939 Maurice Coyne, Louis Silberkleit and John L. Goldwater launched Blue Ribbon Comics, promptly following with Top-Notch and Pep Comics. The content was the common blend of funny-book costumed heroes and two-fisted adventure strips, although Pep did make some history with its lead feature The Shield, who was the industry’s first super-hero to be clad in the flag (see America’s 1st Patriotic Hero: The Shield, ISBN1-879794-08-X).

Although successful enough, the publishers felt that they were missing some markets (most particularly girls) with their thriller fare, so taking a lead from the phenomenally popular teen movies series Andy Hardy, Goldwater developed a wholesome ordinary hero concept, tasking writer Vic Bloom and artist Bob Montana with the job of making it work. Pep Comics #22 (December 1941) had an innocuous six-page tale entitled ‘Archie’ which introduced a big-eared, gap-toothed, freckle-faced, red-headed goof showing off to the pretty blonde girl moving in next door. Betty Cooper and Archie’s unconventional best friend Jughead Jones debuted in that first story as did the small-town utopia of Riverdale.

The strip was an instant hit and by the winter of 1942 had graduated to its own title. Archie Comics #1 was the company’s first non-anthology magazine and with it began the slow transformation of the entire company. With the introduction of rich, black-haired Veronica Lodge, all the pieces were in play for the creation of a phenomenon. In May 1946 the kid had taken over, so the company renamed itself Archie Comics. The company also phased out its heroic characters becoming to all intents and purposes and family comedy publisher.

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

This wholesome eternal triangle has been the basis of more than sixty-five years of charming, raucous, gentle, frenetic, chiding and even heart-rending comedy ranging from surreal wit to frantic slapstick, as the kids and an increasing cast of friends grew into an American institution. So pervasive is the imagery that it’s a part of Americana itself. Adapting seamlessly to every trend and fad of the growing youth culture, the battalion of writers and artists who’ve crafted the stories over the decades have made the “everyteen” characters of Riverdale a benchmark for youth and a visual barometer of growing up.

This vast and distinctive back-catalogue is therefore ideal for compilations, as in this series of decade by decade commemorations. This first volume covers the formative work from the 1940s with a criminally insufficient 128 pages of glorious fun and frolicsome mayhem, beginning with that initial appearance, the first meeting with Veronica (from Pep #26) plus 14 other gems, cover reproductions, feature pages and even an introduction from long-time fan Stephen King.

So successful was this genre innovation that within two years every other comic-book publisher had their own coterie of Archie clones and knock-offs. But it’s clear from reading this volume that the original was, and still is, the best. Accept no substitutes…

© 1941-1949, 1991, 2007 Archie Publications Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The Wyf of Bath (The Wife of Bath)

The Wyf of Bath (The Wife of Bath)

By Geoffrey Chaucer, illustrated by Greg Irons (Bellerophon Books)
ISBN: 0-88388-023-7

I’m just showing off now, but this lost treasure, published in conjunction with a colouring book (The Chaucer Coloring Book, which collected the original woodcut illustrations from Caxton’s 1484 edition of The Canterbury Tales) is a terrific and logical blending of High Art and Our Art and one so very worthy of being republished.

Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, as well as being a venerable and lauded landmark of English literature, was a ribald, earthy, popular classic, full of humanity’s every foible and peccadillo. It was rude, crude, action packed, and even had talking animals. Thematically, how much closer can you get to the general opinion and popular conception of the comic book?

Marry that with the art of the irreverent, subversive art and attitude of the San Francisco underground movement of the early 1970’s and you have a brilliant piece of pop-art history that actually has lasting social relevance and educational value.

The text of the Wife of Bath is typeset and in the original continental accentual-syllabic metre which Chaucer used to champion the London-dialect dominance of Middle English. So this will make a lot more sense if read aloud phonetically (the book not my review). Or you could simply look at the stonkingly brilliant and funny, ribald pictures drawn by the astounding Greg Irons.

Some college or publishing house simply has to get this book back into print, ASAP!

Artwork © 1973 Greg Irons. All Rights Reserved.

