I love to include both visually intriguing children’s material and articles which promote or hone creative skills as well as volumes of and about comics, and this activity book – based on the exploits of exercise superhero Sportacus on the kid’s TV show LazyTown – is something I wish I’d had when I was teaching youngsters (and even the teenagers) at the London Cartoon Centre or London College of Printing all those years ago.
This sturdy little tome is based on a successful Icelandic show which uses all the high tech beguilery of modern television to induce kids to eat well and rush about more. It is incredibly popular around the world.
Here, each page is game or puzzle with a (washable!) screen to draw and write upon with the four drawing chalks included. By combining favourite characters, basic storytelling principles and a literal hands-on approach to drawing this book could do more to make young comic creators than any number of classes and art teachers. Creating is fun and this book actively encourages that whilst enhancing the reading process. Magic!
By Mitchel Scanlon & The Sharp Brothers (Black Library)
ISBN: 978-1- 84416-079-2
Sometimes we cognoscenti forget that for many people comics are merely a pastime, not a faith, and on those terms often what a browser wants is a read that resonates with their other interests.
At the beginning of this century role-playing company Games Workshop began publishing a short story magazine and monthly comicbook to augment the novels set in the fantasy worlds of their game packages. Warhammer (high fantasy in a Germano-feudal world), Warhammer 40,000 (total future war) and Necromunda (dystopian future city) scenarios were related in these periodicals and although the magazines are no longer with us the creators they fostered still are, and in the case of the many graphic novels compiled, the work is still fully available and excellent.
Some Swift and Brutal Hand by Mitchel Scanlon and Australian illustrators The Sharp Brothers is actually the second collection of the scar-faced soldier of fortune Hellbrandt Grimm; an archetypal loner-hero with a hidden past and killer’s eyes, totally unbeatable by either man, goblin or demon. You’ve seen the character in a hundred different places from The Outlaw Josie Wales to The Lone Wolf (but without the baby carriage) to Solomon Kane, and as the tales are instantly accessible no back story knowledge is necessary
In the eight short yarns collected here Grimm travels across the human lands righting wrongs his way, often accompanied by a Templar Witch-Hunter (don’t trouble yourself – think of him as the cop-buddy) exacting some private revenge against brigands and supernaturals everywhere.
Reminiscent of classic 2000AD strips (the art is black and white with tints and tones), these are stripped down, sleek accessible action romps, doused with irony and dry wit and designed to be read like a summer blockbuster – entertainment for its own sake!
If you’re a fantasy fan looking for a swift read and not a lifetime’s commitment this is the stuff for you. But beware: this much fun is potentially addictive…
This is one of those good news/bad news situations that can make reading comic book collections such a trial. This six part miniseries was released at the close of 2001 and is probably one of the better tales of the Batman’s greatest nemesis, so the good news is that it’s finally assembled in one handy little tome for your perusal.
The bad news is that like with so many other company-wide events, most of DC’s regular publications (such as the Bat titles, Birds of Prey #36 or Wonder Woman #175) took some part in the extended narrative, and none of those sidebar stories are included. Mercifully, the sense of dislocation caused by incidents occurring “off-camera†is minimal here, but some choice moments of graphic zaniness are sadly lost.
The Joker is the maddest, baddest psycho-killer on Earth, but when a routine prison medical reveals that he has only weeks to live, the Clown Prince decides he’s taking the rest of the world with him and really ramps up the creative body-count. Releasing a new form of his Joker toxin that turns victims into versions of himself he’s determined to turn the entire planet into a giggling funeral pyre. With every “Jokerised†crook in the world on a killing spree it looks like we’re all going to die, and when he even contaminates the rain clouds its certain that we’ll die laughing!
Compellingly written by Chuck Dixon and Scott Beatty, with art by Pete Woods, Marcos Martin, Walter McDaniel, Andy Kuhn, Ron Randall, Rich Burchett, Andrew Pepoy, Mark Farmer, Alvaro Lopez, Mark Lipka and Dan Davis, this is a cracking yarn, sardonic, fun and thrilling – even without the whole story on offer. Perhaps if it sells unexpectedly well DC will issue a companion volume…
By Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky & various (DC Comics)
ISBN13: 978-1-4012-0761-8
After the actual invention of the comicbook superhero – for which read the launch of Superman in 1938 – the most significant event in the industry’s progress was the combination of individual sales-points into a group. Thus what seems blindingly obvious to us with the benefit of four-colour hindsight was proven – a number of popular characters could multiply readership by combining forces. Plus of course, a whole bunch of superheroes is a lot cooler than just one – or even one and a sidekick.
And so the Justice Society of America is rightly revered as a true landmark in the development of comic books, and, when Julius Schwartz revived the superhero genre in the late 1950s, the key moment would come with the inevitable teaming of the reconfigured mystery men.
That moment came with issue #28 of The Brave and the Bold, a classical adventure title that had recently become a try-out magazine like Showcase. Just before Christmas 1959 the ads began running. “Just Imagine! The mightiest heroes of our time… have banded together as the Justice League of America to stamp out the forces of evil wherever and whenever they appear!â€
Released with a March 1960 cover-date, that first tale was written by the indefatigable Gardner Fox and illustrated by the quirky and understated Mike Sekowsky with inks by Bernard Sachs, Joe Giella and Murphy Anderson. ‘Starro the Conqueror’ saw Flash, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter from Mars defeat a marauding alien starfish whilst Superman and Batman stood by (in those naive days editors feared that their top characters could be “over-exposed†and consequently lose popularity). They also picked up a typical American kid as mascot. Snapper Carr would prove a focus of fan controversy for decades to come.
Confident of his material and the superhero genre’s fresh appeal Schwartz had two more thrillers ready for the following issues. B&B #29 saw the team defeat a marauder from the future in ‘The Challenge of the Weapons Master’ (inks by Sachs and Giella) and #30 saw their first mad-scientist arch-villain in the form of Professor Ivo and his super android Amazo. ‘The Case of the Stolen Super Powers’ by Fox, Sekowsky and Sachs ended their tryout run. Three months later the new bi-monthly title debuted.
Perhaps somewhat sedate by histrionic modern standards, the JLA was revolutionary in a comics marketplace where less than 10% of all sales featured costumed adventurers. Not only public imagination was struck by hero teams either. Stan Lee was given a copy of Justice League by his boss and told to do something similar for the tottering comics company he ran – and look what came of that!
