PRESIDENT MARVEL

Whiz Comics #140 [Fawcett; December 1951] is another comic from my
birth month.  The cover artist is Kurt Schaffenberger, a top artist
for Fawcett, ACG and DC.  At DC, he’s best known for his long and
defining run on Lois Lane.

Multiple features in a 36-page comic book doesn’t give much space
for the individual features.  “Captain Marvel Becomes President of
the U.S.A.” only runs six pages.  On the other hand, I figure that
it only took six pages for Marvel’s political opponents to demand
his birth certificate and find out he was a) actually a 12-year-old
boy or b) born at the Rock of Eternity, which is neither one of the
50 states or a territory of the United States.  Otto Binder wrote
this story and it was drawn by Schaffenberger.

Also featured in this issue:

Colonel Corn and Korny Kobb in “Rent Fugitives,” a four-page humor
story.  Writer and artist unknown.

Golden Arrow in “Dynamite Trail,” a 6-page western-frontier story
inked and likely penciled by Anthony Cataldo.  The synopsis at the
Grand Comics Database: Curtis has bought land from a big rancher,
and then he finds gold on the property.

Wicky and O'Shawnessy in “Sport For Burglars,” a two-page text tale
by Rod Reed writing as Walter Farmer.

Lance O’Casey in “The Pearl Pirates,” a six-page adventure story,
drawn by Charles Tomsey.  The GCD synopsis: A steamer is attacked
by pirates, who steal a shipment of pearls.

Ibis the Invincible in “The Zombie Master,” a six-page super-hero
occult story.  Writer and artist unknown.

Doc Sawbones in “Symptomatic,” a half-page humor strip.  Writer and
artist unknown.

Keep watching this bloggy thing for more vintage comic-book covers
from the month of my birth.  There’s only a few more to go and then
I’ll start to visit comic books from the month when I decided that
I wanted to write comic books when I grew up.

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

Her Last Breath [Minotaur Books; $25.99] is Linda Castillo’s fifth
book in her Kate Burkholder series.  Burkholder is the police chief
of a Ohio village whose jurisdiction includes a large population of
Amish. The chief was born Amish and has uneasy and uncomfortable
ties to her family and former friends.  Not surprisingly, all these
novels involve crimes against or by the Amish.

Digression.  Ohio has the largest population of Old Order Amish in
the United States.  Ohioans are fascinated by the Amish, especially
those of us who live in close proximity to their communities.  It’s
only slightly unusual to see an Amish buggy in the parking lot of
one of our larger supermarkets.

That fascination extends to mystery novels.  I’m currently reading
two series involving the Amish.  I started reading a third series
but found its excessive detail and almost sermonizing approach to
Amish beliefs off-putting, though I’ll likely give it another try
later this year.

I’m as fascinated by the Amish as anyone.  I once devoted several
days attempting to craft a super-hero story with a young Amish boy
as its narrator, only to abandon it when I realized that doing it
justice would require more than the single-issue story I was going
for.  I’ll probably return to it some day.  Anyway, that ends this
digression.  On to Her Last Breath...

Burkholder has her flaws and her demons, which is pretty standard
for police heroes in these books.  She’s romantically involved with
a big-city detective who comes with his own baggage.  She’s built
a competent and loyal police force, despite her losing her regular
battles with the penny-pinching city council.  She has family among
the Amish, but they consider her a sinful outsider who is definitely
going to burn in Hell for all eternity.  As a liberal with a birth
family full of clueless right-wingers, I can relate to Burkholder’s
disconnect from that family.

There are three storylines in this novel, only one of which will be
resolved by the book’s conclusion.  What initially appears to be a
terrible hit-and-run accident which kills an Amish man and two of
his three special-needs children is actually a carefully-conceived
murder.  The man’s wife was Burkholder’s best friend when she was
an Amish teenager and, in looking for suspects, Kate dredges up too
many memories, both happy and sad.

Another storyline involves Burkholder’s relationship with Detective
John Tomasetti as that relationship reaches what could be a turning
point.  The third involves evidence of a decades-old crime that may
end Burkholder’s career.  So, even as I’m basking in the enjoyment
of Her Last Breath, I’m eagerly awaiting the next novel.  I hope I
won’t have too long of a wait.

Her Last Breath has everything I like in a mystery novel.  It has
great characters, heinous villains (even if we don’t know who they
are until the end chapters), human interest, suspenseful action and
a sense of fairness when it comes to giving readers the chance to
solve the mystery on their own.  We get the clues right alongside
Burkholder.  I’m pleased to say I figured out the mysteries about
the same times she did.

I recommend all the Kate Burkholder books:

Sworn to Silence, Minotaur Books, 2009
ISBN 978-0312597160

Pray for Silence, Minotaur Books, 2010
ISBN 978-0312540036

Breaking Silence, Minotaur Books, 2011
ISBN 978-1250001580

Gone Missing, Minotaur Books, 2012
ISBN 978-0312658564

Her Last Breath, Minotaur Books, 2013
ISBN 978-0312658571

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

Bongo Comics continue to publish some of the best buys and most fun
books in the industry.  With the exception of a few house ads, Bart
Simpson #82 and #83 [$2.99 each] were cover to cover comics stories
or related content.

Bart Simpson #82 leads off with “The Martin Chronicles,” in which
Martin and Milhouse vie for the role as Bart’s best friend.  It’s
social climbing for the desperate by Ian Boothby with art by Phil
Ortiz and Mike Rote.  The issue includes three other stories and a
lively editorial/letters section.

