SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 6/11/2009"
Mary Jane,
issues 1-4, Published by Marvel Comics, cover price $2.25.
A couple years ago, I was talking with my comics retailer
about what he was reading. His is an affinity
towards the classics, like Ditko, Kirby, Windsor-Smith and the like,
with a few modern favorites, such as Hellboy. As
we were catching up on our latest sequential reading material, he
mentioned how much he was enjoying Marvel’s Mary Jane
material. A few seconds of stunned silence....,
“What’s that, now?” With an amused tone, he
continued to tout the work, and talked me into giving the first
miniseries a try. What can I say accept “Listen
to your comics shop guy."
For those unaware, this teenage cast was first developed by
Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, and is now updated for a 21st
Century readership. The settings and situations
will be largely familiar to the average teen, so they will be able
to relate to and sympathize with the characters. However,
as this series proves, good stories will be entertaining to many
different age groups, despite the age of the key players.
Mary Jane blends likeable characters, believable
situations and that famous teen angst, made so by early runs of The
Amazing Spider-Man, and combines them to form a work of pure
comics entertainment. There are no
world-conquering villains (only a single appearance of a small-time
super-powered bad guy), no incredibly intricate subterfuge, and NO
crossovers. Even Spidey himself shows up rarely,
and only so much as to stoke Mary Jane’s romantic fantasies.
All this is thanks to writer Sean McKeever.
Takeshi Miyazawa’s art is clean and simple, with a definite
Manga influence. Yet, his style, not the
influence, is what stands out. His characters
look like kids, (not like adults playing high school) and you never
get one confused with another, as they are all distinguished in
appearance and personality.
So, you don’t have to be a teenager to enjoy Mary Jane,
but the series is certainly recommended for teens, as well as
pre-teens and adults.
Review by Mark
Allen
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 6/04/2009"
Stan Lee and
Steve Ditko’s Amazing Spider-Man
Marvel Comics has begun reissuing their Marvel Masterworks
series of collections of classic Silver Age stories. Consequently,
this is a good time to review some of the best comics work ever done
- Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s Amazing Spider-Man.
Even in comparison to today’s more “mature” or
“complex” storylines, Amazing Spider-Man, issues
1 through 38
, and Annuals
1 and 2
, are wonderful examples of how comic books should be done where
characterization, “multiple-plot-planting”, dynamic storytelling
and art are concerned.
Lee and Ditko’s Peter Parker was the first true underdog
superhero. Far from a simple nerd or bookworm, he
was multifaceted, sympathetic and as much fun to read as was his
wall-crawling alter ego. His constant struggles
with family, romance, work, school and social entanglements are the
stuff of classic soap opera, and the very definition of “teen
angst”. Without a doubt, rooting for ol’
“Puny Parker”, as constant class bully Flash Thompson tagged
him, took no back seat to pulling for Spider-Man as he battled any
one of many interesting costumed bad guys.
For many, the artistic style of Steve Ditko is still the
definitive representation of the Web Slinger. Eccentric,
highly stylized and exceedingly dramatic, Ditko’s Spidey (as well
as the rest of his characters) was based in realism, yet perfectly
at home on the comics page. His characters were
awash with emotion and evocative movement, but not overdone, and his
sense of pacing and storytelling are still legendary in the world of
comics.
For those who have hesitated taking Spider-Man’s very first
adventures out for a spin, fearing the possible “displacement”
of the ‘60's setting, trappings and references, consider how
popular such television fare as The Andy Griffith Show, My
Favorite Martian, Bewitched, Star Trek, The
Adams Family and many more continue to be with new viewers.
Not to mention some of the great movies and music from the
same era.
No, Lee and Ditko’s Amazing Spider-Man suffers not
at all from comparison to today’s comics stories. In
fact, the only suffering is being done by comics fans, as we
continue to await equally well-done and entertaining sequential
material.
Review by Mark
Allen
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 5/28/2009"
Val Mayerik
started his professional comics career in 1972. Fresh
out of college, he became an assistant to comic book artist Dan
Adkins (who mostly inked for Marvel), and began his own penciling
career soon after.
As a preteen, I discovered his work while thumbing through a
garage sale copy of Marvel Comics’ Supernatural Thrillers
#11. The striking realism and drama he brought to
that particular Living Mummy story leaves an impression on me to
this day. With a style that is anything but
simple, and nowhere near “cartoony”, Mayerik’s work lent
itself to the darker, more suspenseful and more horrific corners of
comicdom. His monsters were as frightening as
anything on the big screen at the time, his settings were foreboding
and unsettling, his women were beautiful and his men were heroic,
barbaric, demonic or whatever else they had to be. The
level of talent he achieved in such a short time is unusual, even to
this day.
His art has appeared primarily in the genres of fantasy and
horror. Throughout the 70's, his work was
featured in Marvel’s Chamber of Chills, Conan The
Barbarian, Supernatural Thrillers, Creatures on The
Loose, Adventures Into Fear, Man-Thing, The
Frankenstein Monster, Kazar, and black and white
magazines Marvel Premiere and The Hulk.
In the 80's, Mayerik produced more work for Marvel, such as Void
Indigo, and for Heavy Metal magazine and Warren
Publishing’s black and white line of magazines.
Mayerik’s most well-known contribution to comics is
probably Howard the Duck, which he co-created with writer Steve
Gerber, in Adventures Into Fear #13 in 1973. In
1977, he was also the artist on the Howard the Duck newspaper
strip.
Today, Mayerik enjoys a successful career creating art for
advertising agencies, role-playing games, story boards and more.
The work of Val Mayerik is highly recommended for comic art
lovers, and fine art lovers, alike. Due to the
subject matter of much of his work, however, it is not recommended
for the youngest of readers.
Review by Mark
Allen
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 5/21/2009"
Daredevil Volume 1, issues
353-365, published by Marvel Comics, 32 pages, prices vary.
Daredevil is one of Marvel Comics’ oldest and
most endearing characters. Originally, he was the carefree
swashbuckling hero. Along the way, however, he became the
dark, gritty, Batman-like street-level crime fighter.
For those who may have hopped off the D.D.
bandwagon at the time of his more realistic turn, may I suggest
Daredevil Volume 1, issues 353 through 365, from 1996-97.
These issues represent a return to the character’s roots, and were
(primarily) created by the team of Karl Kesel (writer) and Cary Nord
(artist).
Under Kesel’s direction, Daredevil once again
became the fearless, smile-inducing, devil-may-care hero who could
trade quips with anyone. After years of the darkness and
near-psychoses which seemed to plague the character and his title,
this was a welcome change. Kesel also worked wonders with the
book’s support cast, making them more interesting than they had
been in several years, and kept readers hooked with more than one
interesting plot line.
The art style of Cary Nord is, in my estimation,
one of the best the series has ever seen. Nord had a realistic
style that fit the book by giving the setting a gloomy, morose
appearance. “What’s that, mister reviewer? Didn’t
you just imply that Daredevil had been made too dark?” Yes I
did, and I assert again that the CHARACTER works better when he is
lighthearted, because he then becomes a foil for the urban setting
of Hell’s Kitchen, which SHOULD be characterized by the unsettling
shadows and tones which Nord used. A hopeful character in a
depressed setting is more evocative than one who simply reflects
what is around him.
Incidentally, the artist excelled at drawing the
book’s action sequences, as well as the more subdued scenes, (such
as courtroom appearances) about which he has since said he enjoyed
equally.
This particular run of Daredevil
is recommended for purists who were fond of the character “in the
day”, as well as any who simply enjoy well-done superhero fare.
Review by Mark Allen
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 5/14/2009"
Cap's Revolving Rep.
If you've never read a single comic book in your life, you've
probably still heard the name Captain America. Though not the first
character inspired by national patriotism, he is definitely the most
well known. But, let me suggest something else that makes Cap stand
out - something that sets him apart from any other comic book
character: I'm talking about his representative baggage.
As far as I can tell, there have been three distinct periods in
which Captain America was a representative of a particular time,
event, and even a distinct frame of mind. Anyone slightly familiar
with comics history knows that the character got his start during
World War II, a time that needed noble figures, as co-creator Jack
Kirby once stated.
Introduced in 1941 by Marvel Comics, known then as Timely, he was
the first character to ever be introduced in his own book, instead
of a short story in an anthology comic. It was a good gamble, as the
Captain became the most popular red-white-and-blue adventurer to
grace the comic page. His covers leaped brilliantly to life with Cap
battling Nazi madmen, Japanese forces, the Axis super-villain the
Red Skull, and even Hitler, himself. Captain America became the
embodiment of patriotic fervor in a time when it was greatly needed.
Feelings changed drastically, however, when Timely revived the
star-spangled hero in 1954.
Following the Korean War, when many were bitter over the loss of
loved ones and the “naive” true-blue patriotism of the 40’s
grew to a more introspective frame of mind, Captain America was
criticized more than appreciated. Targeted by politicians and
comedians, alike, as being an extremely conservative embodiment of
out-of-date sentiments, the short-lived three-issue run elicited
mostly negative response from the public.
Perhaps one of the most telling images of the character at that time
was one of him, with his sidekick, Bucky, both silhouetted by the
explosion of an atomic bomb, practically in worship of it's
destructive power. A bit unnerving, even today. As an aside, it’s
fairly obvious that the disfavor of the 50’s version was actually
inspiration for one of my favorite Captain America stories, which
ran in issues 153 through 156, in 1972. The real Cap and his partner
the Falcon battled the Cap and Bucky of the fifties, who were
portrayed as bigoted, distrustful and generally unbalanced. The two
had replaced the real deal, who, as stalwart fans know, was frozen
in an ice burg, in a state of suspended animation, until found and
revived by the Avengers. This brings us to…
March of 1964, and the fourth issue of Marvel's fledgling series,
The Avengers. This landmark work of sequential art reintroduced the
hero of WW II. It was at this time that Captain America entered his
third representative phase. You see, Marvel Comics had done more
than dump the Timely moniker. They had begun doing something truly
unique; creating heroes with real character. They had faults.
They had problems. They didn't lead perfect lives. Heck, they
were human. Cap fit right in, as he struggled to find his place in a
world which no longer looked familiar to him.
Despite this conundrum, however, he, along with the company's other
characters, now represented the Marvel Age of comics, a time when
adults began to sit up and take notice of the four-color
periodicals, once more. When college students who were steeped
in the study of physics and philosophy made time for The Incredible
Hulk and The Amazing Spider-Man. When comics were not just for
kids, but could be read by them. Oh, Cap was still the embodiment of
the good old U.S. of A., but he was also a co-herald of a time when
four-color literature returned to greatness.
So, the next time you look at Cap, straighten up, a little. Tuck in
that shirt! Have a little respect, mister! (Or missy, as the case
may be.) There's a lot of history, there, and the guy's come a long
way and endured much to get where he is today.
Regards,
Mark Allen
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 5/08/2009"
Robin II: The Joker’s Wild,
#'s 1-4, published by DC Comics, 32 pages, prices vary.
Some of the best characterization ever done in
comics has been in DC’s Robin, protégé of Batman. And, of
the several youngsters who have occupied that role, it is my opinion
that Tim Drake has shown the most character depth. One of the
highlights of his development into the Caped Crusader’s erstwhile
partner was a 1991 miniseries (also available in a collected
edition) entitled Robin II: The
Joker’s Wild. In said tale, the youth gets a baptism
of fire, so to speak, when he matches wits with Batman’s greatest
nemesis, “the Clown Prince of Crime”. One significant, yet
important, detail kept this from being just another Joker yarn, and
that was the fact that Batman was out of town, leaving the Boy
Wonder to face an incredibly dangerous foe on his own.
Chuck Dixon is perhaps the most accomplished
writer where Robin is concerned, and this is one of the high points
of the character’s history, as well as Dixon’s career. The
reader sees Tim tackle his own failures and shortcomings, not with
self-indulgent whining and “introspection”, in the
sometimes-overdone Marvel Comics manner, but by changing and
adapting his strategy. In short, they see the character grow
into much more than just a “kid sidekick”.
Dixon also infused Drake with a multi-layered
personality, establishing his love for computers and role-playing
games, and revealing that his friends were not part of the “in”
crowd. Those kinds of additions deepen the character,
considerably.
Artist Tom Lyle injects the story with all of the
drama, action and emotion needed to complete this fun superhero
romp. His clear lines and well-defined characters always
enhance the story, his version of Robin remains one of my favorites
to this day.
Robin II: The
Joker’s Wild is recommended for any fan of well-done
superhero fare, that is also infused with great character work.
Find it at comics shops, and online retailers and auctions.
Review by Mark Allen
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 4/30/2009"
H-E-R-O: Powers And Abilities,
Published by DC Comics, 144 pages, $9.95.
There are right ways and wrong ways to make
superhero comics appeal to adults. DC Comics did it right in
2003 with H-E-R-O.
The second revival of a Silver Age concept, H-E-R-O
told the story of individuals who gained super powers through a
mysterious device. However, instead of subscribing to high
ideals, fighting the good fight and generally improving conditions
and circumstances for themselves and others, dealing with the
seeming windfall of great abilities brought disappointment, and even
disaster. H-E-R-O: Powers and
Abilities collects the first six issues of the short-lived,
but superior, series.
Writer Will Pfeifer handled characterization in a
masterful fashion, giving readers a full view of humanity that is as
real as you can find in the capes-n-tights genre. These are
not the cardboard cut-outs of so many superhero tales, but
representations with human foibles and shortcomings that are
sometimes difficult to look at, but captivating in their honesty.
And, while certainly not putting forth a hopeless view of people in
general, (as proven by the story of Jerry Feldon) Pfeifer’s
characters remind us of how fallible we are, and how quickly our
“best” ideas can give birth to consequences we never expected.
Helping to set the tone of the story is the art
of Kano. Painting a somber atmosphere with a darker palette
than that seen in most stories of super daring-do, Kano’s work is
a perfect example of how an artist can give a “lift” to a story
that is already well-conceived. What’s more, he is able to
pull off nine-panel pages, splash pages, and everything in-between
with a storytelling flair that escapes many artists today.
After this offering, I will forever consider Pfeifer and Kano one of
comics’ dream teams.
H-E-R-O: Powers
And Abilities is highly recommended for those who enjoy
thoughtful, in-depth characterization, with a side of superhero
action. All but the youngest of readers should seek it out.
Review by Mark Allen
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 4/24/2009"
Para, published by Penny
Farthing Press, 178 pages, $19.95.
Having reviewed for the Suspended Animation
column for about 9 years, there have been a few books which, for one
reason or another, have been placed on the back burner and seen to
later than they deserved. One or two have simply become
misplaced for a time in my disorganized glut. That was the
unfortunate case with Para,
from Penny Farthing Press.
Para is
the story of a young woman re-finding herself. After years of
resentment over her father’s death, and rejection of the idea of
following in his footsteps as a scientist, Sara Erie embarks on an
adventure which purposes to dispel the mystery behind her father’s
demise. Ultimately, it also restores her desire to be like
him.
I’ve never seen a creative team do such a great
job of combining sci-fi elements with such an unnerving air of
horror. Into a plot that focuses on a handful of scientists’
work with a groundbreaking particle accelerator, writer Stuart Moore
injects some of the most unsettling and other-worldly elements in my
recent memory of fiction-reading. He also creates interesting
characters, and manipulates events in a way that, while not always
surprising, manages to keep the reader’s attention and interest.
My only regret where this book is concerned is
it’s use of multiple artists, resulting in a near-jarring
transition for readers. While Pablo Villalobos, Claude St.
Aubin and Frederico Zumel each render the characters and
surroundings in competent fashion, Villalobos’ style possesses the
most detail and realism, both of which are important in such a tale.
I also believe him to be the best storyteller of the three.
However, the artistic situation does not ruin this entertaining read
by any stretch.
All things considered, Para
is an achievement worthy of admiration, and is recommended for fans
of science fiction, or emotionally evocative stories in general.
