The Comics Rack

SHOWCASE PRESENTS JONAH HEX VOL. 1

   One of the new Showcase Presents volumes that particularly caught my eye was Showcase Presents Jonah Hex Vol. 1. I have been a fan of western comics for many years. The western genre, due to its visual nature, seems to work as well in a graphic story almost as well as it works in film (and, just in case you were wondering, I can barely abide prose westerns and radio shows are very hit and miss). I had read a couple of Jonah Hex tales in the past and, enjoying those, thought that this volume, since it reprints the stories from the beginning, would be a good place to start. After all, thought I, surely the early stories would tell us who Hex was, where he came from and just how he got that pop-eye, scars and piece of flesh that covers part of his mouth (wouldn't a sensible person just remove it?). Well, those questions are never answered, but the book still provides a lot of good reading.
   As evidenced by these early stories, Jonah Hex was originally conceived by the character's creator, John Albano, as a mysterious bounty hunter. The West that Hex inhabits is best described as Sergio Leone meets Sam Peckinpah: lots of dirt, desert and violence. From the character's introduction in All-Star Western #10 to (title change with #13) Weird Western #21, the only real clue we have to Hex's past is that he wears the uniform of a Confederate soldier. We only find out about Hex the man through his actions: a characterization much in the style of the characters that Clint Eastwood made popular. Tony DeZuniga supplies the art for these stories and proves equal to the task, serving up a West that is as visually moody as are the stories. In fact, these early stories are more than worth the price of admission, as they are some of the more adult western fare I have encountered in some time. The stories all have a mood that sets them apart from their contemporaries and the story lengths also vary depending on the story: a rarity among comics produced in the US. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and Albano departed from the series with #21, reportedly over a dispute with DC about the movie rights to Hex.
   Michael Fleisher takes up the writing chores with Weird Western #22 and although good, the focus of the stories change. Fleisher begins a sub-plot that deals with Hex's past and also begins to soften the character a bit. Rather than being an Eastwood type of character, Hex takes on the trappings of the gruff bounty hunter with a heart of gold. To his credit, Fleisher does tell a good story, particularly "Gunfight at Wolverine" in #31, and while the aura of mystery that surrounded Hex in the Albano stories is not present, there is still a lot of good reading in these later issues. There is also an interesting credit on the Fleisher stories which deserves a bit of explaining. Fleisher is credited with the script, while the credit of "script continuity" is credited to Russell Carley. Carley was an artist friend of Fleisher's and would take Fleisher's story ideas and break them down into visual sequences that Fleisher would then turn into a script of whatever artist was working on the strip. Fleisher had no previous comic writing experience at the time he started writing Jonah Hex and felt he needed this input, particularly because DC was working with full scripts from their writers at the time.
   Artwise, the stories of this period are very hit and miss. DeZuniga keeps his style going for the first couple of Fleisher issues and is then followed by Noly Panaligan, who loses some of the mood. There is an excellent fill-in by Doug Wildey and then a short, well done, sequence by George Moliterni. The last Hex stories in the book are by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, who I consider one of the most underrated artists to have worked in comics, but you wouldn't know it here and his work is only passable at best.
   The last hundred pages of the book are not Johah Hex, but taken up with reprints from All-Star Western #2-8 that featured a character known as "Outlaw"...sort of. Seems that the Outlaw character was a short 4 story sequence written by Kanigher and drawn by DeZuniga, Kane and Aparo that told the rather abrupt story of a young man versus his father (DC trying to be hip, you know) that all comes to a quick resolution. The Outlaw name continues on, however, in 3 more stories by Albano and DeZuniga which feature Billy the Kid (but this Billy is not a he, but a her and her name is really Billy Jo) and are not related to the previous storyline. Confusing? Yes and these stories are quite forgettable and not really worth reading.
   So, I would recommend the book on the basis of the first 428 pages of Jonah Hex material. Fleisher's stories are good, Albano's are better and the art is fairly consistent throughout Although you won't find how just how Hex got his scars, nor why the book got the title change to Weird Western Tales, you will find some entertaining western stories at a bargain price.
   Showcase Presents Jonah Hex Vol. 1 can be found at the usual outlets, is a trade paperback with over 500 pages of comic (it says so on the cover) and has an SRP of $16.99.