Bart Simpson #83 has “The Booty,” a wild story by Pat McGreal that
involves, among other things, competitive eating with a rare comic
book as its prize.  Art is by Rex Lindsey and Dan Davis.  A second
Bart story by Shane Houghton, Nina Matsumoto and Andrew Pepoy finds
our rebellious young hero imprisoned in the school library until he
reads a book and writes a book report.

Bongo’s Simpsons and Futurama comics will delight viewers of those
shows.  Since I’m one of those happy viewers, I can’t say for sure
if non-viewers will enjoy them as well.  My bet would be that they
would because the comic books strike me as being accessible even to
readers whose knowledge of the shows comes from social osmosis and
not actual viewing.  Definitely recommended.

I’ll be back tomorrow with more stuff.   

© 2013 Tony Isabella

MYSTERY OF THE GREENBACK FLOOD

Western Hero ran 37 issues from #76 to 112.  Published by Fawcett,
the title continued its numbering Real Western Hero [#70-75] which
continued its numbering from Wow Comics.  As a western comic, this
title ran from September 1948 to March 1952.

All I know about Western Hero #109 [December 1951] is that it hit
the newsstands in that glorious month of my birth...that it starred
movie cowboys Tex Ritter, Tom Mix, Monte Hale and Gabby Hayes...and
that the title of the cover stories sounds like it could have been
an Uncle Scrooge story.  Probably involving the Beagle Boys.  But
I digress.

As always, I’m always delighted to learn more about the comics of
my birth month from my bloggy readers.  I’m also willing to trade
for these comics and, on occasion, purchase them.  You can e-mail
me to arrange such transactions.

Keep watching this bloggy thing for more vintage comic-book covers
from the month of my birth.

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

I read a terrific Batman comic book the other day.  Okay, it was a
terrific Batman comic book with a cover date of December 2010, but
terrific Batman comic books are such a rare commodity in the “new
52" era that I wanted to review it.

Batman Confidential #49 [$2.99] features “Work That’s Never Done,”
a smart done-in-one story by James Patrick with art by Steve Scott
(pencils) and Bob Petrecca (inks).  If the police were Batman, I’d
call this a police procedural because, not only do we get exciting
and gritty Batman action, but we also get a look into how he works
his cases and what goes through his head as he does so.

It starts with Batman picking up a “9-1-1" call and getting to the
scene before the Gotham City cops.  With a child’s life at stake,
Batman works the case relentlessly.  Patrick shows us how the man’s
mind works, even as Batman does little mental digressions.  This is
my kind of Batman, always thinking but not insane.  His actions are
measured and well thought-out.

The same can be said for my pal Steve Scott’s art and storytelling.
It’s measured.  Dynamic and even explosive when it needs to be and
more subtle when it comes to the human drama.

Batman Confidential #49 is worth tracking down.  Especially if you
like terrific Batman comic books as much as I do.

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

I enjoyed Journey Into Mystery #646-652 [Marvel; January-July 2013;
$2.99 each}, but I don’t have a lot of say about these comic books.
That happens sometimes.

Writer Kathryn Immonen crafted a nice mix of action, humor, godly
introspection and monsters.  The issues starred Sif and she doesn’t
get nearly enough “screen time” in the Marvel Universe.  Volstagg
appeared, which is always a good thing.  Valerio Schiti’s art was
excellent.  Like I said, I enjoyed it.  Unfortunately, this series
has been cancelled. Poo.

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

Mostly because I’ve enjoyed so much of Geoff Johns’ work over the
years, I caught up on Justice League and Aquaman recently.  Here’s
some quick notes...

Justice League is an ugly-looking comic.  When Jim Lee drew it, I
thought the heroes looked uncomfortable in their redesigned suits.
I thought the coloring was too dark.  I thought this book did not
look like a book about super-heroes, which I contend work better if
optimism is a key component of the stories.  Lee isn’t drawing it
any more and it still looks ugly.

I don’t find any of the Justice Leaguers consistently likeable.  I
don’t think they like us either.  Humanity in general seems like a
nuisance to them.  It’s as if that entire “great power means great
responsibility” concept was their equivalent of going to church on
Sunday because their parents made them.  I’m not feeling the love
from these heroes.  So I can’t love them back.

I was somewhat amused by the appearance of a Justice League minor
league system, though dismayed it included “Fake Black Lightning.”
Justice Minor League would probably be a far more entertaining book
than Justice League.

DC’s re-invention of the original Captain Marvel ranks high among
the many epic fails of “the new 52.” It’s every bit as ugly as the
Justice League book in which it appears.  I wish DC had the wisdom
to let some characters go unused until they find someone who might
bring something good to them.  This ain’t it.

Hint: the recent Young Justice cartoon did it better.

That brings us to Aquaman...

Aquaman remains one of the very few “New 52" titles I enjoy, It’s
because, despite their flaws and sometimes unpleasant quirks, both
Aquaman and Mera are likeable characters.  I care what happens to
them.  Geoff Johns is doing his best writing on the title and I’ve
always thought artist Paul Pelletier was a fine artist who can draw
characters that look like they’re supposed to look.  His page and
panel layouts move the story forward in a clear and still exciting
manner.  I like this book.