It is recommended for teens and older readers. Find it at
comics shops, or online retailers and auctions.
Review by Mark Allen
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 4/17/2009"
Marvel: The Lost Generation,
#’s 1-12, published by Marvel Comics, 32 pages, $2.99.
Nearly ten years ago, Marvel Comics marketed a
12-issue comic book series entitled Marvel:
The Lost Generation. I passed it by.
A week ago, I netted all 12 issues on Ebay for a
song...., and found out they were worth the original cover price.
Set in the Marvel Universe’s past, before the
origin of the Fantastic Four took place, the story is the brainchild
of long-time comics pro John Byrne, who wrote and drew the series.
TLG takes several characters
previously seen in Marvel stories, throws them in with quite a few
dreamt up by Byrne, and gives readers a tale chock-full of well-done
characterization and slam-bang superhero action.
The story is driven by the plight of Dr.
Cassandra Locke, who is using time-travel in an attempt to prevent a
tragedy involving the series’ premiere super team, The Front Line.
Utilizing the “back in time” theme, the numbering is done in
reverse, with the first issue being 12 and the last 1. While
unusual, and smacking of a bit of gimmickry, it does nothing to
hamper the entertaining nature of the book.
As is always the case, Byrne’s art proves to be
some of the most dynamic in the industry, and his storytelling
ability is second to very few, even today. His heroes are
true-blue and his villains are vile. Panels brim with action,
drama and tension whenever the story calls for it–which is often,
in this yarn. I suppose all of that is just another way of
saying that John Byrne is one of the best tights-n-capes artists the
comics world has ever seen. Yeah, that sounds about right.
Marvel: The Lost
Generation is recommended for all fans of superhero action on
a grand scale. Find it at comics shops, and online retailers
and auctions. And for goodness’ sake, if you enjoy it, email
or write Marvel and ask them to issue a trade paperback collection.
This work deserves it.
Review by Mark Allen
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 4/10/2009"
Anne Steelyard: The Garden of
Emptiness, Act One: An Honorary Man, published by Penny
Farthing Press, 96 pages, $14.95.
Most comics fans have somewhere within them that
insecure enthusiast who desperately desires to prove the merit of
comics as an art form. I manage to keep mine under control for
the most part. I hope you do, as well. For those
occasions when you are unable, however, I would like to suggest a
very impressive work to utilize in proving your point.
Anne Steelyard:
The Garden of Emptiness is a graphic novel written by Barbara
Hambly. In it, she treats readers to a sweeping epic, the
quality of which hardly ever makes it to the big screen, much less
your local comics shop.
Into an amazingly well-crafted story rife with
archeologically- and supernaturally-based adventure, the author
drops main character Steelyard, who is equally enthralling. A
young woman from a fine family, she struggles with the expectations
which loved ones and high society have of her, while fighting to
keep her independence and adventurous lifestyle. It is good
fortune, indeed, that Hambly is successful in involving the reader
in the adventure. It is also a testament to her talent.
Artists Claude St. Aubin, Alex Kosakowski and Ron
Randall infuse Anne Steelyard’s world with every bit of the sense
of mystery, excitement and awe that such a tale should host, their
realistic styles meshing seamlessly so that the reader is never
jolted by a sudden art change. To be honest, I never even
realized there were multiple artists until I read the credits...,
AFTER reading the story.
Colorist Mike Garcia’s work never overwhelms
with garishness, or underwhelms with washed-out hues. His
work, like that of the rest of the artisans on this project, is very
near perfect.
And the best part of it all? This is act
one of three.
Encased in a beautifully painted (and admittedly
cheesecake) cover by Glen Orbik, Anne
Steelyard waits to be discovered by all but the youngest
comics fans.
My only regret is that I never met Gertrude Bell,
on whose life the story is based.
Mark Allen
4/09/2009"
From Amazon.com and B & N and several other sites:
After King and Poe, Lovecraft is widely acknowledged as one of the
top three horror writers to impact American horror. Lovecraft's
horror world even has its own name: the Cthulhu (Kuh-Thoo-Loo)
Mythos. Fans of Howard Phillip Lovecraft's style, rejoice--there
is an author you simply must meet. Algernon Blackwood and August
Derleth have a stylistic contemporary in Michael Vance, a
professional writer of non-fiction for over thirty years, who has
mastered the short story form.
The award-winning Vance does not write in the Cthulhu Mythos
itself, but his Lovecraftian style features patiently built
suspense rich in setting and character, usually with short vivid
climaxes and resolutions. Properly written, the effect puts a
reader into the story, with page flipping curiosity.
Vance paints portraits of fated personalities in an eerie little
town on Maine's northern Atlantic coast. Light's End can also be
found on brink of madness. Deep spiritual influences and events,
guilty evils, and ancient lore are scrimshawed into memorable
tales centered on the moral implications and consequences of
personal actions.
Vance's voice is distinct from Lovecraft's on several points.
Horrors of the dark human heart, rather than horrific alien
mysteries, are the center of each work. Readers are snatched from
madness' edge by an overall Christian worldview, which gives
horror, and moral choices, context.
Weird Horror Tales' thirteen short stories, and a few non-short
story treats, showcase a Lovecraftian sins-of-the-fathers theme.
The collection is what's known as a braided novel. The tales, all
in and around Light's End, are set chronologically from the early
twentieth century, to present day and near future. Common threads
of symbol and prophecy progress through the stories. Any of the
stories could be enjoyed individually, but read sequentially,
there's a bigger tale.
Vance's fiction does not cower from language and subjects that
most Christian publishers avoid. Vance uses dark imagery and
language in a tasteful and literary sense. Pre-teens would see
examples of good literature, but graphic content is appropriate
for high school and older maturity levels
Sadly, Vance's literary level may be too high. I fear readers
won't like Random Pairings: a literary dialog, boldly written
without quotation marks, with one of the most dramatic endings in
the braided novel.
Overall, Weird Horror Tales is a must-read for genre fans,
especially those who of the Christian worldview. Note that one
tale, The Lighter Side, should be saved for a reader's zany
reading mood. When you want something fun, the humor in this piece
rivals Douglas Adams and Stephen Leon Rice.
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 4/03/2009"
Profanity in Comics, or “Ah, Grow
Up, Will Ya?”
Allow me pose a pointed question: Have you ever refused to buy a
comic book because it lacked the proper amount of profanity? I
didn’t think so. I’ve never heard that complaint, in over 30
years of reading comics, and 16 years patronizing the same comics
shop in Tulsa.
You’ve probably guessed already that I’m one of those “comics
purists,” as I call us. We are those ridiculously puerile fans who
simply refuse to “grow up” and realize that using profanity is
simply the way of the world, nowadays. “Just shut the *&%! up
and accept it” some may say. Well, I can’t. There are too many
examples of well-done, best-selling comics stories out there that
don’t employ such language.
Perhaps you’ve sensed my frustration, and wonder what the catalyst
was for this little tirade. (Then again, maybe you haven’t, and
don’t care. Feel free to keep surfing.) It happened when I
read Ex Machina: The First Hundred
Days, a graphic novel from Wildstorm. It’s one of those
rare works in comics that is intelligent enough to be compared with
anything currently seen in fiction. However, it also has what
I consider a huge flaw; language for which many-a-child has tasted a
bar of soap. The f-word is a particular favorite.
I’ll be honest. I don’t understand the need for comics to mirror
society in this way. I mean, we’re talking about fiction, here.
Superhero fiction, at that, in the case of Ex
Machina. Regardless of the political intrigue, main character
Mitchell Hundred still controls all types of machinery with his
mind, and has a past that includes strapping a jet-pack onto his
back and playing hero. Would readers really have to suspend
disbelief any more if there was no "potty language"?
Additionally, here we are smack dab in the middle of a medium of
which it can still be said has a desperate need for more new
readers, despite the presence of graphic novels and comics digests
in bookstores, and it almost seems an attempt is being made to
alienate those who are uncomfortable with such language and don’t
use it on a daily basis...or even at all.
An Associated Press - Ipsos poll
conducted in March of 2006 found that “62 percent of 18- to
34-year-olds acknowledged swearing in conversation at least a few
times a week, compared to 39 percent of those 35 and older.” My
question is whether or not that means 38 percent of younger comics
fans, and 61 percent of those 35 and older are actually offended
enough to avoid buying comic books with frequent profanity. And,
before you say “No way!” through your hat, find a poll conducted
within the comics community to support your view. I don’t know of
one. Or by all means, conduct one. (Just make sure it’s
scientific.) It might be worth it to some of the publishers in
order to find out if they are shooting themselves in the foot where
sales are concerned, especially considering that two thirds of those
polled said that it bothered them when people used profanity.
So, ultimately, what’s my point? Just this: There is little to no
chance anyone is going to be offended by a great story lacking
profanity - they’ll simply buy it. It is much more likely that
some people WILL be offended by the same story peppered with it.
They probably WON’T buy it. Is it really worth it to a publisher
to sacrifice sales for their books to contain “adult” language?
And, for those who would argue creative license, I would simply ask
“What’s creative about profanity?” It’s simply copied. It
takes no creative energy and adds no depth to a character. And as
far as it being adult, it can probably be heard on every elementary
playground in the country.
Seems to me, if comics really want to grow up, they’ll clean up.
Mark Allen
3/29/2009"
Interviews
with author or artist available; email MiklVance@Yahoo.com
Cover
art is available on request.
News
Release
The
reviews are pouring in on Weird Horror Tales, the recently published
anthology of thirteen horror, science-fiction, fantasy, and
mainstream short stories set in Light’s End, Maine.
It is written by author Michael Vance.
Tim
Walters wrote: Among my favorites is "Wishful Thinking,"
which opens, appropriately, on Halloween night and focuses on the
frightening legend of Sara Lagle, also known as the Witch of Light's
End. "Fall Guy" is about the day Light's End was visited
by the Amazing Man who jumps off buildings. The tale effectively
uses comic book imagery and allusions, which is not surprising since
Michael Vance has a longstanding connection with and affection for
the comics medium.
He
continues: At times Vance's wistful, evocative style is reminiscent
of Ray Bradbury's fiction, while the often horrific nature of the
series recalls the work of writers like H.P. Lovecraft and Robert
Bloch.
Daniel
Weaver adds his own opinion: Vance create a vivid scene that
transplants the reader into a very specific time and place.
There are plenty of unsettling images (bones, the monster,
etc) as well as concepts (human sacrifice, cannibalism, etc).
Allowing his main character to be partially swallowed by such a
horrific creation certainly projects horrific imagery. As always,
his word choices paint vivid pictures and bring to life unique
characters.
Cover
artist Keith Birdsong painted the cover for “Weird Horror
Tales”, and interior
illustrations are by artist Earl Geier who is best known for his
horror, fantasy and science fiction artwork
The
publisher of “Weird Horror Tales” is Cornerstone Book
Publishers. Airship 27 packaged the anthology. For more
information on Airship 27, go to www.airship27.com.
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 3/26/2009"
Robert E. Howard’s Myth Maker,
published in 1999 by Cross Plains Comics, 64 pages, $6.95.
If the comics medium is an art form, (and I
believe it is) then one has to assume the existence of some
“masterpieces” of sequential entertainment. Understand, I
don’t throw that term around willy-nilly, if I ever have at all.
I’m about to, however.
In 1999, a publishing company called Cross Plains
Comics produced what is, in my mind, one of the most entertaining,
innovative and downright beautiful works in comics. With the
(achieved) intentions of bringing attention and doing justice to the
works of Robert E. Howard, Myth
Maker was a collaboration of amazing writing and breathtaking
art work, all accomplished by some of the most talented
professionals in the industry.
Here’s a rundown of stories and art styles that
fans will encounter within: “Men of The Shadows” and “Dream
Snake” by Tim Sale and Matt Hollingsworth, “Spear and Fang” by
Richard Corben and Eric Hope, and “Dermod’s Bane” by Kelley
Jones, Laurie Smith and George Freeman.
Long-time comic book writer Roy Thomas adapted
the stories, and he and Sale pulled them all together in a unique
and engrossing fashion. I have never been more intrigued with the
storytelling in a comic book. There are moments of high
action, engaging supernatural sequences, and chilling terror
in this one work.
Additionally, fans will enjoy pin-up art by the
likes of Rafael Kayanan, John Bolton, Michael Kaluta, Mark Schultz,
Steve Lightle and Colin MacNeil, a bit of history on comics
adaptions of Howard’s creations by Thomas, and a short bio on
Novalyne Price Ellis, author of a well-known Robert E. Howard
memoir, by Rusty Burke. All things considered, this is
something that no comics art fan, comics history fan, or for that
matter, Howard fan, should be without. It truly is....(wait
for it)....a masterpiece.
Robert E. Howard’s Myth Maker
is recommended for adult readers due to violent imagery. Find
it at comics shops, and online retailers and auctions.
Review by Mark Allen
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 3/19/2009"
X-Men Vs. Hulk and Hulk
Vs.. Fin Fang Foom - Both published by Marvel Publishing, 48
pages and $3.99.
Even during these difficult economic times, I
still make the occasional impulse purchase. I did so twice
recently while visiting various comics shops in Tulsa.
The first story in X-Men
vs Hulk is a 22-page tale from the mutant team’s past.
Logan (aka, Wolverine) sets up a “challenge” for teammate
Colossus, by orchestrating a confrontation between the armored X-Man
and The Hulk. And, it’s pretty much non-stop action from
there.
The story is written by X-Men veteran Chris
Claremont, who proves once again that, where Marvel’s mutants are
concerned, he is as strong on characterization as he is on pumping a
tale full of adrenaline. Artist Jheremy Raapack turns in
dramatic, big-as-life visuals that round out the story well.
Also noteworthy is the reprint of X-Men
(Vol. 1) #66, another tale of the Children of The Atom
battling the Jade Giant. This classic was written by Roy
Thomas and drawn by Sal Buscema. ‘Nuff said.
If all of that isn’t enough, X-Men
vs Hulk is free of ads, to boot! Kudos to Marvel!
Hulk vs Fin Fang
Foom showcases another previously untold tale in which
Marvel’s gamma-irradiated monster battles a creature created in
the publisher’s pre-superhero days. The story, by
Peter David, pits the creatures against each other in Antarctica,
with a global warming research team caught in the middle. (Don’t
worry, no political axes to grind, here.) It’s a fun story,
with a creepy air, ala John Carpenter’s The
Thing, that ends with, you guessed it, another monster
slugfest.
Artist Jorge Lucas manages great emotion in his
characters, superior detail and a style that is reminiscent of Jack
Kirby.
This book also contains a reprinted Marvel
classic (Fin Fang Foom’s first appearance in Strange
Tales #89) by Stan Lee and the aforementioned Kirby.
Both books are recommended for fans of fun
stories you don’t have to think too much about, as well as comics
history buffs.
Mark Allen
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 3/13/2009"
Comics Legend Bob Layton
When discussing legendary comic book creators, no
roll call is complete without the inclusion of Bob Layton.
A former apprentice of Wally Wood and protégé
of Dick Giordano (two more comics legends), Layton is part of that
“plucky” group of comics professionals who got their start
producing fanzines. Most notable in that field was his
co-founding of CPL/Gang Publications (CPL being short for the
fanzine Contemporary Pictorial Literature) and his work on The
Charlton Bullseye for Charlton Comics.
Layton’s work could be described as
“polished”, clean lines and clarity of storytelling being
hallmarks of his realistic art. He is at his best when he inks
his own pencil work, but is also known as a strong inker all around,
improving on the work of many pencil artists. No doubt the
word “polished” is, in part, a subconscious influence of the
work for which he is probably most fondly remembered by fans: that
on Marvel’s Iron Man.
