I'm afraid all these folks who visited my bloggy thing for the first time today are going to be really disappointed when/if they come back tomorrow and find me writing about old western comics.
Such is life.
Approving comments to today's bloggy thing took up way too much of my time, even though I approved every one of them. But I felt some of them were insulting to other posters. As of right now, I won't be approving such comments.
I will have some further Dragon*Con comments of my own at the end of the week. Nothing I've read here, nothing I've read on Facebook, nothing I've read in private e-mail or messages have changed my stand on Dragon*Con one bit. The arguments against what I stated, earnest or not, simply do not change anything.
My further comments may clarify what I've stated today. They won't change the essential message.
I will still be checking your new comments for approval on a regular basis, just not as regularly as I tried to do today.
I hope some of the new visitors - there were three times as many hits as on any previous day of this bloggy thing - will return to see the lighter side of this venue.
Thanks for your attention and, for the most part, your respectful responses to my blog.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
DRAGON*CON DIES AT THE END
I’m not remotely a fan of Dragon*Con. Back when I was writing Mike
Gustovich’s Justice Machine in the mid-1980s, the title’s publisher
sent Mike and I to the show to promote our book and the rest of the
company. Mike was in dragon-heaven, by which I mean he bought so
many dragons of various shapes and sizes that I almost pretended I
didn’t know him on the flight home. These days, given the baggage
fees charged by most airlines, it’d probably be cheaper to create
an actual dragon. I came away from the event thinking it was the
sleaziest convention I’d ever attended.
On my first day at that long-ago Dragon*Con, a young woman offered
me sex if I would let her stay in my hotel room. It was the most
uncomfortable elevator ride - yes, we were in an elevator and we
weren’t the only passengers - of my life. I generally relate this
tale in discreet terms and describe the offer far less explicitly
than she did. In reality, she didn’t disguise it in the slightest.
Making me more uncomfortable was her age, as in underage. Maybe 16
at best. When I declined her offer, she looked at me as if I were
a freak.
One evening at the convention, looking for some of the few people
I knew or a relatively quiet party, I stumbled into an honest-to-
gosh slave auction. With slaves being pretty clearly offered for
the sexual entertainment of their buyers. Maybe it was some sort
of elaborate role-playing thing, but it creeped me out. It would
not be the last thing that creeped out that weekend. I never had
the slightest interest in returning.
Dragon*Con didn’t blip on my radar again until I learned Ed Kramer,
one of the event’s founders, had been arrested on child molestation
charges. The evidence against him seemed pretty damning, so I was
surprised when some people leapt to his defense. But, as he would
not be involved in the convention and because I had no interest in
attending the convention, I didn’t think about Dragon*Con for many
years after this initial news story.
Thirteen years in which the predatory Kramer managed to avoid going
to trial through one artifice or another. Thirteen years during
which, as a co-owner, Kramer continued to receive a huge chunk of
Dragon*Con money with the other owners of the show proclaiming they
were helpless to cut off his annual cash flow, reportedly $150,000,
which was allowing Kramer to delay his trial and, worse, continue to
attempt to prey on other youngsters. Thankfully, after his most
recent arrest, he has been denied bond and is in prison awaiting
his ridiculously overdue trial.
Up until recently, I had been vaguely aware of attempts to boycott
Dragon*Con or, at the very least, convince the co-owners to do the
right thing and end payments to Kramer by any means necessary. I
didn’t follow these attempts closely, but I knew several of those
involved in the attempts to be good and honorable people. I didn’t
get involved because I didn’t see what I could add to the efforts.
That was a mistake on my part.
On April 22, The Beat ran an update titled “Dragon*Con Founder Ed
Kramer files dozens of complaints from jail while looking extremely
creepy.” I was horrified by both the news reporting and the too-
many comments from posters who apparently didn’t see or understand
the clear moral issue at hand. My own response:
“The comments from Dragon*Con are sounding more and more like
bullshit to me. They can walk away from the show and start a new
convention. I think they want the name value of Dragon*Con. Which
means we should do everything we can to make the name Dragon*Con
synonymous with child molestation. Destroy the name value.
“That said, I can’t imagine how anyone – fan or professional – can
attend that convention knowing Kramer profits from it.
“Get a moral clue, people.”
I won’t dial back those comments a notch. I also posted them on my
Facebook page where the discourse got so insulting I felt I had to
delete the thread. In the aftermath of my Beat comments and what
I posted on Facebook, I began to get a great many private messages
and e-mails from people. Some of these thanked me for my comments
and other attacked me, usually anonymously, in the time-honored way
of the troll. After a while, I also began receiving e-mails from
people telling me of their own non-Kramer experiences at Dragon*Con
and my horror hit a new level.
