FORGOTTEN GEMS 018

This week in "Forgotten Gems" at Tales of Wonder...

From Contact Comics #45 (1/45), Black Venus by L.B. Cole and a second story by a very young Carmine Infantino.

Read it here.

AUGUST 9-11 GARAGE SALE UPDATE #2

My next Vast Accumulation of Stuff garage sale will take place on
Friday through Sunday, August 9-11, 840 Damon Drive, Medina, Ohio.
Sale hours are 9 am to 1 pm each day. If this three-day experiment
is successful, I’ll continue holding three-day sales.

I went to the Fortress of Storage at the beginning of the week and
came back with ten boxes of comic books and other items.  With one
day to go before this weekend’s garage sales, I have five boxes to
go through.  Here’s what the sale looks like at this point:

I will have almost three long tables of comic books.  I hit another run
of Superman and Superman-related titles, plus some other intriguing
odds and ends.  In addition to the above, I have two full boxes of
comics suitable for all ages.

Trade paperbacks and hardcovers fill two long tables.  I may have
more than I can fit in the display boxes.  I’ll restock those boxes
as necessary and/or possible.  As always, I’ll have copies of 1000
Comic Books You Must Read on sale at $20 each.

I have four mystery boxes at $5 each.  These go fast and I probably
won’t be able to restock them once they sell...at least not for the
remaining days of this weekend’s sales.

I’ll have great Superman collectibles on sale.  I’ll also have an
assortment of mass market paperbacks, some DVDs of cheesy movies I
have reviewed in recent months, some action figures and magazines.
The second magazine box is looking sort of empty, but I’m hoping I
can fill it with whatever I find in those five boxes I have yet to
go through.  Oh, the suspense!

My prices are insanely low.  Comic books, magazines and mass market
paperbacks are a quarter each or five for a dollar.  Trades are $2
each.  Hardcovers are $5 each.  My suitable for all ages trades and
hardcovers are a buck each...and that includes a nice selection of
Garfield books. 

The weather for Friday’s sale is looking good at the moment.  It’s
expected to be cloudy or partially cloudy, but it looks like we’ll
miss the chance of thunderstorms the weather service had originally
predicted for that day. 

I’m looking forward to the sale and to seeing my regular customers
once again.  Have a great day and thanks for your patronage.

Tony Isabella 

SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN

There are three things you should know before reading what I have
to say about Superior Spider-Man #1-10.

One. I read Marvel Comics titles as if each one of them exists in
its own separate universe.  Marvel continuity hasn’t made logical
sense in years.  Accepting that and following my own path makes it
possible for me to enjoy many Marvel titles.

Two. Marvel makes much better super-hero comics than DC.  DC’s “New
52" represents pretty much the worst super-hero comics DC has ever
published.  The world of the “New 52" is an ugly one, populated by
mostly unpleasant heroes who interact with each other in convoluted
stories that are further diminished by editorial micro-management
detrimental to a writer’s own voice.  The DC comics look as ugly as
they read, filled with lousy Jim Lee imitators at a time when even
Lee ain’t performing to expectations.  Both publishers go in for a
lot more “disaster porn” than I would like, but Marvel manages to
rise above that on a regular basis...probably because its writers
are allowed to be themselves.

Three. There will undoubtedly be big hocking SPOILERS AHEAD. 
But, since I’m about four issues behind the latest issue to be released,
I’m hoping this won’t be a deal-breaker for you.

We commence...

In the Marvel Universe of Superior Spider-Man, Doctor Octopus has
seized Peter Parker’s body for himself while seemingly condemning
Parker to death in Otto’s corpse.  Ock now has Peter’s memories and
his sense of great responsibility.  He doesn’t know it for most of
these issues, but Ock also has a little bit of Peter Parker in his
head.  The new Spider-Man is determined to be a far superior hero
than his predecessor.  He’s still a dick, but he’s not quite as big
a dick as when he was Otto and, when all is said in done, he’s our
dick.  Lord help us.

The Internet exploded when this storyline was launched.  Some fans
were overcome with grief and rage.  Editor Steve Horton and writer
Dan Slott didn’t cover themselves with glory in responding to the
complaints.  It was what the Internet calls...Tuesday.

From my point of view, there are six or seven different Spider-Men
running around comic books, cartoons and movies.  If you’re a fan
who thinks there’s only one true Spider-Man, God love you and I do
hope your Spider-Man is still being used somewhere.  If he isn’t,
you can reread his old adventures to her heart’s content.  Comics
is full of interesting choices.

