Todd Klein's Blog, page 209

And Then I Read: ASTRO CITY 27

Image © Juke Box Productions

Characters from video games are attacking Astro City, and they come from the unconscious mind of a young woman who is a game designer. So does the large-leaded super-heroine “American Chibi,” as seen on the cover with lots of similar characters. Video games and Japanese manga are large influences in this story, and neither appeal to me, nor does the delineation of guest-artist  Joe Infurnari. He uses two styles here, a scritchy, loose one for the Astro City scenes, and a tighter cartoony one for inside the video game ones. I didn’t take to either. The story is a change of pace for the title, and that’s often a good thing, but this one didn’t work for me.

Mildly recommended.

And Then I Read: HELLBOY AND THE B.P.R.D. 1952

Image © Mike Mignola

Writers Mignola and John Arcudi continue to fill in the back story of Hellboy’s early years in this volume, which features Hellboy’s first mission with the government team. It takes place in a small Brazilian village where an ancient fortress hangs over the town. In the past it was a hellish prison, has now been identified as a source of great evil power, and is reportedly being used as a film studio. The B.P.R.D. agents on the case, all new to me, are in town investigating, and encounter villagers and a priest filled with fear of the fortress, and with good reason. Evil creatures are coming from it, and Hellboy is soon involved in fighting them. As the mysteries are investigated, the “film crew” turns out to be something much more sinister, and horrible experiments are revealed. The story unfolds like a mix of film noir and horror with the usual dose of Hellboy humor as leavening. The art by Alex Maleev is excellent, and I enjoyed it the book thoroughly.

Recommended.

And Then I Read: DOCTOR FATE 4

Image © DC Comics

Khalid’s journey toward understanding and accepting the heroic role thrust upon him takes a quieter turn this issue, as writer Paul Levitz shows us Khalid at school, and interacting with friends and family. Then the Helmet of Fate takes him on another sort of journey into the realm of the Egyptian gods, where Nabu gives him more information about the power he can learn to harness through Thoth’s mystic Helmet. All this is enhanced by the appealing indie-comic quirkiness of Sonny Liew’s art, making this title fun to read and different from any other DC superhero comic.

Recommended.

And Then I Read: JUSTICE LEAGUE 44

Image © DC Comics

This issue is mostly fighting. It’s well framed by writer Geoff Johns through narration by Wonder Woman, there are character moments such as the early one between Hal Jordan and Bruce Wayne, but mainly it’s Darkseid battling the Anti-Monitor and the Justice League battling Darkseid’s minions, with a few other side battles in other places. If cosmic battles are your thing, here’s one that’s full of action and beautifully drawn by Jason Fabok.

Mildly recommended.

Rereading: A FINE AND PRIVATE PLACE by Peter S. Beagle

Illustration by Gervasio Gallardo

Peter S. Beagle’s first novel was published in 1960, and written when he was 19 years old. I discovered it in this paperback edition when it came out in 1969. It and Beagle’s second fantasy novel, “The Last Unicorn” made me a fan, and I’ve been enjoying his work ever since.

I hadn’t read this one since I was about 18 years old myself. I didn’t remember any of the characters clearly except the raven, who talks and has a dry, sarcastic wit. The raven has some of the best lines in the book. The setting is a large graveyard in Long Island near enough to Manhattan to have a subway line next to it. It’s fenced and in active use, though of course much of it is filled with graves and monuments from past burials. It’s a reasonably posh place for a graveyard. Mr. Rebeck, we learn, has been living here secretly  for about 20 years after finding life in the outside world too much to take. He’s careful, and manages this with the help of the raven, who brings him enough food to keep him going. Mr. Rebeck has an unusual ability: he can see and speak with the recently deceased. He considers himself a sympathetic friend to those spirits he meets, helping them make the transition to the next life. Some ghosts are stubborn, though, like Michael Morgan, who is determined to hang on to every shred of humanity he can for as long as he can. Michael claims he was murdered by his wife, and he’s angry about it. When he meets the ghost of another recent burial, Laura, they develop a strange relationship that begins with friendship, but later becomes a kind of love. Meanwhile, a grieving widow, Mrs. Klapper befriends Mr. Rebeck, and the two of them have their own odd relationship. She is not even put off when she learns the truth about where he lives. It seems Mr. Rebeck might have a chance for a new life if he can just get up the nerve to walk out of the cemetery, something he’s been unable to do since he fled there.