I must be very clear about this. This is an opinion piece. It is
not investigative reporting. I’ve not attempted to verify what I
have been told, which is why I won’t be writing about it in detail
and why I don’t accept it as unvarnished truth. But some of these
messages I received rang true to me and, if even 10% of what I was
told is accurate, the title of today’s bloggy thing is not just a
clever play on the title of a popular movie, but my fervent wish.
I think Dragon*Con should die at the end.
Perhaps the other Dragon*Con co-owners can’t simply walk away from
the event to start a new one. But they most certainly can resign
their positions on whatever board manages the convention and their
roles in putting on the show. Being part of even a privately-owned
company, being part of a board, having a job with Dragon*Con, none
of these are slavery. You can walk away.
Yes, they would also be walking away from what I’m told are pretty
sweet jobs and profits. Yes, I understand that would be difficult
for any of us. But, to repeat what I said in my Beat post, their
efforts are enriching Kramer and have allowed him to fend off any
justice for over a dozen years and have allowed him to place other
young people in jeopardy. How can anyone remain a party to that?
Moral choices are seldom as easy as this one.
A close friend of mine took the side of the Dragon*Con co-owners in
a discussion of the matter. I don’t deny the founders might well
feel they are acting in the interest of their own families. But,
in the over a dozen years they have had this steaming pile of crap
before them, they claim there has been no way they can scoop that
poop and dispose of it properly.
In all those years, they couldn’t find attorneys with the same or
even greater skills than Kramer’s representation? I can’t buy that.
I have been told of criminal assaults and other illegal activities
at Dragon*Con and that they are not solely the acts of “outsiders.”
If anyone can document these assaults and activities, they should
come forward and do so. If anyone witnesses criminal assaults and
activities, they should report them to the proper authorities ASAP.
Dragon*Con is not its own world with its own laws. Sleaziness may
not be a crime - though it often is - but some of what was reported
to me was certainly criminal in my opinion. It also appears that
Dragon*Con’s internal security is, at best, woefully inadequate for
an event of its magnitude and, at worse, complacent or unconcerned
about such things. The show generates a great deal of profit. At
the very least, those profits should be used to make Dragon*Con a
safer environment for attendees.
I have been told of a great many celebrities (writers and artists
and actors and producers and so on) who will no longer attend the
convention. Some have gone public with their decision...and others
have not. I would urge all to go public.
Whatever you get from attending Dragon*Con, whether it be sensual
delights or good times with friends or professional advantage, it’s
not worth what else comes with the convention. It’s not worth the
continued cash flow to Kramer. It’s not worth the danger to some
attendees. It’s not worth the sleaze.
That I will not attend Dragon*Con may well be meaningless. I made
that decision over two decades ago and have not regretted it in the
least. Indeed, even what I write here today, while it will surely
anger some people and generate a few impotent threats against me,
might not have a great deal of meaning in an age when everyone with
online access can have a blog or post their opinions, informed or
otherwise, with general impunity.
What I do accomplish today is to make my stand against what I feel
is an intolerable situation. One writer making a stand. Probably
lost in the electrons that dance across your screen. Nevertheless,
something I had to do, something I believe to be the right thing to
do...and I hope I’m not alone in that.
But, maybe, just maybe, if enough others make a stand, if respected
voices in our fan and professional communities make a stand, then
maybe today’s title will prove prophetic.
Dragon*Con dies at the end.
Which is as it should be.
I’ll be back tomorrow with more stuff.
© 2013 Tony Isabella
Gustovich’s Justice Machine in the mid-1980s, the title’s publisher
sent Mike and I to the show to promote our book and the rest of the
company. Mike was in dragon-heaven, by which I mean he bought so
many dragons of various shapes and sizes that I almost pretended I
didn’t know him on the flight home. These days, given the baggage
fees charged by most airlines, it’d probably be cheaper to create
an actual dragon. I came away from the event thinking it was the
sleaziest convention I’d ever attended.
On my first day at that long-ago Dragon*Con, a young woman offered
me sex if I would let her stay in my hotel room. It was the most
uncomfortable elevator ride - yes, we were in an elevator and we
weren’t the only passengers - of my life. I generally relate this
tale in discreet terms and describe the offer far less explicitly
than she did. In reality, she didn’t disguise it in the slightest.
Making me more uncomfortable was her age, as in underage. Maybe 16
at best. When I declined her offer, she looked at me as if I were
a freak.
One evening at the convention, looking for some of the few people
I knew or a relatively quiet party, I stumbled into an honest-to-
gosh slave auction. With slaves being pretty clearly offered for
the sexual entertainment of their buyers. Maybe it was some sort
of elaborate role-playing thing, but it creeped me out. It would
not be the last thing that creeped out that weekend. I never had
the slightest interest in returning.
Dragon*Con didn’t blip on my radar again until I learned Ed Kramer,
one of the event’s founders, had been arrested on child molestation
charges. The evidence against him seemed pretty damning, so I was
surprised when some people leapt to his defense. But, as he would
not be involved in the convention and because I had no interest in
attending the convention, I didn’t think about Dragon*Con for many
years after this initial news story.
