|
Post by Prince Hal on Jun 3, 2021 5:13:09 GMT -5
Can somebody recommend a good jumping on point for Sgt. Rock? Easiest place to do so is probably wherever the first Showcase Presents anthology begins. The stories are almost all stand-alones at that point, and Kanigher was hardly a stickler for attention to continuity. You will immediately be able to immerse yourself in Rock’s world and world-view, but as with so many series, the stories can get repetitive and formulaic fast if you read too many at a time. Things did did get more sophisticated as you get into the early 1970s and beyond, but Kanigher could often use a sledge hammer to knock an idea into a reader’s head, so the quality can vary. In general, though, the art, mostly by Joe Kubert and Russ Heath, is outstanding throughout the run.
|
|
|
Post by Icctrombone on Jun 3, 2021 7:11:32 GMT -5
Where did the Betty and Veronica " eyes" originate? It's been copied in many humor type books and even in our own Crimebuster Crimebuster comics.
|
|
|
Post by MDG on Jun 3, 2021 7:35:33 GMT -5
Where did the Betty and Veronica " eyes" originate? It's been copied in many humor type books and even in our own Crimebuster Crimebuster comics. It's probably from the tendency to make cartoon characters eyes bigger so they appear "cuter." Specific influences on B&V may have been Gladys Parker or even early Chic Young. I don't know how codified those eyes were at Archie by the time DeCarlo got there, but he was using those eyes at Atlas as well as in his girlie cartoons before he became a major artist there.
|
|
|
Post by brutalis on Jun 3, 2021 8:46:21 GMT -5
[/quote] I mean, really Icc. Is any reader even looking at Cherry Poptart's eyes?
|
|
|
Post by tonebone on Jun 3, 2021 15:46:44 GMT -5
Can somebody recommend a good jumping on point for Sgt. Rock? Easiest place to do so is probably wherever the first Showcase Presents anthology begins. The stories are almost all stand-alones at that point, and Kanigher was hardly a stickler for attention to continuity. You will immediately be able to immerse yourself in Rock’s world and world-view, but as with so many series, the stories can get repetitive and formulaic fast if you read too many at a time. Things did did get more sophisticated as you get into the early 1970s and beyond, but Kanigher could often use a sledge hammer to knock an idea into a reader’s head, so the quality can vary. In general, though, the art, mostly by Joe Kubert and Russ Heath, is outstanding throughout the run. There is also a really good almost-digest sized collection DC did years ago, in color. There's a Sgt. Rock, and a Swamp Thing.
|
|
|
Post by tonebone on Jun 3, 2021 15:50:00 GMT -5
Ok, so I have a storage/curating question. Some of the books I bought today at Bookery Fantasy come in really nice mylite bags with boards, but they have large price stickers on them. Removing the sticker leaves a sticky residue behind. I'd like to keep the mylite bags rather than put them in regular sA bags I have here, so is there any way to remove the residue from the mylites? Will goo gone work? Is there a better method? -M Remove the book from the bag, peel off the sticker as much as possible, and then use Goo-gone... it's citrus based and will break down the adhesive. It will leave an oily residue that an alcohol pad will remove. Just don't get this stuff on the comic. If you're removing a sticker from the cover of a glossy trade paperback, it will work for it, too... just don't get it on the ends of the interior pages.
