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Post by codystarbuck on Jun 1, 2023 23:07:05 GMT -5
Top 10 continues to rock. I'm bummed that it only lasted 12 issues. That "nobody move in mysterious ways" line was the best thing Moore has written for ABC. That and a piece of graffiti, in the next issue, in the Godz bar. You have to know your mythology, though.
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Post by codystarbuck on Jun 8, 2023 17:38:34 GMT -5
Tom Strong #6The style of the cover is very much in the old pulp magazine tradition, particularly the work of Norman Saunders.... Rafael Desoto was another big one, whose work graced the covers of the same magazine, as well as The Shadow. Creative Team: Alan Moore-writer, Chris Sprouse & Al Gordon and Dave Gibbons-art, Todd Klein-letters, Mike Garcia-colors, Scott Dunbier-editor. Synopsis: When we last saw Tom Strong, he had been thrown back to the primordial past, by Ingrid Weis and ran afoul of the Pangean, who had made a deal with her, and another, to delay Tom. Now, he has returned to the present, and discovers who Ingrid's mystery partner was... ...Paul Saveen, the science villain and arch-nemesis of Tom, who is supposed to be a corpse, in a jeep, in the desert, body picked clean by carrion and bones bleached by the sun. Guess he got better. Tom moves forward to speak to Saveen and runs into invisible glass, with a zero percent refractivity. The room then starts filling with water. Tom dons a breathing mask and says Saveen knows this won't kill him and he acknowledges that, but remarks that it isn't meant to. A doorway opens and the water rushes to the lower pressure and Tom is sucked along with it, emerging under some kind of glass dome. He punches through it and climbs out of the water. He then flashes back to a previous adventure, where he fought Saveen. In the 1930s, Tom's girlfriend, Greta Gabriel is working on a piece (she's a reporter), about fires in the Soupbone District of Millennium City. She sends a message to Tom and he tears off in his roadster (possibly a Dahmler) and arrives and finds some goons doing something down a manhole. Hu busts in, then finds himself staring down the barrel of a gun, held by Paul Saveen (their first encounter). He forced Greta to lure him into a trap. He takes Tom to see his work.... ...Pholgisten, the ligquid distillation of heat. Tom and Greta are chained inside a larger tank, with the Phlogisten Accumulator above. Greta tells Tom about Saveen, who is from New York and has built up quite a resume of evil. She says that Saveen's scientific boasts are real. He has been using the warehouses to test the phlogisten, setting the fires. he now hopes to accumulate enough to burn Millennium City to the ground. Tom strains and is able to pull the anchor bracket for his chains from the concrete wall of the tank. He soon frees Greta and swings them both to safety, in the usual nick of time..... The fire spreads and destroys the lab, but Saveen escapes, until Tom pointys out to him that flammable liquids don't necessarily follow gravity and the fires consume the ladder he is on and Saveen plunges into it. He survived. He leads Tom into a room that is filled with trophies and the original Phlogisten Accumulator. We see the Atomic Knuckles, large metal gloves, which Tom used against Saveen, in '49. We see statues of enemies, like Euclid Amsterdam, The Mathemagician, Ingrid Weiss and someone called Tom Strage, from Terra Obscura. Tom asks how Saveen originally escaped the chamber and he says he swung into a concrete service duct, at the last second, though not without suffering bad burns. Meanwhile, Dahlua Strong and daughter Tesla have words with the Luftmadchen, Ingrid's all-girl squadron. After kicking arch und taking namen, Dahlua threatens to tear out the womb of Gerda Krause, the 2nd in command and she gives up the info that Weiss and Saveen have him trapped, somewhere in the city. She contacts Pneuman. At the lab, Saveen continues to taunt Tom, as he moves through the room, Unseen by Tom, the figure of Ingrid Weiss moves, and steps down from her pedestal, and attacks... She gets some licks in, then Tom hits her with the pedestal and knocks her through a wall, to where Saveen awaits. Tom is about ready to tear him a new one, when Saveen and Weiss stun him with a revelation... Tom & Ingrid's son, Albrecht! Thoughts: HOLY SOCKS! Tom has a son, and Ingrid Weiss is the mother? You mean, when she had him chained to the table, back in '45......... Shades of John Irving! (World According to Garp) So, we got to see a bit of Tom Saveen, after mostly hearing just his name and a little flashback of a battle, at the start of all of this. Like many villains, Saveen has a tendency to die at the end, but turn up again, very much alive. The Joker suffered many deaths, over the years and so did many others. However, Tom claims to have seen the body. Remember Wein's Law, "No one is dead, until you see the body; and not always then!" Meanwhile, Dahlua is a badass! You tend to forget that she is a heroic adventurer in her own right and though she lacks Tom's strength, she has years of combat experience. However, even Tesla was a bit unnerved by her threat to rip out Gerda's womb, and Tesla uses a sonic device to settle the matter. We will see more of this, in the next issue. This is a classic confrontation between arch-nemeses, in the grand pulp traditions, but Moore gives it a post-modern gloss and plays with your expectations. The book continues the use of guest artists to detail past adventures of Tom and Dave Gibbons gets to play with the pulp era, doing an old fashioned deathtrap story. Meanwhile, Chris Sprouse handles the present, with great subtlety. You have to be paying attention to notice the one panel of Ingrid Weiss' foot moving.... If you are too focused on Tom, you might miss the movement, until the last panel, when you see the gloved hand tap his shoulder. It is in the foreground, but, you naturally follow the dialogue balloons, so you might not realize she is stepping down, until you finish reading and move to the right and scan down to the bottom panel. Sprouse again displays Weiss' great strength and physical ability, once again showing her to be a Nazi Wonder Woman, though more at Tom's level than, say, Warrior Woman, in The Invaders. Still, it is a little shocking to see the hero hit a woman with a black of marble (or whatever the material is), even a Nazi uberfrau. This issue pulls us back into the central story, after last issues diversion to Pangea, though it was tied into the plot. It still felt like we got sucked into a side story, though. Now, we are back on point, with the conclusion to come. It doesn't help that there was a two month gap between issues. The frequency of the series could be a little erratic, swinging between 2 and 3 months between issues (there was a 4 month gap between issues 11 and 12). It is a little understandable, given how much Moore is writing, between Tom Strong, Promethea, Tomorrow Stories and Top 10. That is a lot of content. Sadly, we will have to wait 3 months, for the conclusion (well, actually two months, as this came out Dec 29, 1999 and the next is March 1, 2000). Now, time to party likes it's 1999! Turns out that the ladies at the keyboard was less of a tease than you thought, though keyboardist Lisa Coleman was actually involved with guitarist Wendy Melvoin, who wasn't in this video. The blond is singer Jill Jones. She also did backing vocals for Apollonia, Vanity and Teena Marie, as well as her own solo album, with songs by Prince, on his Paisley Park label. She was also Prince's on-again, off-again girlfriend. Then again, who wasn't? Well, apart from Coleman and Melvoin......