Thirteen years in which the predatory Kramer managed to avoid going
to trial through one artifice or another. Thirteen years during
which, as a co-owner, Kramer continued to receive a huge chunk of
Dragon*Con money with the other owners of the show proclaiming they
were helpless to cut off his annual cash flow, reportedly $150,000,
which was allowing Kramer to delay his trial and, worse, continue to
attempt to prey on other youngsters. Thankfully, after his most
recent arrest, he has been denied bond and is in prison awaiting
his ridiculously overdue trial.
Up until recently, I had been vaguely aware of attempts to boycott
Dragon*Con or, at the very least, convince the co-owners to do the
right thing and end payments to Kramer by any means necessary. I
didn’t follow these attempts closely, but I knew several of those
involved in the attempts to be good and honorable people. I didn’t
get involved because I didn’t see what I could add to the efforts.
That was a mistake on my part.
On April 22, The Beat ran an update titled “Dragon*Con Founder Ed
Kramer files dozens of complaints from jail while looking extremely
creepy.” I was horrified by both the news reporting and the too-
many comments from posters who apparently didn’t see or understand
the clear moral issue at hand. My own response:
“The comments from Dragon*Con are sounding more and more like
bullshit to me. They can walk away from the show and start a new
convention. I think they want the name value of Dragon*Con. Which
means we should do everything we can to make the name Dragon*Con
synonymous with child molestation. Destroy the name value.
“That said, I can’t imagine how anyone – fan or professional – can
attend that convention knowing Kramer profits from it.
“Get a moral clue, people.”
I won’t dial back those comments a notch. I also posted them on my
Facebook page where the discourse got so insulting I felt I had to
delete the thread. In the aftermath of my Beat comments and what
I posted on Facebook, I began to get a great many private messages
and e-mails from people. Some of these thanked me for my comments
and other attacked me, usually anonymously, in the time-honored way
of the troll. After a while, I also began receiving e-mails from
people telling me of their own non-Kramer experiences at Dragon*Con
and my horror hit a new level.
I must be very clear about this. This is an opinion piece. It is
not investigative reporting. I’ve not attempted to verify what I
have been told, which is why I won’t be writing about it in detail
and why I don’t accept it as unvarnished truth. But some of these
messages I received rang true to me and, if even 10% of what I was
told is accurate, the title of today’s bloggy thing is not just a
clever play on the title of a popular movie, but my fervent wish.
I think Dragon*Con should die at the end.
Perhaps the other Dragon*Con co-owners can’t simply walk away from
the event to start a new one. But they most certainly can resign
their positions on whatever board manages the convention and their
roles in putting on the show. Being part of even a privately-owned
company, being part of a board, having a job with Dragon*Con, none
of these are slavery. You can walk away.
Yes, they would also be walking away from what I’m told are pretty
sweet jobs and profits. Yes, I understand that would be difficult
for any of us. But, to repeat what I said in my Beat post, their
efforts are enriching Kramer and have allowed him to fend off any
justice for over a dozen years and have allowed him to place other
young people in jeopardy. How can anyone remain a party to that?
Moral choices are seldom as easy as this one.
A close friend of mine took the side of the Dragon*Con co-owners in
a discussion of the matter. I don’t deny the founders might well
feel they are acting in the interest of their own families. But,
in the over a dozen years they have had this steaming pile of crap
before them, they claim there has been no way they can scoop that
poop and dispose of it properly.
In all those years, they couldn’t find attorneys with the same or
even greater skills than Kramer’s representation? I can’t buy that.
I have been told of criminal assaults and other illegal activities
at Dragon*Con and that they are not solely the acts of “outsiders.”
If anyone can document these assaults and activities, they should
come forward and do so. If anyone witnesses criminal assaults and
activities, they should report them to the proper authorities ASAP.
Dragon*Con is not its own world with its own laws. Sleaziness may
not be a crime - though it often is - but some of what was reported
to me was certainly criminal in my opinion. It also appears that
Dragon*Con’s internal security is, at best, woefully inadequate for
an event of its magnitude and, at worse, complacent or unconcerned
about such things. The show generates a great deal of profit. At
the very least, those profits should be used to make Dragon*Con a
safer environment for attendees.
I have been told of a great many celebrities (writers and artists
and actors and producers and so on) who will no longer attend the
convention. Some have gone public with their decision...and others
have not. I would urge all to go public.
Whatever you get from attending Dragon*Con, whether it be sensual
delights or good times with friends or professional advantage, it’s
not worth what else comes with the convention. It’s not worth the
continued cash flow to Kramer. It’s not worth the danger to some
attendees. It’s not worth the sleaze.
That I will not attend Dragon*Con may well be meaningless. I made
that decision over two decades ago and have not regretted it in the
least. Indeed, even what I write here today, while it will surely
anger some people and generate a few impotent threats against me,
might not have a great deal of meaning in an age when everyone with
online access can have a blog or post their opinions, informed or
otherwise, with general impunity.
