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Post by MDG on Jan 17, 2017 6:59:34 GMT -5
There's something about it that doesn't quite work for me either, though I find it hard to put my finger on exactly what it is. I think it might have something to do with working from photographs or posed models: maybe it's a technique that works for portraits or stand-alone illustrations but not for sequential story-telling, for some reason, though I don't immediately see why it shouldn't. Perhaps even the most realistic style needs some subtle exaggeration or emphasis of certain elements to convey a sense of life and movement, at least in a comic as opposed to an illustration. Whatever it is, the overall effect on me is that it lacks some dynamism or energy in some way. Compare it to the equally realistic but somehow more exciting Al Williamson story sampled above, for example. Of course it isn't really fair to compare anyone to a master like Williamson, who is going to outshine almost any other artist you can name. Interesting that you say that, because in a lot of later Secret Agent Corrigan strips, it looks like Williamson leans too heavily on photo-reference, maybe because it's a "realistic" series. He'd use photos a lot on more "exotic" strips as well, but it doesn't stick out as much. But you're right--when he's firing on all cylinders, nobody better. Love the Rocketeer. It's thin on story but huge on style, period detail and heroic daring do. Pretty, pretty pictures too. I don't know that I'd call it thin on story. Granted the 80 pages or so of the first adventure is basically his origin story, but there're a lot of twists, turns, and characterization. Seems to pack more story than 80 pages of some superhero books of the time. Regarding how much Betty Page contributed to the success of the series, it's hard to tell, but I do think that the Rocketeer initiated the Cult of Betty Page revival of interest in her in the 1990s. Prior to the Rocketeer, she was an all but forgotten '50s cheesecake model, but Dave Stevens' use of her in the Rocketeer sparked a resurgence of interest in her among the nerdy comic set and from there the wider Generation X'er demographic. I want to say that before the Rocketeer appeared, the Bud Plant Catalog would have 8 or more pages of Bettie material, which may be the first place I saw her. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Jan 22, 2017 20:02:58 GMT -5
Well, since Pacific touched on Neal Adams, why don't we just dive into Continuity Comics. I'm going to preface this with this statement: I've never really enjoyed the material from Continuity. I loved Neal Adams' previous work and really wanted to enjoy this stuff. My ex-brother-in-law strongly recommended Megalith. I tried out their books, on several occasions; and, every time, I came away disappointed. So, I'm not going to dwell on too much here, though I'd like to hit a few areas of their output. One thing about Continuity, their covers grabbed attention:          However, once you started reading, it could be a mixed bag. One of the problems is that you might get an awesome Neal Adams cover, then open up the comic and find a Neal Adams clone, like Tom Grindberg, doing the interiors (often with Adams retouching the art to bring it more in line with his style). So, you have a whole company that is built around one artist's style; but, said artist isn't doing that much artwork. It felt like a bait and switch. The bigger issue was the total inability to adhere to a publishing schedule. You never knew when their comics were coming out. Momentum is a big facet of attracting an audience. That was the thing about Valiant. They started small and kept building and building, adding new characters, just as Marvel had done, in the 60s. The difference is you could find them month in and month out. Another big element of Continuity was a hefty dose of violence. These things were bloodthirsty, at times, and got more than a little graphic. Armor had some of the worst, though the other books had very (un)healthy doses. Armor at least had a context for it, as he was a human turned into a killing machine by an alien invader, while his brother was turned into Silver Streak, with the ability to channel energy into powerful blasts. Their early stories revolved around Rage, the alien behind their transformation. Their origin story finds them in high school, fighting with their sister's neanderthal boyfriend. They are already twisted, as their parents named them Jack and Jacques, and their sister Jackie. Who was the father, George Foreman? Well, no; the would have been named George. So, apart from the bait and switch of Adams on the cover and Grindberg inside, Armor and Silver Streak were at least interesting, if rather violent characters. The aliens attack and devastate their town and the whole thing looks like Neal had seen Red Dawn way too many times (and I saw it at least 3 times in the theater. I was 17 and stupid, what can I say?) Everyone around them is getting mowed down and they head for the gun cabinet, at home. Well, that doesn't work and they are abducted and transformed. Like I say, it wasn't bad, if you didn't mind the violence. Ms Mystic and Urth 4 carried over from Pacific, with environmentally themed superhero tales.  