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Post by codystarbuck on Jun 10, 2023 16:29:34 GMT -5
Tomorrow Stories #5Cobweb gets the feature spot on the cover, with Melinda Gebbie doing her best cheesecake staging. Interesting to see her interpretations of Greyshirt and First American, in the inserts. Again, it fits into the world of pulp magazines, which tended to feature suggestive or borderline salacious images, plenty of cheesecake, and a bit of tongue in cheek humor, in the less adventure and mystery-oriented ones. This is similar to stylings for romance magazines, and there were pulp romances. Where do you think Harlequin and its ilk originated? It isn't all Jane Austen. Cobweb is also a satire of the kinds of suggestive tease that comics have used to sell copies, going back to the beginning, with Good Girl Art, damsels-in-distress and in states of undress. Is it sexist? In that context, though the counter-argument is usually that the male figures are shown in beefcake imagery; but, that ignores that they are shown as strong and powerful, but rarely sexualized (unless strong and powerful is a sexual attraction for you) vs women, where the emphasis is on physical appearance, emphasizing beauty and feminine curves, and often in such pin-up posing. Cobweb does serve to do those exploitive things; but, there is a winking sense to the stories, like they know exactly what draws readers to them and they do use that to slip in some things, like double-standards, or moral hypocrisy. How satirical it is lies with the observer. Creative Team: Alan Moore-writer, Rick Veitch, Melinda Gebbie and Jim Balkie-art, Todd Klein-letters, Bad@$$-colors, Scott Dunbier-editor Synopsis: Greyshirt-A Mr Fegley, a landlord, goes up to the apartment of Dr Crescendo to complain about his music playing, again. He pounds on the door and then a violen, with what looks like a tuning fork, on the end, makes him disappear from his boots. We then see Greyshirt, brought to an alley, by Rocky, a man in an Indian fakir's attire. There, we find Fegley, muttering in disorientation. They check his pockets and find an inscription on hi watch, backwards, as well as the face of the watch.... Everything seems reversed. Rocky takes Fegley to the hospital, for treatment, while Greyshirt follows up on a return address, on the letter in his pocket. It leads him to a drug store and Roseanna Crescendo, who wrote the letter to fegley, asking him to fix the heating in her father's, Dr Crescendo, apartment. She tells him her father was a physicist, obsessed with Einstein and creating a theory of everything,to improve upon the man. Like Einstein, he played the violin and he grew more an more obsessed about the beauty of physics, like that of music. He spoke not of particles, but something like violin strings, at the subatomic level, creating the energy of everything. The universe, as a symphony. His theories were not understood and even ridiculed, as they required the universe to have either ten or twenty-six dimensions. They go to see Roseanna's father and Rocky finds them, along the way, saying Fegley will likely die, as his digestion doesn't work right. Greyshirt finds Fegley on the roof, starting his final symphony, which will change everything. he is bitter about his treatment and he exile from the scientific community. As he plays reality is warped, until Roseanna rushes in and pleads with him. He is overcome by her love and his music turns inward and the music reaches...crescendo...and the doctors explodes in a display of light, leaving only a broken violin behind, and a grieving daughter..... Cobweb-The "story" is an excerpt from the 1929 collage novel, La Toile dans Le Chateau des Larmies, or Cobweb in the Castle of Tears, by Georges Delcourt. Wes see a masked figure go through a castle/chateau, with all kinds of surrealist imagery (made as collages) and not a lot of coherent plot and the whole thing is beyond my tiny peasant mind. It all culminates in Cobweb gaining enlightenment and ascending into the heavens, or something.... Me and French Surrealism and Dadaism don't cotten to one another. Right purty pictures, yassir, but I don't rightly know what the heck they's talkin' about, nosir. Goerges Delcourt is fictitious and seems to be a portmanteau of Georges Hugnet, a French graphic artist, writer and poet, who was a member of the Surrealist and Dadist movements and created a collage novel, Le septième face du dé , in 1936; and, Delcourt publishing, the French publishing house, founded in 1986, by Guy Delcourt, known for publishing graphic novels, among other things. You're on your own from there. First American-FA fires US Agent, on Christmas Eve, remarking how he doesn't have to share royalties or cover circles. He goes to bed, after hanging his stockings for Santa (greedy bugger hangs a full pair of tights!) and is awakened by a ghostly spirit.... ...of his past sidekick, Buckley, who drowned in a "Chain & Strongbox Charity Swim" Buckley takes him on a journey to see comics of the past.... ...and their tired, lame jokes. he drops him back in bed, where he is met by Pickapockit of the Wallemon (Wallet Monsters, for short), who takes him on a tour of a mall, at Christmas, where the kids want all kinds of video games and figures and such, but no one mentions comics.... He is deposited back in bed, then is visited by a gorilla, in a Planet of the Apes outfit, who shows him the desolation of the future..... He awakens in bed (next to a prostitute) and runs out into the street (pantsless, since he hung his tights up for Santa), to find his sidekick and rehire her. he is directed to the Tmorrow Stories Christmas Party, where Greyshirt answers the door, then tells US Agent that the Worst American is asking for her and she says she has never heard of him. Greyshirt slams the door in his face and he is shut out, as Jack B Quick talks about taking a vacation, to get his head straight and Cobweb suggests that she and US Agent should crossover. FA tries to get in again and Greyshirt sicks the dogs on him and we end with everyone cheering "God bles uss, everyone!" Thoughts: Greyshirt is another Eisner-esque tale, delving into Quantum Theory, with the usual O Henry twist. Not much to say about it, though the daughter Roseanna, as an adult, is portrayed rather sexily, in short skirt and tight sweater and leather jacket. It pretty much matches the sort of femme fatale women of The Spirit, though she is an innocent character. Just kind of showing the cheesecake element of Eisner's work and the nature of comic books, as they are geared to young males (and old males, these days). It does kind of emphasize the noir world of Greyshirt and Indigo City. Otherwise, it's an adequate Spirit pastiche, but not necessarily one of the better ones. See above for Cobweb. This is yet another visual experiment that is just out of my ballpark. Looks nice, if disjointed, but I can't wrap my head around it, without a headache. Not my cup of tea. Still, it continues the series of visual links to other graphic storytelling styles, while still playing with eroticism. I think. The images are a bit murky but it looked some people might be getting it on. First American is A Christmas Carol, as the first page indicates, and titles it "A Christmas Cop-out," suggesting it is an easy story to do. Dickens pastiches have been done to death, but it is still a bit of fun, as you pour over the images, starting with the various details in FA's home. His tree is a reinder, thrust upwards through pine branches, while a present from Wildstorm is ticking. In his bedroom, a portable tv has an image of logs burning in a hearth, kind of summing up modern Christmas, in one image. Buckley is an obvious homage to Buckey and the Marley bit is actually a nice joke that the chains and junk are the manner of his death, not his sins in life. Buckley shows him a past and an Archie satire, with a rather pointed joke about how old some of the jokes are. Well, it is a first time for those jokes and a younger audience. Worked well enough to keep going. Mostly, it satirizes the modern tendency to look down on past pop culture as outdated and lame. or at least, you can interpret it that way. Or selse Moore thinks Archie is lame. The Christmas Present spirit is a play on Pokemon and similar and consumer frenzies and disposable toys and games that carry far more weight in youth culture than comics, compared to previous generations. Basically, kids these days aren't reading comics. Then we see the future, in a parody of Planet of the Apes; but a wasteland of gimmicks and violent pieces and a comic convention that barely acknowledges comics existence, unless it is related to an upcoming movie or tv series. We end with a nod to the fact that Jack B Quick is going away, leaving room for a new feature, which will be the focus of next issue's cover. Not really much more to say here, really. Tomorrow Stories is a bit of a weak sister, compared to the other existing ABC books. The anthology nature keeps everything short and it is mostly an exercise in satire. Of the earlier issues, Jack B Quick was my favorite and the funniest, for me, but First American was a close second. Jack is great for a humorous take on big science concepts, while FA is a great, Mad-esque satire of pop culture, with visual details in the spirit of Wally Wood and Will Elder and the other Mad Usual Gang of Idiots. Greyshirt is a big Eisner and Spirit homage and it does it well, with a slightly darker sense of humor (though Eisner could get dark). I think Greyshirt shown better when they did the mini-series, Indigo Sunset. Cobweb is more a visual experiment, with the text and dialogue shifted to match the visual stylings. It also uses sex, ironically, to be sure, to sell the comic. Not the best issue of the run.
