I couldn’t find my copy of Witzend #1 (someday I’ve just got to get organized) so I scanned it from its appearance in Marvel’s black and white magazine, Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction #1 in 1974.
Number 1432: Savage World!
Người đăng: Unknown on Thứ Sáu, 6 tháng 9, 2013
I couldn’t find my copy of Witzend #1 (someday I’ve just got to get organized) so I scanned it from its appearance in Marvel’s black and white magazine, Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction #1 in 1974.
Number 1431: Latin love
Người đăng: Unknown on Thứ Tư, 4 tháng 9, 2013
Laura Matthews, an acting student on scholarship to the Sorbonne in Paris, meets Andre after he insults her while she is singing in a café. He says she has a “stupid American crow’s voice.” This is a love comic, so besides the stereotypes, complications abound, including Laura’s hometown boyfriend showing up unexpectedly after Laura becomes engaged to amorous Andre.
Sharp-eyed comics fans will notice Andre LeBlanc, the mustached cad of “Lure of Latin Love,” is also the name of a longtime comic artist. LeBlanc was a journeyman in the American comic book industry for many years, working with Eisner, Dan Barry, among others, and even working solo on projects like The Picture Bible. Could using his name be some sort of inside joke on the part of the writer? Our story is signed by artist John Belfi.
Who Is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa? Review
Người đăng: Unknown on Thứ Ba, 3 tháng 9, 2013
What do you do when someone offers to let you review their novel, as Andrez Bergen did, with Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa?
1. Just say yes, in the hopes it will just go away.
2. Just say yes, and sweat it out thinking it won't go away.
3. Just say yes and hope that it won't be as awful as you think and maybe you can get away with talking about some good points.
4. Just say yes and be completely blown away by how terrific the novel is and only worry if you can come up with enough words to praise it.
Um, I'm going to go with #4. Seriously, this is a terrific novel for anybody who loves comic books. And probably anybody in general, although it is harder for me to judge that because I was so wrapped up in the comic book goodness,
This is a great, entertaining book. I described it (based on the first two chapters) for a blurb as Sam Spade meets the Justice League. My bad. It's Sam Spade meets the Justice League meets the Holodeck meets the Watchmen meets... well, I don't know.
It's just so cool a plot that I don't want to spoil it, but this only gives away about a third of the story:
The main character, Jack, is a 15-year-old lad from a post-apocalyptic Melbourne, Australia. He joins a virtual reality universe where he can become a superhero, a member of a team called the Equalizers, who do constant battle with the Unmitigated Rotters. While there he finds love, and must unravel a mystery. The virtual reality universe is breaking down, and the rules (Comics Code Authority rules, no less) are being broken. Heroes and villains are being killed, and worse, a death in the virtual world has similar consequences in the real world of Melbourne.
That is the plot, basically, but oh, man, the writing blows that out of the water. There are Easter Eggs galore, to the point where the Easter Bunny union is probably writing up a grievance that they cannot carry all of them. Some are obvious, but others definitely will take some Googling; in a way that is a huge advantage today compared to yesteryear.
I won't go into more detail about the plot. It moves forward briskly, with frequent surprises, to a very satisfactory conclusion.
I do have two criticisms, one major and one minor. The major problem with the book is that it was too short; couldn't Andrez have squeezed another thousand pages out? ;)
The minor criticism is that Jack seems just a little too savvy and sophisticated for a 15-year-old. Perhaps this is because his virtual reality character is an adult?
However, that's a quibble in the bigger picture. This is a terrific novel, and I look forward to reading more by Andrez.
More about →
1. Just say yes, in the hopes it will just go away.
2. Just say yes, and sweat it out thinking it won't go away.
3. Just say yes and hope that it won't be as awful as you think and maybe you can get away with talking about some good points.
4. Just say yes and be completely blown away by how terrific the novel is and only worry if you can come up with enough words to praise it.