Samuree was Neal's attempt to cash in on the popularity of Elektra. Mark Beachum did the art on the early stories, with a ton of gratuitous butt-shots. Samuree's leotard spent a lot of time riding iup into the unknown. Clarke Hawbaker did some work on this book, before graduating to Nomad, at Marvel. I got to meet him at a small convention (really nice, down to earth guy) and talked about Continuity. One of the things that held them down was that Neal approved everything; but, only when he had time. His commercial work came first and the comics came second. issues would sit on his desk for weeks or months before going to the printers. Anyway, when the "bad girl" fad was developing, Neal put an emphasis on Samuree, adding her to the mix of blade-wielding babes. The one difference here, is that Elliot S! Maggin, one of the best Superman writers, was crafting the stories. Unfortunately, this wasn't "Must There Be a Superman?". Whatever he was adding wasn't exactly being aided by Beachum's attempts at turning the book into Penthouse. Beachum would go on to craft some porn comics, after flirting with DC and Marvel. Continuity gets weirder with Crazyman and Toy Boy   Crazyman was a late addition (though conceived earlier on); think of it as Adams' Joker-meets-The Creeper, only more nuts than Ditko. That one didn't last long, as Continuity was barely getting things out and then the line went bust. Toyboy was part of the earlier phase, with a kid in a robotic suit. However, it was REALLY violent and there are some homophobic slurs and other offensive language; and that includes stories from the other great Bronze Age Superman writer, cary Bates!   Hybrids and Valeria: the She-Bat, were also late additions, coming just in time for Continuity to go under. They were pretty much bandwagon jumpers.    Echo of Future Past was Neal's attempt at doing something like Heavy Metal, in a comic book format. That was one of his better series, with features like Larry hama's Bucky O'Haire, Arthur Suydam's Mudwogs and Adams own work. There's good material here and this one is worth checking out.      If Continuity books were often disappointing, this was the real disappointment. Zero Patrol was a name for material that Neal had crafted earlier; but, never published. However, that is not what appears here. What actually appeared here was Esteban Maroto's career-making epic, Cinco Por Infinito (5 for Infinity). The original was one of the seminal sci-fi comics of Spain. It had an international following and was beloved in Spain. It tells the story of 5 humans who aid an extraterrestrial (last of his race) named Infinito, in keeping peace in the cosmos. Each of the 5 have special abilities: Aline (a female doctor) has mental powers, Sirio has great agility and reflexes, Orion has great strength, Altar has tremendous intellect, and Hidra is extremely beautiful. The series premiered in 1967, at the height of 60s graphic experimentation. Maroto composed pages as an artistic whole, rather than a series of panels. It originally appeared in black & white and the art was crafted to exploit that medium, with tonal qualities added via several techniques. Later color reprints lost those elements and neal totally stripped them away. What we got here was not Cinco Por Infinito; instead, we got a Neal Adams sci-fi story, grafted onto altered art. Neal's heavy hand came down upon this, altering it to fit the Continuity house style. The original story was thrown out for a more mundane sci-fi tale. I still wait for a quality English reprint of the series. I'd settle for the hardcover Spanish collection, from Ediciones Glanat Espana, if I had $900+!!!!!!! Seriously, someone (IDW, Dark Horse, Cine Booke, Europe Comics, whoever) needs to get on this and deliver it to us. While you are at it, add Hugo Pratt's Ernie Pike and Sgt Kirk, from Argentina, as well as Spain's Cuto, Mort y Filemon, and the work of Jesus Blasco (Capitan Trueno). To end on a more positive note, I kind of liked Megalith, to a point. The basic concept is inspired by Milo of Croton, who was said to have carried a calf on his shoulders every day, as it grew into a bull. That is carried forward here. Young Joe Majurac (name probably derived from the folk hero Joe Magarac) grows up on the family farm, working to be the world's greatest and strongest athlete. He is also gifted academically and works towards a scholarship. However, the family is in financial trouble, with overdue loans at the bank. The money they need to make overdue payments has mysteriously disappeared. The farm is set to go up for auction, when fate intervenes. A man offers the family the chance for Joe to train for the Olympics, all fees paid, with money extended to the family to keep the farm and cover for Joe's absence. it seems like a miracle, though Joe's father questions it. Joe wants it and goes off to a training camp in Germany to become an Olympic athlete. Joe soon discovers that the camp is a bit more sinister. His contact with home is cut off and he begins to question his superiors. They show him who is in charge when they shoot his dog (a gift, upon arrival) to let him know what will happen to his family if he disobeys. he trains and finds a mental and physical link that jumpstarts his development to unheard of levels, turning him into a superman. When he and fellow athletes find that they have been trained to be sold to the Russians, he rebels and fights his way to freedom, returning home to find his parents gone. There was a ton of potential here and a fairly unique character. However, it was mired in the same violence that featured in most Continuity books and a rather muddled story. it's not totally unique, as it treads close to an old Charlton comic, Mr. Muscles (which took over the numbering of Blue Beetle).  