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Post by codystarbuck on Jun 18, 2023 21:30:28 GMT -5
Promethea #6The cover is an homage to that of Magic Carpet Magazine, from October, 1933, with cover painting by Margaret Brundage (best known for her Weird tales covers). Brundage was one of the rare women working in magazine illustration, out of Chicago, where she produced beautiful paintings in delicate pastels, for a pittance, while trying to support herself and her child. She never saw a tenth of the money those paintings sold for, in later years. Creative Team: Alan Moore-writer, JK Williams III & Mick Gray-art, Todd Klein-letters, Jeromy Cox-colors, Scott Dunbier-editor Synopsis: In the hospital, Sophie remains unconscious and trapped in the Imaginarium. Well, maybe not trapped, but, lost. While that goes on, one of the members of the 5 Swell Guys, marv, has been critically injured during their battle with The Painted Doll.... Kenneth, the psychic member of the group stands vigil over his bed, tapping into his emmories of the event. He withdraws from Marv's mind and goes for a walk in the hospital. he hears about Barbara not doing well, her body rejecting the clonemeat transplants. he then hears about Sophie collapsing and being put in a side ward and he searches out her room. he then taps her mind and sees what she does. Sophie is being chased by lizard-men, on the backs of bird creatures, who want to eat her. She is then saved by some Xena imitation.... Who turns out to be the Promethea of the 1920s, pulp magazine illustrator Grace Brannagh. She tells Sophie that she lived the pulp adventures of Promethea and that the lizard-men are called manigators, and they are the product of Neptura, a wizard, and the personification of the house pseudonym that disguised the various writers of the Promethea pulp stories. He has usurped her realm of Hy Brasil and she is going to take it back. as they ride, she teaches Sophie about the next of the 4 weapons, The Sword, just as Margaret taught her about The Cup (compassion). The Sword represents reason, cutting through the illusion of BS. Neptura appears before them, as a huge figure in the sky, speaking in bad Old English, with his words depicted as type face.... Grace calls him a hack, who had the hots for her (as a chaarcter), writing of heaving bosoms and concocting torture and bondage scenarios for the illustrations and covers. Sophie notices that the imagery repeats itself, with the same severed heads and Manigators and Grace remarks it is because Neptura isn't a very good writer. His dangers are usually obvious and you can see the twists coming well in advance, as she tosses an attacking Manigator into a wall. They advance to a dark tower and are atacked by leech leaves, vampiric plant life, concocted by Neptura. Grace then notices another observer and calls out Kenneth and his peeping... As she does so and he withdraws from Sophie's mind, Stacia comes charging in, calling him a pervert and calling for a nurse to eject him. One comes along with Roger, the female member of the 5 Swell Guys, who drags Kenneth out. Stacia recognizees her and asks if the Old Roger is coming back and she says no, he's not. Grace and Sophie find a tree in the center of the tower and Grace rips it open, warning Sophie to stand clear of the sap. neptura attacks with spells that product Glob goblins, which Grace fights off. Then Sophie recalls the words of her term paper, about the writers who wrote the pulp stories, recalling the names and the critical assessments of their work, from the good to the hack work. She mentions Bernard Haupt, who was noted for misogynistic bondage scenes and it causes small figures to come tumbling out of Neptura's robes..... Grace realizes that Sophie has broken down Neptura into his component writers, making them less powerful and she is able to banish all of them, since they no longer work in conjunction. She praises barbara and her used of Reduction, breaking big problems into lots of smaller problems, making them easier to solve. She says she now sees what Barbara does and that Sophie may be the most powerful host of all. She sends Sophie on to find Bill, to learn of the Wand and Pentacle, the other two weapons of Magic. Meanwhile, a Benjamin Solomon arrives in New York and is taken to his suite, by an aid, who he then dismisses. Then he calls a gathering... Thoughts: An interesting exploration of pup literature, after a fashion, and the writers who told in it, earning a few cents per word, churning out stories to make a living. Authors like Walter Gibson, creator of the Shadow, who at one point was publishing two stories per month, or Frederick Faust, aka Max Brand, who wrote a whole slew of westerns and other stories, earning a reputation as the most prolific of the pulp writers. genre fiction was born in the pulps and some great material came out of it, like the Shadow and Doc Savage, Dashiell Hammett's Continental Op, Robert E Howard's Conan, Solomon Kane and Sailor Steve Costigan, the fantasy and horrors stories of Clark Ashton Smith, the Cthulhu mythos of HP Lovecraft, and the adventure tales of Edgar Rice Burroughs. For all of the greats, there were even more hacks, churning out knockoffs, stealing plots and characters, to fill up the magazines pages, or create the illusion of the same for a rival publisher. There were guys like L Ron Hubbard, who wrote some decent material, swiped even more (his Iron Duke is pretty much The Prisoner of Zenda, by Anthony Hope) and were con artists in real life. There were guys like sci-fi pioneer EE "Doc" Smith, a chemist who developed flavor mixtures for donuts, for a baking firm, who created the space opera hero Skylark Duquesne and the Lensman Saga, which inspired the Jedi and many plot elements of Star Wars. Moore pokes a bit of fun at the hackwork of many and the often lurid nature of the pulp stories, which produced equally lurid cover images. Margaret Brundage painted many for Weird Tales, with scantily clad and actually nude women, most often bound and chained, in scenes of torture and peril. Martin Goodman, Timely/Marvel Comics owner, specialized in what were known as "shudder" pulps, with graphic images and stories of torture, violence and horror, some with illustrations from the same guys who were drawing his comics, including Jack Kirby. In the tale, Grace talks about being an artist and having an eye for the imaginary worlds that is far better than the writers. As such, Moore basically applauds the artists who made his stories look great in ways his words alone could not. That is one of the powers of comics, to bring great visuals to great writing, in the rare instances when you get both. Comics grew out of the pulps (and newspaper strips), with most of the publishers of comics doing it as a sideline to their pulp magazine publishing,: Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson and Harry Donenfeld, at DC, Ned Pines of Better/Standard/Nedor, Martin Goodman of Timely, Dell, Fawcett, John Goldwater and Louis Silberkleit (and Maurice Coyne) of MLJ, etc, etc. Lots of hack work in both and some actual fine writing, from some. Grace Brannagh's Promethea is a heroic warrior, in the mode of Xena, in a leather cuirass, with grieves, wristbands and a sword at her side. Xena owed much to Wonder Woman, plus pulp warrior maidens, like CL Moore's Jirel of Joiry, or RE Howard's Belit, or Red Sonya, though Howard's Sonya was a gun-slinging Polish-Ukranian warrior fighting the Sultan of the ottoman Empire, not a prehistoric barbarian heroine. We get another glimpse of the 5 Swell guys and a hint that they aren't exactly the most heroic bunch, despite being the science hero protectors of New York.Marv is the resident Genius and is specifically targeted by the Painted Doll, which uses illusions to distract the others, while he attacks Marv. Kenneth is the psychic and we first see him unable to get inside the Doll's mind, which reveals the illusion. We see him intrude on Sophie's mind, until caught by Grace, in the Imaginarium and Stacia, in the hospital. Roger is the team's muscle and the female form is new. Roger has changed genders, as a result of an adventure in Suffragette City, of which we will learn more. Stan is the mechanic, who creates all of their tech and Bob is the leader. The Living Doll is their main enemy, a sort of Joker figure. More on him, later, too. The forces who are trying to destroy Promethea are there, too and we sense that things will be heating up , soon. This continues Sophie's journey of discovery; and, as such, is full of exposition and metaphor, just as last issue was; but, it is better than issue #4 and the metaphorical journey is more coherent; or, at least, to me. i can wrap my head around hack writers who create cliched worlds and repetitive stories, for low wages, just as I can appreciate how rare the good ones were. meanwhile, the concept of Reason, as a weapon, is one I like, as it does cut through the BS. Sophie is able to cut through Neptura by reciting the assessments of the individual writers who handled Promethea's pulp adventures, highlighting the good and bad. This breaks Neptura down into the component writers and Grace can then