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Post by EdoBosnar on Nov 2, 2024 16:16:55 GMT -5
The Cowboy Wally ShowKyle Baker, 1988  The story of a corpulent, obnoxious and amoral television and movie star narratively structured in part as a career retrospective interview for a documentary. He got his start as a kids’ show host, but that gig didn’t last very long because his humor was too raunchy. He then had a string of variety TV shows, started his own production company and even produced and starred in a few movies. Although I get what Baker was trying to do with this, I really found a lot of the humor pretty forced (and needlessly repetitive), with the exception of the third section, which recounts how he illegally shot a movie version of Hamlet in a Riker’s Island jail cell in a single week and which is genuinely quite clever and funny.  I really liked the art, though – it’s too bad most of the story is pretty ‘meh.’
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Post by rich on Nov 2, 2024 17:43:12 GMT -5
The Cowboy Wally ShowKyle Baker, 1988 The story of a corpulent, obnoxious and amoral television and movie star narratively structured in part as a career retrospective interview for a documentary. He got his start as a kids’ show host, but that gig didn’t last very long because his humor was too raunchy. He then had a string of variety TV shows, started his own production company and even produced and starred in a few movies. Although I get what Baker was trying to do with this, I really found a lot of the humor pretty forced (and needlessly repetitive), with the exception of the third section, which recounts how he illegally shot a movie version of Hamlet in a Riker’s Island jail cell in a single week and which is genuinely quite clever and funny. I really liked the art, though – it’s too bad most of the story is pretty ‘meh.’ I think Kyle Baker's great, though I haven't read that one. How annoying that lettering is! Speech bubbles were never the enemy. |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Nov 2, 2024 17:52:49 GMT -5
Salammbo by Philippe Druillet... hard to believe that book is already 44 years old!
A transposition of the historical novel by Gustave Flaubert to the SF and Fantasy world of Druillet, it combines the grandeur of the writer's prose and of the legend of Carthage with the unique, baroque and insanely lush vision of the artist. Druillet was one of my first great artistic loves, and to this day I am blown away by the sheer power of his pages. They're crazy, but in a good way.
A very satisfying re-read!
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Post by tonebone on Nov 7, 2024 16:22:32 GMT -5
The Cowboy Wally ShowKyle Baker, 1988 The story of a corpulent, obnoxious and amoral television and movie star narratively structured in part as a career retrospective interview for a documentary. He got his start as a kids’ show host, but that gig didn’t last very long because his humor was too raunchy. He then had a string of variety TV shows, started his own production company and even produced and starred in a few movies. Although I get what Baker was trying to do with this, I really found a lot of the humor pretty forced (and needlessly repetitive), with the exception of the third section, which recounts how he illegally shot a movie version of Hamlet in a Riker’s Island jail cell in a single week and which is genuinely quite clever and funny. I really liked the art, though – it’s too bad most of the story is pretty ‘meh.’ A friend introduced me to Cowboy Wally in college, and it was so weird and refreshing! I really loved it, and sought out other Kyle Baker stuff... unfortunately, I haven't liked ANY of his work since. I did like his inking over John Byrne on an Avengers Annual, once. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Nov 7, 2024 16:26:44 GMT -5
I think that the only thing of Kyle Baker's that I've read is his Plastic Man, which was the next best thing to Jack Cole.
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Post by tartanphantom on Nov 7, 2024 16:47:34 GMT -5
I think that the only thing of Kyle Baker's that I've read is his Plastic Man, which was the next best thing to Jack Cole.
He did the artwork for most of the series, but the book was scripted by Andy Helfer.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Nov 7, 2024 16:49:54 GMT -5
I think that the only thing of Kyle Baker's that I've read is his Plastic Man, which was the next best thing to Jack Cole.
I take that back. I have read that, but it's been so long that I kind of forgot it. |
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Post by Calidore on Nov 7, 2024 17:42:28 GMT -5
There's also his wonderful short story about infant Superman's babysitter that got the Elseworlds 80-page Special recalled and pulped.
