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Moomin volume 9 – The Complete Lars Jansson Comic Strip


By Lasse Lars Jansson (Drawn & Quarterly)
ISBN: 978-1-77046-157-4 (HB) eISBN: 978-1-77046-556-5-

Today 25-years ago in Helsinki Lars Fredrik Jansson died. His work and that of his sister lives on.

Tove Jansson was one of the greatest literary innovators and narrative pioneers of the 20th century: equally adept at shaping words and images to create worlds of wonder. She was especially expressive with basic components like pen & ink, manipulating economical lines and patterns into sublime realms of fascination, whilst her dexterity made simple forms into incredibly expressive and potent symbols. So was her brother…

Tove Marika Jansson was born into an artistic, intellectual and rather bohemian Swedish family in Helsinki, Finland on August 9th 1914. Patriarch Viktor was a sculptor and mother Signe Hammarsten-Jansson a successful illustrator, graphic designer and commercial artist. Tove’s brothers Lars AKA “Lasse” and Per Olov became – respectively – an author and cartoonist, and an art photographer. The family and its close intellectual, eccentric circle of friends seems to have been cast rather than born, with a witty play or challenging sitcom as the piece they were all destined to inhabit.

After extensive and intensive study (from 1930-1938 at the University College of Arts, Crafts and Design, Stockholm, Graphic School of the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts and L’Ecole d’Adrien Holy and L’Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris), she became a successful exhibiting artist through the troubled years of WWII.

Brilliantly creative across many fields, she published her first Moomins fable in 1945. Småtrollen och den stora översvämningen (The Little Trolls and the Great Flood – latterly and more euphoniously The Moomins and the Great Flood) was a whimsical epic of gentle, inclusive, accepting, understanding, bohemian misfit trolls and their strange friends…

The term “Moomin” came from maternal uncle Einar Hammarsten who tried to stop Tove pilfering food when she visited by warning that a Moomintroll guarded the kitchen, creeping up on trespassers and breathing cold air down their necks… you can check out our other reviews such as Christmas Comes to Moominvalley for how the critter became a mega franchise and proto-mythology. Here and now, let’s discuss how Lars got involved…

More popular with each successive book, global fame loomed. And in 1952 Finn Family Moomintroll/The Happy Moomins was translated into English to great acclaim, prompting British publishing giant Associated Press to commission a daily newspaper strip starring the seductively sweet & sensibly surreal creations. Jansson had no misgivings or prejudices about strip cartoons as she had already adapted Comet in Moominland for Swedish/Finnish paper Ny Tid. Mumintrollet och jordens undergäng/Moomintrolls and the End of the World was hugely popular and she welcomed the chance to extend her eclectic family’s range. In 1953, The London Evening News began the first of 21 Moomin strip sagas which captivated readers of all ages. Tove Jansson’s involvement in the cartoon ended in 1959, a casualty of its own success and the punishing publication schedule. So great was the strain that she had already recruited brother Lars to help. He quietly took over, continuing the feature until its close in 1975. His tenure as sole creator officially began with the sixth collection in this series and reaches its penultimate volume here…

Liberated from cartooning pressures, Tove returned to painting, writing and other pursuits: generating plays, murals, public art, stage designs, costumes for dramas and ballets, a Moomin opera and 9 more Moomin-related picture-books and novels, as well as 13 books and short-story collections strictly for grown-ups. She died on June 27th 2001, with awards too numerous to mention, and her face on the national currency…

Lars Fredrik Jansson (October 8th 1926 – July 31st 2000) was almost as amazing as his sister. Born into that astounding overachieving clan 12 years after Tove, at 16 he started writing – and selling – his own novels (nine in total). He also taught himself English because there weren’t enough Swedish-language translations of books available for his voracious reading appetite. In 1956 at his sister’s request he began co-scripting the Moomin strip: injecting his own witty whimsicality to ‘Moomin Goes Wild West’. He had been Tove’s English language translator and sense-reader from the start, seamlessly converting her Swedish into text and balloons even the British could grasp.

In 1959, when her contract with The London Evening News expired, Lars officially took over, having spent the interim period learning to draw and perfectly mimic his sister’s art style. He had done so in secret, assisted and tutored by their mother Signe Hammarsten-Jansson. From 1961 to strip’s end in 1974, Lars was sole steersman of trollish tabloid tails (I fear that could be much misconstrued these days…).

“Lasse” was a man of many parts. Other careers included aerial photographer, professional gold miner, writer and translator. He was basis and model for ultimate cool kid Snufkin and his Moomins exploits were subtly sharper than his sister’s version: far more in tune with the quirky British sense of humour. Nevertheless, his whimsically wry sense of wonder was every bit as compelling. In 1990, long after the original series, Lasse began a new career, working with Dennis Livson (designer of Finland’s acclaimed Moomin World theme park) as producers of anime series The Moomins and, with daughter Sophia Jansson in 1993, on new Moomin strips…

Moomintrolls are easy-going free spirits: polite modern bohemians untroubled by hidebound domestic mores but under Lars, increasingly diverted and distracted by societal pressures. Moominmama is warm, kindly tolerant and capable, if perhaps overly concerned with propriety and appearances, whilst her devoted spouse Moominpappa spends most of his time trying to rekindle his adventurous youth or dreaming of fantastic journeys. Their darling son Moomintroll is a meek, dreamy boy with confusing ambitions who adores – and moons over – permanent houseguest the Snorkmaiden – although that impressionable, flighty gamin prefers to play things slowly whilst awaiting somebody potentially better…

A particularly acerbic affair, this 9th monochrome compilation revisits serial strip sagas #34-37, and opens with Lars in full charge as confusion blooms with the arrival of cinematic thespians and sundry other playactors all concerned with immortalising a ‘Damsel in Distress’.

Sadly our happy family and most of Moominvalley are utter neophytes regarding the miracles of the moving image and understandable initial confusion soon grows into envy, dangerous jealousy, unleashed ambition and when Moominpappa leaps to a wrong conclusion, frustrated heroism and vigilantism once the old stalwart spots ladies tied to railway tracks and caped mustachio-twirling figures lurking about…

No soon does that furore die down than domestic strife manifests as ‘Fuddler and Married Life’ finds the androgynous collector and equally ambiguous new spouse Jumble exploit everyone’s goodwill and happy wishes to unwisely expand their personal button collection into a rapacious runaway commercial enterprise that soon leaves them homeless and straining the good will of all around them. Luckily, Moominmamma is on hand to take over babysitting chores whilst the drama sorts itself out…

Rampant unchecked capitalism gone mad is also the order (to go) of the day in ‘Sniff’s Sports Shop’ as the exceptionally shy and nervous critter inherits a thriving activities emporium from an uncle whose sole previous contact was a monthly stipend for staying the full length of the valley away from him…

Moomin is there to support Sniff’s crash course in commercial enterprise and unwise quest for a game or endeavour he can take up as his very own, but the escalating chaos inevitably ends in tizzies, higgledy-piggledy behaviours, embarrassment and injury, before the sporting mogul wisely calls it a day…

Concluding proceedings is the sorry salutary saga of ‘Mymble’s Diamond’ wherein the impulsive, impressionable, incurable romantic shows everyone the flashy ring she’s been given by latest flame Rinaldo, and certain tongues begin wagging once again…

Soon the valley is afire with stridently expressed opinions and mounting certainty that “something should be done”, but what and to whom and – for pity’s sake – why?

A cautionary tale exploring the power of gossip and apparently irresistible need for some to judge others, here is a perfect example of cartoons’ power for cultural commentary and social satire, and a splendid place to pause and think quietly for a moment…

This compilation again closes with a closer look at the creator in ‘Lars Jansson: Roll Up Your Sleeves and Get to Work’ courtesy of family biographer Juhani Tolvanen, extolling his many worthy attributes…

These are utterly, adorably barbed tales for the young, laced with the devastating observation and razor-sharp mature wit which enhances and elevates only the greatest kids’ stories into classics of literature. These tomes – both Tove & Lars’ – are an international treasure trove no fan of the medium – or carbon-based lifeform with even a hint of heart and soul – can afford to be without.
© 2013 Solo/Bulls. “Lars Jansson: Roll Up Your Sleeves and Get to Work” © 2011/2013 Juhani Tolvanen. All rights reserved.

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War Picture Library: The Crimson Sea


By Hugo Pratt, Fred Baker, Donne Avenell, Alf Wallace, E. Evans, W. Howard Baker, with Allan Harvey & various (Rebellion Studios/Treasury of British Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-83786-199-6 (HB/Digital Edition)

This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times.

Born in Rimini, Ugo Eugenio Prat, AKA Hugo Pratt (June 15th 1927 – August 20th 1995) spent his early life wandering the world, in the process becoming one of its paramount comics creators. From the start his enthralling graphic inventions like initial hit Ace of Spades (in 1945, whilst still studying at the Venice Academy of Fine Arts) were many and varied. His signature character – based in large part on his exotic formative years – is mercurial soldier/sailor) of fortune Corto Maltese.

Pratt was a consummate storyteller with a unique voice and a stark expressionistic graphic style that should not work, but so wonderfully does: combining pared-down, relentlessly modernistic narrative style with memorable characters, always complex whilst bordering on the archetypical. After working in Argentinean and – from 1959 – English comics like UK top gun Battler Briton, and on combat stories for extremely popular digest novels in assorted series such as War Picture Library, Battle Picture Library, War at Sea Picture Library and more – Pratt settled in Italy, and later France. In 1967, with Florenzo Ivaldi, he produced a number of series for monthly comic Sgt. Kirk.

In addition to the Western lead feature, he also created pirate feature Capitan Cormorand, detective feature Lucky Star O’Hara, and moody South Seas saga Una Ballata del Mare Salato (A Ballad of the Salty Sea). When that gig ended in 1970, Pratt remodelled one of Una Ballata’s characters for French weekly Pif Gadget before eventually settling in with the new guy at legendary Belgian periodical Le Journal de Tintin. Corto Maltese proved as much a Wild Rover in reality as in his historic and eventful career…

In Britain, Pratt found richly adventurous pickings in our ubiquitous mini-comic books such as Super Picture Library, Air Ace Picture Library, Action Picture Library and Thriller Picture Library: half-sized, 64-page monochrome booklets with glossy soft paper covers containing lengthy complete stories of 1-3 panels per page. These were regularly recycled and reformatted, but the stories gathered here – from War Picture Library #50, 40, 58 & 92 – have only appeared once… until now…

Whilst we’re being all factual and ethical, it’s only fair and honest to state here that all these lost graphic classics have been restored by our own Allan Harvey, so if you can find him feel free to gift him with a cup of tea and a ship’s biscuit or two…

Resurrected & repackaged by Rebellion Studios for their Treasury of British Comics imprint, the quartet of gritty, no-nonsense war dramas of men against the enemy and their own flawed natures begins with eponymous oceanic saga The Crimson Sea, published in May 1960 in WPL #50. Scripted by editorial assistant Fred Baker to match tone & timbre of contemporary war films – back when he still freelanced on the side before becoming manager of Fleetway’s romance comics division – this terse taut odyssey of error and redemption is a drama-drenched family tale of brothers serving aboard the same convoy escort ship.

Baker’s writing credits include Martin’s Marvellous Mini, Skid Solo, Tommy’s Troubles, His Sporting Lordship, Skid Kids, Hot-Shot Hamish and much more for weekly titles including Lion, Tiger, Buster, Hurricane, Thunder, Valiant, New Eagle, Scorcher, Chips, Radio Fun, Film Fun, Valentine and Roy of the Rovers). Fred Baker died on 4th June 2008.

