RAWHIDE WEDNESDAY 38

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.

The Rawhide Kid #53 [August 1966] has one of my favorite covers of
the title.  Penciled by Larry Lieber, the figure of a just-wounded
Kid being shot as he escapes from bounty hunters is dramatic as all
get out.  You can see the pain on Johnny Clay’s face.  The cover’s
inker has not yet been definitively identified, but I see something
of George Tuska’s style in Rawhide’s face.  As always, I invite the
art detectives among you to weigh in on this.

“Guns of the Wild North!” (17 pages) is written and drawn by Lieber
with inks by Carl Hubbell.  It opens with our exhausted young hero
trying to escape from his pursues.  When he and his horse Nightwind
cross a river border into Canada, one of the bounty hunters fires
and hits the Kid, knocking Johnny into the river.

The hunters ride away.  They believe they have killed their quarry
and sent him to the bottom of the river where they won’t be able to
recover his body.  They are more bereft about the reward money they
have lost than the life they think has ended.  But, even wounded,
the Rawhide Kid has outsmarted them.  He’s been hanging on to his
horse’s stirrup while underwater and safely reaches the other side
of the river.

Cut to Joe Clanton, who will soon to be known as the Acrobat.  He’s
a lumberjack and he’s not okay.  When his rope breaks while he’s
high up in a tree, Clanton uses his incredible acrobatic ability to
reach the ground without injury.  He then quits his job for his new
career as a masked outlaw.

Feeling much better, the Rawhide Kid rides to the camping site and
asks for a hand.  Though the men are suspicious of this stranger -
“That jasper comin’ down the hill wears his hardware likes he knows
how to use it.” - the foreman hires him to make up for the loss of
Clanton.

For his debut heist, the Acrobat plans to rob the camp’s payroll.
The ever-wary Rawhide Kid hears something and confronts the crook.
What follows is a three-page battle that includes some logrolling
action.  The Acrobat escapes.  Johnny gets dunked.

The lumberjacks blame Rawhide for the theft, even though he doesn’t
have the payroll.  His guns wet and useless, the Kid is tied up and
delivered to Sergeant Jonah of the Mounties. Riding to the nearest
town, Johnny escapes.  He realizes he can only clear his name if he
brings in the Acrobat.

The Acrobat commits a string of robberies.  A disguised Rawhide Kid
poses as a traveler with a valuable jewel and checks into a hotel.
He figures - rightly - the Acrobat won’t be able to resist such an
easy score.  The plan works, but the Acrobat makes his way out the
window just as Sergeant Jonah shows up.  Exposed, the Acrobat draws
on Johnny.  Do I have to tell you how that works out?

The Acrobat confesses. The sergeant tells the Kid he’s a free man
and asks if Johnny will be returning to the lumber camp.

I’ve learned that no matter where he goes, no man with a past like
mine is ever truly free! So, as long as I’m destined for a troubled
trail anyway, I’m returning to my own land.

Maybe, somehow...someway...back there I’ll find a new day...and a
new life!   

“Guns of the Wild North” doesn’t have the great characterization of
supporting players we’ve seen in most Lieber scripts for Rawhide.
But it’s an action-packed adventure with one of the few costumed
villains Lieber created and used in his years on the series.

It also has the Rawhide Kid’s trademarked lack of logic.  Why not
stay in Canada? It’s a big country with good beer and, if he lives
long enough, free health care.  But what do I know?

The Rawhide Kid story is followed by the Marvel Bullpen Bulletins.
In this month’s news...Peter Asher of the Peter and Gordon singing
duo visited the Marvel offices...inker ”Frankie Ray” is revealed to
be Frank Giacoia...John Romita is doing a great job on the Amazing
Spider-Man...and six Marvel annuals are announced for the summer.
They are Millie the Model, Sgt. Fury, Thor, Marvel Super-Heroes,
Fantastic Four and Spider-Man.

Continuing the news...Marvel gives a shout-out to newspapers and
radio personalities who have been spreading the word about Marvel.
Roy Thomas quotes William Butler Years’ “To a Poet Who Would Have
Me Praise Certain Bad Poets, Imitators of His and Mind” to explain
why Marvel’s taking a hard line on its imitators.  And, in a testy
exchange, Marvel responds to a reader who complains the company’s
high standard of artwork is going down the drain.

The Mighty Marvel Checklist plugs the origin of the Black Panther
in Fantastic Four, the revelation of the Green Goblin’s identity in
Amazing Spider-Man, Iron Man and Sub-Mariner having at it in Tales
of Suspense and Tales to Astonish and, in the annual-size Fantasy
Masterpieces, Captain America reprints from Marvel’s Golden Age of
Comics.  Like the 26 MMMS (Mighty Marvel Marching Society) members
whose names are listed on this page, the young Tony Isabella found
it easy to say...Make Mine Marvel! 

This issue’s non-series story is “The Schoolma'arm Was a Gent!!!”
(five pages) by Stan Lee and Sol Brodsky.  Reprinted from Kid Colt
Outlaw #111 [July 1963], the story opens with the aptly-named town
of Roughshod getting a new schoolteacher.  Self-appointed Sheriff
Shaggy Shelton gives the well-dressed scholar a crude and muddy
welcome.  At the school, the pretty Miss McGuire explains that no
one in the town has the courage to face Shaggy.

The next day, no students show up at the school because the Sheriff
doesn’t like men teachers.  A few minutes later, outside of town,
the teacher changes into an outfit not unlike that of the Ringo Kid
and straps on his guns.  He pays a visit to Shaggy and mops up the
phony lawman and his gang in just under two pages.  You see, this
teacher forgot to mention one little thing:

I’m not only a school teacher! The governor sent me here because he
heard you needed a sheriff, too! A real one, that is!

