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Post by mikelmidnight on Jul 7, 2021 11:43:29 GMT -5
Fawcett used the lightning in different ways, with story gimmicks that affected it or used it; but, I haven't come across one that used it as an offensive weapon, even when he fights Black Adam (their only meeting) or IBAC or Captain Nazi.
I have only ever seen the Fawcett lightning as transformative. It's not generic magic lightning after all; it's literally manufactured by Zeus and sent down to Billy when he (or Mary, or Freddy, or Billy, or Billy, or Billy) shouts his magic word.
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Post by codystarbuck on Jul 7, 2021 12:46:36 GMT -5
Fawcett used the lightning in different ways, with story gimmicks that affected it or used it; but, I haven't come across one that used it as an offensive weapon, even when he fights Black Adam (their only meeting) or IBAC or Captain Nazi.
I have only ever seen the Fawcett lightning as transformative. It's not generic magic lightning after all; it's literally manufactured by Zeus and sent down to Billy when he (or Mary, or Freddy, or Billy, or Billy, or Billy) shouts his magic word.
I'm referring more to stories where something blocks the lightning getting through; or, like the Lt Marvels, turns someone else into a Marvel. |
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Post by zaku on Jul 8, 2021 7:01:13 GMT -5
According to DC Wiki, Sivana in Marvel Family 10 measured the lighting in more than "600 000 000 000 000 000 mega-volts". But no mention about the amps, so we are not sure how much destructive it is...
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jul 8, 2021 9:46:17 GMT -5
According to DC Wiki, Sivana in Marvel Family 10 measured the lighting in more than "600 000 000 000 000 000 mega-volts". But no mention about the amps, so we are not sure how much destructive it is... But will it power a time-traveling DeLorean? |
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Post by codystarbuck on Jul 8, 2021 10:58:08 GMT -5
According to DC Wiki, Sivana in Marvel Family 10 measured the lighting in more than "600 000 000 000 000 000 mega-volts". But no mention about the amps, so we are not sure how much destructive it is... But will it power a time-traveling DeLorean? Please...........it would power a time-traveling Volkswagen! |
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Post by codystarbuck on Jul 8, 2021 18:11:09 GMT -5
Shazam #13 Creative Team: We'll stick with individual credits for each story. Shazam was a DC 100-PG comic through issue 17. Julie Schwartz is the editor on record, with E Nelson Bridwell assisting and doing the heavy lifting. Original Fawcett stories edited Wendell Crowley. The theme of this one is the Marvel Family's Greatest Friends; so, we get Mr Tawny, Shazam, and Sonny Sparkle, who is annoying, not a great friend. Or, is that just me? Synopsis: "The Case of the Charming Crook"-Elliot S! Maggin-story, Bob Oskner-art Billy Batson is helping Sunny Sparkle (ugh....I'm getting nauseous from the sacchriney alliteration) donate all the gifts he receives to charity. The charity workers arrive, but are actually crooks, in disguise. They think they are conning Billy & Sunny and are stealing everything, when Sunny comes out and they are overwhelmed by his effect and give everything back, including their truck!  The crooks, away from Sunny, realize they need to get some kind of loot or be in Dutch with the boss. They go into Doc Quartz's drug store and hold him up. Meanwhile, the real charity workers turn up at Sunny's and Billy realizes the others were crooks and says the magic word. Captain Marvel tracks them down and breaks up the robbery, at the drug store. The big boss gets word of events and yells for Dr Quacker, his pet scientist, who constantly blows up his lab. The boss wants to know how Sunny does it. The scientist concocts a con, where he invites people in to demonstrate Smellovision, which allows you to smell, as well as watch (hope they aren't watching Fear factor). Secretly, he is studying Sunny's body reactions and biochemicals and he discovers how to recreate his "essence" (either pheromones or BO; take your pick). He gives it to the boss to test and then literally gives him the shirt off his back. the boss goes out and people start handing him valuables. Billy spots the man and recognizes him as the crime boss and transforms; but, can't arrest him, since everyone is giving him stuff, voluntarily. he watches helplessly as banks and jewelers hand him over money and riches, for nothing! He tries to stop him, but he is committing no crimes. Finally, CM fakes him out, masquerading as a noted painter, making him believe the spray doesn't work anymore. he smashes it on the ground and CM arrests him for littering. Sunny was passing buy and gets doused witht he splattering liquid and is twice as nice as before. The boss wants to get away from him and agrees to confess to his crimes. "Mrs Wagner's Forbidden Room"-Bill Woolfolk-writer, John Certa-art, Captain Marvel Jr #92 Mrs Wagner's boarding house, where Freddy Freeman lives, is in an uproar, as one of the tenants, Mr Marks loves to pull practical jokes. An exploding cigar sends Red O'Riley tearing after him and he runs up the stairs and tries to climb up a ladder to an attic room, when Mrs Wagner forbids anyone from going in that room. Later, at dinner, there is a scream and Freddy turns into Captain Marvel Jr and rescues the falling Marks, who tumbled when the ladder broke. Then, some shifty characters turn up and demand a room, even though Mrs Wagner says she has none available. They try to stronarm their way in and run into Junior, who tosses them out, literally. Freddy is still curious and goes to talk to Mr Marks, but finds him gone. He goes up to the attic room and finds it dark, then is grabbed from behind and silenced. He is bound and gagged and when light is turned on, finds Marks tied up beside him. The person who grabbed them is a crook, who has been hiding, with stolen banknotes, from the count and his hood...  They are watching the house and see the light and break in. They throw a knife at the man, but miss. Freddy uses it to get his gag off and transform and he busts heads and arrests the crooks. he finds the stolen loot and the next day, Mrs Wagner advertises a room for rent. There is a on-page piece about the Seven deadly Enemies of Man, which is a tease for a reprint in issue #16. Pat Broderick, provides the art, though you'd never guess it was his....  "Captain Marvel Gets a Secretary"-Otto Binder-writer, CC Beck-pencils, Pete Costanza-inks, Captain Marvel Adventures #67 Joan Jameson (J Jonah's sister or cousin, no doubt) is fresh out of secretarial school and looking for a job. Her roommate, Dina Duval (See, Stan didn't start this stuff) just wants to marry a rich man (it's the 40s). Joan pines after Captain marvel, so she makes a blind application at station WHIZ, since captain Marvel maintains an office there. she applies to Billy Batson, but he doesn't need a secretary and tells her to hit the bricks (well, in a nicer way), but some dude needs to see Captain Marvel. Billy goes in to get him and Joan follows, to see if she can apply to him and witnesses Billy transforming, even though everyone else always seems to miss it, in the blinding flash of lightning.  