Layton worked on two different runs of the
original Iron Man series, co-plotting with writer David Michelinie
on both. He inked the pencils of John Romita, Jr. on issues
116 through 154, and finished the art of (primarily) Mark D. Bright
and Jackson “Butch” Guice between issues 215 and 250, acting as
primary penciler on several of the last ten issues. Layton
helped give a more technological look to Iron Man, and aided
Michelinie in developing a deeper and more emotionally vulnerable
man inside the armor, Tony Stark. Their “Demon in a
Bottle” storyline is considered legendary in the comics industry.
Layton is also known for being one of the primary
creative minds behind the Valiant Universe. He is the
co-creator of DC Comics’ Huntress and Marvel’s X-Factor, working
with Paul Levitz and Jackson Guice, respectively. He also
created Marvel’s second comics miniseries ever in Hercules: Prince
of Power, a beautiful and extremely underrated work.
The work of Bob Layton is some of the most
memorable in comics history, and is recommended for..., well,
everyone.
Mark Allen
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 3/06/2009"
The Mighty,
#’s 1 and 2, published by DC Comics, 32 pages, $2.99 each.
What if Superman, besides being a well-known
superhero, was also a merchandising institution? (In his
world, not ours.) And, what if, from toy lines, comic books,
clothing lines, video games, etc., he funded his own national
law-enforcement agency? Well, wonder no more, because that’s
the premise in DC Comics’ The
Mighty.
Writer Peter J. Tomasi weaves an engrossing tale
about a super-man (“Alpha One”) born of atomic testing, loved by
the masses and heroic to a fault. Despite the awe and
inspiration he sows among the populace, however, there seems
something...disturbing, lurking just under the surface. And,
when the captain of Section Omega, the afore-mentioned police force,
is mysteriously murdered, it sets up an intriguing mystery.
Tomasi does what a writer is supposed to do; he
hooks readers from the very beginning and doesn’t allow them to
“wriggle” off the line. In this case, he does it with a
story that appears straightforward, but is obviously hiding
important information, which makes it nigh-impossible to turn away.
Characterization is also well-done, as Captain
Shaw’s replacement is quickly established as a sympathetic,
likeable figure, seeking to grow into an important role and get out
from under previous public perceptions. Sound complex?
It is. In the best way.
Peter Snejbjerg’s art leaves little to nothing
to be desired. Dynamic, emotive and characterized by well-defined
line work and lots of shadowing, it serves the action of a superhero
tale quite well, while communicating the proper sense of underlying
menace and dark mood. Additionally, his storytelling and panel
arrangement are smooth and well-executed, delivering readers a
well-paced story that’s easy to follow.
In short, The
Mighty is a well-executed sequential tale suited for adults
who enjoy action, drama and mystery. Due to some violent
imagery and (unnecessary) language, it is not recommended for
younger readers.
Find The Mighty
at comics shops and online comics retailers and auctions.
Review by Mark Allen
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 2/27/2009"
The Hulk At A Crossroads
For those who enjoyed the much-touted “Planet
Hulk” storyline from a couple of years ago, I’d like to suggest
another tale in which Marvel’s Jade Giant took a wild ride out of
this world. You’ll find it in a 1984-85 saga, contained in
issues 301 through 313 of The
Incredible Hulk.
In issue 300, Doctor Strange banished the Hulk
from Earth, as he had become a creature no longer under the
influence of Bruce Banner’s persona, and was totally given to
unrestrained rage and murderous destruction. Marvel’s
“Master of The Mystic Arts”, placed the Hulk at a dimensional
crossroads, the “doorstep” of many different worlds. Here,
it was believed, the Hulk could do no harm and no harm would come to
him. Well, one outta two ain’t bad.
This storyline did something that’s always
interesting for a character who is well-established, well-defined
and in a bit of a rut; it put him in unfamiliar territory.
Fans were treated to situations in which The Hulk was no longer
“the strongest one there is”, but was in fact in danger for his
very life, more often than not.
These issues represent the tail-end of Bill
Mantlo’s stint as writer on the title, and they are a fitting
crescendo. Perhaps his greatest accomplishment was making the
Hulk an even more sympathetic character than before, despite being
nearly devoid of the power of speech. That, and giving fans a
fantastic slugfest between the Hulk and an N’Garai demon (a
reference X-Men historians should recognize) in issue 308.
Sal Buscema provided art for all but three of the
issues mentioned. My appreciation for him can be found in last
week’s Suspended Animation column. It should suffice to say
that the action of these issues could not have been better served by
anyone in the biz, then or now.
These issues are recommended for Hulk fans, as
well as those who like mystical storylines with plenty of action.
Look for them at comics shops and online retailers and auctions.
Review by Mark Allen
2/20/2009
Interviews
with author or artist available; email MiklVance@Yahoo.com
Cover
art is available on request.
News
Release
The
reviews are in and the new horror anthology, Weird Horror Tales, is
a horror indeed!
The
new collection publishes thirteen horror, science-fiction, fantasy,
and mainstream short stories all set in Light’s End, Maine.
It is written by author Michael Vance.
“Among
my favorite [stories],” wrote Tim Walters, “is ‘Wishful
Thinking’, which opens, appropriately, on Halloween night and
focuses on the frightening legend of Sara Lagle, also known as the
Witch of Light's End. "Fall Guy" is about the day Light's
End was visited by the Amazing Man who jumps off buildings. The tale
effectively uses comic book imagery and allusions, which is not
surprising since Michael Vance has a longstanding connection with
and affection for the comics medium. At times Vance's wistful,
evocative style is reminiscent of Ray Bradbury's fiction, while the
often horrific nature of the series recalls the work of writers like
H.P. Lovecraft and Robert Bloch. Michael Vance is a talented and
underrated wordsmith...
“Each of the Light’s End stories is a
snapshot of this strange town, ranging in time from its founding,
through our time, and into the future. I’d classify them as
speculative fiction with a touch of horror and an occasional touch
of science fiction.”
“Seriously,” opines Greg Mitchell, “I
thought the stories were really classy. Do you have any more Light's
End stories? It's an incredible world and I'd love to read more!”
Daniel Weaver recently wrote: “You create
a vivid scene that transplants the reader into a very specific time
and place. There are plenty of unsettling images (bones, the
monster, etc) as well as concepts (human sacrifice, cannibalism,
etc). Allowing your main character to be partially swallowed by such
a horrific creation certainly projects horrific imagery. As always,
your word choices paint vivid pictures and bring to life unique
characters. “
“My
stories are founded on the premise that there is something larger
than our narrow view of reality,” said author Michael Vance.
“Each interconnected story shares setting, history, prominent
families, and a macro plot. The
stories also focus on the Azrealites, a religious cult that works
tirelessly to reinstate that ‘Other’ on Earth through science
and the occult.”
Legendary
cover artist Keith Birdsong has painted the cover for “Weird
Horror Tales”, an homage to pulp magazines from the ‘20s,
‘30s, and ‘40s “Weird Tales” and “Horror Stories”. The
interior illustrations are by artist Earl Geier who is best known
for his horror, fantasy and science fiction artwork
The
publisher of “Weird Horror Tales”, Cornerstone Book Publishers
also publishes Masonic and esoteric books, selected pulp fiction,
art literature, limited children's books, and poetry collections.
For more information about Cornerstone, go to
www.cornerstonepublishers.com.
Airship
27 packages and publishes anthologies and novels in the pulp
magazine tradition.
In
the past, Airship 27 has released “Witchfire”, a series of
“Captain Hazzard” pulp thrillers, more pulp fiction in
“Brother Bones” and “Secret Agent X” and the WWII/SF
thriller “The Light of Men”. For more information on
Airship 27, go to www.airship27.com.
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 2/20/2009"
Comics Legend Sal Buscema
Sal Buscema began his career in comics in 1968
when he landed an inking job with Marvel Comics. He started
out inking his brother, John Buscema’s, artwork, and went on
to become a penciler himself. In the beginning, he drew in a
“house style”. However, the “look” of Sal’s pencils
developed to a point at which they characterized the company, rather
than the other way around. It’s fair to say that Buscema
also influenced at least one (perhaps two) generations of comics
fans and artists.
Remembered most favorably for his work on the
characters Spider-Man, The Hulk, Captain America, The Defenders and
Rom: Spaceknight, the artist is also known for his long individual
runs on two titles in particular: The
Incredible Hulk and The
Spectacular Spider-Man, and for his speed, at one time
drawing as many as four comics a month!
Buscema’s art was and is characterized by a
rich fluidity, and possessed an almost manic quality, both of which
made it ideal for the high-octane, slam-bang action common to
superhero fare. This is not to say that his style only serves
action scenes well, however, as he has pretty much mastered comic
book art in all of it’s forms, whether frantic or subdued.
In fact, I don’t think it’s out of bounds to call Sal Buscema
one of the best comic book artists of all time.
Throughout the years, his art has been served
best by particular inkers, making it appear more three-dimensional.
Of note, the talents of Rudy Mesina (The
Rampaging Hulk, No. 9), Bill Sienkiewicz (The
Spectacular Spider-Man, Nos. 220-229), Ernie Chan (The
Incredible Hulk, Nos. 210-212, 214-220), and Gerry Talaoc (The
Incredible Hulk, Nos. 291, 293, 294, 297-309) have all proven
wonderful matches for Sal Buscema’s pencils.
The art of Sal Buscema is highly recommended.
And, because he has been so prolific over the years, it’s not hard
to come by, price-wise. Check your local comics shop and
online auctions and retailers for single issues as well as
collections.
Mark Allen
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 2/13/2009"
Today is a day of good news. Hurrah! This is my
last column for Suspended Animation.
Why is that good news?
In February of 1989, I wrote: “The truth, however, is that
there are comics for adults, and they are capable of looking
profoundly into the human condition”, and Suspended Animation
was born. In that column, I wanted to introduce adults to the
idea that there were comics titles they could enjoy. I believe I
accomplished that.
I also wrote: “The purpose of this new weekly column is to
review the best and worst in comics. We will review comics
written and drawn solely to entertain as well as comics with
political, religious, and philosophical slants”. For twenty
years, I expressed my opinion on what was the best and worst in
comics. Job done.
In fact, at the height of its popularity, Suspended Animation
was published in dozens of newspapers and magazines, broadcast
on radio, featured on more than one hundred web sites, and read
by four million folks interested in comics. It is the longest
running comics review column in history.
There is more good news.
Although sales have steadily fallen throughout the past two
decades, and I suspect that monthly titles will cease to be
published in my lifetime (if I live another twenty years), those
who wish to read them will enjoy comic books and strips for many
years to come.
Why?
Because collecting comic books and strips has become a hobby,
millions of copies and thousands of titles remain in collections
all over the world. They will continue to be available to
buy, sell, and trade long after new comic books and strips are
published.
Hardcore fans will continue to produce fanzines about comic
books and strips. It is now more affordable to publish them than
in the past.
Did you notice the operative word is “continue”.
Suspended Animation will be continued by Mark Allen.
I thank my readers for allowing me to write about comics.
Goodbye and God bless.
Continually yours,
Michael Vance
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 2/05/2009"
Betty
& Veronica #234/23 pgs. & $2.25/Jeff Shultz,
artist; George Gladir and Kathleen Webb, writers/sold in lots of
places and at http://www.archiecomics.com/.
Well, the girls are at it again. In this
issue, Betty and Veronica bicker about boys and fashion, make up,
and resume bickering about boys and fashion. Their¢s has to be
the longest running love/hate relationship in comic books.
But it¢s all done in well-drawn and well-written light-hearted
fun, and these two girls are destined to remain friends long after
the Human Torch and The Thing hug each other, Lois Lane and
Superman tie the knot (for real and for ever), and Blondie
divorces Dagwood and runs away with his boss.
The yin and yang of Betty
& Veronica is recommended for young girls.
Michael Vance
Jughead
#186/23 pgs. & $2.25 from Archie Comics/pencils: Rex Lindsey,
words: Craig Boldman/ sold in the same places as Betty
& Veronica.
I never imagined that the last comic book I¢d
ever review would be Jughead, but it somehow seems appropriate.
After all, old Juggie never grew up, and neither have I.
Jug is a lazy, hungry, directionless, geeky
little kid in a teenaged body. In this issue, only pizza can
get that body out of bed during a snow-day break from school, he
goes to the beach during the winter to get away from crowds, and
loses out on a prize because of his aversion to cold.
Jug is also incurably likable. This
juxtaposition of poor human qualities with human virtue is what
makes all of the Archie cast believable because there is something
of Jug in each of us. As is true with all of the Archie
titles, stories are simple and whimsical, and dialog is
believable. Each story is well-drawn, visually easy to follow, and
focused on simple, clean lines and backgrounds.
Michael Vance
Check out Dark Corridor #1 for two Michael
Vance short stories at http://www.mainenterprises.ecrater.com/.
Interested in the exciting Oklahoma Cartoonists
Collection & Toy and Action Figure Museum? Try
fourcolorcommentary. blogspot.com
and http://www.youtube.com/watch%20?v=eCARtM5BvvU.
Artwork
and author photographs are available on request
At
MiklVance@Yahoo.com
NEWS
RELEASE
Richard
"Grass[hopper]" Green was a man of firsts. Pioneer comic
book fan, comics artist and writer, and musician,
"Grass" Green died on
August 5, 2002
. To commemorate his talent and
life, a new comic book titled “Forever Green” is now available
from Main Enterprises.
“Forever Green” will re-release comic strip and book material
that Green created with writer Michael Vance, some that has not
been seen outside of
Oklahoma
.
"I'm
quite pleased to be publishing ‘Forever Green’, and thank
Michael Vance for the opportunity to let people get a chance
to see these rare treasures!" said Jim Main, Main Enterprises
publisher. “The team of Vance and Green worked so well
together in these strips. I'm sure many will enjoy these
collections of some of the most offbeat comic material ever
seen!"
"He was a real talent,"
wrote Roy Thomas who was an editor and writer at
America
's two
largest comic book publishers, Marvel and DC. "And no less so
because he worked in alternative comics instead of the 'pro' ones.
Quality is quality, wherever you find it."
In the early '60s, Green established himself as a founding father
of "fandom", a loose association of people who love the
artform. As the first African-American artist to win popularity
there, his work in early fan magazines like “Alter Ego”,
“The Comicollector”, “Komix Illustrated”,
“Super-Hero”, and “Masquerader” included his two most
popular characters, “Xal-Kor, the Human Cat" and
"Wildman and Rubberroy".
Praised for his 'cartoony' art on stories that parodied mainstream
comics like “The Fantastic Four” (Marvel), his realistic art
on Xal-Kor in “Star-Studded Comics” (1964) also won him
accolades.
Grass'
art and story was published in newsstand comic book titles
including “Go-Go” and “Charlton Premier” in early 1967.
Green became the first African-American cartoonist in underground
comics beginning in the early '70s. “Super-Soul Comix” was a
hard-edged expose of racism and bigotry in
America
at the time. His Wildman and Rubberroy stories would be released
by an alternative publisher for twelve issues in the 1980s.
Beginning in the 1982, Grass worked with writer Michael Vance on
the comic strip, “Holiday Out”. Some of this work was
published through comic books including “Holiday Out Comics”
(Renegade Press), “Comico Primer” (Comico) and “Mangazine”
(Antarctic Press). It is selections from this and previously
unpublished art and related work that are being published in
“Forever Green”.
Vance has been published in dozens of
regional magazines and as a syndicated columnist and cartoonist in
over 500 newspapers. His book, “Forbidden Adventures”, has
been called a "benchmark in comics history". He also has
written the comic strip Alley Oop, and comic books including Straw
Men, Angel of Death, The Adventures of Captain Nemo, and Bloodtide.
“Forever
Green” will be a digest-sized comic book. Check
www.mainenterprises.ecrater.com
for its availability in November.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
Interviews
with author or artist available; email MiklVance@Yahoo.com
Cover
art is available on request.
News
Release
1/30/2009
Something
big just got bigger.
Legendary
cover artist Keith Birdsong has painted the cover for
“Weird Horror Tales”, an homage to pulp magazines from
the ‘20s, ‘30s, and ‘40s “Weird Tales” and
“Horror Stories”. The collection was written by
Michael Vance, and is now available.
