shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 20, 2018 15:08:23 GMT -5
In lieu of these ads, Tower is now selling licensed shirts:  I'd be real interested to find out if 1) These were ever produced, and 2) if they weren't, if people who ordered them got their money back. Considering how many solicitations they have runs for 12 issue subscriptions to titles that lasted one or two issues, I've been wondering the same. The letters page for the third issue proudly proclaims "Our policy has always been give the comic fan something to look at rather than a lot to read". That they hired Wood full time and gave him total control of the titles, and yet kept Len Brown and D.J. Arneson (the writers/co-creators of Tower's first two titles) as freelancers (both departing after two issues as a result), supports that assertion pretty well. No doubt this was true, and distribution was a serious challenge to boot. But, Steve Skeates attributes the decline of Tower more to Wood's lack of interest than anything else. I'm starting to see it that way too. |
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Post by shaxper on Jun 21, 2018 14:48:43 GMT -5
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #15 (September 1967)  My initial assumption about this issue, considering the trajectory Tower has been on, as well as Wood's waning interest in the property, had been that this was going to be a serious disappointment of an issue, indicative of the slipping quality and editorial controls we'd been seeing for a while now. Instead, this is a truly memorable issue, with Wood giving the title more care and attention than we've seen from him since the first issue, and yet absolutely no solicitations for subscriptions within. Seems like Tower knew the end was near but was making one final scramble to get out a good issue? We even see these introductory materials being reprinted from issues #3 and #4.  Was Tower expecting a new distribution channel or something? It feels like aspects of this issue were written for a new audience. Maybe they just hoped the new "TOWER DOUBLE SIZE ACTION SERIES" label on the top left of the cover would garner them some new attention on the spinner racks. Also worth noting that Gil Kane's reinvented Raven is totally gone after the one appearance, save a one panel cameo in the NoMan feature. Kane does do the cover for this issue, though. Kane's Raven appears again on the cover to #19 (reprinting last issue's cover) but does not appear within. Also, no letters page this issue to explain this abrupt change of direction. Dynamo: "Collision Course" Script: ? Pencils: Wally Wood Inks: Wally Wood Colors: ? Letters: ? Wood really pulls all the stops out on this one. Dynamo, Andor, AND Iron Maiden! It's the dream team-up for any fan of the series:  And each remains true to their character, none getting along all too cozily. But the excitement doesn't end there. Wood spent ages writing done-in-one stories, and then shifted to building a multi-part threat that felt more like an escape from the genre than an expression of it, but now we're back to familiar territory and yet dialing back to old, nearly forgotten threats that once mattered a great deal to the series:  I nearly gasped...really!while also foreshadowing numerous new complications and story arcs to come:  This is truly the best story I've yet seen from Tower. Sidenote: While I positively LOVE what Wood is doing with a newly blinded Andor  I'm suddenly reminded that this is not the first blind superhero Wood has worked on.   Is Wood purposefully attempting to reclaim the character he helped to shape on some level? Grade: A Lightning: "While Our Hero Sleeps" Script: Steve Skeates Pencils: Chic Stone Inks: Chic Stone Colors: ? Letters: ? Last issue gave us the first GOOD story I've ever seen this team produce, but if you were expecting that to continue...well, no. This is an insanely dumb story in which we are now told that, even though he is frozen, Lightning has 24 hours to live SO T.H.U.N.D.E.R.'s resident scientists need to somehow cure his ailment in 24 hours AND The Warp Wizard (my least favorite Lightning villain) teleports into T.H.U.N.D.E.R. HQ just in time to steal Lightning's body instead of, ya know, kill him right there. It's just...bad. And even Chic Stone's art got worse this time around. Just look at Weed's face.  