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Comics, TV

[May 6, 1968] Does Whatever A Spider Can! (Spider-Man Cartoon)

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by Jason Sacks

It's hard to be an adult fan of super-hero TV shows these days. The Marvel Super-Heroes cartoons by Grantray and Lawrence are notorious among fans for their super cheap animation. Batman limped through its third season, with its jokes worn out and its campiness turned up past 10 (don't talk to me about the "Joker's Flying Saucer" episode, please!). The new Fantastic Four cartoon is inane, poorly animated and plain annoying.

And then there's Spider-Man. And hey, at least the music in this cartoon is pretty good.

Most every weekend since September (football pre-emptions notwithstanding), we've been granted the pleasure of watching a certain web-head soar through the concrete towers of New York, stalking a never-ending crew of slightly inept criminals while evading the slings and barbs of the editor of the Daily Bugle, J. Jonah Jameson.

Every weekend I perk up when I hear this fun theme song. Seriously, you should pop out to see if your local Korvettes sells the 45 of this song because it (pardon the pun) swings!

Spider-Man, Spider-Man
Does whatever a spider can
Spins a web, any size
Catches thieves just like flies
Look out
Here comes the Spider-Man

Is he strong?
Listen bud
He's got radioactive blood
Can he swing from a thread?
Take a look overhead
Hey, there
There goes the Spider-Man

Oh yes, that gets me on my feet (granted, I really need that cup of Folgers, but still)…

What keeps me on my feet is… okay, waiting for the toaster to pop, but also to see which classic Spidey villain will appear in this episode. As you can see, we've gotten the Vulture, Electro, Green Goblin and many more on screen so far. It's been a delight to see how the production team modify Steve Ditko and John Romita's designs for the villains for the small screen.

Yeah, the designs have been kinda distorted compared to the original comic versions, but the cartoon designs have been fun.

Too bad the stories have been pretty subpar.

One of the few good things about the Marvel Super-Heroes cartoon is that the stories were – quite literally – torn from the pages of the actual comics stories. In this cartoon…less so.

For instance, an episode starring the Sandman as villain has Sandy stealing the largest diamond in the world for some unexplained reason. In another episode, Green Goblin takes up magic as a way of defeating our hero, when magic was never remotely a part of his M.O. Then there's the episode where Electro takes over an amusement park as a way of defeating Spider-Man. We never saw Stan Lee write that story. At least in the episode with Ditko-created villains The Enforcers, they are simply trying to rob a bank. That much makes sense!

I have to admit that despite my whining, the stories do maintain some fidelity to the comics. Just like Stan and John depict each month, Peter Parker is a genius scientist who also has a part-time job at the Daily Bugle, where he works for a nasty brutish J. Jonah Jameson and flirts with the pretty Betty Brant — though Betty is colored with red hair instead of her usual brown, for some reason. Perhaps they mixed her up with Pete's friend Mary Jane Watson).

It's in those sorts of moments, like when we see Peter struggle with his webbing recipe or complain about Jameson not paying enough, that this show becomes the most fun. I also never grow tired of JJJ blaming Spider-Man for every crime the villains commit, no matter how events turn out. You gotta appreciate Jameson's commitment to his own sort of false news! Of course, those moments also echo some of the finest Marvel stories we've seen so far.

There have even been a couple of episodes in which JJJ is basically the villain. In one, he pays for the construction of a suit for villain the Scorpion. Spidey beats Scorpion easily, but at least an effort was made to have Jameson show his hatred of Spider-Man in villainous form. In another episode, JJJ creates a spider-slayer, right out of a classic Ditko issue, but the animation is so awkward and cheap-feeling, that the story just loses its flair.

I guess I'm saying that this show seems cheap. We know from latter-day SatAM classics like Jonny Quest, Herculoids and Space Ghost that a TV cartoon doesn't have to look cheap. But the look at that panel above! You can see the producers didn't even draw in all of Spider-Man's costume, in the interests of saving time and money.

The animators also reuse scenes over and over again to the point of absurdity. If I drank a sip of coffee every time we see Spider-Man swing his web far above any office towers, I might not sleep for a week. The producers seem to have a basket of six or seven specific images of Spider-Man doing his webbing thing which they love to use over and over. I noticed the other week when watching the episode called "The Menace of Mysterio" how the animators will string all six of those images one after the next, then have an inset scene, and then repeat the sequence. I always find myself yawning and reaching for the coffee cup when I see those scenes.Once again, the notorious Grantray-Lawrence studio was behind this quickie cheapie, as they were behind the Super-Heroes show. G-L obviously had a few more dollars to spend on Spider-Man, but twice zero is still zero, and the production values doom this show to be second-rate.

But hey, the theme song and a lot of the incidental music is terrif!

Rumor has the show returning this fall. Hopefully ABC will up the show's budget and G-L will spend a few more dollars on the production of this show. In the meantime, I feel the same mockery for Spider-Man that the Green Goblin shows above. Get on your feet, Spider-Man, and make a fight of it!


by Gideon Marcus

Don't listen to old sourpuss there. While there are episodes that are less than terrific, there are several which are…terrific. Compared to the concurrently running Fantastic Four cartoon, and certainly to the virtually static Marvel "cartoons" of last season, Spider-Man is nothing less than a revolution.

The voice acting is stellar, with the fellow playing Spider-Man and Peter Parker doing an excellent job of distinguishing the two roles. JJJ is an absolute riot. As for the animation and art, the palette is also stunning, especially compared to the drab FF. And it's absolutely accurate; New York is chock full of pink buildings.

The animation is (for TV anyway) stellar, and the composition stands up to any comic book.


One of my favorite episodes, and a scene so good, it got incorporated into the end credits.

Is it a little goofy? Absolutely, though no more so than Batman, and it the show plays off the silliness with an infectious sense of fun.


Mysterio's true form may have been a tiny bit influenced by another contemporary character…


Alright–maybe The Rhino isn't the best villain.

In addition to the theme, Spider-Man has got one heck of a soundtrack, all boffo jazz like Herb Alpert was the band director.

So, give the show a watch. It's already in reruns on Saturday morning, and it's a stand-out. Would it have been nice to have more Green Hornet than Batman? Maybe. But for a cartoon, it sweeps the competition. If it's not exactly like the comic (which is actually currently the best in the Marvel stable), at least it's its own thing, and it does that thing pretty well.

And that's a headline I'll stand by…




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Comics

[April 22, 1967] Make War Not Love (Comics)

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by Jason Sacks

Hello from sunny Seattle, where spring has sprung, the rain has (mostly) stopped, cherry blossoms are on the trees at the U-Dub, and Don & the Goodtimes are topping our city's pop charts.

https://youtu.be/h23867MzHeQ

My friends and I love hearing that wonderful local pop ditty on Kolorful KOL Radio while driving in his Corvair. Most often we wander down to the Spanish Castle, down in south King County (past my beloved Sicks' Stadium where the Seattle Angels play). At the Spanish Castle we get to watch some amazing pop, funk and jazz musicians deliver performances to warm us up on Seattle's rainy nights.  Local standbys The Wailers, The Kingsmen and a very talented young man named Jimmy Hendrix have played there.  Remember the name 'Hendrix'. According to rumors, he's keeping busy in England these days and may be working on a full album. My friends and I hope our local boy makes good.