‘The World of No Return’ introduced trans-dimensional tyrant Despero to bedevil the World’s Greatest Heroes, but once again the plucky Snapper Carr was the key to defeating the villain and saving the day. The second issue, ‘Secret of the Sinister Sorcerers’, presented an astounding conundrum. The villains of Magic-Land transposed the location of their dimension with Earth’s, causing the Laws of Science to be replaced with the Lore of Mysticism. The true mettle of our heroes (and by this time Superman and Batman were allowed a more active part in the proceedings) was shown when they had to use ingenuity rather than their powers to defeat their foes.
Issue #3 introduced the despicable Kanjar Ro who attempted to turn the team into his personal army in ‘The Slave Ship of Space’, and with the next episode the first of many new members joined the team. Green Arrow saved the day in the science-fiction thriller ‘Doom of the Star Diamond’, but was almost kicked out in #5 as the insidious Doctor Destiny inadvertently framed him ‘When Gravity Went Wild!’
‘The Wheel of Misfortune’ introduced the pernicious and persistent master of wild science Professor Amos Fortune, and #7 was another alien plot centred on an amusement park and more specifically ‘The Cosmic Fun-House!’. ‘For Sale – the Justice League!’ was a sharp crime caper where a cheap hood finds a mind control weapon that enslaves the team and once again simple Snapper Carr has to save the day.
Issue #9 is a well-known and oft-recounted tale, and the start of a spectacular run of nigh-perfect super-hero adventures. ‘The Origin of the Justice League’ recounts the circumstances of the team’s birth, an alien invasion saga that still resonates with today’s readership, and it’s followed by the series’ first continued story. ‘The Fantastic Fingers of Felix Faust’ finds the World’s Greatest Superheroes battling an invader from the future when they’re spellbound by sorcerer Faust. This magician has awoken three antediluvian demons and sold them the Earth in exchange for 100 years of unlimited power. Although they defeat Faust the team have no idea that the demons are loose…
In the next instalment ‘One Hour to Doomsday’ the JLA pursue and capture The Lord of Time, but are trapped a century from their home-era by the awakened and re-empowered Demons. This level of plot complexity hadn’t been seen in comics since the closure of EC Comics, and never before in a superhero tale. It was a profound acknowledgement by the creators that the readership was no longer simply little kids – if indeed it ever had been.
These cheap compendiums are a dedicated fan’s delight. As well as superb artwork presented in pristine black and white lines, there’s enough page count to add sidebar tales that affect continuity but which originally appeared outside the canonical source. The next adventure of the JLA appeared in the pages of Mystery in Space #75 (May 1962), as the team guest-starred in a full-length thriller starring Adam Strange. Strange was an Earth archaeologist who was regularly teleported to a planet circling Alpha Centauri, where his wits and ingenuity saved the citizens of Rann from all sorts of interplanetary threats.
In ‘The Planet that came to a Standstill!’ Kanjar Ro attempted to conquer Strange’s adopted home and the gallant hero had to enlist the aid of the JLA, before once again saving the day himself. This classic team-up was written by Fox, and illustrated by the wonderful Carmine Infantino and Murphy Anderson.
Arch-villain Doctor Light, attempted a pre-emptive strike on the team in #12, but ‘The Last Case of the Justice League‘ proved to be anything but, and with the next issue the heroes saved the entire universe by solving ‘The Riddle of the Robot Justice League’. ‘The Menace of the “Atom†Bomb’ in issue #14 was a clever way of introducing newest member The Atom whilst showing a new side to an old villain and issue #15’s ‘Challenge of the Untouchable Aliens’ added some fresh texture to the formulaic plot of extra-dimensional invaders out for our destruction.
This book ends with the challenging, intellectual poser ‘The Cavern of Deadly Spheres’, a change-of-pace tale with a narrative technique that just couldn’t be used on today’s oh-so-sophisticated audience, but still has the power to grip a reader.
These inexpensive collections are an absolute gift for modern fans that desperately need to catch up without going bankrupt. They are also perfect to give to youngsters as an introduction into a fabulous world of adventure and magic. Of all the various reprint editions and formats available for classic material, these monochrome tomes are my very favourite.
By John Broome, Gil Kane & various (DC Comics)
ISBN13: 978-1-4012-0759-5
After the successful revival and reworking of The Flash, DC (or National Comics as they were) was keen to build on the resurgent superhero trend. Showcase #22 (September-October 1959) hit the stands at the same time as the fourth issue of the new Flash comicbook (#108) and once again the guiding lights were Editor Julie Schwartz and writer John Broome.
The Space Age reworking of the Golden-Age superhero with the magic ring replaced mysticism with super-science. Hal Jordan was a young test pilot in California when an alien policeman crashed his spaceship on Earth. Mortally wounded, Abin Sur commanded his ring, a device which could materialise thoughts, to seek out a replacement ring-bearer, honest and without fear. Scanning the planet it selected Jordan and brought him to the crash-site. The dying alien bequeathed his ring, the lantern-shaped Battery of Power and his profession to the astonished Earthman.
In six pages ‘S.O.S Green Lantern’ established the characters, scenario and narrative thrust of a series that would increasingly become the spine of DC continuity, leaving room for another two adventures in that premiere issue. ‘Secret of the Flaming Spear!’ and ‘Menace of the Runaway Missile!’ were both contemporary thrillers set against the backdrop of the aviation industry at a time when the Cold War was at its height.
Unlike the debut of The Flash, the editors were now confident of their ground. The next two issues of Showcase carried the new hero into even greater exploits. ‘Summons from Space’ sent Green Lantern to another world: Saving an emerging race from a deadly threat at the behest of the as-yet-unnamed leaders of the Green Lantern Corps, whilst ‘The Invisible Destroyer’ pitted the Emerald Gladiator against the earthbound but eerie menace of a psychic marauder that lived on atomic radiation.
Showcase #24 (January-February, 1960) featured another spy-ring in ‘The Secret of the Black Museum!’ but Hal Jordan’s complex social life took centre-stage in ‘The Creature That Couldn’t Die!’ when the threat of an unstoppable monster paled before the insufferable stress of being his own rival. Hal’s boss Carol Ferris, left in charge of the aviation company by her father (a radical concept in 1960 when most women were still considered faint-fodder fluff) won’t date an employee but is happy for him to set her up with the glamorous, mysterious Green Lantern.
Six months later Green Lantern #1 was released. All previous tales had been dynamically drawn by Gil Kane and inked by Joe Giella, in a visually arresting and exciting manner, but the lead tale here, ‘Planet of Doomed Men’ was inked by the uniquely gifted Murphy Anderson, and his fine line-work elevated the tale (more emergent humans in need of rescue from another monster) to the status of a minor classic. Giella returned for the second tale, ‘Menace of the Giant Puppet!’, in which GL fought his first – albeit rather lame – super-villain, the Puppet Master.
