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Post by EdoBosnar on Sept 6, 2017 11:47:52 GMT -5
The comics packaged like that Wonder Woman set are like the ones I recall seeing (and buying). That $1.09 price tag on it is interesting to me. I'm guessing that was packaged in a state with a sales tax; Oregon, where I grew up, didn't have a sales tax (and still doesn't), so I remember the DC-with-Whitman-logo bagged comics (3 in a bag) costed a buck - I think it stayed that way even when the price of a single comic jumped from 35 to 40 cents. That's why I bought so many of those, it was a really good deal.
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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 6, 2017 14:08:30 GMT -5
Somebody...possibly Marvel...possibly a third party, sold Marvel Giant-Size books in a cello two-pack. This would have been well after the books were on the stand. Possibly as late as 78-80. I picked up a lot of Giant-Sizes that way, including the entire rum of Giant-Size Man-Thing. I'm betting a third party packager. Some of that seemed to be regional, or else they were more successful in certain regions. In central Illinois, I recall seeing the Whitman bagged sets of the Gold Key books, then the DC stuff, in the latter half of the 70s. I also recall the Mighty Comics ones, from Charlton. I never saw any Marvel ones until we went on vacation in the south. Western was out of Wisconsin, so it made sense that they had a strong presence in my neck of the woods. I've seen examples of other Marvel sets, going back a ways. Mark Evanier talks about bagged sets here and here, with some insights from his time at Western. I lived in a state with sales tax; but, not on periodicals. You did not pay sales tax when you bought comics off a rack; but, I believe you did when you bought one of the bagged sets, at a department or convenience store. Mark's comments of not knowing what you were getting was never true, for me. The Whitman packs had covers facing out on both sides, with only the center comic hidden. I would just roll my thumba against the edge of the books until I could see the logo or part of the cover underneath. There was usually enough space within the bag to separate the books. I only recall one or two duplicates: a second copy of a Superboy and the Legion comic and maybe one other.
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Post by EdoBosnar on Sept 6, 2017 16:01:00 GMT -5
Yeah, I only ever bought the Whitman/DC books in the bags, and like you noted, it was pretty easy to pull the top book up a bit in the bag to see what was in the middle - and I never once saw, much less bought, a bag with a duplicate in it. As an aside, when I first saw those bagged comics, on a magazine rack in a drugstore, I actually tried to tear open the bag to see what was in the middle. Said magazine rack was pretty close to the cash register, and the store was pretty empty, and I remember being startled by the voice of the very testy cashier behind me, saying "Do. Not. Open. Those. Bags." Needless to say, after that I learned how get a peek at the middle book without popping a hole in the bag...
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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 19, 2017 22:32:10 GMT -5
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Post by hondobrode on Sept 24, 2017 7:33:00 GMT -5
Good luck with the move !
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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 24, 2017 20:49:48 GMT -5
Good luck with the move ! Thanks; hopefully, it goes smoother than this...
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Post by hondobrode on Sept 24, 2017 21:43:38 GMT -5
I've got one coming up in a few weeks. Thankfully quite a few siblings and children, along with my parents, will be helping.
I know the feeling.