And that's not just a one-panel flub. Really, the only credit I give to this story is that Lightning didn't make a miraculous mid-story recovery and save the day. He first comes to in the very last panel, a miracle cure having been found at the last second. Grade: D- NoMan: Starflight to the Assassin Planet Script: ? Pencils: Ogden Whitney Inks: Ogden Whitney Colors: ? Letters: ? A typically nonsensical Tower story in which NoMan's consciousness is somehow accidentally teleported to a distant alien planet RIGHT before they are about to test a weapon by blowing up The Earth. There is no connection between these two events, and it just gets dumber from there, concluding with NoMan saving the day but deciding to tell no one about the planet because they wouldn't believe him anyway, and just sort of hoping they don't decided to blow up the Earth again. The saving grace should have been Ogden Whitney's art. We last saw his work in NoMan #2 and, as I noted there, his best work is on realistic scenes, capturing the subtlety of human mannerisms and expressions.  from NoMan #2So, of course, this script instead has him working on a bizarre alien landscape where his talents are utterly wasted:  It's a damn shame. Grade: D- Dynamo: "Hail To The Chief" Script: Ralph Reese Pencils: John Giunta Inks: Wally Wood Colors: ? Letters: ? We saw clear indications in past issues that Wally Wood had little concern for what other writers did with his characters. Inconsistencies abounded, especially in the case of Ralph Reese, who enjoyed writing Dynamo as a comic piece, told at Dynamo's expense. Well, it sure seems like someone had a talk with Reese this time around. Dynamo is still a self-important cad in this story, but the idiotic behavior, the gags at his expense, all of that is now gone in favor of a true action story that actually helps to further develop the world of T.H.U.N.D.E.R. for once. The entire purpose of this story is to flesh out the character of "The Chief," now given the full name of Sam Short. We get an impressive origin for Short, hint of an upcoming conflict where T.H.U.N.D.E.R. may be planning to retire him, and (most importantly) a story where he gets to repeatedly prove his worth to the reader, abducted by S.P.I.D.E.R. and forced to show what he can do when out from behind a desk.  Reese may be taking a break from ripping on poor Dynamo, but the message is not lost that Sam Short is braver and more effective than Dynamo when he is not using his belt. It's also now clear that Short's daughter, Roxanne, was not a one-time thing. She's back in this story and still playing Lana Lang to Len and Alice's Lois and CLark.  A decent action story that accomplishes its goal. Not much of a Dynamo story, but it wasn't really supposed to be. Grade: B Weed: "Dig We Must" Script: Ralph Reese Pencils: George Tuska Inks: George Tuska Colors: ? Letters: ? This almost had to be an inventory story that got used in place of Kane's Raven feature. Weed never had a solo story in the core T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents title before, and this one is a true stinker. Basically, it's the story of two ridiculous villains who borrow in equal parts from Spider-Man  and George and Lenny from Of Mice and Men  Why The Higher United Nations Defense Enforcement Reserves get called in to thwart a single bank robbery, nor why these idiots decide the next logical step is to rob T.H.U.N.D.E.R. HQ, fails to make any sense to me at all. The comedy is lame, Weed is underused, and the whole thing just feels too immature for even a Tower book. Grade: D |
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Post by Rob Allen on Jun 21, 2018 15:16:50 GMT -5
Hmmm... a heroic boss named Sam Short in a comic edited by Samm Schwartz... pure coincidence, right?
Also, why a Romita Daredevil cover? There's an earlier cover with Wood's name on it in addition to his art.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 21, 2018 15:19:08 GMT -5
Also, why a Romita Daredevil cover? There's an earlier cover with Wood's name on it in addition to his art. Picky picky... Edit: Fixed it for you  |
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Post by Rob Allen on Jun 21, 2018 17:16:50 GMT -5
Also, why a Romita Daredevil cover? There's an earlier cover with Wood's name on it in addition to his art. Picky picky... Edit: Fixed it for you Good one! That's the last Wood-pencilled cover. He inked #11's cover and story and then was gone, presumably to Tower. |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 21, 2018 20:45:21 GMT -5
shaxper, You quoted this The saving grace should have been Ogden Whitney's art. We last saw his work in NoMan #2 and, as I noted there, his best work is on realistic scenes, capturing the subtlety of human mannerisms and expressions. ... I admired this artist (Ogden Whitney) work and what you've written is right on the nose. Amazing work done here. Man, back in those days ... you'll notice these things right away!