But from one type of entertainment to another… It's been about a year since I talked in Galactic Journey about the state of American comic books. This seems like the perfect opportunity to give you an update on some changes I would never have expected.

In fact, before I dig into super-hero comics, I want to look at two genres of comics the fans seldom seem to notice: war comics and love comics. Yeah, neither genre has costumed heroes, but both are fascinating here in 1967.

Make War (Comics) No More?

National dominates war comics, while its closest competitor, Charlton, is frankly pathetic. Where is Marvel in the list? Well,  Marvel still publishes Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos, but that comic has much to do with life in the army as Gomer Pyle, USMC does. Fury's style of goofy heroism may be a good read for the kiddies but it's too shallow for anyone over the age of 12. Anyone who is fascinated by the horrors and passions of war should read the good stuff.

Our Army at War is the flagship title of National's war comics line. This series stars Sgt. Rock and the combat-happy Joes of Easy Company. For several years now, writer Robert Kanigher has teamed up with the incredibly talented Joe Kubert to deliver some of the finest continuing-character war comics in my memory. Each story is like an opera of violence and martial situations with tight, terse prose matched by a gorgeously intense, slashy but stolid style by Kubert.

In fact, though I've seen Kubert's work for many years – he drew "Hawkman" in the Golden Age and drew the first Flash feature in Showcase, among hundreds of other stories – Kubert's style is hard to describe. Look at the below original page (from a friend's collection) to see what I'm trying to put into words.

Look at the incredible storytelling by Kubert. The tumbling coins on the left add tension while the top three panels on the right show the misery, fear and determination in the eyes of the soldiers. Note, too, the clever way Kubert both divides and unifies the single image. That's a clever use of paradox to heighten the tension of the page. There's just nobody drawing comics like Kubert these days.

In fact, while many fans criticize DC/National frequently for having a house art style, their costumed hero books employ much more homogenization than their war titles . Perhaps  Kubert deserves some of the credit for that, as he edits many of the titles.

To a lesser extent, we see Kubert's artistic approach to the other war comics National releases. For instance, Russ Heath is the main artist on the "Hunter's Hellcats" feature in Our Fighting Forces, and Heath brings a slightly more polished but equally visceral style to its art pages. Even old-timer Irv Novick brings a looser, more unconventional style to bear with his stories of "The Losers" in G.I. Combat.

More than anything, the DC war series feature a dark, despairing tone. Readers get a real sense of the horrors of war. Though Capt. Storm or Sgt. Rock may succeed in their missions, the battles obviously take their toll on the protagonists.

I wish the same could be said for the many war comics which quirky publisher Charlton Comics releases. I should talk more about Charlton in a future column. One thing I have to discuss is how their comics are published alongside song lyric mags, crossword puzzle magazines and cereal boxes, but that's a topic for another week.

Instead, I'm here to bemoan Charlton's seemingly endless line of bland, dull war comics. Whether it's Fightin' Marines, Fightin' Army, Fightin' Navy (see a pattern?), War Heroes or Marine War Heroes, these chest-thumpin' men of action seem to never question their mission and never feel any pain from their incredible struggles. If you've ever wondered how the Pentagon would write comics intended for five-year-olds, read a Charlton war comic. I dare you.

While I'm discussing war comics, I should lament again the abrupt cancelation of Blazing Combat, Warren Publishing's often brilliant contribution to the war comics anthology genre. During its four-issue run last year, BC included sensational artwork by comics stalwarts such as Heath, Alex Toth, Gene Colan and many others. Writer Archie Goodwin told stories of wartime combat without filters, unnecessary heroism or national bias. With its ever-shifting anthology approach, Goodwin and his artists delivered stories which felt as contemporary as the Vietnam War and as timeless as the Peloponnesian War. Look, for instance, at the lovely page below drawn by the inimitable Reed Crandall.

These comics were created in black and white, published magazine sized, and often illustrated with ink wash or pointillistic techniques. For those reasons, the stories in Blazing Combat aimed higher than most comic books. Indeed, their audience was mainly adults. Tragically, that selfsame adult audience spelled doom for Blazing Combat. Reportedly publisher Jim Warren had to pull the plug on BC when PX bases across the world canceled their orders after author Goodwin penned a story critical of the war in Vietnam. Sales were too poor to sustain a money loser for long.

Make Love (Comics) No More?

I wish I could praise the many, many love comics published by National or Charlton but I sadly can't. Hey, I'm a man who likes women, I'm fond of my wife, my sister and my mother, so why can't there be comics for women which don't insult their intelligence? Sadly, neither publisher seems able to pull off that skill. This is one area Marvel hasn't plunged into in 1967; probably good news for them. (Millie the Model is more an Archie-style humor comic than a love comic, by the way.)

Once again, Charlton leads the way with garbage, flooding the newsstand with interchangable junk like Career Girl Romances, I Love You, Just Married, Teen-Age Love, Sweethearts and many more. Like the sweethearts candies you got in your fourth grade class on Valentine's Day, these comics are laced with sweetness and may put you into a coma.

The love comics from National are marginally better, at least boasting work by professional cartoonists. But their attitudes seem stuck in the Eisenhower era.

In fact, a reader should expect out-of-date attitudes. Comics like Girls' Love, Young Love and Falling in Love frequently feature reprints of comics from a decade earlier. Staff artists, modify the art to include modern hairdos or clothes. But their conformist attitudes reflect an earlier era when a girl's greatest goal was to be a housewife. It would be a bold statement for one of these comics to reflect the "free love" or hippie movements. The creators need to change with the time. Their musical beats should be attuned to the Beatles rather than Frank Sinatra.

I'd like to think there's a place for love comics in today's era. Perhaps some of the emerging group of so-called underground cartoonists can revive the genre, maybe with a twist. I know I would chortle to see a comic on the stands called Young Lust instead of Young Love.

Make Steve Ditko Comics at Marvel No More

Perhaps the biggest shock of the last year was the resignation of the brilliant Steve Ditko from Marvel Comics. Ditko, who was the prime force behind Spider-Man and Dr. Strange, apparently was engaged in a long, pitched battle with key Marvel editor/writer Stan Lee over the identity of a villain in the already-classic Master Planner saga. Ditko, who was the main plotter for the series, wanted to follow one direction for a character reveal. Lee disagreed and apparently that latest disagreement was the metaphorical last straw.

It's a shame because Ditko was reaching his apex on both series at the time this incident happened. Spider-Man was achieving new levels of bathos and power and was a solid, constantly interesting series.

Ditko's work on Dr. Strange, meanwhile, existed on a level few other comics have ever reached. In a vast, multi-chapter epic spanning some dozen issues, an increasingly desperate and isolated Strange journeys to lands scarcely imagined by mortal men. There, he encounters beings so unknowable and cosmically powered that their mere existence is beyond our mortal ken. Ditko set Strange as one single solitary man desperately trying to save our entire universe even while the rest of the universe continued on, blissfully unaware of the strange battles happening around them.