This book meanders like the characters, as they walk endlessly, or sit and chat through much of the story, and there’s lots and lots of talking, but the young author shows his talent with the characters and dialogue, so the book seldom drags. Mrs. Klapper’s life outside the cemetery is also explored, and that adds to the atmosphere and depth of the story. There’s a trial going on for Michael Morgan’s wife, and though we don’t see it, the raven keeps everyone informed. Later there are some surprising revelations, a good deal of overwrought emotion, and a pretty satisfying resolution for nearly everyone. It’s not always a page-turner, but Beagle’s writing skill kept me entertained again during this read.

Recommended

New Address for Early DC Comics

Comics images © DC Comics

Last July at the San Diego Comic-Con I was looking at a glass showcase containing some very early comics published by Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, whose company was later taken over by Jack Liebowitz and Harry Donenfeld, eventually becoming DC Comics. NEW BOOK OF COMICS #1 was published in 1936, and reprinted five previous Wheeler-Nicholson magazines, NEW COMICS 1-4 and MORE FUN COMICS 9. It was essentially the first comics annual, a second number came out in 1938. I was initially looking at the logo, which I’ve written about HERE, but then I noticed something below it.

In very small type, as you can see, was a copyright symbol followed by Nicholson Pub. Co., Inc. and an address of 373 Fourth Ave., N.Y.C. I researched and wrote about all the DC Comics (and predecessors) offices in a blog article series a few years ago, and this address did NOT sound familiar! When I got home and checked THIS article, I knew it was an address for Wheeler-Nicholson I’d missed. My research partner Alex Jay and I have researched it, and I will soon add this information to that blog post. I also checked with the Major’s grand-daughter Nicky Wheeler-Nicholson, who told me:

I have that address in my timeline from a “Writer’s Digest” note of May, 1936: “Major Nicholson’s New Comics Magazine has moved from 49 West 45th Street to 373 Fourth Avenue. Bill Cook has severed connections with Major Nicholson, and is starting his own sheet called The Comics at 11 West 42nd Street.”

That helped pinpoint the move from the Major’s original office at 49 West 45th Street to this one at 373 Fourth Avenue (now Park Avenue South).

Illustration from “The National Advocate,” 1912

Alex Jay found this depiction of the Zindel Building at that address from 1912, which was built not long before. Notice the L shape surrounding another much lower building on the corner of East 26th Street and Park Avenue South. Alex reports the owner of the Zindel Building, Miss Rosa Zindel, went bankrupt later in 1912 due to the high cost of fitting out and renting the property.

Advertisement from “The Editor and Publisher Magazine” from 1915.

Many businesses and organizations had offices here, including the Wheeler Syndicate, whose star license was Bud Fisher’s “Mutt and Jeff” newspaper strip, as seen in the ad above, an interesting comics connection. There’s no family relationship between John Neville Wheeler, this syndicate’s founder, and Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson as far as we know.

Another company well-known to comics artists was at this address in 1933.

The first issue of Wheeler-Nicholson’s NEW COMICS dated Dec. 1935 shows the 373 Fourth Avenue address. The publisher is still National Allied Newspaper Syndicate, Inc., as it was from the beginning of the Major’s comics business.

The indicia from the first issue of DETECTIVE COMICS dated March, 1937 still uses the 373 Fourth Avenue address, but that was only true for this one issue.

By issue two, a month later, the address is 432 Fourth Avenue, which remained the listed address for DETECTIVE COMICS until it was taken over by Donenfeld and Liebowitz the following year. Commenting on the frequent moves, Nicky Wheeler-Nicholson writes, “I know he was struggling financially during this period so I’m sure this was all motivated by lack of funds.” By issue 14 of DETECTIVE COMICS dated April, 1938, Wheeler-Nicholson was gone, and the editorial address was 480 Lexington Avenue, long the home of Donenfeld and Liebowitz’s publishing business.

On a recent trip to New York City I took this photo of the building at 373 Park Avenue South, the tan one at center. Most of the façade decorations are gone, but it’s the same shape and size as the original Zindel Building.

Here’s the entrance today, with a small part of the original architectural details preserved, compare it to the 1912 illustration above. While the company that became DC Comics was not here long, it’s great to be able to add this address to my article and the company’s history.