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 22, 2018 14:42:25 GMT -5
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #16 (October 1967)  Soak it in. The final Wally Wood cover for Tower. The end of an era, really. The letters page is back as of this issue, and acknowledging at least some of what is going on at Tower:  It goes on to mention that UNDERSEA Agent is cancelled too. What it doesn't mention is why Tower is no longer soliciting subscriptions to its remaining title. It's also a bit strange that the letters page is still talking up Gil Kane and asking for feedback on his new approach to The Raven two issues back, yet no Raven story appeared last issue, this issue, nor ever again after. Kane does one final non-Raven story in this issue, and then we never see him on a Tower book again. Finally, for what it's worth, the letters page verifies my suspicion that Wally Wood wrote many of the lead stories that he also drew (of course, no specifics are given). And, as long as we're talking about the letters page, might as well show off this letter from some random 15 year old kid living in Los Angeles at the time:  Even at 15, Evanier probably could have turned in better scripts than most of the ones we've seen from Tower thus far. Dynamo: "Dream of Doom" Script: Wally Wood ? (plot); Roger Brand ? (script) Pencils: Steve Ditko Inks: Steve Ditko Colors: ? Letters: Bill Yoshida ? Last issue, Wally Wood was all-in with this feature, and boy did it show. We had an amazing new look and direction for Andor, as well as numerous compelling story arcs left hanging by the close. Wood is clearly less involved on this story, and so Andor's blindness gets cured (why?!), the whole dilemma with his creator resuming control over him gets thwarted within two pages, any plotlines involving Brutus Kanassus, S.P.I.D.E.R.'s new experiments in super strength, Len Brown getting in trouble for letting Andor escape, and anything at all involving Iron Maiden all get completely forgotten in favor of a forgettable story starring a forgettable character who in no way resembles the complex villain Wood had delivered last issue. Even visually, let's compare: Last issue: This issue:  Yuck! Grade: D NoMan: "One of Our Androids Is Missing" Script: ? Pencils: Gil Kane Inks: Gil Kane; Jack Abel (Abel inks on pages 2-5 and part of page 6; Kane inks on page 1, part of page 6 and 7-10, as per The GCD) Colors: ? Letters: Gaspar Saladino; Victor Gorelick ? This one caught me by surprise, as a sincere effort is made to better develop NoMan into a compelling character. We'd seen several half-hearted attempts at this early on, but this one takes it to a whole new level. First, they've finally figured out how to give NoMan a workable secret identity:  But, more importantly, the script picks up some internal conflicts that were handled awkwardly early on and plays them out far better here:  The story is positively full of these deep, probing issues for NoMan. And it all gets answered by the introduction of Agent Linda Rogers, who kicks some serious progressive butt   and also seems to be the perfect answer to NoMan's dilemma.  I almost wish I could scan the entire story. It's that well developed and endearing. IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS:1. NoMan can now utilize bodies that appear human 2. Return of Agent Diana Dawn (last seen in T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #3) 3. 1st appearance of Agent Linda Rogers Grade: A+ Lightning: "The Whirligig" Script: Steve Skeates Pencils: Chic Stone Inks: Chic Stone Colors: ? Letters: Bill Yoshida Hmmmm. Fans really liked when Lightning nearly died and was totally helpless two issues back, so let's just keep replaying that scenario, this time with Lightning losing his mind. Yup, it's lame, it's tedious, and (as is always the case with the Steve Skeates stories), it's nonsensical. Nothing truly worth noting here beyond the introduction and arrest of a new villain who never actually gets a name and can travel like a tornado. Also, Skeates and Stone at least do a nice job of referencing past stories and villains while Lightning is hallucinating:  I'm always a sucker for signs that Tower pays attention to its own history. Still, this was a groaner of a story. Grade: D T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents: "The End of The T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents?" Script: Ralph Reese Pencils: George Tuska Inks: George Tuska Colors: ? Letters: Victor Gorelick ? Even Dynamo is quick to point out that it's been a while since the whole team worked together (worth noting: Gil Kane's Raven is present here), but this story doesn't do a very good job of convincing us we'll need any more such team-ups in the future. The entire point of the story is that T.H.U.N.D.E.R.'s central HQ isn't really in New York -- it's in a secluded mountain miles away that the top agents teleport to. S.P.I.D.E.R. finds the location, finds a way to neutralize all their powers, and still somehow finds a way to lose. At the end, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. decides to choose a new location and promises to find a way to neutralize the power neutralizer. So, essentially, this story was utterly forgettable. Worth noting: We're never clear on how many T.H.U.N.D.E.R. HQs there are (A New Jersey HQ and a Great Neck NY HQ were just mentioned in the last two issues, for example), but this issue verifies that the New York City HQ is their primary one (aside from the hidden mountain room thingy that only the top agents visited). Grade: D+ Dynamo: "A Slight Case of Combat Fatigue" Script: ? Pencils: Dan Adkins Inks: Wally Wood Colors: ? Letters: Bill Yoshida Another entirely forgettable story, though I did love the title page.  