When HMS Grapnel is holed in 1942, younger sibling and junior ship’s telegrapher & W/T officer Peter Wayman is severely traumatised after being ordered – and expected – to remain at his post deep in the Destroyer’s bowels as it slowly sinks.

Lieutenant Dave Wayman is with him, secretly carrying out his panic-stricken younger brother’s duties until the end. After both are miraculously rescued, Peter descends into a spiral of guilt-fuelled self-loathing. Even though Dave does everything to help, all the younger son sees is shame and disgusting pity: forces that dog him over the following months whilst he retrains as a Landing Craft pilot, and exacerbated by big brother solicitously transferring along with him to “look after him”. Inevitably the war forces Peter to relive his worst moment, but it also gives him a chance to redeem himself in his own eyes… and he takes it…

Grittily authentic, the spectacle and scale of sea battles and harbour raids is perfectly balanced with dark passion and human frailty, and even though the yarn provides a plot twist happy ending (this is for kids, remember?) The Crimson Sea is a worthy match for any 1960s movie – especially with Hugo Pratt “art directing” at his peak…

Air war grips us for the next tale in this bumper compilation as E. Evans & Alf Wallace co-write the exploits of a displaced Australian bush pilot in ‘Pathfinder’: a tale of frustration, prejudice, battle fatigue and ultimate triumph first seen in February 1960’s WPL #40.

During the 1960s Alfred “Alf” Wallace was Managing Editor of Odhams and part of the triumvirate – with Bob “Bart” Bartholemew & Albert “Cos” Cosser – who brought Marvel Comics to Britain in the Short-lived Power Comics imprint. He apparently didn’t write much, but when he did, the results (like immortal classic The Missing Link/Johnny Future) were unmissable. Sadly, I can offer even less about his collaborator Evans here. Perhaps one day…

Commercial pilot Henri le Jeune despised Japan’s sneaky tactics at Pearl Harbor and Manila and swiftly enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force to make them pay. Sadly, his gifts were too valuable to a global war effort and he was posted to Britain, firstly as a fighter pilot and – after much unpleasantness – to Bomber Command. Boisterous, ill-disciplined and arrogant, this squarest of pegs in a succession of extremely round holes was also ridiculously unlucky, caught up in friendly fire incidents and constant squabbles with superior officers. This led to frequent Boards of Enquiry, where he was generally vindicated but somehow always remained shunned and popularly vilified…

It eventually led to Le Jeune flying Lancasters, but also into conflict with a CO who had flown too many missions and was falling apart on the job, ending in vindication of a sort following a calamitous night raid on the factories of Essen…

Author and journalist Arthur Atwill William “Bill” Baker was born in Cork on October 3rd 1925, not long after the partition and foundation of the nation of Ireland. He fought for Great Britain in WWII and, after becoming a globetrotting freelance foreign correspondent in the immediate aftermath, eventually settled in London. He became an editor for Panther Books, and wrote many Sexton Blake novels before becoming the franchise editor in 1955. As the Controlling Group Editor at Fleetway, he launched the Air Ace Picture Library line whilst continuing to write content and full stories for War Picture Library.

In 1963, when Fleetway axed Sexton Blake, Baker acquired all rights and continued the series as independent publisher Howard Baker Books until 1969, and whilst writing genre novels under many pen names, also embarked on the massive task of reprinting the entire run of classic boys story-paper The Magnet (home of Billy Bunter). He died just short of his goal in 1991, having published 1520 of the 1683 issues in hardback collections.

His script for WPL #58 (July 1960) provides rollicking, relatively uncomplicated action as ‘Up the Marines!’ follows Royal Marine Commandos on various lethal and perilous missions, employing kayaking skills and deadly combat training to harry German shipping and shore-bases behind enemy lines, and concentrates on veteran RMC Sergeant Alan Swift, who loses a comrade – and subsequently his nerve and initiative – on a raid. Highly decorated but plagued by what we now know as PTSD, Swift’s career is saved when the fallen hero’s younger brother Teddy joins his unit just in time to play a crucial role in the D-Day landings…

Final mission ‘Dark Judgment’ premiered in War Picture Library #92 (April 1961), written by Donne Avenell, who began his strips career in Amalgamated Press’ editorial department, long before it evolved into Fleetway and ultimately IPC. Avenell’s first tales were for household name Radio Fun but briefly paused whilst he participated in WWII. Born in Croydon in 1925, Avenell served with the Royal Navy, before resuming publishing: editing an AP architectural magazine whilst pursuing writing for radio dramas and romances under many pseudonyms. By the 1950s, he was back in comics on top titles including War Picture Library and Lion; scribing sagas of The Spider, Adam Eterno, Phantom Viking, Oddball Oates and more. Avenell co-wrote major international features like Buffalo Bill, Helgonet (The Saint) and Lee Falk’s The Phantom for Swedish publisher Semic and devised the Django and Angel strip, whilst toiling on assorted licensed Disney strips. In 1975, with Norman Worker, he co-wrote Nigeria’s Powerman comic which helped launch the careers of Brian Bolland and Dave Gibbons. Avenell was equally at home on newspaper strips such as Axa (1978-1986, drawn by Enrique Romero); Tiffany Jones and John M. Burns’ Eartha whilst also working in television, on shows like The Saint plus their subsequent novelisations. He died in 1996.

Here, the setting is Nazi-occupied Greece in 1942 where ancient themes of suspicion and mistrust grip members of the Special Boat Section after they pick up two escaped POWs who have swum away from a prison camp on Rhodes. Able Seaman Sam Turner is stolidly ordinary and dependable, but his fellow fugitive – Richard Hasler, Lieutenant, R.N.V.R. – is decidedly odd. Some of the rescue crew have even heard him speaking German…

As the SBS officers probe the escapees for useful intel on the camp or other potential high value targets, Lieutenant Tod Fielding and his superior Major Adam Perry form diametrically opposed views on Hasler and everything he has told them. Despite fear of espionage and betrayal rife the war must go on and dramatic proof – one way or the other – can only come after the roving unit commits to a large and risky operation on Rhodes, with both Hasler and Turner employed as guides…

Dramatic and searingly tense if a little predictable, this yarn allows Pratt to make magic with his mastery of shadows and negative space with breathtaking effect.

Packed with powerful, exhilarating action and adventure and exactly what you’d expect from a kids’ comic crafted to sell in the heyday of UK war films commemorating a conflict their parents and relatives lived through, this is another bombastic artistic triumph equipped at the end with the original eye-catching painted covers: two by Giorgio De Gaspari (War Picture Library #40 and 58); one by Septimus E. Scott (WPL #50); plus War Picture Library #92’s team effort from “Creazioni D’Ami” as well the standard ads for other publications and creator biographies.

Potent, powerful, genre-blending and irresistibly cathartic, these are brilliant examples of the British Comics experience. If you are a connoisseur of graphic thrills and dramatic tension – utterly unmissable.
© 1960, 1961, 2024 Rebellion Publishing IP Ltd. All rights reserved.

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Guardians of the Galaxy Epic Collection volume 2: Quest for the Shield (1978 – 1990)


By Jim Shooter, David Michelinie, Chris Claremont, Mark Gruenwald, Jim Valentino, Roger Stern, George Pérez, Bill Mantlo, Allyn Brodsky, Ralph Macchio, Sal Buscema, Dave Wenzel, John Byrne, Mike Vosburg, Bob McLeod, Jerry Bingham, Ron Wilson, Pablo Marcos, Klaus Janson, Gene Day, Bruce Patterson, Steve Montano, Win Mortimer, Josef Rubinstein, Dan Green, Rick Bryant, Ricardo Villamonte & various (MARVEL)
ISBN: 978-1-3029-5641-7 (TPB/Digital edition)

This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times.

There are two distinct and separate iterations of the Guardians of the Galaxy. The films concentrated on the second, but with inescapable connections between them and the stellar stalwarts here so pay close attention. The original comic book team were freedom fighters united to defeat a reptilian invasion by aggressive aliens The Badoon a thousand years from the present. The other were a later conception: springing out of contemporary crises seen in The Annihilation publishing event.

This treasury of torrid tales gathers landmark moments of the 31st century centurions, as seen in Avengers #167-168,170-177 & 181; Ms. Marvel #23; Marvel Team-Up #86; Marvel Two-In-One #61-63 & 69 plus an almost modern half dozen issues of 1990s sensation Guardians of the Galaxy, collaboratively and episodically spanning January 1978 through November 1990.

It features a radically different set-up than that of the silver screen stars, but is grand comic book sci fi fare all the same. One thing to recall at all times, though, is that there are two teams. Never the twain shall meet…until they one day did but not here…

The resistance unit comprised Charlie-27 – a heavy-gravity miner/militia-man from Jupiter and crystalline scientist Martinex from Pluto. Both are examples of radical human genetic engineering: subspecies designed to populate and colonise Sol system’s outer planets but now possibly the last of their kinds. They were joined in the struggle by 1000-year-old Earthman Major Vance Astro and Alpha Centauri aborigine Yondu. Astro had been humanity’s first intersolar astronaut; flying alone in cold sleep to Centauri at a plodding fraction of the speed of light. When he got there 10 centuries later, humanity was waiting for him, having cracked transluminal speeds only two centuries after he blasted off…

A legion of contemporary heroes eventually helped banish the Badoon and save 31st century humanity, but peace was unsettling for the Guardians, so they flew off in search of adventure. Along the way they picked up last Mercurian Nikki and a weird space-god calling him/herself Starhawk. The radically different roster are astoundingly out of their depth as we open with an extended tour of duty beside their 20th century inspirations, courtesy of Jim Shooter, George Pérez & Pablo Marcos: embroiling the World’s Mightiest Heroes of two eras in a sprawling tale of universal conquest opening in Avengers #167-168 (April & May 1978) before – after a brief pause – resuming for #170 through 177…

Previously, a difference of opinion between Captain America and Iron Man over leadership styles had begun polarising the team. Tensions started to show in ‘Tomorrow Dies Today!’ with a reminder that in the Gods-&-Monsters-filled Marvel Universe there are entrenched and jealous Hierarchies of Power. Thus, when a new player mysteriously and clandestinely materialises in the 20th century the very Fabric of Reality is threatened. The plot begins to unravel when the Guardians of the Galaxy materialise in Earth orbit, having hotly pursued cyborg despot Korvac through time. Inadvertently setting off planetary incursion alarms, their moon-sized vessel Drydock is swiftly boarded by Avengers, where, after the customary introductory squabble, the future heroes wearily explain the purpose of their mission. Captain America had fought beside the chronal champions to liberate their home era and Thor had faced fugitive Korvac before, so peace rapidly breaks out, but even with the home team’s full resources the time travellers are unable to locate their quarry. Meanwhile on Earth, mysterious being Michael is lurking in the background. At a fashion show staged by The Wasp he compels a psychic communion with model Carina Walters and they both vanish…

Avengers #168 sees ‘First Blood’ drawn, stirring up more trouble as Federal liaison/hidebound martinet Henry Peter Gyrich starts making life bureaucratically hot for the USA’s uncooperative heroes. In Colorado, Hawkeye gets a shock as his travelling partner Two-Gun Kid vanishes before his eyes and in suburban Forest Hills, Starhawk – as Aleta (the female iteration of their shared form Aleta) – approaches a sedate residence. Michael/Korvac’s scheme consists of subtly altering events whilst secretly gathering strength in preparation for a sneak attack on the 20th century’s Cosmic Hierarchies and all revolves around not being noticed until he is too powerful to stop. However, when Starhawk confronts the future fugitive, Michael kills the intruder and instantly resurrects him/them, but without the ability to perceive the assailant or any of his works…

