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Post by codystarbuck on Jan 23, 2020 14:13:17 GMT -5
The original Don Pendleton Executioner novels are decent pulp, though they represent a rather conservative mindset, that was a reaction to the peace movement and the Vietnam War. They were formulaic, like most pulp series; but, Pendleton was good with the action. Mack Bolan was pretty one dimensional, as were most other characters, though he established enough to make them work. When the series changed publishers and Pendleton moved on, the gun fetish got amped way up (to the point the books had gun reference pages at the end) and he was fighting terrorists around the world, single handedly. Most of the other men's adventure series were pretty forgettable, aping what Bolan was. The Destroyer was a rare alternative, which was closer to the hero pulps of the 30s, with a more modern and sardonic sensibility. It was a series with a sense of humor, twisted though it may be. Of the rest, the only original idea was Casca, the Eternal Mercenary. Casca is a Roman soldier, cursed to be reborn again and again, until Christ's return, after the crucifixion. The character was immortal and drawn from conflict to conflict, before the first Highlander movie appeared. I never did get around to reading one before I swore off that stuff; but, it was about the only original premise out there.
The better men's adventure stuff was pretty much an attempt at doing Mickey Spillane, with touches of the Spider and the Shadow. heck, the Spider was even reprinted with covers that made him look like a modern men's adventure hero, rather than the cloaked lunatic of the original pulps.
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Post by zaku on Jan 24, 2020 6:00:28 GMT -5
There was an Executioner comic by IDW. Never read it, but all reviews pointed out how it was different from the Punisher.
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Post by codystarbuck on Jan 24, 2020 14:10:16 GMT -5
There was an Executioner comic by IDW. Never read it, but all reviews pointed out how it was different from the Punisher. The Executioner was first adapted at Innovation, in 1993, but went out of business before the third and concluding issue came out. They were adapting the original novel, War Against the Mafia. Pendleton's formula was usually Bolan comes to a new city, makes an initial hit on the mob, does some recon (including infiltration undercover), runs into some innocent and takes care of them, gets caught or cornered, fights his way out and destroys the mobsters in a hail of gunfire and military weapons. He claimed to choreograph the gunfights on his farm, so that there was a logic to them, though I suspect he was blowing smoke. Some decent writers ghost wrote some of those series, before getting better gigs. They were usually attributed to house names, though Golden Eagle started crediting the authors on the copyright page. Within the series, they would refer to Bolan as Sgt Mercy, as a nickname for his more humanitarian actions in Vietnam, to try to balance the cold blooded killing. It had mixed results, really. Bolan was pretty much a one-man army, who made few mistakes. A running motif had him masquerade as a high level Mafia hit man, with a Black Ace calling card. Before the series switched publishers, Pendleton had Bolan make one last sweep of the mob, before going to work for the government, fighting terrorists. Each book had a title, refering to a day of the week. It was referred to as the Last Mile. That kind of brought an epic end to the series. After that, it switched publishers, Bolan worked for the government, and Pendleton moved on to other things and the series was done by hired writers, including Mike McQuay, who wrote the Escape From New York novelization, which fleshed out the world and characters, and Mel Odom, who wrote a lot of licensed books in the 90s and later, for things like Sabrina, Roswell, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and others. |
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Post by chaykinstevens on Jan 26, 2020 19:23:03 GMT -5
Credited as a "Mad Genius Associates Production) Not sure who that is. When I try to research it, i get multiple companies using the name. Mad Genius Associates was set up by DAK and Jim Salicrup. link |
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Post by codystarbuck on Jan 26, 2020 20:49:51 GMT -5
Credited as a "Mad Genius Associates Production) Not sure who that is. When I try to research it, i get multiple companies using the name. Mad Genius Associates was set up by DAK and Jim Salicrup. linkThought it was probably DAK; but, couldn't verify it for all of the clutter. |
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Post by Icctrombone on Jan 28, 2020 21:22:02 GMT -5
As I was reading this post, I noticed the artwork looked familiar.   I call swipe ! |
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Post by codystarbuck on Jan 28, 2020 22:26:46 GMT -5
No, no; Hank Pym is bent to the right and Cyclops is bent to the left. Pym hits with a "WAK!" and Scott with a "SLAM!"