Mr Muscles was the brainchild of Jerry Siegel, who knew a thing or two about strongmen. However, he is more of the circus strongman, while Megalith is a bit more. Megalith became kind of the mascot for Continuity, their Superman. Around 1992/93, Continuity relaunched their line, with an overabundance of gimmicks. The most notorious was the use of Tyvek to create "indestructible" covers. I never actually saw one; but, I heard they didn't look all that great. Another was the use of stereogrammatic imaging, on Ms Mystic (with the underlying image being advertising for Continuity). Hybrids had a thermodynamic patch that was supposed to reveal a secret; but, which apparently didn't work very well. There's some great coverage (really, the bulk of what you will find, on the internet) of Continuity, at Jon Morris' Gone and Forgotten blog: gone-and-forgotten.blogspot.com/2011/02/continuity-comics-part-one.htmlgone-and-forgotten.blogspot.com/2011/03/continuity-comics-part-two.htmlgone-and-forgotten.blogspot.com/2011/04/continuity-comics-part-3-cover-story.htmlContinuity was in the midst of a mega-crossover, when it ceased publication, leaving the few fans who were buying it in the lurch. Valeria and a new character, Knighthawk, would turn up at Valiant's Windjammer creator-owned imprint, though they didn't win many fans. The real legacy of Continuity was as a training ground for young talent, like Clarke Hawbaker and Tom Grindberg, as well as providing a more unrestrained ground for established pros, like Larry Hama, Elliot Maggin and Cary Bates. Before I forget, there is one element of Continuity I neglected to mention, one that always stood out to me: they had the weirdest coloring in comics, at the time. Early issues credit it to Cory Adams. I assume that is a family member of Neal's, though it may be a coincidence. I know he had three sons (Jason, Joel and Josh), none named Cory, and a wife named Marilynn. If anyone knows who Cory was, sing out. Anyway, I tended to notice a lot of oranges and purples in their books. The interior coloring could often be murky. I'm sure that didn't help them. Continuity has/had its fans; so, don't take my word for these books. They certainly don't match Neal's work on Batman, Deadman or the X-Men; but, they aren't necessarily worse than the material from early Image, later Valiant, or other 90s comics. They just started a bit earlier, with more emphasis on the art than coherent stories. If nothing else, they can be gonzo fun. However, it's all subjective. Just because they never really wowed me doesn't mean you might not like some of them. As I say, I did like Ech of Future Past and Megalith had potential and I thought more of it than most of the rest. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2017 20:30:22 GMT -5
I've been slowly putting together a run of Echo of Futurepast, but I have passed on most of the other Continuity stuff after sampling a fw of them over time. Tom Grindberg is one of those artists whose style has evolved over the years. Starting as a Adams clone, he morphed into an ugly Mignola/Omage house style amalgam in the 90s and now has evolved into o fantastic adventure strip artist. His Tarzan strips are a thing of beauty, and his Conan samples have me excited to see what project he and Roy Thomas turn out for Dark Horse. If you asked me before I saw his recent Tarzan and Conan stuff, I would have listed Grindberg as one of those artists whose work I actively avoid, but now I can't wait to see what he does and I am looking forward to the Dark Horse collection of his Tarzan strips that is in the works. Grindberg in the 90s...  Grindberg circa 2011 on Tarzan...  a recent Conan piece he did and put up for sale...  so his style has evolved (for the better) over the years. -M |
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Post by codystarbuck on Jan 22, 2017 20:50:49 GMT -5
I've been slowly putting together a run of Echo of Futurepast, but I have passed on most of the other Continuity stuff after sampling a fw of them over time. Tom Grindberg is one of those artists whose style has evolved over the years. Starting as a Adams clone, he morphed into an ugly Mignola/Omage house style amalgam in the 90s and now has evolved into o fantastic adventure strip artist. His Tarzan strips are a thing of beauty, and his Conan samples have me excited to see what project he and Roy Thomas turn out for Dark Horse. If you asked me before I saw his recent Tarzan and Conan stuff, I would have listed Grindberg as one of those artists whose work I actively avoid, but now I can't wait to see what he does and I am looking forward to the Dark Horse collection of his Tarzan strips that is in the works. Grindberg in the 90s... Grindberg circa 2011 on Tarzan... a recent Conan piece he did and put up for sale... so his style has evolved (for the better) over the years. -M If I sounded down on Grindberg, I'm not. I liked him on Bride of the Demon and some other DC stuff. I hadn't seen the Tarzan and Conan stuff and it is great. Like I say, some good talent got their apprenticeship there and that has always been one of Neal Adams' greatest legacies. He has always given time to young artists, going back to his days as a superstar, lending feedback to the guys who would be the Crusty Bunkers and who hung around DC, looking for work' guys like Chaykin, Larry Hama and more. he also championed Siegel & Shuster, Jack Kirby and creator's rights; so, I tend to give him a pass for the mediocrity of many of Continuity's books and for his loopy theories about the Earth. He wouldn't be a comic artist if he was an average guy and he was far from average as a comic artist. |
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Post by EdoBosnar on Jan 23, 2017 4:25:18 GMT -5
Another great post. I've only ever seen covers and some panels of Continuity material posted on various blogs and whatnot, and knew very little about it, so thanks for the rundown. (And thanks for the links to Gone & Forgotten posts - which I'll definitely be reading later.) You've also piqued my interest in Echo of Futurepast, which I didn't even know existed until this moment.