After a 2-issue break forced by deadline problems, Shooter, Pérez & Marcos pick up the drama in #170 with ‘…Though Hell Should Bar the Way!’ As Sentinel of Liberty & Golden Avenger finally settle their differences, in Inhuman city Attilan, former Avenger Quicksilver suddenly disappears even as dormant mechanoid Jocasta (created by malign AI Ultron to be his bride) goes on a rampage and escapes into New York City. In stealthy pursuit and hoping her trail will lead to Ultron, the Avengers stride into a fiendish trap ‘…Where Angels Fear to Tread’, but triumph anyway thanks to the hex powers of the Scarlet Witch, the assistance of pushy, no-nonsense new hero Ms. Marvel and Jocasta’s own rebellion against the metal monster who made her. However, at their moment of triumph the team are stunned to witness Cap & Jocasta wink out of existence…

Problems pile on in #172 as watchdog-come-gadfly Gyrich is roughly manhandled and captured by out-of-the-loop returnee Hawkeye and responds by rescinding the team’s Federal clearances. Thus handicapped, the Avengers are unable to warn other inactive members of the rapidly increasing disappearances as a squad of heavy-hitters rush off to tackle marauding Atlantean maverick Tyrak the Treacherous, bloodily instigating a ‘Holocaust in New York Harbor!’ (Shooter, Sal Buscema & Klaus Janson)…

Answers to the growing mystery are finally forthcoming in ‘Threshold of Oblivion!’ – plotted by Shooter, with David Michelinie scripting for Sal Buscema & D(iverse) Hands to illustrate. As vanishings escalate, the remaining Avengers (Thor, The Wasp, Hawkeye & Iron Man), with the assistance of Vance Astro, track their hidden foe and beam into a cloaked starship to liberate the ‘Captives of the Collector!’ (Shooter, Bill Mantlo, Dave Wenzel & Marcos).

After a staggering struggle, the heroes triumph and their old arch-nemesis reveals a shocking truth: he is in fact an Elder of the Universe who foresaw cosmic doom eons previously and sought to preserve special artefacts and creatures – such as the Avengers – from the inexorable but slowly approaching apocalypse. As he reveals that long-anticipated Armageddon is imminent and that he has sent his own daughter Carina to infiltrate The Enemy’s stronghold, the cosmic Noah is obliterated in a devastating blast of energy. The damage, however, is done, and the entrenched Hierarchies of Creation may have been alerted to the threat of an interloper…

Avengers #175 triggers the final countdown as ‘The End… and Beginning!’ (Shooter, Michelinie, Wenzel & Marcos) has the amassed ranks of Avengers & Guardians following clues to Michael even as the new god shares the incredible secret of his apotheosis with Carina. ‘The Destiny Hunt!’ and ‘The Hope… and the Slaughter!’ (Shooter, Wenzel, Marcos & Ricardo Villamonte) depicts the legion of champions destroyed and resurrected as Michael casually overpowers all opposition before faltering at the crucial moment for lack of one fundamental failing…

Despite being somewhat let down by the illustration after the magnificent Pérez gave way to less inspired hands like Buscema, Wenzel & Tom Morgan, and cursed by the inability to keep a regular inker (Marcos, Janson, Villamonte & Morgan all pitched in), the sheer scope of the epic nevertheless carries this tale through to its cataclysmic and fulfilling conclusion. Even Shooter’s reluctant replacement by scripters Michelinie & Mantlo as his editorial career advanced couldn’t derail this juggernaut of adventure. If you want to see what makes Superhero fiction work, and can keep track of nearly two dozen flamboyant characters, this is a fine example of how to make such an unwieldy proposition easily accessible to the new and returning reader.

Some months later Avengers #181 introduced new creative team Michelinie & John Byrne, augmented by inker Gene Day, as ‘On the Matter of Heroes!’ sees Agent Gyrich lay down the law and winnow the costumed army down to a manageable, federally-acceptable seven heroes. With the Guardians of the Galaxy soon headed back to the future, Iron Man, Vision, Captain America, Scarlet Witch, Beast & The Wasp must placate Hawkeye after he is rejected in favour of new member The Falcon – parachuted in to satisfy government affirmative action quotas…

However, before the Guardians finally depart they interact with a few more 20th century stars beginning with Ms. Marvel in ‘The Woman Who Fell to Earth’ (#23, April 1979 by Chris Claremont, Mike Vosburg & Bruce D. Patterson). When alien conqueror The Faceless One seizes control of Drydock, crusader-in-crisis Carol Danvers teams up with Vance Astro to expel the invader, after which Marvel Team-Up #86 (October 1979), shows undercover Guardians Starhawk, Nikki & Martinex stumbling over Spider-Man whilst attempting to eradicate evidence of their existence. The main threat as delineated by Claremont & Bob McLeod comes from a nefarious armaments company Deterrence Research Corporation who want to steal Drydock but the hardest part of the mission is preventing an ambitious reporter exposing the mission of the future heroes and publishing the ‘Story of the Year!’

Slightly out of chronology – but that’s time travel all over, right? – the remainder of this collection is given over to team-ups with old Guardians ally Ben Grimm, the Fantastic Four’s titanic Thing. An extended interstellar epic opens in Marvel Two-In-One #61 with ‘The Coming of Her!’ (Mark Gruenwald, Jerry Bingham & Day) as time-travelling space god Starhawk becomes involved in the birth of a female counterpart to man-made man-god Adam Warlock. The distaff genetic paragon awakes fully empowered and instantly starts searching for her predecessor, dragging Ben’s girlfriend Alicia Masters & mind goddess Moondragon (a future member of the 21st century Guardians of the Galaxy) across the solar system, arriving where issue #62 observes ‘The Taking of Counter-Earth!’ Hot on their heels, Thing & Starhawk catch Her just as the runaway women encounter a severely wounded High Evolutionary and discover the facsimile Earth built by that self-made god has been stolen…

United in mystery, the odd grouping trail the planet out of the galaxy and expose the incredible perpetrators, but Her’s desperate quest to secure her predestined, purpose-grown mate ultimately ends in tragedy as she learns ‘Suffer Not a Warlock to Live!’…

Marvel Two-In-One #69 (November 1980, by Gruenwald, Ralph Macchio, Ron Wilson & Day), then finds Ben clashing with the still time-displaced Guardians of the Galaxy whilst striving to prevent the end of everything. ‘Homecoming!’ finds millennial man Vance Astro ready to endanger all of existence by trying to stop his younger self ever going into space, and making his/their life the epitome of pointless misery. With nature running wild and all New York’s heroes battling the chaos, and with Ben adding his hard-earned experience to the debate, Vance does and does not succeed…

The journey home clearly took a little while. This much reprinted saga here concludes with the first mission of the returned time-travellers in their origin era. It comes from Guardians of the Galaxy volume 1, #1-6 by rising star Jim Valentino and inker Steve Montano which were originally released almost a decade later with cover-dates/June-November 1990. Heartily embracing the notion of a full and fully-connected Marvel Universe continuity one thousand years later, the restored warriors Starhawk/Aleta, Major Vance, Charlie-27, Nikki and new leader Martinex, emerge in full fight mode in 3017 AD, battling to save the defenceless superstitious and xenophobic citizens of Courg from resource plunderers. The war is going well until the cyborg invaders unleash a super-warrior who seems familiar to the chrononauts…

‘… But Are They Ready for… Taserface!’ sees extended clashes lead to defeat and separation, at the hands of The Stark: a race who lucked into Iron Man technology in their distant past and developed it into an interstellar cult of conquest. As the Guardians resist the Stark, Yondu – long believing himself the last of his species – succumbs to despondency on learning that there is another: a female, but one who has abandoned the Spirtuality of Anthos as described in the Book of Antag…

That holy tome had inspired the team’s latest quest, and propelled them into the vast trackless void in search of a legendary artefact promising invincibility for its holder which Vance had reasoned could only be the lost shield of Captain America. Sadly, the myths around the disk had also inspired other, less nostalgic or altruistic searchers…

The saga takes a violent downturn in second chapter ‘The Stark Truth!’ as Taserface is reinforced by a cadre of super-cyborgs resulting in increased warfare and the catastrophic sundering of Aleta and Starhawk (AKA Stakar) into separates bodies. The worsening situation is soon exacerbated far, far away by the momentous meeting of Firelord – current Protector of the Universe (and extremely mellow former herald of Galactus) with another shield-seeking crew…

Force are also a disparate squad of super-powered beings from various worlds, but are ruthless bloody mercenaries, led by scheming elemental transmuter Interface who intends to use the shield to become an even bloodier, more unstoppable marauder. His team are a match for any martial power in space, consisting of old Guardians’ foe Brahl the Intangible; enigmatic Tachyon; “pink Kree” Eighty Five; mutant Zn’rx/Snark tracker Scanner; gravity-warping Broadside and outcast mutant Centauran Photon, who had rejected all of her expired race’s ideals just as they had rejected her…

On Courg, ‘Split Decision’ left both halves of Starhawk relatively unharmed, but as Aleta pitched in against the Stark, the cosmic “One Who Knows” suddenly flees the planet and as abruptly returns with a crucial ally (and future teammate) in ‘…And Then Came the Firelord!’ Soon, with Taserface maimed and the Stark reprimanded and ignominiously repelled, the reunited Guardians are following in new spaceship The Captain America II, solving ancient clues to their final destination. That is Mainframe, a sentient world inextricably linked to Earth in the long-ended Age of Heroes. Sadly Interface and Photon have deduced the same location and ‘A Force to Reckon With!’ finds the heroes and villains competing in bizarre gladiatorial combats with unguessable rules and scoring systems for the mystic prize…

The contest ends with plenty of revelations but as no one could have predicted even though ‘… And to the Victor… The Shield!’ ultimately sees Vance Astro in possession of the only other known relic of the 20th century.

The Beginning…

Supplementing these much-reprinted yarns is Valentino’s serialised text partwork The History of the Guardians of the Galaxy from #1-4, preceded by a variety of collection covers that graced earlier collections: Perez’s 1991 Avengers: The Korvac Saga accompanied by that book’s new framing sequence from Mark Gruenwald & Tom Morgan. Also here is the GotG’s only other 80’s appearance – one panel on one page of John Byrne & Al Gordon’s Sensational She-Hulk #6 (1989).

Enhancing the info levels are a burst of pages from Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe (1983) briefing us on Charlie-27, Martinex, Nikki, Starhawk, Vance & Yondu; their ship Freedom’s Lady; The Collector and Korvac, followed by their entries from OHMU (Deluxe Edition) illustrated by Al Milgrom, Elliot R. Brown, Dennis Jensen & Josef Rubinstein. Behind the scenes data comes via interviews culled from Marvel Age #86 & 88 before Valentino & Montano’s cover for Guardians of the Galaxy: Quest for the Shield original TPB and Overstreet’s Price Update by Valentino & Jeff Albrecht prior to a gallery of original art by Byrne, Day, Valentino & Montano’s and more Korvac collected covers by Pérez, John Romita, Jr., Joe Rosas, Terry Austin, Thomas Mason, John Kalisz, Tom Chu, Dave Kemp, Valentino & Matt Milla.