Essentially, something is wrong with Dynamo, but it doesn't really factor into the story in which S.P.I.D.E.R. tries to kidnap him and NoMan comes to the rescue. I at least respect what they tried to do at the end though, pointing out all Len Brown has been through thus far in his brief stint as Dynamo.  Still, they assure us in the next panel that he'll be fine in a month. I guess, between this story, the NoMan story this issue, and what's been happening with Lightning as of late, Tower is trying to humanize its heroes a bit more -- steal from Marvel's winning approach a bit. It's working a little, but it's too little far too late, as next issue marks the last semi-regular issue of T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents before things really start going down the tubes. Grade: C+ |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 22, 2018 16:27:33 GMT -5
NoMan: "One of Our Androids Is Missing" -- Was an excellent story thanks for giving No-Man an change of character allowing it to have a better use of his secret identity that's handled quite well by our unknown storyteller that did a good job doing so. It was noted that Agent Linda Rogers that assisted NoMan and handled herself very well. I need to re-read that story again because it was done just right. I was sad to learn that this cover (see below) was the last cover by Wally Wood for Tower Comics. Man, he does his covers with full of action and drama. |
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Post by shaxper on Jun 22, 2018 16:51:34 GMT -5
NoMan: "One of Our Androids Is Missing" -- Was an excellent story thanks for giving No-Man an change of character allowing it to have a better use of his secret identity that's handled quite well by our unknown storyteller that did a good job doing so. The letter page made a point in this issue that both Kane and Wood write many of their stories. Considering that this was the only Kane story in this issue, I'm tempted to give him credit... Yes, it truly was an impressive story. |
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Post by shaxper on Jul 4, 2018 12:54:17 GMT -5
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #17 (December 1967)  Steve Skeates and Gil Kane are gone as of this issue. As a result, neither Lightning nor Raven appear anywhere within these pages (of course, Gil Kane's Raven feature's been missing for two issues now, anyway). No letters page this time around, no solicitations for subscriptions or upcoming stories, and we see Tower's first ever reprinted feature to boot. The same old T-shirt ad aside, there's really no indication Tower has any plans beyond putting out this issue, nor any wind left in its bag. And, sure enough, we won't see the next issue of T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents for another nine months. Really, at this point,  T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents: "First Encounter" (reprinted from T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #1). The editorial comment claims this is being republished for the sake of fans who missed the first issue. Could be Tower's final drastic effort to reach a new audience. It's also necessary backstory for any newer fans before reading the final story in this issue. The story explains how T.H.U.N.D.E.R. got Dynamo's belt, NoMan's cloak, and Menthor's helmet. I'd never noticed before that we never do find out what became of the other inventions The Warlord did manage to steal, nor the inventions T.H.U.N.D.E.R. rescued that it couldn't figure out how to work at the time. Dynamo: "Return of the Hyena" Script: Ralph Reese Pencils: Wally Wood Inks: Wally Wood Colors: ? Letters: ? While Reese would clearly rather write about Dynamo's day-in-the-life troubles including his birthday party, he actually manages to write a legitimate superhero story here, reintroducing one-shot villain The Hyena as a potential regular (even though he gets captured by the end). The Hyena is quite entertaining, playing numerous juvenile pranks on our hero, until you realize there's something familiar about him...   