The school was back in session that very day.  All the pupils are
in their seats and one extra pupil - Shaggy - is also seated.  He
tells the sheriff/teacher: Teacher, whatever you’re teachin’, I’m
fixin’ to learn it! Then mebbe some day I can get to be a real
sheriff!

The sheriff/teacher offers encouragement and says he thinks things
will be mighty pleasant around Roughshod from now on.  The lovely
Miss McGuire thinks the same as she makes goo-goo eyes at the new
sheriff/teacher.

Next up is a full-page Marvel Merchandise advertisement.  You can
buy a two-sided Thing or Hulk sweatshirt for only $3.15 plus a mere
quarter for postage and handling.  The six-foot Spider-Man poster
is still a buck plus a quarter.  The super-hero stationery kit is
also a dollar or two for $1.60 plus a quarter.  Finally, a Spider-
Man t-shirt is only $1.60 plus a quarter.  I had them all and just
found the small notepad that came with the stationery kit.  I was,
indeed, the coolest Marvel kid on my block.

Last up is the “Ridin’ the Trail with Rawhide” letters page.  There
is much praise for Rawhide Kid #51.  One reader requests reprints
of the western heroes be added to Marvel Collectors Item Classics
while another wants origin stories for their horses.  While I don’t
recall Marvel running any horse origin stories, I do remember such
tales appearing at DC and other comics companies.

That’s all for now, my amigos.  Happy trails to you until our next
exciting edition of “Rawhide Kid Wednesday.” I’ll be back tomorrow
with more stuff.

© 2013 Tony Isabella

TOM & JERRY COMICS

Tom & Jerry Comics #91 [Dell; February 1952] arrived on newsstands
in my December 1951 birth month.  However, unlike most comic books
from that month, I actually own a copy of this one.  Unfortunately,
the Grand Comics Database doesn’t have any artist or writer credits
for this issue.  But I will be able to share my impressions of the
issue with you.

Tom & Jerry Comics continued its numbering from Our Gang With Tom
& Jerry which continued its numbering from Our Gang Comics.  Dell
published 153 issues of Tom & Jerry Comics (#60-212) from July 1949
to May-June 1962.

This issue is packed from cover to cover with comics starring M-G-M
cartoon characters.  As you can see, the cover shows Tom imperiling
the lives of Jerry and Tuffy.  I wonder how many of my younger-
than-Tony bloggy thing readers have ever seen such a wash tub and
clothes wringer.  I have a childhood memory of one from my family’s
first home on Cleveland’s Detroit Avenue - we shared a two-family
house with my maternal grandmother  - but I don’t think we had such
a contraption at the Peony Avenue address where I wrote my fanzine
articles and letters to editors in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

The inside front cover of this issue has a one-page pantomime gag
strip starring Droopy.  Disturbed by a flea roaming his backside,
the sourpuss pooch flicks the insect from his person, grabs it and
locks it in a wall safe. Maybe you had to be there.

Tom and Jerry lead off the issue per se with a brutally funny ten-
page story.  Grumpy Tom wants to nap.  Having read that a purring
cat is a contented cat, Jerry decides he and Tuffy should make Tom
purr.  Tuffy figures out early on that this is not a good idea, but
Jerry is determined to make this work.  Tom isn’t quite killed with
kindness, but he takes his lumps.  Ultimately, the only thing that
makes Tom purr is when he inflicts humiliating physical pain on his
mouse tenants.  It’s almost like (fill in the name of your favorite
degenerate comic book writer) was writing funny animal comic books.

Big Spike and Little Tyke, who are father and son, are up next in
a six-page story.  Seeing that there are prizes for the winner of
a “trained pet show,” Spike decides to enter Tyke in the contest.
However, to make his son look good for the judges, Spike subjects
the lad to a super-scrubbing in a wash tub.  When Tyke gets dirty
before the contest, he endures a second super-scrubbing.  The kid
doesn’t want to disappoint his dad - it’s like a canine edition of
Dance Moms - but, in trying to stay clean, Tyke ends up covered in
glue and chicken feathers.  Which is when he gets the bright idea
to impersonate a chicken for the contest.  The judges are amazed by
a chicken who can do tricks as well as a dog and give first place
to the disguised pup.  Unfortunately - spoiler warning - the prize
is a sack of chicken feed.  Much gentler than Tom and Jerry’s tale,
this one also made me laugh.

Bertie Bird stars in “Surprise Farewell,” a two-page text tale.  I
don’t recall ever seeing this character in cartoons, which leads me
to wonder if he was created for this title.  With the exception of
some Tom and Jerry specials, he seems to have only appeared in text
stories.  I didn’t read text stories as a kid and that’s still the
case now that I’m a senior citizen.

Wuff the Prairie Dog is another character I don’t recall seeing in
any cartoons.  In this six-page story, Wuff and his pal Sammy are
trying to catch the two most difficult creatures on the prairie for
their friend Professor Lem Lizard. The prof runs a roadside museum
of prairie life portraits.  One creature is the “Giantus Walleyed
Butterfly Rex” and the other is the coyote.  The boys go after the
butterfly and run afoul of Charlie Coyote, who has been wanting to
have them for dinner for some time now.  Through a combination of
ingenuity and luck, the young prairie dogs manage to deliver both
specimens to the Professor. This isn’t as good as either the Tom
and Jerry or Big Spike and Little Tyke stories, but it got a smile
or two out of me.