Aquaman #20 was a done-in-one “interlude” starring the Others.  Not
that you’d know if from the erroneous credits on the cover, but it
was written by John Ostrander, penciled by Manuel Garcia and inked
by four inkers.  While the issue didn’t have the momentum of Johns’
current Aquaman storyline, it was a solidly entertaining issue on
all fronts.

The Others are like the Aquaman Justice League and I’m finding them
to be interesting characters.  I read somewhere that they will be
appearing in an Aquaman annual and that, if the annual’s sales are
good, may get their own series.  Well, “The Others” is a good name
for an offbeat super-hero team and anything that puts Ostrander on
an ongoing super-hero title is a good move.

I’ll be back tomorrow with more stuff and the start of my countdown
to Comic-Con.  See you then.

© 2013 Tony Isabella

HERO FOR HIRE #15-16

Part of what I try to accomplish in this bloggy thing of mine is to
set the record straight when it comes to my comics career.  There
is a great deal of misinformation out there about comics history in
general.  Some comics historians elevate their speculation to fact.
Some take sides in disputes between creators and other creators or
creators and publishers.  Some twist facts in support of their own
personal agendas.

I don’t consider myself a comics historian.  I’m a commentator who
tries to entertain and inform.  However, when it comes to my comics
career, I think I have a better handle on what really happened and
such.  Though I recognize that we’re all the heroes of our stories,
I do strive to relate information on my career as accurately as I
possibly can.

My bloggy readers seem to enjoy this.  For a long time, pretty much
up to the time I wrote about the vileness that is Dragon*Con, my
most viewed blog post was the one titled “Jim Shooter’s Pants Are
on Fire,” wherein I corrected Shooter’s knowing lies about things
in which I was involved.  Shooter has a habit of rewriting history
to make himself look good, but that wasn’t a concern of mine until
he decided to lie about me.

Recently, in posting a Facebook remembrance of the wonderful Billy
Graham (1935-1999), I came across Steve Englehart’s mis-remembering
the facts about who did what in Marvel’s Hero For Hire #15 and 16
[November and December 1973].  For the short version of the record,
I don’t know what role Steve played in issue #15, but I’m certain
he had nothing to do with issue #16, save that I was finishing the
storyline he had started two issues earlier.

Seeing this misinformation in the Wikipedia entry for Billy Graham
- and will someone set that website straight after they read this
bloggy thing - I decided it was time to - again - do my best to set
this record straight.  Let’s see if it sticks this time.

Hero for Hire #15 was running incredibly late when I was asked to
script the issue’s truncated 11-page Luke Cage story.  Filling out
that issue was a reprint of a short 1954 Sub-Mariner story written
and drawn by Bill Everett.

The credits for that Luke Cage story read:

Billy Graham co-scripter/artist
Tony Isabella co-scripter
Steve Englehart camp counselor

I probably wrote those credits.  I certainly wrote everything else
on that and the other pages of the story.  That Wikipedia entry has
an almost-accurate quote from me:

"Billy Graham is credited as the co-scripter of my first issue
[#14] and, try as I might, I simply do not recall getting anything
other than the usual penciled pages to script. I skimmed a little
of that issue and, making no judgment as to whether this is a good
or bad thing, the writing does strike me as all mine."

If I actually stated I did issue #14, I was in error.  My first
Luke Cage work was with #15.  I remember reading a make-ready of
#14 while scripting #15 and being concerned to the point of terror
by how late #15 was running.  Reading that make-ready was the only
contact I had with either Steve or Billy during my work on #15 and
#16.  Here’s how it went...

Roy Thomas asked me to write Hero for Hire #15 and #16.  He knew I
was a fan of both Luke Cage and Englehart’s writing...and I knew I
would have killer deadlines on both issues.  When I took the job,
I was given the penciled pages for issue #15.  I received no plot
or script, but I’m pretty sure there were some brief border notes
on the pages.  I’m also pretty sure I was told Billy plotted this
story.  I can’t recall why I (or anyone else) credited him as the
co-scripter.  He should’ve been credited as plotter or co-plotter.
In either case, I received nothing by Englehart before I scripted
these pages.  I didn’t even talk to him about the story.  He might
not have even been in New York at the time.

Once I turned in the script pages for Hero For Hire #15, I had to
start on #16 immediately.  Billy needed a plot or script as soon as
he finished inking issue #15.  My recollection is I had to deliver
a plot or script for #16 within three days of finishing the script
for issue #15...without falling behind on any of my other work for
Marvel.  It was a challenge and I’ve always loved challenges.

Given the tight deadlines for this story and my other assignments,
I decided the most efficient way for me to go was to write a full
script for Hero for Hire #16.  That way, my work on the issue would
be completed and I wouldn’t have to worry about scripting pencilled
pages later on.  Roy was okay with this.  Production manager John
Verpoorten was thrilled with this.

The credits to Hero For Hire #16 read:

Tony Isabella writer
Billy Graham penciller
Roy Thomas editor

and include this:

with special thanks to Len Wein and Marv Wolfman
The shout-out to Len and Marv had nothing to do with this issue’s
story.  After I’d done a horrible job scripting a three-page horror
script for Chamber of Chills #5, I figured it would be a very long
time before I got any more comics writing work from Roy.  Len and
Marv were encouraging and supportive.  I ghost-scripted a story for
another writer (and for another publisher) and Marv let Roy know I
had done a very good job with that script.  That led to my getting
more writing opportunities at Marvel and, fortunately, Roy liked my
work on those assignments.

