Todd Klein's Blog, page 131

And Then I Read: EDGAR ALLAN POE’S SNIFTER OF TERROR #4

Image © Ahoy Comics. Cover art by Richard Williams. Remaining credits as shown, colors by Felipe Sobreiro and Michael Garland, letters by Rob Steen.

The first of the two main stories in this issue is not a Poe adaptation, nor is it at all scary. It is quite funny, though. A rich American of today has somehow acquired a 3,000-year-old mummy, and once he and his equally rich and equally obnoxious friend have unwrapped it, they bring it back to life with a defibrillator. That could work, right? They have an expert on ancient Egypt along to translate the mummy’s words, and soon they are taking him on a buddy road-trip tour of America. Try as they might, the mummy is very hard to impress…

The second story is a Poe adaptation, with a few twists, of one of the first detective stories, “The Murders in the Rue Morgue.” Any frightening elements of the original have been left behind, but as a mystery it still works pretty well, and the new ending is moderately amusing.

Another fun episode by Hunt Emerson of Poe vs. the Black Cat, and a one-page text story by the always interesting Carol Lay round out the issue.

Recommended.

MY COMICS LIFE-LIST 1980

Image © DC Comics. Note: the “Quickdraw” listing for inker is Dick Giordano, Frank McLaughlin and others.

This is the third in my ongoing series of articles where I list where and when I first worked with other creators, mostly on inside pages, in chronological order based on cover dates of the comics. You can find the previous entries on the COMICS CREATION page of this blog. I’ve added comments about some of my collaborators this time, and may go back and do the same for the first two parts.

Ground rules: I worked on staff at DC from July 1977 to August 1987, and in that time worked with every staffer and many freelancers in some capacity, and did art and lettering corrections on a host of comics. I can’t count those. Some of the things I did in comics did not usually involve working directly with artists and writers: logo design, house ads, cover lettering and production work of various kinds. Another thing I won’t count are relettering foreign stories, as I did for HEAVY METAL early on. To be added to my comics life-list, I thought I should be part of the creative team making stories. That means I was the letterer (in most cases), occasionally the writer, and rarely the artist or colorist. Of course this lists only the first time I worked with someone, so anyone from the previous year lists will not be here. Entries are tagged as a writer (w), artist or penciller-inker (a), penciller (p), or inker (i). I did not often interact with colorists (c) in pre-digital days, as my work was finished before theirs began, but I’m including them as an important part of the creative team. My credit is for lettering unless otherwise noted.

Jose Delbo (p) DETECTIVE COMICS #489, April 1980

Jose was always a charming and talented man, as he is today. We did not work together a lot, but I liked what we did.

Tatjana Wood (c) DETECTIVE COMICS #490, May 1980

Tatjana, the ex-wife of Wally Wood, often visited the DC offices when I was on staff there, and I liked her and enjoyed her stories about “Wallace.” She mainly colored covers, so I’m glad we worked together on at least one story.

Tom Yeates (a) GHOSTS #89, June 1980

I love Tom’s work, still do. We worked together only occasionally.

Trevor Von Eeden (p) SECRETS OF HAUNTED HOUSE #25, June 1980 (a story I also wrote)

I worked with Trevor on the THRILLER series, and a few other times. I enjoyed talking to him when he visited the DC production department.

Dave Simons (i) SECRETS OF HAUNTED HOUSE #25, June 1980

Mimai Kin (w) TIME WARP #5, June-July 1980

Carl Potts (i) TIME WARP #5, June-July 1980

I’m actually surprised about this one, as Carl was mainly a Marvel guy.

Elliot S. Maggin (w) TIME WARP #5, June-July 1980

Jerry Bingham (p) TIME WARP #5, June-July 1980

John Celardo (i) TIME WARP #5, June-July 1980

Marv Wolfman (w) ADVENTURE COMICS #474, Aug. 1980

Marv and I worked together many times, from NEW TEEN TITANS to NIGHT FORCE and other projects. I got to know him well enough to consider him a friend, even though we only meet occasionally now at conventions.

Armando Gil (i) WORLD’S FINEST #264, Aug.-Sept 1980

Steve Mitchell (i) BATMAN #327, Sept. 1980

Steve was a fellow production artist at DC, and an entertaining person.

Anthony Tollin (c) GREEN LANTERN #132, Sept. 1980

Another staffer, Tony and I worked together for a few years before he went freelance full-time.

Charles Nicholas (p) DETECTIVE COMICS #495, Oct. 1980

David Allikas (w) GHOSTS #93, Oct. 1980

Tom Mandrake (a) GHOSTS #93, Oct. 1980

Tom and I had a long run on THE SPECTRE, and worked together on other things, too. We meet now only on Facebook, but I consider him a friend and love his work.

Alan Weiss (p) MYSTERY IN SPACE #112, Oct. 1980

This one surprised me. I didn’t think I’d worked with Alan until he became the regular artist on Young Tom Strong in TOM STRONG’S TERRIFIC TALES for America’s Best Comics.

Terry Austin (i) MYSTERY IN SPACE #112, Oct. 1980

I always loved Terry’s inking, glad we worked together at least a little.

