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Post by Ish Kabbible on Dec 30, 2015 19:53:43 GMT -5
During one of the periodic panics about teens (and others) sharing pictures on the internet and predators being able to track them down, I was re-reading some Archies and thought how odd it was that no one thought twice about printing full names, ages, and home addresses in the Archie Club News. Exactly. It really was a different time. Marvel ran home addresses, too, IIRC, in the early years. That is correct. And if you got your letter published you would soon find fanzines mailed to your house unexpectedly. I wound up getting a Rocket's Blast Comic Collector zine plus catalogues from dealers as well |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Jan 3, 2016 1:19:10 GMT -5
Atom #5 Fox/Kane/Sekowsky 'Diamond of Deadly Dooms'  Wow...this is a stunning weird and zany one! Ray's academic nemesis, Ted Ralston, has made a great discovery! He calls Ray over to see it, and ends up getting turned into Diamond by a HUGE diamond he brought back from somewhere. The Atom springs into action, shrinking down to sub-atomic size to see what's up. He finds the remnants of the city of Atlantis in a sub-atomic world call Utolia. Apparently, they shrunk themselves into the diamond to avoid the disaster that destroyed their island, and found their sub-atomic paradise. For some reason there's magic radiation there that makes them live forever, as long as they were funny hats. Anyway, one of the Atlanteans wants to take over our world, and shot the beam. Ray subdues him, but them there's an earthquake.. .while he was getting the backstory, jewel thieves stole the diamond, and were at a jewelers splitting it. The Atom pops out of the diamond and stops the thieves, only to get snapped up by an Eagle outside. While he's escaping that predicament, the bad Atlanteans gets his helmet back (which is how Ray subdued him before) and tests the newly powered up Diamond Ray. Luckily, the Atom was able to sacrifice the Eagle to not get blasted, and saves the day inside the diamond... again. For some reason, he trusts them to not screw up again, and the diamond goes in a display case at the museum. The End! So, yeah.. really fun story, with lots of cool Atom-y stuff, but Mr. Fox must have been on some good stuff writing it. So many logic holes.. starting with the fact that the Atlanteans aren't actually in the ocean, like they're supposed to be. Oops. Then there's the fact that the Atom stays tiny compared to the Atlanteans for no particular reason the whole time he's there. Things get really weird with the jewel thieves. So they go STRAIGHT to a jeweler to break up this huge diamond. The jeweler is more than happy to do so, apparently. Oh, and the jeweler has no phone or electricity in his store, which is why The Atom had to go outside and get swooped up by an Eagle. Apparently, making himself full size and walking out the door was too boring, so he floats out a window as the Atom holding the diamond instead. Then there's the stunt where he hides behind a grindstone, which then somehow starts turning at full speed when a bullet riccochets off it to send him in just the right direction. Oh, did I mention he took a pit stop at the Atlantean sub-atomic zoo to see the sea monsters and flying monkeys? I'm sure there was more, but I'm feeling a little dazed after that  Also of note... I recall Dr. Ralston being portrays as a mentor type in the 'Power of the Atom'.. here, he's a jealous co-worker... and comic Vine says those are his only two appearances, other than in the Secret Origin... so I guess there was some sort of post-crisis retcon there. Anyone have//remember Secret Origins #37? I'm curious... Anyway, on to the backup! 'The Spectre of 3000-moons Lake!' Now for something completely different! A mystery Scooby Doo would love to solve.. a ghost of an Indian from 3000 moons ago! Of course, it's really a jewel thief... and he would have gotten away with it to, if it wasn't for that pesky minature man! Cool bad guy trap.. he dowses the Atom in glue, then Iron Filings, and sticks him on a magnet. Too bad he then tossed him in the lake, totally messing it up. Good try, though. |
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Post by Reptisaurus! on Jan 3, 2016 17:47:00 GMT -5
Heh heh heh. I freakin' love that comic. Good review!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2016 11:10:55 GMT -5
Heh heh heh. I freakin' love that comic. Good review! Me too!  |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Jan 5, 2016 13:35:43 GMT -5
Atom #6 Fox/Kane  'Riddle of the Two-Faced Astronaut!' In the main feature, we have Ray and Jean watching a performance of Ray's good friend, Wizardo the great. Yup. Wizardo the Magician. I can't believe he never showed up in the Giffen Justice League.. it's just too easy! Anyway, Wizardo sends an astronaut 'around the world' during his act... putting him in a giant globe, and disappearing him, to re-appear 10 minutes later. Only this time the astronaut pulled a bank job while he was gone! The astronaut denies everything, and Ray volunteers Jean as a defense attorney, than springs into action as the Atom. This was pretty much a straight detective story... the Atom-y part was totally gratitutous. Good story, just more like a Martian Manhunter one than the Atom. Also of note, Chief Baxter (who appeared a few issues ago) appears again... not sure he'll be recurring, but it's nice to see a bit of consistency. Time Pool: 'The Highwayman and the Mighty Mite' I liked this one alot better than the first... Atom goes back to 18th Century England and battles Dick 'Black Bess' Turpin... a minor British folk character (not sure if he's supposed to be a hero or villain, honestly). Not nearly as amusing as the last issue overall... but not terrible either. |
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Post by Cei-U! on Jan 5, 2016 14:36:09 GMT -5
The first story's title is “The Riddle Of The Two-Faced Astronaut!” And Black Bess is Turpin's horse, not his nom du crime. If our resident Brits don't mind me jumping in, Turpin was kinda their Jesse James or John Dillinger, a criminal and murderer who was romanticized after his death into a cultural icon.