Top 10: Book 2

Top 10: Book 2

By Alan Moore, Gene Ha & Zander Cannon (America’s Best Comics)
ISBN 1-56389-876-4

Collecting issues #8-12 of the comic-book series, this volume carries ongoing threads and storylines, so readers would be advised to read volume 1 first. Like that previous volume (ISBN: 1-84576-1491-6) this seductive blend of police procedural drama and the whacky world of full-on superhero universes isn’t really about the narrative though; its joys are to be found in the incidentals, the sidebars and the shared in-jokes.

Top 10, based in Neopolis, is a precinct of a pan-dimensional police force, in a city populated entirely by paranormal and super-powered beings. Like any good cop story, cases run in parallel, at different rates and often in opposition, and the large cast all have their own lives which are impossible to completely divorce from “The Job”.

The “one-day-at-a-time” storytelling commences with ‘The Overview’, as a major traffic accident draws most of the day-shift’s resources. A couple of teleporting dimensional travellers have catastrophically intersected, but by the end of the clear-up it’s clear the tragedy wasn’t a simple accident. Meanwhile, influential friends are trying to quash the case against the monstrous serial killer known as Libra, and Voodoo officer King Peacock is sent to Grand Central, the head office of the police force…

‘Rules of Engagement’ finds Peacock being given a particularly deadly form of the old run-around whilst the war between the Utramice and the Atomcats in Duane’s mother’s apartment has escalated to cosmic levels, in a brilliant swipe at comicbook mega-crossovers. And a long-running investigation is starting to look like a case for Internal Affairs…

‘Music for the Dead’ sees the death of one of the major cast members as the corruption suspicions are horrible confirmed in a brutal incident that also closes the Libra killer case for good.

‘His First Day on the New Job’ sees Joe Pi, the new (robotic) rookie experiencing some rather unsettling prejudice from his fellow officers and the funeral of the beloved colleague he’s replacing: And the volume – in fact, the original series – concludes with ‘Court on the Street’, with an atypical clear win for the Good Guys when they go after the influential cronies of the deceased Libra Killer.

This cross-genre mix is immensely entertaining reading and the subtle shades of the writing are matched in full by Gene Ha’s beautiful, complex, detail-studded art. This is a must-read series for jaded fans and newcomers with an open, imaginative mind. Although the series finished here there were a number of follow-up miniseries.

© 2005 America’s Best Comics LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Unseen Shadows

Unseen Shadows

By James Steranko (Supergraphics Publication)
No ISBN

I apparently started something when I reviewed Chandler last week so I’m going to do another Steranko oddity in the vain hope that somehow he hears, and feels loved, encouraged or embarrassed enough to get some of his delayed and uncompleted graphic projects finally out into my greedy mitts, if not everybody’s.

Unseen Shadows

I used to teach comic writing and publication courses and it absolutely appalled me that every term there would be a fresh intake of eager wannabes, and every term there were fewer students who had seen the remarkable achievements of Steranko.

I’m not honestly sure if Unseen Shadows actually qualifies as a book, but this slim package was self-published by the man himself in 1978, and features 50 pencil/concept sketches of The Shadow, pulp legend and prototype for every ‘Dark Avenger’ that has populated fiction and especially comics since his inception.

Steranko moved into paperback cover paintings in 1969, bringing the same innovative design and illustration flair to single illustrations that he brought to comic books. For these Pyramid Books covers he produced tonal pencil sketches rather than preliminary colour roughs and the conceptual information needs of a single image rather than a pictorial sequence lead to some of the most striking drawings of the artist’s distinguished and varied career.

Also included are brief text pieces from Steranko outlining the background and working practice of the project, and his methodology, plus an Afterword from the Shadow’s creator Walter Gibson.

Unseen Shadows

Steranko still has a presence on the internet (which is probably your best and only hope of tracking down this wonderful, beautiful art-book – and it is absolutely worth the effort so to do) but such talent and ability should be a household name, which is swiftly being forgotten even in the small pool of comic fandom, and surely that’s not right…

© 1978 James Steranko. The Shadow is owned by Condé Nast Publications, Inc.