 

 

Zion National Park

Images © Todd Klein

Friday, Oct. 16th we drove from Bryce Canyon to Zion National Park, about two hours. On the way we stopped for a few photos in Red Canyon, above, which is on the road out of Bryce. It was cloudy, so the colors were not as vivid as when we’d passed it earlier. The entrance to Zion from the east is an amazing drive, through a long tunnel into an upper side canyon, then down a long series of switchbacks to the canyon floor. I was driving, so wasn’t able to get any pictures.The first thing that struck us about Zion National Park is how much more crowded it was than the other places we’d been. Driving inside the main canyon is not allowed, you have to take a shuttle bus. Parking in the canyon was completely full, so we had to park outside the south entrance and walk back in. Didn’t take too long. Once inside and on the shuttle bus, we made our first stop at the Zion Lodge, and walked the trail nearby to Emerald Pools, starting on a bridge over the Virgin River, above.

Zion is not as photogenic as either the Grand Canyon or Bryce, but it’s awesome to be there. You’re in a narrow canyon that gets narrower as you go north into it with very sheer walls several thousand feet high. Pictures can’t capture the feel of this very well.

The falls at Emerald Cove, nearly dry but with a small stream of water wetting the path. The trails at Zion seemed busy and crowded, too, compared to the other canyons. Perhaps it’s the fact that Zion is the closest to Las Vegas, and there were also many school groups here from Utah, where there was a teacher’s convention holiday.

Another view of the falls, which would be much more active in the spring.

We didn’t have a lot of time in Zion, so we turned back at Emerald Cove rather than taking a longer loop trail, and had lunch in the lodge. Pretty cool view from our table!

Then we got back on a shuttle bus (there are many) and took it to the furthest point, the Temple of Sinawava. Here the canyon narrows to just the width of the river, and further walking into it is only for those willing to walk IN the river. We didn’t do that, but enjoyed views from the river beach before that.

The feeling of being surrounded by these sheer cliffs is hard to describe, but exhilarating. At one place, we saw climbers going up one, and they were like ants on the side of a building.

This canyon wall was particularly craggy.

And this one massive.

This one had a shallow arch in it.

We made one more stop on the shuttle bus coming back down, but the buses were crowded, and we felt we might not be able to get on one after that, so we took the next all the way down to where we’d come in. It was getting on in the afternoon, and we had to drive back to Las Vegas for our last night before flying home on Saturday, so we reluctantly bid the canyons farewell. Hope to get back someday.

 

Bryce Canyon, Day Two

Photos © Todd Klein

On Thursday, Oct. 15th, we spent the entire day in Bryce Canyon, beginning with a walk down and through part of the Amphitheater we’d seen the day before from the rim. It was easy walking, and cold when we started, but soon warmed up.

We took the Queen’s Garden Trail down from Sunrise Point, along with other hikers.

Hoodoos on the trail down.

More on the way down, showing erosion gullies.

Near the bottom the trail went through some of the limestone walls.

Seemed a good spot for pictures. While the limestone looks fragile from the amount of weathering it’s undergone, it’s not crumbly to the touch, but pretty solid.

The hoodoos are rising well above us now.

The Queen’s Garden Trail ends at this hoodoo which is said to resemble a famous statue of Queen Victoria. We then took a short trail through the canyon…

…to the Wall Street Trail going back up to the rim. We soon found out why it’s named that, it’s a steep, narrow trail between walls of high hoodoos.

Looking up Wall Street and hikers ahead of us.

Looking back down the Wall Street Trail.

Almost out of the canyon.

Looking back into the Amphitheater from the top of Wall Street Trail where it emerges at Sunset point. From there we walked along the Rim Trail to Sunrise Point, where our car was, a hike of about 3.5 miles, but with some steep ups and downs. Took us most of the morning, with many breathers coming up.

Mule Deer along the Rim Trail.

After lunch we drove further into the park than we’d yet been to Rainbow Point. At about 9100 feet, it’s the highest point you can drive to on the canyon rim, and the highest of our trip. More hoodoos here, but not in groups as large as the Amphitheater.

Also from Rainbow Point.

There was an entertaining pair of Ravens near the parking lot there who were talking quietly to each other.