Based on your descriptions, it seems like Continuity was an entire line of comics that was based on Adams', erm, eccentric writing style - and it's a bit dismaying to learn that solid writers like Maggin and Bates were apparently unable to lift the overall quality.
As for Tom Grindberg, I really like his art, at least the material from his early, "Adams-clone" phase (Detective Annual #4, Bride of the Demon, Catwoman Defiant) and the most recent comic strip work like the stuff mrp posted above.
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Post by MDG on Jan 23, 2017 6:52:37 GMT -5
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Post by chaykinstevens on Jan 23, 2017 13:10:55 GMT -5
Before I forget, there is one element of Continuity I neglected to mention, one that always stood out to me: they had the weirdest coloring in comics, at the time. Early issues credit it to Cory Adams. I assume that is a family member of Neal's, though it may be a coincidence. I know he had three sons (Jason, Joel and Josh), none named Cory, and a wife named Marilynn. If anyone knows who Cory was, sing out. Anyway, I tended to notice a lot of oranges and purples in their books. The interior coloring could often be murky. I'm sure that didn't help them. Cory Adams was Neal's ex-wife. According to Bleeding Cool, she died a couple of months ago. link
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Post by mikelmidnight on Jan 23, 2017 16:30:16 GMT -5
I had heard about Zero Patrol but didn't know it was so heavily altered; a shame. Still, I'd probably buy a collection just out of sheer curiosity, though (as you say) I'd prefer a translation of Cinco Por Infinito.
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Post by codystarbuck on Jan 23, 2017 22:30:44 GMT -5
Before I forget, there is one element of Continuity I neglected to mention, one that always stood out to me: they had the weirdest coloring in comics, at the time. Early issues credit it to Cory Adams. I assume that is a family member of Neal's, though it may be a coincidence. I know he had three sons (Jason, Joel and Josh), none named Cory, and a wife named Marilynn. If anyone knows who Cory was, sing out. Anyway, I tended to notice a lot of oranges and purples in their books. The interior coloring could often be murky. I'm sure that didn't help them. Cory Adams was Neal's ex-wife. According to Bleeding Cool, she died a couple of months ago. link
I was thinking that; but couldn't find confirmation. Seems to me I remember seeing a Kris Adams listed with Continuity, too, though I might be confusing names. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Jan 23, 2017 22:54:39 GMT -5
I had heard about Zero Patrol but didn't know it was so heavily altered; a shame. Still, I'd probably buy a collection just out of sheer curiosity, though (as you say) I'd prefer a translation of Cinco Por Infinito. It's a weird mixture. At times, i can see Maroto's original work and other times it's very Adams. I know Adams reworked the story; but, I have never seen the original comics, so i can't tell how much he monkeyed with it, apart from the obvious Adams artwork. I've only seen a few odd panels from the original Spanish work. I do know it was done in black and white and some of the reproduction in Zero Patrol is a little murky. Maroto used several techniques geared towards B&W and you can see some of that, though the coloring overrides it. I had read that when the original comics were reproduced in color, in Spain, they removed some of the ben day dots and hatching. The other thing I had read was how Maroto composed the pages as a total piece, while the Continuity issues don't seem to really reflect that. i don't know if Adams reconfigured panels or if the material he printed was before Maroto got really experimental. I'm a purist; if you are going to reprint someone else's work, you leave it alone, apart from trying to get a faithful translation, if it was done in a foreign language. Though to be fair, Heavy Metal was filled with bad translations of many of the stories they reprinted and many manga and anime projects suffered from poor translations or new stories grafted on them (like Robotech and Battle of the Planets). Zero Patrol still looks better than most of the Continuity books. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2017 0:46:24 GMT -5
Mr. Muscles  I used to read this book when I was around 10 or so and after awhile it's caught my fancies and I like it as first around that time at 10 because I was fascinated what was life in the carnivals and I did enjoy carnivals as a kid and never looked back. Right now, I do remember the some of the charms of this character and colorful pages that followed that attracted me in the first place. I had a store that carried these comic books and when I was around 13 more or less - I tried to find these books and they were gone. So, I asked the owner of the store and I pulled them out to make room for other books and I was said to see that. He was making room for Marvel's Chambers of Chills and that the book that replaces Mr. Muscles. I brought about dozens or so of these books and I gave them to my Girlfriend at the time because she adores Mr. Muscles and wanted to complete that collection of which she did. 
