Todd Klein's Blog, page 139

Baltimore in Two Weeks!

Friday afternoon, Sept. 28th through Sunday afternoon, Sept. 30th I will be a guest and have a table at the Baltimore Comic-Con. Above is my setup from last year, this year will probably be about the same, though I don’t know where I’ll be sitting. They haven’t yet released the Exhibition Hall Map. I will have prints (and maybe other things) for sale, last year’s excellent table assistant Andrea Bergner will be there again to help, and I look forward to seeing and talking with some of you then. This will be my only convention appearance of the year, so do come if you can make it!

And Then I Read: ABOUT THE SLEEPING BEAUTY by P.L. Travers

Travers is best known as the author of the Mary Poppins books, by far her biggest success. She wrote some other fiction I like almost as much. This book from 1975 is listed in her bibliography as non-fiction, but it’s actually a mix. First, she gives us a new 40-page retelling of the Sleeping Beauty story set in an Arabian Nights sort of world. Some of the elements were familiar to me, some were not, but the telling is handled skillfully, and gave me some new insights on the themes and characters. Next, there’s a 20-page essay on the Sleeping Beauty myth and aspects of it found in many cultures. This was interesting, though I thought some of the stories referred to did not have much in common with the story as we’ve all heard it. In part two of the book are five other versions of the tale from different cultures, eras and interpreters such as the Brothers Grimm, Charles Perrault and others unknown to me. All interesting, though again some of these tales are barely related to the story I know. Still, quite interesting and worth reading.

The illustrations are all full-page ones, many using black line art with one other color, like this one. Charles Keeping was a celebrated and prolific illustrator of children’s and adult books. I found his work here interesting, but somehow a bit too “fashion illustration” for the stories, and even somewhat erotic at times, not really what I expected. They’re certainly fine work.

Overall, I recommend this book, but it doesn’t come close to the Mary Poppins books in my opinion.

Early Comic Book Memories

This and all images © DC Entertainment.

I’ve been working on a family history project the last few months, and today it got me thinking about my earliest memories of comics and superheroes. The first superhero I encountered was on TV, “The Adventures of Superman” with George Reeves as the title character and a great supporting cast. We got our first black and white TV around 1955, it had a tiny screen no more than eight inches diagonally I think. The moment I saw this show, I was hooked. I began learning to read in the fall of 1956 in first grade, and at some point a year or two later, I managed to read on the end credits of the show that Superman appeared in magazines. I hadn’t seen one yet, but from then on I knew about comics, at least in theory.

We had a great-aunt who was a housekeeper at the Buck Hill Falls Inn in Pennsylvania, and every so often she would send us a big box of toys, books and magazines left behind by children visitors. Through this I got my hands on my first comics. Looking at DC superhero comics covers from the period, this is the earliest one I recall having, DETECTIVE 258 cover dated Aug. 1958. I don’t remember any specifics, but I know I was fascinated by Batman and Robin, even in this, a low point in their history. Since I loved everything science fictional too, those themes in the Batman titles would have appealed to me.

I remember buying this title in a store in Dunellen, NJ. It had sat in a spinner rack being read by kids for a long time, and it was in terrible shape, with the back cover missing, but I didn’t care, I HAD TO READ IT! I don’t remember being anything but thrilled with the story.

I’m not sure if I ever owned this landmark first appearance of Supergirl from 1959, but I know I read it as a kid. Perhaps I borrowed it from a friend. Comics were often traded around a lot then. We just wanted to read them.

What could be better than comics featuring Superman or Batman and Robin? This one with BOTH! The earliest issue I recall having, perhaps another one from our great-aunt, or begged for and bought by my mom. Sadly, we never lived close enough to a place that sold comics that I could go there on my own and buy them, even if I had the money. I was dependent on whining purchases when I was out with a parent, or visits to relatives in Dunellen who did live near places that sold comics. I sometimes still visit those stores in my dreams.

My favorite early comic was this one. It had everything, even a two-page map of Krypton, and a great selection of older stories. The first SUPERMAN ANNUAL. I wore out the Superman figure on the front cover from tracing it.

More on this topic in the future, perhaps, including my first Marvel comics.

And Then I Read: GREEN LANTERNS #51

Image © DC Entertainment. Written by Dan Jurgens, art by Mike Perkins, colors by Hi-Fi, letters by Dave Sharpe.