Birdsong
is famous for his extremely realistic covers for “Star
Trek” novels, featuring the actors from the movies and
television series. He has also done work for “Star
Wars”, the cyberpunk role-playing game “Shadowrun”,
and children’s books like “The Halloween Hex”. In
addition, Birdsong’s work has been featured in films, on
Hamilton Collection collectors’ plates, and on U.S.
Postage stamps.
"Vance
offers up thirteen tales of Lovecraftian horror with a
deft sense of suspense and heart-pumping terror,” said
Ron Fortier, editor of the title. “Earl Geier’s art
for these stories is as stark and brutal as a cold
knife’s edge. His
grasp of terror is second to none, and delivers
nightmarish scenes with incredible, horrific feelings.
Whereas Keith Birdsong’s cover is simply creepy to the
max. It is a
work of intense imagination that will pull you into this
collection like a twisted siren’s song.”
“My
stories are founded on the premise that there is something
larger than our narrow view of reality,” said Vance.
“Each interconnected story shares setting, history,
prominent families, and a macro plot.
The stories also focus on the Azrealites, a
religious cult that works tirelessly to reinstate that
‘Other’ on Earth through science and the occult.”
These
stories about the fictional town of “Light's End” in
Maine
have been
published in dozens of magazines in three countries,
including “Dark Corridor”, and have also been recorded
by renowned actor William (“Murder She Wrote”) Windom.
The
interior illustrations are by artist Earl Geier who is
best known for his horror, fantasy and science fiction
artwork. In the role playing game industry, his work
includes art for “Battletech”, “Call of Cthulhu”,
and many others. He has illustrated books for “Cemetery
Dance” magazine, Chaosium, Gryphon and Subterranean
Press. For comic book, he's had work published by Dark
Horse Comics, Comiczone, Now, Innovation and DC Comics
Paradox.
Vance
has written for national and international magazines, and
as a syndicated columnist and cartoonist in over 500
newspapers. His history book, “Forbidden Adventures”,
has been called a "benchmark in comics history”. He
briefly ghosted an internationally syndicated comic strip,
wrote his own strip and several comic books. He is listed
in the Who's Who of American Comic Books and Comic Book
Superstars.
The
publisher of “Weird Horror Tales”, Cornerstone Book
Publishers also publishes Masonic and esoteric books,
selected pulp fiction, art literature, limited children's
books, and poetry collections. For more information about
Cornerstone, go to www.cornerstonepublishers.com.
Airship
27 packages and publishes anthologies and novels in the
pulp magazine tradition.
In
the past, Airship 27 has released “Witchfire”, a
series of “Captain Hazzard” pulp thrillers, more pulp
fiction in “Brother Bones” and “Secret Agent X”
and the WWII/SF thriller “The Light of Men”. For
more information on Airship 27, go to www.airship27.com.
|
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 1/30/2009"
This will be among my last columns written for Suspended
Animation, and it is time to thank those people who have impacted
my life and my reviews.
I thank R. A. Jones, Dr. Jon Suter, and Mark Allen for their
contributions. Without them, I could not have continued this
column for twenty years. I offer double thanks to Mark Allen who
will continue Suspended Animation.
My special thanks go to the newspapers, magazines, fanzines and
websites that published my reviews, and to my readers. I would
deeply appreciate a goodbye from readers who wish to do so at
MiklVance@Yahoo.com.
I also wish to thank the comics writers and artists who have
enriched and influenced my own writing. They gave me one of the
great loves of my life, imagination, and with them, I have
traveled into the past and the future, into outer space, and, most
importantly, into the human heart.
In comic strips, Walt Kelly (Pogo)
and E. C. Segar (Popeye)
had a major impact on my own work. Alley
Oop by V. T. Hamlin and Dave Graue cannot go unmentioned as
well.
Among comic book writers, I honor Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman,
John Broome, Gardner Fox, and Stan Lee for what they taught me as
a writer, and for thousands of entertaining hours.
Comic book artists to whom I owe gratitude must include Gil Kane,
Ogden Whitney, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and Wayne Boring. They
helped to make my life a four-color adventure.
And finally, I will always love those artists who worked with me
in comic strips and books as well. In particular, my
deepest, heartfelt thanks go to Wayne Truman, Grass Green, Duane
Hanson, C.T. Smith, and Rob Davis. You brought joy into a very
solitary life.
And thanks, mom and dad, for not throwing my comic books out.
Michael Vance
Check out Dark Corridor #2 for a Michael Vance short story at http://www.mainenterprises.ecrater.com/.
Interested in the exciting Oklahoma Cartoonists Collection &
Toy and Action Figure Museum? Try http://www.fourcolorcommentary.com/
and http://www.youtube.com/watch%20?v=eCARtM5BvvU.
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 1/23/2009"
Comics Legend Otto Binder [1911-¡74] was an amazingly prolific
writer in comics, pulp magazines, and novels, starting his comics
career at the Chesler Studio (¢39) and Binder Studio (¢41-¢42).
Working rapidly in almost every genre, Otto Binder¢s work is
characterized by plot centered action, simplicity, attention to
detail, and a love of the worlds contained in his own incredible
imagination.
A sample of his major work includes: ACE
(¢41-¢42) Marvo, Unknown Soldier,
Vulcan; ANGLO-AMERICAN
(¢44-¢45) Commander Steel, The
Crusaders; ARCHIE (¢39-¢44)
Black Hood, Hangman, Shield Steel
Sterling; BETTER (¢41-¢52)
Doc Strange, Fantastic Worlds;
DC COMICS (¢48-¢69) Aquaman,
Batman and Robin, Green Arrow, Hawk-man, House of Mystery, House of
Secrets, Jimmie Olsen, Johnny Quick, Legion of Super Heroes, Metal
Men, Mystery in Space, Robotman, Shining Knight, Star Spangled Kid,
Strange Adventures, Superboy, Supergirl, Superman, Tales of the
Unexpected, Tommy Tomorrow; DELL
(¢55-¢66) Broken Arrow, Dracula;
EC COMICS (¢54-¢55) Crime
Suspenstories, Crypt of Terror, Haunt of Fear, Impact, Shock
Suspenstories, Tales from the Crypt, Valor, Weird Science-Fantasy;
FAWCETT (¢41-¢53) Bulletman,
Capt. Marvel, Capt. Marvel Jr., Capt. Midnight, Commando Yank,
Golden Arrow, Hopalong Cassidy, Ibis, Marvel Family, Mary Marvel,
Minute Man, Mr. Scarlet, Phantom Eagle, Spy Smasher; HARVEY
(¢66-¢67) Bee-man, Jigsaw, Kazzan,
Magic Master, Man in Black, Pirana, Satan, Spyman; MARVEL
(¢40-¢76) All Winners Squad,
Blonde Phantom, Captain America, Captain Wonder, The Destroyer,
Human Torch, Miss America, Sub-Mariner, The Terror, Time Machine,
Tuk, Whizzer, Young Allies; NOVELTY
(¢47-¢48) Blue Bolt, Target,;
PENDULUM (¢73) 20,000
Leagues Under the Sea, Call of the Wild, Frankenstein, The Invisible
Man, Mysterious Island, Time Machine; QUALITY
(¢42-¢54) Black Condor,
Blackhawk, Dollman Kid Eternity, Uncle Sam, Nuts; STREET
& SMITH ¢41-¢43) Ajax,
Capt. Jack Commando, Doc Savage, Little Nemo, The Shadow; WARREN
(¢65-¢68) Creepy, Eerie (¡65-¡66/¢68;
WESTERN (¡64-¢69) Dr.
Solar, and Mighty Samson.
Crandall won the Harvey Award and was inducted into the Jack Kirby
Hall of Fame in 1999. He also wrote promotional comics and the comic
strips Our Ever Changing
World (58/¢59-¡60) and Our
Space Age (¡60-¢69). His work is highly recommended.
Michael Vance
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 1/16/2009"
Comics Legend Reed Crandall [1917-¡82] was among the earliest
and most talented and polished artists to work in comic books. An
employee of the Eisner and Iger Studio in 1939, Crandall first found
fame on Blackhawk, a ¡war¢
title from Quality Comics.
Reed Crandall was influenced by earlier magazine illustrators, and
his art was characterized by the use of cross-hatching and
feathering, the time-consuming technique that adds the illusion of
depth and gray tones.
Crandall¢s major work included: DC COMICS (¢40s-¢72) Weird
War Tales, various titles; DELL (¢58-¢61) Frogmen, Gunsmoke,
Hercules Unchained, Mystery Tales, Thief of Baghdad;. EC
COMICS (¢55-¢56) Confessions
Illustrated, Crime Illustrated, Crime Suspenstories, Crypt of
Terror, Extra!, Haunt of Fear, Impact, M.D., Mad, Piracy, Shock
Illustrated, Shock Suspenstories, Tales from the Crypt, Terror
Illustrated, Two-Fisted Tales, Valor, Vault of Horror, Weird
Fantasy, Weird Science-Fantasy; FICTION HOUSE (¢41-¢45) Kaanga,
Kayo Kirby, Sheena; GIL-BERTON (¢57-62) Classics
Illustrated: Hunchback of Notre Dame, In Freedom¢s Cause, Julius
Caesar, Land of the North, Lord Jim, Octopus, Oliver Twist, Reign of
Terror, Romeo and Juliet, Three Musketeers; HARVEY (¢62-¢66)
Alarming Adventures, Big Hero
Adventures, Captain Freedom, Unearthly Spectaculars; MARVEL (¢41-¢75)
Astonishing Comics, Kid Colt Outlaw
and various western titles, Battle, Battlefront, Captain America,
Creatures on the Loose, Journey into Mystery, Unknown Worlds,
Justice Comics, Love Romances, Marines in Battle, Men¢s Adventures,
Mystery Tales, Mystic, Mystical Tales, Navy Tales, Quick-Trigger
Western, Strange Stories of Suspense, Strange Tales of the Unusual,
Strange Tales, Tales of Justice, Tales of Suspense, Uncanny Tales,
The Vision; QUALITY (¢42-¢53) Blackhawk,
Military Comics, Buccaneers, Captain Daring, Captain Triumph,
Dollman, Espionage, Firebrand, Hercules, Midnight, The Ray, Uncle
Sam. T. S. DENISON (¢67-¢72) Treasure
Chest; TOWER (¢66-¢68) Dynamo,
Noman; WARREN (¢64-¢75) Vampirella,
Blazing Combat, Creepy, Eerie; WESTERN (¢62-¢73) Believe
It or Not, Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery, and The
Twilight Zone.
Crandall also worked in educational and promotional comics. His art
has been extensively reprinted, and receives the highest
recommendation.
Michael Vance
Check out Dark Corridor for a Vance story: http://www.mainenterprises.ecrater.com/.
and the Oklahoma Cartoonists Collection at http://www.fourcolorcommentary.com/.
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 1/09/2009"
Spider-Man Noir #1,
published by Marvel Publishing, Inc., 32 pages, $3.99.
Marvel has offered readers another alternate
rendition of Spider-Man, in Spider-Man
Noir. I’ve always been a fan of the concept of
“What If...?” stories, but is this one worth fans’ time and
money? Following are observations of the first issue.
Writers David Hine and Fabrice Sapolsky present
readers with a post-Great Depression world in which the poor are
victimized by the rich, and the rich are controlled by the criminal
underworld. It is a dark vision, to be sure, but not entirely
without merit. A young Peter Parker, inspired by his Aunt May
(an outspoken figure who is a thorn in the establishment’s side),
is not afraid to spit in the eye of the outlaw element. His
desire is to help usher in an age of equality for all classes.
Let’s hope he lives long enough.
A sympathetic reporter, Ben Urich, takes a liking
to Peter, and tries to protect him from his own youthful passion and
overzealousness. Urich is sympathetic in another way, however.
A way that certainly adds human frailty to his character, as well as
another dark, depressing element.
Story notwithstanding, the art of this book is
the star of the show. Carmine Di Giandomenico tailors a world
that certainly fits the mood. Strike that - it creates the
mood. The settings in the first issue are either depressing or
sleazy, and in one instance, both. The city appears dirty,
even under a blanket of snow. The characters have the appearance of
the downtrodden and defeated, with the arrogance of Norman
Osborn’s ilk and Peter’s defiant spirit being the exceptions.
Finally, the book throws predictable, but
entertaining, mysteries at readers: Who is the Spider-Man?
And, is he a murderer?
Spider-Man Noir
is not an uplifting read. From beginning to end, the reader is
“treated” to a cold, overcast sequential experience, albeit with
potential rays of light. The gore factor is a bit heavy, but
this is still well-done comics storytelling.
Review by Mark Allen
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 1/1/2009"
Comics Legend John Broome [1913-99] was a prolific comics writer,
and the co-creator of the Green Lantern, The Guardians of the
Universe, and Captain Cold and Mr. Element for Flash
comics. His science-fiction stories were first
published in pulp magazines, but agent and DC editor Julius Schwartz
convinced Broome to write for the relatively new artform of comic
books.
Broome is considered one of the best writers during the Silver Age
of comic books, starting somewhere around 1955. Although he wrote in
many different genres, he almost always injected an element or two
of science-fiction into his comics stories. When writing
science-fiction for comic books, Broome¢s strong sense of
character, his injection of science into the core of a story, and
his story twists made him a master of his art.
His work has often been reprinted in soft- and hardback collections.
Broome¢s major work includes : DC COMICS--The
Atom (¢47); Atomic Knights (¡60-¢64);
Batman (¡64-¢69); Big
Town (¡51-¢58); Captain
Comet (¡51-¡54/¢71); Charlie
Chan (¡58-¢59); Dr. Mid-Nite
(¡47-¢48, ¢72-¡74); Elongated
Man (¡65-¢67); Flash
(¡46-¡47) , [2nd version] (¡56-¢70, ¡71/¢76/¢85); Ghost
Patrol (¢48); Green Arrow
(¡59/¢61); Green Lantern
[1st version] (¡47-¢49), [2nd version] (¡59-¢70); Hawkman (¡47-¢48);
Justice Society of America (¡47-¢51); Kid Flash (¡60-¢63);
Mystery in Space (¡51-62); Phantom
Stranger (¡52-¡53/¢71); Sargon
the Sorceror (¡46-¢48); Sensation
Mystery (¡52-¢53); Star
Hawkins (¡60-¢63); Strange
Adventures (¡51-¢62); Strange
Sports Stories (¢63); FAWCETT COMICS: Captain
Marvel, (¡42-¡43); Lance
O'Casey (¢43).
Broome also wrote the comic strip Nero
Wolfe (¢56-¢57). His stories have been reprinted in Mysteries
in Space (Simon & Schuster, ¡80), Secret
Origins of the Super DC Heroes (Harmony, ¢76), Green
Lantern and Green Arrow (Coronet, ¢72), Batman
from the ¡30s to the ¡70s, (Crown Publishing, ¢71) and
several other collections.
John Broome won the coveted Inkpot Award in 1998. His work is highly
recommended.
Michael Vance
Check out Dark Corridor #2 for a Michael Vance short story at http://www.mainenterprises.ecrater.com/.
Interested in the exciting Oklahoma Cartoonists Collection & Toy
and Action Figure Museum? Try http://www.fourcolorcommentary.com/
and www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCARtM5BvvU.
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 12/21/2008"
Franklin Richards: Son of a
Genius, published by Marvel Publishing, Inc.
Lately, Marvel Comics has been producing one of
the most entertaining and endearing ongoing comics projects the
industry has seen in years. “Civil
War?”, you say? Nope. “Secret
Invasion!” rings the response. Wrong again.
No, this is not some massive crossover,
engineered to overdose readers on teeth-clenching conflict and
ever-descending darkness, while simultaneously draining their
wallets. Just the opposite. The continuing story of Franklin
Richards: Son of a Genius is the light-hearted, all-ages
account of the little boy who lives with the Fantastic Four.