Spider-Ock is a fascinating character.  He wants to prove himself
to be a superior super-hero.  He is arrogant but efficient and, in
some ways, that makes him scarier than ever.  He’s got spider-bugs
roaming all over New York to alert him to crimes and threats.  He
makes the NSA almost seem cuddly by comparison.

His efficiency can be brutal.  He beats the crap out of some super-
villains and murders a serial killer.  The Avengers are concerned.
Yeah, that’s right, the Avengers, of which Wolverine is a member,
are worried about Spider-Man’s brutal tactics.

I love a good redemption story and I love that we don’t really know
if Otto Octavius can be redeemed.  Some of what he accomplishes is
wonderfully successful.  Some is encouraging, as when he refuses to
take advantage of Mary Jane.  But, when he attempts and maybe
attempts and perhaps/perhaps not succeeds in expunging the last
remnant of Peter Parker from his mind, one can’t help but recognize
in that act the traditional Doctor Octopus ruthlessness.

Sidebar.  In that last development, I must admit I didn’t much care
for the suggestion/possibility that Peter would put his own needs
above that of a young child.  I would be delighted to see Octavius
be redeemed, but I don’t want to see Parker diminished for Otto to
reach that worthy goal.  But I digress.

Other things about Superior Spider-Man:

The clunky Living Brain re-purposed as Peter’s new lab assistant.
That’s comedy gold.

Spider-Ock offers the Vulture fifty million dollars to give up his
life of crime and retire because Otto doesn’t want to give his old
teammate a beatdown.  I wish the Vulture had taken him up on that
offer.  I hope some other villain does.

Cardiac and Spider-Ock as allies.  That works for me.

J. Jonah Jameson as Spider-Man’s biggest fan.  In recent years, the
writers have made Jameson thoroughly unpleasant.  I wish he were a
more nuanced character, but, he is what they’ve made him.  I look
forward to seeing JJJ get his comeuppance.

Otto’s unhappy childhood memories often determine his reactions to
situations he faces as Spider-Man.  It gives an emotional weight to
the good he’s trying to do.

Who else is bored by JJJ bickering with his father?  That got old
about two panels into the introduction of the character.  Why did
Jonah’s dad have to hook up with Aunt May and can we move them out
of the city and the stories?

Otto’s realization that Peter Parker is not a doctor and his drive
to take care of that little detail is a nice continuing sub-plot.
Especially since it introduced the absolutely wonderful Anna Marie
Marconi.  I adore this woman and I hope she manages to stick around
after Peter Parker gets his body back.  Which we all know will be
happening eventually.

I wish I could gush enthusiastically about the art, but it pretty
much all looks the same to me.  I had to go back and check out the
credits to confirm that several different artists drew the issues.
That’s not to say the art is bad or that the storytelling isn’t up
to the stories.  It’s just not memorable.  It’s a thin line.  While
I don’t want the art to distract from the story, I’d like to have
a stronger positive reaction to it.

Ten issues into Superior Spider-Man and I am enjoying this series.
Slott has been keeping things moving and throwing in enough twists
that the Spider-Ock story hasn’t gotten old yet.  We’ve had a good
beginning and a compelling middle.  Let’s hope we get the kind of
terrific finish that this story deserves.

I’ll be back tomorrow with more stuff.

© 2013 Tony Isabella

AUGUST 9-11 GARAGE SALE UPDATE #1

AUGUST 9-11 GARAGE SALE UPDATE #1

My next Vast Accumulation of Stuff garage sale will take place on
Friday through Sunday, August 9-11, 840 Damon Drive, Medina, Ohio.
Sale hours are 9 am to 1 pm each day. This is the first time I’ve
extended a garage sale to three days.  If the customers come, I’ll
continue holding three-day sales.

My last garage sale, which was held in June, was probably the least
successful garage sale since I started.  The challenge for this one
is to make sure there’s plenty of new items to go along with those
from that previous sale.  It makes preparation for the sale tricky,
but I think customers will be pleased and occasionally amazed with
the selection available to them.

Yesterday - Tuesday - I went to the Fortress of Storage - to grab
six or seven boxes of stuff for the sale.  While I was unloading my
van, a guy pulls into my driveway and wants to start going through
my boxes.  I explain to him - politely - that the garage sale won’t
start until Friday morning.  He can’t understand why he must wait.
I explain to him - still politely - that I’m not ready for the sale
and have boxes to go through and items to priced.  He’s still not
getting it.  Why can’t he go through the boxes now?  He’s actually
getting angry at this point.