The next issue originated a concept that would be pivotal to the future of DC continuity. ‘The Secret of the Golden Thunderbolts!’ featured the Antimatter Universe and the diabolical Weaponers of Qward, a twisted race who worshipped Evil, and whose “criminals†(i.e. people who wouldn’t lie, cheat, steal or kill) wanted asylum on Earth. This tale was also inked by Anderson, and is an early highpoint of tragic melodrama from an era where emotionalism was actively downplayed in comics. The second story ‘Riddle of the Frozen Ghost Town!’ is a crime thriller that highlights the developing relationship between the hero and his Inuit (then “Eskimoâ€) mechanic Tom ‘Pieface’ Kalmaku.
The Qwardians returned in #3’s ‘The Amazing Theft of the Power Lamp!’ and Jordan’s love-life again spun out of control in ‘The Leap Year Menace!’, whilst GL#4 saw the hero trapped in the antimatter universe in ‘The Diabolical Missile from Qward!’ nicely balanced by the light-and-frothy mistaken-identity caper ‘Secret of Green Lantern’s Mask!’ (this last apparently crafted by a veritable raft of pencillers including Kane, Giella, Carmine Infantino, Mike Sekowsky and Ross Andru). Issue #5 was a full length thriller which introduced Hector Hammond, GL’s second official super-villain in ‘The Power Ring that Vanished!’ a saga of romantic intrigue, mistaken identity and evolution gone wild. This was followed by another, the pure science fiction puzzler ‘The World of Living Phantoms!’ which introduced the avian Green Lantern Tomar Re, and opened up the entire universe to avid readers.
These black and white collections are to my mind a much better buy for art fans who can more clearly see the mastery of design and rendering of artists like Gil Kane. The only regret is that occasionally a special circumstance cries out for colour. In the early 1960s DC production wizard Jack Adler created a process to add enhancing tone to cover illustrations. The finished result was eye-catching and mind-blowing, but examples, such as the cover of #8, really don’t work without glossy colours and tints. Never mind, though, as the contents of that issue, ‘The Challenge from 5700AD!’ are a fantasy tour de force: The Emerald Gladiator is shanghaied through time to save the future from a invasion of mutant lizards. Sinestro returned in the next issue with his own super-weapon in ‘The Battle of the Power Rings!’ (with Murphy Anderson once more replacing Giella on inks) but the real gold is ‘Green Lantern’s Brother Act’ which introduces Hal’s two brothers and a snoopy girl reporter convinced that young Jim Jordan is the ring-slinging superhero. This wry poke at DC’s house plot-device shows just how sophisticated Schwartz and Broome believed their audiences to be.
‘Prisoner of the Power Ring’ is your run-of-the-mill subatomic exodus tale with Atomic War anxiety overtones whilst ‘The Origin of Green Lantern’s Oath’ details three of the hero’s earliest exploits which led to him constructing the piece of doggerel he uses to time his ring’s recharging period. Although neither tale is a blockbuster, the increasingly loose and expressive artwork of Kane, especially on the latter (again with Anderson on inks) are an unalloyed delight of easy grace and power.
The readers were hungry for more on the Green Lantern Corps and ‘The Strange Trial of Green Lantern’ introduced another half-dozen or so simply to court-martial Hal Jordan for dereliction of duty in a saga of cataclysmic proportions, but ‘The Trail of the Missing Power Ring!’ focuses on drama of a more human scale when a young boy finds the power ring Hal has lost. Issue #12 returned GL to 5700AD thwart an interplanetary coup in ‘Green Lantern’s Statue goes to War.’ A balance between cosmic and personal stories was developing in the issues with two stories, and ‘Zero Hour in the Silent City!’ highlights Tom Kalmaku’s close friendship with Hal against the backdrop of bank robbers with a super scientific gimmick.
Green Lantern #13 was a true landmark as an interdimensional invasion led to a team-up and lifelong friendship between our hero and the Flash. Controversial for the time, ‘The Duel of the Super-Heroes!’, saw them share each other secret identities, a rarity then even among the close comrades of the Justice League of America. This full-length thriller was followed in #14 by the introduction of Balkan ultra-nationalist villain Sonar in ‘The Man Who Conquered Sound!’ a traditional fist-fest complemented by the return of Jim Jordan and that snoopy girl reporter Sue Williams. In the frothy romp ‘My Brother, Green Lantern!’ it’s revealed that she’s now romantically involved with the youngest Jordan sibling and, due to a slight mishap with the boy’s fraternity rings more certain than ever that her intended is the Emerald Gladiator.
Sinestro once more escaped the justice of the Guardians to return in #15’s ‘Peril of the Yellow World!’ a cosmic duel that tested GL’s bravery as much as the Space Race thriller ‘Zero Hour at Rocket City!’ tested his wits. The next issue took the Hal Jordan/Green Lantern/Carol Ferris romantic triangle to a new level. ‘The Secret Life of Star Sapphire!’ introduced the alien women of Zamaron. Readers of contemporary comics will be aware of their awesome heritage but for the sake of this review and new readers let’s keep that to ourselves. They select Carol as their new queen and give her a gem as versatile as a power ring, and a brainwash make-over too. Programmed to destroy the man she loves, Star Sapphire would become another recurring foe, but one with a telling advantage. The second story solved a puzzle that had baffled readers since the very first appearance of the Emerald Crusader.
Gardner Fox contributes his first tale in ‘Earth’s First Green Lantern’ Hal finally learns why his predecessor Abin Sur crashed to Earth in a spaceship when all GL’s could fly through space on ring power alone. A stirring tale of triumph and tragedy this short yarn is one of Broome and Kane’s very best.
This volume ends with a full-length espionage thriller from #17, also written by Fox. ‘The Spy-Eye that Doomed Green Lantern!’ again revolved around test pilot Jordan’s personal involvement in the US/Soviet race to the stars and is a fine example of a lost type of tale. In those long ago days costumed villains were always third choice in a writers armoury: clever bad-guys and aliens always seemed more believable to the creators back then. If you were doing something naughty would you want to call attention to yourself? Nowadays the visual impact of buff men in tights dictates the type of foe more than the crimes committed, which is why these glorious adventures of simpler yet somehow better days are such an unalloyed delight.
These costumed drama romps are in themselves a great read for most ages, but when also considered as the building blocks of all DC continuity they become vital fare for any fan keen to make sense of the modern superhero experience.