As you can see in the above excerpt, characters like Eternity live in great cosmic landscapes, full of bizarre and almost incomprehensible sparks which bespeak our insignficance as humans. And yet Strange, a mere human with expanded consciousness, fights desperately to avoid massive cosmic destruction.

That astounding storyline, a truly cosmic saga, drew the curtain on Ditko's Marvel era with a real sense of majesty.

The "Dr. Strange" strip has been drifting without Ditko's presence, with pointless stories and uninspired artwork. But I'm mention to you that Ditko's other great series, The Amazing Spider-Man, has reached new heights in 1967.

John Romita has stepped in to fill Ditko's shoes. Lo and behold, the impossible seems to have happened: the comic has gotten better. Amazing Spider-Man is now more fun, somehow both lighter and darker than before. More importantly, some charming supporting characters have emerged. I'm keeping my eye on Romita's groovy interpretation of Gwen Stacy. She seems like she could become a compelling love interest for poor ol' Peter Parker.

And the series seems to be finding its level. Amazing Spider-Man #50 was just released two weeks ago, so I don't want to ruin its fascinating twists and turns. But look at that wonderful page above and tell me you're not intrigued. Romits delivers drama Ditko couldn't reproduce in quite the same way and points to an exciting new future for the old web-head.

Jaunty Jim Debuts

Speaking of exciting futures, comic fandom has been buzzing over the last few months about the emergence of a new creator at Marvel who seems to have a unique set of skills. Jim Steranko is in a role unprecedented at Marvel, both writing and drawing the "Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD" strip in Strange Tales. As far as I can remember, no Marvel creator has assumed the duties as writer and artist of an ongoing. His work is intriguing and unprecedented, and so far it's been spectacular.

Steranko displays a dynamism and energy in his panels which rivals his mentor, Jack Kirby. His men seem coiled with power, drawn with dynamic foreshortening that holds tremendous power on the page even while the anatomy makes no sense in real life. In the page above, look at the wild energy of the final panel in the excerpt above, with its massive overwhelming machinery contrasting with the negative space to add power to Nick Fury's battle. Nobody, not even Kirby draws like Steranko. Who knows what the man can achieve in the coming years?

The King Remains and Reminds Us Why He's King

…which doesn't mean the King isn't carrying his own weight. Jack Kirby continues to deliver some ace action yarns in Fantastic Four and Thor. The recent Doctor Doom-Inhumans crossover story had me on the edge of my seat, as Doom schemed to assume the Silver Surfer's Power Cosmic and, with that power, control the world. That storyline was a deeply dynamic drama, definitively delineated by Kirby's crispy lines.

The Black Panther is perhaps the most dynamic character find of the last year. He debuted in the pages of Fantastic Four #52.  T'Challa is the king of a futuristic kingdom deep in Africa who dons his ceremonial outfit to battle perfidious villainy, in this case embodied in the nefarious Klaw.

It's thrilling to see a Black hero appear at Marvel, especially one who can defeat our estimable heroes in battle while maintaining his regal presence. I'm so intrigued by this new hero. I hope he returns soon. I can't wait to read more about him. (Seems to me he'd be a great member of the Avengers.)

And as for Thor, if there ever was a case where  a picture says a thousand words, the below image does that!

If you don't want to read that issue of Thor, you clearly lack an imagination!

The Debut of Batgirl

Life at National Comics has been a little quieter than life at Marvel these days. Their quietness has started to make National's line of heroes feel a bit stodgy compared with their Marvel counterparts. Lately the Justice League of America has veered a bit into camp, which felt appropriate when the Batman TV series was at the top of the charts. Since people are starting to get bored of Batman's repeating jokes, likely sales of Batman-related comics will begin to sag as well.

For instance, the return of the Penguin to comics in Batman #190 boasts a wonderful cover by Carmine Infantino but… darn, look at the stiff and uninspired artwork inside the issue.

Maybe the introduction of the dynamic new Batgirl will revitalize the Batman comics a bit. College student Barbara Gordon, the daughter of Commissioner Gordon, donned her distaff version of the cape and cowl in Detective Comics #359, late last year. Fan reaction to her appearance has been all over the place. Many have praised the idea that this new Batgirl can actually throw punches and kick some heads in – unlike the more old-fashioned Bat-Girl of the 1950s. Others have complained about the need to tie Commissioner Gordon more closely with our heroes. And some younger fans have complained about Batgirl acting like a big sister to Robin, which embarasses him since a girl can often out-achieve him (of course the female fans love that aspect of the heroine).

On Barbara Gordon, Batgirl - Gotham Calling

Under Infantino's pencils, the new Batgirl is a lilthe, athletic fighting machine. She's also kind of a women's libber, fighting with the ability of a man while maintaining her female identity. She would be a welcome addition to the Batman TV series. I hope she gets added to it soon.

Sadly, unless her series takes a radical turn, I can't imagine Wonder Woman becoming a feminist icon. I dare you to look at the cover below and tell me I'm wrong.

The tremendously prolific Robert Kanigher writes Wonder Woman. He's is one of the key forces behind the war comics I mentioned earlier. Maybe's he's too busy in his mental combat to consider the abuse he's heaping on his heroes.

In fact, of DC's heroes line, only "Legion of Super-Heroes" in Adventure Comics resonantes for me (well, okay, one other series has sparked excitement – see below for the details). My newfound love for the Legion surprises me. I usually yawn at the Superman family of titles (which this is part of). Readers get one variation after another of the same full stories. But new writer Jim Shooter has brought a new energy to the future's finest super-teens. Just this year, "The Doomed Legionnaire" brought an unexpected death to the team (I promise I won't tell you who dies!) This month, we're viewing an incredible flash-forward to a time when the Legionnaires are adults. It's spellbinding stuff, written for teenagers with an energy and freshness which makes me wonder if Shooter himself is a teen.

And finally…

This article has aleady run long, so I'd better add a few final notes before I head down to the Spanish Castle to see Paul Revere and the Raiders…

  • Doom Patrol continues to be DC's ginchiest comic book – miss it and weep, pals!
  • Archie's super-hero parodies like Captain Pureheart are a giggle a minute if you're in the right mindset. They are well worth your twelve pennies.
  • Warren continues to publish the outstanding horror comics Creepy and Eerie, and each feature work by the delightful Mr. Ditko. Miss them at your peril.
  • Look for copies of King Comics' Flash Gordon on your local stands. If you can find it, you will find some breathtaking comic art by the likes of Al Williamson and Reed Crandall.
  • And lastly and leastly, a reminder that  the weakest and dullest comics in the Marvel line is The X-Men. Save your cents for its much better imitator, Doom Patrol. When will Marvel wise up and give up on this series?

Till next time, sayonara!




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TV

[May 26, 1966] Batman: So Bad It's Good?