Reading this issue is making me feel cartoon-challenged because I
have also never heard of Flip and Dip. These brother-and-sister ape
kids star in a two-page story.  With their parents, they live on a
rickety houseboat and the brief tale ends with Mom chasing Dad with
a rolling pin.  This feature isn’t good or interesting in any way.

Barney Bear and Benny Burro star in a five-and-a-half page story.
I know these characters appeared in MGM cartoons - Barney quite a
bit more often than Benny - but have only vague memories of seeing
their cartoons.  In this story, the boys are being preyed upon by
a mooching neighbor whose keeping tabs on them via a microphone in
their window.  They feed him false information and trick him into
helping them build a mobile home of sorts so they can move far far
away from him.  I got a kick out of this one.

A subscription coupon for Tom & Jerry Comics fills the other half
of the last page of the above story.  A one-year sub to the monthly
title costs a buck.  A two-year sub is $1.85 and a three-year sub
is $2.70.  With your subscription, you would also get a membership
certificate in the Dell Comics Club and a full-color “Dell Comics
Family Group Picture” featuring over a dozen characters from Dell
Comics.  The back cover of the issue shows the picture and promotes
the comics club.

Droopy makes a second appearance on the inside back cover of this
issue.  The one-page pantomime gag strip has the dog trying to get
a look at a passing parade.  His shortness of stature works against
him until he figures out he can get a good view by standing in an
open manhole.  He even manages a smile in the last panel.

Keep reading this bloggy thing for more vintage comic-book covers
from the month of my birth.  I’ll be back tomorrow with yet another
installment of our “Rawhide Kid Wednesdays” feature.  See you then.

© 2013 Tony Isabella

ONCE MORE WITH TARZAN

Tarzan #29 [Dell; February 1952] hit the newsstands in my December
1951 birth month.  That’s Lex Barker on the photo cover.  He was in
five Tarzan movies, the tenth actor to play Edgar Rice Burroughs’
greatest creation.  I wrote about this issue two weeks ago, saying
I’d return to it after I read the Tarzan and Brothers of the Spear
stories that ran in the comic book and which have been reprinted by
Dark Horse in Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan: The Jesse Marsh Years
Volume 6 and Brothers of the Spear Archives Volume 1.

“Jungle World” is on the inside front cover of Tarzan #29. Drawn by
Jesse Marsh, the full-page illustration is described in a caption:
These acrobats are doing the “baboon dance” - one of the many Zulu
ceremonial dances.  It’s a striking black-and-white drawing, but
my online search didn’t turn up any information on a Zulu dance of
that name.  Wikipedia came closest with this:

Indlamu is a traditional Zulu dance from South Africa where the
dancer lifts one foot over his head and brings it down hard,
landing squarely on the downbeat. Typically, two dancers in
warrior's pelts perform indlamu routines together, shadowing each
other's moves perfectly. Also often referred to as a Zulu war dance
and often performed at weddings.

Written by Gaylord Du Bois with art by Jesse Marsh, “Tarzan Tracks
a Robber Band” (24 pages) opens with Tarzan and Thurag the Ape on
a peaceful voyage with friends Louis and Alice D'Arnot.  A sudden
storm sinks the ship and separates the friends.  They all make it
to land safely, but Alice is captured by a band of murderous Berbers.
The robbers kill the crewmen with Alice, but take her to their town
to sell her to a wealthy Berber chief.

Most explicit violence is kept off panel, but there’s no doubt as
to the Berber chief’s “amorous” plans for the lovely Mrs. D’Arnot.
The latter surprised me.  Though the matter was handled tastefully,
I could see it raising hackles on the part of those predisposed to
condemn the comics books of the era.

Thurag is my favorite character in the story.  He’s almost dick-ish
in his dismissive attitude towards humans other than Tarzan.  He’s
also courageous and smart.    

The Tarzan story is followed by “Jungle Stampede,” a two-page text
story starring a character called Mabu.  This tale isn’t reprinted
in the Tarzan volume and the Grand Comics Database has no credits
for it, so that’s all I can tell you about it,

Following the text story is the fifth episode of “Brothers of the
Spear” (5.5 pages), also by DuBois and Marsh.  The brothers of the
title are Natongo, son of the chief of a Zula tribe, and Dan-El, a
young white man raised as a son by the chief.  Dan-El’s father gave
his life to save the chief, but nothing else is known of Dan-El’s
origins until they discover a map in the hilt of a knife belonging
to his birth father.  The two young man decided to go on a quest to
learn what they can of who Dan-El is.

In this fifth episode - and DuBois and Marsh managed to fit a lot
of story in the chapter’s 5.5 pages - the brothers are mourning the
death of an African queen who had wanted Dan-El for her king.  For
a comic book of the 1950s to even suggest a romance between a black
woman and a white man is astonishing, but racial quality was often,
albeit quietly, a given of both Tarzan and its companion feature in
the title.

The jungle world of Natongo and Dan-El can be brutal and deadly to
even the brave and the strong.  They must defend themselves against
the lions who prowl their desert path.  Their only water is what is
carried on the back of the bull given to them by the queen’s tribe.
When the bull becomes thirsty, it tries to drink the water in the
sacks and ends up destroying them and losing the water.  It could
be certain death to continue without water, but the brothers have
no choice.  Their salvation comes from a sudden downpour, but that
rescue comes at a price.  Their thirst-crazed bull drowns when it
gets caught in a flash flood.