eject the bad one and reclaim Hy Brasil. Sophie's use of Reason solves the problem. reason sees through con games and paranoid delusions; the problem is getting the delusional to see reason, as we have all witnessed the last few years. It it therefore even more ironic that the issue's letter column has someone speaking in praise of then-New york mayor Rudy Giuliani, after a letter in issue 4's column spoke of Mayor Sonny Baskerville and his multiple personality disorder, who is then charged with molesting a constituent. the letter writer speaks of empathizing, as he felt molested by Big Rudy. This issue's writer defends Giuliani and attacks Eric DeSantis's tongue-in cheek comments as calling Rudy a fascist, even though his words were mocking his comb over and fashion sense, an imposition of his own "moral codes" on people. he never uses the word fascist. In light of events in the past three years, DeSantis was showing remarkable restraint, as was the letter writer in issue #4. They had yet to see Rudy do his impression of Zorg, from The Fifth Element! It is obvious that Grace is inspired by Margaret Brundage, not just in the cover illustration. Margaret Brundage was born in raised in Chicago, the child of immigrants from the Orkney Islands, off Scotland. She was a classmate of Walt Disney, in high school. She drew fashion illustrations for newspapers and attended the Art Institute of Chicago and the Chicago Academy of Finer Arts. She met and married Myron "Slim" Brundage and they had one son. She began working for Farnsworth Wright, publisher of Weird tales, doing illustrations for his other magazine, Oriental Stories, which became Magic Carpet magazine. He was so impressed with her work that he moved her up to working on Weird Tales and she became the most prolific cover painter in its existence, and the most popular. She supported herself, her mother and her son, on her rate of $90 per cover painting. Her biggest rival for the cover spot was Virgil Finlay, a giant of the pulps. Some writers, like Seabury Quinn, used to incorporate her images into their stories, making them sell even more. After her relationship with weird Tales ended, she continued to support herself through art and make frequent appearances at sci-fi conventions, but had many of her originals stolen, at such shows. Our next issue is going to be.......interesting.
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Post by Rob Allen on Jun 20, 2023 11:13:38 GMT -5
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Post by codystarbuck on Jun 29, 2023 22:13:45 GMT -5
I try to do these in chronological sequence, but Tomorrow Stories was the first comic published, in February 2000; but, since I already covered the previous issue, I skipped to Promethea, for some variety. We now return to chronological order and .... Tomorrow Stories #6Creative Team: Alan Moore-writer, Rick Veitch, Jim Baike, Melinda Gebbie & Hilary Barta-art, Todd Klein-letters, Bad@$$ colors, Scott Dunbier-editor Bad@$$ is Alex Bleyaert, in case I failed to mention it before. As you can see on the cover (lower right corner), Jack B Quick is gone and we are auditioning a new feature....er, well, First American, US Angel, Greyshirt and Cobweb are; we are just observing. Synopses: Greyshirt- We see a figure emerge from a subway station, onto the snow-covered streets of Indigo City. Greyshirt and the police are rousting "Repeating" Sammy Raphael, for a jewel heist, but the only prints they have aren't his. However, he is suddenly wealthy. Raphael claims a rich uncle left him the money and Greyshirt tells the cops they have to let him walk, as they don't have evidence. After Sammy leaves, our mystery figure, who has said something about being on day release, from his sentence, tells Greyshirt he was wrong to let Sammy go.... He tells him that Sammy hired a freelancer, murdered him and suffed him in a meat locker. He then says he is out on bail, awaiting sentencing and then disappears into the night. Greyshirt and the cops descend upon the address given and Sammy hears them and panicks. They tell him to open up and he comes out shooting and is gunned down by the police. They find the meat locker and the dead body, plus the jewels, from the heist. We cut to the shadowy figure, who walks back down the steps to the underground, followed by the bullet-riddled body of Sammy. First American- First American and US Angel defeat Gerta Dammerung and her plot to use huge genetically modified eyeballs of Gwynneth Paltrow to drown the world in tears. As they haul gerta off, she laments that she is overweight and will never find a mate. This gets to FA, who starts thinking along same lines, except he isn't fat.....he is just inked with a heavy line! He meets a blond woman in a bar and things progress quickly...... ...very quickly!Before you know it, they have a house full of kids and she leaves FA for her aromatherapist. She divorces FA and gets custody of US Angel, in the court settlement. FA then meets a brunette woman, who turns out not to be like the Crying Game chick, but is actually two male midgets, in a suit. FA runs in terror. He puts out a personal ad and ends up on a blind date with gerta, who he marries, then leaves for his ex-wife's aromatherapist. The ex his transitioned to male and married US Angel, byt FA drags her away and says they were meant to be together in a "Are they, Aren't they" kind of modern relationship.... Cobweb- Clarice is massaging Cobweb's back (and asking her to pummel her harder) when word comes of the Money Spider escaping from prison. Clarice gioes to get the motorcycle reved up, while Cobweb gets into her costume, but has trouble attaching her garters to her stockings. they head to the Getchild Bank Building and enter and Clarice is struck down by dripping poison. Money Spider captures Cobweb in her silken net She leaves the bound heroine to rob the bank, kissing her cheek with venomous lips. Cobweb is fading, but removes a lighter from her snood (hairnet) and burns away the web. She gets Clarice out, then surprises Money Spider by getting above her, in a gyrocopter. Money Spider leaps out at her and Cobweb kicks her. She then grabs ahold of Cobweb's leg and tries to claw her; but, Cobweb's garter pops open again and he stocking slips off, under the weight of Money Spider and the villain falls into a sewer drain. Cobweb and Clarice depart, to finish her massage and we see Money Spider try to climb out of the sewer..... Splash Brannigan- Daisy Screensaver begins her first day at Kaputz Comics and boss Sidney J Kaputz shows her to her cubicle and drawing table, which still has the claw marks of the great artist, Mort Gort. Sidney then tells Daisy he needs the enxt issue of Sarcastic Thug by lunchtime. She gets to work, but modern ink doesn't cover a page like the old stuff. She hunts around and finds a bottle of ink, behind an ant farm and a cardbaord submarine. After herculean effort (which shows how strong the ink is), the gets the bottle open and out comes Splash Brannigan.... Splash then details his origin and how he ended up in the bottle. Mort Gort went mental, doing comics and contemplated that he did 2-D comics with 3-D ink and wondered if a 4-D person drew him. He becomes obsessed with developing Hyper-Spatial Fluid, then succeeds and Splash Brannigan is born. Splash fought crime and Mort was committed to the funny farm. Then, Splash fell asleep in the ink bottle and someone capped it and left him there. Splash helps Daisy finish the job, then gripes about the state of modern comics.... Thoughts: The Greyshirt story is a great Esiner-pastiche, capturing the best of his Spirit morality tales, as we learn what the shadowy figures bail was for, as he is the murdered jewel thief, who gets parole from his sins to squeal to Greyshirt, so that Sammy Raphael gets justice. Just really great stuff. First American satirizes adolescent males and their inability to develop meaningful relationships, because they see relationships as a fantasy, not an emotional committment to another person. meanwhile, he takes some digs at DC (and Marvel, to a certain extent) as we keep seeing an overweight, bespectacled figure, hawking some trashy exploitive comic..... There is more than a passing resemblance to Mike Carlin, the Superman editor at DC.... If you head over to the Post-Crisis Superman thread, you can see some discussion about Carlin and his relationships with women, at DC. Let's put it this way, he makes Lex Luthor look like a sensitive Alan Alda type. Cobweb continues the visual homages, with this issue bearing a bit of resemblance to some of the covers and artwork of Golden Age artist LB Cole, whose work graced comics at Four Star, Rural Home, Ajax, Holyoke and Gilberton. It also plays of the fetishistic tease, though it actually has a plot purpose, as Cobweb spends ample time adjusting her stockings, when she suits up to go after Money Spider, where she mentions having trouble with the clasp of her garters. Said clasp releases, sending Money Spider to her doom. Meanwhile, Money Spider is dressed in an outfit that Wendy O Williams would have praised. Splash Brannigan is the new feature and rather reminds one of Jack Cole's Plastic Man, crossed