By Jack Kirby & various (DC Comics)
ISBN13: 978-1-4012-1087-8
The Challengers of the Unknown were a bridging concept. As superheroes were being revived in 1956 here was a super-team – the first of the Silver Age – with no powers, the most basic and utilitarian of costumes and the most dubious of motives – Suicide by Mystery. Yet they were a huge hit and struck a chord that lasted for more than a decade before they finally died… only to rise again and yet again. The idea of them was stirring enough, but their initial execution made their success all but inevitable.
Jack Kirby was – and still is – the most important single influence in the history of American comic books. There are quite rightly millions of words written about what the man has done and meant, and you should read those if you are at all interested in our medium. I’m going to add a few words to that superabundance in this review of one of his best projects, which like so many others, he perfectly constructed before moving on, leaving highly competent but never as inspired talents to build upon.
When the comic industry suffered a collapse in the mid 1950’s, Kirby returned briefly to DC Comics where he worked on mystery tales and the Green Arrow back-up strip whilst creating the newspaper strip Sky Masters of the Space Force. He also re-packaged for Showcase (a try-out title that launched the careers of many DC mainstays) an original super-team concept that had been kicking around in his head since he and long-time collaborator Joe Simon had closed the innovative but unfortunate Mainline Comics.
After years of working for others Simon and Kirby had finally established their own publishing company, producing comics with a much more sophisticated audience in mind, only to find themselves in a sales downturn and awash in public hysteria generated by the anti-comic book pogrom of US Senator Estes Kefauver and the psychologist Dr Frederic Wertham. Simon quit the business for advertising, but Kirby soldiered on, taking his skills and ideas to a number of safer, if less experimental, companies.
The Challengers of the Unknown were four ordinary mortals; heroic adventurers and explorers who walked away unscathed from a terrible plane crash. Already obviously what we now call “adrenaline junkiesâ€, they decided that since they were all living on borrowed time, they would dedicate what remained of their lives to testing themselves and fate. They would risk their lives for Knowledge and naturally, Justice.
The series launched with ‘The Secrets of the Sorcerer’s Box!’ (Showcase #6, dated January/February 1957 – which meant it came out in time for Christmas 1956). Kirby and scripter Dave Wood, plus inkers Marvin Stein and Jack’s wife Roz, crafted a spectacular epic as the doom-chasers were hired by the duplicitous magician Morelian to open an ancient container holding otherworldly secrets and powers.
This initial story roars along with all the tension and wonder of the B-movie thrillers it emulates and Kirby’s awesome drawing resonates with power and dynamism, which continues for the sequel, a science fiction drama caused when an alliance of Nazi technologies and American criminality unleashes a terrible robotic monster. ‘Ultivac is Loose!’ (Showcase #7, dated March/April 1957) introduced the beautiful and capable boffin Dr June Robbins, who became the fifth Challenger at a time when most comic females had returned to a subsidiary status in that so-conservative era.
The team didn’t reappear until Showcase #11 (November/December 1957) as The Flash and Lois Lane got their Shots at the big time. When the Challs returned it was in an alien invasion adventure ‘The Day the Earth Blew Up’, with the unique realist Bruno Premiani inking a taut doomsday chiller that keeps readers on the edge of their seats even today, and by the time of their last Showcase issue (#12, January /February 1958) they had won their own title. ‘The Menace of the Ancient Vials’ was defused by the usual blend of daredevil heroics and ingenuity (with the wonderful inking of George Klein adding subtle clarity to the tale of an international criminal who steals an ancient weapons cache that threatens the entire world if misused), but the biggest buzz would come two months later with the first issue of their own magazine.
Issue #1, written and drawn by Kirby, with Stein on inks, presented two complete stories plus an iconic introductory page that would become almost a signature logo for the team. ‘The Man Who Tampered with Infinity’ pitted the heroes against a renegade scientist whose cavalier dabbling loosed dreadful monsters from the beyond onto our defenceless planet, before the team were actually abducted by aliens in ‘The Human Pets’.
The same creators were responsible for the two stories in the second issue. ‘The Traitorous Challenger’ is a monster mystery, with June returning to sabotage a mission in the Australian Outback, whilst ‘The Monster Maker’ finds the team seemingly helpless against a super-criminal who can conjure and animate solid objects out of his thoughts.
The third issue features ‘Secret of the Sorcerer’s Mirror’ with Roz Kirby and Marvin Stein again inking the mesmerising pencils, as the boys pursue a band of criminals whose magic looking glass can locate deadly ancient weapons, but the most intriguing tale for fans and historians is undoubtedly ‘The Menace of the Invincible Challenger’ wherein team strongman Rocky Davis is rocketed into space only to crash back to Earth with strange, uncanny powers.
For years the obvious similarities of this group – and especially this adventure – to the origin of Marvel’s Fantastic Four (FF #1 was out in November 1961) have fuelled speculation. In all honesty I simply don’t care. They’re both similar and different but equally enjoyable so read both. In fact, read them all.
With #4 the series became artistically perfect as the sheer brilliance of Wally Wood’s inking elevated the art to unparalleled heights. The scintillant sheen and limpid depth of Wood’s brushwork fostered an abiding authenticity in even the most outrageous of Kirby’s designs and the result is – even now – breathtaking. ‘The Wizard of Time’ is a full length masterpiece as a series of bizarre robberies lead the team to a scientist with a time-machine. By visiting oracles of the past he found a path to the far future. When he got there he intended robbing it blind, but the Challengers found a way to follow…
‘The Riddle of the Star-Stone’ (#5) is a contemporary full-length thriller, wherein an archaeologist’s assistant uncovers an alien tablet which bestows various super-powers when different gems are inserted into it. The exotic locales and non-stop spectacular action are intoxicating, but Kirby’s solid characterisation and ingenious writing are what make this such a compelling read.
Scripter Dave Wood returned for #6’s first story. ‘Captives of the Space Circus’ has the boys kidnapped from Earth to perform in a interplanetary show, but the evil ringmaster is promptly outfoxed and the team returns for Ed Herron’s mystic saga ‘The Sorceress of Forbidden Valley’, as June Robbins becomes an amnesiac puppet in a power struggle between a fugitive gangster and a ruthless feudal potentate.
There are also two stories in #7. Herron scripted both the relatively straightforward alien-safari tale ‘The Beasts From Planet 9’ and the much more intriguing ‘Isle of No Return’ where the team must defeat a scientific bandit before his shrinking ray leaves them permanently mouse-sized.