Englehart had nothing to do with my full script for Hero For Hire
#16, save that I was finishing the story which he and Billy began.
I created Stiletto and I figured out how to end the story in such
a way as to afford Len Wein a relatively clean slate when he became
the title’s regular writer with the re-branded Luke Cage, Power Man
#17.  Len’s first issue was already in the works while I was doing
#16.  My script for #16 isn’t too far removed from the “They all
got run over by a bus” school of plotting, but it got the job done
for Roy and Len and Marvel.

I attribute no malice to my friend Steve Englehart.  I have always
assumed he is merely mis-remembering the issues among the hundreds
of fine comics he did write for Marvel in the 1970s.  But, as is my
wont, I wanted to correct the misinformation included in Wikipedia
entries and, more importantly, the Grand Comics Database.  I leave
it to Steve if he wants to correct his website.

I’ll be back tomorrow with more stuff.  

© 2013 Tony Isabella

INDEPENDENCE DAY-SASTER

Working long hours of late, I’ve been winding down with B-movies.
Unfortunately, I’ve hit a rough patch where the films aren’t very
good...and that’s even by SyFy standards.  Let’s start with the one
that’s most appropriate for today’s holiday...

Independence Daysaster [2013] is a low-budget alien invasion movie
and a pale imitation of the big-budget 1996 Independence Day.  The
only kind of cool thing about the newer movie is the heroes are the
President and his estranged brother.  Out of communication after
his helicopter is brought down, the Prez must deal with a hawkish
Vice President without a lick of common sense and find some way to
strike back at the aliens.  The brother is a firefighter who tries
to protect the Prez’s son and the son’s friends and who teams with
a SETI scientist to try to fight the aliens.  Assisting the Prez,
a pair of young hackers.  Not a bad band of heroes, but the acting
is shaky at best.

We never see the aliens.  The attacks are carried out by spinning
drones and mechanical protrusions buried underground eons ago.  How
perceptive of the aliens to not bury any of them near where there
would someday be oil or coal or anything else we might dig or drill
for and thus discover them.  Such foresight.

Everything is controlled from a mother ship on the far side of the
moon.  No fatal weakness there.

Everything about this movie is predictable.  You know who is gonna
die and pretty much when.  You know how that mother ship is gonna
go down.  About the only surprise is the cheap-ass surprise ending
which shows more mother ships heading for Earth.  Because we would
not want viewers feeling good about the good guys beating the bad
guys for more than thirty seconds.  Give this one as wide a pass as
you can manage.

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

Piranha (2010) was the worst movie I’ve seen this year.  It was
a vile exercise in gore.  I’d call it “disaster porn,” but it was
too close up and personal to be elevated even to that lowly level.
Here are the two good things about the movie:

Richard Dreyfuss plays the first victim of the prehistoric piranhas
who enter our world after an earthquake opens up a crack in their
underground sea.  He plays this character as an aging Matt Hooper
and there are other nods to Jaws as well.  That was a funny notion.

Closer to the end of the movie, Ving Rhames plays a police officer
who jumps into water filled with piranhas and, wielding an outboard
motor as if it were a weed-whacker, slices and dices the murderous
fish to allow others to escape.  He’s clearly being eaten by these
fish and does succumb to them, but, damn, that is one ridiculously
heroic moment.

The rest of the movie? Lousy acting. Gore.  Boobies for the sake of
boobies. Gore. Terrible people doing terrible things.  Gore.  The
sheriff and her kids...and her son’s girlfriend...and a scientist
survive the piranhas and destroy the piranhas.  Only to have that
fleeting moment of relief and victory cruelly torn from them by a
shock ending that directly contradicts information about the fish
given by a scientist earlier in the film.

This is a sick film.  The crazy gore doesn’t succeed as dark humor.
It panders to sadists. If I hadn’t borrowed the movie from my local
library, I would have taken a weed-whacker to it.  Stay away from
this bloody turd.

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

The original Piranha (1978) was kind of sort of a parody of Jaws.
Steven Spielberg called it “the best of the Jaws ripoffs.” Though
I haven’t seen the movie in decades, I remember it as being solid
B-movie entertainment.  So, hoping to get the bad taste of the new
Piranha out of my mouth and with the original Piranha not available from
my library, I watched Piranha II: The Spawning (1981).

Piranha II must have had a smaller budget than Piranha.  The killer
piranhas are government-created hybrids of piranha and other fish,
including flying fish.  So we got scene after scene of these silly
creatures flying like bats in a low-budget vampire film and scene
after scene of the actors holding these creatures to their necks to
simulate the fish eating them.  Hilarious stuff that.

The good guys are a diving instructor, her estranged husband, their
son, and a government scientist turned whistle blower.  They have
their flaws, but are all more likeable than the characters in the
2010 Piranha.  While The Spawning has a reasonably high body count,
the movie spends time with most of these future victims and so makes
their deaths more than points on a scoreboard.

The movie is set at a Caribbean hotel that caters to tourists on a
budget.  That allows the flamboyant hotel manager to assume a role
somewhat equivalent to that of the mayor of Amity in Jaws.  Why do
such guys never consider the lawsuits that must surely follow their
depraved disregard for the well-being of their customers/tourists?
Even a so-so lawyer could make bank on those lawsuits.

Some interesting notes:

Piranha II was the directorial debut of James Cameron, the guy who
keeps stealing ideas for his movies.  The version of the film I watched
is likely his re-editing of the original.