Too Many Songs By Tom Lehrer

Too Many Songs By Tom Lehrer

With not enough drawings by Ronald Searle (Methuen)
ISBN: 978-0-41374-230-8

Christmas Time is here by Golly
Disapproval would be folly.
Deck the hall with hunks of Holly,
Fill the cups and don’t say “when…”

Are you musical? I already know that you are a lover of graphic and narrative excellence, so the wonderfully dark, sinister, disturbing and utterly brilliant cartoon illustrations of Ronald Searle will delight you.

But the name of mathematician, songwriter, satirist, Intellectual and early proponent of sick and bad taste humour Tom Lehrer is not so well known, although his achievements are as remarkable and far-reaching. If you know of him you’ll know why I’m pushing my self-imposed criteria to include him, and if not, Google or Wikipedia him. It will be the most fun you’ve had in ages.

This book, re-issued as a comedy classic, contains the music and lyrics of his many and various comedy songs. From such classics as “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park”, the deeply disturbing and hilarious “I Hold your Hand in Mine”, “The Old Dope Peddler” and “The Masochism Tango” to the light and spiky “Be Prepared” or “I Got it from Agnes”, Lehrer makes smart people laugh, venal people squirm and all people think. There are even examples from his tenure as songwriter for “That Was The Week That Was” and educational ditties penned for the Electric Company/Children’s Television Workshop.

Combined with the razor-edged drawings of Searle this is an astoundingly entertaining book and what every liberal should make the piano-teacher use on the kids. This book is a terpsichorean equivalent of EC horror comics, and I can’t resist ending with a quote. Just remember please this is not a malicious man, just that observant Wit who claimed he’d stopped doing satire because “Awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to Henry Kissinger made political satire obsolete”.

© 1981 Tom Lehrer. Illustrations © 1981 Ronald Searle.

The Adventures of Tintin, Vol 3

The Adventures of Tintin, Volume 3

By Hergé, translated by Leslie Lonsdale-Cooper & Michael Turner (Egmont UK)
ISBN 13: 978-1-4052-2897-8

Hergé was approaching his mastery when he began The Broken Ear: His characterisations were firm in his mind, he was creating a memorable not to say iconic supporting cast, and the balance between crafting satisfactory single instalments and building a cohesive longer narrative was finally being established.

The version reprinted in this delightfully handy hardback compendium was repackaged by the artist and his studio in 1945, although the original ran in two page weekly instalments from 1935-1937, and there are still evident signs of his stylistic transition in this hearty, exotic mystery tale that makes Indiana Jones look like a boorish amateur.

Back from China, Tintin hears of an odd robbery at the Museum of Ethnography, and rushing over finds the detectives Thompson and Thomson already on the case in their own unique manner. A relatively valueless carved wooden Fetish Figure made by the Arumbaya Indians has been taken from the South American exhibit. Bafflingly, it was returned the next morning, but the intrepid boy reporter is the first to realise that it’s a fake, since the original statue had a broken right ear. And a minor sculptor is found dead in his flat…

So begins a frenetic and enthralling chase to find not just who has the real statue but also why a succession of rogues attempts to secure the dead sculptor’s parrot, with the atmospheric action encompassing the urban metropolis, an ocean-going liner and the steamy and turbulent Republic of San Theodoros, where the valiant lad becomes embroiled in an on-again, off-again Revolution. Eventually though, the focus moves to the deep Jungle as Tintin finally meets the Arumbayas and a lost explorer, getting one step closer to solving the mystery.

Whilst unrelenting in my admiration for Hergé I must interject a necessary note of praise for translators Leslie Lonsdale-Cooper and Michael Turner here: Their light touch has been integral to the English-language success of Tintin, and their skill and whimsy is never better seen than in their dialoguing of the Arumbayas. Just read aloud and think Eastenders…

The slapstick and mayhem build to a wonderfully farcical conclusion with justice served all around, and a solid template is set for many future yarns, especially those that would perforce be crafted without a political or satirical component during Belgium’s grim occupation by the Nazis.