Though Jesse Marsh’s art doesn’t appeal to every reader, I like it
more each year.  I’m also looking forward to seeing Russ Manning’s
early work when it takes over the Brothers of the Spear a little
further ahead in Brothers of the Spear Archives Volume 1.  Based on
what I’ve read to date, I recommend the two volumes of Brothers of
the Spear that have been published to date and also the Edgar Rice
Burroughs' Tarzan: The Jesse Marsh Years books.

Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan: The Jesse Marsh Years Volume 6

ISBN 978-1-59582-497-4

Brothers of the Spear Archives Volume 1

ISBN 978-1-59582-821-7

Brothers of the Spear Archives Volume 1

ISBN 978-1-61655-051-6

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

GET MORE TONY

FILMFAXplus #133 [Spring 2013; $9.95] has a great article on Stan
Lee by Friend of the Blog Brett Weiss.  As a sort of introduction
to this article, Weiss interviewed me at length about Stan, how Stan's
comics inspired me and my working with Stan.  Flipping through the
issue, I see lots of other interesting stuff as well.  I’ll likely
have more to say after I read the rest of the magazine.  For now,
I’ll leave it at Weiss did good and I didn’t come off too badly in
answering his questions.

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

SEE MORE TONY

I’ll only be able to squeeze in a few more reminders this week, but
my first convention appearance of the year is Tricon, the Tri-State
Comic-Con on Saturday, April 6, at the Big Sandy Superstore Arena,
One Civic Center Plaza in Huntington, West Virginia.

The doors open at 10 am and close at 6 pm.  Early Birds can get in
at 9:30 am and VIP at 9 am.  Admission is free for children 10 and
under.

I’ll be signing whatever Isabella-written items you’d like signed
and selling/signing copies of 1000 Comic Books You Must Read.  With
me at the convention will be my son Eddie, who writes a wonderful
anime/manga blog called Blog of the Rising Sun.

Other comics guests include Darryl Banks, Lora Innes, Mark Kidwell,
Steve Scott, Beau Smith, Duane Swierczynski, Robert Tinnell, Bill
Tucci and others.  I hope to see you there at the event as well. 

I’ll be back tomorrow with more stuff.

© 2013 Tony Isabella

STARBOY STANDS ALONE

Unearthed from my Vast Accumulation of Stuff, today’s “blast from
the past” pitch was written in 1976.  I almost didn’t look at the
file folder because, at first glance, I thought it was for another
“Starboy,” the alien teen character I created and wrote for my pal
Carl Gafford’s Minotaur fanzine.  What it was instead was a spinoff
from the Legion of Super-Heroes.

My memory isn’t 100% clear on this pitch, which leads me to believe
it was written quickly.  Here’s what I think was the situation when
I wrote it...

I was having a conversation with Jack C. Harris, who was or would
be my editor on Black Lightning (first series).  Knowing there was
a strong Legion fandom out there, we were trying to think of which
Legionnaires might be able to carry their own books.  This spinning
off from the Legion wasn’t a blindingly original concept as DC was
already publishing a Karate Kid title.

My focus was on the strongest names.  Timber Wolf wasn’t as strong
in my mind as the character’s original name of Lone Wolf.  Cosmic
Boy sounded a little too psychedelic for me.  However, just as the
Star Boy name had appealed to me when I used it for a character in
my fanzine days, it sounded good to me in this instance.  At some
point in the writing, Star Boy became Starboy.

I remember my starting point was to do a sort of Black Lightning in
the future - I had already created that character - and have Star
Boy fighting a vast criminal organization that stretched from one
end of the galaxy to the other.  Somewhere along the line, perhaps
with input from Harris, that changed somewhat. 

Harris definitely helped shaped the pitch because the original has
some proofreading marks that must be his.  The writing doesn’t seem
to be all mine either, but I wouldn’t bet the farm on that. While
preparing this pitch for publication in this blog, I have rewritten
some lines to make them more clear or just because I really hated
what was written originally.  However, what you’ll be reading is a
mostly authentic presentation of the pitch.

THE NEW STARBOY

Presenting...All-new wonder and excitement in the Legion of Super-
Heroes tradition!

The Interstellar Adventures of Starboy!

The time: the 30th Century, one thousand years in our own fantastic
future!

The place: Metropolis! Capital of the Earth and central hub of the
mighty United Planets!

It is here that the peacekeeping force of the United Planets, the
Science Police, maintain their headquarters.  With knowledge that
makes them famous galaxy-wide for their ability to keep order, the
Science Police are most proud of their young auxiliary, the Legion
of Super-Heroes!

Brought together by multi-trillionaire R.J. Brande, the Legion of
Super-Heroes is comprised of the youth of the 30th Century.  Each
member has proven himself worthy of membership by displaying a
super-power different from any other member’s power. With these
matchless powers, the members of the Legion aid the Science Police
in their efforts against the evils that still lurk a thousand years
from our own time.

The Legion’s ranks are filled with the most powerful teens in the
universe: Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Cosmic Boy, Shadow Lass and
many others! Joined by the common cause of justice, the Legion has
sworn to uphold the law justly and without undue force.  Sacred to
them is their honor code against killing!

One time - and only one time - this code was broken by Legionnaire
Thom Kellor.  Born in an orbiting space-observatory, his parents
were astronomers from the planet Xanthu.  Due to the unusual place
in which he was born - a “starlight” research center - Thom has the
ability to draw mass from the stars and impose it upon any object
or person, making it super-heavy.

In later life, Thom piloted his parents’ one-man space ship through
the tail of a comet.  This temporarily gave the power of electrical
vision and other abilities that were similar to those of Superboy.
With these increased powers, he joined the Legion.