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Post by codystarbuck on Oct 10, 2017 23:55:51 GMT -5
Now Comics came to life in 1985, the creation of Tony Caputo. Caputo set up shop in Chicago and set about securing licenses for entertainment properties, to create a line of comics. As such, he set the pattern that would be followed by other indie publishers, such as Dynamite, Moonstone, and Boom Studios. It was an idea with a precedent, as Western had profited handsomely for decades, from their association with Disney and Warner Bros, as well as MGM and others. However, the comic market was far smaller in 1985 than 1955 and many fans of the media properties didn't even know comics still existed. As we will see, the costs of doing licensed comics would catch up to Now and put them into bankruptcy (Chapter 7), though they would return with new capital. This proved short-lived, as they were soon back in financial difficulty, with creators pounding on their doors for payment and return of their art. Caputo even, laughingly, wrote a book about self-publishing: How to Self-Publish Your Own Comic Book (Watson-Guptil, 1997). I snorted rather loudly when that arrived at Barnes & Noble, knowing as I did Caputo's rather uneven publishing history, not to mention the fact that self-publishing had proven too costly for just about everyone but Dave Sim (even Jeff Smith went to Image, for a while). Now's first big offering was, of course, a licensed book. Following Comico's success with the Robotech series, they secured another syndicated Japanese favorite, Speed Racer. Speed Racer began life in 1966 (as did I), as Mach Go-Go-Go (Go is Japanese for 5, so the title roughly translates as Mach 5, Go-Go, like a cheer). The series features the exploits of racer Go Mifune, as he competes across the globe, in wild grand prix and off-road races, with his magnificent Mach 5 car. He is aided by his father, Daisuke, mechanic Sabu, girlfriend Michi Shimura, and plagued by his little brother Kurio. He also finds himself competing against and being aided by the mysterious Masked Racer. The series was the brainchild of Tatsuo Yoshida, who, along with his two brothers, founded Tatsunoko Productions, which would turn Mach GoGoGo into an animated series. Later, that series would be brought to the US by Trans-Lux, and re-dubbed by producer Peter Fernandez (who also voiced Speed and Racer X). The names were changed, as Go became Speed Racer, his father was Pops Racer, brother Spritle (with pet chimp Chim-Chim), girlfriend Trixie, mechanic Sparky, and the mysterious masked Racer X. The stories themselves were kept mostly intact, mixing in racing thrills with crime and espionage stories. It proved extremely popular in syndication, especially after network cartoons had been heavily sanitized of violence and mayhem. These cartoons had plenty of fights and gun battles, with real dangers. In an era where the Super friends couldn't physically touch the villains, these syndicated Japanese cartoons, like Speed Racer and Battle of the Planets, helped bring some old-hasioned action and adventure to animation. Now launched the series with covers by Canadian artist Ken Steacy, who was a fan and had a style that fit the material. I do not own copies of the series, and haven't been able to verify if Steacy did any of the interior stories. When the 2008 film (a major bomb) came out, the Now stories were collected in trades, by IDW. We got them as remainders, at B&N and I flipped through them. The bulk of the art I saw appeared rather amateurish and seemed to be from rookies. The early stories had writing from Len Strazewski (Justice Society) and Fred Schiller (several Eclipse titles) and the IDW credits seem to indicate artists with whom I am mostly unfamiliar. Jill Thompson did some art (cover or story or both, I don't know) and Joe Phillips has a credit on one of the books. The bulk, though, list a Norm Dwyer and I don't recognize the name. The initial series lasted 38 issues, before Now's cash flow situation got out of hand. It returned for a few issues and a couple of minis and guest shots, before closing up shop completely. Of a bigger note than the comics was the fact that Caputo secured a license to distribute the animated series on VHS, through his Now Video division. There had been a few videos, from UAV Corporation; but, they were rather haphazard. Caputo released 22 volumes of the series, each with two or three cartoons per video tape. This was soon followed by a complete Speed Racer revival, with the cartoons appearing on MTV, for a new generation and a sequel series, the New Adventures of Speed Racer, from Fred Wolf (which is generally considered to be far below the quality of the original series. Later, in 1997, Tatsunoko brought out an updated version of the series, producing 34 episodes. the first 11 were later broadcast on Nickelodeon, before a dispute between DIC (the American distributor) and Tatsunoko put an end to it. Speed Racer would return at Image, in a nicely drawn mini-series, featuring Speed and Racer X. Another licensed property at Now, and one that proved a bigger hit, was real Ghostbusters, based on