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Post by Ricky Jackson on Nov 7, 2024 19:14:52 GMT -5
Baker's art on the 3 issue 1990 Dick Tracy movie prequel/adaptation is probably the best post-Gould take on the character and his world
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Post by Batflunkie on Nov 8, 2024 19:24:06 GMT -5
So I've been thumbing through Green Lantern Rebirth #1-#6, Green Lantern Secret Files 2005, Green Lantern #1-#6, and Green Lantern Corps Recharge #1-#4. Had been having that "itch" in the back of my brain to read something specific, Green Lantern being the sole focus. Have always loved the series and it's mythology since I was young. But I've never read it all the way through, mostly just had odd issues, but I enjoyed them. John's is one of those people (who having had discussions with the forum members) that you either are fully onboard with or you just don't care for. I appreciate how he tries to spin older mythos into something new while coming up with his own ideas (like the Lantern Spectrum) but can see how he isn't for everybody. That being said, I've been enjoying his take on GL, it's very strong and a good read
I've also been reading JSA (another book that my brain had the itch for) and read #1-#15 and Secret Files. Another case of a book that I loved that I didn't have many issues for. Much like Legion Of Super-Heroes, it just feels like a nice big hug of a comic book with a bunch of old timers pulled out of retirement to beat the bah-jesus out bad guys (which is probably why I love Captain America so much). All the characters are fun and unique in their own ways while also being dynamic and well written and that's exactly what I look for in a team-up book
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Ryot
Junior Member
Posts: 27
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Post by Ryot on Nov 9, 2024 20:44:17 GMT -5
Besides new things like Absolute Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman that I'm loving. I found the 3 issue mini series of Image Comics' THE PACT in a dollar bin. It has some campiness to it and it's very of the times, but a part of me loves that!
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Post by wildfire2099 on Nov 10, 2024 0:10:20 GMT -5
I finished my 'War that Time Forgot' Showcase volume today... which I've been reading in small bits. For the most part, the art was great, but there are only so many variations of 'random soldiers stumble upon dinosaur Island and have to survive' you can do. IN fact, they started repeating themselves withing the volume. I know that's how Silver Age DC rolls, but I was disappointed that they never did any sort of story telling about the actual island.
I also had a few random books... Defenders 31 (I think the first of the Gerber run I have)... hilarious bit with Hulk and 'bambi' around a serious story. Also a couple early Tim Drake era Batman stories (Which did nothing for me)
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Post by spoon on Nov 10, 2024 17:28:42 GMT -5
I read the Silver Surfer: Parable Epic Collection reprinting Silver Surfer (1987) #15-23, Annual #1-2; Fantastic Four #325; the Silver Surfer story from Marvel Comics Presents #1; Marvel Graphic Novel: Silver Surfer, and the miniseries Silver Surfer #1-2 (a/k/a Silver Surfer: Parable). I read Silver Surfer #15-18 years ago from an Essential TPB, but my memory of those stories was cloudy.
On one hand, it’s cool to see mini-series and GNs that might be out of print or that I might not be aware of slotted into place in a comprehensive Epic Collection chronology. On the other hand, I enjoy the continuing plotlines in the monthly series so much that I wish there were more issues from it here.
The period of the main series reprinted here is written by Steve Englehart and drawn by new artist Ron Lim. Englehart also writes the guest appearance in Fantastic Four as well as most of the stories in the two annuals. Ron Lim draws the lead feature in Annual #2. Old penciler Marshall Rogers plots and pencils on fill-in issue (#21) with a Michael Higgins script. I’ve always felt that Lim is a good fit for Silver Surfer. Even though sometimes I’ve liked his art less in other titles and his style on the surface does not scream “epic,” he somehow makes it fit.
Main plotlines in the monthly series here include the continuation of a story about Galactus consuming some of the Elders of the Universe and their Infinity Gems (then called Soul Gems) with resulting complications, a second Kree-Skrull War, the bizarre love triangle between the Surfer, his replacement Nova, and her boss Galactus, and some lingering Mantis appearance as she’s shunted over to other titles. Englehart manages to work in other characters he has control over by bringing in Reed and Sue who had taken their leave of absence from the FF. I like the intrigue of the Second Kree-Skrull War and trying to follow all the players involved. I also like the interactions between the Surfer and Nova.