Rich Buckler (p) BATMAN #329, Nov. 1980

Rich was always working on lots of things, and I lettered a few of them. A very nice man.

Jim Starlin (p) DC COMICS PRESENTS #27, Nov. 1980

Jim’s regular letterer was often Tom Orzechowski, but I did work with him a few times.

Gerald Forton (a) GHOSTS #93, Dec. 1980

A respected Belgian artist I only worked with on a few intro pages and never met.

George Perez (p, breakdowns), JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #185, Dec. 1980

I always loved George’s work, and was happy to be one of the NEW TEEN TITANS letterers with him.

Leopoldo Duranona (a) SECRETS OF HAUNTED HOUSE #31, Dec. 1980

That’s it, more of these when I have time.

And Then I Read: WONDER WOMAN #59

Image © DC Comics. Written by G. Willow Wilson, art by Cary Nord and Mick Gray, colors by Romulo Fajardo Jr., letters by Pat Brosseau, cover by Terry and Rachel Dodson.

Silly me, I read and reviewed issue 60 before this one. Some things that puzzled me now make sense, including the fate of Steve Trevor. He’s be captured by some apparent exiles from Olympus, not gods but creatures of myth, and they provide the most interesting moments in the issue for me. Diana confronts Ares as to why he’s involved in this war between two factions, and his answers seem surprisingly naive. As do his personal acts of war.

I’m enjoying this storyline, the writing and art are appealing, and the lettering and coloring are excellent.

Recommended.

And Then I Read: HIGH HEAVEN #5

Image © Ahoy Comics. Cover by Richard Williams. Written by Tom Peyer, art by  Greg Scott (main story) and Chris Giarrusso (backup), colors by Andy Troy, letters by Rob Steen, additional material by Carol Lay.

The final issue of this story arc brings lots of violence to Heaven, or at least the entertaining version of it created by Peyer and Scott. David wants desperately to escape it, and has a new ally in the angel Gabriel. You’d think that would make it easy, but of course, in David’s world, nothing is easy. Pursuit by other angels, the horrors of L-Meat and a perilous trip through the void lie ahead, but visions of what might wait for him if he can get back to Earth are also leading him on. Can anyone get out of Heaven?

The “Hashtag: Danger” backup is also fun, and there are three fine one-page stories by Carol Lay as well. Recommended.

And Then I Read: BLACK WATERS by Julia Jones

Cover illustration by Claudia Myatt

This is the fifth book in the “Strong Winds” series, which began as a trilogy and has continued, I expect, because readers like and buy them. I feel just the same. I was originally drawn to the series because of comparisons to the books about children and sailing by Arthur Ransome from the 1940s-50s era, which I love. They are comparable, but Jones’ books are written for today’s young readers, full of contemporary references, technology and problems. It took me a while to get used to that, but they are well-written suspense stories, mystery stories, and character stories. At times I felt there was not enough sailing, but in this book, that’s not the case. Sailing is a strong plot element throughout, and vital to the story.

Xanthe Ribiero is a character we’ve seen before, a young black girl who has learned to sail, and can do it so well that she has she has dreams of being an Olympic competitor. Those dreams seem to be dashed when she goes to a sailing training camp and becomes the target of racist harrassment that forces her to leave the camp. Instead, she agrees to become a sailing instructor for a group of kids staying on a former lightship a bit further up the eastern coast of England, but when she arrives at that job, she finds herself again the target for racism by her landlady and others, and has a hard time negotiating her role in the small town where she has been placed. All kinds of mysterious things are going on there, and before long Xanthe has made new friends and is uncovering the truth behind some of the mysteries and unjustices around her. The children she was hired to teach are fearful and lonely, cut off from their families, essentially living in a sort of witness protection program. Xanthe begins to pull them out of their shells with her sailing lessons, and that becomes her first success, but it also brings her to the notice of dangerous and hateful forces.

Highly recommended, but you might want to start with the first book in the series, “The Salt-Stained Book.” I think there is already a sixth book, which I look forward to reading.

And Then I Read: THE DREAMING #5

Image © DC Comics. Written by Simon Spurrier, 
art by Bilquis Evely & Abigail Larson, colors by Mat Lopes & Quinton Winter, 
letters by Simon Bowland, cover by Jae Lee & June Chung.

This series continues to surprise and entertain me. The entire Dreaming has gone off the rails, affecting every character on stage, perhaps none more than Lucien the Librarian. He seems the most in tune with the very essence of the place, and his agony is palpable, even when Dora has used her power to go anywhere to bring him to the realm of Dream’s brother Destruction, long abandoned. There we also learn more about Dora and her first meeting with Dream, the original one, and the current incarnation of Morpheus finally makes an appearance.

No need for me to babble on any further, just go ahead and read this series. You won’t be sorry. Highly recommended.

And Then I Read: WONDER WOMAN #60

Image © DC Comics. Written by G. Willow Wilson, art by Cary Nord and Mick Gray, colors by Romulo Fajardo Jr., letters by Pat Brosseau, cover by Terry & Rachel Dodson.