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Jun 3, 2021 15:51:24 GMT -5
Can somebody recommend a good jumping on point for Sgt. Rock? The feature begins in Our Army at War #81; but, Bob Haney and Ross Andru handle the story and I wouldn't say that is indicative of Sgt Rock, as he would continue, nor is the next issue, #82. #83 has Kannigher and Kubert and I would start there. #85 introduces Ice Cream Soldier, one of the "Combat Happy Joes of Easy Company," with more Kubert art (Irv Novick handles #84. Enemy Ace starts with issue #151 and that is a great time period for the comic, in general, with Kanigher and Kubert on Sgt Rock and Enemy Ace, The mid-late 60s probably have the best stories, though there are plenty in the 70s and the early 60s. Like Prince Hal said, they are generally self-contained and you can start up anywhere and move along. War Comics, like any genre, are formulaic, but Rock had a pretty good formula and it is vastly superior to most regular war comic features. If you want recommended war comics, you start with EC's Frontline Combat and Two-Fisted Tales, which were the Rolls Royce of the Korean War-era war comics boom. The 40s had some military features; but they were fantasy stuff. The 50s creators had mostly served in the military, or come of age during the war. Atlas had tons of them, but theirs were of the gung-ho variety, and, apart from the artists, I'm not too big on them. Quality had Blackhawk, but that was more akin to comic strip adventure than war comic. GI Combat started there, but really wasn't a source of truly great material until DC took it over and featured The Haunted Tank in there. Charlton had a ton, with their Fightin' series (Army, Navy, Air Force Marines) and companion comics. Fightin' Army, from issue #76, with Will Franz and Sam Glnazman's Lonely War of Captain Willy Schultz is excellent reading, right there with Rock and Enemy Ace. The pair also did "The Iron Corporal," in Army War Heroes, issues 22-37, about an American serving with the Aussies, in the New Guniea campaign. Franz did his research and Glanzman is one of the best and a Navy veteran of the war. Also worth checking out is Fightin' Marines, #78-108, with the feature "Shotgun Harker and Chicken." It's set during the Vietnam War, with an eclectic pair of leads, a tough as nails Marine and a more hippie type, but one who isn't a conscientious objector. It wasn't your standard war comic feature. Dell's Combat is an excellent one, filled with stuff from Sam Glanzman, including adaptations of the efforts to sink the Bismark and John F Kennedy's experiences on PT-109. Sgt Rock and Enemy Ace, with Kanigher & Kubert are the creme de la creme of DC (with Russ Heath on Rock close behind), then The Haunted Tank, with either Russ Heath or Sam Glanzman on art (in GI Combat). Unknown Soldier, Mademoiselle Marie (or Mlle Marie), Grave Digger and The War That Time Forgot, in Star-Spangled War Stories are all great, though War is a goofy mix of soldiers and dinosaurs. More interesting at the start than when it was discontinued. Marie has some excellent stories; but the Code prevented her from being used to full potential, given the dirty nature of the resistance fighting. The Losers were a conglomeration of failed leads from other comics, like Johnny Cloud, Navaho Ace and Captain Storm, plus Gunner & Sarge. They were put together as a special missions team, in issue #123 individual stories are fine, but it was kind of DC's 3rd string for war comics. Some good art from John Severin in there. Kirby's run on it is pretty interesting, as he mixes in some of his experiences into it, starting with #151. Issue 152 features a street fighting issue that is far more realistic than Kirby's stylized art might make you think, as it reflects his experiences in Europe, as a scout, with house-to-house fighting. He has the team moving like soldiers in combat, eyes always moving, using cover, good firing positions, the works. Sgt Fury, at Marvel, is more of a superhero comic with soldiers. Kirby hated the stories, as they were pretty unrealistic, which is why he was only around for the first year, before handing off to Dick Ayers. Roy Thomas' stories aren't bad, but he swipes a lot of ideas from 1960s war movies. It gets good when Gary Friedrich takes over the writing and John Severin starts inking Ayers. DC still had some good material in the 70s, but more early than late. By the 80s, most of the books were dead or dying and Crisis killed them off completely. They tried updating thigs to a post-Vietnam world, with stuff like Creature Commandos and The Viking Commando; but, the market for the material dried up, more or less, in the wake of the end of Vietnam. Garth Ennis' War Stories, in the early 00s, was good, and he continued that at Avatar. His influences were British war comics and I prefer his work on this kind of material to his more mainstream comic work. Marvel's The Name was great the first year, and mostly good thereafter, until they inserted the Punisher into it, at the end (trying to boost sales). That killed the realism. They also had Semper Fi, which apart from some Sam Glanzman and John Severin art, I don't really recommend very highly. The stories aren't bad, but they aren't in league with even average DC war comic stories or even a lot of Charlton's material. In my opinion, the best Vietnam-related war comic was Don Lomax's Vietnam Journal, based on his own experiences in Vietnam, as well as actual events in the war, including Tet, Khe Sanh, the Ia Drang Valley, the CIA Shining Brass recon teams (black op teams in Laos and Cambodia, as well as Vietnam, mostly using Chinese Nung mercenaries, with American team leaders). Lomax wasn't burdened by the Code, so it feels more authentic. He gets his details right, though his art has more in common with the Undergrounds than Heath or Kubert.