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by Erica Frank

I have been greatly enjoying the new Batman tv series. Campy costumes, over-the-top acting, wacky super-science gizmos, silly plots, the chance to see several of my favorite comic book characters on a screen; it's all good fun.

Batman and Robin running toward the viewer

Na na na na na na na na…

…It is not, however, amazing storycrafting, believable characters, thoughtful worldbuilding, or plausible traps and clever solutions. This is definitely a "kick your feet up and relax your brain before watching" show. If you have some favored intoxicants, you may wish to indulge in them first. Trust me. It'll help.

The Batman Drinking Game

The best way to watch this show: Before it starts, get yourself a beer, glass of wine, or couple of shots of something harder. Every time you see a gizmo that can't actually work as shown, take a sip. Every time Robin says, "Holy [something]!," take a sip. When either of the Dynamic Duo is trapped, take a sip; if they're both trapped, take two. Every time a supposedly valuable item, like a museum statue, is destroyed during the obligatory heroes-vs-thugs slugfest, take another sip. By the time the show is over, you'll be pleasantly relaxed—unless you actually know much about science and technology, in which case, you'll have left "relaxed" in the dust and be on your way to "blitzed."

This is not a show for careful thinking. This is a show for enjoying nostalgic thoughts about your childhood heroes and watching them climb up buildings so they can beat up the bad guys in a large warehouse room.

Batman and Robin climbing a wall using a batarang cord

I don't know what that cord is made of, but I bet the US military would love to get their hands on it.

The show's opening has cartoon Batman and Robin tackling cartoon villains; a few old favorites like the Joker are visible, but most are nameless thugs. The theme song is catchy (and simple, which you'll need if you're playing the drinking game). It works nicely as a reminder that this isn't a serious crime drama—it's a live-action version of comic books, full of goofy technology, ridiculous villain shenanigans, and grandiose gizmo-speak solutions to bizarre plots.

Our Heroes and Villains

Adam West portrays both Bruce Wayne and Batman as polite, honest, and serene to the point of parody. He is very safety-conscious: he insists that Robin fasten his "bat-seatbelt" for a trip of only a few blocks. (He has a lot of bat-gear. A plethora of bat-gear. Everything Batman uses is bat-themed.) He's prone to saying things like, "This is just the first stitch in a large tapestry of crime." Yet he never seems angry, just disappointed that so many people have turned to villainy instead of hard work. At no point does he ponder that being born a millionaire might have some impact on his ideas of how easy it is to find gainful employment.

Burt Ward's Robin is excitable and clever; he's the one who figures out most of the riddles and other puzzles they face. When he's Dick Grayson, he's an ordinary teenager, albeit one with less interest in dating than most teens I've known. Robin, we are informed, is not old enough to get a driver's license. I don't know what the driving age in Gotham is; it's 16 in California and most other states. Robin is apparently a very mature 14 or 15. We pick up a few extra details about him: He speaks Spanish and French but struggles with algebra. At one point, the villains putting him in a complex trap mentioned that he weighs 132 pounds and 10 ounces. He and Bruce are often shown engrossed in intellectual pursuits.

Bruce and Dick playing 3-d chess

Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson playing 3-dimensional chess, just before Alfred gives Dick advice that lets Bruce checkmate him.

The two of them live with Alfred, their butler, who is in on the big secret, and Dick's Aunt Harriet Cooper, who is not. She's under the impression that Bruce and Dick go on a lot of fishing trips. Overnight fishing trips, in some cases. She must be Dick's mother's sister. Or maybe she's a widow, and was Harriet Grayson in her youth. (Bruce also calls her "Aunt Harriet," so maybe she's his aunt.) Dick's parents aren't mentioned, but obviously his origin story isn't quite the same as in the comics—while the murder of Bruce's parents is mentioned, nothing is said about Dick's time before he lived at "stately Wayne Manor."

Batman and Robin regularly cooperate with the police: Commissioner Gordon, whom we know from the comics, and Chief O'Hara, new to the tv show, are both happy to turn over all the super-villain crimes to our heroes. The entire police department is grateful for the costumed crimefighters. I'm not sure whether the officers are horribly incompetent, or just happy to have someone else get strapped to the inside of a giant bell.

Each story is two episodes, with the first ending on a potentially fatal cliffhanger. (Often, Robin in a death trap.) The seventeen stories—34 episodes—of the first season involve several infamous villains from the comics and a small handful of new ones. The Riddler, played by Frank Gorshin, appears four times. His cackling is delightful.

The Riddler, laughing

"Riddle me this: What is it that no man wants to have, but no man wants to lose?"

Burgess Meredith as the Penguin and Cesar Romero as the Joker each showed up three times. Catwoman, the Mad Hatter, Mr. Freeze, and False Face each appeared once, although some of them didn't quite match their comic versions. The tv series also brought in three new villains: Zelda the Great, King Tut, and Bookworm.

The “Villainesses”

Only two of the villains Batman faces are women: Zelda the Great and Catwoman.

Zelda the Great is a woman magician trying to steal a million dollars; she partnered with someone who wants to kill Batman. While they successfully trapped Batman and Robin, at the last moment, she warned them about a pair of hidden assassins with guns. The Caped Crusaders prevailed, and she and her gang were arrested. However, as a result of her change of heart, Bruce Wayne offered her a job when she gets out of prison: a position in one of the Wayne Foundation's children's hospitals as a regular performer.

Catwoman, played by Julie Newmar, purrs and hisses and slinks her way through her cat-themed crimes.  Batman and Robin tracked her by covering a golden cat statue with a radioactive spray—but she was prepared; she knew they were coming and set up a trap. (The show has a lot of traps.) Batman defeated her deadly tiger by putting on his bat-earplugs (…take a drink) and then "reverses the polarity on his communicator," which, for some reason, is activated by a large button under his belt buckle, and then "increases the audio modulation to about 20,000 decibels" to disable the large cat. (Take another drink.)

Catwoman and her two henchmen

Catwoman and her henchmen, Leo and Felix. Neither of them escapes with her.

Did I mention not to watch this show for the science? Please, do not watch this show for the science.

Later in that episode: Robin awakens on a plank, balanced precariously over a pit of tigers. Looking around wildly, he declares, "Catwoman—You are not a nice person!"

Don't watch this show for the witty dialogue, either. Interesting dialogue, sometimes. But it falls short of "witty," even for pun-laden satire.

Plenty of Failure to Go Around

My friends here at the Journey don't think much of the show. Batman does not hold up well under the thoughtful analysis we normally do; it's packed with stereotypes, clichés, and all characters' endless failures to see the obvious. The women are almost all overly emotional: fearful, soft-hearted, and unwilling to see even their enemies hurt. (Catwoman is a notable exception—she shows no mercy to Batman or Robin, betrays her own sidekick, and falls, possibly to her doom, rather than lose her ill-gotten gains.) The crime-adventure stories rely on the melodramatic villains to distract you from their nonsensical plans. The show has a breathtaking ability to casually throw around horribly inaccurate details about law, finance, city life, fashion, and every possible aspect of science.