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Post by codystarbuck on Jan 24, 2017 0:56:15 GMT -5
Okay boys and girls, it's time for some two-fisted justice! It's time for........ The TICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Now, I'm sure most people here are familiar with The Tick. However, I am willing to bet money; or, at least ninja candy corn that most people encountered the character first in the awesome Fox cartoon and/or the live action series, with Patrick Warburton. I love both of those tremendously; but, it's the original Tick comics I want to talk about. The Tick originally appeared in a newsletter for New England Comics, in Norwood, Massachusetts. He was a sort of mascot, developed by customer Ben Edlund. His first adventures took place in the store's newsletter.    Based on the popularity of those stories, the store financed the publication of a comic book, done in glorious black & white. I first encountered the character when I had graduated college. I received my naval officer's commission and was posted to the US Navy Supply Corps School, in Athens, GA (about 5 hours from the nearest large body of water). I hadn't found a local comic shop; so, I set up a mail-order subscription. I can't recall if I set it up with NEC or if I went to them to fill in a few gaps, before my subscription picked up; but, I ordered some stuff from them and received a bonus: a poster of The Tick. I kind of liked the look of the guy. As it happens, I discovered that there was a decent local comic shop, on the other side of Athens and ventured in there. It was there that I found issue 3 of The Tick, with Oedipus and the Ninjas. More on that in a moment. The comic was delightfully off-kilter and it was poking fun at recent comics trends, so I picked it up, leading to me falling in love with the series and picking up every issue after that. Whenever they finally came out, that is. More on that, too.  Issue #1 finds our hero having recently escaped from a mental institution (well, insane asylum, really). He has realized that his destiny was not to be emperor of Greenland, or to build a Polynesian longship in his garage; his destiny is to be a superhero and defend The City! With his trusty crime viewer (a View-Master), he goes looking for crime; but, mostly encounters puzzled citizens. He does eventually run into Clark oppenheimer, mild mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper.   Issue 2 picks up with The Tick tracking down Clark Oppenheimer to his newspaper job. Creating his own secret identity (Ned), The Tick goes to work at the paper and proceeds to annoy the hell out of Clark. While poking around Clark's desk, he finds a glowing crystal that projects a face that looks like Marlon Brando, who calls Clark Ka-Ro. The Tick tosses away the crystal, which sinks into the floor and creates a fortress of ice (which eventually melts and floods the entire floor).  Issue 3 finds the Tick meeting up with Oedipus... Oedipus Ashley Stevens. She is a ninja and together they endure the Night of a Million Zillion Ninjas. Oedipus has stolen the sacred Thorn from them (which the Tick says looks like Candy Corn) and they want it back. They meet on a rooftop, where the Tick tells Oedipus that ninja are more afraid of you then you are them and, after kicking their buts and brushing off throwing stars, says they're wacky!  The pair endure Oedipus' parents and their cocktail party, while the ninja surround the house, disguised as a hedge (holding one twig and saying "Think hedge...")  Issue 4 introduces Paul the Samurai, brother to the ninja master, Sagin. Paul carries his sword in a loaf of French bread and keeps accidentally drawing it; and, since whenever the sword is drawn, it must taste blood, his hands are covered in band-aids, since he has to give it some kind of blood. Together, Paul, The Tick and Oedipus defeat the ninja and destroy the Ninja World theme park. It also finally brings a meeting between The Tick and the little white moth-looking guy who has been hanging around in the background over the previous 3 issues. He introduces himself as Arthur and he has a flying suit.  Issue 5 finds Oedipus in the hospital and the final conclusion to the ninja silliness. it also sees Arthur become The Tick's sidekick.  Issue 6 finds Tick and Arthur stumbling into Villainy, Inc, who have rented the villain The Red Scare (who also worked as the Whirling Scottish dervish) to minor superhero The Running Guy (complete with spandex bicycle shorts and a bike helmet, and an image of a wind-blown palm tree on his chest). The Tick and Arthur stumble across the villain, before he can meet up with The Running Guy and fight him for news crews (alerted by said "hero") and pummels him. It ends with The Running Guy rather ticked off (no pun intended) and Tick and Arthur rather disgusted with the way the villain gave up.  Issue 7 has Tick & Arthur meet up with detective Angus MacGuire, a man with a distinct profile and a two-way wrist tv (complete with 360 degree wrist lazy susan), who is battling his criminal nemesis Chairface Chippendale, and a meeting of criminal masterminds (Boils Brown, Zipper Neck, The Crease, Harriet Curse and Eyebrows Smith). MacGuire deputizes the Tick, in the name of Mom, Baseball and Apple Pie ("Mmm, that sounds official!" replies the Tick). Chairface is plotting to write his name on the moon and he also dangles Angus and the Tick over a pit of man-eating alligators and cows. This issue also debuts the Tick's battlecry, "SPOON!!!!"  