Issue #8 is a magnificent finale to a superb run as Kirby and Wally Wood go out in style in two gripping spectaculars (both of which introduced menaces who would return to bedevil the team in future tales). ‘The Man Who Stole the Future’ by Dave Wood, Kirby and the unrelated Wally Wood, introduces Drabny – a mastermind who steals mystic artefacts and conquers a small nation before the team defeats him. This is a tale of spectacular battles and uncharacteristic, if welcome, comedy, but the real gem is the science fiction tour-de-force ‘Prisoners of the Robot Planet’, with art by the Kirby and Wood, and probably written by Kirby and Herron. Petitioned by a desperate alien, the Challs travel to his distant world to liberate the population from bondage to their own robotic servants, who have risen in revolt under the command of the fearsome automaton, Kra.
These are classic adventures, told in a classical manner. Kirby developed a brilliantly feasible concept with which to work and heroically archetypical characters in cool pilot Ace Morgan, indomitable strongman Rocky Davis, intellectual aquanaut Prof. Haley and daredevil acrobat Red Ryan. He then manipulated an astounding blend of genres to display their talents and courage in unforgettable exploits that informed every team comic that followed and certainly influenced his successive and landmark triumphs with Stan Lee. But then he left.
The Challengers would follow the Kirby model until cancellation in 1970, but due to a dispute with Editor Jack Schiff the writer/artist resigned at the height of his powers. The Kirby magic was impossible to match, but as with all The King’s creations, every element was in place for the successors to run with. Challengers of the Unknown #9 (September 1959) saw an increase in the fantasy elements favoured by Schiff, and perhaps an easing of the subtle tension that marked previous issues (Comics Historians take note: the Challs were bickering and snarling at each other years before Marvel’s Cosmic Quartet ever boarded that fateful rocket-ship). A number of writers, many sadly lost to posterity stepped in, including Bill Finger, Ed Herron and possibly Jack Miller, Bob Haney and Arnold Drake, but one man took over the illustrator’s role: Bob Brown.
To our shame very little is known about this wonderfully capable artist. I can’t even confirm his date of birth, although he died in 1977 following a long illness. He co-created the long-running Space Ranger, drew Tomahawk, Vigilante, Batman, Superboy, Doom Patrol, World’s Finest Comics and a host of other features and genre shorts for DC before moving to Marvel in the 1970s where he drew Warlock, Daredevil and the Avengers among others. He was a consummate professional and drew every issue of the Challs from #9 – 63, almost a decade of high-adventure that ranged from ravaging aliens, cute-and-fuzzy space beats to supernatural horrors.
‘The Men who Lost their Memories’ found the team fighting crooks with a thought stealing machine, but ‘The Plot to Destroy Earth!’ was a full-on end-of-humanity thriller with monsters sent to carve our world into chunks for their resource-hungry alien masters, and only the guts and ingenuity of our heroes could save the day. A destructive giant with a deadly secret was the premise of ‘The Cave-Man Beast’ and #10’s cover featured second tale was another time-travel conundrum as the boys found their own likenesses on a submerged monolith in the Sci-Fi thriller ‘The Four Faces of Doom’.
Issue #11 was a full-length action-packed interdimensional romp subdivided into ‘The Creatures from the Forbidden World’, ‘Land beyond the Light’ and ‘The Achilles Heel’, but the two-story format returned in the next issue, which contained ‘The Challenger from Outer Space’ with an alien superhero joining the team and ‘Three Clues to Sorcery’ with the four adventurers once again forced to endure exotic locales and extreme perils to acquire mystic artefacts for a criminal mastermind, this time there’s a deadly twist in this oft told tale.
‘The Prisoner of the Tiny Space Ball’ finds the team rescuing the ruler of another world whilst Rocky is possessed by the legendary Golden Fleece making him a puppet of ‘The Creatures from the Past’. Issue #14 opens with one of the few adventures with a credited scripter. Ed “France†Herron was thirty year comics veteran and ‘The Man who Conquered the Challengers’ is one of his best tales, with crooked archaeologist Eric Pramble stealing an ancient formula for “liquid light†which makes him immortal. Moreover, every time he’s killed he reanimates with a different super-power! As Multi-Man, he became the closest thing to an arch-villain the series ever had, and even graduated to becoming a regular foe across the DCU. Once again wits and nerve found a way to victory that sheer firepower never could.
In the other yarn ‘Captives of the Alien Beasts’ all five Challs are teleported to another world by animals that have invaded a scientist’s laboratory, a relatively innocuous tale, compared to #15’s all-out fight-fest ‘The Return of Multi-Man’ and the bizarre ‘The Lady Giant and the Beast’ wherein June is transformed into a fifty foot leviathan just as a scaly monster cuts a swathe of destruction through the locality. Issue #16’s ‘Incredible Metal Creature’ sees an Earth thug join forces with an escaped alien criminal, no real Challenge there but the second story finds the team in Arabia as ‘Prisoners of the Mirage World’ and the knights who have been trapped there since the time of the Crusades. This thrill-stuffed tome concludes with the #17’s supernatural crime whimsy ‘The Genie who Feared June’, and the interplanetary mission of mercy ‘The Secret of the Space Capsules’, both solid pieces of adventure fiction that if not displaying the unique Kirby magic are redolent with its flavours.
Challengers of the Unknown is sheer escapist wonderment, and no fan of the medium should miss the graphic exploits of these perfect adventurers in the ideal setting of not so long ago in a simpler better world than ours.
By Stan Lee, Jack Kirby & various (Marvel)
ISBN 0-7851-1866-7
Even more than the Fantastic Four The Mighty Thor was the arena in which Jack Kirby’s restless fascination with the Cosmic was honed and refined in dazzling graphics and captivating concepts. His string of pantheons began with a modest little fantasy title called Journey into Mystery where in the summer of 1962 a tried-and-true comicbook concept (feeble mortal transformed into God-like hero) was employed by the fledgling Marvel Comics to add a Superman analogue to their growing roster of costumed adventurers. This gloriously economical tome represents those Asgardian exploits from JiM #83-112 in clean crisp black and white for your delectation.
Journey into Mystery #83 (cover-dated August 1962) featured the tale of crippled American doctor Donald Blake who takes a vacation in Norway only to encounter the vanguard of an alien invasion. Fleeing he is trapped in a cave where he finds an old, gnarled walking stick. When in his frustration he smashes the cane into a huge boulder obstructing his escape, his puny frame is transformed into the Norse God of Thunder, the Mighty Thor! Plotted by Stan Lee, scripted by Larry Lieber and illustrated by Kirby and Joe Sinnott (at this juncture a full illustrator, Sinnott would become Kirby’s primary inker for his Marvel career) ‘The Stone Men of Saturn’ is pure early Marvel, bombastic, fast-paced, gloriously illogical and captivatingly action-packed. The hugely under-appreciated Art Simek was the letterer and logo designer.