with a genie. The conceit of Daisy Screensaver working for Kaputz Comics allows for both satirizing publishers (both for being cheap and exploitive) and the conventions of comics, while also fitting in with the tradition of comic humor strips, like Angel and the Ape, where Sam Simeon works as a comic book artist by day and detective in his spare time. Hilary Barta adds the right comical touches, reminiscent of Will Elder and Jack Davis, at EC (especially Mad Magazine). Barta worked a bit solo and with Doug Rice, on Marvel's What the...? parody comic and on Stupid, for Image (until they got dumped, in the Image purge, after being threatened with late fees, by Diamond). If you look at the last page of the story, you will notice that Splash gets a bit "handsy," though Daisy doesn't notice. Yet another shot across the bow, from Moore. He doesn't leave himself out, as we see a story attributed to Alan Less, for Sarcastic Thug. The letters column says Jack B Quick will be back, in 5 issues or less and he does put in an appearance, in issue 10; so, he isn't gone for good (though the series is, these days). People tend to cite this as the weakest of the ABC books; and, though that might be true, it is all relative and it is a darn good read. There is no real continuity and it is played as Alan moore's version of Mad, crossed with other homages to graphic art history and narrative. Greayshirt lets Moore and Veitch play in Eisner's sophisticated sandbox, without getting pompous. First American is satirical fun and Jack B Quick is absurdist exploration of all kinds of things and a model of joke timing. Cobweb is a visual journey through experimental visuals, while also satirizing the rather adolescent sexual tease that underlies most superhero comics. Splash Brannigan allows Moore to snipe at the industry, while playing in Jack Cole's sandbox. In terms of elevating comics into an art form, Cole was probably Eisner's greatest rival, with the exception of Harvey Kurtzman. I'll take "weak" Alan Moore over most comics, any day!
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Post by codystarbuck on Jul 1, 2023 20:15:38 GMT -5
Top 10 #7"Just the facts, All-Father." Creative Team: Alan Moore-writer, Gene Ha & Zander Cannon-art, Todd Klein-letters, Wildstorm FX-colors, Scott Dunbier-editor Synopsis: We open with Hector "Monsoon" Lopez, caught up in a "Confessions of....." fantasy..... ...which ends with him nearly releasing M'rggla Qualtz from her cell. It is there we learn that the alien can affect the sexual portions of the human male mind, which goes hand-in-hand with her career as a prostitute and porn actress. Detective Jackson stops him, in time, as females seem immune to the effect. She tells him to report to Captain Traynor about it, so orders to keep the males away from the cell can be issued. meanwhile, she talks to Det Corbeau, who relates that they have finished the analysis of the alloy they found, at the museum and it is a compressed powder, like a pill, which is radioactive, but not of Earth origin. Then, the call comes in from Jeff Smax, about the murder at the Godz bar. Detective Jackson goes to the scene and sees the dead body of Baldur Wodenson, God of Beauty. Robyn Slinger runs down the facts. Meanwhile, Woden wants someone smited (smitten?) and Thunor is drunk and belligerent (what a surprise). Det. Jackson tells Smax to call in Micro-Maid, to examine the body. Sally Jo Jessell, aka Micro-Maid, is busy telling Andy "Airbag" Soames that he has STORMS, a sexually transmitted virus which can mutate a victim.... She proceeds to the scene, where Det Jackson fills her in, as Robyn gets witness statements and Smax tries to control Thunor..... Zeus relates that the German gods were playing a game, hurling stuff at Baldur, without hurting him, until he suddenly keeled over, dead. Sally Jo finds a small piece of iron, shaped like mistletoe. They are interrupted by a blinding flash of light, as Smax unleashes his beam on Thunor, when he won't settle down. Jackson warns Smax that he is already on probation, with the Captain. Woden intercedes, saying his son if a major butt-hole. Frija informs them that Baldur could not be hurt by anything, then is shown the iron mistletoe and remembers that mistletoe was the one substance that did not promise to leave her son unharmed. It was thrown by Hod, a blind god, but Woden says he is a gentle soul. Thunor points out he bolted, after Baldur fell and they search for him. Smax goes back to the toilets and locates Hob.... He is in hysterics over Baldur's death. He confesses to the murder, before being read his tights and keeps babbling. he said he was handed the mistletoe and Det Jackson stops him.... He tells them that Lokk gave him the mistletoe and Lokk realizes the jig is up. He confesses, saying he was having a laugh and Woden is threatening him with being chained to a rock and having venom dripped on him. he retorts that this is America, not some backwater fjord and he has rights. Woden gets more agitated and Smax tells Robyn to call in back-up. At the station, Captain Traynor gets the call and goes to find Corbeau, who then tells him about the radioactive drugs and the tie-in with Gromolko and Graczik and tickets to Grand Central, a transfer point between realities. The Captain tells him to follow up the lead, then is interrupted by visitors, The Seven Sentinels, who demand M'rrgla Qualtz's immediate release, as she was a member of the team. Traynor refuses, despite the threats, but does show them the suspect, in her cell. What they see is not what he sees.... They tell Traynor he has made powerful enemies and leave. Det Corbeau arrives at Godz and his partner fills him in about Baldur. He starts laughing. The others are puzzled and he explains. the gods are part of recurring cycles of stories, that Baldur has died before and will again and we see Baldur rise from the floor, like nothing has happened. Jackson says that since there is no dead body, there is no murder and they leave, though Smax questions letting the crime go without an arrest. Jackson responds that if he wants to spend an eternity, filling out reports, go ahead and he sees her point. The Germans go right back to their game. "Neural" Annette comes into the station to see Sgt Kemlo (the dog) and tells him thanks for taking care of her and asks him out to dinner. He hesitates, then accepts. He stops off at the canteen and fills in Jackie Phantom about the raid as Krakatoas and they analyzed everything and found no trace of a shapeshifter, so no Ghostly Goose. They depart and Jackie expresses her disappointment but the others tell her that she caught the Libra killer, so cheer up. She does, but still wishes she had caught the Goose. She isn't the only one who is happy, though.... Thoughts: This was the issue that finally convinced me that this was my favorite of the ABC line. I had enjoyed what I was reading; but, the mystery element was hard to keep straight, as things progressed. This one, though, had some of the best jokes and sight gags, plus it added all kinds of layers to the mystery of the Libra killer and also tied some disparate elements together. Plus, the whole Godz thing was right up my alley, as I have always been a fan of mythology and knew the story of Baldur's death, via the trickery of Loki. Moore uses the Germanic names for the Norse gods including Woden, Thunor (Thunar in Anglo-Saxon or Donar in High German), Frija (High German) or Fri (Anglo-Saxon, or Frigg, in Old English) and Lokk, but keeps the basic personalities, as described in myth, where Thor is pretty much a wild butthead (with red hair, not blond). Woden even threatens to take away his goat chariot, which was said to rumble as it crossed the sky, creating thunder. I love the fact that Lokk doesn't even attempt the stereotyped manner of speaking, populated in Marvel's Thor and has him speaking colloquial English, complete with slang and sarcasm ("Way to go, Helen Keller!") The Godz bar is a lot of fun, for sight gags, like the Smurfs mugging a passed out Chinese deity, outside the bar, as a Middle eastern god deprats the bar (possibly Babylonian). Zeus saw what happened because he is omniscient; all-seeing. In the backgrounds, you see figures from other mythologies, like the Hindu elephant god, Ganesh, a Native American figure, and a pair of Egyptians (one of whom is Horus, I think, as he has a bird head that looks hawk-like). You see some Asian gods in the bathroom, and one makes a joke about knowing Smax, since he is blue, like the Hindu (Kali, I think, though the lettering looks like it says Kaish) The graffiti on the walls is terrific, as you can see in the panel of Smax, above. I especially love "Oedipus is a mother-_______" That had me laughing out loud, the first time I read the issue. Meanwhile, we learn that M'Rggla Qualtz can affect human males and alter their perceptions of reality. however, Captain Traynor seems immune, when he shows the Seven sentinels to her cell, though they all see the illusion, including Sun Woman, which begs the question, why does she see it but Synaesthesia did not? It is notable that Captain Traynor does not back down in the face of threats by the Seven, who are