MEN OF MYSTERY #55-57

   Since I've now found a comic store that will fill my orders, we're back on track with reviews of some AC Comics...
Men of Mystery#55-57-
   This title has long been on my "must buy" list, since it reprints stories from so many different companies. These 3 issues are no exception and cover stories from the 40s and 50s by a wide variety of artists.
#55-Starts off with an excellent cover and story featuring The Avenger by Bob Powell. This is followed by a T-Man adventure with art by W. G. Hargis (an okay story) and an atmospheric Commando Yank story by Carl Pfeuffer (not his best). The gem of the issue, at least is you are into odd comics, the The Stardust story by Henry Fetcher, another "lost" artist of the 40s. Fletcher (AKA Fletcher Hanks) has a bizarre style that is very reminiscent of Basil Wolverton, but without Wolverton's knowledge of anatomy. The result is quite bizarre and, for some reason, everyone in this story seems to have exactly the same expression on their faces. The story is fun and, if you are looking for something out of the ordinary, worth the price of admission. The issue closes out with a Camilla story by Ralph Mayo, a Mysterious Traveler story by Steve Ditko (great art and lousy story) and a Masked Rider tale by Pete Morisi (only so-so). The Stardust and Avenger stories are the best of this issue and, with very few original appearance credits and no editorial settings, I'd have to rate this as the lowest of these three issues.
#56-A double dose of Bulletman opens this issue, the first by Bill Ward and the second uncredited. These are followed by Yellowjacket by Ken Battlefield (very weak effort), an uncredited Ibis story and then Target and the Targeteers by Joe Certa: a good, but not great story. Next is another Stardust by Fletcher and, by gosh, I'm right and everybody has the same expression on their faces. Great fun! The issue finishes with a story of The Heap by Ernie Schroeder, something that makes this particular issue of MOM quite a rarity. The Heap first appeared in Air Fighters Comics in 1942 and is the grandfather, if you will, of both The Swamp Thing and Man-Thing (among others). The Heap didn't speak, he didn't think, but he simply shuffled along righting wrongs, sensing evil and eating farm animals whole. This story seems to be from late in the run, when The Heap was more concerned with evil doings, rather than defeating the Axis, but it is still a good example of what the character is about (although the story has a couple of holes0. Better credits than the previous issue, but still no editorial content, so this one comes in at #2.
#57-Under a stunning Bulletman cover, the first story you encounter here is a long Airboy story with art by Ernie Schroeder. Although Schroeder had a rather scratchy art style (and also can't seem to draw eyes with pupils), this story alone (15 pages) is worth the price of admission, since Airboy stories are so hard to come by and are definitely worth the reading. Following this is a Blue Beetle story by Nicholas and Trapani, Bulletman by Bill Ward (which I think has been reprinted before, or else the plot here is recycled, since it is very familiar), an uncredited Ibis story and the issue ends with a Camilla story by Ralph Mayo. The credits are still a bit sparse and there is not editorial content, but this is the best issue of the three and I would urge you to seek it out, either locally or online at the AC Comics Store. The Airboy story is a gem!