Dammit, Reese! You ripped off The Joker. Guess 1960s Batmania finally got a hold of him. Forgettable story otherwise. Grade: C+ NoMan: "The Locusts are Coming" Script: ? Pencils: Ogden Whitney Inks: Ogden Whitney Colors: ? Letters: ? More evidence to support my belief that Gil Kane wrote the NoMan feature last issue: Kane is gone, and suddenly so is everything that was building in this feature. No further mention of Agent Linda Rogers, nor NoMan getting more life-like bodies, nor any of the depth and internal conflict that was building there. Instead, This story is as throwback as you can get  and subsequently utterly forgettable. MINOR DETAIL: This story presents the idea that there is a limited range in which NoMan can transmit his consciousness to other bodies. Meanwhile, Wally Wood (the closest thing to a continuity guru Tower has) once had NoMan transmit his consciousness to another galaxy. Oops. Grade: D- Weed: "Weed Out West" Script: Ralph Reese Pencils: George Tuska Inks: George Tuska Colors: ? Letters: ? Weed falls in with a Native American tribe that wants him to marry the chief's doting overweight daughter while S.P.I.D.E.R. is mining uranium right out from beneath them and Dynamo somehow gets trapped filming a Western while S.P.I.D.E.R. is trying to kill him. It's every bit as silly as it sounds, but not all that fun. To Reese's credit, he tries to dispel some common myths about "Indians," showing that they are relatively modern, peaceful, and even politically powerful, but any sensitivity he may be showing gets pretty well cancelled out by the final gag:  The entire tribe went to WAR against S.P.I.D.E.R. for Weed because they believed he was going to marry the chief's daughter. She also saved his life. But she's fat and Native American, so who cares? Let's make a joke of it instead. Ah well. Grade: C+ DYNAMO: "Put Them All Together They Spell SPIDER" Script: Ralph Reese Pencils: Chic Stone Inks: Chic Stone Colors: ? Letters: ? This probably should have been a T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents feature, but there appears to be some ambiguity about using Lightning and Raven at this point. Still, I find it interesting that, when S.P.I.D.E.R. unites a bunch of previous T.H.U.N.D.E.R. villains in this story  they include Mayven, the arch-villain from the first two installments of Manny Stallman's Raven. Not only isn't Raven anywhere to be found in this or the past two stories, but the issue before that was Gil Kane's radical relaunch of Raven that attempted to erase everything Stallman had ever done with the character. Thus, surprising to say the least. Raven also gets mentioned once in this story, and yet Lightning does not. The letters page for a previous issue indicated some uncertainty about Lightning's limitations (taking hours off of his life everytime he powers up) and future. He has no villain appearing in this story (and yet he has had many villains by this point) and isn't mentioned by name the way Raven was. I wonder if the entire point of this story was to replace him with a new Menthor. After all, this story is about S.P.I.D.E.R. recovering Menthor's helmet after its last nonsensical return in T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #13, and some mysterious figure clearly acquires it by the close:  Heck, maybe it's Guy (Lightning's alter ego). Grade: C+ Truly, nothing stands out in this issue beyond Menthor's helmet returning and a whole lot missing from the book in terms of creative talent, features, and quality of output. We won't see the next issue for nine more months, and then only two issues follow after that (one being ALL reprints). Truly...  |
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Post by shaxper on Jul 7, 2018 11:06:21 GMT -5
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #18 (September 1968)  Welcome to a T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents series without Wally Wood. He'll turn in one inking job next issue, but that's it for Wood's contribution to the Tower Action Series. I'm guessing Wood's absence, both as the creative front-runner and as the unofficial editor of the series, is the cause of the nearly year-long hiatus here. Even Dan Adkins, Tower's default stand-in for Wood, is absent as of this issue. Though we do get Steve Ditko back for another freelance gig. Nice to be able to celebrate more of his lesser-known work after yesterday's news of his passing. And, once again, no more Lightning nor Raven. They are never coming back in this run. Worth noting that this issue takes a new approach to attracting readers, boldly advertising "NO ADS!...All action from cover to cover!" right smack in the middle of the cover in big red font. I suppose it may have worked. We still don't know whether Tower collapsed due to lack of sales or lack of interest after Wood bowed out. Dynamo: "The Amazing Mr. Mek!" Script: Ralph Reese Pencils: Steve Ditko Inks: Steve Ditko Colors: ? Letters: Bill Yoshida I've read enough Ralph Reese at this point to know there's no way he wrote this story himself. Scripted it, sure? But the level of meaningful pathos it evokes for the antagonist is straight Steve Ditko and not at all the trite comedy Reese always tries to turn out. Still, Ditko adapts his artwork impressively to compliment the lighter tone Reese is striving for, with a villain who is just adorable to look at  and figures that are generally smaller in stature, softer, and less imposing in their visage. And yet, even with this "cuter" approach to penciling, he manages to evoke a tragic tone in those final panels, as Mr. Mek uses his ability to control machines one final time:  No way that came from Reese, by the way. He would have ended the story with Alice or the chief yelling at Dynamo for misguided comic effect. Grade: A- NoMan: "The Sinister Schemes of Professor Reverse" Script: ? Pencils: Ogden Whitney Inks: Ogden Whitney Colors: ? Letters: ? Sure seems like we've got the same uncredited writer from last issue's NoMan story, as we once again have a very throwback approach to storytelling that absolutely depends upon the reader believing NoMan has uncharacteristically failed as a superhero before revealing it was all a ruse to defeat the bad guy  contains misconceptions about the basic NoMan premise (now he has a dial that works his invisibility cloak, much like Dynamo's belt), and adds odd details that make him feel like a generic Golden Age hero (he now has a NoMan Mobile and a secret mountain headquarters). Plus, we get unspeakably cliche moments throughout:  Go home, Tower. You're drunk. Grade: D+ Dynamo: The Arena Script: ? Pencils: Reed Crandall Inks: Reed Crandall Colors: ? Letters: ? A surprisingly strong story in which Dynamo loses his memory and gets trapped in a lost civilization that resembles ancient Rome. Sure, it's been done, but it's done well here. There's some serious considerations about the haves, the have nots, and the proper ethics of revolution (though these themes are more hinted at than thoroughly explored), and the writer even works in some comedy that never feels jarring or like it's undermining the seriousness of the plot. I've never been a fan of Reed Crandall. His poses and especially action sequences always feel stilted and awkward to me.  but that awesome Tower colorist I suspect to be Vic Gorelick returns after a long absence and positively compensates for Crandall's failings in most places.  For a Dynamo story not done by Wally Wood or Steve Ditko, this is as good as it gets. Grade: A- Dynamo: "Secret of the Abominable Snowmen" Script: Ralph Reese Pencils: Chic Stone Inks: Chic Stone Colors: ? Letters: ? My two least favorite remaining Tower creators unite for this utterly forgettable tale in which an evil Chinese villain bent on plunging the US and Russia into war is shooting down American satellites from a base in Tibet guarded by robot Yetis. It doesn't get any better when you actually read it. I at least respect Reese for not overtly trying to make this adventure a comedy until the final two panels, but he does make the odd choice of introducing new ally Agent Carnaby Mod, of the British Secret Service, who speaks with the most obnoxious Cockney accent you'll ever read on the comics page:  (incidentally, nice PJ pants, Len...) Grade: D+ NoMan: "A Matter of Life and Death" (reprinted from T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #7) Two themes repeat here from last issue: reprinted content, and a renewed emphasis on Menthor. I'm still thinking someone at Tower was considering bringing in a new Menthor and was using this as a sort of placeholder until Steve Skeates, Gil Kane, or someone else could be persuaded to write such a feature. Ralph Reese pretty much seems to write Dynamo (they let him do NoMan once and it was a disaster), and there are no other regular writers in the stable right now. It's impressive to see Tower still spitting out some quality content while in its death throes, but the writing is clearly on the wall. How much longer could they hope to keep going with one regular writer, two regular artists (all working freelance, by the way), no consistent front runners, and no editor? Next issue, even Ogdan Whitney and Chic Stone will be gone, leaving Ralph Reese as the sole regular contributor.  |
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Post by tarkintino on Jul 7, 2018 12:54:56 GMT -5
Interesting thread. Thanks for the in-depth reviews.
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Post by shaxper on Jul 7, 2018 15:46:38 GMT -5
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #19 (November 1968)  This may be the nineteenth issue of a twenty issue run, but is essentially the final outing for T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, with the final issue consisting entirely of reprints. Worth noting that the "NO ADS!..All action from cover to cover!" promise now fully takes central focus on the cover. Secondary focus, interestingly enough, is Gil Kane's Raven, who never actually gets a feature in this issue. Well, the familiar stable house of freelance writers is now almost entirely empty. The only familiar names on this issue are Ralph Reese, Wally Wood (inking one story), and George Tuska (who we haven't seen for a while). Paul Reinman is suddenly picking up two stories as of this issue, and the GCD has no idea who is scripting them. It's a very incomplete final issue in many respects. Still, it has its moments. Dynamo: "Half An Hour Of Power" Script: Ralph Reese Pencils: Wayne Howard ? Inks: Wally Wood Colors: ? Letters: ? Reese steps into the big chair to write the lead feature of the issue, and it works better than I would have expected. It's the millionth Tower story in which someone creates duplicate imposters of our heroes, but it's done surprisingly well, providing several really intense moments.  