supposed to be the equivalent of the Justice League, here. That is the kind of leader you want to have around, especially in law enforcement. "Neural "Annette Duvall and Sgt Caesar Kemlo gets into a whole weird area, especially since he normally parades around in an exoskeleton, on two leags, looking human, except for a doberman head. Annette is wearing what I guess is normal clothing for this world (slightly space age) and not her previous form-fitting outfit. She also looks a bit more...full figured, than she did before, suggesting either Zander and Gene hadn't really worked out what she looked like out of costume or it is just an effect of what she is wearing. Interspecies romance is just a topic you don't expect, even with a sentient dog, who can communicate and work with humans. Previously, he claimed to be dating a borzoi, after Girl One slapped him, when she realized that he was color blind and could see her naked body, rather than the holograms projected on it. So, apparently, he is attracted to homo sapiens (homo superior?) and not just canines. Whatever the case, this is why I didn't go on liberty in Tijuana. Some things you just don't want to know. The portion with Andy Soames one again brings home the idea of sexually transmitted diseases, in a world or aliens, super humans, and other-dimensional beings. Imagines AIDS, with an even more advanced cell structure. The thought of horrible mutations is probably worse than death. Next issue is a treat for spotting easter eggs and also for the writing, as the officers find themselves handling a cosmic traffic accident, while the mystery of M'Rggla Qualtz and her power over others continues and King Peacock (Det Corbeau) travels to another dimension to pursue a lead.
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Post by codystarbuck on Jul 1, 2023 20:17:52 GMT -5
ps Forgot to mention the Ghostly Goose reveal, as we learn that he is rather like Jack Cole's plastic man, able to assume different forms, though with identifying features.
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Post by codystarbuck on Jul 3, 2023 15:54:10 GMT -5
Tom Strong #7Tom vs son Albrecht Strong. Creative Team: Alan Moore-writer, Chris Sprouse & Al Gordon and Gary Frank & Cam Smith-art, Todd Klein-letters, Mec Garcia-colors, Scott Dunbier-editor Sprouse & Gordon handle the present part of the story, Frank & Smith the past future. Synopsis: Tom's ape friend King Solomon hitches a ride with Tom's daughter, Tesla Strong.... Dhalua Strong is at the controls and she has an idea where Paul Saveen and Ingrid Weiss will be, the Soupbone District. Tesla is unnerved about the raw hatred in her mother's voice when she mentions Ingrid Weiss. They land and are able to locate a manhole entrance to a sewer tunnel below and head down to locate Tom. Meanwhile, Tom has been confronted with the figure of his son, Albrecht. He doubts the possibility, until Ingrid remarks about how long he was unconscious, in the Berlin Bunker, in 1945.... Holy Mother of Garp! Tom tries to appeal to Albrecht's intellect and is struck down, literally, as the boy spouts Nazi horse-s@#$. Tom refuses to fight back, despite taunts by Weiss and Saveen. Weiss speaks of the future and Tom mocks her, talking about how the fascists always cling to the past, rather than face the future. He activates Fingel Parallax's Time Viewer and sets it to 50 years in the future, to see if Albrecht has destroyed him. We see Tom being prepared to face "The Bad Son," cells regenerating, age retarded by goloka bath. Dhalua sends out Tesla to delay the conflict, so that Tom is fully ready. Albrecht strong attacks the Stronghold, while Pneuman and Augustus, son of King Solomon do battle. Tesla fires jump boots and joins the battle, taking the fight to her "brother." Tech battles tech, as Tesla uses a fog that can convert to other objects, using nanotech, while Albrecht uses Saveen's photon technology. Tom then appears and ensnares Albrecht, his weight dragging him down to a bridgeway. They crash and we also see the Strongmen of America, who are all geriatrics. Tom attacks Albrecht and proceeds to teach him a lesson, while the Aryan ubermensch whines like a little brat.... Back in the present, Albrecht smashes the viewer, calling the vision a lie. Tom then remarks it stated Saveen had been dead 60 years, yet here he is, despite his body being found dead, 10 years before, with dental records confirming his identity. Saveen claims it was a clone and Tom questions why he cloned every chipped tooth and filling. Saveen starts backpedalling and stammering and Ingrid and Albrecht start questioning him. Tom says to reveal who Saveen really is and Ingrid Weiss finally catches on.... "Saveen" is Denby Jilks, a lesser crook who could imitate anyone and has been impersonating the dead Saveen. Meanwhile, Tesla, Dhalua and King Soloman have arrived at the underground complex. They go inside and Dhalua stops at an exhibit of "atomic knuckles." We then see Ingrid taking Albrecht, saying her deal was with Saveen, not Jilks and that they are leaving. he path is blocked by Dhalua, who tells her that they have a score to settle, woman to woman. Ingrid spouts Nazi bile at Dhalua.... ...and then the most "F@#$ YEAH!" moment of the series occurs.... Dhalua batters Ingrid, who spouts more venom and Dhalua repeats "I am Dhalua-Omutu Strong, Princess of the Ozu, you have transgressed against my husbuand...my family...against me...Get up." Weiss continues to mutter Aryan nonsense, saying her blood is the true blood and Dhalua tells her that , yes, it lies on your clothes and my gloves and the floor. She tells her that she does not yet realize who she has offended. Tesla tells her father that she has never seen her mother like this and it frightens her. Tom tells her it frightens him, too, but to stay out of it. Ingrid finally realizes and makes an appeal.... Dhalua takes pitty on her, for the child's sake and lets her live, telling her to go and never return or she will kill her. Ingrid drags Albrecht off, telling him to shut up. Tom questions letting them go; but, Dhalua tells him she looked into Weiss' soul and her spirit was broken. Jilks then wants to leave and Tom tells him no, he has plans for him. We cut to New Years Eve 1999, where everyone is partying like it's ........oh, yeah. Jilks is still portraying Saveen, as the lair has been turned into a museum, with Jilks as the guide. The Strong family celebrate, as it is also Tom's birthday, his 100th and he remarks that it has been an eventful century, good and bad. he wishes everyone a Happy New Year. Thoughts: The saga of the battle against Ingrid Weiss, the Nazi "Tom Strong" and arch-nemesis, Paul Saveen (Denby Jilks, in disguise) comes to a spectacular conclusion and it isn't Tom who defeats them, but the entire Strong Family. That is the secret of Tom's success over the century, building a family that works together to protect the city and others, working to make their world better. Ingrid sought to create a son of herself and Tom, combining genetics, but missing the part about environment shaping a person. genetics give you the tools, but environment shapes them into what they will ultimately become. Even the ebst bloodlines can produce failures, when they grow in a poor environment. Tom's father sought to raise him in cold logic and science, but fate intervened and Tom grew up as part of the Ozu family, sharing their great love and joy, which molded him into who he became. He came back for the woman he loved and built a family, who share his adventures and his triumphs. Like Clark Kent, it is that environment that made him a Superman and made Ingrid Weiss a contemptable POS, with a failed ideology. It is why fascists fail again and again, with their false notions of superiority. Service to another will always build stronger people then belief in superior beings. The Nazis thought they were superior and they were destroyed by the Allies, who banded together to free those who had been oppressed and push them back. They put an end to the slaughter in the death camps and tore down the Nazi regime, making it answer in public, at Nuremberg, site of their rallies, where Hitler claimed their superiority and their destiny to rule the world. The surviving figures, who didn't take their lives in the fashion of cowards, where shown to be the small, petty, worthless failures they had always been, forever looking for scapegoats for their own shortcomings. They answered for monstrous crimes, from a world that demanded justice, for the millions of victims. Fascism has been rearing its ugly head, again, like a snake, peeking out of some crack in the foundation. However, fascist continue to prove to be petty little failures, who are undone by their own lack of character and are displayed as the rotten little children they have always been. Fascism can never stand against those who have developed strength of character, through hardship and sacrifice, in service to others. Meanwhile, this single issue did more to create a full character in Dhalua Strong than any other episode in the series. We see why Tom married this woman and why she truly is a princess; not because of birth, but who she is.