She reveals all to Billy, then pitches the idea of her screening Billy's visitors and alerting him when Captain Marvel is needed, so that he can change beforehand. She asks for one day to prove her worth and Billy agrees. She quickly proves that she is helpful and doesn't try to sit on captain Marvel's lap, as he feared (Right, the secretary is always the one making the move on the boss. Someone call up Gloria Steinem!) Billy sends Joan to lunch and she gushes to her roommate. Dina is jealous and figures Captain Marvel is rich and she toes up Joan and shoves her in a closet, to take her place (they are both blonds and all blonds look alike). She takes Joan's place at the office and is completely rude and obnoxious and billy, dumb as he is, smells a rat. She tries to sit on captain Marvel's lap and romance him and he fires her. She tries to smooth it over and he gives her a warning. Dina figures she is done for and decides to rob the safe and calls on a hood boyfriend to do the job. Billy catches him cracking the safe and captain Marvel apprehends him. Dina plays poor hostage, like she was forced to help him and CM buys it (Wisdom of Solomon is on vacation, this month). Billy changes and Dina wakes up the hood and they clobber Billy and the cop he called. They take Billy to Dina's apartment, tie him up and dump him in the closet, with Joan. of course, he is gagged and she isn't, but she hasn't tried screaming for help or anything. She explains things to Billy, then uses her teeth to get his gag off and he transforms and frees her. He breaks in on Dina and the hood writing a ransom note to Station WHIZ and he smacks the hood around, while Joan does a Crystal Carrington on her Alexis (for fans of Dynasty catfights). Joan gets the permanent job. "Mr Tawny's Sales Campaign"-Otto Binder-story, CC Beck-art, Captain Marvel Adventures #119 Mr Tawny is in debt, as his expenses have outstripped his income, from the museum. I assume the raw steak is pretty expensive. He sees an ad for a sales kit, to make "big money, in your spare time." Must be reading a comic book! He goes down to the address and buys the kit from "Honest John Jippo," despite the name and Billy warning him of the obvious...  I know he's a tiger, but he's not the brightest one under the sun. Even Hobbes wouldn't fall for that one! Tawny reads the instruction book and tries to perfect a winning smile, but it's kind of hard when your face isn't structured like a primate. He goes out to try his luck and tries the fast-talking approach on a housewife, who bashes him on the head, with a broom, when he follows the book's advice and won't take no and pushes his way into the house. Billy sees him get thrown out and changes into captain Marvel, though Tawny explains. CM cracks jokes, but Tawny is determined to be a success. he tries again and gets a better reception, but the cosmetic products in the kit are cheap junk and they run. the woman sees herself and calls her husband, who punches out Tawny. CM arrives and stops him and explains and extricates Tawny. He tries again, with appliances, but they go haywire and explode. CM has to rescue him from another angry housewife, with a broom. They try the last product, beauty clay. tawny goes to a new house and the owner is sitting in the dark and tells him to go ahead. he applies the clay and it hardens like cement. The owner is a man and he is POed. CM gets the stuff of and Tawny out of there. He then takes Tawny back to Jippo's shop, where he arrests him, since he can prove that it was all a con and that the products are faulty. he gets Tawny's money back, but Tawny moves on to real estate speculation and Billy throws up his hands. "A New Home for Billy"-Otto Binder-story, CC Beck-pencils, Pete Costanza-inks, Captain Marvel Adventures #133 Billy Batson rents a new apartment, from Ma and Pa Potter (Harry's grandparents) and moves in, only to find a prowler casing the area. he changes into Captain Marvel and chases him off. The crook and his accomplice set a fire to distract CM and CM puts it out and then meets Dexter Knox, boy scientist, whose lab is next door to the Potters. Later, Billy meets Dexter and he shows Billy his lab and they hit it off. He invites Billy to have supper with them and Mr Knox explains he is partially disabled and can't work much, so the fare is simple. Billy doesn't mind and dexter explains he is trying to invent something useful to make money for the family. Billy says the Quench Gun that Dexter used, to extinguish the rest of the fire should sell well. After supper, they go to the lab to retrieve it and find the crook, who overpowers them and ties them up. he sprays the extinguishing foam on them and leaves.  They are suffocating and Billy manages to get near a fan and kick it on and blow the foam off. he then uses the whirring blades to tear off the gaga and transform. he frees Dexter, then they go after the crooks and find another fire. Captain Marvel rescues Dexter's family and spots the crook trying to sell the invention to the firemen. CM decks him and lets Dexter demonstrate his device and Dexter is able to sell the patent for money, for his family. "The Marvel Family Battles the Pandora Pirates"-Otto Binder-story, CC Beck-art Sterling Morris and his employees are on a beach outing, when he finds a floating jar, with a message inside. It's spoken, rather than written and speaks of a treasure on the Barbary coast. Morris leads an expedition and follows the directions of the voice, in the bottle and they find a cave, with a treasure chest. They open it to reveal a band of trapped pirates and unwittingly free them.  The Marvel Family has words with them and they surrender. They were trapped there after fleeing Stephen Decatur and the US Navy and Marine Corps. Brings tears to my eyes! They use the magic bottle to escape the Marvels, who track them down and find them attacking a caravan. They bust heads, but the bottle lets them get away again. The Marvels meet back up with Sterling Morris and use old pieces of the pirate ship to create a new sailing ship and lure them out to attack it. Morris finds a turban and falls under a spell, believing he is Abdullah, the leader of the pirates. When they attack, he subdues Billy, Marry and Freddy and they are bound across the mouths of cannons and gagged. They spot a modern cargo ship and go to attack it, but are swamped in the wake. The inrushing water dampens the cannons, so they can't fire and Morris accidentally slices off Billy's gag. he transforms, frees the others. Morris uses the bottle to create a whirlpool and the Marvel's have to rescue the ship. The pirates lose their plunder and clap Morris in irons. They use the bottle to find a new target and are successful. They go ashore to bury the treasure and make Morris do the digging. he gets his hands on the bottle and uses it to call the Marvels, who kick the pirates Arrgh-ses. Pat Broderick draws 3 pages of other friends of the Marvels, including Beautia and Magnificus Sivana. "The Ancient Crime"-Otto Binder-story, CC Beck-art, Captain Marvel Adventures #79 Billy Batson is reading a book on Ancient Egypt, which has a passage that says the wizard, Shazam, stole gold from the pharaohs. Billy doesn't buy this for a minute and sets out to prove it. The Egyptologist who wrote the book shows him (as Captain Marvel)a papyrus, which makes the accusation. Captain Marvel still doesn't believe it. He visits the tunnel and speaks to the wizard, who says he will have to figure out the truth, himself. he then buggers off leaving the dope to work it out. The Wisdom of Solomon finally returns from vacation and CM flies to the rock of Eternity and travels through time, to Ancient Egypt, to see things first hand. He sees the Pharaoh treat Shazam as an honored hero, then a fire breaks out and CM puts it out. He also sees a schemer in the court. Shazam returns to court and demands payment in gold and jewels, for services rendered and the Pharaoh antes up. CM follows and exposes the schemer. He makes him carve out a confession and buries it under a pyramid....  