His heroic family often out on a mission, or otherwise engrossed,
Franklin is left in the care of his robot “nanny”, H.E.R.B.I.E.
Lucky for readers, one ‘bot is not enough to keep an eye on this
toe-headed tyke.
Generally, Franklin’s adventures involve his
tinkering with father Reed Richards’ amazing inventions.
Anyone even slightly familiar with the large role said creations
have played in Fantastic Four comics and/or movies can imagine the
sheer wonderment a child would experience when left to his own
devices in Dad’s lab. You can also imagine the hilarious
hijinx that ensue when Franklin dives in.
The art and “feel” of Franklin
Richards is inspired by the
strip Calvin and Hobbes.
And, while not on the same level, the simple pleasure of reading it
is not unlike what is felt enjoying Dennis
The Menace or Peanuts.
What’s more, Franklin
is one of the few comic books being published (along with various
Archie publications) that has the potential for crossover appeal to
readers of newspaper comic strips, exclusively - Yes, they’re
still out there, folks. With several short stories routinely
contained within one comic book, all written so as to require zero
knowledge of the character’s history, these comics are accessible
to everyone. Which is EXACTLY who should be reading them, by
the way.
Kudos to creators Chris Eliopoulos and Marc Sumerak. Let’s
hope Marvel keeps them, and Franklin, around.
Franklin Richards: Son of a Genius
is recommended.
Review by Mark Allen
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 12/18/2008"
Veronica #s 180-164,
185-188/approx. 21 pgs. & $2.25 each from Archie Comic/sold in
lots of shops and http://www.archiecomics.com/.
There has long been speculation and never much agreement about what
makes something an icon. If it were possible to reduce the creation
of such a symbol to a formula, that illusive secret would make
everyone rich.
It is, however, possible to point out differences in icons. Veronica
Lodge is an icon. She wears no costume, has no super or extended
powers, enjoys no exciting adventures like Luke Skywalker or Indiana
Jones, and yet is known by almost everyone. What she is is a
selfish, conniving, egotistical, rich girl who has done nothing to
earn her wealth and has no ambitions beyond whatever captures her
interest for a moment.
She is also beloved. Considering the aforementioned character
flaws, that is amazing indeed.
In the reviewed numbers of her title, Veronica attempts to
become the center of attention at her prom, squanders money on
possessions she doesn¢t need, tries to buy friendship, gossips
about and manipulates her friends, and generally makes life crummy.
She is and does what the most selfish part of most of us would like
to do but don¢t, and we live the worst of our desires through her
without bearing the consequences. That¢s the secret of her
success.
It certainly doesn¢t hurt that she is well drawn and consistently
written in mostly believable situations and with believable dialog.
Her success is also possible because she is contrasted by Archie and
Betty, Midge and Moose, and a cast of characters who are actually
trying to get life right, selflessly, to varying degrees. Without
them, Veronica would be a horror.
Now that you know her secret, buy her title, and enjoy. She is a
guilty pleasure you can afford.
Veronica is recommended.
Michael Vance
Check out Dark Corridor #2 for a Michael Vance short story at http://www.mainenterprises.ecrater.com/.
Interested in the exciting Oklahoma Cartoonists Collection & Toy
and Action Figure Museum? Try http://www.fourcolorcommentary.com/
and http://www.youtube.com/watch%20?v=eCARtM5BvvU.
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 12/11/2008"
Iron Man: The End,
published by Marvel Publishing, Inc., 56 pages, $4.99.
It’s official. The Iron Man movie is a
hit. According to Box
Office Mojo, it grossed over $318,000,000, and ranked 21st in
all-time domestic grosses, coming in before half of the Star Wars
flicks, and all Indiana Jones and Harry Potter movies. So, far
be it from me not to recommend Iron
Man: The End.
Understand, I’m not recommending it because of
any particular financial statistics. This book gets three
cheers from me because it’s a well-done piece of sequential art.
Writer David Michelinie is no stranger to the
character, having had part in introducing Tony Stark’s alcohol
problem to readers in the ‘70's, and creating Jim Rhodes, a
character that has played prominently in the comics and the movie.
In The End,
Michelinie portrays Stark as an aging inventor, challenged to leave
a final, lasting technological mark upon the world, and find a
replacement to take up the mantle of the armored adventurer.
Aided by co-plotter Bob Layton, another Iron
Man veteran, he deftly portrays a mentally and emotionally
exhausted character, still struggling with past addictions, and
desperate to complete his “greatest- - and last- - gift to
humankind.” In this, Marvel’s tradition of interesting and
complex characters continues.
Bernard Chang’s art is highly instrumental in
impressively portraying the technological aspects that have always
been important to the character. He also ably etches years of
pain and weariness on the face of Stark, as well as the
determination by which the character has always been marked.
Inks by Layton round out what is a note-worthy chapter of Iron Man
lore.
So, what was with all of the movie talk, you ask?
That was simply to illustrate the point that millions of Americans
continue to discover something many have known for years — that
there is much literary value and entertainment to be found in the
pages of comic books.
Now, go introduce a fan of the movie to Iron
Man: The End.
Review by Mark Allen
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 12/05/2008"
Blue Plaque Publication/sold in some comic shops, from their
creators, and http://www.blueplaquepublications.com/.
Fourteen creative writers and artists are looking for a few, good
creative minds. In their own words:
“Welcome to the online home of the Blue Plaque Publications Co-Op.
The BPP is one of the oldest co-ops still in existence, and serves
as a meeting ground for like-minded publishers interested in
creating their own comics and [fan]zines.
“Along with the regular club newsletter, THE BLUESLETTER, the BPP
also plans and publishes group projects such as the BPP SPECIAL and
other joint ventures between its members.”
In short (and most BPP publications are short indeed) if you want to
self-publish your own work without interference from an editor, this
cooperative is for you.
Most of the work is comics or comics related, and varies widely in
subject, quantity, and quality. The latest BPP Checklist offers six
publications: “The Least Last Lost Past Participle of Lust on our
List”, “Captain Spectacular”, “The Scriptgraphics Small
Press: The BPP Issue #6”, “Kulprit”, and…well, you get the
idea. The titles alone promise variety.
All are reasonably priced, and some titles are free!
The latest issue received at Suspended Animation was Monster
World #1 by Sam Gafford. It is a tiny 5 1/2” x 4 1/4”
mini-comic of eight pages about a world where monsters are real and
opposed by a C.I.A. like agency, S.T.A.K.E. I can’t review it here
because of conflict-of-interest; Sam Gafford is my friend,
therefore, my review would be biased.
But if you are most interested in the polished, heavily structured
work of professional publishers like DC and Marvel Comics, Blue
Plaque Publications will not be your cup of tea.
If you are interested in reading the hands-off art and story of the
BPP, or in joining, send an email to: Floyd Sumner at blackmirth@hotmail.com.
Michael Vance
Check out Dark Corridor #2 for a Michael Vance short story at http://www.mainenterprises.ecrater.com/.
Interested in the exciting Oklahoma Cartoonists Collection & Toy
and Action Figure Museum? Try http://www.fourcolorcommentary.com/
and http://www.youtube.com/watch%20?v=eCARtM5BvvU
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 11/24/2008"
The Dreamer #1, published
by IDW, 32 pages, $3.99.
Ah, high school life. Many of us have been
there. Best
friends. Crushes. Drama auditions. Nightly
dreams that take place during the American
Revolution....
Okay, that last one might not be common place for
most. But for 17-year-old Bea Whaley, it is. What’s
more, she finds herself falling for a man who is a regular cast
member in her dreams.
Right away, I see that The
Dreamer has great potential to draw young female readers to
comics. I also see that it’s not a “girl comic”.
Confused? No need to be, as you will soon see.
The Dreamer
is well-constructed from the bottom, up. So, what’s the
“bottom” for a comic
book story, you ask? Characterization, dear reader,
what else? If readers don’t care about a character, why
should they invest in a story? As with any structure, without
a good foundation, everything else falls apart. And EVERYONE
likes great characters, gender notwithstanding.
Thanks to writer/artist Lora Innes, that
characterization is accompanied by an engaging, dramatic plot, and
more. “And more? What’s THAT mean?” Well,
the plot takes place primarily in the dream, and I’m not going to
spoil it for you. Bea’s every day life, however, has the
“feel” of a situation
comedy. In it, she shares her dream with her
girlfriends, decides how to deal with her long-time crush having
competition from a dream-suiter, spars verbally with a facetious
cousin, and..., well, you get the idea. It makes for a
satisfyingly humorous read.
Innes’ art work does not have a polished,
professional look. It does, however, have a bold, clean line,
lends wonderful expression to the cast members, and is utilized
quite successfully in switching from modern day to tales of old.
All in all, it helps make this a comic book that is unique and
entertaining.
The Dreamer
is recommended for teen readers and up. Find it at your local
comics shop, online retailers and auctions, and at www.idwpublishing.com
.
Review by Mark Allen
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 11/20/2008"
Archie & Friends
#117, 23 pages and $2.25 from Archie Comics. Sold in comic and
other shops, and on-line at http://www.archiecomics.com/.
The format of Archie and Friends
usually includes a story focused on Archie and a story about a
secondary character like Dilbert (the resident boy genius), or Katy
Keene (the fashion model), or Jughead (the jughead). Not so
for issue #117 in which Archie, assorted pals, and several high
school teachers travel to London with promised trips to Madrid,
Nairobi, Rome, and Zurich.
In addition to leaving the familiar haunts of Riverdale, this first
of a four issue ¡mini-series¢ within the title also promises a
James Bond type adventure for the ensemble. Imagine a Saved
by the Bell episode on television.
If this all sounds atypical, throw in an atypical team of writers
and artists. This is Archie with a twist, and a fun twist at that,
because the artist and writer of the first of the four issues are
exceptionally talented.
While staying true to the visual icons of Archie and cast, artist
Rex Lindsey adds much more to his backgrounds and setting than
usually graces an Archie
issue. His line is clean and sure, and his visual storytelling is
flawless.
Writer Alex Simmons keeps each cast member in character while adding
believable dialog and the plot twists needed for such an extended
story. Since most Archie stories are six or eight or twelve
pages in length, this promised four issue adventure is an Archie
novel by comparison.
My kudos to the creative and editorial staff of Archie Comics whom
consistently turn out solid entertainment that can be enjoyed by
anyone. In an industry where the dark underbelly of life now
dominates, Archie & Friends
and all of the Archie titles are recommended for the young and the
young at heart.
Michael Vance
Check out Dark Corridor #2 for a Michael Vance short story at http://www.mainenterprises.ecrater.com/.
Interested in the exciting Oklahoma Cartoonists Collection & Toy
and Action Figure Museum? Try http://www.fourcolorcommentary.com/
and http://www.youtube.com/watch%20?v=eCARtM5BvvU
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 11/14/2008"
Zinc Alloy,
published by Stone Arch Books, 40 pages, hardback.
As a parent, I want my children to enjoy
reading. As a comics fan, I want more young readers drawn to
the hobby. Zinc Alloy could help on both counts.
Zack Allen is your typical, small, nerdy boy.
A favorite target of bullies, noogies and wet willies are a
regular occurrence. Zack is also extremely intelligent,
however. He must be, since he manages to build a giant
robot, primarily for the purpose of teaching said bullies a
lesson. Instead, he ends up becoming a hero.
Though Zinc
Alloy is a graphic novel for elementary readers, I’ll
admit to my own initial excitement at finding it on the shelf of
my local library. After all, actual graphic novels for
children are still rare, despite increasing acceptance of the
literary form. My kids love it. And, I think parents
will enjoy reading it to their children, due mostly to it’s
light-hearted fun and potential life lessons.
Author Donald Lemke has created a character in
Zack Allen to which most young children will be able to relate.
He has also produced a story that is brimming with action, humor
and the potential for great learning.
As younger readers are apt to be drawn into a
story by the illustrations, artist Douglas Holgate is to be
commended for his ability to translate Lemke’s story into
exciting visual form. His characters have individual
personalities, and his robotic protagonist will no doubt illicit
plenty of responses like “Cool!” and “Awesome!”.
Hey, children getting excited about reading - that’s what it’s
all about, right?
Additional features include a glossary of words
used in the book, a short history of comics, and discussion
questions that parents and/or teachers can use to drive home
important points.
Zinc Alloy
is highly recommended for young readers. Parents should buy
it for their children, and libraries should stock it. Find
it at bookstores, online retailers (Amazon lists it for under five
dollars.) and at www.stonearchbooks.com .
Review by Mark Allen
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 11/07/2008"
I got a freebie, I got a freebie (stated in a sing-song,
irritating manner).
For those obsessed with sex, that actually means that when I won a
magazine on eBay, the merchant included a free book with my
purchase—Action Force
#20 from 1987.
Yes, I am easily excited.
As backstory, Action Force
was a 24 page, magazine-sized comic book published by the British
division of Marvel Comics every week. It featured edited reprints
of G.I. Joe published in
America with added British stories and filler pieces. It was
published to stimulate the sales of a line of “action
figures”, i.e. toys for boys.
I’m glad my copy was free. It was worth what I paid for it.
The British produced stories based Action
Force in Europe. The G.I.
Joe reprints were edited for continuity with these stories.
The art is serviceable and the stories difficult to follow since
they are only a segment of a larger continuity. The dialog is a
bit stilted, and certainly the primary audience for Action
Force was young boys since melodrama and action, action,
action dominate. The theme is international military
intrigue with just a touch of James Bond thrown in for spice.
So why review a comic book title that was not exceptional and was
published more than twenty years ago? There are two reasons.
First: One of the joys of this still relatively new hobby of
collecting comic books and strips is that you can now find and
purchase almost anything, no matter how old.
Second: If you haven’t read Action
Force, it is new to you.
Alright, you caught me. The real second reason is that it
was a freebie.
Action Force #20/original
price $1.50, 24 pgs., Marvel Comics/various writers and
artists/sold in some comic shops, on ebay, and on-line comics
dealers.
Review by Michael Vance
Check out Dark Corridor #1 for two Michael Vance short stories at http://www.mainenterprises.ecrater.com/.
Interested in the exciting Oklahoma Cartoonists Collection &
Toy and Action Figure Museum? Try http://www.fourcolorcommentary.com/
and http://www.youtube.com/watch%20?v=eCARtM5BvvU.
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 10/30/2008"
Elemental Fources,
issues 1-3, published by New Baby Productions, 28 pages, $3.49.
Four people, granted elemental powers, are
formed to battle an ancient evil and protect a powerful
metaphysical artifact called the Terminus Libre. Along with
a group of scientists/alchemists (who also dabble in magic) called
The Brotherhood, they seek to stave off the forces of evil on the
eve of Apocalypse.
That’s the premise of a new series called Elemental
Fources. And, while showing a bit of individuality,
only time will tell whether or not this book garners any kind of
following.
Unfortunately, Fources
is not terribly original on it’s surface, which is not a good
thing in today’s glut of four-color flash and little substance.
Super team books are a dime a dozen and that makes it difficult
from the get-go not to be derivative. That means that writer
Crisman Strunk must work hard to make characterization shine in
this book. He seems to be polishing.
Strunk manages to show the characters in
action, as well as enjoying leisure time together, all in the
first issue. In each case, there seem to be sincere efforts
at deepening them. More work needs to be done to make them
stand out, but a beginning can be seen. He also achieves an
entertaining surprise by issue three, with help from co-plotter
Eric Mullarky.
The villain of the story is fairly standard.
A ruthless and frightening demon, but a bit too straightforward in
his violence. If writers are going to use violence that
approaches over-the-top status, there should be something unique
about the antagonist. It’s always helpful to remember that
popular heroes usually owe at least some of their success to their
unusual villains.
The art of Fources
has a “talented amateur” look about it. Figures are a
bit stiff, but artists John Becaro and J.C. Grande manage to keep
characters’ proportions consistent. They also give readers
visually interesting villains.