Batman holding a scroll, Robin standing over his shoulder

The answer to the riddle: A lawsuit… which Batman has received in the form of a scroll.

And yet. It manages to be fun. (Are you not having fun yet? You may need another drink. Perhaps a pipe loaded with something a bit stronger than tobacco.)

This is not a show to watch as an analytical reviewer, looking for insights into the human condition or the nature of society. This is not a show to watch as a serious science fiction fan, looking for innovative uses of technology to solve ancient problems. This is a show to watch as a tired reviewer, as a jaded science fiction fan, who has read a hundred books that earnestly bludgeon the reader with astute pontifications and idealized future societies where somehow, all the important people are well-educated white men who speak English.

Bruce Wayne is well-educated, rich, white, smart, talented, physically fit, noble-minded, law-abiding, conscientious, and respected by his community—the perfect classic science fiction protagonist. And he is ridiculous.

Batman dancing

Batman shows off his "Batusi" dance moves at the new discotheque, "What a Way to Go-Go."

The entire show is ridiculous.

Bat Poles to the Batcave

Bruce, being a fully-grown adult, has a thicker pole than Dick.

Are you having fun yet? Robin's having fun, if we allow "fun" to mean "unconscious under the influence of strange pharmaceuticals." Robin has a lot of "fun" in this show.

Riddler leaning over Robin in the Batmobile

The Riddler is not actually kissing Robin. Probably. Almost certainly. He's just checking to see if the poison dart knocked him unconscious.

Tune in next season, same bat-time, same bat-channel, and I'll see if I can find some value in this series other than open mockery of too-serious approaches to science and technology. Even if I can't—even if all we get is silly costumes and clichéd gimmicks and Robin tied to increasingly implausible devices—I know I'll be watching the rest of the episodes.

Of course one of the songs on the Journey's radio station is the Batman theme. So tune in to KGJ, our radio station, and see if you can catch it!




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Comics

[February 24, 1966] Is 1966 the Best Year Ever for American Comic Books?

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by Jason Sacks

Is 1966 the best year ever for comic books? Yeah… maybe!

Based on the articles I’ve been seeing in newspapers, magazines and fanzines, Batman appears to be the runaway hit tv program of 1966. After 12 episodes, this show has exceeded expectations for fans and non-fans alike. Who would have expected Batman to be so true to the comics, with appearances by the Joker, Mr. Freeze, the Mad Hatter and even an obscure character like the Riddler (who hadn’t appeared in any comics between 1948 and 1965!).

The show has been a delight, and has prompted this house to buy a brand new color TV to enjoy it in its full splendor (well, that, and we had to see the exotic locations in Man from U.N.C.L.E. in color, too). And gosh, what a tremendous show this is for its bright and shiny design elements. The costumes of Batman, the Joker and Robin all look spectacular on our new Admiral set!

I know there has been some grousing about how the show mocks the Caped Crusader and his faithful pal, but I frankly love it. Maybe I’ve been desperate for a superhero TV show since Superman left the air a decade ago, but I dig the clever ways the show’s producers incorporate comic book elements into every scene of the show. The “BIFF! BANG! POW” elements during fight scenes may annoy some viewers who want more seriousness in their superheroes, but to me these are like comic book panels writ large on my 25” screen, thrilling reminders of their roots while also giving TV viewers a clever motif to groove on. Others complain that the characters seem self-mocking, calling it “camp” (a phrase I’ve never heard in this context before), but I wonder if those complainers read the Batman comics I wrote about last year. Until very recently, Batman was a moribund character fated for cancelation, so I’m delighted to see him get any attention at all.

And I groove on the deathtraps these characters find themselves in every Wednesday prior to the Thursday conclusions. Ma Bell likes it too, I think, because my friends and I call each other every week to try to figure out how our heroes can escape from the amazing perils the villains place them in.

I’m starting to see a rise in the interest in super-heroes at my local newsstand, perhaps prompted by the success of the TV show. It also helps that so many of the comics being released today are absolutely great. Not only are Marvel and National releasing lines of comics that are more intriguing than they have ever been, but new and revived publishers are putting out some comics that are outstanding (and some that are less than great, but hey, that’s just the law of averages at play, I think).

A lot of the thrill these days has been at Marvel, as some of their comics are reaching unparalleled new levels of excellence. For instance, the work of Steve Ditko and Stan Lee on both Amazing Spider-Man and the “Dr. Strange” strip in Strange Tales has been outstanding. Peter Parker has graduated high school and enrolled at Empire State University in Spider-Man. Pete seems to be shedding his nature as a nebbish since he joined college, making new friends while having new (and more sophisticated) problems. The three-part “Master Planner” saga which ended in ASM #33 was a storyline nonpareil, a thrill a minute journey with a spectacular denouement. (I’m including the payoff below, but please try to find all these issues if you can, because the leadup is just as spectacular).

Ditko and Lee’s “Doctor Strange” is in the midst of an astonishing long saga which journeys to strange, mystical realms to bring readers scenes we’ve never seen before. This lone hero fights impossible obstacles, issue by painful issue, to save a humanity who have no idea of his heroics. These two Ditko-illustrated comics are breathtaking – and, as I’ll soon discuss, this prolific artist is working on more than two comics lately.

Those two series are two of the three best comics being released in 1966, but the third greatest comic of our year has to be Fantastic Four. Stan Lee and the incomparable Jack Kirby (King of the Comics) are delivering the most astonishing thrill-ride in comics history. Reed Richards married Sue Storm in the 1965 FF Annual, but the couple's life has been no honeymoon since their big event, as they’ve fought an incredible “Battle for the Baxter Building”, before meeting and fighting the astonishing Inhumans. But this month has produced perhaps the finest comic Marvel has ever printed. In this month’s FF #50, the heroes found themselves in conflict with the mysterious cosmic villain Galactus, who wants to eat the Earth simply to stay alive. Readers are swept away with the desperation of our heroes and their valiant battle to save our planet, a story only Jack Kirby could have drawn. It also features the character I believe will be the breakout hero of 1966, the star-spanning Silver Surfer.

Marvel’s also producing some other great comics. Thor has moved out of the old Journey Into Mystery anthology into his own comics title, and Lee and Kirby are delivering a godlike battle there which shakes the cosmos. In X-Men, Lee and artist Jay Gavin keep playing and have delivered an intriguing new hero-villain called the Mimic. Lee and new artist John Romita have been doing terrific work on Daredevil (Romita might be a good substitute for Ditko if the latter ever has to take a month off; it’s hard to imagine Ditko leaving the character permanently). And comics like Avengers, Sgt. Fury, Two-Gun Kid and Tales to Astonish are continuing to deliver satisfying action stories, with the shattered romance tale "Killed in Action" in Fury #18 a real standout.

At National, which some people call DC, the line has adopted a new set of “go-go checks” at the top of their covers. Besides being hep and fun, these checks also help the comics stand out at my local drug store rack – a smart decision if you ask me.

