The Comics Rack

THE T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS ARCHIVES VOL. 1

   Some comic titles tend to stay in the consciousness of collector's more than others, often attaining an almost mythic status. One of these is the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, a strip produced by a small company and that lasted only a couple of years in the mid-60s. Yet, there was something about the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents that has been so fondly remembered that DC has licensed the Agents from owner John Carbano and is producing an Archives series that will eventually reprint all of their adventures. T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents Archives Vol. 1 reprints T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #1-4 and gives clues as to why the series has stayed with fans up to the present day.
   First, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents was a big, thick 25 center (think DC annuals of the period) in an era when the standard comics were 12 cents and contained 32 pages of story and comics. This not only gave more room for character development in the early issues, but, gosh darn it, a thick 25 cent comic just seemed like a better buy. Most importantly, however, it made for stories that were complete in one issue, unlike the Marvel comics of the time. This continuity becomes obvious as one reads the Archives volume and each issue shows the different T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents in action against the same menace from their different perspectives.
   Secondly, the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents were more human than the seemingly invincible demi-gods that populated DC or, to a lesser degree, Marvel. Although out saving the world on a regular basis, Dynamo gets bawled out for being behind in his paperwork. The T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Squad have no powers and are led by an agent with the name of Weed. NoMan exists in a series of interchangeable android bodies. The Agents also have a running gag where they are called on the carpet for nearly losing the wondrous devices that give them their powers. In other words, the stories are almost about real people put into extraordinary situations.
   Lastly, the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents are a mixture of James Bond and The Man from U.N.C.L.E with a touch of Cold War paranoia thrown in. At least in this first volume, the agents battle an enemy who is never quite identified, but rather personified through his agents (love the Iron Maiden, by the way) and only has world domination on his mind. The T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, on the other hand, are agents of the UN(T.H.U.N.D.E.R. stands for The Higher United Nations Defense Enforcement Reserves, after all) and are not really aligned with any one nation. Read from this perspective, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents becomes an interesting reflection of the Cold War politics of the 60s. Since it was known then that the US and Russia could never clash, we instead see the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents clash with the "ENEMY" in a series of skirmishes, in many ways similar to what was actually occuring in the world of the time.
   I must say I have very few quibbles about the book, some due to the fact that I am reading most of this material here for the first time. Wood, Adkins and Crandall have never looked better and one could only wish that Mike Sekowsky had had a little less to do with the strip. He's never been one of my faves and here, he turns in a couple of jobs that border on ugly. The introductory notes by Uslan and Klein are more fannish than I would like and fail to answer the question of why Wood was chosen to create the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents and even why Tower comics was started in the first place: questions I hope will be answered in later volumes of the series.
   A good collection that belongs on your shelf, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents Archives Vol. 1 has an SRP of $49.95, but can probably be found for less if you shop around.

30 DAYS OF NIGHT

   Awhile back, Willie began telling me about a series called 30 Days of Night. He described it as a very scary vampire tale and that it was worth a read. Eventually, the series was collected into a single volume and, before I could go out and find a copy, Willie sent one to me (Thanks, Wille!), hence the review at hand.
I've read and seen more vampire stories than I care to remember and must say that 30 Days of Night is a great twist on the basic vampire formula. Without giving too much away, I will say that it takes place in a town in Alaska where, for the period of one month every winter, the sun never rises and the people have to live in the darkness of night until the month is over. To this town comes a group of vampires, who don't have to worry about the sun rising and so they...well, to tell you anymore would give away the plot. Suffice to say, 30 Days of Night is a good story that will give you the shivers and, with about 4-8 more pages for character development, would be great.
   The downside of the book is the art, which is very crude and nearing the border between impressionism and "I don't know how to draw." It does take some getting used to and there are a few places where the art works against the story, since the characters are nearly unrecognizable and must be identified by what they say and not by how they look.
   All in all, 30 Days of Night is worth the read and may make you keep the night light on. The originality of the story far outweighs the faults in the art and it should be perched up on your bookshelf, right next to Dracula, Salem's Lot and Fever Dream.
   30 Days of Night is published by IDW Publishing and has an SRP of $17.99 (Originally, it was a screenplay and word is out that a movie is currently in development).