Totally different things.
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Post by Icctrombone on Jan 28, 2020 23:02:56 GMT -5
Of course. How silly of me...
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Post by chaykinstevens on Jan 29, 2020 10:23:28 GMT -5
I imagine there might a Gil Kane panel out there somewhere that looks like the third panel. Russell was a protege of Dan Adkins who was a notorious swiper.
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Post by Icctrombone on Jan 29, 2020 10:51:39 GMT -5
The fourth panel might be from the Avengers issue where Goliath fights the Yellowjacket.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jan 29, 2020 11:11:52 GMT -5
I imagine there might a Gil Kane panel out there somewhere that looks like the third panel. Russell was a protege of Dan Adkins who was a notorious swiper. Adkins learned from the best. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Jan 29, 2020 15:41:30 GMT -5
Marvel Super Special #5 KISS Apparently, the band is playing a gig on Mongo. Creative Team: Ralph Macchio-writer and co-plot, Alan Weiss-co-plot, John Romita Jr-pencils, Tony Dezuniga-inks, Irv Watanabe, Glynis Wein-colors, Richard Marschall-editor Synopsis: Gene Simmons is a fan f Wile E Coyote...   Richard Marschall proceeds to tell porkies, as he says the first KISS special sold more copies than "almost any" comic in Marvel history and then says which means more than any other publisher in comics. EHHHHNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!! DC and Fawcett had comic sales in the millions, in the 1940s and part of the 50s, on a regular basis. Grab an extinguisher Richard, your pants are on fire. We go to the Hidden Himalayan civilization of Khyscz (sound it out)), where people dress like rejects from the Wizard of Oz...  The darklord Khalis-Wu is planning on stealing power from the emotional energy of rock concerts; so, Dizzy, the gypsy conjures up the KISS members, sans make-up, to stop him, 'cause? Why not? Talismans are handed out and rock stars become superheroes. Space Ace is able to track the wizard, so the gang 'ports out and to a concert, in the 50s. However, it's Perry Como, so there is no energy... Well, okay; maybe not. There are 50s rockers, with massive amps, suggesting JRJR knows nothing about the 50s and KISS materializes, finds the Wizard, Gene attacks with flame from his mouth and the wizard blocks it. he heads out a stage door, finds Marlon Brando and Lee Marvin and turns them into Ghost Rider, minus the skull  The rest of the band isn't about to let Gene upstage them (yeah.....right!) and joins in. Lots of superpower stuff and the wizard fades out. We are interrupted by a poster that no self-respecting heterosexual male of the 70s would display on their wall....  and then the band chases the wizard to the 60s and Woodstock. He materializes some flowers (Poppies...poppies poppies...Dorothy....Dorothy....) and they start trippin'. gene threatens violence, 'cause why learn a lesson about non-violence, at Woodstock. They run into Elf With a Gun, who tells them they are in the Land of Leftovers and points them towards more stereotypes. They end up in a neighborhood, where Elf told them to find Saurian Holmes, who is a reptile Sherlock Holmes, an old dinosaur (ha, ha...get it?) A girl with kaleidoscope eyes tries to kill him and is stopped by the Demon. They find a tarot card (the Fool) and a computer points them to the Maharishi and a literal house of cards. They find the wizard, fight, and the house collapses, as he pops out. They then follow to a disco...  The band hang their heads in shame, over "I Was Made for Loving You" and their heavy metal cred is revoked. Panic at the Disco ensues, with much fighting. Finally, Paul hits him with feedback of pure hatred and the wizard explodes, they head home and turn in their talismans. Thoughts: Ralph Macchio is no Steve Gerber. Bad satire, average action, Wizard of Oz rip-offs, and a lot of bad history (especially visually). Not as good as the first KISS comic; but, it's readable. Romita's art is serviceable and gets a few showy moments. He hadn't fully developed yet and DeZuniga isn't necessarily the inker I would use for JRJR. This came about because of the success of the first one and because of the NBC movie, KISS Meet the Phantom of the Park, which is utter crap and barely watchable for even camp. This is better, though it's all relative. There is a section after the story, about the telemovie.  That picture pretty much sums up how stupid the film is. They spent years living that down. As it is, it looked like most of the budget went into the band's pockets, as the pathetic special effects weren't up to your average K-Tel commercial. That is followed by a page of KISS merch to waste your money on and fill the band's pockets (and Peter and Ace's drug habits). That's followed by an add for their simultaneous solo albums...  Thankfully, that was it for KISS, in these pages. now we can move onto something good, like Jaws 2!