the cartoon series, based on the movies. These captured the flavor of the cartoons rather well, with scripts from james Van Hise and art from such folks as Phil Hester, Howard Bender and Evan Dorkin. Now's financial problems put the series on hiatus, after 28 issues and then it was brought back for 4 issues of a volume 2, plus a couple of specials and minis. Slimer got a few comics of his own, as well. Now put a little more money and effort into Twilight Zone, securing a Harlan Ellison story for the first issue. A series followed, with names such as Bruce Jones and J Michael Straczynski involved. Tony Harris had an early story printed in issue #6 and Steve Lieber had one in #7. That series lasted 11 issues, before it was interrupted, then came back for 5 more, in Volume 3. Now also got a license for the horror movie Fright Night. This lasted 22 issues, when Now's bankruptcy brought it to an end. Speed Racer led Now to try an even older animated series: Astro Boy. Ken Steacy again provided a cover or two. This lasted 20 issues. Mr T and the T Force lasted 10 issues, which was probably 9 too many (possibly 10 too many), though Chuck Dixon did contribute a story or two. It launched with Neal Adams, which makes you wonder why he had time to do this when Continuity wasn't exactly keeping to deadlines. Anyway, it was Mr T and was nothing to write home about. I pity the fool who bought it, thinking it would be worth anything. Even the first issue, with the Neal Adams cover, is only worth about $3. By now (no pun intended) you are probably seeing the pattern. Licensed books are a double-edged sword. The license holder usually gets the lion's share of the profits (if any). If there aren't profits, they probably still get licensing fees. Which means the comic publisher bears the brunt of the costs and loses money, if the profits are miniscule or non-existent. This is part of why Now soon found itself in Chapter 7. Now, Now (okay, this is getting confusing) did have some success with the licensed books. Real Ghostbusters did decent numbers and Speed Racer started well. There were bigger sellers later and we will get into those next. Come back for Al Bundy, Britt Reid, John Connor and Ralp Snart, as we continue to look at Now Comics, before they became Then Comics.
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Post by codystarbuck on Oct 11, 2017 12:17:33 GMT -5
Now Comics continued with licensed comics, eventually turning their attention to a little comedy series, from an upstart network: Married With Children. I seem to recall this getting decent press and I believe they sold well for them; but, I also suspect Fox got the bulk of whatever profits there were. This appeared as two series, one in 1990, lasting 7 issues, and again in 1991, for another 7. There were several one-shots, as well. If you liked the tv series, the comics offered similar fare. Of greater note was another franchise, brought to life at Now: Terminator. This proved to be a popular title for Now, as they continued the story of Skynet and its killing machines.. This was before the release of Terminator 2, so Now had a ready audience. The series lasted 17 issues; but, it was soon over shadowed by a mini-series... Like the previous series, this was written by Ron Fortier, probably the best writer Now had work for them, on a long term basis. Fortier understood pulp storytelling and applied it well here (and at Caliber, with his Boston Bombers alternate world series). He had an extra advantage on this series that was lacking on the first: Alex Ross. Ross was fairly fresh out of school and working for an advertising agency when he picked up the assignment here. The fact that he had attended the Art Academy of Chicago and that Now's offices were in Chicago probably helped quite a bit. This became Ross' first published comic book work and it really helped sell the series. The series itself deals with the battle between Skynet and John Connor, culminating in an attack on Thunder Mountain, the complex that houses Skynet's mainframe Fortier writes a John Connor who is having a crisis of faith, in the relentless onslaught of Skynet's machines; but, reaffirms his convictions when he sees two fighters crushed by a tank, while they continue firing upon it, to the moment of their death. The series was collected in a trade and was also part of an Alex Ross feature in Wizard Magazine, as he commented on his work up to that point (Terminator, Marvels, Kingdom Come, Astro City). This is the series that put Ross on the map, leading to Marvels and superstardom. Terminator would move on to Dark Horse, who did some fine work on the property, with people like James Robinson and Paul Gulacy, as well as crossover with other properties. We'll come back to Ron Fortier in a moment; but, let's look at a Now comic that had no involvement with other media: Ralp Snart. Ralph Snart Adventures was conceived and created by Marc Hansen and debuted as a black & white series, in 1986, as part of the B&W boom, following the Turtles. The character is a mundane man whose flights of fantasy are a more extreme version of James Thurber's Walter Mitty. Ralph has been