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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2015 13:15:37 GMT -5
I am getting ready to write the review of Batman #293 and I am wondering if there's a common slang term among Superman fans for Lex Luthor's 1970s look: This is Lex Luthor to me. I'm not as big a Superman fan as I am a fan of Batman or Hulk or Spider-Man, but I like the character. I just haven't read hundreds and hundreds of Superman stories. So I haven't really read that many 1970s Lex Luthor stories. But I love every 1970s Lex Luthor story I've ever read. So I know I've heard slang terms for other versions of Lex. 1960s Lex is sometimes called "prison duds Lex Luthor" because he would escape from prison and wouldn't take time to change clothes before attacking Superman again. (I find this hilarious.) In the late Bronze Age, Lex kept the purple and green color scheme but started wearing an elaborate battle-suit, so I think I've heard him called "battle-suit Lex Luthor." And of course, he was "businessman Lex Luthor" post-Crisis. (BORING! I thought "businessman Lex Luthor" got real old real fast, yet the Superman writers thought it was such an innovative concept. As if you can't read the newspaper - any issue of any newspaper - and read about corrupt, egotistical, untouchable businessmen. It wouldn't have been so bad if they hadn't used him so often for such a long time.) So does anybody know of a slang term for 1970s Lex? I call him "purple and green Lex Luthor."  I like the way he modified the purple and green suit so he would look nice traveling to Gotham City to appear before the villains court. I call him "Pimp Lex Luthor." 1970s Lex Luthor is HILARIOUS! To me that look of Luthor is my favorite Look of all-time ... Perfect Costume! |
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Post by Arthur Gordon Scratch on Dec 31, 2015 13:37:54 GMT -5
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Post by Hoosier X on Dec 31, 2015 20:17:38 GMT -5
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Post by chadwilliam on Dec 31, 2015 21:03:39 GMT -5
Though he isn't well remembered, John Calnan's artwork during this storyline offered a few moments that have remained with me since I first read this tale:
I agree about the unsettling nature behind Jerry Randall's demise. You can tell that he instantly regretted wanting to take over for Batman as he begins pleading with the Joker the moment he sees him. In his mind, he was going to be the guy to avenge Batman once he died - here you almost get the sense that he realizes that come morning, Batman's going to be avenging his. |
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Post by Hoosier X on Dec 31, 2015 21:11:17 GMT -5
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Post by JKCarrier on Dec 31, 2015 23:32:43 GMT -5
I was reading Batman off-and-on during the '70s, but never saw this "Trial" storyline. It sounds absolutely crackers, I need to track it down. Thanks for the recap!
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Post by foxley on Dec 31, 2015 23:43:17 GMT -5
I was reading Batman off-and-on during the '70s, but never saw this "Trial" storyline. It sounds absolutely crackers, I need to track it down. Thanks for the recap! It was reprinted in the Batman: The Strange Deaths of Batman trade paperback. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2016 16:23:56 GMT -5
It was reprinted in the Batman: The Strange Deaths of Batman trade paperback. This book is only $10.99 on instocktrades.com |
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Post by Hoosier X on Jan 5, 2016 0:47:05 GMT -5
I don't think I would nominate this for "Best Penguin Story" but I read it recently in Showcase Presents: Batman, Volume Three, and it's very entertaining and completely bonkers.  The Penguin decides that the only way to succeed as a criminal is to anticipate what crime will be like in the future! So he devises a bunch of special futuristic umbrellas for his next series of crimes. And he also makes his henchmen eat concentrated food pills instead of actual food. For one of the crimes, he uses "robber robotrellas," special umbrellas that fly to the scene of the crime, break in with laser beams that cut holes in the glass windows, use robot arms to pick up the jewels, and look through an eye-piece to select the best jewels! (Actually, "robber robotrella" sounds like Scooby Doo trying to say "We saw Barbarella.") They really go overboard (which is a good thing in Silver Age Batman) with the -rella suffix. Batman and Robin try to thwart one of the crimebrella incidents and they are attacked by a swarm of umbrellas with dangerous items attached to the front, like the swordbrella and the buzzsaw-rella, but Batman and Robin manage to fend off the attack by using the Batmobiles's hubcaps as shields. But the Penguin's netbrellas swoop down and the Dynamic Duo are ensnared and taken to the Penguin's hideout! But they get out of the net and defeat the Penguin ... but it's a robot! Fortunately Alfred had come along hiding in the Batmobile so when the real Penguin retrieved his loot from the crime scene, Alfred hit him with ... his umbrella! And that was it for the Bumbershoot Bandit. The irony, the irony! The best thing about this story is the wonderfully awkward Sheldon Moldoff art. In the action sequences, all the figures look like broken marionettes. I was lucky enough to see Sheldon Moldoff on a Batman panel at Comic-Con in 2009 (I think) along with Jerry Robinson and Lew Sayre Schwartz. That was awesome! Sheldon Moldoff was hilarious! He called Bob Kane "the most miserable son of a bitch I ever met in my life." |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2016 1:24:14 GMT -5
Hoosier X, gorgeous Carmine Infantino Penguin cover!  |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2016 2:26:37 GMT -5
The 60's Batman cast reunites....my favorite quote from Julie Newmar is this...
"You want to live a long life, have fun, don't stay in fear & don't let anyone scare you & that includes politics".