Issue 8 finds a man-eating cow escape the mop up of Chairface's party and its subsequent rampage, Tick getting bonked on the noggin by a meteor (actually a rock from Utah) and the Tick meeting Arthur's sister, Dot. There are also hitmen, who discover that bullets don't harm the Tick and that man-eating cows are dangerous creatures.  Issue 9 sees The Tick and Arthur's roadtrip, a battle between the Civic Minded Five and the Chainsaw Vigilante, and plenty of roadmaps.  Issue 10 sees The Tick drive off the Chainsaw Vigilante, find a monolith in Kentucky (as well as some "science dinks") and the meteor (or Utah rock) speaks to the Tick.  Issue 11 sees The Tick and Arthur arrive in new York City, land of their dreams, filled with superheroes and villains. They meet Mighty Agrippa, Roman God of Aqueducts, Thrakkazog (hideous inter-dimensional monster) and go to the Comet Club, a superhero hangout. There, Arthur gets exiled to the Sidekick Lounge, and The Tick meets The Tick, aka Barry Hubris, who isn't happy. The Tick kicks his obnoxious butt and gains the sole right to be The Tick.  Issue 12 was Ben Edlund's last, and it finds The Tick and Arthur checking out their new mansion and Tick Cave, plus all of the cool gadgets and vehicles. Meanwhile, Barry gets in touch with his nemesis, The Terror and eggs him into attacking The Tick, along with his cohorts Multiple Santa, Mr Tragedy, Fuzzy Person and Tuun-La. The issue ends with Tick and Arthur heading for an ambush, on the Tick-Cycle. Oh, there's also another moth-person, who has been following Arthur. Ben Edlund had sold the Tick to Hollywood, leading to an epic animated series, with Townsend Coleman voicing The Tick and Mickey Dolenz (later replaced by Rob Paulsen) as Arthur. The stories drew from elements of the comics and added new touches and characters, like der Fledermaus, American Maid and Sewer Urchin. While this went on, the comic (which was infrequent under the best of circumstances) came to a halt, despite promises of a 13th issue to come. Eventually, New England produced the Pseudo-Edition of issue 13, where Tick and Arthur face The Terror and his cronies.  While the cartoon gained a following, NEC launched a new series, The Tick, Karma Tornado...      They also produced spin-offs for Paul the Samurai, Man-Eating Cow and the Chainsaw Vigilante, as well as multiple reprints of the original issues, as well as the Chroma-Tick editions, in color. The series was collected in a trade, there was a reference book for the cartoon (The Tick, Mighty Blue Justice, by Greg "Lethargic Lad" Hyland), toys, posters, t-shirts (including a cool one with wrap around ninja hedge) and various other Tick comics.  If you love the cartoon and live action series, as I do, you will love these original comics. The loopy comedy is in full bloom here, if in a slightly different form. There was a lot of material teased that Edlund never got to deliver; but, a good portion of it made it into the cartoon in various forms. So, I say to you comic lovers, seek The Tick and devour his tasty dish of of monochrome justice! SPOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2017 9:02:48 GMT -5
codystarbuckGreat Reviews of all books and I was impressed by the write ups here and that's one of very few Comic Books that I like and not to mentioned the great animated cartoon as well. I loved the Tick!
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Post by chaykinstevens on Jan 24, 2017 16:40:50 GMT -5
Seems to me I remember seeing a Kris Adams listed with Continuity, too, though I might be confusing names. Neal's daughter, Kristine Adams, was an editor at Continuity. I think she goes by the name Kris Stone these days - perhaps she married Peter Stone, who wrote many dreadful scripts for Continuity. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Jan 29, 2017 18:37:13 GMT -5
So, we've looked at some of the early independents, in a grand overview, with Atlas/Seaboard, Pacific and Continuity. Now, I want to look at what was one of the most successful independent companies of the 1980s, before hubris and mismanagement destroyed it, at the dawn of the 90s. However, there are too many great books at First Comics and I don't want to gloss over the classics; so, this will be a mix of overviews of some titles and more focused reviews of specific comics and storylines. We will begin with the book that launched a revolution in comics, from a graphic design standpoint, and a narrative. It was a comic ahead of its time and so much a part of it. It was the culmination of a decade of artistic development and it remain's the author's masterpiece. I am, of course, referring to...  Chaykin had spent the latter half of the 70s working in the indie world of comics and the world of book illustration, producing painted covers for novels. He was also producing graphic novels for Heavy Metal and Byron Preiss, with things like Empire, The Sword of Heaven, the Flowers of Hell, and The Stars My Destination; as well as his own Cody Starbuck. He also stopped by Marvel, now and again, producing work like Monark Starstalker, some additional Dominic Fortune, a Nick Fury tale, and some other odds and ends. Now, he made a deal with upstart First Comics, the brainchild of Rick Obadiah and Mike Gold, an independent publisher that offered creator ownership and royalties. All they asked was for long term reprint rights (which is why so many of their properties were held up so long, after bankruptcy). Chaykin decided he wanted to do something different and mixed his love of crime fiction (something Archie Goodwin turned him onto) and science fiction-as-allegory. The result is one part satire of the consumer-crazed 80s, one part dystopian future, and one part good guy in a corrupt world.     