When his temporary powers faded, Thom (or Starboy as he now called
himself) proved his mass-increasing ability was also an asset to
the Legion and was allowed to remain in the group.

Then came a dark day for Starboy and the Legion.  In self-defense,
he killed a man.  In a spectacular trial, Starboy became the first
Legionnaire to be expelled from the Legion.

After many months and eventually proving his worth once more,
Starboy was readmitted into the Legion along with his girlfriend,
the beautiful Dream Girl.  From the planet Naltor, Dream Girl has
the power to predict the future in her dreams.

And what is the future for Starboy and Dream Girl?

Deep within the shadows of Metropolis, there lies a lurking danger.
A secret empire in the underground plotting to overthrow the United
Planets and replace it with an evil and unjust rule.  Contemptible
earthmen and aliens alike plan unspeakable deeds.  Diplomatic ploys
and subversion are their weapons.  Both the Science Police and the
Legion are almost powerless against them.

With unequaled evil cunning, the Underground kidnaps Dream Girl to
force her to predict the political sway of the universe.  Because,
with their evil puppets in power at the right time and place, the
Underground could take the universe as their own.

The life of Starboy changes! Turning to his friends in the Legion,
he seeks their assistance to find and rescue Dream Girl.  But the
Legion is powerless.  Interference in this situation could cause an
interplanetary incident and destroy the increasingly fragile union
that is the United Planets!

Angered, embittered, Starboy seeks to rescue Dream Girl on his own
and fails! His mass-increasing power is not enough to challenge the
vast might of the mysterious Underground.  Even his failed attempt
has dire consequences.

Making Starboy an example of what happens when they are defied, the
Underground uses its ultimate weapon against Xanthu, Thom Kellor’s
home planet.  They wipe out every man, woman and child in Xanthu,
leaving behind a cold dead world.

Starboy stands alone! The Legion unable to stand by him! The world
and people he called his own dead! The girl he loves in the hands
of an incredibly powerful enemy!

Starboy makes a final appeal to the Legion to fight these enemies
to the death.  The Legion will not change its code against killing.

More alone than he has ever been, Starboy seeks out the very stars
from which he has taken his name.  He seeks the comet that gave
him his Superboy-like powers.  In his old one-man rocket, he again
exposes himself to the mysterious forces swirling within the tail
of the runaway comet.

Forces that alter and change him.

Strange forces that mutate Starboy in a dramatically different way
than in his first exposure.

From the heart of this shooting star comes a new Starboy!

Starboy now possesses a more potent density-increasing power he can
also turn on himself.  It can make him nearly indestructible while
increasing his strength to an astonishing degree.  He has regained
his electrical vision, also more powerful than before.

Starboy begins his campaign of vengeance against the Underground.
One super-powerful youth against a galaxy-wide network of cunning
alien and human criminals.  It is a battle that will range to the
farthest reaches of space.

Expelled from the Legion of Super-Heroes once again, alienated from
the Science Police and the United Planets, Starboy stands alone as
a grim vigilante pitted against enemies who can topple governments
and destroy worlds!

Can he succeed? Can one young man outwit the Underground and keep
surviving to continue the fight?  What will be the ultimate fate of
Dream Girl?  Those are the compelling questions to be answered in
issue after issue of...

THE NEW STARBOY!

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

ADDENDUM: The more I read this pitch, the more I am convinced that
it was written very fast.  Maybe in as little as an hour.  There’s
some very clumsy writing there.  Indeed, I must confess, I rewrote
the last few paragraphs of the above because I just couldn’t stand
the writing.  Not my finest hour.

I’m not sure what I had in mind for this series.  I’m gonna guess
it was Mack Bolan of the 30th Century, inspired by the Executioner
novels of Don Pendleton.  But it’s just a guess.

I don’t think this pitch was actually ever submitted to publisher
Jenette Kahn.  I remember access to her decreasing as DC added all
sorts of unnecessary bureaucracy and levels to the creation of the
comic books.  It may have been stopped somewhere along that chain
of command or, as I said, may never have gone beyond the two typed
pages I found in my files.

I’m working on a couple non-comics pieces at the moment, but am not
happy with either of them.  Whatever I end up writing, I’ll be back
tomorrow with more stuff.

© 2013 Tony Isabella

THE SEVEN SOLDIERS OF VICTORY


Sorting through old files, I came across two pitches I made to DC
Comics in 1976.  Neither was dated, but I remember writing this one
during the three weeks I was in Cleveland creating Black Lightning.
I was back and forth between Cleveland and New York a lot that year
as the new regimes were coming together and/or falling apart at DC
and Marvel.

By way of further preface...

When DC was recruiting me, assignments on top titles like Justice
League of America and Batman were being offered...as well as a page
rate a few bucks higher than my Marvel rate.  When I was fired from
Marvel on the day I came into the Marvel offices to quit - having
already told DC I was accepting its offer - certain ranking people
at DC decided DC was no longer obligated by what they’d offered me.
The top titles were off the table and my DC page rate was actually
a few bucks less than my Marvel rate.  Yes, I was a colossal idiot
for ever trusting DC again.

Since I wouldn’t be writing Batman, which I had really wanted to do
back then, or Justice League of America, which I was willing to do,
I figured I might as well create my own assignments rather than be
stuck on the dredges of the DC roster...especially given that the
roster was mostly dredges back then.  I also figured I would stick
to mostly existing DC characters until I knew if they would honor
whatever deal we struck for Black Lightning. 

Spoiler alert. They didn’t.

On to the pitch...