including this fake-out that I actually fell for:  Reese keeps the action uncharacteristically tight, the twists surprising, and never tries to insert bad comedy where it doesn't belong. I'm not used to seeing him write this effectively. Of course, he still gets in his jabs at Dynamo, making sure to portray him as a moronic a$$hole for no apparent reason:  It's not deep, it's not evocative, but it works as a strong action story. Probably the best writing we've seen from Ralph Reese in this series. Grade: A- Dynamo: "Dynamo Vs. The Ghost" Script: ? Pencils: Paul Reinman Inks: Paul Reinman Colors: ? Letters: Sam Rosen I half wonder if this isn't a partially recycled script from that new superhero title Tower promised to launch a while back, as so much of the script is devoted to explaining the new device and powers being granted to new agent Tom Conroy, who can lose his mass and walk through walls at will. The story turns pretty dark once it becomes clear this new recruit T.H.U.N.D.E.R. has recklessly given powers to is an agent for S.P.I.D.E.R. Dynamo's girlfriend, Alice, is nearly killed, and Conroy gets one of the most disturbing outs for a villain that we've seen in these pages:  indefinitely sinking to the bottom of the Earth since he can neither materialize nor get his anti-gravity device to work any longer. That being said, it's merely an adequate story otherwise, depending upon conveniences and bad dialogue to move it along. Grade: B- Dynamo: "All-Girl Gang" Script: Ralph Reese Pencils: George Tuska Inks: George Tuska Colors: ? Letters: ? A largely forgettable story in which Dynamo has to figure out how to fight a team of women when he doesn't feel like he can punch them. It's, more importantly, an opportunity for Reese to resurrect one-shot villainess Satana so that he can once again steal shamelessly from the Batman rogues gallery  To be fair, Frank Miller may have stolen the visual look for his Post-Crisis Catwoman from here. Another aspect of this story I find marginally interesting is what happens when Satana attempts to blackmail the chief after kidnapping his daughter. We are given this panel when Dynamo finally confronts the Chief about the aid he has seemingly provided to the enemy:  but it sure seems as if the art and the writing are saying two very different things. And then the final panel of the story offers this:  Sure seems like the Chief DID give in to the blackmailers, but someone asked Reese to rewrite the one panel so that he didn't. Odd. Grade: D NoMan: "A Matter of Transmitters" Script: ? Pencils: Paul Reinman Inks: Paul Reinman Colors: ? Letters: Joe Rosen While technically a NoMan story, this feels more like the old T.H.U.N.D.E.R. team-ups that used to conclude nearly every issue of this mag until Lightning and Raven fell off the radar. They're back (albeit briefly and poorly drawn) for this final T.H.U.N.D.E.R. team-up, though it was doubtlessly not intended to be the final outing:  The rest of the story is less noteworthy, with some uncredited writer suddenly making up all sorts of new rules about T.H.U.N.D.E.R. They now use a matter transmitter to transport to the real T.H.U.N.D.E.R. HQ (actually, technically, someone tried that once in an earlier script. Maybe that was also this writer?) and have an even more real T.H.U.N.D.E.R. HQ below the surface of the Earth. Ok. Who exactly is stationed there? Kinda' seems like the core heroes are all at the New York office building. Anyway, not really worth exploring with any depth. Grade: C+ Lightning: "Speed Demon" (reprinted from T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #12) Why this story? Seemed like Tower was avoiding Lightning until now. He's been away so long at this point that reprinting his origin might have made more sense. Or a Menthor story, if you wanted to be consistent with the emphasis he was given over the last two issues. Oh well. ------- And that's pretty much it. Next issue is all reprints (though I'll review it anyway). Thus we have come to the end of the original Tower content. This is how the Tower falls, not with a bang but a whimper. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Jul 7, 2018 21:20:35 GMT -5
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #15 (September 1967) .......... I found this issue at Heroes Con 1992 and lucked into Gil Kane being there and got him to sign the cover. He hadn't seen an issue of the series in some years. Unfortunately, I didn't have the issue with his Raven story with me or I would have gotten that signed. The interiors of this one were less than thrilling, by comparison. |
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,864
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Post by shaxper on Jul 7, 2018 21:30:39 GMT -5
I found this issue at Heroes Con 1992 and lucked into Gil Kane being there and got him to sign the cover. He hadn't seen an issue of the series in some years. Unfortunately, I didn't have the issue with his Raven story with me or I would have gotten that signed. The interiors of this one were less than thrilling, by comparison. I'm very jealous! Knowing what I know now, there's so much I'd love to ask Kane about his time at Tower. And yes, that cover is probably the least impressive contribution he made to the series. Do you recall him saying anything about his time at Tower? |
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