However, Hergé’s developing social conscience and satirical proclivities are fully exercised here in a telling sub-plot when rival armaments manufacturers gull the leaders of both San Theodoros and its neighbour Nuevo-Rico into a war simply to increase their sales, and once again oil speculators would have felt the sting of his pen – if indeed they were capable of any feeling…

The Black Island followed. It ran from 1937-1938, (although this is the revised version released in 1956) and the doom-laden atmosphere that was settling upon the Continent even seeped into this dark tale of espionage and criminality. When a small plane lands in a field, Tintin is shot as he offers help. Visited in hospital by Thompson and Thomson, he discovers they’re en route to England to investigate the crash of an unregistered plane. Discharging himself and with Snowy in tow he catches the boat-train but is framed for an assault and becomes a fugitive. Despite a frantic pursuit he makes it to England, still pursued by the murderous thugs who set him up as well as the authorities.

He is eventually captured by the gangsters – actually German spies – and uncovers a forgery plot, which leads him to the wilds of Scotland and a (visually stunning) “haunted” castle on an island in a Loch. Undaunted, he investigates and discovers the gang’s base, which is guarded by a monstrous ape.

This superb adventure, powerfully reminiscent of John Buchan’s The Thirty-Nine Steps, highlight the theme that as always virtue, pluckiness and a huge helping of comedic good luck lead to a spectacular and thrilling denouement.

Older British readers have reason to recall the final tale in this tome. Many of them had an early introduction to Tintin and his dog (then called Milou, as in the French editions) when the fabled Eagle comic began running King Ottokar’s Sceptre in translated instalments on their prestigious full-colour centre section in 1951. Originally created by Hergé in 1938-1939, this tale was one of the first to be revised (1947) when the political fall-out settled after the war ended.

Hergé continued to produce comic strips for Le Soir during the Nazi Occupation (Le Petit Vingtième, the original home of the strip was closed down by the Nazis), and in the period following Belgium’s liberation was accused of being a collaborator and even sympathiser. It took the intervention of Resistance hero Raymond Leblanc to dispel the cloud over Hergé, which he did by simply vouching for the cartoonist and by providing the cash to create the magazine Tintin which he published. The anthology comic swiftly achieved a weekly circulation in the hundreds of thousands.

The story itself is pure escapist magic as a chance encounter via a park-bench leads our hero on a mission of utmost diplomatic importance to the European kingdom of Syldavia. This picturesque Ruritanian ideal stood for a number of countries such as Czechoslovakia that were in the process of being subverted by Nazi insurrectionists at the time of writing.

Tintin becomes a surveillance target for the enemy agents and after a number of life-threatening near misses flies to Syldavia with his new friend. The sigillographer Professor Alembick is an expert on Seals of Office and his research trip coincides with a sacred ceremony wherein the Ruler must annually display the fabled sceptre of King Ottakar to the populace or lose his throne. When the sceptre is stolen it takes all of Tintin’s luck and cunning to prevent an insurrection and the overthrow of the country by enemy agents.

Full of dash, as compelling as a rollercoaster ride, this is classic adventure story-telling to match the best of the cinema’s swashbucklers and as suspenseful as a Hitchcock thriller, balancing insane laughs with moments of genuine tension. As the world headed into a new Dark Age, Hergé was entering a Golden one.

These ripping yarns for all ages are an unparalleled highpoint in the history of graphic narrative. Their constant popularity proves them to be a worthy addition to the list of world classics of literature.

The Broken Ear: artwork © 1945, 1984 Editions Casterman, Paris & Tournai.
Text © 1975 Egmont UK Limited. All Rights Reserved.
The Black Island: artwork © 1956, 1984 Editions Casterman, Paris & Tournai.
Text © 1966 Egmont UK Limited. All Rights Reserved.
King Ottokar’s Sceptre: artwork © 1947, 1975 Editions Casterman, Paris & Tournai.
Text © 1958 Egmont UK Limited. All Rights Reserved.