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Post by codystarbuck on Jul 13, 2023 14:51:17 GMT -5
Promethea #7Cover homage to Silver Age covers, both a bit of the superhero and a bit of the Romance genre. I haven't found a note of any specific homage. The style is very much that of the Romance comics and romance is a central theme; or, rather, love. Creative Team: Alan Moore-writer, JH Wiliiams III & Mick Gray-main art, Jose Villarubia-digital art, Todd Klein-letters, Jeromy Cox-colors, Scott Dunbier-editor At one point in the story, the images that Sophie sees change into the digital art, showing her approaching "reality." It's rather like The Simpson's Treehouse of Horrors 6, the segment "Homer 3," where Homer crosses through a portal from the two-dimensional world, into the three dimensional "Tron world" and further into "the real world." Synopsis: Outside the hospital, Roger & Bob, of the 5 Swell Guys, have come from the High Five (their orbital satellite) to secure the hospital and protect Marv against an attack by The Living Doll. However, they find the hospital surrounded by protestors, as mayor Sonny Baskerville visits the hospital. The Doll could be anywhere. Meanwhile, Sophie meets up with "Big Bill"...... The longest serving Promethea, appearing in comic books from 1939 to 1969. The "Bill" comes from the host, William Woolcott, the writer-artist of the comics. His imagination brought life to Promethea. His imagination was also fueled by the fact that he was gay and living in a repressive society, where fantasy was his main outlet. He became the host for Promthea, having adventures in a female form, then using them to inspire the adventures within the comic. Bill was not transgendered; but, he did seem to have an affinity for "the goddess." In the course of Promethea's 2D adventures, Woolcott introduced an FBI agent love interest, Dirk Dangerfield, who was based on real FBI agent Dennis Drucker. Promethea and Dennis were madly in love, which means that Bill was madly in love with Dennis, but Dennis only knew Promethea. As Sophie and Bill/Promethea travel along, we see them come to The Mortal Coil, a bar where possible realities are seen, as Bill teaches Sophie about "coins," or the power of existence.....humanity. Bill was the most human of the hosts, most tied to the reality of things. As they talk, we see hearts with wings float around, we see Sophie married, with kids, or as a successful writer. As they move on, the images change and grow more complex...rounder, more 3-dimensional. It is there that she sees the actual Bill Woolcott, at his drawing table..... This is where Sophie learns of Dennis, and Bill's deception, as he hides within the Promethea persona, to carry on a love affair with Dennis. They are madly in love, but Dennis is in love with Promethea. Sophie asks what happened and they enter a Gallery of Horrors, at a carnival sideshow and Sophie sees..... Dennis murdered Bill, after learning that he was Promethea. Like Prometheus of myth, Dennis would face an eternity of being pecked to death by his sins.... While this goes on, the Living Doll observes Benny Solomon arrive at the hospital and smiles, saying things are going to be interesting. Bill and Sophie encounter the hospital and Bill leaves Sophie to re-enter her body, as Bill fades back into the Immateria. In Sophie's room, Stacia is sitting vigil, as Sophie's mother, Patricia, arrives. She and Stacia immediately begin sniping at one another.... There is a loud explosion, outside in the hospital corridor. We find the mayor in a state of terror, as an aid takes him away. We see Roger, the gender-swapped member of the % swell Guys, standing in the corridor, her clothes in tatters, as she tells a nurse that The Living Doll threw a Teddy Bomb into the crowd and blew open the hole in the wall. There are many casualties. benny Solomon sees the mayhem, but says the contract is still on and "all of his guys" are going to collect, and we see them descend upon the hospital.... The defecation is about to hit the oscillator! Thoughts: Alan Moore wraps up the trip through the Immateria, introducing us to previous hosts of Promethea. The latest is William Woolcott, writer/artist of the promethea comics of the Golden and Silver Ages. Woolcott's name is likely a portmanteau of Golden Age comic book writer William Woolfolk and theater critic and member of the Algonquin Roundtable, Alexander Woollcott. Woolfolk penned stories for Blackhawk, Captain Marvel, Batman and Superman, before moving on to write and edit the gossip/scandal rag Inside Story, as well as write for tv and pen novels. Woollcott was the theater critic and writer for The New Yorker, who inspired the play and movie The Man Who Came to Dinner, and a character in Waldo Lydecker's novel, Laura. Woollcott was noted for his sharp tongue and biting wit, such as the description of Los Angeles as "Seven suburbs in search of a city." (A quote often misattributed to Dorothy Parker). Woolcott reviewed the Marx Brothers Broadway review favorably, helping make them a smash hit and leading to a lifelong friendship with Harpo Mark (Harpo wrote about it in his memoir, Harpo Speaks). Woollcott never married or had children, but had many female friends. However, within the context of this story, Alan Moore's fictional Bill Woolcott, is said to be a "confirmed bachelor," a euphemism often used for a homosexual. The real Woollcott never openly discussed his sexuality and there has been speculation that he was gay, though he also proposed to Neysa McMein, also of the Roundtable. The group was noted for their hedonistic lifestyles and Bohemian attitudes to many things...so, who knows? Within this story, Bill Woolcott is a gay man, in a society that condemned him, even through the mechanism of the law. His imagination brings Promethea to life and she inhabits his form, which then allows him to engage in a romance with a man with whom he is in love. Because of the nature of Promethea, it is an epic, mythical love. The problem is, it isn't an honest love and when Dennis learns the truth, he murders Bill. This is a scenario that has been carried out in both fiction and real life. There have been brutal beatings and murders of trans-gendered prostitutes, as well as murders of homosexuals and transgendered, solely because they existed, such as Matthew Shephard and Brandon Teena (the inspiration for the film Boys Don't Cry). The film American Beauty features a character who has hidden away his homosexuality, living the "perceived norm," or a wife and family, but who dares to be who he is and makes a mistake, and commits murder, to return to his cover. Moore doesn't make it that simple, though. Bill Woolcott is not transgendered, he never felt that he was a woman, in a man's body. However, he was able to tap into the mind of a goddess and it gave him a more acceptable form, to society, in which to engage in acts of love. In doing so, he deceived his lover. The essence of a loving relationship has to be trust and honesty and Bill is not honest with Dennis, by his own admission. he doesn't fully fault Dennis for murdering him, especially since Dennis is so torn by killing the very person he loved, even in an illusory form, that his mind endlessly tortures himself, as he sits in a catatonic state, in a mental hospital. Dennis punishes himself daily, for transgressing with gods. Sophie has learned about magic weapons, which relate to human traits, like compassion and intellect. The relationship between "coins" (alternatively pentagrams or discs) and existence is a bit more metaphorical than the previous episodes. Existence is a state of being, rather than a personality trait. The message to Sophie is that the contact with reality helps ground one and make them powerful, but that the greatest contact with humanity is love. Promethea is very much a Wonder Woman allegory and this version of Promethea reflects her quite closely; a goddess in love with a mortal, transgressions against the sexual "norm," and talk of "silly stories" which were