driven insane by day to day life and his wild flights of fantasy help him escape the insane asylum, in which he lives. The original mini ends with Ralph's brain exploding. How do you come back from that? Well, you have a neurosurgeon step in and piece his brain back together. It continues to get wilder from there, as Ralph is gunned down by Dr Goot, a mad scientist, who uses his brain to power a Frankenstein frog, to rob banks. The brain takes on a life of its own and mutates, then storms the Now offices to demand Marc Hansen restore his body. Ralph Snart was very much influenced by the Undergrounds and had that same anarchic satire. As such, it had a very strong cult following, though it was never a big mainstream hit. Still, it was about the only original thing at Now. As you can probably guess, financial matters brought a halt to the series, as Hansen quit over monies owed to him. In 1992, he returned for the mini-series, "Mind Games," where Ralph is married, with children, and has settled down into an average life, after Dr Goot has been thrown in prison. Peace is short-lived as Dr Goot breaks out and comes gunning for Ralph. Hansen would continue Ralph Snart on his own, as he owned the character, and later produced it as a web comic. Depending on your sensibilities, this is probably the one Now series to hunt down. For another worth searching, there is the Green Hornet. I said I would get back to Ron Fortier and this is where he comes back into the picture. Fortier was the writer on Now's Green Hornet series, right up to the end. He was in his element here, as he infused the Green Hornet with all of the excitement and classic features of the radio series, serials and tv show, while adding even more pulp fiction touches. Fortier got to cut loose on a bona fide pulp hero. He starts out the series by establishing the Hornet Dynasty, much like that of the Phantom. We see the original Hornet's great uncle, a masked rider of the Old West, alluded to be the Lone Ranger (as in the radio series). Artist Jeff Butler depicts the Rider as wearing the same facemask as seen in the original Lone Ranger movie serial. We then learn that Britt Reid I took up his great uncle's battles in the 1930s and 40s, acting as a criminal to get closer to the real mobs, destroying them from within. He is aided by his man-servant and chauffeur, Ikano Kato, a Japanese immigrant, who Reid saves from the internment camps by claiming he is Filipino (the character was declared to be Filipino, after the outbreak of WW2, on radio). After Reid's retirement, things are quiet until the 60s, when Britt's nephew, Britt II, takes up the role, along with Ikano's son, Hayashi. This is the "Bruce Lee" Kato, as seen in the tv series and Britt II is modelled on Van Williams. Now, in the present, we see Paul Reid, a concert pianist, take up the role of the Hornet, after the death of his brother Alan. So, James Robinson wasn't that original with Jack Knight, taking over for the murdered David. Paul Reid wears a more modern outfit, with leather bomber jacket, fedora and eye mask, while his Kato is Mishi Kato, half-sister of Hayashi and daughter of Ikano. She was trained by her father and has to pull Paul's fat out of the fire more than once. Black Beauty is updated to a Pontiac Banshee concept car. The series was a huge hit from the start, no doubt aided by the awesome Steranko cover. This immediately became Now's biggest seller and was the darling of the fan press. Everything wasn't roses with the license holder, though, as they didn't like Mishi Kato and demanded the return of the "Bruce Lee" Kato, Hayashi. he soon returned to the series and Mishi was sent packing. Fortier and Now built upon the success of the series with another Green Hornet series, Tales of the Green Hornet, which featured adventures of Britt Reid I and II, and even got Van Williams to plot it, while Bob Ingersoll handed the scripting. Kato got his own mini-series, with Mike Baron writing and Brent Anderson on art. Baron got to indulge in his love of Bruce Lee and soon followed with a second mini. A third was written and announced, first as a mini, then a graphic novel; but, Now's collapse killed the project. My personal favorite of all of the Green Hornet comics was Sting of the Green Hornet. These were the wartime adventures of the original Hornet, in the 1940s. The mini takes its cues from the excellent Green Hornet serials (where Keye Luke, of Kung Fu and Battle of the Planets, played Kato), as the Hornet fights a german plot. It mixes in elements of the pulps, the serials and has homages to other characters, including a red, white and blue-clad supersoldier, who is seen in issue 4. It was great fun and a gripping adventure. Now's bad financial skills finally caught up with the company and it went belly up in 1994. The company always had a rocky history, with its earlier Chapter 7 bankruptcy surrounded by accusations of non-payment from creators and allegations of art theft. Behind the scenes, the company was said to be pure chaos. Many fingers were pointed at Tony Caputo. Now emerged from Chapter 7, with capital from creditor General learning Corporation, who