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Post by codystarbuck on Jan 29, 2020 16:21:41 GMT -5
Marvel Graphic Novel #41, Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Overstreet note: bondage cover! Creative Team: Daan Jippes-story and inks, Don Ferguson-dialog, Dan Spiegle-pencils, William Langley-letters, Bob Budiansky-editor. Cindy Kruhm-interior design. Colors aren't specifically credited. Daan Jippes is a Dutch artist who worked for Disney and is probably there to keep Disney happy. Spiegle had experience doing Disney adaptations at Western (Dell and Gold Key days) and is versatile enough for the human actors as well as the cartoon models. Original story taken from Gary Wolf's Who Censored Roger Rabbit? which was turned into the film script by Jeffrey Price and Peter Seaman, with plenty of input from just about everyone. Synopsis: Private eye Eddie Valiant is hired by RK Maroon, head of Maroon pictures, to get dirt on Jessica Rabbit, wife of star Roger Rabbit, who is fooling around. He refuses to go to Toontown, though. Eddie goes to the Terminal Bar to get a camera from his girl, punches out someone, then heads for the Ink & Paint Club, where Jessica sings. he meets Marvin Acme, who has a thing for Jessica. Eddie follows him backstage, as Marvin pays a call on Jessica, but Eddie gets tossed out by a gorilla. he still gets pictures of Marvin & Jessica playing pattycake.  The pictures are show to Roger who freaks out. Eddie goes home and boozes. He is awakened by a cop, who tells him Marvin Acme is dead and Roger is the prime suspect. A safe was dropped on him. Eddie examines the rope and finds paint on it, but is interrupted by Judge Doom. Doom relates how the toons can be killed with Dip and promises to bring law and order to Toontown. valiant goes back to his office, where Roger is hiding out. Roger pleads his innocence and needs help. Then the weasels turn up...  Eddie investigates, uncovers a hidden will from Marvin Acme, which a company called Cloverleaf doesn't want found and hijinkcs and peril ensue, leading to an exciting climax. Thoughts: Decent adaptation; but, you are going to be disappointed. Marvel had no rights to depict any of the classic cartoon characters; only the characters created for the movie. No Daffy vs Donald, no Bugs & Mickey, no Lena Hyena. Just Roger, Jessica and similar characters. Spiegle handles the mixture well, and he knows LA and makes it took right. He also knows how to do a private eye story (check out Crossfire) and does it well. However, the humor doesn't play as well on the page and the loss of the cartoon characters hurt. Also, the violence is toned down, compared to the film. Just kind of "okay."