DC COMICS RARITIES VOL. 1

   DC Comics Rarities Vol. 1. When I first read about the project, I can't really begin to describe how excited I was to hear it was coming out. After all, I had a reprint edition of the New York World's Fair 1939 and found it enjoyable and here was a chance to not only read it again in color, but also its 1940 sequel AND The Big All-American Comic Book(my take on the history of TBAACB can be found in "It Was Big, All American and A Comic Book"). Then, as I further scanned the blurb in Previews, I got to the price...$75. My elation factor fell by at least 75 points. I've been really examining what I spend on Archives and Masterworks of late and so an Archive at an even higher than normal ticket price put it well out of reach (and wallet). Fortunately, while tooling about town after Christmas, I found a copy in a closeout bin for 50% off and so, I can now bring you a review of this volume that I looked forward to with such anticipation. Unfortunately, as with many things, the anticipation was much better than the actual event.
    I found that New York World's Fair 1939 was just as good as I had remembered it and, in fact, even better in some ways now that I have a number of years (and hundreds of comic pages) to put it into perspective. I was not bothered in the least by the plugs for the Fair and actually found myself wishing that I could have seen some of the attractions that are described in the illustrated plugs for the Fair that appear throughout the book (nearly all done by Craig Flessel and Sheldon Moldoff). The stories themselves are nearly all first rate. Siegel and Shuster are the biggest draw of the book doing both Superman and Slam Bradley and, along the way, showing everyone else how comics should be done. There is a Sandman story by Bert Christman (who Roy Thomas mentions in the introduction was a casualty of WWII) and Zatarra by Fred Guardineer. Heck, there's even a Ginger Snap story by a young Bob Kane in his pre-Batman period. The other stories vary with Scoop Scanlon by Bill Ely and Chuck Warren by Tom Hickey probably scraping the bottom of the barrel (this is also a good time to mention that there are very few writing credits for these stories). An odd strip about Hanko the Cowhand drawn by Craig Flessel is fun to look at, but tiring to read, as is the Butch the Pup story by Fred Schwab, although it is a bit better. Overall, the stories in the 1939 edition shine and give a good overview of what made the Golden Age golden.
   By 1940, however, the sheen had worn off the Fair and, it seems, DC's interest in producing another Fair tie-in had also begun to dull. Sure, Siegel and Shuster are still on board with Superman (and an excellent story it is, particularly the art), but the other strips are a bit more hit or miss this time around. Red, White and Blue make an appearance by Harry Lampert and Hanko the Cowhand by Craig Flessel is back, but neither are memorable. Slam Bradley returns with art by Howard Sherman. Zatarra is back, this time by Joseph Sherman. Hour-Man by Bernard Baily, Sandman by Chad Grothkopf, Johnny thunder by Stan Aschmeier and Ginger Snap by Bob Kane are all here along with the new kids on the block, Batman and Robin by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, who close out the book. What is missing this time around is that the Fair is not central to the comic as it was in the 1939 edition. Sure the stories mention the Fair, but the short illustrated bits that were in the 1939 edition are missing this time around; like how many tons of concrete were used to make all the sidewalks, or how many cows had to be milked to make the giant butter sculpture of Grover Cleveland (okay, so I stretched it a bit on that one). These stories, the majority of which are good, could have appeared anywhere and the sense of excitement that seemed to permeate the 1939 edition just isn't here this time around.
   The third component of this Archives, The Big All-American Comic Book, is the weakest of the three comics and I would venture to say that in some ways, the Mutt and Jeff reprints by Bud Fisher and Al Smith are the high point of the comic. The entire effort seems rushed, as if it was decided as the last minute to crank out as many stories as possible to fill a set number of pages, rather than take some time to do the job right (more on that in a moment).
   There are some hight points: The Atom and Wilcat stories by Joe Gallagher, an early job by Paul Reinman on Green Lantern, Mr. Terrific by Stan Aschmeier, funny animals by Ronald Santi, The Flash by E. E. Hibbard and the first ever Hawkman story to be drawn by Joe Kubert. But, for each of these high points, there are also low points. The the art in the Johnny Thunder by Stan Aschmeier not only looks rushed, but is also mis-proportioned and quite amateurish. H. G. Peters, never a favorite of mine, turns in a terrible job on Wonder Woman that is bad art even for him. All of this leads me to again speculate that the entire production may have been a last minute idea. Even Sheldon Mayer's Scribbly seems to be having an off day.
   What is even more interesting, however, is that many of the stories don't read as well as other Golden Age stories of the same vintage. Since WWII was going at full steam during this period, we're all visually aware when this artist or that artist were called up for active service or decided to enlist. With the writers, however, there are very few credits recorded (the majority of the credits of this Archives are "Unknown") which might explain the problem with the stories. Just as in many cases lesser artists kept producing the comics during WWII, it is quite possible that lesser writers were handling the actual stories and that TBAACB may have been hit by a triple whammy: lesser artists, lesser writers and a shortage of decent editors to guide the entire project. Of course, we will never know whether this was the case, just as we will never know the origin of TBAACB, but it is fun to try to come up with explanations for less than sterling comics at this late date.
   So, I find that overall, DC Comics Rarities Vol. 1 is a really mixed bag, despite all the hype that it drew at its initial release. In terms of page count, sure, it's worth the SRP of $75, but in terms of actual content, I don't think it is worth that much. Even for a die-hard comic fan such as I, I think that half price was a bit much, but that is a decision you're going to have to make on your own.