THE SEVEN SOLDIERS OF VICTORY
as recreated by Tony Isabella

World War II...and to combat the Axis menace, the United States of
America summons seven of its bravest super-heroes.  Banded together
under the command of the mysterious Agent X (James W. Gordon), the
super-heroes are our nation’s first and last lines of defense...and
offense.

The members:

AIR WAVE
JOHNNY QUICK
LIBERTY BELLE
THE SHINING KNIGHT
THE TARANTULA
THE VIGILANTE
WILDCAT

AIR WAVE (Larry Jordan)...this wizard of the wireless’ super-powers
give him mastery of the sounds that travel through space.  He can
travel along electrical waves by means of his special boots and can
also “tune in” on any metal anywhere.  He’s the leader of the team,
the straight man.

JOHNNY QUICK (Johnny Chambers)...a scientist who has discovered a
formula which gives him super-speed.  This power is activated by
his mental recall of the mathematical equation which contains - in
code - the secret of his formula.  He is the group’s glamour boy,
but also has a very quick mind.

LIBERTY BELLE (Libby Lawrence)...non super-powered heroine who uses
her war correspondent job to get to the fight.  She’s a feisty, knowledgeable
and capable young woman.

THE SHINING KNIGHT (Justin)...a super-strong knight who, along with
his flying horse Winged Victory, was frozen in an iceberg circa the
time of King Arthur and survived to our time.  His armor affords
him amazing protection from harm.  His sword is able to cut through
almost anything. He’s gallant, somewhat naive and, befitting his
background, perhaps a bit too proud.     

THE TARANTULA (John Law)...essentially the same basic super-powers
as Spider-Man, though artificially created.  He’s a wise guy, probably
because his powers are artificial.

THE VIGILANTE (Greg Sanders)...When his dad was gunned down by a
gang of criminals, Greg decided to take the law into his own hands
in the guise of the Vigilante.  He’s a master of all western skills
and he speaks with a very cool “cowboy” speech pattern.  Instead of
a horse, he rides a motorcycle.

WILDCAT (Ted Grant)...This is the Earth-1 Wildcat, who was in those
Batman/Brave & Bold issues that couldn’t be explained expect by the
presence of a Wildcat on Earth-1.  He’s a heavyweight fighter and
not yet the champion he would become.  He is hot-headed and won’t
get along well with the other members.

The SUPPORTING CAST would initially consist of only “Agent X.”
However, I am considering adding a behind-the-scenes scientist to
create various gadgets to help our heroes stomp out the Nazis.  In
this role, I could use Professor Ira West, the  Flash’s absent-minded
father-in-law, Professor West.  Since this is years before the coming
of the Flash, the professor would be younger, but no less absent-minded.

The OPENING STORY would be 34 pages long with the title “Assault on
Fortress Europe.” This fortress would not be merely some figure of
speech, but a super-fortress built by GENERAL IMMORTUS.  The same
one who would fight the Doom Patrol in our time.  In World War II, he’s
allied with Hitler.  This huge fortress is guarded from all forms of attack -
air, land or sea - by deadly creatures of the General's creation.  A fourth
monster lurks within the castle.  These creatures are roughly based on the
ancient elements of air, earth, fire and water.

This story would have Agent X captured by Immortus to prevent the
government man from whipping our heroes into a team.  They try to
rescue him.  This will be your basic “get to know the heroes” book
and filled with plenty of action, characterization and background
essentials.

From time to time, our team will meet other heroes.  My list at this
time consists of:

BOOMERANG...an Australian super-hero

CONGO BILL...jungle explorer from the old DC series

CRIMSON COSSACK...a Russian super-hero

FLYING TIGER...a Chinese super-hero

GUARDIAN...slum super-hero from the old DC series

HOP HARRIGAN...daredevil pilot from the old DC series

LITTLE BOY BLUE...boy hero from the old DC series

MANHUNTER...from the old DC series

SARGON THE SORCERER...from the old DC series

TNT...from the old DC series

WHIP...western super-hero updated from the old DC series

ZATARA THE MAGICIAN...from the old DC series

Some of the other villains the Seven Soldiers would face within a
few issues of the origin story would be:

CAPTAIN SWASTIKA...super-powered Nazi

BLITZKRIEG...super-speedster, the fascist man alive

ATTILA THE HUN...the original returned to life

THE SAMURAI SQUAD...seven very deadly swordsman

Considering the success of both The Invaders and its Liberty Legion
spin-off, it couldn’t hurt for us to have a group of World War II
super-heroes going for us.

ADDENDUM: I’m of two minds about this pitch.  I think it would have
been a fun book for me to write and for the fans to read.  Rereading
it today, it strikes me as too derivative.  Is that because it was too
derivative in 1976 or because it seems that way in 2013?  I’ll
let you decide.

I was absolutely talking out of my ass when I mentioned the success
of Marvel’s Invaders and Liberty Legion.  I didn’t know if the two
books were selling well or not.  What I did know was the quickest
way to get publisher Jenette Kahn’s attention and approval was to
compare something to something being done at Marvel Comics.
I think she liked their books better than DC’s.

She did okay this series, but it was put on my back burner because
I was concentrating on Black Lightning, because I had accepted
the editor’s position she had offered me and because I was pissed
at DC cutting the page rate I had originally been offered and which
I’d accepted.  When I left the editor’s position, I never returned
to this or any of the other pitches Kahn had liked.  Beyond Black
Lightning, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do.  But I was certain I
wanted out of New York and away from the people who lied to me
on a nigh-daily basis.