We begin with "Hard Times," the first storyline of American Flagg. Our story begins at the Chicago Pexmall...  The US is in ruins, its cities wastelands. People live in fortified shopping mall complexes, policed by the Plexus Rangers. The outside is a wasteland left to violent Go-Gangs and Poli-Clubs, who battle it out for entertainment. The Chicago Mall welcomes the Mars-Luna shuttle. Local Plexus Ranger station head, Hilton Krieger, heads off to meet the shuttle, as it is carrying his new deputy ranger, after having a fight with his daughter, Amanda, who is supposed to be at her post, as the landing controller at the airport. The system is automated, so Mandy isn't really needed. She doesn't like her father and argument is all they really have. We also meet the coolest cat in comics, Raul, who can talk (no explanation is ever given). Krieger arrives at the airport and sees the two passengers disembarking. One is Brazilian Ernesto Klein-Hernandez, a businessman; the other, asleep, appears to be our new deputy. The tramway comes to an end, tippling the sleeping deputy onto the businessman. Krieger and the airline rep help pick up the men and their mess. We get a peek at the Brazilian's papers, which mention the proposed sale of what was once the state of Illinois to the corporation Klein-Hernandez represents. Holy smokes, that's my home! Krieger informs us of who the other passenger is: former tv star Reuben Flagg...  As the story progresses, we see a countdown that says "Gogang" with a decreasing timeclock. More on that in a moment. Krieger introduces Flagg to Gretchen Holstrum, the madame of the local brothel, The Love Canal adult pleasure center. Meanwhile, the clock has ticked down and Reuben has been armed, as we see other armed people prepare to face the weekly Gogang attack. Tonight, it's the Genetic Warlords. Krieger reminds everyone to use rubber bullets, as the Warlords are taxpaying citizens. Chaykin gives is a visual feast of graphic design, mixing images and textual effects, for a complete image, as well as a bit of tongue-in-cheek humor.  I always loved the text effect used when Somnambutol (the Tender Riot Ender) is deployed: Papapapapapapapapapapapa OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Mow Mow; the nonsensical sound of "Surfin' Bird." This is one of the unique elements of American Flagg, the lettering and text designs of Ken Bruzenak. Bruzenak broke into the field working for Jim Steranko, originally doing remodeling work on his house. When Greg Theakston left as Steranko's assistant, Bruzenak took over the job, working with Steranko on his Supergraphics projects and his Outland adaptation, for Heavy Metal. He left Steranko to embark on a freelance career. His work on American Flagg made him an industry giant, as he and Chaykin showed the possibilities of incorporating text into graphic narratives. The group fight off the Warlords and Flagg learns this is a weekly event, just like clockwork. He finishes his first night on duty with a warm welcome from Gretchen Holstrum. We follow Flagg through some of his duties and meet mayor C Keenan Blitz, and his robot bodyguards Bert & Ernie. We find out about the devastated ruins of Chicago, where Poli-clubs battle it out, with weapons supplied by the Plex, in exchange for video rights, broadcast as Firefight All-Night, Live! We learn the history of this world, as economic and ecological disaster destroyed the US and much of the rest of the world. The US government relocated on a complex on Mars, known as the Plex (also slang for the government). They created a plan and a fund to rebuild the US, in time for the Tri-Centennial, The Tri-Centennial Recovery Committee. The rest of the world broke into new political factions, with the Pan-African League, the Gotterdamacrats, Communists, and others taking over new territory. Flagg discovers, while watching Plex programming, and the show Bob Violence, that there are subliminal messages in the imagery, with commands to rape and kill. The only other "person" who can see it is Raul; and, as he says, "You don't screw with the Plex!" Just before this, Flagg met Cyril Farid-Khan, leader of the Genetic Warlords, the marauding Gogang. He offers Flagg the same deal as his predecessor-pay Cyril a grand a week and he will shoot high on the Saturday night rampages. Flagg remarks that it seems to be the Status Quo and pays the bribe. When Saturday comes, Flagg decides enough is enough and he uzes Buzz-Kucks (electrified brass knuckles) to take Cyril down and arrest him. Flagg sends the signal that there is a new sheriff in town. Flagg traces the subliminal signal from the ruins of Chicago and Mandy helps him build a jamming device, to block the transmissions. They await the Saturday attack, which, for the first time, doesn't come. Issue 2 introduces us to Ester de la Cristo, of Fourth World Industries, the company Ernesto Klein_hernandez works for. We also meet Crystal Gayle Marakova, captain of the Raymond Lowey Designer Liner airship, as well as John Scheisskopf (which means doo-doo head, in German) a purveyor of Soviet jewelry, and Medea Blitz, daughter of Mayor Blitz and girlfriend of Cyril Farid-Khan. Flagg's duties find him responding to a call for help at an agricultural development, where the farmers are being attacked by a racist militia. Reuben uses Nachtmachers (blackout bomb) to give