The two annuals are installments in the Evolutionary War and Atlantis Attacks crossovers respectively. The Atlantis Attacks annual is better integrator as Englehart finds a war to give us info about the Serpent Crown and the Surfer’s role in inadvertently putting events into motion that start the storyline. The Evolutionary War story feels more like being forced to shoehorn in a crossover with a pointless fight against the Eternals. But Englehart seems determine to serve the continuing monthly plotlines, so he finds a way to bring back the Super-Skrull to add to his Kree-Skrull War plotline.
The non-Englehart stories are all different from his work and each other. The MCP story is harmless tale written and drawn by Al Milgrom about the Surfer being taken over by a space parasite. The graphic novel is drawn by John Buscema from a plot by Buscema & DeFalco, then scripted by Stan Lee. The Parable mini is plotted by Lee (via a 6-page outline, as we learn in detailed “making of” features from the Parable hardcover), then drawn by Moebius, and scripted by Lee.
Here we have Stan Lee coming back from his executive/hype man role to write two Silver Surfer prestige projects, but they feel very different from each other. The Buscema GN consists of a series of full page illustrations rather than pages broken up into individual panels, with the exception of one two-page spread. It feels like mainly an opportunity for John Buscema to indulge in a dream project. He also uses Mephisto, a villain he co-created. The art is beautiful. Lee’s script is a bit overworked, especially compared to how Englehart manages to thread the needle of making the Surfer still sound down-to-earth with relatable emotions while still a grand figure. I also much prefer Nova’s nickname for the Surfer of Silverado in the monthly title to how she calls him Surfy here. Still, this story feels like one that could fit in regular continuity without a big struggle.
In contrast, the Lee/Moebius story comes across as a non-canonical/alternate universe type tale. Galactus is written wildly out-of-character compared to the monthly. Instead of being a primal force of nature who consumes planets to live and finds their inhabitants too insignificant to care about, this Galactus seems to bear an active grudge against human, and expends a lot of effort to contrive a way to destroy them. Also, none of Earth’s other heroes show up in a worldwide Crisis that would surely draw their attention. I liked the art and the lettering (which Moebius also did). In the supplementary material, Lee wrote that aside from the main characters, regular people were a big part of the story. I have a quibble with this. In several scenes, Lee reduces people to a mindless mass of group think. We just came out of Presidential election here in the U.S. where the popular vote margin will likely be less than 2%, and people had widely differing worldviews. So I think Lee’s tale, which seems intended as critique of mindless adherence to religious hysteria, is very heavy-handed in presenting a false uniformity to humanity.
There are informative supplementary materials from both Marvel Age and the Parable HC. There’s quite a bit of behind-the-scenes material written by Moebius. I don’t think I’ve read any of his other comics. At first his behind-the-scenes essays sounded pretentiously vague, but after a while I got more of a sense of his meaning. He has a particular (French?) way of being blunt and diplomatic. Like, you can see he’ll discuss how something goes a way he doesn’t like, where you can both see the critique and his acceptance of what happens. For example, he makes clear the coloring fell short of his expectations, but it was also a result of his choices regarding the format. There’s also an unintentionally hilarious excerpt from a Marvel Age Annual about upcoming Silver Surfer stories. In just a couple quotes about the graphic novel and Parable, Stan Lee manages to spoil the ending of both stories – before they’re even released!
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Post by Mormel on Nov 12, 2024 11:50:33 GMT -5
I came across Uncanny X-Men Annual #18, from 1994, and I quite enjoyed it. It's written by Glenn Herdling rather than then-regular Uncanny X-Men scribe Scott Lobdell. Art is by Ian Churchill. I'm not otherwise familiar with Herdling's work. The story is about Caliban -at this point a Horseman of Apocalypse- kidnapping Jubilee into the Morlock tunnels to coerce the X-Men in handing over Sabertooth, who is in the X-Men's custody at the time. It's Shadowcat, visiting from the UK, who goes into the tunnels with Sabertooth himself in tow. There are nice character bits for all 4 of these characters. I think Herdling gets their voices quite right.