The estranged husband is played by a so young Lance Henriksen that
I didn’t recognize him at first.  His performance isn’t especially
noteworthy, but good enough for a B-movie.

Piranha II: The Spawning ain’t no work of cinematic art.  But it’s
a fun way to kill an hour-and-a-half and that was all I required of
it.  Worth watching once.

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

I had never seen Dogora, the 1964 science fiction film from Toho,
so I bought the DVD and watched it with my son Eddie.  Actually, I
watched it twice because both Ed and I fell asleep during my first
viewing of the film.  And, yeah, that’s mostly on the movie, which
seems a whole lot longer than its 83 minutes.

A blob-like alien lifeform takes out a satellite and then commences
to chowing down on diamonds and related minerals.  It’s a cool idea
for a creature, but the special effects of 1964 weren’t up to the
challenge of making it look cool.  Even a low-budget remake could
overcome this shortcoming.

The human supporting cast is interesting and varied.  You have this
gang of diamond thieves with a sexy treacherous woman among them.
You have the shady insurance investigator who claims to be working
with Interpol, but I’m not sure I buy it.  You have a scientist and
his lovely assistant and a young police detective.  I enjoyed the
people scenes more than the monster scenes.

There was no excitement or tension to Dogora.  It just meandered,
slowly meandered, from start to finish.  The second viewing was no
more enjoyable than the first, though I am tempted to watch it one
more time in the original Japanese with English subtitles.  Maybe
that will make for a better experience.

Dogora is not recommended unless, like me, you have a serious Toho
Studios jones.  Maybe this is a cry for help.

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

Mighty Peking Man is a 1977 film from Hong Kong made to cash in on
the 1976 American remake of King Kong.  I only seen a small portion
of the movie prior to getting it through my local library system.
It screams its humble origins with its often laughable man-in-suit
special effects, but it also has some cool stuff and, with a couple
of exceptions, a cast of unlikeable characters.  Even the apparent
hero of the movie, an explorer and hunter whose girlfriend did the
nasty with his TV producer brother, doesn’t act admirably some of
the time.  I’ll get to him in a moment.

Here’s a quick recap of the movie...

Giant monster ape destroys village.  Word gets to Hong Kong.  Big
sleazy promoter hires hero to catch the ape, but leaves the hero to
die in the jungle when things get bad.  Hero is saved by beautiful
blonde girl raised by giant monster ape.  Hero convinces beautiful
girl to bring giant monster ape to Hong Kong so promoter and hero
can get rich.  Stupid greedy hero.

Giant monster ape is mistreated, but takes it because of his love
for the girl he raised.  Hero shares a steamy moment with his old
girlfriend, breaking nice jungle girl’s heart.  Jungle girl tries
to free giant monster ape.  Promoter tries to rape jungle girl.  He
shouldn’t ought to have done that.

Giant monster ape breaks loose.  Kills promoter. Beats up on city
pretty good.  Nasty British police chief calls out all the troops
to kill giant monster ape, even tricking reconciled hero and jungle
girl into calming giant monster ape down.  Things do not end well
for anyone.  King Kong decides this movie couldn’t have made enough
money to be worth the lawsuit.

This is silly B-movie fun and worth watching once.  If I ever get
my own monster movie show - I’d call myself Terrible Tony and make
rude jokes at the commercial breaks and, like Ghoulardi, blow up a
variety of things - I would air this movie.

That’s my B-movie round-up.  I’ll be back tomorrow with something
else.  Lord knows what.  I’m a wild man.

© 2013 Tony Isabella

RAWHIDE WEDNESDAY 45

Previously in Tony Isabella’s Bloggy Thing...

The Rawhide Kid - the one created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, then
continued by Larry Lieber - is my favorite western character.  So,
inspired by Essential Rawhide Kid Volume 1, which reprinted all the
Lee/Kirby issues and then some, I’ve been writing about the Rawhide
Kid most every Wednesday.  When I ran out of the issues reprinted
in the book, I tracked down some owlhoots, brought them in and used
the reward money to buy more issues of the title.  Because that’s
what the Kid would have done.

Writer/artist Larry Lieber is still working on the Amazing Spider-
Man annual for this year, so he’s missing from The Rawhide Kid #60
[October 1967].  The cover artists are Dick Ayers and Herb Trimpe,
who also handled the interior art on the cover story.

The cover copy is hard-sell: Now it can be told!! The six-gun saga
you demanded as the Kid thunders into a deadly...INDIAN WAR!

And also: The Greatest ACTION EPIC of them all!

“Massacre at Medicine Bend” is scripted by Gary Friedrich and Denny
O’Neil.  Letterer Al Kurzrok spells Gary’s name as “Freidrich” in
the credits.  Marvel credits of this era are sometimes ambiguous so
we don’t know who plotted the story.  It could have been either or
both of the writers, it could have editor Stan Lee, it could have
been pencil artist Ayers.  We do know that the story runs 17 pages
in length and that it features Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer
(1839-1876).

It’s an interesting story on many levels.  It starts with Rawhide,
weak from two days without food or water, trying to escape from a
band of Sioux warriors.  It looks like the Kid has reached the end
of his trail, but, surprisingly, the warriors capture him instead
of killing him.

Rawhide is imprisoned and taken to Chief Bald Eagle.  The Sioux are
being blamed for a massacre, a massacre that was actually carried
out by renegades being armed by the gunrunner LaPlante.  Secretly
working with LaPlante is Crazy Bear, a warrior who believes an all-
out war will drive the white men from Sioux lands.