What I do accomplish today is to make my stand against what I feel
is an intolerable situation. One writer making a stand. Probably
lost in the electrons that dance across your screen. Nevertheless,
something I had to do, something I believe to be the right thing to
do...and I hope I’m not alone in that.
But, maybe, just maybe, if enough others make a stand, if respected
voices in our fan and professional communities make a stand, then
maybe today’s title will prove prophetic.
Dragon*Con dies at the end.
Which is as it should be.
I’ll be back tomorrow with more stuff.
© 2013 Tony Isabella
Monday, April 29, 2013
TONY'S TIPS #005
Hey, kids! I'm writing about funny comic books in this week's edition of "Tony's Tips" at the Tales of Wonder website. Check it out at:
http://blog.talesofwonder.com/tonys-tips-005/
Tony
http://blog.talesofwonder.com/tonys-tips-005/
Tony
TOM CORBETT, SPACE CADET
published in my birth month of December 1951. For today’s vintage
cover, we have Tom Corbett, Space Cadet #378 [Dell; February 1952],
a.k.a. Four Color #378. The Four Color title was used to test the
market for new titles. After three Four Color issues, Tom Corbett
got his own ongoing title which ran until September–November 1954.
Tom Corbett comic books have also been published by Prize (1955),
Eternity (1990) and Bluewater (2009). Since I’ve never read Tom
Corbett’s comic books and juvenile novels or watched the TV series
that ran from 1950-1955 on five different networks, all I know of
the character is what I just looked up on Wikipedia:
Tom Corbett is the main character in a series of Tom Corbett, Space
Cadet stories that were depicted in television, radio, books,
comic books, comic strips, coloring books, punch-out books and
View-Master reels in the 1950s. The stories followed the adventures
of Tom Corbett, Astro and Roger Manning, cadets at the Space
Academy as they train to become members of the elite Solar Guard.
The action takes place at the Academy in classrooms and bunkrooms,
aboard their training ship the rocket cruiser Polaris, and on alien
worlds, both within our solar system and in orbit around nearby
stars.
However, thanks to the wondrous Grand Comics Database, I can tell
you quite about Tom Corbett, Space Cadet #378. The cover painting
is by Alden McWilliams. Who also illustrated the 32-page interior
comics story written by Paul S. Newman. The GCD even has a brief
synopsis of the story:
In the year 2351, Captain Strong and three Space Cadets, Tom
Corbett, Astro, and Roger Manning, are sent on a training mission
to Titan, Saturn's largest moon. The quartet must convince the
inhabitants of Titan that they aren't spies from Earth, planning to
take the radioactive ore that provides life-sustaining heat to
their cities.
“Space Academy: The University of the Planets!” runs on the inside
front cover of the comic book. Drawn by McWilliams, it describes
the Space Academy.
The inside back cover is a photo of Mars with a brief description
of the planet’s climate. The photo came from the American Museum
of Natural History in New York.
The back cover features a full-page drawing of a “rocket blasting
off from crater-marked moon, with Saturn in the background.” The
artist is McWilliams.
Keep watching this bloggy thing for more vintage comic-book covers
from my birth month.
******************************
There’s some “me” stuff to catch up on today, but I’ll be back to
reviews by Thursday. First up...Free Comic Book Day.
I’ll be appearing at Carol and John’s Comic Book Shop on that most
stellar of holidays. Their store is located at Kamm’s Plaza, 17462
Lorain Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio. That’s Saturday, May 4, and I’ll
be signing from 3-5 pm. John says the first 100 people who show up
for my signing get a free copy of Essential Marvel Horror Volume 2,
which reprints a number of my 1970s stories. It’s a generous offer
and I hope my area readers take advantage of it.
******************************
Garage Sales A Go-Go
My legendary garage sales are almost upon us. As usual, I’ll have
lots of comic books priced at a quarter each or five for a dollar.
I’ll have comic books suitable for all ages at the same low prices,
along with magazines and regular paperbacks. I’ll have the usual
$2 trade paperbacks and $5 hardcovers. In addition...
I’ll be selling copies of my 1000 Comic Books You Must Read for a
mere $20. I’ll be selling rare Superman posters at $20 each. I’ll
have a selection of Isabella-written comic books, books and stuff
at around the going rate for such items. But, wait...there’s more!
Depending on how much I can fit into the garage, I’ll have DVDs and
VCR tapes for sale. I’ll have comics-oriented shirts and jackets,
some of them limited editions. I’ll have a selection of toys and
stuffed animals and Beanie Babies. But, wait, there’s still more.
For the first time, I’ll have a selection of higher-priced comics
and books. While they won’t be at the bargain prices of the other
comics and books, they’ll be priced substantially below their going
rates. I expect most of these to go fast.