Due to violent imagery and dark subject matter,
Elemental Fources is not for children.
Review by Mark Allen
10/27/2008
I am proud of the role I played in creating the Oklahoma
Cartoonists Collection inside the Toy and Action Figure
Museum in Pauls Valley Oklahoma. I just put up
some pictures from the Grand Opening in 2005 at http://www.flickr.com/photos/miklvance/?saved=1.
That's my flickr account.
Hope you'll look.
|
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 10/24/2008"
Speed Demonz #1/32 pgs.
& $3.99 from Angry Viking Press/words and art by Gabriel
Lamberty/sold at comics shops and at www.angryvikingpress.com.
Let’s do the math. Comic books in the
early 1930s were 64 pages of art and story at about 12 panels per
page. Most stories were eight pages in length. That equals
about 768 panels for 10 cents, or a tiny fraction of 1 cent per
panel.
Speed Demonz
is 32 pages and most of those feature one, two, or three panels
per page. There are 77 panels in the first issue. Cost: $4.00.
That’s 19.25 cents per panel.
Is Speed
Demonz worth it?
The Speed
Demonz is “an underground street racing syndicate
painting the city streets with death and violence.” It
took less than two minutes to read it.
What happened?
A bunch of tough guys and gals pointed big guns
and challenged each other to a race in fancy cars. I don’t
know their names or anything about their personalities. There
isn’t even a hint at what will follow in the second issue beyond
a car race. The whole issue felt like the opening three minutes of
a television show. If it were a television show, I
wouldn’t be tuning in next week.
Sure the art is nice, anime influenced, and
dynamic, but just slightly better than average. Without a story,
however, it wouldn’t have made any difference to me if it had
been drawn by Michelangelo.
Comics aren’t about art alone. We have lots
of art galleries offering art for art’s sake. Comics
aren’t only about story either. We have lots of short stories
and novels that satisfy that need.
Nor is a comic book a television show or a
motion picture. Comics is the marriage of art and story.
Speed Demonz
isn’t even a first date.
Michael Vance
Check out Dark Corridor #1 for two Michael
Vance short stories at http://www.mainenterprises.ecrater.com/.
Interested in the exciting Oklahoma Cartoonists
Collection & Toy and Action Figure Museum? Try http://www.fourcolorcommentary.com/
and http://www.youtube.com/watch%20?v=eCARtM5BvvU.
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 10/17/2008"
Chase, Published by DC Comics, 32 pages, $2.50 cover price,
back issue prices vary.
Everyone knows the pain of a doomed
relationship, either personally or through a friend.
Sometimes it is due to someone’s inability to grow up.
Perhaps the reason is too much distance, either geographically or
emotionally. Or, it could have been because a publisher
cancelled a really great comic book title, leaving a giant hole to
be filled in readers everywhere.
(I may have shoe-horned that last example, a bit.)
DC Comics’ Chase
was launched and cancelled in 1998, thus making emotional donuts
out of said readers. One of those donuts was me.
Chase
had a premise previously unseen and was, in my opinion, one of
DC’s most entertaining titles at the time. It’s
cancellation was a loss for readers.
The main character, Cameron Chase, worked for
the DEO. That’s “Department of Extranormal Operations”
to you and I. They keep an eye on all metahuman activity.
Considering Chase’s disdain for super powered individuals, one
may wonder if this is the perfect job for her, or the worst job
she could have. Regardless, the premise worked.
Writer D.C. Johnson made Chase a deep, complex
and likeable character, simultaneously weaving wonderful webs of
entertaining plots. One of the most enjoyable came in issue
six, entitled “Family Secrets.” Within, he reveals the
reason for Cameron’s dislike of superheroes, as well as giving a
thoroughly engrossing peek into the world of previously-unknown
second-tier DC heroes. That single issue was my favorite of
the entire run.
The art of J.H. Williams III was based in
reality, pregnant with mood and, somehow, seemed engulfed in
shadows without being obscured. His storytelling and panel
arrangement were non-traditional, but never confusing. His
work fostered “eye-flow” and the reader wasn’t left
wondering which way to go on a page. In short, it was quite
stylish.
Chase
is still a wild ride, and is recommended for all but the youngest
of readers. Find it at comics shops or online retailers and
auctions.
Mark Allen
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 10/10/2008"
Betty & Veronica Spectacular
#s78-83/26 pgs. & $2.25 each/Dan Parent, principal artist and
writer/sold in lots of places and at http://www.archiecomics.com/.
Who reads about Archie's girlfriends, Betty and
Veronica, in B & V Spectacular?
Here are a few clues. "How to Have Your Own Beach Bash!",
"Home EC. Or Shop?", "Eco Friendly Tips, Fashions
& Fun!", and "Cool Summer Fashions!" are all
cover blurbs for this Archie Comics title.
What, you couldn't guess? Young girls read
this title, you ninny! Girls, girls, girls!!! Therefore,
who is not qualified to review these themed issues for young girls?
Why, it's ye old reviewer, me, the ninny!
I don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' no babies, or
how to apply make-up, or how to look pretty and attract a guy
(although I am kind of cute). I do know art, however, and B
& V is no slouch in this department, maintaining the high
standard of minimalistic or 'cartoonish' art in all Archie titles.
About half of each issue features an actual
story; visual and prose essays about the social and cultural aspects
of being a girl round out each edition.
In the latest reviewed issue, the girls find a
new swimming hole that is claimed by those mangy boys as their
exclusive secret. The rest is talk, talk, talk about clothes, summer
vacation ideas, and clothes, beach tips about sun-block and sun
glasses, and, well, clothes.
Dialog is believable, and Betty and Veronica and
their supporting characters all ring true to long established
personalities. But don't ask me about the nuances of wearing a
bikini to the beach, or doing my nails, or flirting appropriately
with the new hunk in town.
I don't even know how to flirt with the old hunk
in town.
Betty &
Veronica Spectacular comics are recommended for young girls.
Michael Vance
Check out Dark Corridor #1 for two Michael Vance
short stories at http://www.mainenterprises.ecrater.com/.
Interested in the exciting Oklahoma Cartoonists
Collection & Toy and Action Figure Museum? Try http://www.fourcolorcommentary.com/
and
http://www.youtube.com/watch%20?v=eCARtM5BvvU.
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 10/02/2008"
Captain Gravity and The Power of
The Vril, published by Penny Farthing Press, 194 pages,
$19.95.
Joshua Jones is a hero. He just doesn’t
know it. And, as a young black man working in the movie
industry of the ‘30's, not many people would give him the benefit
of the doubt. Destiny took a hand, however, when Joshua was
“infected” by what he knows as Element 115. Readers of
this volume will come to know it as The Vril, and it’s tied-in to
an epic adventure involving Nazi’s, Atlantis, and an objectionable
symbol with which most everyone is familiar.
Readers will also come to know Joshua for the
hero that he is. Unsure, a bit short on self-confidence, and
certainly not unflappable, but a hero nonetheless. Writer
Joshua Dysart gives us much more than the traditional hero. To
his credit, he treats us to a protagonist who is more akin to what
we might be, were we to put on a mask for daring-do. Much
more...human. He also takes readers along for a ride that is
sometimes surprising, sometimes frightening and always entertaining.
Plot AND characterization. What more could you ask from a
comics story?
Well, you COULD ask for great art. Art that
is dynamic. Art that gives characters a lot of personality.
Art that is successful at portraying the heights of heroism, as well
as the depths of evil. And, in this case, you would get your
wish in the artwork of Sal Velluto. Velluto’s work is
heavily based in realism, and can be compared to that of comics
legend Neal Adams. I discovered his work when he drew the
short-lived Firebrand series for DC Comics in 1996 and have been a
fan ever since. Notably, his covers for the individual issues,
reproduced in this tome, are, quite simply, masterpieces.
Captain Gravity
and The Power of The Vril is recommended for all but the
youngest readers, due to some profanity. Find it at comics
shops, comics conventions and online retailers and auctions.
Mark Allen
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 09/26/2008"
Who's Who of American Comic Books:
1928-1999/free on your computer/created by Jerry Bails and lots of
associate fans.
Type the above title into your browser or
www.bailsprojects.com/(S(smxt4e454yvud23abrsd1w45))/whoswho.aspx,
and here
is what you will find on the home page:
"On November 23, 2006, the "Father Of
Comic Book Fandom" and creator of this database, Jerry Bails,
passed away in his sleep. This website remains a continued tribute
to his efforts at making sure that those who helped create our
favorite four-color medium are given the credit that they richly
deserve."
In addition to this introduction, you'll find the
most comprehensive listing of American cartoonists and their work
ever compiled.
It wasn't always so.
The Who's Who of
American Comic Books was originally published as a series of
magazines. If you can find a set today, buy them. They are
rare indeed. I am blessed to own a set, and have used it as a source
of information when writing Suspended Animation for almost twenty
years.
That list of cartoonists and their work includes
an artist's or writer's birthday and deathday, his education, the
comics titles he worked on and the dates they appeared, and comics
related work like comic strips, advertising, prose books, movie
posters, and much more.
This list is so comprehensive that I'd guess one
could spend years reading without finishing it. It is unparalleled
and unsurpassed in the world of comics.
It is difficult to imagine a serious fan of
comics who would not find hours of enjoyment here. In fact, no
matter how great a comics scholar, there is something surprising and
new on almost every page.
That aforementioned home page finishes with:
"Thank you Jerry Bails; may the rest of us in comic fandom
continue to do your example proud."
Amen.
This wonderful resource receives the highest
recommendation.
Review by Michael Vance
Check out Dark Corridor #1 for two Michael Vance
short stories at
http://www.mainenterprises.ecrater.com/.
Interested in the exciting Oklahoma Cartoonists
Collection & Toy and Action Figure Museum? Try http://www.fourcolorcommentary.com/
and www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCARtM5BvvU.
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 09/19/2008"
Hulk: Gray, published by
Marvel Comics, 6-issue miniseries, 32 pages, $3.50.
Sometimes, life is about catching up. I
suppose, in the eyes of some, I will have only begun to do so, as I
just now read my first comics work by the team of Jeph Loeb and Tim
Sale.
“What’s that you say, Mr. Professional Comics
Reviewer? Isn’t that somewhat irresponsible of you?”
No, it isn’t, as I’m not a professional. Just a fan, lucky
enough to have been syndicated, lo these past eight years. My
only responsibility is to tell people about comics work that is
exceptional, not trendy. And, in my opinion, Hulk:
Grey, while certainly popular with many, is not exceptional.
Just solid.
It’s not that writer Jeph Loeb’s
characterization is bad, there’s just nothing new, here.
We’ve seen General Thunderbolt Ross’ obsessive hunting of the
Hulk. We’ve seen the monster’s outrage at being locked in
an underground bunker. We’ve seen the Hulk battle Iron Man,
Betty Ross (the General’s daughter) pine away over Bruce Banner (aka
The Hulk), Banner lament his Jekyll-and-Hyde condition, and Dr.
Leonard Samson, Psychiatrist, analyze Bruce/Hulk, his behaviors and
relationships. No, we’ve never seen the Hulk caress a cute
little furry animal to death, and, while unusual (and creepy),
that’s hardly enough on which to base a six-issue mini.
It’s not that Tim Sale’s art is below par.
In fact, his Hulk looks quite formidable and frightening, if a
little too “devilish” at times. After all, the Hulk is a
monstrous brute, not a demon. The sometimes-pointy eyebrows
and misshapen, “snaggly” teeth seem a bit over the top.
Sale’s storytelling abilities are quite superb, and his characters
highly expressive. They’re just not being used to convey any
new ideas.
It’s not that Hulk:
Gray isn’t recommended - it is, for all but the youngest
readers. But I also recommend that it be bought at a discount,
as I bought it. Find it at comics shops, comics conventions
and online retailers and auctions.
Review by Mark Allen
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 09/12/2008"
Strange and Stranger: The World of
Steve Ditko/220 pgs. & $39.99 from Fantagraphics Books/by
Blake Bell/sold in comics and book shops and at
www.fantagraphics.com.
This critical retrospective celebrates the work
and life of one of comic¢s most original and fiercely independent
cartoonists in the last fifty years, Steve Ditko.
Not only is he the co-creator of Marvel Comic¢s
Spider-Man and creator of Dr. Strange, he is, without
question, the leading proponent in comics of the Objectivist
philosophy of life established by writer and novelist Ayn Rand.
Objectivism is similar to libertarianism. He has paid a heavy
price for that philosophy; Ditko has never received the financial
remuneration he deserves, admittedly because of the restrictive
contracts that he signed when it was common to do so in the
publishing industry.
Ditko¢s reality based art has a subtle
awkwardness in human stance and an off-kilter perspective in the
environment of his characters that has made it unique and perfect,
in particular, for teenaged Spider-man and mystic Dr. Strange.
This volume is full of this art, the characters
he created, and of his personal history, including a more implied
than stated criticism of his philosophy and the negative impact it
has had on his career as an artist. Therefore, if you¢ve ever
wanted to work in comics or to know about the working conditions
therein, or what it means to be creative in the world of art, Strange
and Stranger is for you.
If you¢re a comics fanatic who wants to learn
the above plus as much as you can about the man and the artist named
Steve Ditko, this book is also for you.
Since Ditko is in his 80s at this writing, I
doubt their will be a more comprehensive retrospect published during
his lifetime. This wonderful book receives the highest
recommendation.
Review by Michael Vance
Check out Dark Corridor #1 for two Michael Vance
short stories at http://www.mainenterprises.ecrater.com/.
Interested in the exciting Oklahoma Cartoonists
Collection & Toy and Action Figure Museum? Try
www.fourcolorcommentary.com, and www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCARtM5BvvU.
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 09/05/2008"
Spider-Man:
With Great Power, five issues, published by Marvel
Publishing, Inc., 32 pages, $3.99.
I’ve always been a sucker for the classic
Marvel characters, as portrayed in their infancy by the likes of
Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, Jack Kirby, and the rest of the Silver Age
Marvel crew. But no character has intrigued me more than Peter
Parker, aka Spider-Man. That’s why I had to check out
Marvel’s recent 5-issue miniseries, Spider-Man:
With Great Power.
Not a re-telling so much as an expansion on the
classic origin, Spider-Man: WGP
takes place between the time Peter gets bitten by that infamous
radioactive spider (“genetic super spider” for those who have
only seen the movie) and his Uncle Ben’s untimely demise.
The story focuses on his career as a professional
wrestler, which turns out to be much longer than in the original
version. What is appealing about this story is that writer
David Lapham makes Peter relatable to today’s teen. From his
desire to be considered an adult (“It’s Spider-Man...I don’t
want to be kid, lad, or tot anything! I’m all grown up!”,
he tells the wrestling promoter.), to his inability to handle the
world of grown-ups, despite his desire, it all rings true.
Dialogue, motivations, everything. Lapham also serves up a
wonderfully ironic ending, complete with foreshadowing.
The art of Tony Harris is also exceptional.
Harris’ work is not easily mistaken for that of anyone else.
He is highly stylized, incredibly skilled in characterization and
one of the best storytellers in comics today. It’s a shame
that his work was absent from the interiors of issue five, but David
Lapham (as fine an artist as he is a writer) did a respectable job
of maintaining “flow”, protecting the reader from a serious
jolt.
All-in-all, Spider-Man:
With Great Power is a worthy addition to the canon, and worth
the reader’s hard earned lucre. Recommended to all but the
youngest of fans. Find it at comics shops, and online auctions
and retailers.
Review by Mark Allen
9/02/08
Artwork
and author photographs are available on request
At
MiklVance@Yahoo.com
NEWS
RELEASE
Richard
"Grass[hopper]" Green was a man of firsts. Pioneer comic
book fan, comics artist and writer, and musician, "Grass"
Green died on August 5, 2002. To commemorate his talent and life, a
new comic book titled “Forever Green” will be published in
November by Main
Enterprises.