A bombastic, drama-drenched, star-roving romp, this is a non-stop feast of tense suspense and blockbuster action: a well-tailored, on-target tool to turn curious movie-goers into fans of the comic incarnation and another solid sampling to entice newcomers and charm even the most jaded interstellar Fights ‘n’ Tights fanatic…
© 2025 MARVEL.

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Batman: The Dark Knight Archives volume 8


By Bob Kane, Don Cameron, Bill Finger, Joe Samachson, Alvin Schwartz, Dick Sprang, Jerry Robinson, Ray Burnley & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-3744-8 (HB)

This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times.

It’s an absolute crime that the comics stories of Richard W. Sprang have never been gathered in a properly curated edition. On the 110th anniversary of his birth in Fremont, Ohio, I’m flogging another dead comics horse by re-reviewing one of my favourite collections, but even that is a venue he shared with others. Surely his astounding, compelling contributions particularly to DC key icons Batman & Superman have earned him a dedicated Sprang Legends or Tales of omnibus or compendium?

Dick Sprang (July 28th 1915 – May 10th 2000) began earning money from art and narrative early on, working as a designer and illustrator in Ohio whilst still in high school: editing and contributing art to magazines and pulps from the early 1930s onwards. On graduation in 1934 he joined the bullpen of Toledo, Ohio publishing chain Scripps-Howard delivering deadline-busting ads, editorial cartoons and illustrations. Working with the company engravers Sprang mastered every aspect of print technology before moving to New York City in 1936 to illustrate pulps – everything from westerns to detective to general adventure yarns.

Regular clints included Popular Detective, Popular Western, Phantom Detective, G-Men, Detective Novels Magazine, Crack Detective & Black Hood Detective/Hooded Detective, for which he also wrote stories. In 1937, Sprang began ghosting/assisting on newspaper strips including Secret Agent X-9 and The Lone Ranger, which led to his scripting episodes of the latter’s radio show.

As pulps declined and comic books proliferated, he capitalised on the trend, forming a studio shop with Ed Kressy (Fact Finders, The Lone Ranger, Power Nelson) & Norman Fallon (Speed Comics, Shock Gibson, World’s Finest Comics). In 1941 they were hired by DC supremo Whitney Ellsworth who anticipated with dread Bob Kane being drafted. The trio began crafting inventory material to offset that inevitable day, which gradually slipped out over the course of the conflict. His first newsstand appearance was on part of the cover for Batman #18 (August/September 1943) whilst his first full outing was the next issue. For Batman #19, he pencilled all four stories and the cover, but only inked the first three (!) leaving Fallon to embellish the fourth yarn. By 1946, and although utterly uncredited, Sprang was the leading artist on Batman comic book material, which marrying and moving to Sedona, Arizona barely impacted. In fact, he taught commercial photographer/new bride Lora Ann Neusiis to letter and colour his pages and, as “Pat Gordon”, she took off some of the load until their divorce in 1951. Gordon carried on working for DC until around 1961…

In 1955, despite still being unknown to fans, Sprang took on the Superman/Batman team-up feature in World Finest Comics and soldiered on with it, newspaper strips, countless covers and more. His astounding artistry enhanced DC titles for 20 years, including Real Fact Comics #1–3, 18, Strange Adventures #1, Superman, Superman’s Girl Friend, Lois Lane & Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen, and he fully recreated Batman’s look for the forward-facing 1950s, with a new Batplane, Batmobile and other paraphernalia. Sprang’s Joker was definitive and he also co-created the Riddler and the character who became Supergirl.

That all ended on his retirement in 1963. When he wasn’t beguiling sedentary adventure fans, Sprang had become a noted explorer and historian of Arizona, Utah and Colorado, and happily commenced a career that brought him the fame comics hadn’t. His many celebrated discoveries and contributions are on show at Northern Arizona Universities Cline Library Special Collections in Flagstaff and the Utah Historical Society in Salt Lake City.

Under recommendation here in my What the £*^&$!? section is a tome chockfull of Sprang in full bloom, but which still only has him as just one of the guys. Nevertheless what is there is totally unmissable and on the 110th anniversary of his birth there’s something to look for as the material is rarely reprinted and utterly eternally beguiling…

Batman: The Dark Knight Archives volume 8

Launching a year after Superman, “The Bat-Man” (and latterly Robin, the Boy Wonder) cemented DC/National Comics as the market frontrunner and conceptual leader of the burgeoning comic book industry. Having established the fantastic parameters of metahumans with their Man of Tomorrow, the strictly mortal physical perfection and dashing derring-do of DC’s Dynamic Duo then became the swashbuckling benchmark by which all other four-colour crimebusters were measured.

This luxuriously lavish hardback Archive Edition covers another bevy of Batman adventures (#32-37 from his solo title, spanning December 1945/January 1946 to October/November 1946), with the Gotham Gangbusters resolutely returned to battle post-war perils and peacetime perfidies of danger, doom and criminality…

These Golden Age greats comprise many of the greatest tales in Batman’s decades-long canon, as lead writers Bill Finger & Don Cameron, supplemented by Joe Samachson, Alvin Schwartz and other – sadly unrecorded – scripters, pushed the boundaries of the medium. On the visual side, graphic genius Dick Sprang superseded and surpassed freshly-returned originator Bob Kane – who had been drawing Batman’s daily newspaper exploits until its cancellation – making the feature utterly his own in all but name whilst keeping the Dauntless Double-act at the forefront of a legion of superhero stars, just as veteran contributor Jerry Robinson was reaching the peak of his illustrative powers and preparing to move on to other artistic endeavours. The sheer creativity exhibited here proved the creators responsible for producing the bi-monthly adventures of the Dark Knight were hitting their own artistic peak: one few other superhero titles might match. Within scant years they would be one of the only games in town for Fights ‘n’ Tights fans…

Following a fascinatingly fact-filled and incisive Foreword from the inestimable Roy Thomas, the all-out action begins with Batman #32 and another malevolently marvellous exploit of The Joker whose ‘Racket-Rax Racket!’ (by Cameron & Sprang) finds its felonious inspiration in college-student hazing and initiation stunts, after which Finger scripted ‘Dick Grayson, Boy Wonder!’ for your man Sprang, reprising the jaunty junior partner’s origins to reveal how the lad earned the right to risk his life every night beside the mighty Batman in a blisteringly tense first case…

Light-hearted supplemental feature ‘The Adventures of Alfred’ provides thrills and laughs in equal measure as the dutiful retainer reluctantly baby-sits a posh pooch and ends up ‘In the Soup’ after stumbling upon a gang of high society food smugglers (Samachson & Robinson), before Cameron & Sprang spectacularly combine a smidgen of sci fi flair and a dash of historical conceit to the regular adventure mix when Professor Carter Nichols uses his hypnosis-powered time-travel trick to send Bruce & Dick to the court of Louis XIII to work with D’Artagnan and the Three Musketeers in ‘All for One, One for All!’

Issue #33 was 1945’s Christmas issue – complete with seasonal cover by Sprang – but is otherwise an all-Win Mortimer art-fest; beginning with Finger’s ‘Crime on the Wing’, wherein the Penguin pops up with a renewed campaign of crime employing trick umbrellas, just to prove to modern mobsters that he’s still a force to be reckoned with, after which anonymously-scripted thriller ‘The Looters!’ has the Dynamic Duo hunting a heartless pack of human hyenas led by the Jackal: raiding cities struck by disasters natural and not…

As if that wasn’t vile enough, the shameless exploiter also tries to steal or sabotage the invention of a dedicated seismologist who thought he’d found a way to predict earthquakes. Thankfully, the Batman & Robin are on site to rock the Jackal’s world…

The issue ended with a similarly uncredited Holiday treat as ‘The Search for Santa Claus’ sees three broken old men redeemed by the season of goodwill. After selflessly standing in for Saint Nick, an innocent man who’d spent 25 years in jail, an over-the-hill actor and a millionaire framed and certified insane by unscrupulous heirs all find peace, contentment and justice after encountering our industriously bombastic caped & masked elves…

Three quarters of issue #34 was crafted by Finger & Sprang, beginning with ‘The Marathon of Menace!’ as an old man who dedicated his life to speed records organises a cross-country race across the US with enough prize cash to interest crooks – and the ever-vigilant Gotham Gangbusters, after which an insufferable chatterbox deafeningly returns in ‘Ally Babble and the Four Tea Leaves!’; in which the chaos-causing manic maunderer consults a fortune teller and accidentally confounds a string of dastardly desperadoes…

Robinson limned an anonymous yet timely tale as ‘The Adventures of Alfred: Tired Tracks’ finds the veteran valet stumbling upon opportunistic thieves before the issue ends with Finger & Sprang detailing ‘The Master Vs. the Pupil!’ Here Batman tests his partner’s progress by becoming the quarry in a devious manhunt, but Robin’s early confidence and success take a nasty nosedive after an embarrassing gaffe which proves the danger of too much success…

Finger, Bob Kane & Ray Burnley crafted the lion’s share of Batman #35, beginning with the landmark ‘Nine Lives has the Catwoman!’ wherein the slinky thief finally emerged as the Dark Knight’s premier female foil. Escaping prison and going on a wild crime spree, the feline felon convinces the world – and possibly the Caped Crusaders – that she cannot die, after which the equally auspicious and influential ‘Dinosaur Island!’ catches the heroes performing a sociology experiment in a robotic theme park, only to find the cavemen and giant beasts co-opted by a murderous enemy looking to become king of the criminal underworld by orchestrating their deaths…

An unknown creator scripted the whimsical exploits of ‘Dick Grayson, Author!’ (Kane & Burnley art) as the young daredevil deems comic book stories too unrealistic and is offered the opportunity to write some funnybook dramas which would benefit from actual crime-fighting experience. Of course, all that typing and plotting are harder than they look…

Kane & Burnley also illustrated all the Batman tales in #36, beginning with Alvin Schwartz’s ‘The Penguin’s Nest!’ wherein the podgy Bird of Ill-Omen starts imperilling his new, successful – and legitimate – restaurant venture by committing minor misdemeanours just to get arrested. Unsure of what he’s up to, the Masked Manhunters spend an inordinate amount of time and energy keeping him out of jug… until they finally glean his devious, million-dollar scheme…

When Hollywood’s top stuntman suffers a head injury on set and begins acting out assorted past roles in the real world, the panicked studios call in Batman as ‘Stand-In for Danger!’ (Cameron, Kane & Burnley), whilst Robinson’s ‘The Adventures of Alfred: Elusive London Eddie!’ sees the mild-mannered manservant ferreting out a British scallywag gone to ground in Gotham, after which the issue ends on a spectacular high with another terrific time-travel trip. Courtesy of Finger, Kane & Burnley ‘Sir Batman at King Arthur’s Court!’  sees our compulsive chrononauts crisscrossing fabled Camelot and battling rogue wizards to verify the existence of enigmatic Round Table legend Sir Hardi Le Noir…

This stunning and sturdy compilation concludes with the all-Robinson, all anonymously scripted #37, beginning with ‘Calling Dr. Batman!’ wherein the wounded crimebuster is admitted to hospital and uncovers dark doings and radium robbery. As if that wasn’t enough, a very sharp nurse seems to have suspicions regarding the similarity of the masked celebrity’s wounds to those of a certain millionaire playboy she recently tended to…

Batman & Robin are back in Tinseltown to solve a dire dilemma as ‘Hollywood Hoax!’ sees them hunt thieves and blackmailers who have swiped the master print of the latest certified celluloid smash before the dauntless derring-do ends with a magnificent clash of eternal adversaries when ‘The Joker Follows Suit!’ Fed up with failing in all his felonious forays, the Clown Prince of Crime decides imitation is the sincerest form of theft and begins swiping the Dark Knight’s gimmicks, methods and gadgets; using them to profitably come to the aid of bandits in distress…

Accompanied as always by a full creator ‘Biographies’ section, this superb collection of comic book classics is a magnificent rollercoaster ride back to an era of high drama and breathtaking excitement: a timeless, evergreen delight no addict of graphic action can ignore.

