Todd Klein's Blog, page 231

And Then I Read: AQUAMAN 35

Image © DC Comics, Inc.

Here’s a refreshing change, a storyline that’s not mainly about fighting. Aquaman has decided to investigate some unanswered questions he has about his own childhood as well as the history of Atlantis itself. He’s gathering researchers and resources, and we learn with him about the unusual science — or is it magic? — that lies beneath the sunken civilization, as well as what lies within the tomb of Arthur’s mother. Great stuff by writer Jeff Parker and artists Paul Pelletier and Sean Parsons. Also a cool submarine.

Recommended.

And Then I Read: SINESTRO 6

Image © DC Comics, Inc.

Another title I haven’t read, following the Godhead story through it. I liked Sinestro as written by Geoff Johns, but in this book he seems less intelligent, more of a traditional villain led by his ego, using his power cruelly, and therefore less interesting to me. Johns made him more plausible and even sympathetic at times. The Sinestro Corps has been attacked by some New Gods, as per all the other titles, and Sinestro is out for revenge against them. That leads to the Indigo Tribe’s planet, where the Green Lantern Corps are battling the same New Gods group. Is Sinestro coming to the rescue? The art is fine, but none of the characters that are new to me stand out. I doubt I’ll be returning to this book.

Mildly recommended.

And Then I Read: THE ART OF THE SIMON AND KIRBY STUDIO

Images © Estates of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby.

I had a great time looking at all the original art in this book, a few hundred pages. Much of it is by Jack Kirby with Joe Simon and others, but at least a third is by other artists who worked in their studio, a wide variety of talents. What’s missing here is their output for Marvel and DC, including their most famous work like CAPTAIN AMERICA for Marvel and THE BOY COMMANDOS for DC, but they were prolific, so that leaves lots of fine comics like BOY’S RANCH, the romance and crime comics, and THE FLY and THE SHIELD for Archie, as well as many things I’d barely heard of. The book is large, and the reproductions from the art collection of Joe Simon and others is top-notch, as you would expect from publisher Abrams. I found most of the stories hard to read, though, often florid, and over-written with plots that are simplistic and predictable. There are surprises, like two stories written for POLICE TRAP with second person narration, a tough thing to pull off, but they worked for me.

I particularly enjoyed the chance to study the work of the studio’s first staff letterer, Howard Ferguson, as in the BLACK CAT story above. I’ve already written a blog post about Ferguson HERE, but the work in this book, and especially seeing it reproduced so well, gave me a new appreciation of his talent. He may have been the best letterer in comics in the 1940s, I’m now prepared to say.

“The Double Life of Private Strong” made an impact on me when I first read it around 1960. He was one of the heroes Simon and Kirby did for Archie Comics in the late 50s, their version of THE SHIELD. Rereading it, I wasn’t impressed by the story, but the art is terrific. (I suspect it may also have made an impression on Alan Moore, some elements of the character’s origin are echoed in that of his TOM STRONG.)

Mark Evanier’s historical overview is informative and thorough, and the afterward by Joe Simon’s son Jim adds personal memories that bring a human connection to the men involved, well done both.

In all, a fine book and highly recommended.

And Then I Read: RED LANTERN 35

Image © DC Comics, Inc.

I don’t like Red Lanterns, and haven’t been reading this book, but decided to follow the Godhead crossover into it. The writer is Charles Soule, who I like on SWAMP THING, so I gave it a try. Guy Gardner is on vacation with girlfriend Tora on a Dubai beach across a bay from Qurac, Guy’s real interest. Before long, he’s spewing blood on the superhero leader of Qurac. Then some of the New Gods show up and lots more fighting ensues, with Simon Baz, Earth’s Green Lantern, joining in. Nothing here really advances the Godhead storyline, and the ending is more of an abrupt stop as the New Gods suddenly depart without explanation. The only accomplishment seems to be getting Guy Gardner into the story. I’m not impressed, and won’t be reading more of this title.

Not recommended.

Rereading: THE LOST WORLD By A. Conan Doyle

Having finished all 6,000 plus pages of the complete Sherlock Holmes stories, I found I wanted more A.Conan Doyle, so I loaded this book on my phone as well, and had a fine time reading it. (First edition above.)