“Forever Green” will re-release comic strip and book material
that Green created with writer Michael Vance, some that has not been
seen outside of Oklahoma.
"I'm
quite pleased to be publishing ‘Forever Green’, and thank
Michael Vance for the opportunity to let people get a chance to
see these rare treasures!" said Jim Main, Main Enterprises
publisher. “The team of Vance and Green worked so well
together in these strips. I'm sure many will enjoy these
collections of some of the most offbeat comic material ever
seen!"
"He was a real talent," wrote
Roy
Thomas who was an editor and writer at America's two largest comic
book publishers, Marvel and DC. "And no less so because
he worked in alternative comics instead of the 'pro' ones. Quality
is quality, wherever you find it."
In the early '60s, Green established himself as a founding
father of "fandom", a loose association of people
who love the artform. As the first African-American artist to win
popularity there, his work in early fan
magazines like “Alter Ego”, “The Comicollector”,
“Komix Illustrated”, “Super-Hero”, and “Masquerader”
included his two most popular characters, “Xal-Kor, the Human
Cat" and "Wildman and Rubberroy".
Praised for his 'cartoony' art on stories that parodied mainstream
comics like “The
Fantastic Four” (Marvel), his realistic art on Xal-Kor in
“Star-Studded Comics” (1964) also won him accolades.
Grass'
art and story was published in newsstand comic
book titles including “Go-Go” and “Charlton Premier”
in early 1967.
Green became the first African-American cartoonist in underground
comics beginning in the early '70s. “Super-Soul Comix” was a
hard-edged expose of racism and bigotry in America
at the time. His Wildman and Rubberroy stories would be released by
an alternative publisher for twelve issues in the 1980s.
Beginning in the 1982, Grass worked with writer Michael Vance on the
comic strip, “Holiday Out”. Some of this work was published
through comic books including “Holiday Out Comics” (Renegade
Press), “Comico Primer” (Comico) and “Mangazine” (Antarctic
Press). It is selections from this and previously unpublished
art and related work that are being published in “Forever
Green”.
Vance has been published in dozens of regional
magazines and as a syndicated columnist and cartoonist in
over 500 newspapers. His book, “Forbidden Adventures”, has been
called a "benchmark in comics history". He also has
written the comic strip Alley
Oop, and comic books including Straw Men, Angel
of Death, The
Adventures of Captain Nemo, and Bloodtide.
“Forever
Green” will be a digest-sized comic book. Check
www.mainenterprises.ecrater.com
for its availability in November.
9/02/08
Interviews
with author or artist available; email MiklVance@Yahoo.com
News
Release
Let’s
get graphic. “Weird Horror Tales” just got really weird.
It
was announced today that legendary artist Earl Geier is illustrating
the upcoming book by author Michael Vance. Published in early 2009,
“Weird Horror Tales” will be an homage to pulp
magazines from the ‘20s, ‘30s, and ‘40s like “Horror
Stories” and “Weird
Tales”.
"Michael
Vance offers up thirteen tales of Lovecraftian
horror with a deft sense of suspense and heart-pumping
terror,” said Ron Fortier, editor of the title. "Earl
Geier's art for these stories is as stark and brutal as a cold
knife's edge. His grasp of horror is second to none, and he
delivers nightmarish scenes with incredible, horrific feelings.
He is the perfect partner for Vance's terror tales."
These
stories about the fictional town of “Light's End” in Maine have
been published in dozens of magazines, and have also been recorded
by renowned actor William (“Murder
She Wrote”) Windom.
“My
stories are based on the belief that there is something larger than
our narrow view of reality,” said Vance. “Each story shares
setting, history, prominent families, and a macro plot. It
encompasses the Azrealites who work tirelessly to reinstate that
Other back on Earth through science and the occult.”
Earl
Geier, admitting he was “born,
raised and died in Chicago
where he still lives today with some cats
and dogs”, is best
known for his horror, fantasy and science
fiction artwork. In the role
playing game industry, his work includes art for “Battletech”,
“Mechwarrior”, “Shadowrun”,
“Earthdawn”, “Call
of Cthulhu” and “Elric”, “Dungeons
and Dragons”, “Fantasy Flight”, “Dark
Conspiracy”, and many others. He has illustrated books for
“Cemetery Dance” magazine, Chaosium, Gryphon and Subterranean
Press. For comic book, he's had work published by Dark
Horse Comics, Comiczone, Now, Innovation and DC
Comics Paradox.
Vance
has written for national and international magazines, and as a
syndicated columnist and cartoonist in over 500 newspapers. His
history book, “Forbidden Adventures”, has been called a
"benchmark in comics history”. He briefly ghosted an
internationally syndicated comic strip, wrote his own strip and
several comic books. He is listed in the Who's Who of American
Comic Books and Comic Book Superstars.
The
publisher of “Weird Horror Tales”, Cornerstone Books also
publishes Masonic and esoteric books, selected pulp fiction, art
literature, limited children's books, and poetry collections. For
more information about Cornerstone, go to www.cornerstonepublishers.com.
Airship
27 packages and publishes anthologies and novels in the pulp
magazine tradition.
In
the past, Airship 27 has released “Witchfire”, a series of
“Captain Hazzard” pulp thrillers, more pulp
fiction in “Brother
Bones” and “Secret
Agent X” and the WWII/SF thriller “The Light of Men”.
For more information on Airship 27, go to www.airship27.com.
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 08/28/2008"
Sigil: Death Match
V. 5 (containing the never-before-published issues 27-32)/198 pgs.
& $17.95 from Checker Books/words: Chuck Dixon; principal art:
Scot Eaton/sold at book stores, comics shops &
www.checkerbpg.com.
What is the value of seeing only the last ten
minutes of a movie or reading the last five pages of a book?
Well, one might learn that the movie or book wasn’t worth watching
or reading. Sigil:
Death Match publishes the last six, unpublished issues of an
epic, SF comic book series released several years ago and cancelled
before those issues made it to book and comics shops.
You might ask: “okay, Mr. Big Tease
Comics Reviewer, are you hinting that this isn’t worth reading?”
I’m glad you asked.
You see, this tough mercenary soldier bears a
powerful “sigil” or mark on his chest that allows him to save
his home-world of Gaia while his soldier buds invade this weird
world dominated by giant lizards that walk like men. There is
lots and lots of fighting, monsters, giant space ships, huge
planets, impossibly muscled heroes and beautiful babes, explosions,
and dying in Sigil: Death Match.
I ask again, Mr. Reviewer, is it really worth
reading?!?
There isn’t lots and lots of plot, or much
characterization, or originality. Yes, the art is pretty good.
But comics should be about art and story.
HEY!! ARE YOU DEAF, MR. REVIEWER!?! Should I buy
this or what?!?
Yes, it is written by Chuck Dixon who owns a
well-deserved reputation for writing solid adventure comic books.
This really isn’t one of those, however.
Does this mean that
Sigil: Death Match isn’t really worth the $17.95? Yep
and yep, that’s what it means, and I’m as surprised as you. And
that’s sort of unusual for a comics publisher who has otherwise
always won high praise from this reviewer.
Michael Vance
Check out Dark Corridor #1 for two Michael Vance
short stories at http://www.mainenterprises.ecrater.com/.
Interested in the exciting Oklahoma Cartoonists
Collection & Toy and Action Figure Museum? Try http://www.fourcolorcommentary.com/
and http://www.youtube.com/watch%20?v=eCARtM5BvvU.
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 08/21/2008"
Essential Rampaging Hulk
Vol. 1, published by Marvel Publishing, Inc., 584 pages, $16.99.
Recently, while lucky enough to be enjoying Tulsa’s first
DefCon comics convention in over a decade, I became luckier still.
I stumbled upon Marvel’s Essential
Rampaging Hulk Vol. 1.
Reprinting material from Rampaging
Hulk, #’s 1-9, and The
Hulk, #’s 10-15, both originally produced in magazine
form, this tome is nearly 600 pages of some of the best comics work
done in the ‘70's.
The Rampaging
stories feed an ongoing feature in which the Hulk, his
“sidekick”, Rick Jones and an alien woman named Bereet contend
with extraterrestrials intent on subjugating Earth. While
there’s not much deep character development, writer Doug Moench
keeps the action and intrigue snappy and satisfying. His
stories from The Hulk are a
bit different, but interesting as they have the “feel” of the
Hulk t.v. show of the same era, which was intentional on Marvel’s
part.
Most impressive, however, is the art contained in
this massive volume. Normally, I don’t care for art team
changes in each successive issue of a series. It works for the
Rampaging stories, however,
due largely to the high level of inking talent. Pencilers Walt
Simonson, Jim Starlin, Sal Buscema and Keith Pollard are naught to
be sneezed at, but with the likes of Alfredo Alcala, Alex Nino, Tony
Dezuniga, Jim Mooney and Rudy Mesina embellishing their work, a true
comics art fan can’t go wrong. Even Herb Trimpe’s work,
which I’ve never warmed to, is to be admired with Alcala’s
finishing touches.
The reprints of The
Hulk are a little more uniform in appearance, even though the
work of sole pencil artist Ron Wilson also enjoys an assist from
none other than Ricardo Villamonte, Ernie Chan, Bob McLeod and
others.
Many of these Hulk stories carry the mood of the
old monster and scifi movies and pulps. This Essential volume
is highly recommended for fans of such fare, as well as all Hulk
fans and comic art afficionados.
Review by Mark Allen
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 08/15/2008"
I grew up in the 1950s in a small town of about
12,000 to 15,000 people named Seminole in Oklahoma. Among the first
things I began to read on my own were comic strips and comic books.
I have loved the artform almost all of my life,
and it was Alley Oop, Captain
Easy, Superman and
Herbie, among many other titles, that inspired me to become a
writer. That’s why it’s difficult to say goodbye.
In my life, I was blessed with the opportunity to
write many columns about comics, publish many interviews with comics
writers and artists, write a history book about the artform, and
found the Oklahoma Cartoonists Collection inside the Toy and Action
Figure Museum in Paul’s Valley, Oklahoma.
I also created this column.
On February of 1989, I wrote: “The truth,
however, is that there are comics for adults, and they are capable
of looking profoundly into the human condition”, and Suspended
Animation was born.
I also wrote: “The purpose of this new weekly
column is to review the best and worst in comics. We will review
comics written and drawn solely to entertain as well as comics with
political, religious, and philosophical slants”.
In February of 2009, I will have gladly done so
for twenty years. At that time, I will retire from Suspended
Animation.
At the height of its popularity, it was published
in dozens of newspapers and magazines, featured on more than one
hundred websites, and read by four million folks interested in
comics.
It’s been a blast.
Suspended Animation will continue under the
capable pen of current co-author and comics fan Mark Allen.
I thank the readers of this column for allowing
me to write about a first love, and thank Mark for continuing the
weekly column.
See ya in the funny pages.
Michael Vance
Check out Dark Corridor #1 for two Michael Vance
short stories at www
mainenterprises.ecrater.com.
Interested in the exciting Oklahoma Cartoonists
Collection? Try http://www.fourcolorcommentary.com/
and http://www.youtube.com/watch%20?v=eCARtM5BvvU.
|
Artwork
and author photographs are available on request
At
MiklVance@Yahoo.com
NEWS
RELEASE
Richard
"Grass[hopper]" Green was a man of firsts. Pioneer
comic book fan, comics artist and writer, and musician,
"Grass" Green died on
August 5, 2002
. To commemorate his talent
and life, a new comic book titled “Forever Green” will
be published in November by
Main Enterprises.
“Forever Green” will re-release comic strip and book
material that Green created with writer Michael Vance, some
that has not been seen outside of
Oklahoma
.
"I'm
quite pleased to be publishing ‘Forever Green’, and
thank Michael Vance for the opportunity to let people
get a chance to see these rare treasures!" said Jim
Main, Main Enterprises publisher. “The team of Vance
and Green worked so well together in these strips. I'm
sure many will enjoy these collections of some of the most
offbeat comic material ever seen!"
"He was a real
talent," wrote Roy Thomas who was an editor and writer
at
America
's
two largest comic book publishers, Marvel and DC. "And
no less so because he worked in alternative comics instead
of the 'pro' ones. Quality is quality, wherever you find
it."
In the early '60s, Green established himself as a founding
father of "fandom", a loose association of people
who love the artform. As the first African-American artist
to win popularity there, his work in early fan magazines
like “Alter Ego”, “The Comicollector”, “Komix
Illustrated”, “Super-Hero”, and “Masquerader”
included his two most popular characters, “Xal-Kor, the
Human Cat" and "Wildman and Rubberroy".
Praised for his 'cartoony' art on stories that parodied
mainstream comics like “The Fantastic Four” (Marvel),
his realistic art on Xal-Kor in “Star-Studded Comics”
(1964) also won him accolades.
Grass'
art and story was published in newsstand comic book titles
including “Go-Go” and “Charlton Premier” in early
1967.
Green became the first African-American cartoonist in
underground comics beginning in the early '70s.
“Super-Soul Comix” was a hard-edged expose of racism and
bigotry in
America
at the time. His Wildman and Rubberroy stories would be
released by an alternative publisher for twelve issues in
the 1980s.
Beginning in the 1982, Grass worked with writer Michael
Vance on the comic strip, “Holiday Out”. Some of this
work was published through comic books including “Holiday
Out Comics” (Renegade Press), “Comico Primer” (Comico)
and “Mangazine” (Antarctic Press). It is selections from
this and previously unpublished art and related work that
are being published in “Forever Green”.
Vance has been published in
dozens of regional magazines and as a syndicated columnist
and cartoonist in over 500 newspapers. His book,
“Forbidden Adventures”, has been called a
"benchmark in comics history". He also has written
the comic strip Alley Oop, and comic books including Straw
Men, Angel of Death, The Adventures of Captain Nemo, and
Bloodtide.
“Forever
Green” will be a digest-sized comic book. Check
www.mainenterprises.ecrater.com
for its availability in November.
|
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 08/07/2008"
The Dare Detectives,
published by Dark Horse Books, 96 pages, digest-sized, $5.95.
“Frantic” is defined, in part, as “done in
a hurried and chaotic way.” It is also the first word that
comes to my mind when describing the first issue of The
Dare Detectives. Understand, I mean that in the very
best way.
First of all, “frantic” describes the action,
which nearly runs from the first to the last page. It is
action that is peppered with good humor throughout. It is
almost as if the 100-mile-an-hour doings are more of a set-up for
the ha-ha’s than action for action’s sake. And I did, by
the way. “Ha-ha” that is.
The humor is something like a cross between
Looney Tunes and the late-80's era Justice League by Keith Giffen
and J.M. DeMatteis. With a funny talking rabbit. I bet
some of you will “ha-ha” as well.
The subdued sequences come at the right times and
serve their purpose of setting up more conflict and action.
The characters themselves show hints of
interesting characterization. Though, as of the first issue,
they do take a back seat to the star of the show, The Action.
All of this is to say that creator/writer Ben
Caldwell did a good job writing his baby. His timing, sense of
drama and humor (Have I mentioned humor...?) are to be admired.
Before Detectives, I
couldn’t tell you the last time a comic book made me laugh.
“Frantic” also describes Caldwell’s art
style. It reminds me of the work of Tex Avery and Kyle Baker,
but still has it’s own flair and sense of Saturday morning
“cartoony” fun. It is so charged with kinetic energy, I
can imagine the artist scribbling away at his drawing table, while
flailing about wildly, acting the scenes out as he puts a story
together, ala Stan Lee.
I discovered Dare
Detectives late, as it was published in 2004. Better
late than never. MUCH better. Highly recommended for
teens and up.
Review by Mark Allen
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 07/31/2008"
Betty #s 165, 166, 168, 169,
170-173/approx. 23 pgs. & $2.25 each from Archie
Comics/principal artist, Stan Goldberg; various writers/available in
lots of places and at http://www.archiecomics.com/.