And it’s got lots of Dick Sprang in it!
© 1945, 1946, 2012 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Too Many Songs by Tom Lehrer, With Not Enough Drawings by Ronald Searle

Utterly dejected and a bit bereft to learn that Tom Lehrer (9th April 1928 – 26th July 2025) is no longer with us. The world will make even less sense than ever from now on, but without the potential surcease of a Master Wit at least making us laugh at all the horror and sadness of it all.

Go listen to his music, buy his books, or if only cartoons exist in your world, revisit this and relive the gibe-filled days of inglory…

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DC Finest: Superman – The First Superhero


By Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster, Paul Cassidy, Paul Lauretta, Wayne Boring, Dennis Neville, Creig Flessel, Bernard Baily, Bob Kane, Leo O’Mealia, Jack Burnley, Fred Guardineer & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-77952-833-9 (TPB)

This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times

Here’s another stunning and timely compilation comprising the best of vintage comics in another astounding and epic DC Finest edition. These full colour treasure troves are chronologically curated themed tomes highlighting past glories from the company that invented superheroes and so much more. Sadly, they’re not yet available digitally, as were the last decade’s Bronze, Silver and Golden Age collections, but we live in hope…

Just over 87 years ago, Superman rebooted planetary mythology and kickstarted the whole modern era of fantasy heroes. Outlandish, flamboyant, indomitable, infallible and unconquerable, he also saved a foundering industry by birthing an entirely new genre of storytelling: the Super Hero. Since April 18th 1938 (the generally agreed day copies of Action Comics #1 first went on sale) he has grown into a mighty presence in all aspects of art, culture and commerce, even as his natal comic book universe organically grew and expanded. Within three years of that debut, the intoxicating blend of eye-popping action and social wish-fulfilment that had hallmarked the early exploits of the Man of Tomorrow had grown: encompassing crime-busting, reforming dramas, science fiction, fantasy and even whimsical comedy. However, once the war in Europe and the East seized America’s communal consciousness, combat themes and patriotic imagery dominated most comic book covers, if not interiors.

In comic book terms alone Superman was soon a true master of the world, utterly changing the shape of the fledgling industry as easily as he could a mighty river. There was a popular newspaper strip, a thrice-weekly radio serial, games, toys, foreign and overseas syndication and as the decade turned, the Fleischer studio’s astounding animated cartoons.

Moreover, the quality of the source material was increasing with every four-colour release as the energy and enthusiasm of originators Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster went on to inform and infect the burgeoning studio which grew around them to cope with the relentless demand.

These tales have been reprinted many times, but this latest compilation might arguably be the best yet, offering the original stories in reading – if not strictly chronological publishing – order and spanning cover-dates June 1938 to December 1939. It features the groundbreaking sagas from Action Comics #1-25 and Superman #1-5, plus his pivotal first appearance in New York’s World Fair No. 1. Although most early tales were untitled, here, for everyone’s convenience, they have been given descriptive appellations by the editors.

Thus – after describing the foundling’s escape from exploding planet Krypton and offering a scientific rationale for his incredible abilities and astonishing powers in 9 panels – with absolutely no preamble the wonderment begins with Action #1’s primal thriller ‘Superman: Champion of the Oppressed!’ Here, an enigmatic oddly-clad caped crusader – who secretly masquerades by day as mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent – begins publicly averting numerous tragedies and righting injustices…

As well as saving an innocent woman from the Electric Chair and roughing up an abusive “wife beater”, the tireless paragon works over racketeer Butch Matson and consequently saves feisty colleague Lois Lane from abduction and worse at his hands. Then he exposes a lobbyist for the armaments industry bribing Senators on behalf of the greedy munitions interests fomenting the war in Europe…

One month later Action #2 offered the next breathtaking instalment wherein the mercurial mysteryman travels to that benighted war-zone to spectacularly dampen down hostilities already in progress in ‘Revolution in San Monte Part 2’ before it’s back to the US where ‘The Blakely Mine Disaster’ finds the Man of Steel responding to a coal-mine cave-in and landing the blame squarely on corrupt corporate practises, before cleaning up gamblers ruthlessly fixing games and players in #4’s ‘Superman Plays Football’.

The Action Ace’s untapped physical potential is explored in AC #5 as ‘Superman and the Dam’ pits the human dynamo against the power of a devastating natural disaster, after which #6 sees canny chiseller Nick Williams attempting to monetise the hero – without asking first. ‘Superman’s Phony Manager’ (with Paul Lauretta adding inks to increasingly overworked Shuster’s art) even seeks to replace the real thing with a cheap knock-off, but quickly learns a most painful and memorable lesson in ethics…

Although Superman starred on the first cover, National’s cautious editors were initially dubious about the alien strongman’s lasting appeal and fell back upon more traditional genre scenes for the following issues (all by Leo E. O’Mealia and all included here). The Man of Tomorrow’s – and Joe Shuster’s – second cover graced Action Comics #7 (on sale from October 25th but cover-dated December 1938) and sparked a big jump in sales, even as the riotous romp inside revealed why ‘Superman Joins the Circus’ – with the mystery man crushing racketeers taking over the Big Top and illustrated by new kid Wayne Boring. Fred Guardineer produced genre covers for #8 & 9 whilst their interiors saw Siegel, Shuster & Lauretta’s ‘Superman in the Slums’ working to save young delinquents from a future life of crime and depravity before latterly detailing how city cops’ disastrous decision to stop the costumed vigilante’s unsanctioned interference plays out in the Boring-inked ‘Wanted: Superman’. That manhunt ended in an uncomfortable stalemate and ambiguous relationship with the authorities that endured for years…

Action Comics #7 had been one of the publisher’s highest-selling issues ever, so #10 again sported a stunning Shuster shot, whilst Siegel’s smart story ‘Superman Goes to Prison’ limned by Shuster, Lauretta & Boring struck another telling blow against institutionalised injustice and stacked odds, as the Man of Tomorrow infiltrated a penitentiary to expose the brutal horrors of State Chain Gangs. The next month saw a maritime cover by Guardineer whilst inside heartless conmen driving investors to penury and suicide rued the Metropolis Marvel intercession in ‘Superman and the “Black Gold” Swindle’ as illustrated by Paul Cassidy.

Guardineer’s spectacular cover of magician hero Zatara for issue #12 was a shared affair, incorporating another landmark as the Man of Steel was given a cameo badge declaring his presence inside each and every issue. Between those covers, Siegel, Shuster & Cassidy revealed how ‘Superman Declares War on Reckless Drivers’ – a hardhitting tale of joy-riders, cost-cutting automobile manufacturers, corrupt lawmakers and dodgy car salesmen who all feel the wrath of the human dynamo after a friend of Clark Kent dies in a hit-&-run incident…

By now, the editors had realised Superman had propelled National Comics to the forefront of the new industry, and in 1939 the company won a license to create a commemorative comic book edition celebrating the opening of the New York World’s Fair. The Man of Tomorrow naturally topped the bill on the appropriately titled New York World’s Fair Comics at the forefront of such early DC four-colour stars as Zatara, Butch the Pup, Gingersnap and gas-masked vigilante The Sandman.

Following an inspirational cover by Sheldon Mayer, Siegel & Shuster’s ‘Superman at the World’s Fair’ describes how Lois and Clark are dispatched to cover the event, giving our hero an opportunity to contribute his own exhibit and bag a bunch of brutal bandits to boot…

Back in Action Comics #13 (June 1939 and another Shuster cover) the road-rage theme of the previous issue continued with Cassidy-rendered ‘Superman vs. the Cab Protective League’ as the tireless foe of felons faces murderous racketeers trying to take over the city’s taxi companies. The tale also introduces – in almost invisibly low key – The Man of Steel’s first recurring nemesis The Ultra-Humanite…

Next follows a truncated version of Superman #1. This is because the industry’s first solo-starring comic book simply reprinted the earliest tales from Action, albeit supplemented with new and recovered material – which is all that’s featured at this point.

Behind the truly iconic and much recycled Shuster & O’Mealia cover, the first episode was at last printed in full as ‘Origin of Superman’, describing the alien foundling’s escape from doomed planet Krypton, his childhood with unnamed Earthling foster parents and eventual journey to the big city…

Also included in those 6 pages (cut from Action #1, and restored to the solo vehicle entitled ‘Prelude to ‘Superman, Champion of the Oppressed’) is the Man of Steel’s routing of a lynch mob and capture of the actual killer which preceded his spectacular saving of the accused murderess that started the legend. Rounding off the unseen treasures is the solo page ‘A Scientific Explanation of Superman’s Amazing Strength!’, a 2-page ‘Superman text story’, and ‘Meet the Creators’ – a biographical feature on Siegel & Shuster. The landmark closed with a pinup of Superman breaking chains by breathing out: an image the tuned in will recognise as the basis of DC Studios’ animation ident…

Sporting another Guardineer Zatara cover, Superman in Action #14 (as realised by Cassidy) featured the return of a manic, money-mad supergenius deranged scientist in ‘Superman Meets the Ultra-Humanite’ as the mercenary malcontent switches his incredible intellect from incessant graft, corruption and murder to an obsessive campaign to destroy the Man of Steel. Whilst Cassidy concentrated on interior epic ‘Superman on the High Seas’ – wherein the hero tackles subsea pirates and dry land gangsters – Guardineer then made some history as illustrator of an aquatic Superman cover for #15. He also produced the Foreign Legion cover on #16, wherein ‘Superman and the Numbers Racket’ by Siegel, Shuster & Cassidy sees the hero save an embezzler from suicide before wrecking another wicked gambling cabal.

Superman’s rise was meteoric and inexorable. He was the indisputable star of Action, with his own dedicated solo title. Moreover, a daily newspaper strip had begun on 16th January 1939, with a separate Sunday strip following from November 5th of that year. The fictive Man of Tomorrow was the actual Man of the Hour and was swiftly garnering millions of new fans. A thrice-weekly radio serial was in the offing, and would launch on February 12th 1940. With games, toys, and a growing international media presence, Superman was swiftly becoming everybody’s favourite hero…

Inked by Cassidy, overworked Siegel & Shuster’s second issue of Superman opened with ‘The Comeback of Larry Trent’ – a stirring human drama wherein the Action Ace clears the name of the broken heavyweight boxer, and coincidentally cleans all the scum out of the fight game, followed by ‘Superman’s Tips for Super-Health’, as ‘Superman Champions Universal Peace!’ depicts the hero once more tackling unscrupulous munitions manufacturers and crushing a gang who had stolen the world’s deadliest poison gas. The pictorial dramas end with ‘Superman and the Skyscrapers’ which finds newshound Kent investigating suspicious deaths in the construction industry, before committing his alter ego to conflict with mindless thugs and their fat-cat corporate boss, after which a contemporary ad and a ‘Superman Text Story’ bring the issue to a close…

Action #17 declared ‘The Return of the Ultra-Humanite’ in a vicious and bloody caper realised by Shuster & Cassidy, involving extortion and the wanton sinking of US ships, and featured their classic Super-cover as the Man of Steel was awarded all the odd-numbered issues for his attention-grabbing playground. That didn’t last long: after Guardineer’s final adventure cover – a bi-plane dog fight on #18, which fronted the Cassidy-limned ‘Superman’s Super-Campaign’ with both Kent and the Caped Kryptonian determinedly crushing a merciless blackmailer, Superman monopolised every cover from #19 onwards. That issue disclosed the peril of ‘Superman and the Purple Plague’ as the city reeled in the grip of a deadly epidemic created by Ultra-Humanite.