Um, I'm going to go with #4. Seriously, this is a terrific novel for anybody who loves comic books. And probably anybody in general, although it is harder for me to judge that because I was so wrapped up in the comic book goodness,
This is a great, entertaining book. I described it (based on the first two chapters) for a blurb as Sam Spade meets the Justice League. My bad. It's Sam Spade meets the Justice League meets the Holodeck meets the Watchmen meets... well, I don't know.
It's just so cool a plot that I don't want to spoil it, but this only gives away about a third of the story:
The main character, Jack, is a 15-year-old lad from a post-apocalyptic Melbourne, Australia. He joins a virtual reality universe where he can become a superhero, a member of a team called the Equalizers, who do constant battle with the Unmitigated Rotters. While there he finds love, and must unravel a mystery. The virtual reality universe is breaking down, and the rules (Comics Code Authority rules, no less) are being broken. Heroes and villains are being killed, and worse, a death in the virtual world has similar consequences in the real world of Melbourne.
That is the plot, basically, but oh, man, the writing blows that out of the water. There are Easter Eggs galore, to the point where the Easter Bunny union is probably writing up a grievance that they cannot carry all of them. Some are obvious, but others definitely will take some Googling; in a way that is a huge advantage today compared to yesteryear.
I won't go into more detail about the plot. It moves forward briskly, with frequent surprises, to a very satisfactory conclusion.
I do have two criticisms, one major and one minor. The major problem with the book is that it was too short; couldn't Andrez have squeezed another thousand pages out? ;)
The minor criticism is that Jack seems just a little too savvy and sophisticated for a 15-year-old. Perhaps this is because his virtual reality character is an adult?
However, that's a quibble in the bigger picture. This is a terrific novel, and I look forward to reading more by Andrez.
Number 1430: Sally and Dan
Người đăng: Unknown on Thứ Hai, 2 tháng 9, 2013
Henry Kujawa of the Professor H’s Wayback Machine blog did me a big favor by coloring a black line strip scheduled for today. “Sally the Sleuth ‘Winning Her Stripes’” was scanned from a reprint in Malibu Comics’ Spicy Tales, but was originally published in the pulp magazine, Spicy Detective, in 1942. Henry did a great job enhancing the strip. He didn’t have the greatest copy to work with...the blobby black line is because the strip came from a pulp magazine, where drawings were reproduced on paper a step below what most of us find in our bathrooms. During printing the ink hit the porous pulp paper and spread into the fibers, making fine lines next to impossible.
Thanks to Henry. You can see more of Henry’s handiwork in his blog, where he does restorations of comic book covers, and even the “Tales of the Great Book” feature from Boy’s Life.
The artwork is credited to Adolphe Barreaux, art editor of the Spicy titles. Those titles were published by some of the same folks who gave us DC Comics, and were more than a shade on the seedy side. They upset postal inspectors and bluenoses of that era. The titles were soon changed from Spicy to Speed, and in my opinion lost about 90% of their desirability. But, that was then. Cheesecake, even slightly kinky cheesecake involving spies with whips and sexy girls who are out of their clothes more than they are in, seems a lot tamer now than it did 70 years ago.
To go along with Sally, we have Dan Turner, the Hollywood detective. It’s also signed by Barreaux and by writer Robert Leslie Bellem, who had a gift for slang-filled dialogue like, “Butched! He’s defunct!” which will probably make more sense when you see it in context.
Sally is from Spicy Tales #2, and Dan Turner is from Spicy Tales #4, both from 1988:
***********
More Sally and Dan! Click the picture:
Number 1429: Jet Powers and the interplanetary war
Người đăng: Unknown on Chủ Nhật, 1 tháng 9, 2013
In June I showed a continued story from ME’s Jet # 3 and #4 (1951).* I mentioned at the time there was another continued story started in #3 and finished in #4. It was the first time I’d seen that. In the first two issues of Jet the continuations were within the issue.
“Interplanetary War” has Jet interceding in a war on Mars. Jet, being a very resourceful guy and way ahead of other Earth people, has his own rocket ship. It allows him to travel to the red planet...in two days!
“Interplanetary War” and “The Fleets of Fear” are written by Gardner Fox and drawn by Bob Powell and his staff.
**********
*Click on the pic to see the story.