Inside their comics, National continues their solid comics storytelling. Editor Julius Schwartz’s line is consistently entertaining. The Atom, Batman, Detective Comics, Hawkman and Green Lantern are all standouts for both story and art. Meanwhile, action heroes like the Metal Men, the Challengers of the Unknown and the Sea Devils all continue to deliver fun excitement, and Doom Patrol is always an irreverent treat. New series Teen Titans promises to be fun, and what teen or pre-teen wouldn't groove to the tales of sidekicks joined together?

I was disappointed to see Adam Strange, Space Ranger and Rip Hunter… Time Master lose their ongoing strips, though I'm anxious to see what replaces them.  And though Wonder Woman seems to continue to wander in its own mediocre wilderness (now set in the passé 1940s), the National line seems to be consistently entertaining each month. Of course, it’s hard to project how the massive success of Batman on TV will affect the comics, but one hopes the publisher won’t adopt those “camp” elements fans are so mixed about.

But some of the most exciting news in comics is happening outside of these two dominant publishers.

Gold Key Comics, primarily known for their comics featuring adaptations of TV series as diverse as Top Cat, Flipper and My Favorite Martian as well as their Disney line, is continuing their adventure comics line and even expanding the line. In fact, Super Goof set Mickey's pal Goofy as a super-hero in a delightful series of adventures as Super Goof!

Gold Key is the former sister publisher to Dell Comics, and it can often be hard to tell the two companies apart from each other despite their differences in editioral staffs. Their line also mainly consists of adapted titles like The Beverly Hillbillies and The Outer Limits along with a handful of original titles like Ghost Stories and Air War Stories. That line included a few new originals, including the gross-out Melvin Monster (which seems to be done by the same staff who deliver the delightful Thirteen Going on Thirty series) and the super-hero Nukla. I was also surprised to see a Black cowboy comic on the stands from Dell. Lobo is the stor of a buffalo soldier accused of a crime he didn't commit, and the first issue is pretty terrific! This may be the first comic featuring a solo Black character in his own title in many years (I believe there were a couple published by small companies in the 1940s), which is a nice sign of progress for the Great Society.

For many years, Charlton Comics have been considered at the bottom of the barrel, with their comics consistently delivering hackneyed and dull stories. Making things worse, Charltons seem like they’re printed on a cereal box press, with a strange paper texture, jagged edges on some of their pages, and even an odd smell to some of their comics.

Thankfully, though their printing quality doesn’t seem to be improving, Charlton’s comics are indeed improving. New series Peter Cannon… Thunderbolt launched early this year and has been fun. With art (and story?) by the mysterious PAM, these stories combine a surprising Eastern influence with New York gangsters. This is a series to watch.

Even more exciting is Captain Atom. You may remember the good Captain as an early sci-fi superhero from 1959 and 1960. Forget what you read before. The great Steve Ditko is now drawing Captain Atom’s adventures, and, let me tell you, they are as good as the stories Ditko is drawing at Marvel. Ditko’s Captain Atom is dynamic, fun and gorgeously illustrated. You’ll get bragging rights among your friends for recommending these comics to them.

I wish I could recommend Archie Comics’ line of superheroes to you, but they are painful to read. For many years now Archie has been publishing The Fly, but now the character has been renamed Fly Man in his own series (maybe to confuse Spider-Man fans?) and is also part of a new super-team called The Mighty Crusaders. That new team comic might be the worst comic of 1966, even worse than Wonder Woman.

The Archie heroes are written and drawn in a painful pastiche of the Marvel style, with “hip” dialogue and “fun” captions that read like a grandfather desperately trying to connect with his goatee-wearing grandkids. These comics aren’t just groan-inducing, they’re downright painful. Ignore them.

On a happier note, new publisher Tower Comics has been a very pleasant surprise. Their flagship title is THUNDER Agents, a fun mix of super-heroes and spy agencies that sets super-heroes No-Man, Dynamo, Menthor and Lightning against the evil Warlord.

So far, each issue has been double-sized, which means it’s packed with great and dynamic stories. Best of all, it includes illustrations from some of my beloved masters of comic book art, including Wally Wood, Reed Crandall,  Gil Kane, George Tuska, Mike Sekowsky and others. These have been terrific comics, well worth seeking out. According to the fanzines, Tower has been doing well and should be available most everywhere, but if not, remind your local newsstand owner that he should make higher profits at 25¢ retail per issue.

Superheroes continue at American Comics Group as well. ACG comics always seem to range from “ok” to “weird as can be.” In the former category are Nemesis in Adventures into the Unknown and Magicman in Forbidden Worlds. Both those series read like mediocre Marvel or National comics, which is just fine.

But if you’re not picking up an occasional issue of Herbie, you’re missing one of the strangest, most inexplicable comics on the stands today. Just look at that cover above if you don’t believe me. I don’t even want to try to describe this unprecedented series to you because it’s just so surreal and delightful. I laugh more at this comic than I ever will at a year's worth of Archie hero comics. I promise you that Herbie and his lollipop will burrow into your brain.

The most unexpected premier of the last year has been the appearance of Captain Marvel on the newsstands, but it's not the Captain Marvel you'd think of. Newcomer publisher M.F. Publications has launched the adventures of a completely new Captain Marvel. Instead of shouting "Shazam", this Cap screams "split" and splits off his hands, legs and head so he can fight multiple criminals at the same time. Yes, it's all as odd as it sounds, made even odder by the fact that apparently the series is written and drawn by Carl Burgos, the man who created the original Human Torch back in the early 1940s!

The last stop in our journey through comics in 1966 takes us to the magazine rack. On the cheaper area of some racks we might find magazine-sized comics from M.F., including their wretched seridss Weird.  The less said about the terrible stories and art in Weird the better. Thankfully next to Weird,where we will find Warren Magazines. You might remember Warren from my article about the late, lamented Help! Magazine, which sadly recently saw its final issue on the newsstand. Thankfully publisher James Warren has filled that gap with two great horror comics and an even better war comic.

Warren started publishing horror anthology Creepy in late 1964, and that mag has built a deserved reputation as one of the finest horror comics ever published, a worthy successor to the classic EC Comics. In fact, that comparison is appropriate because Creepy and its new sister title Eerie have published great horror tales drawn by the likes of Al Williamson, John Severin, Reed Crandall and Johnny Craig – EC legends all. Even more thrilling, those brilliant artists have been joined by modern counterparts like Gene Colan, the astonishing Alex Toth and, yes, the brilliant Steve Ditko. I told you Ditko gets around! With brilliant writing by the always adept Archie Goodwin, these comics are a tremendous treat.

I’m also a huge fan of Warren’s war comic Blazing Combat. Also written by Goodwin, the three issues thus far include brilliant artwork accompanying piercing and terrifying war tales that tell the gritty truth of war as it really is. They are the second best war comics ever published, behind only the truly great war comics written and edited by Harvey Kurtzman at EC. I’m sure BC doesn’t sell well, so I beg all comics readers to pick up this magazine while they still can. It costs three times as much as a standard comic, at 35¢ per issue, so I understand peoples' reluctance at picking up issues of this amazing series.

Whew! You can see why I say comics may never have been better than they are today. Truly, any trip to the comics rack will bring you some delightful treasures no matter what sorts of comics you like.