The truncated contents of Superman #3 offer only the first and last strips originally contained therein, as the other two were reprints of Action Comics #5 and 6. “The Superman Studio” was constantly expanding to meet spiralling demand and Dennis Nevillie inked Shuster on ‘Superman and the Runaway’ – a gripping, shockingly uncompromising exposé of corrupt orphanages, after which – following a cartoon briefing on ‘Attaining Super-Health: a Few Hints from Superman!’ – Lois finally goes out on a date with hapless Clark – but only because she needs to get close to a gang of murderous smugglers. Happily, Kent’s hidden alter ego is on hand to rescue her in bombastic gang-busting style in ‘Superman and the Jewel Smugglers’ by Shuster & Cassidy…

Cover dated January 1940 and on sale from November 24th 1939, Action Comics #20 notionally opened a new decade and, although Siegel & Shuster had very much settled into the character by now, the buzz of success still fired them, Innovation still sparked and crackled amidst the exuberance and drudgery of churning out more and more material. Moreover, Shuster’s eyesight was failing, demanding his sure signature touch be parcelled out parsimoniously and judiciouly. Collabotative creativity was the order of the day in the Superman Studio …

This conveyor belt process was absent in ‘Superman and the Screen Siren’ as Cassidy pencilled and inked a moving masterpiece wherein beautiful actress Delores Winters is revealed not as another sinister super-scientific megalomaniac but the latest tragic victim – and organic ambulatory hideout – of aged male menace Ultra-Humanite who perfected his greatest horror… brain transplant surgery!

This is followed with an immediate sequel from Shuster & Cassidy as “Delores” seeks to steal another scientist’s breakthrough and oblierate the Action Ace with ‘The Atomic Disintegrator’ before #22 loudly declares ‘Europe at War (Part One)’: a tense, thinly disguised call to arms to a still neutral USA. It too was a continued story – almost unheard of in those early days of funnybook publishing and spectacularly concluded in #23 with ‘Europe at War (Part Two)’.

Cover-dated Spring 1940, Superman #4 featured four big new adventures, and the debut of more creative stars in the making, beginning with a succession of futuristic assassination attempts in ‘Superman versus Luthor’ by omnipresent author Siegel, Shuster & Bernard (The Spectre) Baily. After an educational cartoon vignette on ‘Attaining Super-Strength’, the original Man of Might battles dinosaurs and bandits in ‘Luthor’s Undersea City’, by Shuster, Cassidy & Creig (The Sandman) Flessel, before saving the whole world from financial and literal carnage by ferreting out ‘The Economic Enemy’: a prophetic espionage yarn about commercial sabotage instigated by an unspecified foreign power and artistically crafted by Shuster, Cassidy and Bob Kane – yes, that Bob Kane…

The issue closed with a tale of gangsters intimidating Teamsters and union workers in Siegel, Shuster & Cassidy’s‘Terror in the Trucker’s Union’.

Simultaneously, in Action Comics #24,‘Carnahan’s Heir’ (Shuster & Cassidy) becomes Superman’s latest social reclamation project when the Metropolis Marvel promises to turn a drunken wastrel into a useful citizen, whilst in #25 Cassidy rendered the tale of ‘Amnesiac Robbers’ compelled to crime by an evil hypnotist, before this initial DC Finest compilation closes with the contents of Superman #5: a superb combination of human drama, crime and wickedly warped science augmented by a flurry of gag cartoons by the burgeoning Superman Studio.

As ever scripted throughout by Siegel, it begins with our crimebusting hero crushing ‘The Slot Machine Racket’ (Cassidy, Boring & Lauretta) before pausing to promote health and exercise, via feaurette ‘Super-Strength: Rules for Summer Living’. Without pausing for breath he then – couertsy of Cassidy – foils a rival newspaper’s ‘Campaign Against the Planet’. Limned by Shuster & Boring, the awesome, insidious threat of ‘Luthor’s Incense Machine’ is similarly scuttled, before finally Big Business chicanery is exposed and severly punished whilst a decent simple chemist is cleared of a felonius frame-up in Cassidy’s ‘The Wonder Drug Racket’.

Re-presenting the epochal run of raw, unpolished but viscerally vibrant stories by Siegel & Shuster and their merry band who collectively and until now largely anonymously set the funnybook world on fire, this chronicle compellingly recaptures the sheer thrill of those pioneering days. As fresh and absorbingly addictive now as they ever were, these endlessly re-readable epics perfectly display the savage intensity and sly wit of Siegel’s stories – which literally defined what being a Superhero means – whilst Shuster formulated the basic iconography for all others to follow.

The crude, rough, uncontrollable wish-fulfilling, cathartically exuberant exploits of The First Superhero reveals a righteous, superior champion of the helpless and outmatched dispensing summary justice equally to social malcontents, exploitative capitalists, thugs and ne’er-do-wells that initially captured the imagination of a generation. Although the gaudy burlesque of monsters and super-villains lay years ahead of Superman, these primitive, raw, captivating tales of corruption, disaster, moral deviancy and social injustice are just as engrossing and speak as powerfully of the tenor of the times then and now. Such Golden Age tales are priceless enjoyment. What comics fan could possibly resist them?
© 1938, 1939, 1940, 2025 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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The 10,000 Disasters of Dort


By Mike Butterworth, Luis Bermejo, José Ortiz Moya & various (Rebellion)
ISBN: 978-1-78618-949-3 (TPB/Digital Edition)

This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times.

It’s time for another sortie down memory lane for us rapidly diminishing oldsters, but hopefully opening a fresh, untrodden path for new fans of the fantastic seeking a typically quirky British comics experience.

British comics have always enjoyed an extended love affair with what can only be described as “unconventional” (for which feel free to substitute “bizarre” or “creepy”) stars. So many notional role models in our strips have been outrageous or just plain “off”: self-righteous voyeur/vigilantes like Jason Hyde, sinister masterminds in the manner of The Dwarf or Black Max, arrogant ex-criminals like The Spider or outright racist overmen such as fearsome white ideologue Captain Hurricane…

At first glance, prior to the advent of game changers Action and 2000AD, British comics seemingly fell into fairly ironclad categories. Back then, you had genial and/or fantastic preschool fantasy; a large selection of licensed entertainment properties; action; adventure; war; school dramas, sports and straight comedy strands. Closer examination would confirm that there was always a subversive merging, mixing undertone, especially anarchic antiheroes like Dennis the Menace or our rather strained interpretation of costumed crime-busters. Just check out Phantom Viking, Kelly’s Eye or early Steel Claw stories…

Following post-war austerity, the 1950s ushered in a comics revolution. With British printing and paper restrictions gone, a steady stream of titles emerged from companies new and old, aimed at the many different levels of childish attainment from pre-school to young adult. When Hulton Press launched Eagle in April 1950, the very concept of what weeklies could be changed forever. That oversized prestige package with photogravure colour was expensive, however, and when London-based publishing powerhouse Amalgamated Press retaliated, it was a far more economical affair. I’m assuming AP only waited so long before the first issue of Lion launched (cover-dated February 23rd 1952) to see if their flashy rival was going to last. Lion – just like Eagle – was a mix of prose stories, features and comic strips and even offered its own cover-featured space-farer in Captain Condor – Space Ship Pilot. Initially edited by Reg Eves, Lion’s 1156 weekly issues ran until 18th May 1974, when it merged with sister-title Valiant. Along the way, in the tradition of British publishing which had always subsumed weaker-selling titles to keep popular strips going, Lion absorbed Sun (1959) and Champion (1966) before going on to swallow Eagle itself in April 1969, with the result soon thereafter merging with Thunder (1971).

In its capacity as one of the country’s most popular and enduring adventure comics, the last vestiges of Lion only vanished in 1976 during Valiant’s amalgamation with Battle Picture Weekly. Despite that demise, there were 30 Lion Annuals between 1953 – 1982, benefitting from our lucrative Christmas market, and combining original strips with historical prose adventures; sports, science/general interest features; short humour strips and – increasingly from the 1970s – reformatted reprints from IPC/Fleetway’s back catalogue.

Of course, our pictorial kids’ stuff was always unlike any other kind: always enjoying -especially when “homaging” such uniquely American fare as masked superheroes – a touch of insouciant rebelliousness. Until the 1980s, UK comics employed an anthological model, offering variety of genre, theme and character. Humour vehicles like The Beano and Dandy were leavened by action-heroes such as Billy the Cat or General Jumbo whilst adventure papers like Smash, Hotspur or Valiant offered palate-cleansing gagsters including The Cloak, Grimly Feendish, Mowser and sundry other titter-treats. Originally presenting a cosy façade of genial comedic antics or school follies, cheery cowboys, staunch soldiery and moonlighting light entertainment stars, before long there increasingly lurked behind and below the surface dark and occasionally utterly deranged fantasy fare. These included marauding monsters and uncanny events upsetting a comfy status quo. Perhaps it was all just a national shared psychosis triggered by war, rationing, nightly bombing BUT NO SUCCESSFUL INVASION SINCE 1066, DAMMIT!…

Over and over British oddness seemingly combined with or reacted to our long-standing familiarity with soft oppression, leading to stories of overwhelming, imminent conquest and worse. With our benighted shores existentially threatened, the response from entertainment sources was a procession of doughty resistors facing down doom from the deepest depths of perfidy and menace… especially from the stars. Moreover, thanks to an economic downturn and spiralling costs in publishing, the mid 1960s and 1970s were particularly wild and desperate for UK comics: inspiring a wave of innovation most fondly remembered for darkly off-kilter heroes, beguiling monsters and charismatic villains. The 10,000 Disasters of Dort pretty much ticks all those boxes.

A trained artist, Mike Butterworth wrote for many comics titles: historical strips such as Buffalo Bill, Max Bravo, the Happy Hussar, Battler Britton and Billy the Kid as well as the epic Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire. He simultaneously and latterly became a Crime and Gothic Romance novelist with more than 20 books to his assorted pen names. The 10,000 Disasters of Dort was simply another bread-&-butter B-feature assignment; albeit an extremely popular one that probably took off thanks not just to his terse, imaginative scripts and the tone of the times but also the astounding visual vivacity of its illustrators, Luis Bermejo and José Ortiz…

The astoundingly gifted Luis Bermejo Rojo was a star of Spanish comics forced to seek work abroad after their domestic market imploded in 1956. He became a prolific contributor to British strips, working on a succession of moody masterpieces across many genres. These included The Human Guinea Pig, Mann of Battle, Pike Mason, Phantom Force Five and Heros the Spartan, in Girls Crystal, Tina, Tarzan Weekly, Battle Picture Library, Thriller Picture Library, Eagle, Buster, Boys World, Tell Me Why, Look and Learn and many more. Bermejo finally achieved a modicum of his long-deserved acclaim in the 1970s, after joining fellow studio mates José Ortiz, Esteban Maroto & Leopoldo Sanchez who all worked on adult horror stories for US magazines Creepy, Eerie and Vampirella and their Spanish spin-offs.