My first garage sales of the year are scheduled for...
Thursday, May 9 (9 am to 2 pm)
Friday, May 10 (9 am to 2 pm)
Normally, the garage sales are held on Fridays and Saturdays, but
one of my nephews is getting married that weekend. If the Thursday
sale proves successful, I might had some Thursdays to the regular
Friday and Saturday mix.
My garage sales are held at 840 Damon Drive in Medina, Ohio. There
is some parking on Bradley Court, which is where my driveway is and
some parking on Damon Drive across from my home. However, you must
read and obey the parking signs and not block any mailboxes. I’m
not responsible if you get ticketed.
I started setting up the garage on Friday and I’m already getting
excited. I hope to see many of my bloggy thing readers there...as
well as comics fans from all over the area and the regulars coming
up from as far south as Columbus. Hoo-hah!
******************************
My next convention appearance will be at the East Coast Black Age
of Comics Convention (ECBACC) on Saturday, May 18, from 11 am to 7
pm at the Enterprise Center, 4548 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA.
The activities include a comic book marketplace filled with amazing
new works by cartoonists and other creative types, a kids corner,
panel discussions and workshops. The guest list includes Jonathan
Gayles, Eric Battle, Jerry Craft, Chris Cross, William Foster III,
N Steven Harris, Joe Illidge, Alex Simmons and more. I’ll have a
bit more to say about this great event in the very near future, but
for now, I urge you to check out the East Coast Black Age of Comics
Convention (ECBACC) page on Facebook.
******************************
Going forward, these bloggy things of mine are going to break down
something like this. Three days out of the week, you’re going to
get comics. Wednesdays are for the Rawhide Kid and that’s extra!
Three days are going to be other things: movie reviews, blasts from
my past (which may be about comics) and social and political stuff.
I’m not going to be religious about this, but that’s the plan for
the time being.
I’ll be back tomorrow with more stuff.
© 2013 Tony Isabella
Sunday, April 28, 2013
THE HOUSE ON SATAN’S HILL
Going through my Vast Accumulation of Stuff, I found a file folder
marked EARLY SCRIPTS. Inside the folder were complete scripts and
script fragments from the late 1960s. I’d written most of these in
the two-column format I learned from Stan Lee’s Secrets Behind the
Comics. We conclude the exploration...
My file folder yielded six pages of the first chapter of “The House
on Satan’s Hill.” Translated into the format I use today, here’s
the first page of the script:
PAGE 1
Panel 1. A full-page splash panel. It shows an ancient mansion,
quite large, seen through a clump of withered trees. It is night,
but a full moon illuminates the scene. Several bats are flying
through the panel.
CAPTION (ON A LARGE BAT-WING): A new adventure told in the grand
old cliffhanging tradition!
CAPTION (ON RIGHT OF PATH): This is the story of a family’s revenge
against the town it hated. This is a story of an unholy scientific
secret and of lives tainted by the touch of the devil!
Of all the unfinished scripts in the folder, this is the one I am
most tempted to revisit and complete. The following pages tell how
“In the early 17th Century, the Allen family was almost slaughtered
by the God-fearing people of Maine.”
This script was likely written in late 1970 or so. I was as lapsed
a Catholic as I could be while still living with my parents. I had
a brief flirtation with evangelicals before realize they were even
crazier than the Catholics. The key is this caption:
It seemed that Mr. Allen had disagreed with a theological view of
the town minister. The jealous old fool immediately branded him an
agent of Satan. In a time when those thought to be witches were
murdered, the Allens seemed doomed.
In later years, I would temporarily embrace born-again Christianity
as my faith, but then logic and reason swayed me back to my current
non-aligned path. However, I retained a fascination with the more
mythological aspects of religion and would often use them in comics
I wrote for Marvel and other publishers.
The following script pages describe various atrocities committed on
the Allen family by their neighbors and all introduces a motorcycle
gang. I might have been going for a 1950s vibe with this caption:
But a new fear has crept into the hearts of the townspeople. A
motorcycle gang. The youngsters break no laws, yet the townspeople
call them bad because they never rode cycles when they were young.
Because these young people have different ideas than them.
We get a scene where one of the two surviving Allen family members
is abused by townspeople, followed by the demise by explosive ray
of said tormentors. The leader of the motorcycle gang thinks the
ray came from a mysterious red dirigible he spotted over the town.
He decides to follow it as the fragment ends.
I remember a few things about this script. The motorcycle-riding
hero was inspired by Steve McQueen in The Blob. The other living
Allen family member was a beautiful young woman. Her brother might
have been the power behind the scarlet dirigible, but I might have
had some other twist in mind.
This script might have been intended for a fanzine - I was writing
scripts for Carl Gafford’s Minotaur - or it may have been a pitch
for The Unexpected, which was being edited by Murray Boltinoff at
DC and which had moved away from the science-fiction adventures of
Space Ranger. Your guess it as good as mine.