He returns to the present and leads the Egyptologist out there to discover the confession, so he will print a revision. There follows a one-page of the changes in Mary Marvel's costume, over the years...  I kind of prefer the boots to the ballet slippers, but the original and modern costumes look the best. The 1948 one isn't bad, but it looks too dated for modern stories. I still think she should have gotten short boots and trousers, instead of the cheerleader skirt, since she is flying around all the time. She must have flashed all of Earth-S. Not sure about the later color change; I always liked the red, vs the virginal white she got. You could reverse the colors and give her gold, with red accenting, though I'm not sold on that working as well, visually (it's one thing for a mirror foe, but another without that gimmick). "The Haunted Clubhouse"-E Nelson Bridwell-story, Bob Oskner-art Mary and some friends have built a Mary Marvel Fan Clubhouse, on a vacant lot. They convene their first meeting in it, but are interrupted by ghosts. Mary switches and Mary marvel discovers that it is just a mask, covered in luminous paint. the others light a candle and find Mary marvel among them and gush. MM then leaves so that MB can return.  No one noticed that she was missing and they move on to the agenda, when another ghost brings up a point of order and the girls chase it out of the clubhouse. So much for parliamentary procedure! They try to grab it but their hands pass through and it disappears. then more ghosts come out of the clubhouse. Mary transforms and Mary Marvel swats at them, but finds them ot be mist and they disappear. She tells the girls that they are gone, now and they return. She does notice something familiar about them, though. She noticed a smell of phosphorus and remembers a crook that Captain Marvel nabbed and she goes inside and catches Ghost Gordon, the crook, from Marvel Family #49. She trusses him up, them demonstrates his tricks, to the girls. they wonder why he did this and Mary lifts the clubhouse off the ground and moves it, then digs up the loot he had hidden, under the lot. Thoughts: The modern Captain Marvel story, with Sunny Sparkle, is kind of lame, though it has a certain charm to it. Captain Marvel being frustrated in his efforts to nail the crime boss is a nice twist. Still, it's kind of a dull gimmick. Junior's story is okay, though rather cliched, like something in a Hardy Boys book. Not the best use of the hero, really, though it makes a pleasant enough story, for variety in a collection like this. The introduction of Joan Jameson is much better and interesting, though the plot sounds like a soap opera plot, where the evil twin replaces the heroine. It kind of shows how much bondage was used as a plot device in these things, as Joan gets tied up and stashed in a closet, then Billy gets bound and gagged and stashed with her and then ungagged Joan uses her teeth to free Billy of his gag, so he can change. Zatanna has a similar trope, since she must speak her spells; so, she often ended up bound and gagged to prevent that. Billy, Mary and Freddy end up tied up more than Pearl White, in the Perils of Pauline or Bettie Page, in her heyday. It gets pretty tiresome, after you read several stories in a row. Thankfully, they didn't rely on it all of the time, unlike Marston and the Wonder Woman stories. Marston even had her doing escape tricks for fundraisers! At least these are within the context of a mystery, in keeping with literary tropes, rather than full-on fetishism. The Mr Tawny story is great comedic fun and the Dexter story is a pleasant little tale of a smart kid making good. The lab and all remind me of the later Adventure Comics #271 story, of Superboy and Lex Luthor's first meeting. Similar beginning, with Lex rescuing Superboy and then showing off his trophies and science experiments, leading Superboy to build a lab that is very similar to Dexter's. Jerry Siegel wrote that one, but it is in keeping with the additions that Mort Weisinger brought to the superman books, largely through Otto Binder and some of his colleagues, from Fawcett. The pirate story is fine and it's nice to hear a shout out to Stephen Decatur, the naval officer who built his reputation during the Barbary War and who lent his name to the city nearest my old home town, Decatur, IL. The Barbary War is an interesting, if little discussed period of American history. the Barbary states conducted piracy in the Mediterranean, with the European nations paying tribute to get them to leave their ships alone. The British used their naval power to protect their commerce, though even they ponied up dough. The US wasn't in a position to guard their commercial vessels and resorted to fighting them, where they could, since we also couldn't really afford to pay protection money. We then used a combination of guile and military power to attack the pirates, ultimately landing US marines on "The Shore of Tripoli," and marching overland to take their leader prisoner, forcing an end to the major attacks. "The Ancient Crime" is fairly predictable, but, it is nice to see Shazam in Ancient Egypt, reminding us he was a hero long before Black Adam and Captain Marvel. We will later see a bit of exploration of his past, when E Nelson Bridwell teams with Don Newton. The Mary story is really cliched, like a Nancy Drew mystery; but, Bridwell and Oskner keep it light and keep the plot moving so that you don't focus on it long. This is perhaps the first time that a modern story invokes a Fawcett tale that didn't involve one of the major villains. Kind of surprised that story wasn't included, so modern readers would have a chance to see it. Guess it didn't fit the theme. Mary and her friends do seem a bit old for clubhouses, though, as Mary looks to be around 15 or 16, the way Oskner drew her, which suggest more time mooning over David Cassidy than celebrating Mary Marvel. I half expected the villain to be a group of boys who wanted the clubhouse for themselves, like a Brady Bunch episode. The beauty of these 100-PG comics and their 80-Pg Giant forefathers is that they give you a variety of stories to delight you, making them a really good investment, especially on a trip or something. I loved these things and got my hands on as many as I could and they were usually filled with a mix of great stories, entertaining ones, and a few "okay" ones. Just like any good anthology. Every so often, they were pure gold, with one memorable story after another. This is more the former than the latter (which is more the first Shazam 100-PG comic); but, still a worthwhile investment of 60 cents.