Ares, God of War, has recently escaped imprisonment on the Amazon home Themyscira, and is fomenting war in eastern Europe (I think). Wonder Woman confronts him, and they battle, but she suggests they should be working together. Ares seems willing to listen to this idea, or is he? Diana has her hands full trying to stop the fighting on the ground, and is still searching for her friend Steve Trevor, who has been captured by one side or the other. We find out who’s behind that this time, and it’s another familiar figure from Olympus.

I’m enjoying this, though the dialogue seems a bit odd at times. The storyline and art are great. Recommended

And Then I Read: EDGAR ALLAN POE’S SNIFTER OF TERROR #3

Image © Ahoy Comics. Credits as shown.

There’s something more disturbing than funny about using Poe himself as not one but two characters in the first story in this issue, “Tar Feathers.” It’s a very odd story in general, but with a surreal atmosphere that works pretty well as a balance between humor and horror. The writing by Ann Nocenti and the art by Fred Harper are both excellent. and this look inside a madhouse where the inmates have taken over is never predictable. I have no idea how it relates to the Poe source material, as I haven’t read it, but it’s pretty creepy.

Alcoholism continues to be a theme both for Poe the host and the main character in the second story, “The Sphinx,” which I have vague memories of, and they were nothing like this. It’s a modern horror tale in every way, with satirical takes on the film industry and giant bug movies. It doesn’t exactly end as much as stop, but the Poe framing sequence is fun. Again, great art by Russ Braun.

The Hunt Emerson two-pager on Poe vs. a black cat is great, reminding me a bit of “Spy Vs. Spy.”

Recommended.

Rereading: AT THE BACK OF THE NORTH WIND by George MacDonald

Cover and interior illustrations for this 1919 edition by Jessie Willcox Smith.

This is a difficult one to write about because rereading it was a mixture of a comforting revisit to a childhood favorite and a disappointment for a jaded old guy.

Diamond is the son of a carriage driver in the employ of a well-to-do London family in the 19th century. He lives with his parents in the carriage house over the horse stalls, and right below him is the other Diamond, the carriage horse his father uses. His family is poor, but gets by on their income when Diamond’s father is able to work, which is not always the case. In Diamond’s bedroom is a hole in the wall through which a woman’s voice talks to him, and he soon discovers it’s The North Wind in the form of a woman. She takes young Diamond with her on adventures around London and around England, some of which are frightening, some exhilarating. Diamond is a very sweet child who wants to love everyone, even the poorest homeless people he meets, and some think he is not right in the head. This doesn’t bother Diamond, he goes on trying to help those he can. At last the North Wind brings him to the country at her back, which is a strange and wonderful place, but in the real world Diamond has fallen ill and his parents are in deep despair over him. He comes back, more sweet than ever, and learns to drive Big Diamond and the carriage when his father is ill, and has lost his position, so they must work as cabbies. Even then Diamond is trying to help a poor sweep girl when she falls sick, and turns to a wealthy man he has met in his cab for help. Though some of the book is about the sad situation of London’s poor, there are fantasy episodes from dreams, from Diamond’s travels by night with North Wind, and a long fairy tale about Princess Daylight that has been pulled out as a separate book or story in some collections. After many trials and struggles, Diamond and his family finally seem to have found a generous patron and a good home, but Diamond’s health has suffered, and he may not be long able to enjoy it.

The fantasy elements are what I like best about this book. Reading it now, Diamond is too perfect a Victorian child, and hard to accept as a real. Many of the situations are fraught with melodrama or too long, and don’t work so well for me now. My favorite part of the book is the story of Princess Daylight, which is similar to other MacDonald fairy tales, and feels both more classic and more modern than the rest. I never liked the ending of this book, and I still don’t, but there are moments in it where I can slip back into my childhood, and that’s comforting.

Not an ideal read, but worth a try and recommended.

And Then I Read: THE DON ROSA LIBRARY VOL. 8

Published by Fantagraphic Books, cover art by Don Rosa.

To be accurate, I read at least some of these stories before when they were first published, and I didn’t reread the one I lettered, “The Quest for Kalevala.” I’ve been a Don Rosa fan for decades, and his duck stories are the best of the best, in my opinion, so I had a great time with these. I think my favorite is “The Black Knight” from 1998. It makes use of one of Don’s best ideas, a universal solvent that can dissolve anything except diamonds instantly. Scrooge has the only remaining supply locked away in his money bin, but that bin is under assault by international burglar The Black Knight, who seems to be able to avoid and subvert all of Scrooge’s bin defenses with ease. Once he gets his hands on Omnisolve™, what will he do with it? The answer is constantly hilarious! Other stories here focus on the origins of the Junior Woodchucks, the origin of Gladstone Gander’s amazing good luck, young cowboy Scrooge at the helm of the famous clipper ship, The Cutty Sark, Scrooge on the trail of the Lost Dutchman mine, and in search of the perfect nutmeg tea, which happens to involve a lost valley of dinosaurs. There’s never a dull moment in this book, and lots of great ideas and great humor.

Highly recommended.