Going back toward the Amphitheater there are a number of viewpoints to stop and see things like this massive hoodoo column…

…and Bryce’s Natural Bridge, though it’s really an arch, you couldn’t walk past the right end.

Glowing hoodoos in late afternoon.

We spent the end of the day back at Sunrise and Sunset Points enjoying the views and relaxing.

The hoodoo on the right reminded me of an owl. As sunset arrived, we headed back to Ruby’s Inn for dinner. We had one more day of canyons ahead. Final batch of pictures next time.

Bryce Canyon, Day One

Photos © Todd Klein

Wednesday, Oct. 14th, we drove from Jacob Lake to Ruby’s Inn just outside the entrance to Bryce Canyon National Park, where we’d stay for two nights, an easy drive of about two and a half hours. Ruby’s Inn is a whole city unto itself, you could stay for weeks, and we liked it fine there. After a quick lunch, we drove into the park, and a very kind Park Service person at the gate suggested I get a Senior Pass for $10 rather than pay the usual $30 entry fee. Senior Passes are for U.S. citizens who are 62 years old or older, and grant free access to all National Parks and Lands for life. What a great deal! This offer was on the entry sign at Grand Canyon National Park too, but we never looked at it. So, we saved $20 here, $30 at Zion, our next stop, and any parks we visit in the future are free. Ellen is not yet 62, but as long as I am, she gets in with me. Terrific!

After looking over the map, we drove to Bryce Point, the highest viewpoint in the Bryce Amphitheater, which is what they call the semi-circular area of the canyon with the most spectacular stone structures.

The view was indeed spectacular! The Amphitheater is filled with limestone walls and towers (called Hoodoos by the local Indians), and it’s hard to think of a more amazing and photogenic spot. The limestone is white originally, but often stained my minerals like iron, which creates the red colors.

On one wall of the canyon there were cathedral-like arches.

Here’s the widest view I could get at Bryce Point. There must be many thousands of hoodoos.

We went to the visitor center, and near there is a small colony of Prairie Dogs. This is the best picture I could get of one.

We went next to Sunset Point for more wonderful views, and as it was late afternoon, stayed in that area until evening.

Bryce is much smaller than the Grand Canyon, but I think it’s more visually striking.

Looking down at the hoodoos from Sunset Point, as late afternoon sun bouncing off some gives others a warm reflected light called “Bryce glow.”

A little later, as shadows begin to darken the distant shapes.

As the close shapes are darkened, the further ones become more prominent.

Last area of sun on the close stones from Sunset Point. Soon we headed back to Ruby’s Inn for dinner, and would spend the entire next day at Bryce. More pictures next time.

Murphy Anderson passes

Very sad to hear of the passing of artist and friend Murphy Anderson. He was one of the first artists at DC Comics whose name I knew because he was occasionally allowed to sign his work on stories such as “The Atomic Knights” in STRANGE ADVENTURES. I loved his precise style and crisp inking. When I started working at DC Comics in 1977, I met Murphy, and found him to be a terrific person, kind and generous, and full of great stories about the comics business, which he loved as I did. We soon discovered that we lived near each other in central New Jersey, and since I was commuting to the DC offices by train every day, I would often carry some of Murphy’s DC work in for him. Then, when Murphy was visiting the offices and was ready to leave when I did, he would give me a ride home in his large car (Lincoln perhaps?), and regale me with stories about working with Julie Schwartz and his writers, or on the Buck Rogers newspaper strip, or PS Magazine for the army. Sometimes he would talk about his early days breaking in to comics, too. We soon developed a friendship through helping each other and mutual interests. When my car was in the shop and I needed a ride somewhere, Murphy would often volunteer to take me, and I helped him from time to time on his freelance projects or DC color separations. When John Workman was the art director at HEAVY METAL, he asked if I had any ideas for the one-page strip he was running called “June 2050.” I asked Murphy if he’d be willing to draw something I wrote, and when he agreed, I made it an homage to his favorite newspaper strip and pulp character, Buck Rogers, with Murphy and his wife Helen playing the leads. It was the only time we worked together on a comics project, and great fun.

In later years, after I moved to southern New Jersey, I would only see Murphy occasionally at comics conventions, or call him on the phone infrequently. I’m going to miss his art, his friendship, his deep, friendly voice, and his kindness. Rest in peace, Murphy.