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Post by MDG on Jul 8, 2021 19:52:48 GMT -5
Shazam #13"The Haunted Clubhouse"-E Nelson Bridwell-story, Bob Oskner-art Wow! Oksner's art here is pretty spectacular. The silhouette work and the expressions and postures in panels 5 and 6 are really well done. |
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Post by dbutler69 on Jul 13, 2021 12:27:13 GMT -5
For those who came in late, the real Captain Marvel, the one erroneously referred to as Shazam, for the last nearly 50 years, was born in late 1939, the child of Fawcett staff writer Bill Parker and artist CC Beck. The birth was a difficult one, as the comic title went through a couple of variations (Flash Comics and Thrill Comics, before settling on Whiz Comics), as did the hero (as Captain Thunder, then Captain Marvel), before his official debut in Whiz Comics #2 (Whiz #1 was an "ashcan, a black & white quickie produced to secure copyright and trademark on the title, but bore the same origin story as seen in Whiz #2).  The original idea was a group of heroes, who drew power from one of several ancient gods and/or heroes. That got melded together into one hero, who drew power from Solomon (wisdom), Hercules (strength), Atlas (stamina), Zeus (power), Achilles (courage) and Mercury (speed). Right from the start, he was different, with the mythical connotations and the hook of a young boy, like the reader, who says a magic word and is transformed into a super-powered adult. Needless to say, he was a huge hit, eventually even outselling the guy who launched the long underwear craze, Superman. this didn't set well with Supes' bosses at National Periodicals, who filed suit against Fawcett for copyright infringement. National had tried to intimidate Fawcett into shelving captain Marvel, with cease and desist orders and also tried to nobble the republic serial, The Adventures of Captain Marvel, with the same tactic and both groups told them to pound sand. National turned to the courts; but, Fawcett won round one, when it pointed out that National and the McClure Syndicate, who published the Superman newspaper strip, failed to place copyright notices in several strips. The judge ruled that National abandoned the copyright, with those actions and ruled in favor of Fawcett, though he did note that Captain Marvel was a copy of Superman (who is lucky Street & Smith and/or Philip Wylie didn't do the same to them). National appealed and National won a reversal of the previous decision, in regards to their copyright status, though the McClure copyright on the strips was still held invalid. It also held that Captain Marvel was a copy, despite the differences in the source of powers and adventures, with only the costume and similarity of powers having any real connection. Rather than continue the long legal battle (in court since 1948, fighting National's lawyers since 1941), Fawcett threw in the towel and settled with National, ceasing publication of Captain Marvel and related titles in 1953, soon shuttering their entire comic book line (which wasn't doing well, anyway, by that point). Captain Marvel was dead, until 1966, when Myron Fass, a publisher of cheap magazines and comics, launched a new comic book, in 1966, Captain Marvel. The hero would split off his limbs, uttering the magic word "Split" and then recombine them with "Zam." it was stupid and hokey and filled with copyright viol;ations of its own and Fass pretty much had to shutter it, under legal threats. However, his trademark was purchased, for a minor fee, by Marvel Comics, who then launched their own Captain Marvel, aka Mar-Vell, of the Kree. For what it's worth, Brian Cronin of CBR.com noted (parenthetically) that, had this gone to court today, Fawcett would most likely have won. I think Brian Cronin went to law school, so I assume he knows what he's talkng about here. Copyright (or trademark) law has always seemed arcane and Byzantine to me. Anyway, inspired by that Brian Cronin article I read this morning, plus remembering that you are writing these reviews, I've decided to start going through the 70's series myself. Maybe at a snail's pace, but I plan to make it through. |
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Post by dbutler69 on Jul 13, 2021 13:09:01 GMT -5
Shazam! #1 Thoughts: Well, Denny is no Otto Binder (or even Earl Binder): but, he does a pretty darn decent return for Captain Marvel, borrowing a page from Stan & Jack and putting the Marvels and the Sivanas (and the supporting cast) on ice for 20 years. He then brings Captain Marvel back in contact to foil their plans and all is right in the world. It's not exactly on the same level as the epic Monster Society of Evil serial; but, it'll do the job. Meanwhile, the reprint starts a trend of the reprint stories from Fawcett showing up the lesser imaginations at DC. Don't get me wrong, Denny gets pretty imaginative; but, he didn't have unravelling rugs feeding string across interdimensional barriers, thereby creative a cosmic tug of war, leading to cross-dimensional invasions and wrestling matches, before shutting down the pipeline! Heck, we don't even learn exactly what the Sivanas were up to, as they never identify the purpose of the electronics they had stolen, apart from the generic ruling the world scenario. Mary and Junior didn't even get to get their licks in. Still, it's enough to prime the pump. Actually, Sivana does mention that he needs the parts for a Death Projector, then says that without the parts, it won't be 100 percent effective, but should finish off most of the population. So I guess his plan is to rule the world by...killing everybody? Uh, OK Anyway, looking forward to more of your excellent reviews! |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jul 13, 2021 13:13:01 GMT -5