I tell him the garage sale doesn’t start until Friday morning and
that he has to leave my garage now.  Which is when he totally loses
it and literally screams “Fuck you!” at me as he storms out of the
garage.  I close the garage door and, as I so often do, wonder what
the heck is wrong with people.

There are two reasons I don’t allow “special showings” of my sales
during my regular garage sale season, which runs from May to around
the first weekend of October.

The first is...it’s not fair to my customers to give first crack at
my sale items to anyone.  There are dealers who have requested this
and, if I allowed them to shop before anyone else, they would very
possibly strip-mine the garage sale of all the best items.  That’s
not fair to my non-dealer customers and I also believe it would be
damaging to my repeat business.

The second is...when I have allowed after-hours special showings in
the past, I’ve almost always been disappointed by how little money
I make for the inconvenience.  Honestly, that $3 sale isn’t worth
an hour of my time. 

It is possible, once my garage sale season is completed, that I’ll
allow some special showings to reduce the amount of stock I have to
put back into storage for next year’s sales.  If and when I decide
to do that, I’ll make an announcement here.  In the meantime, keep
reading this bloggy thing for more garage sale updates.

Have a great day and thanks for your patronage.

Tony Isabella 

RAWHIDE KID WEDNESDAY 47

If you’re new to the bloggy thing...

The Rawhide Kid - the one created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, then
continued by Larry Lieber - is my favorite western character.  Most
every Wednesday, I dive into my ever-growing collection of Rawhide
Kid to write about Johnny Clay and his adventures.  So, saddle up,
pardner, we got some hard riding to do if we want to catch up with
the greatest gunslinging hero of them all!

******************************

Larrupin’ Larry Lieber had been drawing a Spider-Man annual, but he
was back to pencil the cover of Rawhide Kid #62 [February 1968].
Bill Everett was the inker, Artie Simek was the letterer and Tony
Isabella, then in his junior year at St. Edward High School in
Lakewood, Ohio, was the avid reader.  My younger brothers Ernie and
Ray were no longer buying Sgt. Fury and the Marvel western titles,
so I had added those mags to my comics buying. It took all my
allowance, my income from part-time jobs and my extra income from
selling comic books to classmates, but I was managing to buy all of
Marvel’s releases, most of the DC’s and a smattering of titles from
other publishers.  I was hooked but good.

My pal Larry’s absence is keenly felt in the first of this issue’s
two Rawhide Kid stories. Writer Denny O’Neil’s “Gun Town” (9 pages)
is a mediocre effort in which the Kid is but a shadow of his usual
capable and feisty self.  The villains get the best of him on two
separate occasions.  They steal his horse, his money and his guns,
then leave him to die in the desert.  The beautiful daughter of one
of the villains saves his ass twice, but her romantic interest in
the Kid is never convincing.

Paul Reinman penciled both of the Rawhide Kid stories in the issue.
He put forth a good effort, but Vince Colletta’s inking undid that
effort.  As in previous issues, Colletta’s inking style is utterly
incompatible with western comics. 

“The Return of Drako” (8 pages) is the second appearance of a foe
who seemed to have fallen to his death in Rawhide Kid #59 [August
1967].  As with the Kid in the first story, this Drako is far less
than his original self.  Then...he wore a burnoose and affected an
Arabian sensibility.  Having killed a mine owner and claimed the
mine for himself, he fired workers with families and made slaves of
those who didn’t. Now...he shaved his beard, wears regular clothes
and hangs around the scene of his past crimes hoping to rebuild the
great western empire that existed only in his mind.

The Kid’s curiosity and need for a job takes him back to the mine
in search of work.  He doesn’t recognize Drako and gets lured into
a trap.  Unfortunately, when Drako checks to see if his trap killed
his old foe, he finds a Rawhide Kid who is far more formidable than
the Rawhide Kid in the first story.

Plotted by O’Neil and written by Gary Friedrich, this story is far
better than the first one.  However, the cost is dismantling one of
the more unusual villains the Kid had faced.  Reinman’s pencils are
good, but are once again undone by the inks of an uncredited Vince
Colletta.  Sigh.

The “Marvel Bullpen Bulletins” pages in these old comics are always
a delight for me.  This time around, the big announcements are the
launch of Captain Savage and His Leatherneck Raiders by Friedrich,
Dick Ayers and Syd Shores...a plug for the debut of Captain Marvel
in Marvel Super-Heroes...Tales to Astonish #100 with an issue-long
battle between Sub-Mariner and the Hulk...George Tuska’s return to
Marvel...and the hiring of Archie Goodwin.