Betty is a good girl.
There was a time in America when saying someone is a good girl
wasn’t insulting. Betty still lives in that time, along with
Archie, Jughead, and the gang in Riverdale. In these reviewed
issues, she spends her hours looking for a lost five dollar bill,
reliving memories while cleaning her room, enjoying Friday night
football, introducing romance into Pop’s eatery, playing pranks
with a cell phone, planting trees, and dreaming of being a super
heroine, among a host of other quiet, real world activities.
There are no intergalactic wars for Betty, or alien monsters,
super villains, or even the hedonistic folly that mars the real
world. In short, Betty does not live in “fanboy”, i.e. superhero
geek, heaven.
Betty does not live in the world in which I live, but in a world
in which I wished I lived. And if I were able to live there, I’d
want Betty to be my girl.
Why? Betty works hard at being good, and succeeds most of the
time. She is a girl with high standards. She is honest and has
integrity. She is kind, and unselfish. Betty is compassionate.
She’d never lie, betray, or cheat on me. Her one fault is her
blind love for that dunderhead, Archie.
Yep, Betty is the girl next door in a house that isn’t really
next door. But that doesn’t mean she can’t be a role model for
young girls. In fact, there’s a whole bunch of not-so-young girls
in the real world who could do a lot worse than use Betty Andrews as
their role model.
End of sermon. Betty is recommended.
Michael Vance
Check out Dark Corridor #1 for two Michael Vance short
stories at
http://www.mainenterprises.ecrater.com/.
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 07/24/2008"
Batman Special
#1, published by DC Comics, 48 pages, cover price $1.25.
In honor of the theatrical release of The
Dark Knight, I present to you one of the better Batman
stories from the eighties, found in 1984's Batman
Special #1.
The premise is straightforward, but intriguing.
On the same night which saw the murder of young Bruce Wayne’s
parents, a similar scenario played out in another part of Gotham
City. Where the Waynes were taken by the bullets of a villain,
however, the lives of another boy’s parents were claimed by the
service revolver of officer Jim Gordon, Gotham’s future police
commissioner. Now, Batman must protect Gordon from a man
intent on taking murderous revenge on the City’s top cop.
Writer Mike W. Barr pitches fans an engrossing
story, wherein Batman comes face to face with “the player on the
other side,” or, as the Dark Knight himself puts it, “My
opposite number, a man as skilled, as obsessed as I am.”
Even for those more familiar with the big screen interpretation of
the character than his comics, I have to believe such a concept
would be found interesting. To die-hard fans?
Irresistible. I know. I am one.
Captivating plot notwithstanding, the icing on
this sequential cake is the art of comics legend Michael Golden.
With a flair for drama and detail, Golden gives readers emotive
characters, action sequences that fairly crackle with energy, and a
storytelling style that is as smooth as you’ll see from many of
the industry’s “greats.” And with 25-year veteran inker
Mike DeCarlo backing him up, this is also one of the best-looking
Batman stories from the afore-mentioned eighties. (Ah, good times!)
So, again, with The
Dark Knight in mind, may I suggest this work as the next big
screen adaption? No, you say? Too late.
Batman Special
#1 is recommended for any and all comics fans, because it’s comics
done right. Find it at comics shops, as well as online
retailers and auctions.
Review by Mark Allen
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 07/18/2008"
Scion V. 6 (reprinting
CrossGen issues 34-39)/153 pgs. & $17.95 from Checker Book
Publishing, principal artist, Jim Cheung; Ron Marz, writer/sold in
comics shops and at http://www.checkerbpg.com/.
Imagine the 'knights and damsels' comic strip Prince
Valiant sprinkled with pseudo light sabers and aliens and
you've pictured Scion, a
comic book series that ran for thirty-nine issues before its
original publisher went out of business.
Scion: Royal
Wedding republishes the last six issues of the monthly series
as a trade paperback. These issues recount the convoluted tale of a
forced marriage between members of two warring peoples. But plot and
subplots that verge on soap opera overkill are restrained by the
author, and Scion reads like
a fantasy novel.
Restraint is the key word is this review.
If you are looking for long, epic, bloody battles laced with lots of
preliminary action, you won't find it here. What you will find
is lots of dialog sprinkled with a sword fight or two, solid
characterization, and enough back-story to make everything
interesting.
You'll also find reality-based art that well
serves its story. It is, however, not spectacular art. Everything
needed to tell a story visually is well done, but the artists, at
least at this point in their careers, are not the next,
hot-new-things in the fickle world of comics fandom.
If you've noticed that the terms "well
serves" and "interesting" are average terms, you¢ve
understood the nuances of this review. If, however, you believe Scion
is not here recommended for readers, you are mistaken.
Average is not bad. It means that half of the
titles published are poor compared to Scion.
Although it lacks the original vision of a
Tolkein, or an original point of view (i.e. style), Scion
is a solid bit of adventure storytelling that deserves the attention
of fantasy fans.
Michael Vance
Check out Dark Corridor #1 for two Michael Vance
short stories at
http://www.mainenterprises.ecrater.com/.
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 07/11/2008"
The Li’l Depressed Boy,
published by Contemporary Cartoon Militia, 14 pages, $2.00.
Oh, to be a sad, sock-headed boy, living a dreary
life, loving music, but being loved by no one.
The Li’l
Depressed Boy concerns a young man, still mourning over a
tragedy in his past, and forlorn over the lack of affection from any
women in his life. That’s the subject. The theme, I
believe, is something more. Primarily, that a person
shouldn’t let themselves get so caught up in the difficulties that
they begin to wallow. It would seem that writer/creator S.
Steven Struble is trying to remind us that we all have the ability
to lead a better life, if we’ll just get up and make one.
What else does one take from the lines, “I need to get
out––leave. Find a new love, discover a new life, create a
new beginning. Instead, I sit - - trapped in a routine of my
own making,” except that we decide ourselves how we live?
Indeed, the character asserts such truth in the very next lines.
Despite it’s depressed dialogue and somber tone
brought about by the use of black ink on blue paper, The
Li’l Depressed Boy actually offers a strange kind of hope
for those who feel trapped by their routine, albeit through a kind
of “I don’t want to turn out like THAT” vibe.
As for the art, no less than six different
artists contributed to this 14-page independent, which,
unfortunately, makes for a very bumpy ride, visually. Though
it’s an interesting contrast in styles, readers are likely to be
distracted from the story. I will admit, however, being
impressed by the work of Ed Tadum, who offered the most emotive and
detailed style of the bunch.
I only wish I knew why the main character looks
like an unfinished sock-monkey.
Though steep at two bucks, and not the most fun
you’ll have with comics this year, The
Li’l Depressed Boy is recommended, especially for fans of
indies. http://www.lildepressedboy.com/
Mark Allen
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 07/03/2008"
All Star Companion Volume
3/238 pages & $26.95, TwoMorrows Publishing/Roy Thomas, editor;
various writers & artists/ available at comics shops and at http://www.twomorrows.com/.
There have been pivotal events in the history of
comic strips and comic books. Among them are the creation of the
first superhero, Superman, of the first non-super powered costumed
hero, Batman, and the first female superhero, Wonder Woman.
Each of these firsts is debatable. As example, some think that
Popeye was the first super-powered character in comics. But the
first super team was unquestionably the Justice Society of America
that debuted in All Star Comics
in the 1940s. (No, no, no, Mr. Marvel Zombie, it wasn¢t the X-Men.)
If you¢d like to learn everything about the
Justice Society and its spin-off characters and titles, there is no
better source than the first three volumes of All
Star Companion. If you want to learn everything about
the editors, writers and artists who brought the Justice Society and
its spin-off characters and titles to life since the 1940s, that
information is also there.
The third volume has just been released.
Inside this volume are hundreds of art examples, creator
photographs, biographies, and interviews of various lengths, and
just a huge chunk of comics history fact and debunked fallacy.
These volumes are literally hog-heaven for
die-hard comics fans, and those looking to die-harder than they¢ve
been in the past. Because there are very few current characters
whose creation and history are not rooted in the first and related
super teams, you are certain to find fascinating information about
your particular favorites as well.
It will be a cold meal, however, for casual
comics readers who have no favorites.
Each volume of the All
Star Companion is highly recommended for any fan of comics
interested in the history of the genre. MV
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 06/12/2008"
Cowpokes: Cow Country Cartoons,
published by Ace Reid, 62 pages, $7.50.
I love being surprised by a comic book or strip
I’ve never read before. Take Ace Reid’s Cowpokes
cartoons, for instance.
I’m no cowboy, but, I’ve known plenty over
the years, living in Oklahoma, and I see some of them
well-represented within Reid’s single-panel cartoons.
Especially when tourists stop to ask a couple of them, hard at work
fixing fence, “Hey, could you fellows tell us where we might see
real cowboys?” (Why is it city folk have such a hard time
recognizing the real thing?) Or, when another proudly says to
his buddy, “Man, this is better’n being rich – jist owe
everybody so much they gotta be nice to you.” Then there’s
the panel showing a cowboy tangled in what MUST be a painful heap
with his horse, among a bunch of rocks and cactus, exclaiming,
“Dang it! I busted that new eight dollar rope!” Yep,
them’s cowboy priorities.
Besides the honest and realistic humor, Reid
offers fans an art style like no other. His unique characters
display a gaunt, yet rugged appearance. They look constantly
hungry (as do the horses and cattle), haggard, worn out and played
out. Yet, they’re obviously not too spent to get into tons
of trouble. Whether it’s in a jeep perched precariously over
a canyon, held by two spindly pieces of barbed wire after swerving
to miss a skunk (“You shore missed him all right!”), or sitting
atop a frightened horse with a wild boar at the other end of a rope
(“Yep, Jake, you got yourself a hog – now what you gonna
do?”), Reid’s cowpokes convey the reality of cowboy life in an
original way that’ll tickle your funny bone, even while they
elicit your sympathy. There’s no feeling sorry for those who
discover this treasure, though.
Reid’s Cowpokes
books are recommended for those who enjoy single panel gag strips,
cowboy life, or just a good chuckle. Find them at online
retailers and auctions, and at http://www.cowpokes.com/
.
Mark Allen
Michael
Vance Signs With Cornerstone and Airship 27
Michael Vance has signed with Cornerstone Books and Airship 27 for
publication of “Weird
Horror Stories”, an anthology of psychological horror, SF and
fantasy short stories. Published in the style and tradition of pulp
magazines from the ‘20s, ‘30s, and ‘40s, the book is scheduled
for release in early 2009.
"Michael Vance offers up 12 tales of horror in the Lovecraft
tradition with a deft sense of suspense and heart-pumping terror,”
said Ron Fortier, editor and producer of the Airship 27 line of
books. “Perfect fare by candle light on a dark rainy night."
These short stories about his fictional town of “Light's End”
have been published in dozens of magazines, and have also been
recorded by legendary actor William (“Murder She Wrote”) Windom.
“The assumption of these stories is that there is something
Other,” said the author, “larger than man and greater than our
narrow view of reality. Each story, written to stand on its own, is
related by setting, history, several prominent families, and a macro
plot. It encompasses the Azrealites who work tirelessly to reinstate
that something Other back on Earth through the manipulation of
science and the occult.”
Vance has written for national and international magazines, and as a
syndicated columnist and cartoonist in over 500 newspapers. His
history book, Forbidden Adventures: The History of the American
Comics Group, has been called a "benchmark in comics
history”. He briefly ghosted an internationally syndicated comic
strip, and his own strip for five years that was reprinted as a
comic book. Vance has written several comic books, and is listed in
the Who's Who of American Comic Books and Comic Book Superstars.
Vance’s weekly comics review column, Suspended Animation, has been
continuously published
for almost twenty years, currently reaching more than 700,000
readers. He also created the new Oklahoma Cartoonists Collection
housed in the Toy and Action Figure Museum in
Pauls Valley, Oklahoma.
Cornerstone Books publishes Masonic and esoteric books, selected
pulp fiction, art literature, limited children's books, and poetry
collections. For more information about Cornerstone, go to
www.cornerstonepublishers.com.
Airship 27 packages and publishes anthologies and novels in the pulp
magazine tradition. In the past, Airship 27 has released “Witchfire”,
a series of “Captain Hazzard” pulp thrillers, more pulp fiction
in “Brother Bones” and “Secret Agent X” and the WWII/SF
thriller “The Light of Men”. For more information on Airship 27,
go to www.airship27.com.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SUSPENDED ANIMATION for 06/05/2008"
Comic Fan #3/56 pgs.
& $5.75 from Main Enterprises/various writers and artists
/sold at www.mainenterprises.ecrater.com
.
Disclaimer: I write for Main Enterprises and am
not unbiased in this review.
Fanzines are amateur magazines that reflect the
passions of their editors, writers and artists. Comic
Fan reflects the love of comic books and strips. I
have written for probably more than one hundred fanzines in the
last three decades. When I was a younger man, I thought they
were a stepping stone to a professional career as a writer. As a
modestly successful writer, I later thought of them as a trap, an
easy way to self-publish without the growing pains of rejection
from professional magazines.
Throughout the evolution of my opinion,
fanzines have always remained fun, like a lively chat with a
friend about a shared interest. This issue of Comic
Fan is a chat about Marvel Comics¢ Doctor
Strange comic books; one of the founding fathers of comics
fandom, Jerry Bails; and about whether or not lots of different
comic book titles, fanzines, and even movies are worth the effort
to read or watch.
It is peppered throughout with rough and
polished art-- some barely doodles and some near professional
standards. And boy is it fun.
I now think of fanzines with great fondness,
and honor anyone who takes the time not just to stand on the
sidelines and watch but to participate, whatever the passion and
whatever the level of their talent and insight. So I
challenge you to not only buy Comic
Fan and some of the fanzines and comics it reviews, but to
make a fanzine of your own someday.
Receiving this fanzine is like getting a long
letter from a beloved friend. That is always a delight, and Comic
Fan is recommended for, well, comic fans.
Michael Vance
Check out Dark Corridor #1 for two Michael
Vance short stories at
http://www.mainenterprises.ecrater.com/
.
Interested in the exciting Oklahoma Cartoonists
Collection & Toy and Action Figure
Museum? Try http://www.fourcolorcommentary.com/
and http://www.youtube.com/watch%20?v=eCARtM5BvvU
.
Rather than reviewing a comic book this time 'round, this
review concerns a magazine about comic books. More to the point, a
magazine covering the industry. I'm referring to Comics
Buyer's Guide, the world's longest-running magazine about
comics! And, what better place to cover it than in America's
longest-running, syndicated comics-review column?
Besides being the oldest magazine covering the industry, CBG
has probably come the farthest in production values. It started 35
years ago and was produced in and distributed from the basement of
a teenage fan. But, why review such a publication? Well, let's
start with the fact that the magazine produces over 2000 reviews
per year of various comics, on the accurate premise that
"there's a comic book for everyone". It's a great
resource for finding books that are most likely to appeal to
readers with specific interests. So, if you've never even read a
comic, but like a particular genre of movies, television or books,
you can probably get information on that genre in comics upon your
first purchase of CBG.
Besides that, each issue is filled with various interesting
articles on the industry and history of the industry by
professionals in the field, as well as professional comics
retailers.
Additionally, every issue features a price guide for back issues,
with mini-reviews and snippets of even more history.
If all of that weren't enough, CBG
offers subscription rates that are less than half the regular
cover price, a deal that's pretty hard to beat, I'm sure you'll
agree.
Most of all, however, this column is about getting new readers
interested in the medium of comic books. A publication like CBG
can only help achieve such an end, either by expanding a
non-comics reader's conception of what publications actually
comprise the world of comics, or helping a comics fan relay such
information to those non-readers, while enhancing their own
experience.
Find it at comics shops, bookstores or at www.cbgextra.com . P.S.
- If you're a fan of Hastings stores, they nearly ALWAYS carry CBG.
Review by Mark Allen