While the premise of the story seems impossible now — a volcanic plateau in the Amazon basin of South America cut off from contact with surrounding land for millions of years, where dinosaurs and primitive ape-men have survived to the present day — when the book was published in 1912, it was every bit as plausible as “Jurassic Park.” Air travel had not yet begun except by balloon, and far less was known about the jungles of the Amazon than today. While it’s clearly science fiction, the reader of 1912 would have no trouble suspending disbelief. And Doyle masterfully handles his main characters: young reporter Edward Malone, out to document the story of his life; Professor George Edward Challenger, the irrascible scientist who has made the discovery of HIS life, and is violently angry when no one believes him; Lord John Roxton, veteran of many expeditions and battles in South America; and gloomy Professor Summerlee, sent along by fellow scientists to document the expedition. Each man is introduced and examined in depth before they all begin to explore the jungles and search for the Lost World, so when the action heats up, we feel we know and care about them, warts and all. And there’s plenty of action once they attain the plateau, between dangerous dinosaurs and other beasts, and even more dangerous hominids.

There are some elements of “Great White Hunter” that come across as politically incorrect for today’s reader, but they’re pretty easy to overlook in the bulk of the story, which I found cracking good fun. I think I read this book in my teen years, but remembered very little of it. That made it all the better.

Highly recommended. Moving on to the next Professor Challenger book now, “The Poison Belt.”

And Then I Read: GREEN LANTERN NEW GUARDIANS 35

Image © DC Comics, Inc.

Can’t you hear someone like Clint Eastwood reading that cover copy? It reminds me how effective well written and well designed cover copy can be.

The New Gods, and their leader Highfather have narrowed down their search for the Life Equation. They know Kyle Rayner, the White Lantern has it. In this issue Kyle finally finds out from the Guardians who have been, as usual, secretive and manipulative. They try to remove the Life Equation from Kyle, which only creates havoc. Then Highfather shows up.

Well written, fine art, recommended.

And Then I Read: VERTIGO QUARTERLY CMYK 3

Image © DC Comics, Inc.

In this anthology I found several stories I liked a lot, some that were okay, and a few I didn’t care for, which is a pretty good mix.

“The Vision of Sita” is about world-building gods and their feuds. Okay.

“Untitled” by Gerard Way and Philip Bond is excellent, full of ideas well realized.

“End of Line” has nice art, but is not really a story.

“Playthings” has more nice art by Bill Sienkiewicz and not much of a story.

“The Signal” is a dystopian nightmare for two children that I found appealing, I think more for the attractive art and coloring than the story.

“The Black Clade” has a medieval feel that I enjoyed. The script is good until the end, which I found unclear.

“Amber” is a good story with art that I didn’t care for much. But worth reading.

“The Cataphract of the Yellow Lotus” is excellent in both art and story, and feels as though it could have come from a Sandman comic from a distant world.

“The Magic Bag” by Fabio Moon is slight but very well done on all counts, and a nice finale.

Recommended.

Wintry Thanksgiving

Thursday we made our annual trek to the northwest corner of New Jersey to spend Thanksgiving with Ellen’s sister Ann and her family. This year it was the scene of an early snowfall of about 10 inches of very wet snow, making it much more like Christmas, visually.

It was perfect for snowballs and snowmen, and Ellen’s nephew Zach and I made on of the latter.

It had snowed the day before, so the roads were no problem, and it was kind of fun to be suddenly amidst a Winter Wonderland. We had no snow at all where we live in the southern end of the state.

And Then I Read: GREEN LANTERN CORPS 35

Image © DC Comics, Inc.

It’s not a bad idea, really, pitting the New Gods against the Green (and other) Lanterns. Both groups are powerful and cosmic. What we’ve mostly learned in encounters so far is, the New Gods win the snotty superiority award, running over the Lanterns with apparently little effort, and very smug about it, though the Lanterns are tricksy, no doubt about it, and usually find smart ways to carry on. This issue is pretty far from the center of things, but interesting all the same, and the writing and art are good. Kyle Rayner, the one remaining White Lantern, is who the New Gods are really after, everything else is a sideshow, but the Corps is doing what they can against New Gods in their space.

Recommended.

And Then I Read: ASTRO CITY 16

Image © Juke Box Productions.

Kurt Busiek has really been excelling at shorter stories in this title, and this one is complete in one issue, mostly, and gets in a large amount of content without it ever becoming a lecture. It follows a group of high school friends, with all the social traumas that entails, plus at least one of them is super-powered. Or maybe more. And, like Peter Parker, the story explores how powers don’t save you from being an outsider. We follow one of those friendships further in life, with triumphs and tragedy, and see how the high school memories resonate and echo later. Very nicely told, and of course the art by Alex Ross and Brent Anderson is terrific, too.

Recommended.