shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Apr 3, 2020 10:42:33 GMT -5
Thoughts on Fireball: Well, as long as we're talking about lousy costume designs:  Long sleeves, short pants, and a belt and bracelets. No memorable details whatsoever. And This seems to follow the pattern of literally every feature in this book so far of not being at all accessible to a new reader. What are Fireball's powers? He can set things on fire, we are told, but we don't even see him do it -- like, does he shoot flames or something? |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Apr 3, 2020 11:09:09 GMT -5
Thoughts on Sergeant Boyle: I'm with codystarbuck on this one being pretty good, though I'm not sure I feel the Hogan's Heroes vibe. There's some real substance to this one. First off, there's actually a sense of continuity (which, I suppose, is necessary when writing about the ever-changing status of the war in 1941):  And the story pushes hard in urging its readers to support entering the war. In fact, it's downright powerful:  Boyle is no more remarkable than any of the other disposable heroes we've gotten in this issue, but the escape plan is positively clever! The guy about to be put to death in the guillotine (did Nazis ever actually use guillotines?) gets shot in the leg, so his death is postponed and he is rushed to an ambulance that is secretly driven by Sgt. Boyle. Does that actually make any sense? Hard to say, but it was complex and unexpected (the hero shooting the guy he is supposed to rescue in order to save him). I enjoyed it. |
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Post by electricmastro on Apr 3, 2020 11:16:59 GMT -5
Thoughts on The Comet: While It's impossible to ignore wildfire2099 's point that this is a total aping of Clark Kent and Lois Lane:  I REALLY enjoyed some of the action in this one:   electricmastro and codystarbuck both seem confident that Jack Cole's art was superior (which I believe!), but I'll happily take this. And yet, just as with the last two features, there is absolutely no effort made to catch the reader up on who these characters are nor even what The Comet's powers are. Did MLJ not want new readers or something? Indeed. Cole had a way of making scenes more vibrant than the average artist did:   Also interesting to compare him with Superman, as I think the Comet was able to fly before Superman was:  |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Apr 3, 2020 11:23:46 GMT -5
I think we have a winner for the next one! I’ve browsed around quite a bit, and a lot of the more interesting public domain material, at least for the art, come from the horror and sci-fi stories. In terms of publishers, I’ve found that publishers such as American Comics Group, Fiction House, Lev Gleason, and Quality tended to be more consistent in providing interesting material, with a special shout out to Centaur for their generally weird material. Artists that worked on quite a bit of public domain stuff include Wally Wood, Frank Frazetta, Steve Ditko, Lou Fine, Joe Kubert, Jack Cole, with the biggest standout of them all being Basil Wolverton’s art. Also worth noting is that a lot of Captain Marvel and Plastic Man’s early adventures are in the public domain too. Oh, I definitely intend to jump genres quite a bit, here. That being said, I know Crimebuster has long been a proponent of Boy Comics. Scott, if you see this before Saturday, could you recommend a favorite issue we should check out next? |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Apr 3, 2020 11:25:36 GMT -5
Also interesting to compare him with Superman, as I think the Comet was able to fly before Superman was: Interesting. Historians usually accuse DC of stealing that from Captain Marvel, but The Comet preceded him. |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Apr 3, 2020 11:44:51 GMT -5
Thoughts on Lee Samson: MidshipmanWhile I agree that you should never judge a book by its cover, it's sometimes safe to judge a six page feature by its first panels:  How can a premise be both ludicrous and completely uninteresting at the same time? Five pages of trying to earn enough money to get the sword out of hock, and if that isn't boring enough, all they do is use the same uncreative and unfunny stunt twice. The art really isn't helping either. How did those two switch positions so quickly??  No thank you. |
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Post by electricmastro on Apr 3, 2020 11:45:44 GMT -5
Also interesting to compare him with Superman, as I think the Comet was able to fly before Superman was: Interesting. Historians usually accuse DC of stealing that from Captain Marvel, but The Comet preceded him. Yeah, at first the power was described as leaps in Pep Comics #1 (January, 1940):  though he was later able to do flights in Pep Comics #6 (July, 1940), as shown above. And beyond the splash page, he was also described as taking an “incredibly swift flight” in Pep Comics #15 (May, 1941):  |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Apr 3, 2020 12:01:17 GMT -5
Thoughts on Madam Satan. Holy crap. Normally, I loathe when people provide summaries instead of reviews, but this thing just needs to speak for itself:      It's so intense, so over the top, so vivid (and I've never seen Harry Lucey do anything outside of Archie before!), and I can't believe the story just ends there. We have to wait until next issue to see what Madam Satan is all about now that she's, well, Madam Satan! LOVED this thing, and I definitely want to read more. Truly, this assignment wasn't a waste. I'm thrilled I got to experience this! |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2020 12:03:09 GMT -5
Another first for MLJ. I believe the Shield/Wizard crossover predates Timely's Namor/Torch crossover. Just checked MLJ crossover came out a month before Timely crossover.