They were making it up as they went along – not in itself a bad thing – and the infectious enthusiasm shows in the next adventure ‘The Mighty Thor Vs. the Executioner’, a “commie-busting†tale of its time with a thinly disguised Fidel Castro wasting his formidable armies in battle against our hero. Dr. Blake’s nurse Jane Foster was introduced, a bland cipher adored from afar by the timid alter-ego of mighty hero. The creative team settled as Dick Ayers replacing Sinnott, and with #85’s ‘Trapped by Loki, God of Mischief!’ the last element fell into place with the introduction of a suitably awesome arch-foe; in this case a half-brother evil magician. We also saw a new world revealed with the first hints and glimpses of the celestial otherworld and more Nordic gods.
Issue #86 introduced another recurring villain. Zarrko, bristling at the sedentary ease of 23rd century life, travelled to our time to steal an experimental “C-Bomb†forcing the God of Thunder into a stirring chase through time and battle with super-technology ‘On the Trail of the Tomorrow Man!’, whilst on his return Don Blake became a target for Soviet abductors. Those sneaky spies even managed to make Thor a ‘Prisoner of the Reds!’
‘The Vengeance of Loki’ saw the god of Evil’s flamboyant, bombastic return in #88, but ‘The Thunder God and the Thug’ was an adventure with a much more human scale as a gang boss runs riot over the city and roughshod over a good woman’s heart, giving the Asgardian a chance to demonstrate a more sophisticated and sympathetic side. Issue #90 was a total surprise to fans as the grandeur of Kirby and Ayers was replaced by the charming but drama-free art of Al Hartley, who illustrated a stock invasion tale of shape-changing aliens. ‘Trapped by the Carbon-Copy Man’ was followed a month later by ‘Sandu, Master of the Supernatural!’, with Joe Sinnott handling all the art, in a thriller starring a carnival mentalist augmented by Loki’s magic who comes close to killing our hero.
Sinnott also drew #92’s ‘The Day Loki Stole Thor’s Magic Hammer’ scripted by Robert Bernstein over Lee’s plot which moved the action fully to the mythical realm of Asgard for the first time as the hero sought to recover his stolen weapon. Kirby and Ayers returned for the Cold War thriller ‘The Mysterious Radio-Active Man!’, again plotted by Bernstein, as Mao Tse Tung unleashes an atomic assassin in retaliation for Thor thwarting China’s invasion of India. Such “Red-baiting†was common in early Marvel titles, but their inherent jingoistic silliness can’t mar the eerie beauty of the artwork. With this tale the rangy raw-boned Thunder God completed his slow metamorphosis into the husky, burly blonde bruiser that dominated any panel he was drawn in.
Sinnott illustrated the next three adventures ‘Thor and Loki Attack the Human Race!’, ‘The Demon Duplicator’ and ‘The Magic of Mad Merlin!’, but these mediocre tales of amnesia, evil doppelgangers and ancient menaces were the last of a old style of comics. Stan Lee took over the scripting with the Journey into Mystery #97 and action wedded to melodrama produced a fresh style for a developing readership.
‘The Lava Man’ was again drawn by Kirby, with the subtly textured inking of Don Heck adding depth to the tale of an invader from the subterranean realms, as a long running rift with Thor’s father Odin was established when the Lord of Asgard refused to allow his son to love the mortal Jane Foster. This acrimonious triangle was a perennial sub-plot that fuelled many attempts to humanise Thor, because already he was a hero too powerful for most villains to cope with. This issue was also notable for the launch of a spectacular back-up series. ‘Tales of Asgard – Home of the mighty Norse Gods’ gave Jack Kirby a space to indulge his fascination with legends. Initially adapting classic tales but eventually with all-new material particular to the Marvel pantheon, he built his own cosmos and mythology, which underpinned the company’s entire continuity. This first saga, scripted by Lee and inked by George Bell (AKA George Roussos) outlined the origin of the world and the creation of the World Tree Yggdrasil.
‘Challenged by the Human Cobra’ introduced the serpentine villain (bitten by a radioactive Cobra, would you believe?) in a tale by Lee and Heck, whilst Kirby, with them in attendance contributed ‘Odin Battles Ymir, King of the Ice Giants!’ a short but potent fantasy romp which presaged the cosmic wonderment of years to come. The same format held for issues #99 and #100, where the main story (the first two-part adventure in the run) introduced the bestial ‘Mysterious Mister Hyde’, and concluding ‘The Master Plan of Mr. Hyde!’ dealt with a contemporary super-villain Kirby produced ‘Surtur the Fire Demon’ and latterly (with Vince Colletta inks) ‘The Storm Giants – a tale of the Boyhood of Thor’. As always Lee scripted this increasingly influential comicbook.
JIM #101 saw Kirby finally assume complete control of the pencilling on both strips. ‘The Return of Zarrko, the Tomorrow Man’ sees Odin halve Thor’s powers for disobedience just as the futuristic felon abducts the Thunder God to help him conquer the 23rd century. Anther two-parter (the first half inked by Roussos), it was balanced by another exuberant tale of the boy Thor. ‘The Invasion of Asgard’ sees the valiant lad fight a heroic rearguard action that introduced a host of future villainous mainstays. ‘Slave of Zarrko, the Tomorrow Man’ is a tour de force epic conclusion most notable for the introduction of Chic Stone as inker. To many of us oldsters, the clean full brush lines make him The King’s best embellisher ever. This triumphant epic is balanced by the brooding short ‘Death Comes to Thor!’ as the young hero faces his greatest challenge yet. Two females that would play huge roles in his life were introduced in this brief 5-pager, the young Goddess Sif and Hela, Queen of the dead.
On a creative roll, Lee Kirby and Stone next introduced ‘The Enchantress and the Executioner’ ruthless renegade Asgardians in the front of JIM #103 and in ‘Thor’s Mission to Mirmir’ revealed how the gods created humanity, which lead to a revolutionary saga ‘Giants Walk the Earth’ in the next issue. For the first time Kirby’s imagination was given full play as Loki tricked Odin into visiting Earth, only to release ancient foes Surtur and Skagg, the Storm Giant from Asgardian bondage.
This cosmic saga saw noble gods stride the Earth battling demonic evil in a new Heroic Age, and the greater role of the Norse supporting cast was reinforced by a new Tales of Asgard strand focussing on individual Gods and Heroes. Heimdall the Sentry was first, with Don Heck inking. Issue #105-106 saw the teaming of two old foes in ‘The Cobra and Mr, Hyde’ and ‘The Thunder God Strikes Back’, another continued story packed with tension and spectacular action, which showed that Thor was swiftly growing beyond the constraints of traditional single story adventures. The respective back-ups ‘When Heimdall Failed!’ (Lee, Kirby, Roussos) and ‘Balder the Brave’ (Lee, Kirby, Colletta) further fleshed out the back-story of an Asgardian pantheon deviating more and more from the classical Eddas and Sagas kids had to plough through in schools.