The original idea was a group of heroes, who drew power from one of several ancient gods and/or heroes. That got melded together into one hero, who drew power from Solomon (wisdom), Hercules (strength), Atlas (stamina), Zeus (power), Achilles (courage) and Mercury (speed). Right from the start, he was different, with the mythical connotations and the hook of a young boy, like the reader, who says a magic word and is transformed into a super-powered adult. Needless to say, he was a huge hit, eventually even outselling the guy who launched the long underwear craze, Superman. this didn't set well with Supes' bosses at National Periodicals, who filed suit against Fawcett for copyright infringement. National had tried to intimidate Fawcett into shelving captain Marvel, with cease and desist orders and also tried to nobble the republic serial, The Adventures of Captain Marvel, with the same tactic and both groups told them to pound sand. National turned to the courts; but, Fawcett won round one, when it pointed out that National and the McClure Syndicate, who published the Superman newspaper strip, failed to place copyright notices in several strips. The judge ruled that National abandoned the copyright, with those actions and ruled in favor of Fawcett, though he did note that Captain Marvel was a copy of Superman (who is lucky Street & Smith and/or Philip Wylie didn't do the same to them). National appealed and National won a reversal of the previous decision, in regards to their copyright status, though the McClure copyright on the strips was still held invalid. It also held that Captain Marvel was a copy, despite the differences in the source of powers and adventures, with only the costume and similarity of powers having any real connection. Rather than continue the long legal battle (in court since 1948, fighting National's lawyers since 1941), Fawcett threw in the towel and settled with National, ceasing publication of Captain Marvel and related titles in 1953, soon shuttering their entire comic book line (which wasn't doing well, anyway, by that point). Captain Marvel was dead, until 1966, when Myron Fass, a publisher of cheap magazines and comics, launched a new comic book, in 1966, Captain Marvel. The hero would split off his limbs, uttering the magic word "Split" and then recombine them with "Zam." it was stupid and hokey and filled with copyright viol;ations of its own and Fass pretty much had to shutter it, under legal threats. However, his trademark was purchased, for a minor fee, by Marvel Comics, who then launched their own Captain Marvel, aka Mar-Vell, of the Kree. For what it's worth, Brian Cronin of CBR.com noted (parenthetically) that, had this gone to court today, Fawcett would most likely have won. I think Brian Cronin went to law school, so I assume he knows what he's talkng about here. Copyright (or trademark) law has always seemed arcane and Byzantine to me. Anyway, inspired by that Brian Cronin article I read this morning, plus remembering that you are writing these reviews, I've decided to start going through the 70's series myself. Maybe at a snail's pace, but I plan to make it through. Brian Cronin is a graduate of Fordham Law School. I'm not 100% sure, but I think he's still practicing law. I just did a cursory re-read of National Comics Publications, Inc. v. Fawcett Publications, Inc. et al, 191 F.2d 594 (2d Cir. 1951) for the first time in a number of years. And I don't find in Judge Hand's opinion where the Court found that there was an infringement. And it would have been improper for an appellate court to make such a finding. The case was remanded to the District Court for a decision on the merits. That didn't happen because the case was settled because it was going to cost more than it was worth to Fawcett. Now if someone can point to me where Judge Hand says Fawcett infringed I'll be happy to acknowledge it, as I just buzzed through the case pretty quickly, but I don't think it's there. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jul 13, 2021 13:27:34 GMT -5
For what it's worth, Brian Cronin of CBR.com noted (parenthetically) that, had this gone to court today, Fawcett would most likely have won. I think Brian Cronin went to law school, so I assume he knows what he's talkng about here. Copyright (or trademark) law has always seemed arcane and Byzantine to me. Anyway, inspired by that Brian Cronin article I read this morning, plus remembering that you are writing these reviews, I've decided to start going through the 70's series myself. Maybe at a snail's pace, but I plan to make it through. Brian Cronin is a graduate of Fordham Law School. I'm not 100% sure, but I think he's still practicing law. I just did a cursory re-read of National Comics Publications, Inc. v. Fawcett Publications, Inc. et al, 191 F.2d 594 (2d Cir. 1951) for the first time in a number of years. And I don't find in Judge Hand's opinion where the Court found that there was an infringement. And it would have been improper for an appellate court to make such a finding. The case was remanded to the District Court for a decision on the merits. That didn't happen because the case was settled because it was going to cost more than it was worth to Fawcett. Now if someone can point to me where Judge Hand says Fawcett infringed I'll be happy to acknowledge it, as I just buzzed through the case pretty quickly, but I don't think it's there. Okay. Upon further review I find the language that Hand used, "The evidence... leaves no possible doubt that the copying was deliberate; indeed it takes scarcely more than a glance at corresponding strips of Superman and Captain Marvel, to assure the observer that the plagiarism was deliberate and unabashed." I would still say that language is dicta as it does not relate to the issues properly before the Court. It does appear in a review of National Comics Publications v. Fawcett Publications, 93 F. Supp. 349 (S.D.N.Y. 1950), that the trial court did find copying. So the remand was to find instances of infringement and thus the damages. |
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Post by dbutler69 on Jul 14, 2021 14:05:29 GMT -5