written for children, as playful stories. To the mind of a child, they are innocent adventures, lighthearted romps by a strong and inspiring figure. They are fairy tales. Adults read all kinds of meanings into them, some intended by the creator (or deeply infused) and some not. That is the strength of metaphor as it can have different meanings to different minds. Wonder Woman stories of the 40s played at gender roles, with characters who disguised gender, or rebelled against society's roles for them. others were about power and dominance, in contrast to Wonder Woman's message of freedom and love. On the one hand, the routine bondage scenes were just metaphorical constructs to illustrate the battle between freedom and those who seek to establish dominance over others. Others may see it as the creator, William Marston, projecting his own sexual proclivities onto his character, to engage in psycho-sexual fantasies. However, both are likely true, as Marston saw the bondage and domination as both representatives of his themes and his own personal interests. Bill Woolcott uses Promethea to engage in a loving relationship, in a form that society will accept. Now, Sophie is back in her own body, just as both the Living Doll and the hordes of Benny Solomon are launching separate attacks on the locale. Sophie must now apply what she has learned for her very survival. The art is its usual great mix of character and symbology, but the digital art adds a new layer to things. Reality is defined by 3-dimensional digital art. Villarubia uses that art to generate some amazing and profound images, which is no mean feat, given the complexity of the story. There is always an artificiality to digital art that I perceive that line art doesn't produce. For whatever reason, 2D line art feels more real than digital. Perhaps it is because it inhabits its environment more, moves with it, while digital stands out in greater contrast. similarly, I find that CGI pulls me our of a story, in films and tv, as the eye detects the artifice far more than with practical effects. Models look real because they are three dimensional, even if scale and motion are off. They still have a weight that the computer misses. It becomes ridiculously notable in films like the 2019 version of Midway and the film Redtails, where they use CGI to recreate WW2 aircraft. The planes don't move the way real aircraft do and the pilots don't inhabit their planes. the 1976 Midway used cockpit sets and gimballed set-ups to simulate flight, mixed with footage of models and stock footage from actual dogfights and other movies. It feels more real, even with the more primitive rear-screen projection in many scenes. The letters page includes a cast listing for the models, for the digital art, as well as credits for wigs, make-up and sets, like a movie. Next up, everything comes to a head, which will mean casualties.
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Post by berkley on Jul 13, 2023 15:54:51 GMT -5
Going by the samples above, the artwork on Tom Strong continues to be a deal-breaker for me. Also, I don't feel too interested in Nazi villains these days: contemporary, US-based white supremacists would be more relevant to this day and age, IMO. Yes, TS is meant to be hearkening back to the pulp-fiction of an earlier time but still. Anyway, those are just my personal reactions, not really meant as objective criticisms of Moore or the artist. I can see how many readers would feel differently.
Similarly with Top Ten: I like it but it'll never rank with Moore's best for me. I'm just not a big enough fan of the US cop-shows it emulates and references so skillfully, though I enjoyed Hill Street Blues and a few others. BTW, I think the chair joke was really not a good idea, for the same reasons I think the infamous scene with Barda and Elastic-Man was not a good idea.
Promethea remains head and shoulders above the rest of the ABC line to my mind. Thematically richer and more wide-ranging - not just a Wonder Woman riff, though it has that going too. Also IMO by far the best artwork on any of the ABC books, which doesn't hurt.
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Post by commond on Jul 13, 2023 17:54:26 GMT -5
I agree that the art in Promethea is better than other ABC titles, however when you think about the landscapes Williams is being asked to depict it's not a fair comparison. Issue seven also uses a lot of photography and the credits for the issue expand far beyond Williams and Gray. The story remains far too wordy and is laborious at times. Tom Strong is a much easier read even if Promethea has far more depth. I like Spouse's art. I haven't really liked the guest artist spots, and didn't care for the Gary Frank art in the recent issue. Top 10 is still my favorite. I don't think you really need to have a fondness for cop procedural shows to enjoy it, but I guess it helps. Tomorrow Stories has some decent gags at times but is the weakest of the main books. I'm still raising my eyebrow at how many awards Moore won for this line. I mean I get it, but was he really head and shoulders above what everyone else was doing at the time 'cos I'm not seeing it.
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Post by mikelmidnight on Jul 14, 2023 12:05:15 GMT -5
Dhalua sends out Tesla to delay the conflict, so that Tom is fully ready. Albrecht strong attacks the Stronghold, while Pneuman and Augustus, son of King Solomon do battle. Tesla fires jump boots and joins the battle, taking the fight to her "brother." Tech battles tech, as Tesla uses a fog that can convert to other objects, using nanotech, while Albrecht uses Saveen's photon technology. This scene endlessly annoyed me. One of my pet peeves in various forms of fiction is the 'immortal ingenue,' and Tesla exemplifies that. Her solo stories can be charming and engaging, but in a family context it's impossible to escape the fact that she's a middle-aged woman who behaved like a teenage girl. This scene shows her using advanced technology and being the city official protector, yet still essentially incompetant.
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Post by codystarbuck on Jul 14, 2023 20:15:29 GMT -5
Dhalua sends out Tesla to delay the conflict, so that Tom is fully ready. Albrecht strong attacks the Stronghold, while Pneuman and Augustus, son of King Solomon do battle. Tesla fires jump boots and joins the battle, taking the fight to her "brother." Tech battles tech, as Tesla uses a fog that can convert to other objects, using nanotech, while Albrecht uses Saveen's photon technology. This scene endlessly annoyed me. One of my pet peeves in various forms of fiction is the 'immortal ingenue,' and Tesla exemplifies that. Her solo stories can be charming and engaging, but in a family context it's impossible to escape the fact that she's a middle-aged woman who behaved like a teenage girl. This scene shows her using advanced technology and being the city official protector, yet still essentially incompetant. Well, Moore kind of wrote himself into a corner, on that one, as he wanted to have the family set-up, but also wanted to tie Tom Strong to the pulp heroes of the past and their era. I never had a problem with it, as I usually just ignored that fact, kind of like characters never aging in comic strips and books, with a few notable exceptions.
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Post by codystarbuck on Jul 17, 2023 21:36:27 GMT -5
In case anyone is wondering, I haven't forgotten League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.....Moore & O'Neil just had a really long gap between issues 4 and 5! I'm trying to go chronologically with this, as I experienced the line, growing from casual interest, at the start (though League had me at the concept...the others grew on me, at different stages) to the ABC line being the majority of by miniscule pull list (along with Starman, the various Hellboy series, and the odd mini, one-shot or indie book).
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