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Jun 3, 2021 15:53:18 GMT -5
ps Forgot Warren's Blazing Combat, with stories by Archie Goodwin and some top artists. 4 issues before Warren killed it or lose the business of the Army PXs; but, 4 amazing issues.
|
|
|
Post by Ricky Jackson on Jun 3, 2021 17:19:30 GMT -5
Just picked up the Fantagraphics collection of Blazing Combat, and yes, it is very gorgeous to look at. Will get to reading it soon. Loved the EC war comics I read from the old 90s collections. The DC war books are available online and I have them bookmarked, but God there are so many it's hard to know where to start. Thanks for the recs brother!
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Jun 3, 2021 17:36:41 GMT -5
pps If you have interest in this stuff, you have to read Sam Glanzmans USS Stevens stories, based on his experiences on the ship, in WW2. They appeared in several DC war books and wikipedia has a list. Glanzman then returned to that, in 1987, with A Sailor's Story, at Marvel, in their graphic novel line. That is a more direct memoir, though some of the earlier Stevens stories that were based on fact are filtered in. It gives a really vivid example of what life was like on a destroyer, in general, and in wartime, in particular. Glanzman came out with a second volume, in 1989. Both were later (and more recently) collected by Dover Press, as were the USS Stevens stories. I was a midshipman, in the NROTC program, in the mid-late 80s and came across A Sailor's Story after it was released. It was the most accurate depiction of Naval life I ever came across, before or since. Stevens captures the beauty of the sea (especially the Pacific), while also capturing the stark terror of combat and the horrors of ships being sunk and kamikaze attacks, off Okinawa. He has a roll call of the lost and damaged which is humbling. Glanzman served on board the real USS Stevens from 1943 until the end of the war. He uses the depiction of first reporting aboard to give the reader a glossary of naval terms, as young Sam is led through the ship, to his berthing area, to stow his gear. That helps you understand his duties and what is going on, as the story progresses. The Stevens was part of the carrier group in the Gilbert Campaign, The Marshalls, New Guinea, the Marianas, then the Philippines; and, at the end of the war, the occupation landings at Tsintao, China and in Korea. I love Kanigher and Kubert and Archie Goodwin's Blazing Combat and Harvey Kurtzman's stuff; but, none of those can touch Glanzman on A Sailor's Story. He lived it and expresses it well.
|
|
|
Post by junkmonkey on Jun 6, 2021 9:33:12 GMT -5
Where did the Betty and Veronica " eyes" originate? It's been copied in many humor type books and even in our own Crimebuster Crimebuster comics.
They are also very easy to draw (I use them myself) - one line and a flick at the end. Two, maybe three, strokes at the most and the bottom of the eye is left undefined making it the colourist's problem not the penciller/inker's.
|
|
|
Post by Icctrombone on Jun 6, 2021 9:43:21 GMT -5
Yes, it’s a familiar look. I thought maybe Don Decarlo made it popular.
|
|
|
Post by jason on Jun 11, 2021 15:44:43 GMT -5
I was wondering, what single issue of a comic (not counting TPB collections or Graphic Novels) has had the most pages? I know there have been 100 page comics over the years, anything top that?
|
|
|
Post by Icctrombone on Jun 11, 2021 16:48:26 GMT -5
ps Forgot Warren's Blazing Combat, with stories by Archie Goodwin and some top artists. 4 issues before Warren killed it or lose the business of the Army PXs; but, 4 amazing issues. This is the first post I've seen you submit that didn't have 20 paragraphs. Just kidding man, you have so much knowledge , I'm dyeing to have you join us one day in the Zoom meeting.
|
|
|
Post by Cei-U! on Jun 11, 2021 19:05:44 GMT -5
I was wondering, what single issue of a comic (not counting TPB collections or Graphic Novels) has had the most pages? I know there have been 100 page comics over the years, anything top that? During the 1940s, some publishers repackaged remaindered (unsold) comics under new covers for resale. Fawcett's annual Gift Comics, for example, offered 324 pages for 50 cents. That's the largest newsstand comic I've run across to date.
Cei-U! I summon the massive tome!
|
|