One final note: here in my native Brooklyn, there seemed to be some strange event over Mt. Sinai Hospital today. We saw some storks on the roof of the hospital. Anybody with any information on the events at the hospital that day, please contact this magazine.

The Journey is once again up for a Best Fanzine Hugo nomination — and its founder is up for several other awards as well! If you've got a Worldcon membership, or if you just want to see what Gideon's done that's Hugo-worthy, please read his Hugo Eligibility article! Thank you for your continued support.




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Comics

[October 22, 1964] Introducing a "New Look" for Batman

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[Don't miss your chance to get your copy of Rediscovery: Science Fiction by Women (1958-1963), some of the best science fiction of the Silver Age. If you like the Journey, you'll love this book (and you'll be helping us out, too!) ]


by Jason Sacks

I have some good news for those of you who haven’t been paying close attention to comic books: Batman comics are finally readable!

That’s a major change from the puerile adventures which editor Jack Schiff has been presenting in the pages of Batman and Detective Comics. For all too many years, Schiff and his team of seemingly subpar creators have delivered a never-ending stream of absurdly juvenile tales of the Caped Crusader and his steadfast sidekick. He gave us ridiculous and dumb tales in which Batman gallivanted in outer space, Robin was romantically pursued by the pre-teen Bat-Girl, and the absurdly awful Bat-Mite showed up at random times to add chaos to Batman's life. Even adventures which featured classic Batman villains (such as last fall’s Batman #159, “the Great Clayface-Joker Feud,”) fell far short of even the most basic standards of quality. Great they were not.

Though rather surreal, this page from "The Joker-Clayface feud" is ridiculously juvenile.

Those stories weren’t just bad. They were embarrassing to see on the newsstand next to better titles from National. Heck, most months even Archie’s idiotic Adventures of the Fly and The Jaguar were better than Schiff's schlock.

Apparently, National Comics agreed with my assessment. And though the ignominious run concluded with perhaps the worst Batman story of the 1960s so far (Detective Comics #326, “Captives of the Alien Zoo”), readers haunting newsstands in March 1964  discovered a brand new look for the Caped Crusader.

In fact, the cover of the very comic professed its newness.

The cover of Detective Comics #327 was a clear statement of freshness. In classy lettering focused behind beneath a slick new logo (logo and caption chosen deliberately, no doubt, to make a clear declaration that the past was prologue), the cover announced Introducing a “New Look” BATMAN and ROBIN in “Mystery of the Menacing Mask. Below those fateful words was a three-panel sequence which ends with Robin demanding, “Batman – your mask – quick! Take it off!” Below that triptych was yet another vignette professing to newness as readers are introduced to a new back-up strip starring popular Flash supporting character The Elongated Man.

Everything about this cover – from its logo to the new character introduced – screams that this is a new era in Batman comics.

In one bright, bold statement, readers were informed that Batman had left the alien zoo behind, hopefully forever.

And in fact, the connection to Flash was right on target: the new team included Flash editor Julius Schwartz, artist Carmine Infantino and (as revealed on the letters page) writer John Broome. It should be no surprise I love this new run since Flash is consistently my favorite title from National Comics. And though Broome and Infantino have only delivered three of the twelve "new look" stories thus far in both Detective and Batman, each subsequent issue has delivered a stepped-up level of thrills and excitement — as well as (as promised) a new look for Batman.

First and foremost, the artwork has improved. Infantino is perhaps the finest cartoonist working at National today, and every panel in his Batman and the new backup Elongated Man stories show why that is so. And though stories in Batman are still drawn under the "Bob Kane" pen-name, they seem to have taken a step up as the artists seem more inspired by their work.

Maybe the most obvious change illuminated by the artwork is with Batman's chest emblem. Where once the artists would lazily draw a bat on the hero's chest, now they draw it safely ensconced inside a yellow circle which seems to draw attention to the freshness of the new character.

Another major change is perhaps the most shocking. Just one month after the New Look debut, the April-released issue of Detective revealed the death of Batman and Robin's long-time butler Alfred! Yes, Alfred, the faithful friend and companion whose whole life seemed devoted to helping his Master Bruce and Master Dick, was brutally slain when saving the lives of our heroes at the hands of the Tri-State Gang. And what's more, there's no sign thus far that the faithful servant will return. He will remain an outsider to this major change.

Alfred is dead — and it seems he will stay dead.

Bruce Wayne created a charity called the Alfred Foundation to memorialize his friend; hopefully that Foundation will also act as a springboard for new storylines as this run proceeds. In place of Alfred, Bruce's Aunt Harriet has moved into stately Wayne Manor to take care of the boys. We will see if she starts to take on a Lois Lane approach to her charges and begins to suspect their second lives.

Maybe a fateful phone call will kick off that suspicion. The Gotham City Police installed a hotline at Wayne Manor, another change which will bring our hero closer to the action. If a hotline works for Presidents Johnson and Khrushchev, it should work for Commissioner Gordon and Batman.

As Batman becomes more connected to Gotham City, he also becomes more connected to his roots as a detective rather than space explorer or battler of corny villains. July's Detective featured a tale called "Mystery of the Mixed-Up Men," pairing Elongated Man with Batman and Robin for a delightful tale of changed faces, confused identity and strange jewel thieves. Similarly, September's Batman #167 is a tale seemingly inspired by James Bond involving Interpol agents, a world-spanning plot, and a core mystery which kept me guessing as to its resolution.

With all these changes, it should be no surprise my fellow fans are over the moon. I just received a fanzine by someone with the improbable name Biljo White called Batmania which enthusiastically endorses the new editorial direction Mr. Schwartz has introduced. Look below for the thrilling cover to his first issue.

Biljo White's Batmania celebrates the New Look Batman!

As well, according to the letters pages (another long-overdue change Schwartz introduced to these comics) fan response has been over the moon on these changes.

As for me, I am also ecstatic about these changes. Finally National has turned around their most moribund character and given him new life. It's as if the New York Mets somehow won the World Series by the end of the decade!

[Come join us at Portal 55, Galactic Journey's real-time lounge! Talk about your favorite SFF, chat with the Traveler and co., relax, sit a spell…]




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Comics

[March 7, 1964] Look both ways (Marvel and National Comics round-up)

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[While you're reading this article, why not tune in to KGJ, Radio Galactic Journey, playing all the current hits: pop, rock, soul, folk, jazz, country — it's the tops, pops…]


by Gideon Marcus

Overcoming prejudice

Once, I was a snob.

For the most part, I was raised on a steady diet of L. Frank Baum, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and H.P. Lovecraft.  I devoured the complete canons of each.  I also enjoyed the superhero comics of the war years — who doesn't like watching Captain America slug Nazis?  But after the war, I was getting tired of the pulps, and comics were getting tired.  I wanted something new.