******************************
The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves was a Charlton “horror” anthology
whose stories were hosted by the title character. There were four
pages of a script entitled “The Tournament” in my folder, probably
written in late 1969 or early 1970. Graves had taken an active role
in several stories, battling evil ala Marvel’s Doctor Strange. I
don’t know where I was going with this script. It reads like I was
just making it up as I wrote with no clear idea what it was about
and how it would conclude. No wonder I never finished it.
******************************
The folder had three different drafts of the first page of a story
called “A Woman’s Way” and then two additional pages. What there
is of the story shows an attractive young woman walking through an
alley and finding a brutally beaten young man. I don’t know where
I was going with this, but I sort of like the captions and brief
bit of dialogue leading into the title...
CAPTION: Her name is Annie...those who live in this neighborhood
call her Annie of the Alleys and laugh.
CAPTION: But she says the alleys are free from the evils that run
the streets and she prefers an occasional drunk to the ever-present
racketeers.
CAPTION: But the evil of the streets has crossed into her domain
this day!
CAPTION: The sight of the crime leaves her mouth too dry to scream,
but as the tears well up, the young woman gasps out a single
phrase.
ANNIE: God help us!
I might have been going for an Eisner-esque style of storytelling
as I was an avid reader of “The Spirit” whenever I found stories of
that legendary character. However, as I read these script pages,
what truly knocked me for a loop was the credits caption following
the title of the story...
CAPTION: Something about a young woman and a defeated man and a
little more by
Tony Isabella—-Writer
Dave Cockrum–-Illustrator
Shut the front door! Dave and I were fanzine friends. I wrote for
many Marvel-oriented fanzines and he drew illustrations for them.
I know we had exchanged letters about working together, but I did
not realize I had ever started a story for him.
The VAOS is full of surprises!
******************************
In 1970, I abandoned the two-column format for the method I’ve used
for full scripts since. The penultimate item in my EARLY SCRIPTS
file folder was the complete script for “The Quiet Type,” which was
drawn and published in Minotaur. I’m not 100% who drew this story
because my Minotaur issues have yet to be discovered as I excavate
the VAOS. The script says it was intended for Gerry Mooney, but I
sort of kind of remember it was actually drawn by Carl Gafford and
almost certainly drawn on ditto masters. This was an ancient form
of comics fan communication not unlike the paintings on the walls
of prehistoric dwellings. Beyond telling you I wrote this script
as a tribute to the creators of DC’s Bat Lash and as a “thank you”
to the exceedingly kind Sergio Aragones who I met in the aftermath
of the 1970 New York Comic Convention, I don’t want to say too much
about this one. I’m still hoping the fanzine in which it appeared
turns up and I find a way to reproduce it darkly enough that I can
actually run it in this bloggy thing of mine.
******************************
The final item in the folder was two pages of “Once Upon a Spring
Day,” a short story featuring Avengers butler Jarvis wooing a lady
friend with a tall tale of his adventures with the team. I could
tell you about them, but, what the heck, why don’t I scan and share
them with you?
Nothing’s too good for my bloggy thing readers.
Hope you enjoyed this four-day excursion into my “training years.”
I’ll be back tomorrow with more stuff.
© 2013 Tony Isabella
Saturday, April 27, 2013
NO HAVEN FOR THE HELLCATS
Going through my Vast Accumulation of Stuff, I found a file folder
marked EARLY SCRIPTS. Inside the folder were complete scripts and
script fragments from the late 1960s. I’d written most of these in
the two-column format I learned from Stan Lee’s Secrets Behind the
Comics. We continue the exploration...
In yesterday’s bloggy thing, you got four pages of the unfinished
“Dial H for Hero” script I wrote in 1968. Today, you get the three
pages I wrote of a “Hunter’s Hellcats” script. I wrote these pages
in 1968 or 1969. However, before I get to these pages, I need to
give you some background.
Our Fighting Forces was a family-oriented war comic for over four
years in the 1960s. It starred the brother of a famous DC Comics
character, then twin brothers fighting in Vietnam and, finally, the
father of those twin brothers.
The long-running “Gunner and Sarge” series came to a close in Our
Fighting Forces #94 [August 1965]. The next issue introduced “The
Fighting Devil-Dog,” cover-blurbed as “the great Sgt. Rock’s Marine
brother.” Created by writer/editor Robert Kanigher with art by Irv
Novick, Lt. Larry Rock held the cover spot for a mere four issues
before being replaced by another new feature.
“The Hunter” made his debut in Our Fighting Forces #99 [April 1966]
in a Kanigher/Novick story set in Vietnam...“The savage war that’s
riddling all the rules!”
Phil and Nick Hunter were the twin sons of U.S. Army vet Ben Hunter
and followed their father into the military. The twins shared an
almost telepathic connection. Phil became a Green Beret but left
the military after several tours of duty. Brother Nick joined the
Air Force and was shipped to Vietnam.