became the majority shareholder of the company. They soldiered on, from 1991 to 1994; but, they still leaked money like a sieve, as their licenses cost them more money than the quickly deteriorating comic market brought in. The Speed Racer videos were a costly venture and weren't as widely distributed to retailers beyond comic shops. Tony Caputo left the comics field (with torches and pitchforks following, no doubt) and ended up involved in the tech industry. He re-emerged in 2003, launching Now 3.0 as a platform for self-published graphic novels. It was a quick failure, folding in 2005 and the company liquidated in 2006. There was one other Now series, Eb'nn, about an anthropomorphic raven, which Now published, starting with the third issue. The first two issues were put out by Crowquill Comics. I never saw the book and have found little about it. So, that was it for Now Comics. The bulk of their output was average, at best, with a few shining moments. Mostly, their legacy is providing work for some young talent that went on to bigger success, as well as aiding in reviving the fortunes of both Speed Racer and the Green Hornet. Ron Fortier, who was probably the best writer to emerge from Now (who wasn't already established) would go on to create his own line of modern pulp novels, with his Airship 27 line of print-on-demand titles. Along the way, he would also write Gene Roddenberry's Lost Universe, for Tekno. Next up, I want to take a look at a little more stable and creatively vital 80s/90s independent: Caliber. Ron Fortier will factor in there, too, with his Boston Bombers, and we will also see the likes of James O'Barr, Guy Davis, Ed Brubaker, Brian Michael Bendis, David Mack, and some guy named Alan Moore.
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Post by brutalis on Oct 11, 2017 12:33:06 GMT -5
Getting NOW comics was frustrating as all get out here in Phoenix. Even with over 10 LCS in town at the time it was near impossible to finding any of their comics. You would see a #1 or 2 or 3 if you were lucky but almost none of the rest. I saw some Speed Racer, Ghostbuster's and Astro Boy and occasionally a Ralph Snart would appear as if by magic. None of the rest have I ever seen, not even in back issue boxes and bins. The LCS's were new and only ordering whatever was considered as hot or potentially big sellers so a lot of the smaller companies went unrepresented with only an issue showing up once in awhile if a customer might order an issue to checking it out and the LCS might order a few extra in case it might be something which would sell.
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Post by codystarbuck on Oct 11, 2017 12:48:06 GMT -5
Getting NOW comics was frustrating as all get out here in Phoenix. Even with over 10 LCS in town at the time it was near impossible to finding any of their comics. You would see a #1 or 2 or 3 if you were lucky but almost none of the rest. I saw some Speed Racer, Ghostbuster's and Astro Boy and occasionally a Ralph Snart would appear as if by magic. None of the rest have I ever seen, not even in back issue boxes and bins. The LCS's were new and only ordering whatever was considered as hot or potentially big sellers so a lot of the smaller companies went unrepresented with only an issue showing up once in awhile if a customer might order an issue to checking it out and the LCS might order a few extra in case it might be something which would sell. My local had their early offerings, in small quantities; but, then again, I was in Urbana, IL and Now was in Chicago. My shop also got their stuff from Capital, which was both in Chicago and was noted for being very supportive of the indie publishers. My shop had Now, First, Eclipse, Dark Horse, Aardvark-Vanaheim, Comico and some of the other smaller folks out there. Dc and Marvel still dominated; but, taht is where I first started perusing indie titles at length and where my tastes started to urn more away from the mainstream. I hung on with DC through the 90s and had mostly abandone Marvel by the mid-80s, with a few dips into the well in the 90s and 00s, for specific titles (Marvels, Thunderbolts, Avengers, Brubaker Cap, etc...). The Midwest seemed to get at least a smattering of every major company and decent representation of the smaller, over the years. Captial was probably a big factor in that; but, Western had a strong presence and Charlton was fairly well seen around here. A friend even had one of the Atlas/Seaboard Phoenix comics (the revamp issue, #4). Later, when I was stationed in Charleston, SC, in the Navy, a couple of shops had some decent stock of the 80s indies and I also found quite a bit of Atlas/Seaboard. My local there (my subscription shop, as I also frequented their cross-town rival) was big on the Green Hornet comics, as well as the Terminator stuff. i do remember seeing Married With Children there, too. They also used Capital, while their rival was a Diamond account (though they also were big on the indies and adult publishers). The shop also carried the Now Video Speed Racer releases, as well as the Streamline anime releases (Akira, Robotech, Star Blazers, etc...).