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Crimebuster
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Post by Crimebuster on Apr 3, 2020 12:07:34 GMT -5
Thoughts on Madam Satan. Holy crap. Normally, I loathe when people provide summaries instead of reviews, but this thing just needs to speak for itself: It's so intense, so over the top, so vivid (and I've never seen Harry Lucey do anything outside of Archie before!), and I can't believe the story just ends there. We have to wait until next issue to see what Madam Satan is all about now that she's, well, Madam Satan! LOVED this thing, and I definitely want to read more. Truly, this assignment wasn't a waste. I'm thrilled I got to experience this! Harry Lucey is a genius! He's part of my trilogy of favorites - I think of Darwyn Cooke as being the perfect melding of Lucey and Alex Toth. In the early 50's he did a private eye crime book called Sam Hill which I am working on a run of. Great art! |
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Crimebuster
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Post by Crimebuster on Apr 3, 2020 12:21:05 GMT -5
I’ve browsed around quite a bit, and a lot of the more interesting public domain material, at least for the art, come from the horror and sci-fi stories. In terms of publishers, I’ve found that publishers such as American Comics Group, Fiction House, Lev Gleason, and Quality tended to be more consistent in providing interesting material, with a special shout out to Centaur for their generally weird material. Artists that worked on quite a bit of public domain stuff include Wally Wood, Frank Frazetta, Steve Ditko, Lou Fine, Joe Kubert, Jack Cole, with the biggest standout of them all being Basil Wolverton’s art. Also worth noting is that a lot of Captain Marvel and Plastic Man’s early adventures are in the public domain too. Oh, I definitely intend to jump genres quite a bit, here. That being said, I know Crimebuster has long been a proponent of Boy Comics. Scott, if you see this before Saturday, could you recommend a favorite issue we should check out next? Hmm. It depends on what we're looking for. My favorite era of the book is the period where it's all or almost all Crimebuster - the best stories are in this era. But if we want some variety, one of the earlier issues where it's more of an anthology with multiple backup features would be more appropriate. My personal picks for the earlier era with the backups would be #7 or #19, as they both feature bonkers Crimebuster stories. Other people tend to gravitate more to #9 or #10 for essentially the same reason. And #8 has a backup story that may be of some interest (no spoilers). For the later era, #37 or #42 would be my pick, though Crimebuster barely appears in the lead story in #42. It's a humdinger, though. |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Apr 3, 2020 13:23:04 GMT -5
Thoughts on Kayo WardSheesh. Not only does the action stink, but I'm lost on the appeal of this premise. He's a champion boxer who always wins. How many worthwhile complications can you throw at a premise like that one? In this case, Kayo's fiance is the absolute worst kind of 1940s female stereotype, selfish, erratic, mean-spirited, and (though it was totally unnecessary to insert this into the first panel) a terrible driver. It's all so damn offensive by today's standards:  Don't worry. She seems to realize how selfish she was being in assuming her career mattered as much as her man's by the close. Really really disappointing stuff. Did this feature survive long? |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2020 13:26:56 GMT -5
Any plans for Lev Gleason Daredevil or Nedor Black Terror or Fighting Yank?
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Apr 3, 2020 14:00:19 GMT -5
Any plans for Lev Gleason Daredevil or Nedor Black Terror or Fighting Yank? I only plan one assignment ahead, but I was definitely considering Daredevil down the road. |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Apr 3, 2020 14:06:26 GMT -5
Thoughts on Bentley of Scotland YardYeesh. These drawing room murder mysteries had been all the rage of stage and film two decades earlier, but were were a dime a dozen and stale as heck by 1941. The art and action don't impress, and the character is as generic as any other hero in the book. Really, the one thing this feature seems to have going for it is how is handles its cliffhanger, asking the readers to guess the solution and mail it in.  A unique enough stunt that might have excited me as an adolescent. |
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