José Ortiz Moya’s 60 plus year career began after he won a contest in Spanish magazine Chicos. In the 1950s, he worked on digest strips for Editorial Maga, including Capitan Don Nadie, Pantera Negra and Jungla, and agency work saw him produce several strips for foreign publishers, particularly Britain. Here he memorably illustrated Caroline Barker, Barrister at Law for The Daily Express; Smokeman and UFO Agent in Eagle magazine and The Phantom Viking in top seller Lion. Over the 1970s & 1980s Ortiz worked on several popular British strips including The Tower King and House of Daemon for the new Eagle, Rogue Trooper, The Helltrekkers and Judge Dredd for 2000 AD and The Thirteenth Floor for Scream! This last was another stunning horror-show Ortiz co-created with John Wagner & Alan Grant. Whilst doing all of this work on UK kid’s comics, in the US Ortiz was also working on – and is arguably best known for – stories for Warren’s Eerie and Vampirella.

Here the meat of the matter is enthralling episodes delivering a stunning nostalgia-punch via Rebellion’s superb Treasury of British Comics imprint, collecting a seminal sci fi shocker unleashed on the “Juvenile Boys’ periodical” as the print equivalent of Saturday night at the movies…

This slim tall tome gathers the original saga as played out in Lion from 18th May to 23rd November 1968, and also includes the altered ending added when the saga was rerun eight years later. Rebellion have spared readers from redundancy by only adding the episodes from Lion for 11th & 18th May 1974, but have also kindly included pertinent items from Lion Annuals for 1970 & 1971; ta very much…

The premise is simple and effective, as decades from “now” on March 18th of super-advanced year 2000 AD, the last great Atlantic liner HMS Royalty approaches New York City, only to see the mega metropolis crumble to ruin before succumbing to disaster herself. Scientists around the world rally to investigate and Cambridge Professor Mike Dauntless discovers that all the steel for 50 miles around the city had become like rubber…

His rash deduction that Earth was under attack from space is confirmed 24 hours later as a colossal crystal cylinder materialises outside Moscow and a giant extraterrestrial calling itself Ratta, Dictator of Dort serves notice to humanity. With its own world doomed to expire in 50 years, Ratta intends to move his subjects to Earth. The resident population can move or endure 10,000 manufactured super-science generated trials and terrors that will sufficiently depopulate the region and thin the herd…

Responding to the sadistic ultimatum, Dauntless determines to foil or counter each “disaster”, and is soon called to Paris to destroy rampaging giant vines erupting from the sewers, consequently gaining a teen sidekick in newly orphaned Gaston…

… And that how the drama proceeded with Mike & Gaston plus occasional local co-stars countering or at least stalling each of smugly gloating Ratta’s doom ploys, and facing the best and worst of human behaviours as society crumbles. The star assaults include enlarging beasts and birds in Melbourne, drenching Britain with waves of hatred turning the population into marauding murderers by tainting the nations favourite tipple and dropping irresistible superweapons into the greedy hands of desert bandits in Central Arabia. In every instance Dauntless manufactures solutions at the risk of his life, never having time enough to stop, think, anticipate or plan a counter attack…

As Mike leads a spirited ground defence of Cairo, Ratta ups the stakes with a global attack that neutralizes electricity and follows up with a new ice age before teleporting to Earth and walking amongst embattled humanity to enjoy the agonies of his victims. The Dictator of Dort also infiltrates Mike Dauntless’ team with a view to ending the world’s resistance in one stroke, but shoots himself in the scaly foot after playing chess to decide humanity’s fate… and losing…

Temporarily stalled but undeterred, Ratta resumes his attacks by unleashing a billion bugs on Bavaria and going on to inundate Earth in ants, after which the alien turns the unchecked power of the sun upon the world. This Ninth Disaster necessitates Mike & Gaston seeking a solution in orbit and when they are posted as lost in space, newly-appointed alien attack tsar Tom Burley is quickly overwhelmed when men and women begin devolving into brutes and beasts…

Convinced of victory, Ratta declares the war over and orders all Dort to be evacuated and sets forth for the newly conquered territory, but the Dictator has made a grievous error…

With Earth ultimately saved, the feature ended, but under approved kids’ comics protocols was rerun after five years. Editorial policy dictated the entire readership would change approximately every 4 to 5 years as they grew older and sought other entertainments. Deemed still of interest despite the time required for a complete turnover of readership the Disaster unfolded again but with a new more relevant conclusion. Included here are the two new episodes commissioned and tacked on to the run which spanned 22nd December 1973 to May 4th 1974.

Sadly we don’t know wrote or drew the instalments for 11th & 18th May, and can only assume who was responsible for complete yarn ‘Plague of Locusts’: a comics sidebar story set in the same continuity as the main story included Lion Annual 1970, which would have been published in autumn 1969.

Here, Dauntless & Gaston aid London’s war against massive marauding monster locusts and learn that not all threats to humanity originated on Dort, before Lion Annual 1971 provides a tantalising text feature by artist and writers unknown asking ‘Do You Believe in Flying Saucers? and gathering in evidence a number of documented close encounters.

Also on view is s stirring Cover Gallery, Creator biographies and an always-welcome excerpt from Siegel & Bunn’s The Spider’s Syndicate of Crime vs. The Crook from Space.

An exciting, engaging, done-in-one delight that’s undemanding and rewarding is a rare treat these days. If that appeals, this is what you want. What you really, really want…
© 1968, 1970, 1971, 1974 & 2023 Rebellion Publishing IP Ltd. All Rights reserved.

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Yoko Tsuno volume 19: The Astrologist of Bruges


By Roger Leloup, coloured by Beatrice of Studio Leonardo & translated by Jerome Saincantin (Cinebook)
ISBN: 978-1-80044-130-9 (Album PB)

This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times.

On September 24th 1970, “electronics engineer” Yoko Tsuno began her troubleshooting career as an indomitable intellectual adventurer. Her debut in Le Journal de Spirou was realised in “Marcinelle style” cartoonish 8 page short ‘Hold-up en hi-fi’ but although she is still delighting readers and making new fans to this day, her action-packed, astonishing, astoundingly accessible exploits quickly evolved into a highpoint of pseudo-realistic fantasies numbering amongst the most intoxicating, absorbing and broad-ranging comics thrillers ever created. Her globe-girdling mystery cases and space-&-time-spanning epics are the brainchild of Belgian maestro Roger Leloup who launched his own solo career in 1953 after working as studio assistant/technical artist on Hergé’s Adventures of Tintin.

Compellingly told, sublimely imaginative and – no matter how implausible the premise of an individual yarn – always firmly grounded in hyper-authentic settings underpinned by solidly-constructed, unshakably believable technology and unswerving scientific principles, Leloup’s illustrated escapades were at the vanguard of a wave of strips revolutionising European comics. Very early in the process, he switched from loose illustration to a mesmerising nigh-photo realistic style that is a series signature. That long-overdue sea-change in gender roles and stereotyping heralded a torrent of clever, competent, brave and formidable women protagonists taking their rightful places as heroic ideals and not romantic lures, consequently elevating Continental comics in the process. Such endeavours are as engaging and empowering now as they ever were, none more so than the travails of Miss Tsuno.

Her first outings (the aforementioned, STILL unavailable Hold-up en hi-fi, and co-sequels La belle et la bête and Cap 351) were mere introductory vignettes prior to epic authenticity taking a firm grip in 1971 when the unflappable problem solver met valiant but lesser (male) pals Pol Paris and Vic Van Steen. Instantly hitting her stride in premier full-length saga Le trio de l’étrange (in LJdS’s May 13th edition), from then on, Yoko’s efforts encompassed explosive exploits in exotic corners of our world, sinister deep-space sagas and even time-travelling jaunts. There are 31 European bande dessinée albums to date, with 19 translated into English thus far, albeit – and ironically – none of them available in digital formats…

Initially serialised in LJdS #2923 to 2943 and spanning April 20th to September 7th 1994, L’astrologue de Bruges became the 20th collected Yoko Tsuno album that same year. Following chronologically on from The Rhine Gold, it weaves a tale of Earth-bound archaic mystery as our tireless troubleshooter visits a living historical treasure trove for answers to a contemporary conundrum…

Walking the scenic canals of Bruges – “the Venice of the North” – Yoko strikes up a fortuitous conversation with a painter who is actually a very open-minded archaeologist and imaginative historian. Tsuno is there to meet another artist; one who has painted her portrait in local period dress. She thinks it’s from magazine photos of her, but Mr. Jos knows much of the confounding Jan Van Laet who has contacted Yoko, and none of what he knows is good…

Jos shows her the quiet passages and waterways of a renaissance city barely altered since the 16th century and offers to stay close during her interview with Van Laet: a man he seriously considers to be in league with the Devil…

Soon after her interview with the extremely off-kilter portraitist begins, Tsuno begins to agree with that assessment as Van Laet seeks to convince her that he captured her image from life, not photos, and that she had posed for him in 1545 Anno Domini. Her doubts take a hard knock when he also reveals ancient pictures and sketches of her with her friend Monya and foster daughter Morning Dew.

That’s when Van Laet’s patron and master the Marquis of Torcello joins the interview, claiming Yoko has lived since those Renaissance days afflicted by amnesia. Incensed and threatening, he also accuses her of holding his property: a vial containing an elixir of youth and another carrying the secret of a deadly biological super-weapon bottled by legendary, infamous natural philosopher, astrologer and alchemist Zacharius..

Escaping by hurling herself out of a window to be plucked from a canal by Mr. Jos, Yoko is pretty sure she knows the How if not Why of this situation. After all, Monya is a cherished comrade who was born in the far future and possesses a working time machine…

Resolved to learn everything and foil Torcello & Van Laet’s scheme to reintroduce the Black Death to the modern world, Yoko recruits steadfast comrades Pol & Vic to join her, Monya and Dew in an era of pestilence, intrigue, Inquisitions and ongoing Wars of Religion. She has no choice over the child… the painting already incontrovertibly proves Dew was present and in just as much danger as everyone else…

Mr Jos is vital in the planning and reconnaissance stages of the proposed mission. He now owns the fantastic house occupied by the undying villain in 16th century and allows Yoko access to all its many levels of subterranean cellars and workshops, and provides access to clothing of the era. Monya delivers everything else needed and during a terrific storm the party nervously head back to a time of terror and travail…

Befriending poverty-stricken flower seller Mieke on arrival, the time travellers are soon embroiled in an ongoing and escalating calamity involving Zacharius’ deranged-but-brilliant apprentice Balthazar, a scheme stripping churches of gold and portraitist Van Laet’s insidious human trafficking business selling his poor but honest models to the rich men who purchase his paintings. The true threat though is always Torcello who wants to spread doom and destruction in every era and gets his big chance after capturing Monya and stealing her Time Shifter…

The monster’s fate is someone else’s boon, however, as the doomed brief encounter of flirtatious Pol and meek Mieke suddenly grows into something much greater and happier ever after…

As ever, the most assured assets of these edgy endeavours are astonishingly authentic settings, benefitting from Leloup’s diligent research and meticulous attention to detail. A magnificently complex twisty thriller with doomsday overtones, displaying our valiant troubleshooter and her team triumphant in a taut, tense thriller of time bending terror, The Astrologist of Bruges is tense, moody, slow-burning, deviously twisted and potently plausible: a fable confirming how smarts and combat savvy are pointless without compassion, integrity and a sense of moral responsibility.
Original edition © Dupuis, 1994 by Roger Leloup. All rights reserved. English translation 2024 © Cinebook Ltd.