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Post by EdoBosnar on Oct 11, 2017 16:09:45 GMT -5
Man, I'm completely intrigued by those Green Hornet comics, including the Kato spin-offs (I see Val Mayerik did the art for the second one - cool).
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Post by codystarbuck on Oct 19, 2017 21:42:53 GMT -5
Caliber Comics was one of the most interesting independents that many people never saw. It never had the profile of Dark Horse, or even First or Eclipse; but, it had a pretty darn good range of comics, for just about any taste. The company began in 1989, started by Gary Reed. Reed was an interesting guy, especially for a publisher. He grew up in the projects of Detroit, graduated high school and attended community college at night, while working days to send his wife through college, at the Univ of Michigan. He was attending East Michigan Univ when he opened his first bookstore, specialising in used books, comics and pop culture items. by the time he had earned a masters degree in biology, he had four stores. In 1984 he launched and promoted the King Kon Comic & Fantasy Convention, Detroit's first regular con, since 1977. He also had a weekly radio show and a public access tv show, devoted to comics and pop culture. He discontinued the con in 1986, after the birth of his daughter. The, in 1989, he started Caliber. Caliber began with mostly black & white material, showcasing new talent. Among those early boos were Caliber Presents, Deadworld, The Realm, The Crow and Baker Street. Caliber Presents was an anthology title which featured early art from a lot of people who went on to bigger things, like James O'Barr, Tim Vigil, Guy Davis, and Vincent Locke. A lot of that early material was horror and mystery, which would be signatures of the company. Deadworld was a zombie apocalypse book that pre-dated The Walking Dead by 16 years (though it came well after George Romero's movies). It began after-life in 1987, at Arrow Comics, the creation of writers Stuart Kerr and Ralph Griffith and artist Vincent Locke. Arrow produced 9 issues before the company went belly up. The team brought it to Caliber, who would go on to publish 26 issues, of the first run. Gary Reed took over the writing with the 12th issue and would remain on it thereafter. Being zombie material, I never read it, as that isn't really my cup of tea. However, it proved popular enough to last, in one form or another, for nearly 30 years (with a few gaps in publication). For an indie comic, that is amazing and makes the series worth checking out, especially if you are a fan of this kind of stuff. I've already covered The Crow in my examination of Tundra; so, that leaves Baker Street. The series was created by Gary Reed and Guy Davis and it is this series that really put Davis in the limelight. The book was a critical darling from the first issue and was nominated for the Harvey Award for Best New Series, in 1990. Reed provided the scripts for the first arc, Honor Among Ounks, in issues 1-5. Davis took over writing for the second arc, Children of the Night, and provided the art for the entire run (with some fill-in inking). The series is an alternate history Sherlock Holmes pastiche, where the Victorian era carried on into the 20th Century and WW2 never occurred. Within this alternate Briatin, a group of punks look into a series f killings that mirror Jack the Ripper's killings, in Whitechapel, in the 1880s/90s. Punks and Goths are subcultures who are at odds with the Victorian society and each other an technology is lagging behind what we know. The series revolves around medical student Susan Predergrast, a Midwestern girl lost in this alternate London. She accepts an offer of two punk girls of free room and board, in exchange for cleaning the apartments. At first, she seems to be more Mrs Hudson, until we see more of her as a more on the ball Dr Watson. Her boss and our Holmes is Sharon Ford, an ex-cop whose attitude got her dumped from the force. She is part of the punk subculture and shares the quarters with her friend Sam, an acerbic punk who doesn't give a toss and grows increasingly jealous of Susan's work, when she isn't attacking it. The first arc deals with the theft of several pieces of jade, during a riot between punks and goths. The second deals with a reverse Ripper, where men are being murdered. Since the first victims were early-released rapists, it points towards a feminist group. The series is filled with touches of Doyle; but, departs greatly in the handling and sensibility. Reed and Davis never try to fully ape Holmes, which is the failure of many pastiches. Instead, the bring the feel of it, with nods to names and characters, yet let Susan, Sharon and Sam be their own, unique characters. There is some great mystery here and some great character work. Also on display is Davis' fantastic art. Baker Street would lead to Guy Davis coming to DC to work on Sandman Mystery Theater, with Matt Wagner. Davis has since left behind comics to work as a conceptual designer in Hollywood and within the gaming industry. Davis would also begin his Marquis series, at Caliber, with Les Prelude. The series would continue at Oni, then Dark Horse. 1991 would prove to be the year of expansion for Caliber, as new ventures would emerge and the line would expand. We'll look at more of that material, next time.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 19, 2017 22:15:47 GMT -5
codystarbuck ... I did not know that Married With Children had it's own Comic Book!