Death in the Green Lantern Corps is not unusual, they are a police force after all, but the death and perhaps murder of one of their superiors, the Guardians of the Universe, is another matter. It’s far from the only thing going wrong in the GL realm. Their headquarters, the sentient planet Mogo, is unresponsive and for the first time is experiencing strong storms that threaten the structures and inhabitants. Elsewhere, a new threat perhaps called The Effort is destroying worlds and GL rings seem not only to be ineffective against it, but even turning against their wearers. Jessica Cruz’s ring is contacting her in secret about this, as if the other Corps members around her can’t be trusted. Things are going from bad to worse in this well-written storyline by Dan Jurgens, who knows how to effectively build tension and suspense. I liked the art by Mike Perkins better this time, it seems to have settled a bit, and the character identities were clear throughout. The most fun I’ve had reading this title so far, perhaps.

Recommended.

And Then I Read: THE SANDMAN UNIVERSE #1

Image © DC Entertainment. Story by Neil Gaiman, written by Simon Spurrier, Kat Howard, Nalo Hopkinson and Dan Watters. Illustrated by Bilquis Evely, Tom Fowler, Dominike Stanton, Max Fumara and Sebastian Fumara. Colors by Mat Lopes, letters by Simon Bowland.

A lot of credits on this intro issue for the Sandman Universe series of four revamped titles: THE DREAMING, HOUSE OF WHISPERS, LUCIFER and BOOKS OF MAGIC. I should say up front, I’m lettering BOOKS OF MAGIC, so I won’t be reviewing that, but I didn’t letter its section in this book. In fact, I hadn’t seen it until now.

This is a gallery story in which the framing tale leads the reader into previews of the four new books, as we follow the raven Matthew in and out of each. The frame and opening section is a preview of THE DREAMING, and I’ve just read and reviewed the first issue. Its section here is just as appealing visually, and I continue to like the way familiar characters such as Lucien, Merv Pumpkinhead and Matthew are handled. The overall story is by Neil Gaiman, though I don’t find any text in the book that sounds particularly like Neil, so I suspect he contributed only an outline or plot. I could be wrong. Si Spurrier is writing THE DREAMING, and that section reads very much like the first issue. The new character Dora makes her first appearance, and I liked her a bit better in this book. In the BOOKS OF MAGIC preview, we see the introduction of Dr. Rose, and the gifting by her to Tim Hunter of the magic book. Dr. Rose now seems more sinister to me than she seemed in issue 1. The preview would have prompted me to read the series if I wasn’t lettering it. The HOUSE OF WHISPERS preview did not interest me much, I’m sorry to say, nor did the LUCIFER one, but the conclusion of the DREAMING sequence was again quite good. As a sampler, this accomplishes its main goal. I wish all the samples were equally appealing to me, but perhaps they will be to you.

I particularly liked the fact that the digital version I read included all the variant covers, even if I generally don’t like the idea of variant covers. Some were superb.

Recommended.

And Then I Read: THE EARTH GIANT by Melvin Burgess

Cover art © Michael Chesworth.

Published in 1995, this fantasy novel has some fine moments and a unique title character. In a great windstorm outside their house, Peter is excited by the danger and damage while his younger sister Amy is fearful. When a loud tearing sound startles them, somehow Amy knows it means an ancient oak tree not far from their house has fallen, and it contains a secret she must investigate on her own. When she finally has a chance, she finds something amazing in the root ball under the fallen tree, a huge, strange giantess who seems to be sleeping. Soon the giantess wakes, and Amy finds she can communicate with her mentally, but not using words exactly, more like pictures and emotions. When Peter discovers the secret visits Amy and the Giant have been having, with the Giant taking Amy  on her shoulders around the area, he is jealous, but soon joins in the secret. The Giant needs a safe place to hide. She is waiting for some kind of rescue that will be coming soon. The children find an abandoned theater she can hide in, and begin to try to understand who she is and where she comes from. Can she be a prehistoric human of some kind? Her dog-like face and very long limbs suggest not. Then where did she come from, and how did she survive for so long beneath the tree? These are some of the questions that they try to answer, and when Peter threatens to expose the secret, the Giant and Amy run away together, causing even more trouble.

Recommended.

And Then I Read: THE DREAMING #1

Image © DC Entertainment. Written by Si Spurrier, art by Bilquis Evely, colors by Mat Lopes, letters by Simon Bowland.

It’s always a bit odd to read a revival of a series I used to letter. When I do, I try hard to avoid comparing what came before with what’s here now, but it’s difficult. In this case, the previous incarnation of THE DREAMING was already a spinoff from Neil Gaiman’s SANDMAN, which I also lettered, and while it had some fine moments, overall I didn’t think it held up well to its parent.

The new DREAMING has lots of interesting things going on, and a new character, Dora, who seems to be destined to stir the pot in Dream’s kingdom. She’s one of those Vertigo female leads who comes across as rude and unkind if not nasty, self-centered and full of herself. To her credit, she does seem to have powers beyond those of most other Dreaming residents, she’s able to travel easily anywhere she likes, including dangerous and unknown parts. I like that, even if I don’t much like her so far.