Cei-U!
I summon my Atom notes!
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Post by wildfire2099 on Jan 5, 2016 16:31:13 GMT -5
Really? I didn't get that at all (nor from wikipedia)...go figure. Maybe I just didn't pay enough attention. That's kinda funny. I'd heard the name before, but that's it. I'd love to hear from some of said Brits to see if he's a big deal or not I usually post right after reading the issue, but it was a bit late last night... I think I'll stick with that in the future though... it's not as coherent later! |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Jan 8, 2016 23:32:08 GMT -5
Since he turns up now and again in the DCU, I thought I'd throw this in here... the first time I'm actually reading an actual Silver age comic, instead of a Showcase or something!  I decided to go with a different cover than #2... since that one has (IIRC) won the cover contest twice . Bat Lash #2 Bat is one step ahead of a mob escaping the town of Serenity when he finds a dead Marshall.. he loots the corpse, only to find the daughter of said marshall around the corner, who assumes he's her dad. She's apparently either in shock or smart as a whip (she does call him Mr. Bat Lash later). He goes into town to pass her off, and the townspeople assume he's a Marshall, too, and the bad guys go after him. He proceeds to stumble upon some outlaws selling rifles to some evil Indians, and accidently shuts the down, claiming the proceeds(see what I did there?) for himself and saving the little girl. I bit of a tear jerker.. Bat is clearly meant to be a gentleman rogue... sorta the James Bond of the west. I'm not sure I get the thing with the flowers though. Anyway, decent story and AMAZING art... I like what I've seen of Cardy Titans stuff, but this is on another level of awesome... very impressed. Bat Lash #4 Bat gets saved by the wives of a bunch of Mexican outlaws he's vexed, since they all like him. He ends up with another kid sidekick (a boy this time) and has to steal something from the bad guys fort. The kid ends up dying, but Bat gets the job done in his honor instead of running away. One again fabulous art, but two straight little kid stories was a bit much... I hope #3 isn't the same! Bat Lash #5 By far the best of the bunch... Bat is stranded in Mexico with no money to get home, so he tried to hold up a wealthy rancher.. only to find someone ELSE held him up just a few minutes before! Bat chases the crook, and finds him near dead, with no money, so he saves him. He turns out to be the dreaded outlaw (and future comic book writer) Sergio Aragones! Later in the evening, Bat gets bit by a snake, and Aragones saves him by sucking out the poison. The two declare themselves brothers, then spent the rest of the issue trying to double and triple cross each other for the stolen money, the rewards both have on their heads, and a girl that is playing them off each other. Fantastically funny and convoluted story with the same great art. There were a unique treat to read, and I'll definitely be trying to find the other 4 of the series when I can! |
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Jan 8, 2016 23:41:45 GMT -5
The thing with the flowers-when published, Hippies AKA The Flower Children culture was in full bloom. Bat Lash reflected that type of sensibility even though it took place in the old west
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Post by wildfire2099 on Jan 8, 2016 23:59:31 GMT -5
Ahh... I was kinda thinking that, but then he's not very hippie-like. He says he's not a fighter, but fights (and extremely well) in every story. He is certainly into free love, though... he certains kisses his share of damsels in the 3 issues.