JIM #107 introduced another major villain in ‘When the Grey Gargoyle Strikes’, a rare tale that highlighted the fortitude of Don Blake rather than the Thunder God, who was increasingly reducing his own alter-ego to an inconsequentiality, and the Norn Queen debuted in the quirky reinterpretation of the classic tale ‘Balder Must Die!’ illustrated by Kirby and Colletta. After months of manipulation the God of Evil once again took direct action in ‘At the Mercy of Lokj, Prince of Evil!’ With Jane a helpless pawn to Asgardian magic the willing help of new Marvel star Doctor Strange made this a captivating team-up to read, whilst ‘Trapped by the Trolls’ (inked by Colletta) showed the power and promise of tales set solely on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge. Issue #109 was another superb adventure masquerading as a plug for another new series. ‘When Magneto Strikes!’ pitted Thor against the X-Men’s greatest foe in a cataclysmic clash, but you couldn’t actually call it a team-up as the heroic mutants were never seen. The teasing hints and cropped glimpses are fascinating teasers now, but the kid I was annoyed not to have seen these new heroes. Oh… maybe that was the point?
The young Thor feature ‘Banished from Asgard’ is uncharacteristically lacklustre but the concluding part ‘The Defeat of Odin!’ in JiM #110 makes up for the silly plot with breathtaking battles scenes. The lead story in that issue is ‘Every Hand Against Him’ as Loki, the Cobra and Mr. Hyde kidnap Jane as Odin once again over-reacts to Thor’s affections for the mortal girl. The concluding part ‘The Power of the Thunder God’ features a major role for Balder the Braver, further integrating the “historical†and contemporary Asgards in a spellbinding saga of triumph and near-tragedy, whilst the Tale of Asgard co-opts a Greek myth (Antaeus if you’re asking) for ‘The Secret of Sigurd’.
This wonderfully economical black-and white compendium closes with the contents of Journey into Mystery #112. ‘The Mighty Thor Battles the Incredible Hulk!’ is a glorious gift to all those fans who perpetually ask “Who’s stronger…?†Possibly Kirby and Stone’s finest artistic moment, it details a private duel between the two super-humans that occurred during a free-for-all between The Avengers, the Sub-Mariner and the eponymous Green Goliath. The raw power of that tale is followed by ‘The Coming of Loki’, a retelling of how Odin came to adopt the baby son of Laufey, the Giant King.
These early tales of the God of Thunder show the development not only of one of Marvel’s fundamental story concepts but more importantly the creative evolution of one of the greatest imaginations in comics. Set your commonsense on pause and simply wallow in the glorious imagery and power of these classic adventures for the true secret of what makes graphic narrative a unique experience.
Here’s another great activity book for three year olds (and over) that’s a huge bunch of fun and–as the subject is also that rarest of animals: a British kids franchise with his own newsstand comic–well worth a mention in my never-ending crusade to teach kids to love comics, books and reading.
In case you haven’t seen the stop-motion adventures of Shaun the Sheep let’s recap: He first appeared in the Wallace and Gromit film A Close Shave in 1997 (he’s the one that got shorn – get it? – in the knit-o-matic machine). After a guest-shot on the 2002 series Cracking Contraptions he finally graduated to his own show on the BBC in early 2007.
Shaun is a sheep of singular intellect yet he lives on a farm where he has worryingly surreal adventures which pay mute tribute to those timeless silent classics of slapstick comedy. They are extremely entertaining for both adults and kids alike.
This attention-riveting tome is a Sticker Activity Book, which means that there are full colour peel-off adhesive images which can be placed in relevant – or not – places to great effect. The body of the book is a series of black and white pages stuffed with colouring puzzles, spot-the-difference tests, mazes, join-the-dots, finish-the-picture scenes, tracing games, word-searches, hidden-object quests, counting games, comparison quizzes and even a fold-out race-track. I’m nearly three hundred and fifty-two and even I found this to be a dazzling display of captivating teasers. And some of the kids who get this book will want to graduate to the comic afterward…
In a world where books are increasingly alien to people, the combination of great characters, compelling stories and pictures, plus every darn trick in the book, is a welcome tactic in getting kids reading. Forget video games, buy that child a book!
By Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti, Phil Noto, Jordi Bernet, & David Michael Beck (DC Comics)
ISBN13: 978-1-84576-786-0
Confident enough to apply fantasy concepts to this grittiest of human heroes, the assembled creators working on the current incarnation of Jonah Hex blend a darkly ironic streak of wit with a sanguine view of morality and justice to produce some of the most accessible and enjoyable comics fiction available today. In this collection, reprinting issues #19-24 of the comic book series, six discrete tales serve to how the ravaged and dissolute bounty hunter takes everything the universe can throw at him with the same irascible aplomb.
‘Texas Money’, ‘Unfinished Business’ and ‘The Current War’ are all illustrated by Phil Noto; compelling vignettes which well display the thread of black humour that runs through these stories. The first sees Hex hire out to notorious Saloon boss Wiley Park for a rescue mission only to become distracted by the West’s Most Inhospitable Brothel Madam. The second finds Hex paying for a little jest he had at Park’s expense, a truly iconic tribute to a classic Conan the Barbarian scene, before reuniting with an old stooge to settle all accounts with the Saloon owner.
Jordi Bernet handled the interlude issue, ‘Devil’s Paw’, a seemingly more traditional yarn of deserts and mesas, posses and “injunsâ€, but this dark tale of outrage and revenge is conceptually the most adult and brutal in the book, showing the inner core of righteousness that drives Hex, whatever his aspect and actions might hint to the contrary.
‘The Current War’ has an elegiac flavour of the Doomed Wild West and Hex gets an unsettling glimpse of things to come when he is hired to retrieve a prototype robot stolen from an inventor by Thomas Edison. Once more the cynical authorial voice of Gray and Palmiotti make this dark prophecy work in what should be an uncomfortable milieu.
Bernet returns to illustrate a superbly chilling tale of US Cavalry atrocity ‘Who Lïves and Who Dies’, to my mind the perfect modern Western tale before this volume concludes with a no-holds-barred supernatural thriller with art by David Michael Beck, ‘All Hallows Eve’.