Then, 'round 1950, I discovered science fiction digests — grown-up mags like Galaxy and Fantasy and Science Fiction — and my snobbish attitude was firmly established.  It didn't help that comics had entered a real slump by the 1950s, with National Comics (DC to the hep kids) in a rut and Atlas running Westerns and half-bit anthologies.  With the demise of the American News Company, Atlas went the way of the dodo, along with most of the inferior digests.  Survival of the fittest, right?

So I certainly didn't expect that I would find myself getting into those very same comics I'd once turned my nose at.  I first took notice when Marvel Comics arose from the ashes of Atlas Comics and started publication of The Fantastic Four.  Not only did this mag showcase the talents of Jack Kirby, the fellow who invented Captain America, but it featured a more realistic team dynamic than I'd ever seen before.  Why, these folks hardly even liked each other sometimes.  I appreciated the dilemma of The Thing, a hideous rock monster who nevertheless wasn't keen on returning to his human form, lest he give up his evil-clobbering powers.

Then came The Amazing Spiderman and The X-Men, and I was hooked.  I sang Marvel's virtues and scoffed at the kiddie fare that DC was peddling.  Around that time, I picked up an adversary, a Mr. Jason Sacks who delighted in telling me how wrong-headed my tastes were.

Late last year, Jason and I decided, unlike Tareyton smokers, that we'd rather switch than fight.  You see, Jason had discovered the charm of the new line-up of Marvel superheroes, and I was taken with D.C.'s new X-men-like group, the Doom Patrol.  Instead of picking a side, why not enjoy the virtues of both?

State of the Union

Here in March 1964 (May on the comics I buy at the news stand), Marvel's line-up has fully flowered.  The newest member of the superhero pantheon is Matt Murdock, a blind attorney whose other senses have compensated to such a degree (sounds inspired by Galouye's Dark Universe doesn't it?) that he is able to fight crime as The Daredevil!  The debut issue of this hero, written by Stan Lee and drawn by Bill Everett, was a hoot, and I look forward to the next.

Sidebar: I'm impressed that both comics houses are exploring the idea of handicapped heroes: Daredevil is blind, Professor X and The Chief (leaders of the X-Men and the Doom Patrol) both use wheelchairs, Thor's human form requires a cane, The Thing, Doom Patrol's Automaton and Negative Man and X-Men's Angel all have obvious physical peculiarities that make them stand out.  This makes for more mature storylines, and those of us with some kind of disability find a measure of comfort in having these folks with whom to identify.

Spiderman, a Stan Lee/Steve Ditko effort, continues to entertain.  This month's issue, #8, features the return of Dr. Octopus and spotlights the problem of recidivism amongst supervillains.

Both Fantastic Four (Lee/Kirby) and Spiderman demonstrate Marvel's increasing reliance on multi-book story arcs.  It's funny to think that two stories per issue used to be the norm — now it might take several issues to wrap up a plotline.  Speaking of Fantastic Four, in issue #24, the Thing goes toe to toe with the Hulk in a match-up every bit as exciting as the recent Heavyweight Championship between Cassius Clay and Sonny Liston. 

Avengers (Lee/Kirby) is a bi-monthly, like X-Men; in the last issue (#4), Captain America was thawed from the ice in which he's been frozen since World War 2.  I can't tell you how excited I am to have Cap back, and I urge you to check it out.

As for the "anthologies," these are increasingly becoming character books, and I have to wonder if they will just get renamed for the hero that stars in them.  For instance, Strange Tales has become the home of the mysterious Dr. Strange, although this issue also features a popular rivalry/team-up: the flaming Torch and the frozen Turd…er… Ice Man!

Journey into Mystery #103 is Thor's mag.

Tales of Suspense #52 stars Iron Man fighting the Black Widow, and an immortal alien called The Watcher.

I'm always happy to see the Wasp, and she got an outing with her beaux, Giant Man, in Tales to Astonish #54. 

And then there is the host of girls comics featuring the latest in fashion:

Let's not forget the western titles, which I don't bother with, but which still linger on.

For the WW2 buffs who don't get enough from DC's Sgt. Rock, this month's Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos is a riveting courtmartial drama.

Finally, I want to give recognition to the fellows who most often go unsung, the Letterers: Sol Rosen and Art Simek.  Without them, comics would be just a bunch of pictures.

Oh, and what do we have here?  Mr. Sacks is invoking the Fairness Doctrine and wants to tell us all about the state of National Comics.  Well, why not?

Better Read than Dead


by Jason Sacks

The big comic news for me in ‘64 is that the Doom Patrol have finally emerged into their own title. Moving out from an anthology slot in My Greatest Adventure, these oddball adventurers continue to delight. Thankfully National has identified the artist on this sterling series as Bruno Premiani, and the Italian master delivers fascinating tales of “The world’s strangest heroes.” For a change such a blurb is accurate, as the weird Negative Man, charmingly acerbic Robotman and enchanting Elasti-Girl continue working for the mysterious chief.  It’s similar to Marvel’s much duller X-Men — though the similarities are apparently an accident of timing, if you believe the fanzines — but more insightful and stranger.

Recently, Hawkman debuted his own solo comic after a series of showcase appearances in  Mystery In Space. National editor Julius Schwartz’s latest resurrection of a long-forgotten Golden Age character, the new Hawkman is an alien from the delightfully named Thanagar, working on Earth as a museum manager and in the stars as a great space policeman. The art, most likely by Murphy Anderson, is all National Comics smoothness and ease, making the winged wonder’s adventures a thorough delight.

With Hawkman moving out from Mystery in Space, that anthology series is now devoted to full-length tales featuring the hero of Rann, Adam Strange. With sleek, moderne art by Carmine Infantino, well known for his fabulous Flash, this thrilling series mixes astounding adventure with a smart space romance for a surprisingly heady mix that even adults can enjoy.

It’s not all greatness for National in ‘64, though. Editor Mort Weisinger continues his stultifyingly stale children’s stories in the Superman titles, while Metal Men is seldom as clever as it wants to be and Wonder Woman is so dull even my kid sister won’t pick it up. Worst of all are Batman and Detective Comics. A recent issue of Detective, issue #326, shows the nadir of this abysmal series with the pathetically stupid “Captives of the Alien Zoo,” a story so dumb and so contrived that it should result in the immediate firing of everyone responsible for its creation. Compared to that, even Archie Comics’ idiotic Adventures of The Fly seems like the work of a genius.

Overall DC is following some of the same trends Marvel has embraced recently. For one thing, a reader has to wonder if anthology series are on their way out. My Greatest Adventure disappeared while others, like Mystery in Space and House of Secrets (with the intriguing Eclipso), are going full action hero. In other ways National blazes their own trail. That company continues to have a wider diversity of titles than Marvel – hardly a surprise with the larger set of titles they deliver each month. Humor and romance still have their place with the likes of Jerry Lewis, Bob Hope, Girls’ Love Stories and Secret Hearts. As usual with National all their titles demonstrate that traditional sheen of professionalism Marvel often lacks. Will kids go for smoothness over unpredictability in ‘64? Only time will tell.

[And that's our comics round-up for San Diego Comic Fest!  If I met any of you folk this weekend, please drop me a line.  I'd love to hear from you.]




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