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Post by Prince Hal on Sept 1, 2016 12:30:52 GMT -5
"Sorry, Mawster Bruce. I was down in the Batcave, 'polishing the penny.'" Is that what the kids are calling it these days? Either that or "building a wall."
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Post by Hoosier X on Sept 4, 2016 15:15:28 GMT -5
I got a few more low-grade issues of "New Look" era Detective Comics a few days ago. These comics are great! In their way, if you know what I mean. My copy of Detective #328 has a pretty severe spine roll, but it doesn't bother me too much to have a few comics here and there with a bad spine roll, especially if it means I can have a complete copy of Detective #328 for $9. And I also like to think of it as a link to the past, where some kid back in the spring of 1964 had this copy of Detective #328 rolled up in his back pocket as he was biking around town in Poughkeepsie or Parsippany or Spokane or Taos as he tried to get home early enough to do his chores and be done with them before "Gunsmoke" started. The Batman story is dumb but not annoyingly so. Batman and Robin track a thief to a castle in some generic area of England. (Everything in comic-book England is either London or somewhere-other-than-London.) It seems to be a case of mistaken identity, but the castle's owner keeps a stiff upper lip, says nothing about the Batplane landing on his lawn and invites them to stay overnight. The castle then tries to kill the Dynamic Duo with quicksand traps, falling armor and English cuisine. Also, the servants drop all their h's and Batman and Robin have to dodge them to stay alive. Nice Infantino art. And it's not the last time a building will try to kill Batman. And the Dibnys are out west, trying to figure out why a cowboy painted his pony purple. Gorgeous Infantino art on this one. The story's really dumb, even for Mr. and Mrs. Elongated Man on their never-ending Silver Age honeymoon. The best thing about this issue is the letter column! Everybody is commenting on Detective Comics #324 and #325. Some excerpts: "How I hate to see my favorite Justice League hero in combat against dragons, alien monsters, etc. These stories are usually boring ..." "Batman is the most believable character in all of comicdom. He is a crime detective and does not have any of that super-hero type stuff." And there's a letter from a guy who loved the Catman story in Detective Comics #325 and he's pretty sure that Catman will be back soon! Bob Mudrick of Charleroi, Pa., will have to wait until Freedom Fighters #10 (1977) to see Catman again!
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Post by Prince Hal on Sept 4, 2016 16:25:07 GMT -5
I got a few more low-grade issues of "New Look" era Detective Comics a few days ago. These comics are great! In their way, if you know what I mean. Years ago, Howard Thompson wrote the mini-reviews of movies in the Times television listings. When he got to something like Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster or the Bowery Boys in Clipped Wings, he would often write, "Good of this kind." Not sure if it was Thompson, but another handy defense of something that's not exactly high art, but not dreck either: "This is the kind of thing you will like if you like this kind of thing." (Or vice versa.) Keep these reviews coming, Hoozh!
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Post by Hoosier X on Sept 4, 2016 17:12:18 GMT -5
Years ago, Howard Thompson wrote the mini-reviews of movies in the Times television listings. When he got to something like Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster or the Bowery Boys in Clipped Wings, he would often write, "Good of this kind." Not sure if it was Thompson, but another handy defense of something that's not exactly high art, but not dreck either: "This is the kind of thing you will like if you like this kind of thing." (Or vice versa.) Keep these reviews coming, Hoozh! I also got Detective #336 (with an appearance by the Witch, who is an agent of ... the Outsider! Wonderfully awkward art by Sheldon Moldoff), #352 and #367 (the conclusion of the Round Robin Death Threats story, where the killer turns out to be one of the Super Mario brothers). One of the letter columns had a letter from Mike Friedrich and also announced the winner of a letter column design contest ... Cary Bates! I'm hoping to say a few words about each of them in the coming days and weeks.
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Sept 4, 2016 19:10:09 GMT -5
I know I bought and read Detective #328 but none too surprisingly I have no memories of it's story. But at least it's not a Jack Schiff book for if it was Robin would be spouting some unnecessary cover dialogue such as "Look,Batman is falling through a trapdoor and it's all my fault for stepping on a spring". While in the basement awaits the Alien Creature That Looks Like A Boiler
I too, though, liked Catman
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Post by foxley on Sept 4, 2016 19:17:45 GMT -5
To be honest, I think I honestly prefer those Schiff tales, which have their own goofy charm, to the drearily earnest 'New Look' stories where crooks wear suits,ties and hats while breaking in warehouses in the middle of the night, and Batman has a gadget in the Batmobile that can detect the brainwaves of someone with criminal intent. Say what, now?
I found these 'New Look' stories often had great covers decorating decidedly mediocre stories.
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Post by Hoosier X on Sept 4, 2016 19:38:52 GMT -5
What the HECK!?!? I've never read this one.
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Sept 4, 2016 20:14:20 GMT -5
What the HECK!?!? I've never read this one. Can't help with this one neither. Didn't buy 10 cent superhero books off the racks. I did get this as a back issue in the 1970s but never read it. The Batman tale seems to have never been reprinted in the US.
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Post by foxley on Sept 4, 2016 20:24:20 GMT -5
What the HECK!?!? I've never read this one. Can't help with this one neither. Didn't buy 10 cent superhero books off the racks. I did get this as a back issue in the 1970s but never read it. The Batman tale seems to have never been reprinted in the US. I'm afraid I can't help either. My Detective collection is complete from #348 on, and I currently filling the gaps between #300 and #348, but is very patchy before #300. It's looks like an absolute ripper, however. I really hope the story lives up to the cover potential.
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Sept 4, 2016 21:28:58 GMT -5
What the HECK!?!? I've never read this one. Of course that Robin robot was the partner for this one or maybe this one
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Post by Hoosier X on Sept 4, 2016 21:52:22 GMT -5
This one is pretty awesome! I have had this for a few years and I pull it out every once in a while and marvel at how awesome it is! I bet little Ish hated it! Did you trade this for Spider-Man #21 or something like that, Ish? Or did you just walk away and leave it on the spinner rack?
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Post by Hoosier X on Sept 4, 2016 22:00:17 GMT -5
It's The Terror of the Baby-Chicken People!
What the heck is that pink and blue thing in the cage in the background? Some kind of Max Fleisher reject? I suspect it's about to break into song!
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Post by Prince Hal on Sept 4, 2016 22:06:49 GMT -5
It's The Terror of the Baby-Chicken People! What the heck is that pink and blue thing in the cage in the background? Some kind of Max Fleisher reject? I suspect it's about to break into song! Kind of a G-rated Freaks.
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Sept 4, 2016 22:24:03 GMT -5
This one is pretty awesome! I have had this for a few years and I pull it out every once in a while and marvel at how awesome it is! I bet little Ish hated it! Did you trade this for Spider-Man #21 or something like that, Ish? Or did you just walk away and leave it on the spinner rack? Oh yes, I remember it well. Of course I bought it. it's not like there were dozens of superhero comics coming out each week. Many titles were not monthly so if you needed a fix you settle for this. Even as brainless and repetitive as Jack Schiff books were, they were still better then Archie's Fly comics Did I say repetitive?
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Post by Hoosier X on Sept 4, 2016 22:31:30 GMT -5
They are two completely different stories! "The Interplanetary Batman!" is about alien policemen who think Batman is a criminal! "Captives of the Alien Zoo!" is about Batman and Robin being captured and forced to perform like circus animals!
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