ADDENDUM TWO: Just before posting today’s bloggy thing, I looked at
my handwritten notes for the pitch and discovered I had worked out
the creatures of General Immortus and which heroes would do battle
with them.  Here’s the breakdown:

1) AIR (Air Wave and the Shining Knight)...The Thunderbird

2) LAND (Johnny Quick and the Vigilante)...The Yeti

3) SEA (The Tarantula and Wildcat)...The Octo-Man

4) FIRE (entire team)...The Burning Man

I had previously written about two of these creatures - the Burning
Man and the Thunderbird - in one-page fillers I had written for the
Marvel black-and-white horror magazines.  Creatures of legend are,
after all, in the public domain.

I will have a second DC Comics pitch for you tomorrow. It’s a spin-
off from the Legion of Super-Heroes.     

© 2013 Tony Isabella

ACTS OF VENGEANCE


I have two more of my What If pitches from 1990 for you.  Quoting
from Wikipedia, here’s the background you need for the first of the
two pitches...

Acts of Vengeance is a crossover storyline that ran through several
titles published by Marvel Comics from December 1989 to February
1990. It was centered on the Avengers and Fantastic Four after
three consecutive fall crossovers were built around the X-Men and
related mutant teams. Promotional materials teased the idea of a
wide array of super-villains facing heroes they had never met (or
at least were villains that weren't part of the heroes' regular
gallery).

The core titles include Avengers, Avengers Spotlight, Avengers West
Coast, Captain America, Iron Man, Quasar, Thor and Fantastic Four.
Major tie-ins included Amazing Spider-Man among other Spider-Man
titles, Uncanny X-Men and the second Damage Control limited series.
An epilogue features in Cloak and Dagger, Web Of Spider-Man and in
an Avengers Annual.

Here’s the pitch...

WHAT IF THE ACTS OF VENGEANCE HAD SUCCEEDED?

Acts of Vengeance was the major comics crossover of 1989, involving
as it did virtually every Marvel super-hero title.  It would be the
perfect vehicle to try something different in the pages of WHAT IF:
a four-issue series within a series.  Covers would tie these four
issues together.

BOOK ONE: The villains succeed in eliminating most of their targets
in the first wave of attacks.  The Fantastic Four do not go to
Washington D.C. to speak against the Super Powers Registration Act,
but remain in New York to coordinate the efforts of the surviving
heroes.  Damage and loss of life has been considerable.  Public
opinion is turning against the heroes.  The villains launch their
second wave of attacks as Congress prepares to vote on the SPRA.

BOOK TWO: The heroes and villains clash once more with both sides
taking heavy losses.  The cosmic-powered Spider-Man defeats Loki in
a battle to the death, breaking the back of the villain conspiracy.
The heroes can hardly claim victory.  Public opinion has turned
against them.  The SPRA, grown into a document with far greater
application than in its original form, is signed into law by the
President.

BOOK THREE: Post-SPRA America.  Super-powered activities, unless
initiated by the federal government itself, are illegal.  The Joint
Chiefs of Staff are creating their own version of the Avengers with
membership restricted to those super-powered individuals who are
American citizens, who have no criminal records and with identities
known to the government.  The new team is a virtual army in number,
but lacking in experience and raw power.  They have some success in
putting down the common criminal variety of super-villain, but they
are not prepared for what happens next. 

Magneto reappears with a mutant army to establish a mutant homeland
on American soil.  The Kingpin seizes complete control of New York
City, the opening move in an all-out assault on the United States
by his vast criminal network. It’s total war on two deadly fronts.

BOOK FOUR: The war rages on. The two-front struggle doesn’t go well
for the United States.  Peace is made with Magneto. The mutants get
their homeland in exchange for help against the Kingpin.  The tide
turns against the Kingpin.  He dies at the hands of a mutant, one
of his own men.  The war is over...for now.

The United States and the world watch the new mutant homeland with
fear and suspicion.  Persecution of mutants is on the rise in the
non-mutant world.  The remaining super-heroes fare no better.  They
suffer the same fear and suspicion as the mutants.  They must live
in guarded camps under government supervision.  They are prisoners
of the country they risked their lives to defend.

ADDENDUM: If this pitch seems a little thin for four issues of the
What If series, it’s because I figured the editor would want me to
use or not use certain characters...and also have a list of those
characters who could die in the course of the story.  If the pitch
has been green-lighted, I would have done more detailed synopsis.
When those synopsis were approved, I would have then done my usual
page-by-page panel-by-panel plot for the artists.

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

The second pitch wasn’t based on any specific storyline, but it did
take off from some long-forgotten-by-me sequence that appeared in
some Punisher story prior to 1990.

WHAT IF THE PUNISHER BECAME A GOVERNMENT AGENT?

Our starting point is the first time the Punisher was arrested and
put in prison.  Jigsaw plans to dose him with mind-altering drugs.
But never gets the opportunity.  A high-ranking federal official
offers the Punisher a pardon and support for his personal crusade.
The price? The Punisher must agree to undertake covert missions for
the government.  The deal is made.

The Punisher’s first jobs for the government give him no qualms. He
eliminates several international criminals that couldn’t be reached
by legal means.  But succeeding missions seem less clear-cut to him
and he wonders if he’s being used to keep evil men in power simply
because they are friendly to our government’s interests.

When the Punisher refuses a mission, the official who recruited him
decides the Punisher must be terminated.  The Taskmaster, who has
studied the Punisher in action, is given the assignment. 

The Punisher is lured into the trap by the official - maybe Henry
Gyrich - and killed by the Taskmaster.  The official has only the
slightest regrets in this matter.  As he sess it, the security and
secrets of the nation must be protected.  The Taskmaster rephrases
the sentiment: what the public doesn’t know can’t hurt the people
in charge of these operations.