Called to a haunted Saloon where ghostly spirit of Justice and sometime ally El Diablo (ISBN: 978-1-4012-1625-2) seeks his aid against the bloodthirsty Prairie Witch, Hex plus, in a delightful comic turn, cowboy vagabond Bat Lash, must defeat the harridan’s plot to bloodily sacrifice the entire town of Coffin Creek. In tone quite similar to a contemporary teen horror flick this too works perfectly as a vehicle for the best Western Anti-hero ever created.
Dark, bloody and wickedly funny this sly blend of action and social commentary is an unmissable treat for readers of an adult temperament and a open mind to genre-bending.
By Chester Gould, selected by Max Allan Collins and Dick Locher (Penguin)
ISBN: 978-0-14014-568-7
All in all comics have a pretty good track record on creating household names. We could play the game of picking the most well-known fictional characters on Earth (usually topped by Sherlock Holmes, Mickey Mouse, Superman and Tarzan) and in that list you’ll find Batman, Popeye, Blondie, Charlie Brown, Tintin, Spider-Man, Garfield, and not so much now – but once – Dick Tracy.
At the height of the Great Depression cartoonist Chester Gould was looking for strip ideas. The story goes that as a decent guy incensed by the exploits of gangsters (like Al Capone who monopolised the front pages of contemporary newspapers) he settled upon the only way a normal man could fight thugs: Passion and Public Opinion. Raised in Oklahoma, Gould was a Chicago resident and hated seeing his home town in the grip of such wicked men, with too many honest citizens beguiled by the gangsters’ charisma.
He decided to pictorially get it off his chest with a procedural crime thriller that championed the ordinary cops who protected civilisation. He took “Plainclothes Tracy†to legendary newspaperman and strips Svengali Captain Joseph Patterson, whose golden touch had blessed such strips as Gasoline Alley, The Gumps, Little Orphan Annie, Winnie Winkle, Smilin’ Jack, Moon Mullins and Terry and the Pirates among others. Casting his gifted eye on the work, Patterson renamed the hero Dick Tracy and revised his love interest into steady girlfriend Tess Truehart.
The series launched on October 4th 1931 through Patterson’s Chicago Tribune Syndicate and became a huge hit, with all the attendant media and merchandising hoopla that follows. Amidst the toys, games, movies, serials, animated features, TV shows et al, the strip soldiered on, influencing generations of creators and entertaining millions of fans. Recently IDW began reprinting the series – I’ll review those in greater depth when I eventually get my hands on them – but if you’ve never seen the original legend in action this collection, released to accompany the Warren Beatty movie in 1990 (and still readily available), is a great introduction.
Selected by Max Allen Collins and Dick Locher, who worked on the strip after Gould retired, it presents complete adventures from each decade of the strip’s existence (if the proposed sequel ever gets out of the courts and into production maybe a revised edition could cover the intervening years),and gives a grand overview of the development from radical ultra-violent adventure to forensic Police Procedural through increasingly fantastical science fiction and finally back-to-basics cop thriller under Collins’ own script tenure.
From the 1930s comes the memorable and uncharacteristic ‘The Hotel Murders’ (9th March – 27th April, 1936) as the determined cop solves a genuine mystery with a sympathetic antagonist instead of the usual unmitigated, unrepentant outlaw. Whodunits with clues, false trails and tests of wits were counter-productive in a slam-bang, daily strip with a large cast and soap-opera construction, but this necessarily short tale follows all the ground rules as Tracy, adopted boy side-kick Junior, special agent Jim Trailer and the boys on the force track down the killer of a notorious gambler.
The best case of the 1940s – and for many the best ever – was ‘The Brow’ (22nd May – 26th September, 1944) in which the team have to track down a ruthless and brilliant Nazi spy. As my own personal favourite I’m doing you all the favour of saying no more about this breathtaking yarn, and you’ll thank me for it, but I will say that this is a complete reprinting, as others have been edited for violence and one edition simply left out every Sunday instalment – which is my definition of brutal treatment.
By the 1950s Gould was at his creative peak. ‘Crewy Lou’ (22nd April – 4th November, 1951) and ‘Model’ (23rd January – 27th March, 1952) are perfect examples of the range of his abilities. The first is an epic of little crimes and criminals escalating into major menaces whilst the latter is another short shocker with the conservative Gould showing that social ills could still move him to action in a tale of juvenile delinquency as Junior grows into a teenager and experiences his first love affair.
As with many creators in it for the long haul the revolutionary 1960s were a harsh time for established cartoonists. Along with Milton Caniff’s Steve Canyon, Dick Tracy especially foundered in a social climate of radical change where the popular slogans included “Never trust anybody over 21†and “Smash the Establishmentâ€. The strip’s momentum faltered, perhaps as much from the move towards science fiction (Tracy moved into space and the character Moon Maid was introduced) as any old-fashioned attitudes.
In the era when strip proportions had begun to diminish as papers put advertising space above feature clarity, his artwork had attained dizzying levels of creativity: mesmerising, nigh-abstract concoctions of black and white that grabbed the eye no matter what size editors printed it. ‘Spots’ (3rd August – 30th November) 1960 comes from just before the worst excesses, but still displays the stark, chiaroscurist mastery in a terse thriller that shows the fundamental secret of Tracy’s success and longevity – Hot Pursuit wedded to Grim Irony.
The 1970s are represented by ‘Big Boy’s Open Contract’ (12th June – 30th December 1978) by Max Allen Collins and Rick Fletcher. Although he retired in 1977, Gould still consulted with the new creative team, and this third outing for the new guys saw the long awaited return of Big Boy, a thinly disguised Capone analogue Tracy had sent to prison at the very start of his career, whose last try for revenge tragically cost the hero a loved one and forever changed the strip.
The final tale representing the 1980s is ‘The Man of a Million Faces’ (October 5th 1987 – April 10th 1988) by Collins and Dick Locher, like Fletcher an art assistant to Gould who took up the master’s mantle. Despite the simply unimaginable variety of crimes and criminals Tracy has brought to book, this sneaky story of a bank robber and his perfect gimmick proves that sometimes the back to basics approach leads to the best results.
Dick Tracy is a milestone strip that has influenced all popular fiction, not simply comics. Baroque villains, outrageous crimes and fiendish death-traps pollinated the work of numerous strips such as Batman, but his studied use – and startlingly accurate predictions – of crime fighting technology and techniques gave the world a taste of cop thrillers, police procedurals and forensic mysteries such as CSI.
This is a fantastically readable strip and this chronological Primer is a wonderful way to ease yourself into his stark, no-nonsense, Tough-love, Hard Justice world.