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Post by codystarbuck on Jan 30, 2020 16:07:25 GMT -5
Marvel Super Special #6, Jaws 2 (Chondrichthyes Boogaloo) Is it just me or does it look like Alfred E Neuman should be on that cover? The lady looks especially buoyant. Creative Team: Richard Marschall-writer/editor, Gene Colan Pencils, Tom Palmer-inks & colors, Irv Watanabe-letters. Well, at least it'll look purty. Synopsis: They actually lead with an interview with director Jeannot Szwarc (split front and back of the magazine), before getting to the story. Big mistake, in my opinion, since it isn't Spielberg and no one really cares. Szwarc was more of a tv director; but, did direct Somewhere in Time, Santa Claus the Movie and Supergirl (though that wasn't entirely his fault). He would later direct episodes of Smallville, where he worked with another predator, Allison Mack. A couple of divers are poking around a boat wreck, which bears the name Orca, and find some booze. Then, one of them turns into lunch, while an underwater camera catches the diner.  On Amity Island, Sheriff Brody heads to the grand opening of a new motel, which the mayor hopes will lead to revitalization to the island. Amity has been a ghost town, since the shark attacks 3 years ago. Sheriff Brody is still haunted by it, but the mayor believes it's in the past. Brody gets word of a a boat floating empty offshore and he and his deputies investigate. They find booze, pills and diving equipment and another local identifies it as belonging to a couple of morons who probably drowned. The are is where the Orca, the boat Brody was on when he killed the great white shark monster. Brody still watches the sea from a watchtower, permanently placed there after the attacks. The mayor thinks he is unnecessarily scaring people. Pleasure seekers go water skiing, when something happens...  The skier gets chomped, the boat driver hurls fuel and tries to barbeque the shark, which just pisses him off and he eats the driver. brody gets a report from a local. he forbids his son, Mike, from going out sailing, while he contemplates the potential of another shark. They dredge for the lost boaters and only come up with the electric cable to the mainland. Mike sneaks off with friends to a nearby islet, with a lighthouse, which is the local make-out locale. meanwhile, Sheriff Brody looks over the carcass of a dead orca, a killer whale (hows that for metaphor). More dismissal of Sheriff Brody's theories, a few close calls with sharks and we move on. Mike sneaks off again, while a dive class is training in the water, warning the students to stay away from the cable area. A diver sees a shark and panics and rises to quickly to the surface and suffers an embolism. the person is found floating. It was the instructor, who was highly experienced, which Brody puts down to panic. Mike and his friends are racing and the shark attacks a straggler. Brody spots his son's boat gone and his younger son's bike, suggesting he went with them. He and his deputies come across the boat of the victims and the girl is still alive and relates what happens. They send a helo to try to get the kids to head back, when the shark attacks the group. Mike's catamaran becomes a rescue boat, but it is trapped out there. The helo lands and the shark chomps the pontoon skid and the helo goes down.  He needed some Bat Shark Repellant! Brody gets Mike out but others are still out there, including Sean, Brody's youngest. He goes after and intercepts the shark. He spots the electrical cable and suckers the shark into chomping and frying up some shark steaks.  Thoughts: The story is basically a rehash, which is typical for a sequel. It's hard to convey the tension, on the comic page; but, Colan does a decent job of it and he is the right artist to door this kind of thriller, as a comic. It's too bad there isn't a story worthy of his talent. Marschall dumps the subplot about Brody losing his job because the council doesn't believe there is a threat (with only the mayor sticking by him) and a new sheriff needing his help. The film was pure cash grab, which is part of why Spielberg didn't do it, though they dangled enough money in front of him that he was about to do it, but wasn't going to be available until he finished Close Encounters. Roy Scheider was back, but Dreyfuss was doing CE3K. It still made huge money and used the tag line, "Just when you thought it was safe to go into the water." The reality of yet another monster shark coming into the area is a bit much. It's still better than later, when the shark's mate comes hunting. Gene Colan is the draw here and this looks great. Richard Marschall talks about Colan & Palmer painting the art onto the pages. He also sells the new line of Marvel color magazines, which didn't really do much better than the black & white ones did (though Hulk had some nice Dominic Fortune color stories, from Howard Chaykin). The Super Specials vary according to the movie and the team doing the adaptation. Next up is Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Or is it?
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jan 30, 2020 16:30:19 GMT -5
You mention this shark being the mate of the first one; is that alluded to in the comic? I don't recall it being said in the film, but it is stated in the novelization (which is convenient since females are bigger than males, get very hungry when they're pregnant, and gives us the opportunity to see the birth of a pup that just might star in an eventual Jaws 3). And as fate would have it... the idea that Jaws 2's shark is the mate of the original might not be so far-fetched after all ! In any case, Colan (maybe by accident) does depict a female shark in this issue since the beast doesn't have claspers. Let's hear it for proper fish anatomy!!! |
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