Another rank of “Marveldom” is announced.  If a Marvel fan has ever
won “a noteworthy, non-negotiable No-Prize,” then the fan now holds
the rank of TTB (Titanic True Believer).  Sadly, even with all the
letters I had printed in Marvel comic books, I never won that most
coveted of all honors.  Though, about a decade or so after I last
worked in the Marvel offices, one sarcastic editor responded to my
query letter with a No-Prize. Oddly enough, I was pleased to have
finally received one of those.

In his “Stan’s Soapbox” feature, the Man tips his hat to the Comics
Code Authority.  In 1968, I agreed with him.  Within a couple years
of getting into the industry, I didn’t agree with him.  Of course,
by then, not even Stan felt as he did in 1968.

From “The Mighty Marvel Checklist”...the Thing is rampaging, Spidey
is with Ka-Zar in the Savage Land, the new Black Knight appears in
Avengers, the X-Men get new outfits, Daredevil fights the Trapster,
Thor faces the Wrecker, Iron Man battles Whiplash, Captain America
teams up with the Black Panther. Nick Fury takes on the Yellow Claw
and Doctor Strange has a “Nightmare!”  Good times.

“Siege at Silver Creek” (5 pages) is a new non-series story by Ron
Whyte with art by Herb Trimpe.  In the late 1960s, Whyte wrote a
handful of western yarns for Marvel and horror stories for Creepy
and Eerie.

This one is a muddled story of a bandit chief holding a silver mine
and its workers under siege.  To end the stalemate, El Grande - Not
too stuck on himself, is he? - challenges the owner of the mine to
a duel.  One of the mine’s scouts secretly prevents the bandits
from ambushing the owner.  Beaten, El Grande shows the honor that
he hadn’t shown previously.  The bandits leave the miners in peace.

Trimpe’s art shows his relative inexperience, but there are panels
that really sing here.  I remember liking his work and wondering if
he would get a chance to work on super-heroes before long.

The “Ridin’ the Trail with Rawhide” letters column finally expands
to a full page with the MMMS ad now getting its own half-page spot
elsewhere.  There are four letters this issue.

Davren Burger of South Africa likes the Rawhide Kid’s current duds
and his red hair...because Davren has red hair, too!

Robert Kowalski of Detroit praises Rawhide Kid #60.  He would like
“to see more of your western characters in stories relating to real
incidents in the lives of...historical characters.”

Bob Pax of Marengo, Illinois wonders how the Kid can fire one shot
from each of his guns and then be out of bullets in the next panel.
The Marvel answer: “You didn’t think ol’ Rawhide waited until panel
three to start shootin’, did you?”

Finally, Albert Francis of New York tells how he first bought The
Rawhide Kid because it was the only Marvel comic at a neighborhood
candy store...and now he’s a regular reader.  It’s a familiar tale
we’ve heard from other readers.

That’s it for this edition of “Rawhide Kid Wednesday,” my rannies.
I’ll be back tomorrow with other stuff.

© 2013 Tony Isabella

SHATTERING CONVENTIONS

Heading to PulpFest 2013 two weekends ago, I grabbed a book to read
in the wee hours of the morning when most people are sleeping.  Not
me.  I’ve been trained by my cat Simba to wake at certain hours to
tend to her whims and, even when she decides to let me “sleep in,”
the neighborhood birds start their chirping by 5 am.  So I bring a
book to read when I’m out of town.

The book was Shattering Conventions: Commerce, Cosplay and Conflict
on the Expo Floor by Bob Calhoun [Obscuria Press; $16.99].  Calhoun
was a wrestler, peepshow barker, ring announce and a comics/Star
Trek/Star Wars fan.  Currently he’s a senior research analyst at
the University of California, Berkeley.  Without a publishing deal
in place, Calhoun went on the road to comics and sci-fi gatherings,
trade shows, insane conspiracy cons, political events and even an
event for Sasquatch seekers.  The only con he couldn’t get into was
a plastic surgeons event which had tighter security than any of the
others.  What were they hiding?

The initial chapters of the book aren’t pleasant.  Calhoun writes
about his earliest comics and sci-fi conventions and, in doing so,
gives the impression of self-loathing for himself and an arrogant
superiority towards other fans.  In writing about these events, he
only rises above his personal issues when he gives in to the joy he
experienced at them.

The book shines brightest whenever Calhoun goes outside his comfort
zone.  A MacWorld Conference and Expo sans Steve Jobs proves to be
a sad shadow of what it once was.  The atmosphere of a Republican
convention is tainted by the stench of the vile Andrew Brietbart.
Hemp and gun shows share one chapter, but the scariest chapter is
the Conspiracy Con event where bigotry, delusion, fear and hatred
of horrific proportions combine into a self-perpetuating legion of
evil and madness.