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Post by Hoosier X on Jan 6, 2016 11:32:01 GMT -5
I just ordered low- to mid-grade copies of these two comics:  Batman #284  Batman #285 Every so often, I'm reminded of something from my childhood that I was curious about but was never able to indulge myself. (I'm sure most of us know this feeling.) A few months ago, I saw that The Empire of the Ants was showing on one of the nostalgia movie channels, and I remembered seeing the trailer for it back in the 1970s. I also remembered how much I wanted to see it! But I couldn't persuade my parents that it really was a must-see movie, so we didn't go. (But don't fret about my deprived childhood. My mother enjoys cheesy genre movies, and I remember seeing things like Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster, Grizzly and Infra-Man on a fairly regular basis.) So I was very happy to watch Empire of the Ants late one night. (It's pretty bad even for an evil insect movie, but that's hardly relevant.) Reading these late 1970s Batmans has reminded me of another item I was very curious back then - Dr. Tzin-Tzin tried to steal Gotham Stadium! I've never read the two-part story but it's mentioned in the letter pages in several issues. And several correspondents are rather critical of the idea, especially since no motive is ever given. Why does Dr. Tzin-Tzin want to steal a stadium? The editors even promoted a contest for the fans to send in reasons why Dr. Tzin-Tzin would try to steal Gotham Stadium. One of the letter pages during the "Where Were You On The Night Batman Was Killed?" storyline devotes most of a column to reader responses, almost a year after the Dr. Tzin-Tzin story. (I saw that when I was reviewing those issues, and that's what reminded me of my mild interest in the story.) I was very curious about this incident but it sounded kind of stupid so I never pursued it and never looked for the back issues. I had never heard of Dr. Tzin-Tzin and, in fact, it's only been three or four years ago that I read a comic book with Dr. Tzin-Tzin in it. (As a matter of fact, I wrote about Dr. Tzin Tzin on my blog way back when.) But after I was reminded of the story, I searched on the Internet and found some reasonably priced copies and decided to indulge another of my long-ago curiosities. It's written by David V. Reed and it's a chance to see one of the rare encounters between Batman and his own personal Fu Manchu. What could possibly go wrong? (Think about it! Even Superman doesn't have his own personal Fu Manchu!) |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Jan 6, 2016 12:24:00 GMT -5
That Penguin cover is amazing!
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Post by foxley on Jan 6, 2016 16:00:41 GMT -5
I just ordered low- to mid-grade copies of these two comics: Batman #284 Batman #285 Every so often, I'm reminded of something from my childhood that I was curious about but was never able to indulge myself. (I'm sure most of us know this feeling.) A few months ago, I saw that The Empire of the Ants was showing on one of the nostalgia movie channels, and I remembered seeing the trailer for it back in the 1970s. I also remembered how much I wanted to see it! But I couldn't persuade my parents that it really was a must-see movie, so we didn't go. (But don't fret about my deprived childhood. My mother enjoys cheesy genre movies, and I remember seeing things like Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster, Grizzly and Infra-Man on a fairly regular basis.) So I was very happy to watch Empire of the Ants late one night. (It's pretty bad even for an evil insect movie, but that's hardly relevant.) Reading these late 1970s Batmans has reminded me of another item I was very curious back then - Dr. Tzin-Tzin tried to steal Gotham Stadium! I've never read the two-part story but it's mentioned in the letter pages in several issues. And several correspondents are rather critical of the idea, especially since no motive is ever given. Why does Dr. Tzin-Tzin want to steal a stadium? The editors even promoted a contest for the fans to send in reasons why Dr. Tzin-Tzin would try to steal Gotham Stadium. One of the letter pages during the "Where Were You On The Night Batman Was Killed?" storyline devotes most of a column to reader responses, almost a year after the Dr. Tzin-Tzin story. (I saw that when I was reviewing those issues, and that's what reminded me of my mild interest in the story.) I was very curious about this incident but it sounded kind of stupid so I never pursued it and never looked for the back issues. I had never heard of Dr. Tzin-Tzin and, in fact, it's only been three or four years ago that I read a comic book with Dr. Tzin-Tzin in it. (As a matter of fact, I wrote about Dr. Tzin Tzin on my blog way back when.) But after I was reminded of the story, I searched on the Internet and found some reasonably priced copies and decided to indulge another of my long-ago curiosities. It's written by David V. Reed and it's a chance to see one of the rare encounters between Batman and his own personal Fu Manchu. What could possibly go wrong? (Think about it! Even Superman doesn't have his own personal Fu Manchu!) From memory, neither of these is particularly good. Reed had some kind weird obsession with Dr Tzin-Tzin and seem to think he should be a major member of Batman's rogues gallery. (Possibly even the premier member as Reed as one story where Batman visits Tzin-Tzin in prison to gain insight into the foe he is currently fighting, seemingly regarding him as the foremost evil genius he knows). I'm sure the only reason Tzin-Tzin was not in WWYONTNBWK was because he had established that Tzin-Tzin was still in prison a few issues earlier. And Batman has a personal Fu-Manchu.He's called Ra's al-Ghul! (Although, to be fair, Tzin-Tzin actually predates Ra's.) |
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Post by Hoosier X on Jan 6, 2016 16:15:17 GMT -5
Batman has TWO personal Fu Manchus!
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