cover and uses infrared goggles to spot and take out the attackers, which includes a young girl who swallowed cyanide, rather than be captured. Her forehead is tattooed with ASLC. Reuben is enjoying a night with CG Marakova when Raul interrupts, calling him to the Ranger station. There they find the murdered body of Hilton Krieger. The chief suspects, who nearly ran them over, are Cyril Farid-Khan and Medea Blitz. The mayor orders Flagg to bring in his daughter, for murder. Issue 3 sees Flagg and Mandy team up to hunt down Cyril and Medea. After a bit of patented Chaykin sex scenes, Mandy brings Reuben to The Chatterbox, a saloon on Division Street, in Chicago, where the Witnesses operate. They are a group that provides services the Plex doesn't, such as literacy programs, and archiving of old movies and video entertainment; all of which is illegal. Mandy introduces Reuben to William Windsor-Jones, who bears a resemblance to Prince Phillip, and who may be the rightful heir to the throne of England, though he denies it, when sober. The Witnesses tell reuben about the ASLC, the American Survivalist Labor Committee, a group of extremists who went underground during the collapse. Reuben and Mandy head on and catch up with Cyril and Medea and take them down. A wounded Medea starts bleeding elsewhere and says she is miscarrying the child of Hilton Krieger. They get them back to the Plexmall, where Raul gives Reuben a key and an address. reuben finds it in the ruins of Chicago and discovers Hilton Krieger's pirate broadcasting station, Q-USA, which broadcast illegal pre-collapse movies and video. he also runs into John Scheisskopf, who is Plex Internal Affairs agent, who is the true murderer of Krieger. Thanks to Raul's distraction, Flagg is able to take out Scheisskopf. he returns to Mandy, who had been looking for the keys to the station and tells her he is keeping them. They head off to face the Gogang raid, since the subliminals are back in Bob Violence. That's a lot of detail; but, Chaykin sets up a ton of stuff here. This launches his nightmare world and introduces all of the characters. These subplots will carry through over the course of the first year of the comic, which is Chaykin's masterpiece. What is consistent throughout is the visual experimentation. Chaykin uses things like media reports for exposition, fills our world with brand names and a constant barrage of advertising and Plex video programming. Sex is rampant and the women parade around in short, tight skirts, stiletto heels and black-seamed stockings. Fetishism abounds, as it does in a decaying society (sound familiar?) Chaykin also displays his flair for fashion, as his characters are some of the best dressed in comics. The styles are a mix of the 40s and the modern and futuristic. It seems timeless and advanced, while also capturing the fashions of the 80s, which mixed a throwback to the 40s (double-breasted suits and Joan Crawford shoulder pads) and the video age of MTV, with models and dancers in leather and lace, garter belts & stockings and high heels. It is the 80s as seen through the lens of the future, with the crime stories and noir film of the 40s and early 50s. It is brilliant, profane, sexy, pornogrpahic (borderline, as First allowed no actual nudity, at this point) and violent. It is pop art and advertising, mixed with graphic narrative. It is satirical and is one of the funniest books of the early 80s. The characters are well rounded and we are never sure of their loyalties. It is a mature work, even if some of the imagery feels immature. This is adult storytelling, in the manner of the best of European comics and Heavy Metal. Chaykin pulls out the stops with his techniques, using zip-a-tones, inks, digital effects and patterns to give texture to his world. It is here that he really begins to use patterns to reflect textiles and give weight to his drawings. His work will continue to explore this as his characters wear real clothes, not just the impression of clothing. Reuben Flagg is Chaykin's ultimate amoral hero, a man who is working on the side of angels; but, doesn't mind getting dirty along the way. He isn't corruptible; but, he is no saint. He also is an idealized rendition of Chaykin, himself, something he had been doing since Ironwolf (he's not alone in that, as Commissioner Dolan was an aged version of Will Eisner). This first chapter is introduction and Chaykin will build upon it. First implemented Kirby's ideas of albums collecting comics, with the First Graphic Novel line (other companies also did this). The first three issues were collected in the Hard Times graphic novel, with an introduction by Michael Moorcock, and a couple of additional pages. First would continue this with Southern Comfort, which we will examine next time. Chaykin's American Flagg has been collected by Dynamite, encompassing that first year. Why only that, when the series ran 50 issues, in its original format? Well, Chaykin had only plotted that first year and it creates a complete story. After that, he started improvising, before quickly handing it off to others. The series floundered after his departure, until he returned at the end to wrap thing up, then relaunch the series as Howard Chaykin's American Flagg, with a hand-picked team, which lasted another 12 issues. Quite frankly, the non-Chaykin stuff is not that good; certainly not at the same level. Chaykin's return didn't have the same spark, either, though it was a step up. We'll get to that later. |
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