While I would agree that most 70s fans weren't interested in a whimsical Captain Marvel, I think the intended audience of young kids were fine with that. The problem was that they didn't have the people who knew how to do it, other than Beck and he worked with scripters who understood where the line was drawn. E Nelson Bridwell was a massive fan (if memory serves he edited Shazam From the 40s to the 70s, the reprint volume of classic material) and was the guy to handle this, from the start, as he would have been more in sync with Beck. He clicked well with Don Newton, who was also a huge fan of the character, right down to appearing as TBRC at some conventions. I'll be getting into some ideas he proposed, when we get there. I was the right age, when this came out and I loved the costume, which is why I picked issue #10, at a drugstore, when my mom let me choose one, as we picked up a prescription for my bronchitis. The costume is a classic and giving him a hoody or a bunch of metal crap, like a fifth-rate rapper, is a travesty. I did like that Jerry Ordway reinstituted the military tunic look....  The basic style of it was inspired by European military uniforms, particularly those of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which inspired the look of everyone in The Prisoner of Zenda, which was a massive hit, in 1937, with Ronald Coleman and David Niven (and Douglas Fairbanks Jr and Raymond Massey).  The tunic would be double breasted, buttoning on the right; though the style of the Hussars and other regiments, in the Napoleonic Wars, was buttoning down the center, with decorative buttons on the sides and intricate braiding. The Hussars popularized the addition of a jacket, draped over the shoulder, called a pelise, which was secured across the chest by a braided cord. That evolved into short capes, performing the same function, as we see on Captain Marvel, with his cape, usually draped over one shoulder, rather than hanging down the back.  Republic kept this in mind when they created a costume for Tom Tyler, in The Adventures of Captain Marvel (probably the single greatest adventure serial of all). Fawcett didn't stay with the tunic and switched to more of a shirt, but kept the sleeve braiding. He was the one heroic "captain" who actually looked like a captain (though the sleeve braiding suggests he was Colonel Marvel)! It's my second favorite all-time costume, after the Barry Allen Flash. |
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Post by dbutler69 on Jul 14, 2021 14:08:22 GMT -5
"Not very good" is pretty subjective and you have to remember this was aimed at younger children than the average superhero comic of the 70s. That said, the reprints of Fawcett stories were way better than a lot of the originals, from DC writers, until E Nelson Bridwell takes over the writing. CC Beck wasn't a fan of the scripts he got and bailed after 10 issues. Realistically, if it hadn't been for the Filmation live action Saturday morning show, the comic probably wouldn't have lasted as long as it did. Still, there is a sense of fun to the series that I always found refreshing, especially these days. One of the problems DC had, throughout their tenure of Captain Marvel stories is that they tried to make him more into a classic DC hero; but, he didn't lend himself well to that. The more you make him like Superman, the less interesting he is. Fawcett's stories were like fairy tales, with superheroes. They had a sense of fun and humor to them that made them memorable, yet still had plenty of action. It is no surprise that after DC hamstrung Fawcett, they snapped up some of their creative talent to liven up Superman, since they had been kicking his hinder for a while. Otto Binder wrote a lot of Superman material, introducing similar elements that appeared in the Captain Marvel stories. Kurt Schaffenberger came over to draw for DC, including the Lois Lane comic and some Superboy and Jimmy Olsen material. Thankfully, he would also be tapped to return to the Marvel Family, after CC Beck's departure (along with Bob Oskner). Believe me, I will probably be poking fun at some of the weaker stories, like one in issue 10, with sentient alien vegetables! However, that issue was the first comic I got to pick for myself and it also includes a decent story with Aunt Minerva and a pretty good one with Mary Marvel. The best issues were Fawcett stories, which is why they aren't included in the Showcase Presents volume or other reprints. DC was only licensing the characters and Fawcett owned the stories. When DC finally purchased the characters, they did not purchase the original stories, which is part of why we never got that Monster society of Evil reprint that DC solicited. Maybe you'll cover this later in this thread, and I jusy haven't gotten there yet, but I read the CC Beck hated the scripts that Maggin and O-Neal were giving him, especially Maggin, and the scripts for #10 and 11 were so bad that he sent them back, refusing to pencil him. DC accepted this as a de facto resignation from the book, and he as gone. What a shame. I agree that Bridwell is a much better fit for this book. I enjoyed his Super Friends work very much. |
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Post by dbutler69 on Jul 14, 2021 14:09:35 GMT -5
According to DC Wiki, Sivana in Marvel Family 10 measured the lighting in more than "600 000 000 000 000 000 mega-volts". But no mention about the amps, so we are not sure how much destructive it is... Yeah, people always mention volts, even though technically it's the amps that kill you. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Jul 14, 2021 15:27:53 GMT -5
Shazam! #14 This is the last issue to include "The Original Captain Marvel," in the masthead. Apparently, Marvel's lawyers got their knickers in a twist and DC @#$$%&@ out, again. Creative Team: Listed with each story, below. 1 new story, with the combined Marvel Family and then each gets a reprint and a Marvel Family reprint, plus a Mr Tawny story. Synopsis: "The Evil return of the Monster Society of Evil"-Denny O'Neil-story, Kurt Schaffenberger-art, Julie Schwartz-editor Uncle Dudley (Yay!!!!!!!!!) is walking through the park, reading a book on mythology, when there is a cry for help. A quick "Shazam!" and a not so quick attempt at removing his suit causes Uncle Marvel to trip the purse snatcher....  The rest of the family turns up, as does a convenient news photographer and Uncle Marvel gets the collar. Sivana reads the headlines about the incident and utters "Curses!" and then the kids curse their Cheese counterparts. then, Mr Mind enters the picture, inside an apple and tells sivana he's getting the band back together. Ibac soon joins them (smashing through a wall). Seems like everyone knows where Sivana's secret lab is located. Later, at Station WHIZ (Flowing with Music and News!), Billy finishes up his news broadcast, when Sivana pirates the airwaves and challenges the Marvels to a fight, on a bridge. The Marvels are not chicken, so they respond and Captain Marvel gives Uncle Marvel a lift, since his Shazambego is acting up again (really should see a doctor about that...). The MSOE is waiting, on some machine that looks like a street sweeper, with a ray gun, and they transmit their evil in the form of energy, at the Marvels. They are bombarded with evil thoughts; but, counteract with good thoughts, like apple pie, Christmas and motherhood. Mary