Also here are familiar characters: Lucien, Matthew the raven, Merv Pumpkinhead, Cain and Abel, and probably more to come. Si Spurrier does a pretty good job with them, though I found Lucien to be much less capable than usual, even though he’s supposed to be in charge.

The elephant in the room, or rather NOT in the room, is the absence of Dream himself. The earlier version of the title had the same problem. Yes, you can make stories revolve around all the secondary characters, but in the end it feels a bit like “Waiting for Godot,” a play in which the title character never arrives. Or does he?

I will read more with interest. Recommended.

Incoming: WW EARTH 1 Vol. 2, BATMAN: WHITE KNIGHT

Images © DC Entertainment.

Two projects that I finished lettering about four months ago have arrived in printed form today. WONDER WOMAN EARTH ONE VOLUME TWO, above, is written by Grant Morrison with art by Yanick Paquette, and is just as fabulous as the first volume.

BATMAN: WHITE KNIGHT written and illustrated by Sean Murphy is equally great. The yin and yang, the opposites of comics could hardly be better represented by these two fine works: One bright and graceful, one dark and tortured. The writing in each is excellent, as is the art. It was a privilege to work on them. Should be out soon.

And Then I Read: GREEN LANTERNS #50

Image © DC Entertainment. Written by Dan Jurgens, art by Mike Perkins, colors by Andy Troy and Pete Pantazis, letters by Dave Sharpe.

A new creative team and a new storyline begin in this issue. I know and like the work of Dan Jurgens, so I was happy to see him on board. I like the art of Mike Perkins, though I don’t know that I’ve seen much of his pencilling. My only caveat is that it’s sometimes hard to recognize the characters in Mike’s looser style than previous artists on this book.

A new unknown threat is loose in the universe, a threat to both Green Lanterns and to the Guardians of the Universe. John Stewart is the first to encounter them, and most frightening of all, discovers that his power ring is no longer a reliable partner! (Great idea.) Back on Earth we see Jessica and Simon at a dance club, but they are soon whooshed away on a training mission by Kyle Rayner. As John Stewart battles for his life, the Guardians can’t even contact him. On Oa, a powerful storm is raging across Mogo, who seems unable to stop it, though we don’t hear anything from Mogo himself. Amid the damage it causes is an unusual casualty.

Well done, sticking around for more, recommended.

Rereading: DOCTOR DOLITTLE’S RETURN by Hugh Lofting

As i work my way through my collection of the Doctor Dolittle series, I found I hadn’t remembered much about this one. I may have only read it once before. Lofting had published a book in the series nearly every year from 1920 to 1928. “Doctor Dolittle in the Moon” of 1928 was meant to be the final book, but as often happens with popular series, Lofting resumed with this one in 1933 either due to popular demand, because he missed writing them, or perhaps financial or other reasons.

The doctor’s animal family in his home in Puddleby-on-the-Marsh miss him greatly, though Dolittle’s assistant Tommy Stubbins continues to keep everything running as best he can by doing some odd jobs to pay the bills. Everyone is waiting for the signal from the moon that the doctor is on his way back, and it finally comes during an eclipse when everyone is watching, a huge puff of white smoke. A few days later, a giant locust arrives with Dolittle on his back, along with his animal companions Chee-Chee the monkey and Polynesia the parrot. Everyone is shocked to see how large the doctor has grown due to the diet on the moon, even though Tommy Stubbins had grown there before he was sent back a year earlier. Dolittle is much bigger, far too big to fit into his own house! Once he has recovered his senses, he begins an exercise regimen that will reduce his size back to normal in a month or two. Another traveler has come with them, Itty the Moon Cat. She is mostly an ordinary cat who has agreed not to harm or frighten the rest of the animals living in and around the Dolittle home. The other animals fear and shun her despite the doctor’s insistence she be welcomed. Surprisingly, this is the first house cat ever to appear in the series. Lofting was clearly not a cat person.

Once the doctor has recovered, he is anxious to begin work on a book about his discoveries on the moon, but is soon swamped with animal patients who take all his time. A plan is hatched to get the doctor into a place where no one will bother him: jail. It turns out to be surprisingly difficult to achieve. Tommy Stubbins begins to take up the slack in the animal doctoring business. He has no medical training, but has been assisting Dolittle for some years, and the animals soon come to accept his treatments.

Many more interesting episodes and stories fill this volume, including the tale of Doctor Dolittle’s final months on the moon, and how he came to return. I’d place it near the top of my favorites now, perhaps third behind “The Voyages” and “Post Office.” Three more to go, but this one is certainly recommended.