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Fantastic Four: The Life Fantastic


By J. Michael Straczynski, Karl Kesel, Dwayne McDuffie, Mike McKone, Drew Johnson, Casey Jones, Lee Weeks & various (Marvel)
ISBN: 978-0-7851-1896-1 (TPB/Digital edition)

Today sees the UK general release of the latest cinematic interpretation of the “World’s Greatest Comics Magazine”. Here’s a quirky book you could and should buy online and read in your Imax seat while all those other, lesser trailers waste your time prior to the big event. Thus we prove once again that it’s never too late to catch up to the really good stuff…

The Fantastic Four has long been rightly regarded as the most pivotal series in modern comic book history, responsible for introducing both a new style of storytelling and a radically different manner of engaging the readers’ impassioned attentions. More family than team, the line-up has changed frequently over the years before always eventually and inevitably returning to Stan Lee & Jack Kirby’s original configuration of Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch and The Thing, who jointly comprised the vanguard of modern four-colour heroic history.

The quartet are maverick supergenius Reed Richards, his wife Susan, their trusty college friend Ben Grimm and Sue’s obnoxious, impetuous younger brother Johnny Storm; survivors of an independent space-shot which went horribly wrong once ferociously mutative Cosmic Rays penetrated their ship’s inadequate shielding. When they crashed back to Earth, the foursome found all been hideously changed into outlandish freaks. Richards’ body became elastic, and Sue gained the power to turn herself and other objects invisible – and latterly form forcefields. Johnny could more-or-less at will turn into self-perpetuating living flame, whilst poor, tormented Ben transformed into a horrifying brute. However, unlike his comrades, Grimm could not return to a semblance of normality on command… or at all…

The sheer simplicity of four B-movie archetypes – mercurial boffin, self-effacing distaff, solid everyman and hot-headed youth – uniting to triumph over accident and adversity shone under Lee’s irreverent humanity, coupled to Kirby’s rampant imagination and tirelessly emphatic sense of adventure.

Decades of erratic quality and floundering plotlines followed the original creators’ departures, but from the beginning of the 21st century Marvel’s First Family experienced a steady and sustained escalation in quality which culminated in repeated film attempts and a string of top-flight, radical reboots in their comic incarnations.

The return to peak quality was the result of sheer hard work by a number of “Big Ideas” writers and this slim compilation – re-presenting Fantastic Four #533-535, and spanning January to April 2006, is one of the best, especially as its content is supplemented and bolstered by a selection of celebratory one-shots -specifically Fantastic Four Wedding Special (January 2006), Fantastic Four Special 2005 and Fantastic Four: A Death in the Family (July 2006). These tales wrapped up a brief but splendidly entertaining tenure in the typist’s chair by comics and screen writer J. Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5, Sense8, Amazing Spider-Man, Superman, Wonder Woman, Before Watchmen, Captain America).

Illustrated by Mike (Amazing Spider-Man, Punisher War Zone, Exiles, assorted X-Men, Justice League International/Justice League of America) McKone – with inkers Andy Lanning, Simon Coleby & Cam Smith – the never-ending excitement and frenetic fun opens with a bombastic 3-part tale offering arguably the ultimate clash between the Thing and The Incredible Hulk… and possibly the funniest yet most heart-rending FF story ever written.

‘What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas’ opens as the Hulk – currently green, governed by Bruce Banner’s intellect and working for S.H.I.E.L.D. – dramatically fails to defuse a gamma bomb and is subsequently caught in the resulting detonation…

Meanwhile in Manhattan, Reed & Sue are facing their greatest battle; attempting to stop civil servant Simone Debouvier of New York’s Division of Child Welfare from placing their children Franklin and Valeria into State custody to protect them from the FF’s life-threatening influence and circumstances. It’s almost a relief for the embattled parents to despatch their boisterous and understandably furious team-mates to Nevada so they can concentrate on navigating the tricky legal maze of the Social Services system…

By the time the Torch & Thing arrive, it’s to their worst nightmare: the gamma blast has seemingly devolved the Hulk’s mind back to his primitive, enraged and devastatingly destructive state and supercharged his body. The heroes are all that stand between the unstable grey juggernaut and the utter destruction of the city…

Utterly overmatched, Ben is pushed to his limits in ‘Shadow Boxing’ the rampaging beast, but even amidst the hurricane of shattering violence, he realises it’s not rage but guilt that’s pushing the uber-Hulk to such brutal excesses, even as back East Reed & Sue take a desperate gamble to keep their family together…

The transcontinental confrontations crash into a pair of stunning victories for heart and brains over brawn in the climactic finale ‘To Be This Monster’…

The rest of this sleek celebratory volume concentrates on special editions and follows up with Fantastic Four Wedding Special wherein Karl Kesel, Drew Johnson, Drew Geraci & Drew Hennessy combine to venerate the past and offer tantalising glimpses of things to come as Sue & Reed go for a quiet meal and – thanks to the technological miracle of time travel – discover that every guest is the happy couple themselves, plucked from key moments of their fantastic past and incredible future…

That gloriously heart-warming spectacle is followed by a far more tense but no less intriguing yarn from Fantastic Four Special #1 with Dwayne McDuffie, Casey Jones & Vince Russell depicting ‘My Dinner with Doom’ as Reed opts for fine dining and frank conversation as a way of finally ending the long-standing feud between him and the relentless, duplicitous Iron Dictator. If only Doom was as open-minded about the eventual outcome…

Focus shifts to Johnny for the last epic as Fantastic Four: A Death in the Family (Kesel, Lee Weeks, Rob Campenella & Tom Palmer) sees the frat-boy goof suddenly forced to wise up, man up and make a horrific choice to save his beloved, fractious family from certain doom in another time-travel-tinged tale.

In this story, however, there is no happy ending…

A stellar combination of apocalyptic action, heartbreak, suspense and hilarious low comedy, this exhilarating compilation also includes stunning covers by McKone, Gene Ha, Leinil Yu, Morry Hollowell & Weeks for a warm, fast-paced, tension-soaked Fights ‘n’ Tights chronicle which will provide all the thrills and chills a devoted Costumed Drama lover or freshly-turned film freak could ever want.
© 2005, 2006, 2016 Marvel Characters, Inc. All rights reserved.

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The Marquis of Anaon volume 4: The Beast


By Vehlmann & Bonhomme: coloured by Delf and translated by Mark Bence (Cinebook)
ISBN: 978-1-84918-278-2 (PB Album/Digital edition)

This book includes Discriminatory Content employed for dramatic effect.

In 1972 Fabien Vehlmann entered the world in Mont-de-Marsan. Raised in Savoie, he grew up to study business management before taking a job with a theatre group. His prodigious canon of pro comics work began in 1998 and soon earned him the soubriquet of “Goscinny of the 21st Century”. In 1996, after entering a writing contest in Le Journal de Spirou, he caught the comics bug and two years later – with illustrative collaborator Denis Bodart – crafted mordantly quirky, sophisticated portmanteau period crime comedy Green Manor. From there his triumphs grew to include amongst many others Célestin Speculoos for Circus, Nicotine Goudron in L’Écho des Savanes and a noteworthy stint on major property Spirou and Fantasio…

Scion of an artistic family, Matthieu Bonhomme received his degree in Applied Arts in 1992, before learning the comics trade working in the atelier of western & historical strip specialist Christian Rossi. Published between 2002 and 2008, Le Marquis d’Anaon was Bonhomme’s first regular series, after which he began writing as well as illustrating a variety of tales, from L’Age de Raison, Le Voyage d’Esteban, The Man Who Shot Lucky Luke and much more.

Now, where were we? Imagine The X-Files unfolding in Age of Enlightenment Europe (circa 1720-1730), but played as a solo piece by a young hero reluctantly growing to accept the role of crusading troubleshooter.

With potent overtones of Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, The Fall of the House of Usher and similar gothic romances, it all began in 2001’s L’Isle de Brac: first of 5 albums (available in English-language/digital formats) tracing the development of a true champion of humanity against darkness and venality.

Under-employed middle class merchant’s son Jean-Baptiste Poulain is a scholar, pragmatic philosopher, ardent disciple of Cartesian logic and former medical student. Smart and well educated but impoverished, he accepted a post to tutor the son of the mysterious Baron of Brac. It was a career decision that reshaped the course of his life…

On the storm-battered, isolated island off the Brittany Coast, Poulain experienced fear and outrage, superstition and suspicion before ultimately exposing the appalling secret of the island overlord serfs called “the Ogre”, and bringing justice, finality and closure to all concerned. In the bitter aftermath, Poulain left, but could never outrun the obnoxious title the islanders bestowed upon him in their Bretagne argot: Le Marquis d’Anaon – “the Marquis of Lost Souls”…

Two years later Poulain caught a presumed demonic (but actually faith-based) serial killer (The Black Virgin) before tackling ship-borne plague that demanded the most draconian treatment to save all Europe from annihilation (The Providence) – all without recompense or even enhanced renown or esteem…

La Bête tackles a most traditional challenge from the unknown, as still-struggling, nigh-starveling Poulain is convinced by his beloved cousin Xavier to assist and consult for a company of French Dragoons. A monster is ravaging mountain villages along the border with the Kingdom of Savoy and these doughty non-nonsense warriors have been sent to sort it out.

Their initial scepticism rapidly adjusts to the repeated scenes of carnage and consumption, and Poulain is impressed by the way they can reconstruct events from observing the scattered, battered remains. The accounts of panicked surviving villagers are unreliable, and as the company tracks the animal ever higher into mountainous snowlines, their suppositions begin to affect the soldiers, Soon they too are debating the existence of giant bears and werewolves…

What they do indisputably know is that it’s huge, attacks at dusk, kills wantonly and is unnaturally choosy in what it then eats. One survivor claims it has bulging red, almost human eyes…

After just missing it again Captain Xavier is officially stymied when it crosses into Savoy, before opting to surrender his commission and uniform – but not his gun, shot and powder – to pursue it without creating a diplomatic incident. His most devoted men are just as determined and follow without regimental colours, whilst actual civilian Poulain cannot abandon his hunt for what seems to be malignant proof of supernatural forces…

Sadly, monsters are not the only peril and a clash with smugglers soon makes the hunters into fugitives, allowing Xavier to complete Jean-Baptiste’s schooling by teaching him to shoot…

It’s a wise and fortunate tactic as attrition by weather, environment and the ever-taunting, never seen but constantly heard monster winnows the comrades down to a weary handful. At last a scrap of useful information comes to them in an alpine village where the dwindling populace know well the haunts and tactics of what they call “the Shadow Beast”…

Armed with knowledge, Poulain and Xavier follow the horror higher and higher into its mountain top lair and final battle is joined with truly terrible costs to all…

This gritty derivation of the tales of grendel, krakens and dragons comes to us as another tautly authentic compellingly scripted saga from Vehlmann, depicted via Bonhomme’s densely informative but never obtrusive illustrated realism. As such, it adds a moody, ingenious, utterly enthralling tale of primal endurance to the literary legacy of Man against Monster, perfectly poised on the cusp of societal change from an era of superstition, class separation, burgeoning natural wonder, to one where reason should be ascendant and belief must be verified.

This chilling conundrum of a self-doubting quester barely holding at bay the crippling notion that all his knowledge might be trumped one night by the ever-lurking unknown is utterly compulsive entertainment, making the travails of The Marquis of Anaon mystery milestones no thinking fear fan should miss, and exploits deserving a much greater audience.
Original edition © Dargaud Paris 2006 by Vehlmann & Bonhomme. All rights reserved. English translations © 2016 by Cinebook Ltd.