When Phil learned Nick had been captured by the Viet Cong and also
started to have nightmares of his brother’s captivity and enhanced
interrogation, he reenlisted and went into the jungles of Viet Nam
to find and rescue his brother. He succeeded.
The “Capt. Hunter” feature ran through issue #106 with Howard Liss
writing most of his adventures, including the finale, and Jack Abel
drawing several of them. “Trial by Fury” (14 pages) was the finale
and led into Our Fighting Forces’ next cover feature, “Lt. Hunter’s
Hellcats.” This new series was set in World War II and starred the
then-Lieutenant Ben Hunter.
“Hunter’s Hellcats” was possibly inspired by E. M. Nathanson’s 1965
novel The Dirty Dozen, which was adapted into the blockbuster 1967
film of the same name. Since the movie didn’t premiere until mid-
June of that year, DC was already up and running with the concept.
In this DC series, Ben Hunter was a former homicide detective who
recruited his squad of from military stockades with each of his men
having been criminals in their civilian lives.
Legendary editor and writer Robert Kanigher was in command of Our
Fighting Forces when the Hellcats debuted in a story by Howard Liss
with artist Jack Abel. Liss and Abel would do seven more stories
during the feature’s two-and-a-half=year run.
When Joe Kubert became the editor of DC’s war comics, Kanigher took
over the writing of “Hunter’s Hellcats.” Russ Heath drew one story,
Frank Thorne drew three and Art Saaf did the final five. My best
guess is I wrote my three script pages in late 1969, either just
before or after the series end in issue #122 [November-December,
1969]. I’m presenting them in the two-column format I was using at
the time. Here they are...
As with yesterday’s “Dial H for Hero” script, any professional or
hopeful comic-book artist who’s wanted to draw a Tony Isabella
script has my permission to just that. Draw them and do with them
as you please, though it would be polite to give me a look at them
and provide a link to wherever you post them online.
I’ll wrap up my exploration of my EARLY SCRIPTS file folder on the
morrow. See you then.
© 2013 Tony Isabella
Friday, April 26, 2013
THE ORIGIN OF THE HERO DIAL
Going through my Vast Accumulation of Stuff, I found a file folder
marked EARLY SCRIPTS. Inside the folder were complete scripts and
script fragments from the late 1960s. I’d written most of these in
the two-column format I learned from Stan Lee’s Secrets Behind the
Comics. We continue the exploration...
I was a fan of the “Dial H for Hero” feature that ran in House of
Mystery, especially when it was drawn by Jim Mooney. I was not at
all pleased when “Dial H” ended and HoM reverted to a mystery-
slash-horror anthology. The first issue of the new/old format was
all reprint. Which made me think it wasn’t too late to bring back
“Dial H for Hero” and increase its popularity by connecting it to
DC’s other super-hero titles. In the spring of 1968, I wrote four
pages of “The Origin of the Hero Dial.”
For clarity, here are those four pages “translated” into the format
I use for scripts today...
PAGE 1
Panel 1. Full-page splash showing the shadows of the Guardians of
the Universe sitting watching a projection of Giantboy battling the
Thunderbolt Machine.
ONE OF THE GUARDIANS: We are all agreed then, brothers! Because of
his outstanding achievements and the grave peril threatening Earth,
the time has come to reveal to young Robert Reed...
TITLE: THE ORIGIN OF THE HERO DIAL!
CAPTION: Story by Tony Isabella / Art by Jim Mooney
PAGE 2
Panel 1. Scene shows Robby and Suzy sitting in jeep as Robby drives
through woods.
CAPTION: Our tale opens as Robby and Suzy are driving through
Littleville Woods on a history project.
ROBBY: Gramps was glad to let me borrow the jeep when I told him I
needed it to come here and search for arrowheads for our history
teacher, Mr. Coombes.
Panel 2. Scene shows Robby and Suzy stepping out of jeep. Robby is
holding picnic basket.
SUZY: Let’s stop here for lunch, Robby!
ROBBY: Okay, Suzy! I can’t wait to see what Miss Milly packed for
us!
Panel 3. Scene shows Suzy and Robby sitting at picnic lunch with
cloth spread out over ground under huge tree. Policeman is walking
toward them.
ROBBY: Hi, Officer Bailey! Care for some roast chicken?
OFFICER: No thanks, Robby! I’ve got to relieve Tom behind the
station desk!
SUZY: Remember to be on time for our school party! You and Officer
Smith are the guests of honor!
OFFICER: Tom and I will be there! Probably before any of you kids!
Panel 4. Scene shows Suzy and Robby looking up in horror.
CAPTION: After Officer Bailey has left...
SUZY: Robby, look! That fiery thing is coming at us! We’ll never
get away!
Panel 5. Scene shows fiery meteor hitting woods as the woods go up
in flames and smoke.