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Post by Reptisaurus! on Jan 20, 2016 13:15:52 GMT -5
Rewinding a bit back to the JLA....  Plot: Kanjar Ro comes to Earth and sabotages their signal ers to get the all to head to JLA HQ. He uses the Golden Gamma Gong to freeze them, then extends the effect to all of Earth... and only the voices of his 3 enemy dictators can release it. Leaving Batman behind as bait to trap Superman (who is in outerspace again), the other 5 are forced to row galley-slave style into space. They do the usual teams of 2 thing, and capture Ro's enemies. He's about to double cross them when the JLA reveal that they got the voices themselves, so they no longer have to be nice. After going home to free Earth, the leave Kanjar Ro on an asteroid with the 3 others so they can learn to get along. The End! Analysis: Pretty fun story.. it was nice to see the JLA not look like idiots for a change. Really sloppy art, though... the figure work is bad (most of the JLAs have huge backsides for some reason), and several panels have just the vague outline of a background. Still, I was entertained Story: B+ Art: D- Signifigance: B+ (1st Kanjar Ro) -- So this time J'onn actually does alchemy on the fly with his hands... is there anything silver age Martian Manhunter CAN'T do, if there's no fire around? -- I thought it was pretty funny that the JLA'ers were happy to sit and watch as the people they captured did the rowing... they're supposed to be bad guys, too, but still. -- Was Superman in space alot in the 60s, or did they just not want to bother making up multiple excuses for why he's not there? -- I think it's interesting they have a montage every issue of the JLA assembling... that'll not last, I'm sure, but between that and the 'split up into little teams to fight 3 threats' thing, there's really very much a formula here. Re-reading the early JLA stories via DC Archives from the library. I think they have vol. 1, 2, 5 & 6. I really wanted to talk about #2, but I couldn't make the link work. I think you're being a little hard on the art. Here is a list of things that Sekowsky is good at drawing: 1) Women 2) Aliens - Seriously, Kanjar Ro is a GREAT Design. Here is a list of things that Sekowsky is bad at drawing 1) Dudes 2) Backgrounds Other general thoughts on the first 10-or-so issues: There's a real almost hard Sci-Fi sense of the fictional universe having rules. "Green Lantern's ring doesn't work on Yellow, the Martian Manhunter can be defeated by fire" and so on. I can see that being really comforting to logically minded younger readers, and I wonder how much that had to do with the success of the book. It's a little weird that Superman and Batman are members in the first place, considering they weren't JSA members (I think they appeared in one or two issues) and their editors didn't want them in the JLA. Didn't Green Arrow's strip end about the time he achieved JLA membership? Do I remember that wrong? "I'm really swinging, casting orbs on you like this, Flash!" Oh Snapper. I had forgotten just... how... bad... the dialogue really was. |
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Post by Reptisaurus! on Jan 20, 2016 14:07:34 GMT -5
 Justice League of America #5 Plot: The title here is completely a misnomer... it's really about the League having a meeting to determine whether or not new member Green Arrow is really a traitor! Superman, Batman, and Snapper serve as judges, since they weren't involved. Apparently, a bunch of villains were broken out of prison by Montgomery Moran (also known as the Getaway King, in his one other appearance)... he minaturizes the crooks and they sail out in a matchbox attached to a kids balloon. (Another victim of Scudder's Syndrome.. they guy's a clear genious) He chooses his crooks to match up with the JLA, and calls them out. Wonder Woman calls out the teams as they split into threes to catch them. Not really a team up, though, just each villain trying to defeat the Leaguers in turn, with the other two watching. In both groups, Green Arrow shoots a teleporting arrow (or so they thing) and disappears.. with the crooks! He defends himself by explaining they weren't the real crooks, but robot doubles set to explode on contact, and proves it... good guys win! analysis: This is sort of a proto-Injustice League.. mostly 3rd string villains...Captain Cold i s the only realy signifigant one, unless you count Clock King for his fame on the Batman TV show. I guess Doctor Destiny. Still, the concept is there and waiting. I'm starting to get a sense that the League is more a regular thing, rather than an emergency-only sorta group, which it felt like in the earlier issues... here we have a planned meeting to discuss a previous case. Not the greatest story (pretty by the numbers) but somehow it had some gravitas. Story: B Signifigance: B+ Pretty inauspicious debut for the Injustice Gang, huh? I don't even know who half these guys are. |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Jan 20, 2016 14:31:54 GMT -5
I agree that Kanjar Ro's design is really cool.. I just thought alot of the proportions were weird on the JLA'ers... definitely the men were far worse than the women. Backgrounds are a big thing for me, so that's what sticks out.
Rules are definitely good for kids, both in real life and in stories... it gives them a foundation that we as adults already have... you're probably on to something there.
I think Cei-U or someone will have to tell you about Green Arrow... I did some googling, but I didn't have alot of luck. It looks like he was in Adventure comics until about 1960... which would leave some 'down time'... if he didn't end up elsewhere.
I also fixed the link for #2, so feel free to give that another shot... not sure what happened there.
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Crimebuster
CCF Podcast Guru
Making comics!
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Post by Crimebuster on Jan 20, 2016 17:06:19 GMT -5
Didn't Green Arrow's strip end about the time he achieved JLA membership? Do I remember that wrong? I don't have the dates or issue numbers handy, but if my memory is correct, his strip from Adventure didn't end, it just moved to World's Finest and kept running until 1964. I believe the periods from 1964-1969 and 1998-2001 are the only periods from 1941 to present where Green Arrow didn't have some kind of ongoing feature in one title or another. I might be mistaken. |
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Post by Reptisaurus! on Jan 20, 2016 20:58:39 GMT -5
Huh. Well, good.
I mean poor guy lasted through the '50s and then died right in the middle of the superhero boom, but it was better than having his strip ending the same month that FF # 1 ended or something.
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