I think my favorite chapter might be the one that starts with a for
real cattle drive down the streets of San Francisco and takes the
author to the aptly-named Cow Palace.  Calhoun’s conversations with
a teen whose family raises cattle are delightful.  I’m sure most of
my bloggy thing readers have experienced the passion of our fellow
fans for our thing.  As Calhoun reveals, that kind of passion isn’t
our exclusive domain.

If you’re interested in the world of conventions, including those
beyond our comics/sci-fi interests, I think you’ll enjoy Shattering
Conventions.  It’s worth reading.

ISBN 978-0-578-11582-5

******************************

Phantom Lady #1-4 [DC; $2.99 each] introduces the “New 52" versions
of the title heroine and Doll Man.  The first Phantom Lady made her
debut in the 1940s; this is her fourth incarnation.  Doll Man also
hails from that decade; this is his third incarnation.

Written by Justin Grey and Jimmy Palmiotti with art by Cat Staggs
(pencils) and Tom Derenick (inks), the series casts Phantom Lady as
the daughter of a newspaper man who watched her parents die at the
hands of an seemingly-above-the-law criminal.  Using tech created
by her scientist friend Dane Whitman, Jennifer Knight tries to get
the goods on the criminal and bring him to justice.  Her lack of
experience is her undoing as the criminal is able to trace her to
Dane’s lab.  Dane seems to die while locked in one of his devices,
but, in reality, he’s reduced to the size of a doll.

While not blindingly original, the series is entertaining with an
outstanding moment or two along the way.  The heroes experience an
elation using their powers against the criminals, but quickly find
themselves conflicted when they are forced to battle innocents who
have been turned into zombie-like creatures by the bad guys.  This
super-hero stuff isn’t as clear-cut as they might like and they’re
not sure if their course is the correct one.

In past incarnations, both Phantom Lady and Doll Man were members
of a team called the Freedom Fighters.  Over the past year, we’ve
also seen the re-invention of teammates the Ray and the Human Bomb.
All four of these heroes have been brought together by a government
agent known only as Samuel.  We’re still missing a Black Condor to
fill out the roster.  Whether or not Samuel turns out to be the new
Uncle Sam or not, I look forward to seeing what Grey and Palmiotti
do next...and there are almost no “New 52" super-hero titles I feel
that way about.

******************************

Peanuts: It’s Tokyo, Charlie Brown! [Kaboom!; $13.99] combines two
things I love: the Peanuts kids and one of the cities I’d most like
to visit.  The story and pencil art for this 91-page graphic novel
are by Vicki Scott with inks by Paige Braddock.

The premise is both absurd and absurdly simple.  The President of
the United States selects Charlie Brown’s team to represent us in
an international baseball game to be held in Japan.  If I were one
of those sad right-wingers, I would accuse the President of trying
to diminish our stature in the world.  Since I’m not, I’ll assume
some sort of random lottery was involved.  If I think about stuff
like that, I might start wondering why Charlie’s team, unlike every
youth team I was ever on or my kids were ever on, has absolutely no
adult supervision.  For that matter, how do these kids get to fly
to Japan without adult supervision?  Shut up, stupid logic.  Just
enjoy this delightful story.

Delightful is surely is.  The Peanuts characters are spot-on.  The
gags, recurring and otherwise, are funny.  The travel stuff is fun;
there’s even a Godzilla shot.  And while Scott doesn’t shy from the
enormity of this game or what losing it might do to poor Charlie’s
already tender psyche, she delivers a brilliant resolution to the
situation that I found satisfying.

The graphic novel comes complete with many informative features on
the making of the book.  That gave me a second reason to recognize
Scott’s cleverness.  By contract, no new characters can be created
for the Peanuts comic books.  None.  Whatsoever.  Scott overcame
those restrictions to tell a wonderful story that took Charlie and
his friends across the world.  That’s brilliance.

Peanuts fans will love this graphic novels.  Younger readers might
enjoy it as well, depending on how versed they are in Peanuts lore.
I give it my highest recommendation.

ISBN 978-1-60886-270-2

Come back tomorrow for the return of our “Rawhide Kid Wednesdays.”

© 2013 Tony Isabella

TONY'S TIPS #019

Hey, kids...In this week's installment of "Tony's Tips" at the Tales of Wonder website, I write about Marvel's WWII super-heroes, Annoying Orange, Oh, Yeah Comics and Bart Simpson!