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Post by spoon on Nov 12, 2024 22:50:48 GMT -5
I want to re-read some of the latter portion of Silver Age X-Men. I remember the quality picking up from the doldrums of the middle period, and there are some issues I’ve only read once. I figured X-Men #40 would be a good jumping on point, since the Factor Three storyline ended the issue before. However, the Origins of the X-Men backup stories started a couple issues before. So I’ve read the lead stories from X-Men #40-42, but the backup stories from X-Men #38-42. Roy Thomas writes these stories. Don Heck illustrates the lead features, inked by George Tuska, while Werner Roth draws the backups.
The lead stories are the Frankenstein story, plus the Grotesk the Sub-Human two-parter. The Frankenstein is just okay. I find the origin they come up with for this Frankenstein pretty cheesy, although it’s interesting to see how Roy Thomas figures out how to work a being who is considered a fictional character in-universe to an actual participant in the story.
The Grotesk story is much more monumental. Thomas and Heck due a decent job building suspense. Grotesk origin is a mix between the interesting bits of cautionary tales about science and world-building, and bits that strain credulity. We don’t get a real explanation of how Grotesk knows it was radiation that mutated him. Many years later, I think the Morlocks had a better take on an underground civilization than Grotesk’s exotic people. A very ridiculous part of the story features a university professor who invented an earthquake-making machine, and the university administrators who decide he needs to test it by causing an earthquake to prove his research wasn’t a waste. They’re all crazy! The scientist claims his machine will “benefit mankind . . . in ways we cannot yet dream of!” So maybe don’t use it until you figure out how causing earthquakes will benefit mankind.
The real highlight is the death of Professor Xavier. With little concern for spoilers, it’s advertised in the next issue blurb. Roy Thomas’s recollection from the Marvel Masterworks intro is that he both intended the death to be real, but also gave himself an out by introducing Changeling in an earlier issue in case he decided to retcon the death away later. Although there are though-balloons that make it seem legit, there’s also enough material to work with if someone wanted to retcon it. The story includes many references to Professor X’s odd behavior as he huddles with Jean in private and makes seemingly callous decisions. The apparent explanation is that he’s hiding a terminal illness, but the remarks that he isn’t acting like himself work really well with a retcon. It reminds me about reading how Byrne brought Iron Fist back in the pages of Namor (that arc is on my to-read list). Iron Fist also seemed a bit like another person at the end.
The backups include an initial story where Professor X meets FBI agent Fred Duncan, plus the whole Cyclops origin arc. I’m used to Claremont era retellings/retcons of origins, so it’s good to get a reminder of the original depictions. For example, I keep forgetting how Scott could’ve gotten his ruby quartz glasses without bringing Mister Sinister into the backstory. The explanation is that is that his headaches manifested first before his optic blasts, and the glasses were the only thing that was found to help. So that’s why he got something to control his power without the doctor realizing he had the power. There’s a certain sense to the same thing aiding his headaches and controlling the blasts.
We also learn that Professor X has been living as a recluse until the beginning of the story, which I think conflicts with later retellings where he had more long-term planning, including with Moira. I like the retcons better, because it’s messier to have him suddenly create the Danger Room and all that.
Jack Winters/Jack O’ Diamonds/The Living Diamond is a better villain than I remember. He has quite a mix of seemingly unrelated powers, and it’s a little odd that he’s described as a mutant despite acquiring his powers through an accident. The struggle between the Prof and Jack over Scott (and between intimidating him and using him as a pawn versus trying to aid and teach him) is a nice conflict to build the story around. At one point, someone remarks that Jack must been driven crazy by the radiation. Based on the fact that he actually seeks further transformation to an even more inhuman form, I tend to agree.
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