PAGE 3
Panel 1. Scene shows two Guardians standing over two glass cases
which contain Robby and Suzy, both of who are unconscious.
CAPTION: Minutes later, far off in a distant galaxy...
FIRST GUARDIAN: Are they completely healed?
SECOND GUARDIAN: Yes! We should be thankful that they were exposed
only for seconds to that terrible fireball.
Panel 2. Scene shows the two Guardians standing and talking.
FIRST GUARDIAN: And the other earthling...the police officer?
SECOND GUARDIAN: We were too late for him! It is sad! But there
will be enough time for sorrow later!
Panel 3. Scene shows Robby and Suzy getting up from glass cases.
Guardian is standing nearby.
GUARDIAN: Arise, Robby Reed and Susan Johnson! You are needed to
save your earth, nay, your universe!
Panel 4. Scene shows Robby and Suzy standing and talking to the
Guardian.
ROBBY: What’s this all about? Who are you?
GUARDIAN: Your questions shall be answered! I am one of the
Guardians who gave the power ring to Green Lantern and many like
him throughout the universe!
Panel 5. Scene shows prehistoric cavemen fighting with stone axes.
CAPTION: “Many eons ago, evil spread through the universe because
of the forbidden act of the most evil creature alive, Krona!*
NOTE: *See Green Lantern #40, October, 1965.
Panel 6. Scene shows Krona imprisoned in energy sphere. Sphere is
traveling through space.
CAPTION: “We thought we were rid of him when we imprisoned him in
an energy sphere and hurled him into endless space!”
PAGE 4
Panel 1. Scene shows Guardian talking to Robby and Suzy.
GUARDIAN: We decided to combat the evil one of our race had
created! The power rings were our second attempt! Your mystic dial
was the first! Because it was so unpredictable, we rocketed it into
space!
SUZY: Robby, what’s all this about a mystic dial? What’s going on?
Panel 2. Scene shows Guardian’s hand passing over Suzy’s head.
Both are glowing.
GUARDIAN: There is no need to explain! At my will, let your mind be
cleared!
SUZY: Now I remember how I once was a super-heroine and assisted
Robby!*
NOTE: *See House of Mystery #169, September 1967.
Panel 3. Scene shows Krona fighting Green Lantern.
CAPTION: “But Krona returned and almost destroyed the universe once
more!”
Panel 4. Scene shows Guardian talking to Robby and Suzy.
GUARDIAN: Now he has returned to work his evil! In some
mysterious manner, he has caused all power rings and batteries
to cease functioning!
Panel 5. Scene shows huge head of Krona. Guardian, Robby and Suzy
stand thunderstruck.
CAPTION: Suddenly, appearing as if by magic...
KRONA: The manner is not so mysterious! Allow me to explain!
GUARDIAN: By the creator of all things! Krona has invaded the
domain of the Guardians!
Panel 6. Scene shows huge head of Krona speaking.
KRONA: Just a mental image, my friend! As for your Green Lanterns,
a cosmic storm increased my mental powers for a brief time. In
that time, I regained my human form and prevented you from stopping
me! Prepare for doom! It is now inevitable!
********************************
Take a breath, Tony!
I think you can understand why I’m sometimes hesitant to read my
old scripts. I think I pulled an eye muscle wincing at my starting
every panel description with “scene shows.” Not to mention at some
of the less-than-glowing captions and dialogue. That said...
Bringing Robby into the DC Universe proper was a good idea as was
restoring Suzy’s memory so that he could have someone with whom he
could talk, have a super-powered partner and, most importantly, let
Jim Mooney draw a cute girl every issue. I think I established the
menace effectively and quickly. The death of the policeman added
a very serious note to the story and I was a very serious teenager
back then.
A major wincing came when the Guardian revealed the hero-dial had
just been flung into space willy-nilly. On the other hand, it is
fairly consistent with the decision-making skills of the Guardians
over the years. Arrogant blue dummies, they are.
I have no memory of where the story would have gone from these four
pages. I suspect I would have gone into more detail re: the origin
of the Hero-Dial, being as how that was the title of the adventure.
I’m sure Robby and Suzy would have become various super-heroes to
fight Krona. It just now occurred to be that they could turn into
Green Lanterns at the end of the story to defeat Krona as the rings
they wore would be powered by the Hero-Dial.
Frequent wincing aside, I enjoyed revisiting this ancient script of
mine. I might well take another swing at this kind of storytelling
in the future. In the meantime...
If you’re a professional or hopeful comic-book artist who’s wanted
to draw a Tony Isabella script, here are four pages of script you
can use to get that out of your system. You don’t need to ask my
permission. Just draw them and do with them as you please, though
it only be polite to give me a look at them and provide a link to
wherever you post them online.
I hope you’re having as good a time going through my EARLY SCRIPTS
file as I am. There will be at least two more installments of the
exploration coming your way this weekend.
See you tomorrow.
© 2013 Tony Isabella
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