beats up Georgia and TBS Jr, while Junior smacks around Ibac. CM smashes the machine, but it releases a chemical odor that permeates the air. Junior nabs Mr Mind, but Sivana has a raygun pointed at Dudley's head, while he reads his book. He takes him hostage and leaves. Later, Sivana is muttering "Curses!" and kicks a prototype of his deathray machine, while Uncle Marvel snoozes...uh, meditates. A thinking cap falls off the machine, onto Uncle Marvel's head and the raygun emits a griffin, with Sivana's head. It grows to giant size and flies off, after smashing through the wall. Sivana looks at UM's book and sees the picture of the griffin and concocts an evil plan. The Marvels fight the griffin, while Sivana bashes a conscious UM on the head and hooks him up again, producing other mythological monsters, with his head. They attack the Marvel Family who can't seem to beat them. Captain Marvel realizes they must have been produced by the machine and he concocts a plan to defeat Sivana. Junior goes to the library to find a book that looks like Uncle Dudley's mythology tome and CM and MM surrender to Sivana and bow down to him. He forces them to change into Billy and Mary, then they sucker him into scrambling their brains outside, since they ask him to do it inside. As they leave, Junior flies in and swaps Dudley's book with the one he got from the library, which is a reference book about the Marvels. Outside, Sivana fires the ray, but Junior intercepts, then the combined Marvel family appears, created by the thought machine and they smash the mythological monsters. Sivana is hauled off to jail and Captain Marvel smashes the machine, as Uncle Dudley finally wakes up. "The Prophetic Book"-Otto Binder-story, Pete Costanza-art; Captain Marvel Adventures #57 Prof Joel Brompton is exploring the wilderness, when he finds a half buried rocketship and a book (by Otto Binder) about Captain Marvel, in the future.  The book features detailed exploits of CM, right down to dates and times. He looks at the book on the train and soon sees it accurately tells what will happen. He shares the book with Captain Marvel, who is both astonished and puzzled. Billy blabs about it on his radio show and a crook visits the professor and mugs him, taking the book. he then puts out notices about the predictions and some robebrs change plans, but are still defeated, as they got the details from the book wrong. CM visits the prof's house and finds him locked in a trunk, in the attic and frees him. Meanwhile, the crook sees his own arrest in the books and decides to sdisguise himself as a janitor. It doesn't work, as CM sees through the disguise and bops him in the head. CM finds the copyright page of the book and discovers it was printed in 1977 (the Future!) and the prof shows him the rocketship. it was a time machine and went back to 1900, where he crashed and died. That is how the book got there. "The Man Who Loved History"-Bill Woolfolk-writer, John Certa-art; Captain Marvel Jr #83 Jeremy Thremm, a library clerk, sits and reads history books, imagining the stories of the past. He is observed by Freddy Freeman, who sees him disappear. He turns into Captain Marvel Jr and searches the library. After finding nothing, he calls a cop and they find Jeremy sitting there, reading. Jeremy says he has been sitting there all the time and the cop thinks Junior is a nut. junior finds a program from Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. He goes to ask Jeremy about it and he disappears again, leaving only his book. Junior flies to the Rock of Eternity and travels back in time to today, in 1790, when Parisians stormed the Bastille, setting off the french Revolution and the overthrow of Louis XVI. Jeremy gets nabbed, by the mob, who think he is an aristo. They put him in a guillotine (which wasn't built and used until 1792) and Junior has to rescue him...  He disappears after Junior smashes the blade. Junior returns to the present, but finds Jeremy gone again and a book about Columbus' first voyage (hope it mentions slaughtering and enslaving the natives) and Junior has to fly back in time and rescue him from the crew, who think he is a nut. They return to the present, but Jeremy decides he wants to continue and disapepars, while reading a book about the origin of the solar system. "Mr Tawny's Fight for Fame"-Otto Binder-story, CC Beck-art; Captain marvel Adventures #126 Mr Tawny is tired of his humdrum life (even talking tigers can suffer from enui). He wants fame and starts looking for a way to achieve it (since we don't have "reality shows" yet). He tries to water ski down Niagra Falls and has to be rescued by Captain Marvel. he then tries to jump from a spring board, on a ship, onto a bridge above; but, he overshoots and plummets back down, to be caught by CM. Who's his agent, Luigi Vercotti? Next, he fires himself out of one cannon, into another and back out again, dumping him on the ground.  The crowd cheers, but Billy Batson steals his thunder by parachuting out of the window of Station WHIZ, with balloons attached to him, to lower him to the ground. Tawny asks why he screwed him over and Billy reveals that he has found a publisher for the book Tawny had ben writing over the years (about hibernating animals) and that he will become famous, as an expert. tawny is satisfied with earning fame, instead of doing it through cheap stunts. "Curse of the Books"-Otto Binder-story, Jack binder-art; Mary Marvel #2 Marry Batson's foster mother takes her to a rare book auction, where John Elson purchases a rare 1792 edition of Charles Perrault's Fairy Tales, outbidding Joshua Joad. Joad tells him there is a curse on the book, but Elson still takes it. Mary finds Elson's wallet on the pavement and goes tor return it. Elson reads the tale of Bluebeard and Bluebeard comes out of the book and tries to strangle him.  Mary Marvel fights him off, but Bluebeard disappears. Mary decides to investigate, starting at the auction, the next day. she outbids Joad for a copy of Le Morte d'Arthur and Joad says it is also cursed. Mary takes it home and reads it and is attacked by the Black Knight. She transforms and he breaks his sword over her ehad, without effect. She tells him it is just a flesh wound! He calls out to merlin for help and Mary is distracted by a shadow, cast by a statue and the knight disappears with the book, while Mary calls him chicken! Mary goes back to the auction, outbids Joad on a book of witchcraft and sorcery, then gifts it to Joad. he says that one isn't curse and accepts it and takes it home. Mary follows and saves Joad from being attacked by a witch, who is actually the auctioneer, in disguise, who was stealing back the books, as he was the original colelctor, forced to sell them. "The Magic Mix-Up"-Otto Binder-story, CC Beck-pencils, Pete Costanza-inks; Captain Marvel Adventures #102 Prof Tweedle has found a rare old book of black magic; but, being a scientist, he doesn't believe in it. he laughs as he reads out spells, but; an actual demon is summoned and captain Marvel must deal with it...  