Custer is also eager for all-out war with beings he considers to be
no more than savages.  The wiser Bald Eagle wants a chance to prove
his tribe’s innocence and negotiate peace with Custer.  He captured
Rawhide so that the Kid could carry this message to Custer and set
up a meeting.  Custer agrees to a meeting.

LaPlante and the renegades attack Custer and his men at the meeting
place.  Custer thinks Rawhide is a traitor.  Rawhide goes after the
gunrunner and is forced to kill him.  Any slim chance of peace has
been obliterated.

The Kid is captured by Custer’s men.  Custer believes the Kid was
duped and releases him with the warning that if he remains in the
area he will be arrested.

Custer is awaiting more troops with which he plans to wipe out the
Sioux.  Bald Eagle must prepare for war.  Crazy Bear, whose role in
this treachery is still unrevealed, says they should join up with
Sitting Bull.  He anticipates winning great glory.

This is not a happy ending for anyone.  The Kid can do nothing to
stop this war and sadly rides away from the Little Big Horn.  The
impatient Custer decides to start the attack before the arrival of
his additional forces.  That will end badly for him.  And, for the
Sioux and other tribes, their persecution at the hands of the white
men will continue and they will suffer greatly.

There have been tragic deaths in previous Rawhide Kid stories, but
this tale is but a chapter in one of the most shameful and tragic
periods in our nation’s history.  It was a hard story to read and
a hard story to write about.

The “Marvel Bullpen Bulletins” page is still plugging the upcoming
Fantastic Four cartoon series, the satirical Not Brand Echh and the
summer annuals.  When it gets around to the creators, we learn Roy
Thomas has bought a pet ocelot...Gary Friedrich has sold a bunch of
pop songs...newcomer Raymond Marais is writing Dr. Strange and the
Sub-Mariner...and Marshall McLuhan had a brief interview with and
a full-page photo of Stan Lee in The Mechanical Bride, the famous
philosopher’s first book.

“Stan’s Soapbox” discusses whether or not Marvel should be taking
political and social stands in its comic books and asks the Marvel
readers want they think.  The page also includes the names of 26 of
those readers, all of them members of the M.M.M.S. (Merry Marvel
Marching Society).

“The Mighty Marvel Checklist” touts the first appearance of “Him”
(the future Adam Warlock) in Fantastic Four #67.  Familiar names in
the checklist entries include Doctor Octopus, the Cobra, Mr. Hyde,
the Titanium Man and Modok.  Good times.

This issue’s five-page reprint stars the Two-Gun Kid in a story by
Stan Lee and Dick Ayers.  “The Bronc Buster” originally ran in Two-
Gun Kid #63 [May 1963] and is a humorous contrast to the grim lead
story of this issue.

Attorney Matt Hawk (secretly the Two-Gun Kid) takes schoolteacher
Nancy Carter to the rodeo where they encounter a swaggering bronc
buster by the name of Laredo Smith who challenges Matt to attempt
to ride a horse named Tornado and win $100 prize.  Matt wishes he
could ride the stallion.  During the rodeo, he slips away from his
date, changes into his Two-Gun Kid mask and outfit and does that.
In a thrilling ride, our hero tames Tornado.

Returning to Nancy with some gumdrops, Matt watches as rider after
rider tries to ride Tornado.  All fail.  To Nancy’s great surprise
and undisguised terror, Matt steps forward to take his shot at the
stallion.  Tornado apparently recognizes Matt’s butt and is gentle
as all get out with the lawyer.

Matt wins the prize.  The crowd turns on Laredo and figures him for
a cheat of some kind.  Laredo gets ready to pick a fight with Matt,
only to get kicked in the ass by Tornado.  Stan’s closing dialogue
is great fun...

LAREDO: You sneaky coyote! I don’t know what you did or how you did
it, but you just cost me a fortune! I’ve got a good mind to...

MATT (walking away from the sprawled Laredo, who has hoofprints on
the butt of his pants): Correction, Laredo! You might have a strong
back, broad shoulders and a big noisy mouth! But a good mind??? Uh
uh –- you’re just flattering yourself, mister!  

Oh, snap!

The usual Marvel merchandise ad page is followed by the very short
letters page.  Dennis Schmitz and Watkins, Minnesota says Rawhide
Kid is one of the best western comics he’s ever read and says that
he gets magazines for free because his sister works in a drugstore.
Sounds like employee theft to me.

Tom Allright of Hanover, Pennsylvania writes that “Rawhide’s house
is real cool.  Most Nightwinds are, you know!” The unknown Marvel
responder: It’s no blow to us if you wanna make breezy puns ‘bout
Nightwind, pard, ‘cause weather you know it our not, we think puns
are perfectly all right!”

Finally, Mildred Walker of Wichita Kansas points out that Rawhide’s
name was “Johnny Bart” in one issue and “Johnny Clay” in another.
The Marvel response says Rawhide’s real name is John Barton Clay
and that his pals called him Johnny-Bart.  Which is as wrong as it
gets.

Johnny was orphaned as an infant and raised by Ben Bart.  However,
in later issues, he met his brothers and learned his real name was
Johnny Clay.  Which is what he used from then on.

Can I get a retroactive “no prize” for this?

Thanks for riding the range with me, pards.  I’ll be back tomorrow
with more stuff.
 