ACROSS THE UNIVERSE: THE DC UNIVERSE STORIES OF ALAN MOORE

   DC has once again released a collection of significant stories from their vaults, this time devoted to the work of Alan Moore. What's that, I hear you say, hasn't all of Moore's work been reprinted already? Well, nearly all his regular series work has been reprinted, but there are the one-shot stories he wrote for many of the DC titles that have plagued fans for years as they tried to hunt them down. Now, in Across the Universe: the DC Universe Stories of Alan Moore, DC has solved that problem and, to the best of my recollection, there remains nothing of Moore's, except the most current work, that has not been reprinted.
   ATU (as I shall refer to the book for the rest of the review) features 13 stories that Moore did back in the 80s when he was just starting to write for DC. The characters presented here range from Superman and Batman to the Phantom Stranger and even some lof the lesser knowns, such as the Punisher-inspired Vigilante and the Omega Men. Each story is self-contained and shows the range of Moore's talents, as he puts his special spin on each tale.
   The most outstanding stories of the collection are those that feature Superman and are the only times Moore has done the character (although he has done characters who are Superman-like in many other stories). To Moore, Superman is a god-like being who is human, yet far removed from humanity and these two stories, one from Superman Annual 11 and the other from DC Comics Presents 85, display this premise to great effect. Moore puts a totally original spin on one of comicdom's oldest characters that only adds to what has gone before without without throwing continuity out the window. These stories alone are worth the price of the book, if you don't already have them.
   I could go on and on about each and every story in this book, but that would bore you and make this review run on way too long. The rest of the stories are of equal quality to those that feature Superman and, as with all Moore stories, leave you wondering why nobody else ever thought of a particular story twist before. The art (can't forget the art) is by many artists and ranges from excellent to passable, depending on your taste.
   This is definitely a volume that you should run right out and get today. Now. Pronto!
   Across the Universe: The DC Universe Stories of Alan Moore has an SRP of $19.95.

CREEPSHOW

   Greetings, Kiddies!! What monstrous things lurk about when you least expect them? In this case, it's a moldy oldie review of a book that is out of print. Read on...
   Back in the late 70s, when Stephen King was at the top of the author's heap, he wrote a screenplay for a movie to be directed by George Romero that was loosely based, in style and content, on the EC line of horror books. The final product was the film Creepshow and, soon after, Plume released a trade paperback adaptation of the film in comics form with art by Berni Wrightson.
   I recall looking at the book at the time it came out and being very underwhelmed. The cover was by Jack Kamen and not at all what one would expect from him. The stories were just as they appeared in the film and were just as predictable. Wrightson's art seemed very lightly rendered and not at all like the finely detailed artwork I had come to associate with him. Most of all, I felt that if I wanted to read EC stories, I would read EC stories and I passed on the book and didn't even think about it until about a year ago, when, on a whim, I picked up a copy in a used book store.
   What a difference 20 plus years can make! Where I had first found the stories derivative, I can see now where King was headed when he wrote them. The tales in both Creepshow the film and adaptation are homages to EC and not an attempt to recreate them. Yes, there is a horror host who cracks wise at each appearance and each story has a twist at the end, but that is where the resemblance ends. The majority of the EC stories had a moral sense to them, even at their most extreme: the person who was bad came to a bad end and the good people escaped relatively unscathed. King, however, has a different moral sense in his works, one that says bad things can happen to anyone at anytime, no matter how bad or good they are and it is this diffence in tone that makes Creepshow something more than just an EC clone.
   Of the five stories that make up the book, only the fourth story, "Something to Tide you Over," reads like the old EC. The rest are just a little bit off the EC track, but all read well, although I have still don't understand the last story and that bugs me (to tell you more would give away the plot). "Crate," is especially different, in that it owes more to 50s SF/Horror films than it does comics.
   Wrightson's art varies frrom story to story, with his best job being done on "Crate." It is also intersting to pick out the small homages to EC that he inserts into some of the stories, like the walking corpse in "Father's Day," which is taken right out of a Graham Ingels story.
   All in all, Creepshow is a fun romp and worth picking up for a good evening's read . As mentioned above, it is now out of print, but eBay and used bookstores can help you find a copy for a couple of bucks.

PLASTIC MAN ARCHIVES VOL. 3

   One of the fun things about the DC Archives series is that much of the material has not been seen since it was originally printed, except for the lucky few who own the original comics. Case in point is The Plastic Man Archives Vol. 3, which reprints Plastic Man #2 and Police Comics #31-39. Now, as a long time collector, I have a reprint of Plastic Man #2, but to finally have it in color with crisp printing is, by itself, something special, but to also get the rare Police Comics adventures truly makes the volume worth the price of admission.
   Much has been written about the genius of Jack Cole and this volume continues what we have already seen in the previous books. Plastic Man was an original character and, under Cole's guidance, his adventures were original as well. Where else could you find a character who could stop The Mangler, who mangles men so they can avoid the draft in one story, only to travel to Mexico for a vacation in another and then, in my favorite story, finds a town that is locked in the 1890s? Not good enough? How about a meeting with a man made of lava, or a town where everyone is crazy? The list could go on and on, but even when Plastic Man is dealing with some of the more mundane threats, such as a price on his head, Cole was able to add a twist to the story to make it just a bit different: the twist being the handling of the character of Plastic Man himself.
   The character of Plastic Man, although revived a number of times, has never succeeded outside of Cole's hands. While later creators have played Plastic Man strictly for laughs, Cole had his own set of rules that he used for not only the character, but also the fantasy world that Plastic Man inhabited.
   First, although Cole's art style is based in caricature, his "normal" characters are normal within the bounds of the strip. Plastic Man looks different normally, but when he stretches, he definitely looks tremendously different. Similarly, some of the villains are caricatured to the point of being nearly groutesque, but when Plastic Man stretches, he is more groutesque. Cole's first rule, then, is that Plastic Man is both the hero, and the outsider, in his own comic and no one is allowed, under Cole's guidance, to look odder than the title character.
   Second, Plastic Man never uses his stretching ability for the sake of stretching alone. When he takes on the shape of a sofa, for example, it is to gain information from the villains, not because he feels like being a sofa. When his body becomes elongated, it is to catch a crook, reach the top of a building, go up a drainspout (one of my favorites), or to get someplace fast. Plastic Man takes himself seriously enough to not use his powers unless he needs them. Rule #2 according to Cole: the humor comes out the situations and not just a series of funny drawings.
   Lastly, the people who inhabit Plastic Man's world don't seem to find him odd, a situation that ties into the previous two rules. Criminals may fear him, but the ordinary person on the street sees nothing strange in a guy in goggles and a red costume who stretches out a door to catch someone in a taxi. It's almost as if everyone knows who Plastic Man is and recognizes him as a hero: an exceedlingly odd hero, but a hero nevertheless. Cole's final rule is that Plastic Man is accepted by the average joe, but is reacted to, and feared by, the criminal element he is fighting.
   The only quibble I would have with the book is that Cole's art is not as finely detailed in some stories as in others. While this may be a problem due to the reproduction, it may also have been due to Cole's schedule in drawing the books originally. After all, one can only draw so many pages in a given month and I'm sure that the deadline crunch must have snuck up on Cole at one time or another. The quality of the stories more than make up for this quibble and in The Plastic Man Archives Vol. 3, we have another book that belongs up on your bookshelf.
   The Plastic Man Archives Vol. 3 has an SRP of $49.95, can be found for less elsewhere and, if you're lucky, maybe you'll get a copy like mine where six pages were bound in upside down right in the middle of the story about the town that went crazy.