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Post by codystarbuck on Oct 26, 2017 23:57:42 GMT -5
One thing you can say about Caliber; they weren't afraid to publish a comic that had a great idea; but, might not have been the most commercial. They were willing to try just about any genre, if there was a good story there. One such comic was Boston Bombers, a pulp alternate world adventure, from Ron Fortier. Fortier was a long time fan of pulp fiction and he brought those sensibilities here. This is a world where the Roman Empire still exists, and is opposed by the League of Nations. There is a Christian church, with a holy matriarch, in Jerusalem and Jesus was a woman, who was accepted as the messiah, by the Hebrews. The Roman Empire is centered in Africa and is seeking to expand. In this world, the chief agent for the League of Nations is Indra Devine, a globe-trotting, butt-kicking adventurer, who starts out the series chained to a wall, in an evening dress. After a bit of bondage imagery and lingerie, she tricks her slaver captor, using mind-control lipstick (by Mabeline!.......just kidding). She frees her fellow captives and escapes from the male slavers, with her driver, Copper Faladh, they race out of the compound, with guns blazing and grenades exploding. They tear through the city and meat up with Violet "Rocky" Felicity, pilot of the Bomber Queen, which appears derived from the Boeing flying boats, which made up part of the Pan Am Clipper fleet... (Martin built most of the rest). This is one part Indiana Jones, one part Doc Savage, right from the start, with a bit of James Bond, in reverse. Rocky flies the freed women to their base, the airship/flying base Normandie, in immense twin dirigible, with an airfield contained between the two envelopes. This is the Helicarrier, in 1930s/40s technology, with some pulp imagination. The red carpet is rolled out; but, it turns out one of the ladies is an agent of Rome, and she tries to hijack the Normandie, while a squadron of men, flying with propeller-driven glider wings (think jet pack, with wings and propellers, rather than jet engine or rocket thrust). We also meet Augusta Kumana, daughter of the Roman Emperor Tiberius, who rules this new empire, in South Africa. A senator has launched the attack on the Normandie, without sanction, as a plot to seize power. Augusta reevals it and her own plot, to capture Dr Gena Wilhelm, creator of a sonic cannon. What follows are battles aboard the Normandie, to repel the invaders, a Roman dirigible, the Nero IV (with a landing platform, mounted on top of the envelope. This is high adventure of the grandest kind, with airships, flying boats, winged men, two-fisted heroines, political intrigue, and a rather feminist take on the adventure hero. All of the major characters are women and there is a connection between them, harkening back to the past. There are substantial male characters; but, the sensible ones are female. There is a bit of sexism in some of the imagery and sexual and titillating scenes. We see Dr Wilhem engaged in rather athletic sex, while clad in fetishists dream of a corset, studded collar and spiked heels, with handcuffs dangling (open) from the headboard. Fortier excels at pulp and Boston Bombers is a rip-roaring tale. Chris Jones art is somewhat minimalist, and a little rough around the edges; but, it works pretty well and he handles the aerial stuff well, while conveying the excitement of the action. There was a long delay, after the 4th issue, and readers had to wait for the eventual Boston Bombers special, which wrapped up that initial storyline. Unfortunately, that was it for the ladies of the air. If you are a fan of Blackhawk, indiana Jones and/or Laura Croft, this is right up your alley. Next time, a look at a samurai pooch.
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