© 2013 Tony Isabella

NOTES FROM THE DERBY CITY COMIC CON

I was at the Derby City Comic Con in Louisville, Kentucky over the
weekend.  I wrote about the show yesterday, but cut short my report
to post my initial comments as quickly as possible.  Here are some
additional thoughts...

Chuck Moore, the show director and owner, and his staff put on an
exceptional event.  There were lots of creators, especially of the
small press and self-publishing variety.  There were also creators
who have worked on such famous characters/series as Green Lantern,
Archie, The Walking Dead, Batman and others.

The convention programmed six panels for the event, which is quite
a feat for a one-day show.  There were panels on creating comics,
small press comics, steampunk in comics, comics reading and even a
short film.  There were charity events, events designed for younger
comics fans as well as vendors and other exhibitors.  The fans got
a great deal for their $10 admission ticket.

I answered a lot of questions about Black Lightning, working with
Stan Lee, the Champions, Ghost Rider and other things from my 41-
year comics career.  A few questions, always asked in a friendly,
respectful manner, struck me as frequently-asked questions that I
should write about in the blog from time to time.

Do I still review comic books and related items?  This is asked by
fans who - sadness - don’t read my bloggy thing on a regular basis.
While I can never guarantee a review will appear here, I read any
review items sent to me and, if I have anything to say about them,
write about them here and elsewhere.

Do I dislike DC Comics? Yeah, I do because it’s a corporation with
a record of mistreating and screwing over creators, albeit not all
creators.  As I’ve stated previously, Marvel has treated me fairly
and DC has not, but I realize the exact reverse is true for some

other creators.

Does my dislike of DC affect my reviews of their comics?  Well, if
it did, I wouldn’t review those comics.  That I don’t care for most
DC Comics is because I don’t think they are well-written or well-
drawn.  I don’t like every Marvel comic I read, either, but, on an
overall basis, I think Marvel does much better super-hero comics.
There is more individuality in the Marvel writing as opposed to the
editorially micro-managed sameness of the DC books.  If DC starts
making better comic books, I’ll be as happy as anyone.

Am I retired? Not in the least.  While I’m not writing comic books
at the moment, I am writing other stuff and hope to return to comic
books in the future.  In the meantime, I’m always willing to talk
with comics publishers, editors and artists about projects of all
kinds.  If there’s something you’d like to discuss, e-mail me and
I’ll respond as quickly as I’m able.

Moving on to some reviews...

The Horror Show [Broken Icon Comics; no price on cover or inside]
was one of two comics I was given at Derby City.  Written by James
Maddox with art by Todd Beistel, this 20-page black-and-white comic
features a done-in-one story about a scary reality show that goes
horribly wrong. 

From the story standpoint, The Horror Show is a good take on a not
uncommon concept.  The writing is good, though I could have used a
bit more fleshing out of the characters.  The art is also good and
carries the story well.

I wanted to give you more information on the publisher and how to
order this comic, but, when I went to the website listed within the
comic, I kept getting malware warnings.  Visit there at your own risk.

On the other hand, if you see Broken Icon at a convention, be sure
to check out this and the company’s other titles.

The other comic book was Jungle Ways #1, “a Connan Bell comic” with
no cover price or company name that I could see.  It’s a full-color
kid comic and, while flawed, still fun enough for me to recommend
if you can find it.

Li’l D is the human hero of the story.  He’s moved to an island of
mostly animal people, some of whom are his classmates.  He makes a
friend, runs afoul of some bullies, makes another friend and starts
to find his place in this odd community.

The story runs 22 of the issue’s 24 pages with the other two pages
going to the cover and a back cover that’s just a duo-tone version
of the cover with the creator’s email address.  The writing and art
are suitable for fairly young kids, but there are a few moments of
actual tension.  I liked the mix.

The story needed more character development and more information on
this island society.  I would have removed the sub-plot involving
yet another character and her situation to spend more time with the
already-introduced characters.  The other character has potential,
but there was no compelling reason to get her into this first issue
of the title.  If I get any more information on ordering this comic
book, I’ll pass it along to you.

After the convention, my son Ed and I went to Champions for a quick
bite to eat.  The restaurant was a little pricey, but the food was
delicious and I wouldn’t hesitate to go there again.  We went back
to our hotel, checked in with Sainted Wife Barb, and then headed to
the Tonic Tours Presents Derby City Comic Con Post-Show Blowout at
Patrick O’Shea’s.

The shindig was held on a private floor of that establishment and
what an amazing venue it was! The brick walls, which were cracked in
places, and the decor really made the place feel like some sort of
high-class speakeasy from the past.  There was gorgeous art on the
walls and much fun to be had.

Eddie talked me into doing a shot of bourbon to go with the beers
I had...and then proceeded to mock me for needing two swallows to
finish the shot.  That’s right.  This relative tadpole mocked the
61-year-old man who hadn’t done a shot in at least a decade.  It’s
true I’m far from a world-class drinker, but that was never one of
my life goals.  On the other hand...

Old Man Tony was up and ready to hit the road an hour before Eddie
was awake.  Then, on the portion of the three-and-a-half-hour drive
from Louisville to Columbus when I was behind the wheel, Ed conked
out.  I didn’t mind.  His snoring was more melodious than most of
the radio stations we were able to pick up on the trip.

I was back at Casa Isabella in Medina, Ohio before 1 pm, unpacked,
answered e-mails and set up my schedule for the next couple weeks
before I leave for Comic-Con International in San Diego.  I’ll be
writing more about that later this week.