The prof continues to read the spells, creating havoc for CM to fix. then he unwittingly summons the sorcerer who wrote the book, freeing him. he steals the book and unleashes evil, which CM must fight. he beats the monsters and goes after the sorcerer, who uses the last charm to bugger off to the netherworld, permanently, rendering the book harmless. CM tests it, then gives it back to the professor. "The World Wrecker"-Otto Binder-story, Kurt Schaffenberger-art; Marvel Family #86 The gang is at the library, when King Kull decides to burn it down, with incendiary bombs....  The Marvels put out the fire (with gasoline!....sorry, Bowie reference). Kull seeks to destroy civilization and books are the foundation of it. The go hunting for him and find him trying to destroy a book warehouse. They stop him, but he escapes. Later, Billy sets up a trap, with a story of a train shipment of books, coming to a new library, in Doverville. They wait and Kull attacks, but, the gang gets caught in an avalanche of books, when the train derails and are knocked out. Kull ties them up and gags them and puts them on top of the pile of burning books. Heavens to Ray Bradbury! Billy leads the others into burrowing deeper into the pile, away from the flames and finds an olf tome, with metal scrollwork, which he uses to snag his gag and pull it down, so he can say the magic word. The other follow suit and change into the Marvel Family. Kull is gone. Kull gets into a rocketship for part 2 of his plan and flies around with a "paper magnet" and sucks up all of the books in the world. He then dives intot he water; but, the Marvels use a wreck of an old barge to collect the books and raise them, before they deteriorate. Kull continues elsewhere and the Marvels have to chase him down. Kull drops tons of books onto a city and sets them on fire, which will burn the city to the ground. The Marvels plunge into the heap, down below the ground, and open up the water mains and soak the books, so they will not burn. They then clear out the book and neatly stack them, before people suffocate. it looks like they have won, when they see paper worms eating Freddy's newspapers. Kull has been dropping worm bombs, all over and they are attacking paper, everywhere. the Marvels stomp them, then burn the worms, before they can get to the library. the attacks continue and the Marvels gather up books and put them in a bomb shelter. One of them, a biology book, gives Captain Marvel the key to defeating the worms (parasites). They then capture Kull and make him eat a book! Thoughts: The theme of this collection is books, as a book factors into each plot. The modern opener is a bit of fun, making use of Uncle dudley, for the first time, since the return, in Shazam! #1. It is pretty much in the style of classic Dudley and the Marvel Family tales, as they fight mythological creatures, conjured by Dudley's mind and Sivana's machine. It is kind of a waste of Mr Mind and Ibac, and the idea of a reformed Monster Society of Evil, since they exit the story relatively early. it is then bookended by the reprint of a Marvel Family battle against King Kull, also with Schaffenberger art, as he tries to destroy civilization by destroying the world's books. As a writer, Otto Binder was a man of books and I suspect this story was a bit of a response to ultra-conservatve attacks on books the found objectionable and book burnings. The story was written in 1953 and comic book burnings had been staged, since 1948, by different groups. Similarly, there were demonstrations of book burnings carried out in various locales, at various times in recent history. It wasn't that long before that the Nazis had staged mass burnings of books by Jews and others labeled as undesirable, in Germany. The same year this story was published, Ray Bradbury published his novel, Fahrenheit 451, about a future society where all books have been banned and are burnt up by firemen. A fireman, Montag, steals one, instead of burning it, and his world is forever changed. "The Prophetic Book" and "The Man Who Lived History" are light gimmick tales and pleasant enough, though not especially memorable, in the Marvel Family canon. Mr Tawny's story is more fun, as is usual and has the obvious parallels to the Monty Python sketch, "Ron Obvious", with Terry jones, Michael Palin, and John Cleese. In the end, Tawny finds that true fame is earned for something that contributes to society. Through the story, we see various boneheaded stunts that perpetuated culture across the century and led to pointless things, like the Guinness Book of World records, much of which are just dumb stunts. The Mary story and "The Magic Mix-Up" are also weaker tales of the same kind of thing, with the Mary one being more in the vein of traditional mystery stories, of the scooby Doo variety. He'd of gotten away with it too, if it hadn't been for that meddling super-kid! The Captain Marvel Tale is less successful, though fine for what it is, with some good visuals. It is good filler material. Luckily, this issue is bookended by two great longer stories, as the supporting shorter pieces aren't quite up to the level of previous tales. That is the problem with these themes, as they aren't always represented by the best material. Better to do greatest hits collections, in my opinion. How about the battle between Captain Marvel and Spy Smasher? The Monster Society of evil? (though that presented racial issues). There are 3 more 100-Pg comics, before the book returns to normal size, though there will be a couple of issues that will be complete reprints, rather than new material. Next, though, is another reprint, but from the very beginning, as we look at Famous First Edition F4, reprinting Whiz Comics #2, the debut of Captain marvel, Spy Smaher and ibis the Invincible!
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