SHANG CHI: MASTER OF KUNG FU

   One of the highlights of comics in the 70s and 80s was a series originally done to cash in on the popularity of the Kung-Fu genre. Beginning with the first issues penned by Steve Englehart and drawn by Jim Starlin, the quality of the series was high and, in a minor miracle in comic publishing, the quality of writing and art remained high throughout the nearly 10 year run of the series. Under the capable hands of writer Doug Moench, and a stellar cast of artists that included Paul Gulacy, Mike Zeck and Gene Day, what could have been a one-shot drop in the bucket developed its own mythos and became, in many ways, one of the only "adult" comics to be produced by the Big Two, due to its treatment of relationships between the characters. Part drama, part fantastic adventure and part spy thriller, Master of Kung Fu is one of the best remembered series to come out of Marvel's second Silver Age. Marvel decided to revive the characters from the original series in a short six issue series in 2002, under its MAX imprint, and it is the trade paperback collection that is up for review this time around.
   As you have probably guessed from the introductory paragraph, Master of Kung Fu was, and is, one of my favorite comic book series. Doug Moench crafted a marvelous universe that incorporated such diverse elements as Sax Rhomer, Bruce Lee films, Phil Farmer and James Bond and served them up with aplomb...both shaken and stirred. The current mini-series was not a disappointment and serves as a coda to the original run. All the characters who made the original series work are there, Black Jack Tarr (who is vying for the directorship of MI-6), Clive Reston (the son of James Bond and grandson of Sherlock Holmes), Leiko Wu and, of course, Shang Chi, the son of Fu Manchu and the major focus of the strip.
   The plot takes place some years after the original series ended. Leiko is married to Reston, Shang Chi has retired to a monastery. Nayland Smith and Petrie are nowhere to be found and lurking in the background is Fu Manchu: once again set on a plot of world domination. Reston contacts Shang Chi to once again enter into the "games of deceit and death." Reluctantly, Shang Chi agrees and from there the story is off and running in the grand tradition of the original series. The tension between Leiko and Shang Chi is realistically portrayed, the plot remains true to the characters and the ending is, again, in keeping with the original series. The end of the story, in true Moench fashion, leaves all the characters in a position to return once again should there be a need, but it is to Moench's abilities as a writer that this could also serve as a final ending to the series, with nary a loose end left hanging.
   Artwise, Gulacy is up to his usual standard, this time inked by Jimmy Palmiotti. From pages seen in other publications, I suspect that much of this series is made up from the aborted Master of Kung Fu graphic novel from many years ago. Where that endeavor ended and Gulacy added new art is quite seamless, but (minor quibble)there are about 4 pages in this collection that look to be pencilled by someone other than Gulacy. Other than that, this is Gulacy at his best, which, although a bit stiff (he always has been) is better than most any artist currently working in comics.
   Why Marvel chose to release this series under their MAX imprint is a mystery to me (for those of you not in the loop, the MAX imprint is used by Marvel to designate explicit content). Outside of a couple of outlandish costumes worn by some of the women and the appearance of the "EF" word, there is nothing else in this series that couldn't be read by a general audience. Possibly some judicious editing on the part of Marvel would have put this series out where everyone could obtain and read it. And as a good, solid comic series, this is one that everyone should read and have on their bookshelf.
   Whether you remember the original series or are just looking for a ripping good story, this is the book you need to get. With strong characters, strong story and excellent art, Shang Chi: Master of Kung Fu is well worth your time and comes, at least from me, very highly recommended. Shang Chi: Master of Kung Fu is around 150 pages long and retails for $14.99.