Next year’s Derby City Comic Con will expand to two days, Saturday
and Sunday, June 28-29.  Keep checking the show’s website for the
updates on this highly-recommended convention.

I’ll be back tomorrow with another “Rawhide Kid Wednesday!” Don’t
miss it!

© 2013 Tony Isabella

DERBY CITY COMIC CON 2013

Derby City Comic Con 2013 held court at the Kentucky International
Convention Center in Louisville on Saturday, June 29.  It took five
and a half hours of driving for me to get there, but the event was
well worth the long journey.  I returned to Casa Isabella with the
above-seen Bob Hall drawing - Thanks, Bob! - a big stack of Rawhide
Kid comics and lots of wonderful memories.

My son Ed and I met in Columbus, Ohio, arguably the best Ohio city.
I drove through several showers and storms driving to Columbus and
it was only slightly better as we drove to Louisville.  Still, when
your kid is a grown-ass man and all, you learn to cherish whatever
time you get to spend with him.

We arrived at the Courtyard Downtown Louisville hotel late Friday
night.  Our room was small-ish but very nice.  While we checked in,
I overheard some young woman complaining about the smell in their
room and realized they were but two doors down from us.  The smell
was nothing more than a lemon-scented cleaning agent and I thought
it was actually pleasant.

Ed and I got a laugh out of our room’s posted rate.  It was $1000
a night.  Hotels usually have some ridiculously high posted rate in
their rooms.  I assume this is so they can actually charge stupid
rates if their rooms suddenly become more in demand than is usual.
If there are any hotel management types out there who can offer me
a better explanation, I’d love to hear it.

Ed and I grabbed some slices at a really cool looking deli a couple
blocks from our hotel.  Good food, reasonable prices.  Because it
was so late, pizza was pretty much all they had.  I wished we had
arrived earlier because they had what looked like an excellent and
varied menu.

Our only real misadventure of the weekend came from the Yahoo map
that sent us 20 minutes out of a way for a location that was just
two blocks from our hotel.  We should have trusted Mrs. Peel, which
is the name I’ve given my GPS unit.  Even with this crazy detour,
we still got to the convention center in plenty of time to set up
for the event’s soft opening at 9 a.m.

I hadn’t brought much stuff to sell: copies of 1000 Comic Books You
Must Read (which may be going out of print soon), a box of comics
written by me, a second box of specially priced comic book from my
garage sales and a box of the Superman posters I sell at the garage
sales.  I was able to do a quick and, as it turned out, expensive
walk around the convention floor before most of the fans arrived.
That was both a good thing and a bad thing. 

Comic Book World had a butt-load of Rawhide Kid issues I needed for
my Rawhide Kid Wednesdays columns.  Even with a generous discount,
the bill came to $150.  Yow!  Fortunately, my own sales were brisk
enough to cover that utterly legitimate business expense and also
let me come home with a small profit on the trip.

The convention venue was terrific.  The hall was filled with fans
and guests and vendors, but the aisles were wide enough to make for
easy access and passage.  As usual, I didn’t get around to see all
of the creators and publishers I had wanted to see, but I did hang
out for a few minutes here and there with Bob Hall, Craig Boldman,
Tom Stillwell and others.

I also got to spend a good chunk of time with Steve Scott, one of
my favorite comics people.  It was a pleasure to introduce him to
my son and just to have all sorts of laughs with him.  If you are
ever at a convention where Steve is a guest, you have got to stop
by his table and meet him.

There were a lot of cosplayers at the convention.  Of late, I have
seen more and more people dressed as Catwoman, Harley Quinn and the
Joker.  The Riddler has become more popular as well.  And, with so
many variations to choose from, Doctor Who is another favorite with
cosplayers.

The female version of Loki is becoming more prevalent as well.  That
was an outrageous development in the Thor comic books, but it made
for interesting stories and visuals.  The latter carries through in
the cosplaying of the character.  So...when are we going to start
seeing Kid Loki at comics conventions?

Among the more striking costumes were steampunk, “Lolita” and maid
versions of Marvel characters like Captain America, Iron Man, Nick
Fury and others.  I got a kick out of those.

Tip for conventions: take lots of photos of cosplayers and, if you
can, videos to go up on YouTube.  I think cosplaying has become an
integral and incredibly fun part of these events.

Kudos to Derby City Comic Con for its cosplaying parades, one for
kids and one for adults.  It was terrific to see all the cosplayers
making their way across the convention floor.

I also had a terrific time talking to comics fans and doing my best
to answer their questions about Black Lightning, the Champions and
other comics stuff.  Perhaps my best highlight from the convention
was answering a black family’s questions about Lightning and seeing
their delight at learning some of the behind-the-scenes stories of
that character and other black characters.  Hopefully, they’ll be
sending me the photos of our meeting so that I can share them with
you here and on Facebook.

I had a fantastic time at the Derby City Comic Con.  With any luck,
I’ll be back next year.  Until then, my thanks to Chuck Moore, the
director and owner, to Convention Administrator Ginny Tonic and to
all the other Derby City staff and volunteers.  They put on a fine
event and I most heartily recommend you make plans to attend future
Derby City Comic Cons.

I’ll be back tomorrow with a few more Derby City Comic Con thoughts
and reviews of two comics I was given at the show.  See you then.
  
© 2013 Tony Isabella