Cut to the officers of The Daily Bugle where J, Jonah Jameson has
just received a very interesting manuscript. 

It’s titled The Punisher’s War Journal.

ADDENDUM: I’m not as wild about this pitch as I was when I wrote it
over two decades ago.  I’m not sure the Punisher would have struck
such a deal.  On the other hand, so many writers have portrayed the
Punisher in so many ways, I’m not even sure about not being sure.

I’ll be back tomorrow with the first of two DC Comics pitches that
are even older than these.  If my memory is correct, the DC stuff
dates back to 1976.

© 2013 Tony Isabella

THE EVEN MORE SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN


My ongoing assault on my Vast Accumulation of Stuff has involved my
going through several boxes of file folders.  Some file folders get
tossed.  Some get filed in my new office file cabinet.  Convention
and column folders get re-boxed for storage. 

One of the joys of going through these files is finding cool stuff
to share with my bloggy thing readers.  Recently, I came across the
files to the apazines I did for a semi-professional apa.  In one of
those issues, I found a pitch I had made to Marvel for an issue of
the company’s second What If? series.

From that apazine, here’s the introduction to the pitch:

This issue’s special feature is one of several What If springboards
I submitted to editor Craig Anderson in January of 1990.  He never
responded to these submissions, not an unique occurrence.  Since
some of you have asked what a springboard is and since What If has
now run a story based on the concept of my springboard, I thought
I’d publish the springboard for your edification and enjoyment.
Had Anderson okayed the springboard, I would have written my usual
detailed panel-by-panel plot for the artist.

Before we get to the springboard, here’s some important information
I lifted from Wikipedia:

The Tri-Sentinel is a fictional robot who appeared in the superhero
comics of Marvel Comics. The Tri-Sentinel's first appearance was in
Amazing Spider-Man #329, which followed on directly from the Acts
of Vengeance storyline. In that storyline, several superheroes
including Spider-Man, Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, and Cloak
and Dagger came together to fight the Asgardian trickster god Loki.
After Loki's defeat at the hands of Thor, Loki engaged in a final
act of vengeance by creating a robot known as the Tri-Sentinel. He
did this by merging three Sentinels together. The Tri-Sentinel was
sent by Loki to attack a nuclear power plant and thereby destroy
New York City. It was defeated by Spider-Man, who at that time
possessed the powers of the Captain Universe entity.

Now that you know that...

“WHAT IF SPIDER-MAN REMAINED COSMIC?”

Spider-Man’s battle with the Tri-Sentinel results in the Uni-Power
being bonded permanently to Peter Parker.

Knowing that with greater power comes greater responsibility, Peter
begins rethinking his role in the world.  Crime doesn’t seem as
big a problem as poverty, ignorance, hatred, decaying environment
and a thousand other concerns facing the human race.  He sets out
to solve them all.

The problems are too big for even a cosmic hero to solve.  He can’t
create wealth for the poor without changing the world economy.  He
can’t cure fear and hate because they don’t have a physical form.
He can cure the sick, but there are too many sick people for even
a healer of his powers.  The strain of being a “god” among mortals
threatens to drive him mad.  The world demands more than he can
give and hates him when he fails to deliver.

Mary Jane, the wife he had all but forgotten, brings him back to
reality.  Aunt May is dying.  Spider-Man goes to his aunt at Peter,
planning to restore her to full health.  But he finds May is ready
for death, her life as full as she could have wished.  After all,
her guidance led a shy young boy to become the man he is today.
May passes gently into that good night, her passage guiding Peter
into a new direction for his own life.

The cosmic Spider-Man drops out of sight.  It seems he’s abandoned
mankind.  And yet...

In New York City, during a particularly harsh winter, a condemned
building is inexplicably restored - overnight - to shelter homeless
families.  The city follows suit with other buildings.

In South America, two warring factions are brought together by a
mysterious peacemaker to discover the common ground that will lead
them to a lasting peace.

In Africa, a small section of barren land becomes fertile and its
inhabitants are given the will to not only survive but to reclaim
more bounty from their desert home.

The miracles continue.  They are not as large.  They are not at all
common.  But they restore two precious commodities to the race of
man: hope and courage.

Nearly eighty years past.  A still youthful Peter Parker is at Mary
Jane’s bedside as her life draws to a close.  She is proud of the
way her husband has quietly guided mankind.  This world has become
a better, gentler place.  He credits Mary Jane and May for making
it so.

Afterwards, he will mourn for a time and then resume the work once
more.  It is a responsibility that now weighs lightly on the hero
who has come to accept and understand his great power.

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

With rare exception, I hold no grudges against editors who couldn’t
be bothered to respond to pitches like this one.  Those slights are
well in the past.  The only time I get even mildly annoyed is when
one of these editors comes up to my table at a convention and tells
me how much he loved my writing.  Even then, I simply accept such
compliments while resisting the urge to remind the editor that he
had an opportunity to work with me.  Simple courtesy towards what
I’ll kindly call “veteran comics professionals” has rarely been a
requirement for editors in this field.  It is what it is and it no
longer bothers me.  Well, maybe just a little, but this definitely
goes into the “no biggie” file.

What If...? #31 [November 1991] featured “What if Spider-Man Had Not
Lost His Cosmic Powers?” [27 pages] by Glenn Alan Herdling.  It’s
doubtful I ever saw or read that issue, but I hope it entertained
those who did read it.

That’s all for today.  Come back tomorrow for two more of my 1990
What If springboards.

© 2013 Tony Isabella