BEST OF THE WEST #53-55

   The only regularly published western comic on the stands is still slapping leather. Here's another batch of Best of the West!
#53-A Fred Guardineer cover leads into a Durango Kid story by Joe Certa. Following this is a Rocky Lane story by Tom Cooke, a Kitty Carson by Bob Powell, The Haunted Horseman by Dick Ayers, Red Mask by Frank Bolle (how many of these stories did he draw?) and the issue closes with a Golden Arrow story by Ruben Moreira. The Powell and Ayers stories are the best of the lot, with the Certa and Cooke stories running a really close second (I think it is the cartoony look of Ayers and Powell that I prefer). Bolle is Bolle and the Moreira work is quite weak, especially in the figure drawing that just don't quite do the trick. No editorial content in this one and very sparse credits. Give it a 3 out of 5.
#54-A cover by Gil Kane (!) is followed by a Durango Kid story by Fred Guardineer, which is then follwed by The Haunted Horseman by Ayers, The Lazo Kid by Mort Meskin, Black Diamond by Al Luster, American Eagle by Ted Galindo and John Severin and another Rocky Lane adventure by Tom Cooke. Yikes, this issue is right up there at the top of the heap, with the only clunker being the adventure of the Lazo Kid. The art by Meskin is excellent, but the story is nearly unreadable, due to the attempts at writing thick Mexican accents for the lead characters. If there were editorial content, I'd give this one a 5 out of 5, but since I'm trying to stick to a rating scale, it only gets 4 out of 5.
#55-Strawman vs. Redmask is the cover to this issue, which leads into the Tim Holt story drawn by Frank Bolle. Interesting, and a better than usual art job by Bolle. This is followed by an Ayers Haunted Horseman story, which is not very well drawn and isn't a good story either. Rocky Lane is up next, by Tom Cooke, in an okay story. The gems of the issue, however, are the Tom Mix story by Carl Pfeuffer and John Jordan and The Durango Kid illustrated by Fred Guardineer. Both stories are not only well drawn, but also well written. The issue closes with an uncredited 2 pager featuring the Masked Rider. No editorial content once again and with only 2 stories to recommend, this one only gets a 2 out of 5.

MEN OF MYSTERY SPY SMASHER SPECIAL #1

   I've long been a fan of the output of AC Comics, so I must admit I am a bit taken aback by this latest offering. As far as I can tell, this particular special seems to have been thrown together to coincide with the release of the Spy Smasher serial on DVD (and the blurb on the front cover would seem to bear this out).
   The book contains a mere four stories: one by Charles Sultan from Spy Smasher #2, a uncredited Canadian Spy Smasher story (more on that in a moment), an Emil Gershwin from Whiz #27 and an uncredited story from Whiz #66. Of the four, the Sultan and Gershwin stories are good, with the Sultan story having a bit more mood and that certain "pulpy" feel that many Golden Age stories have. The Canadian story is an oddity, in that it is one of the few examples of the Canadian Spy Smasher I have ever seen. The art is quite simplistic and in a style similar to C.C. Back, but there are many problems with anatomy that make this very un-Beck. As a story it is okay and quite a long way ahead of the closing story, which dates from the time when Fawcett had no idea what to do with Spy Smasher once the WWII was over. It is a rather poor attempt at slapstick and the less said about it, the better.
   There is also a rather poor article about Spy Smasher (it is missing a number of sentences at the beginning) that spends way too much time outlining each chapter of the serial. This again leads me to think that this issue was just created to plug the DVD and not really put out for those with an interest in the comic character. Black does make a small reference in the article to the fact that he had anticipated running another article in this issue, which may account for a poor article from someone (Black) whose work I usually admire.
   Overall, I would avoid this issue unless you are an absolute completist. The higher than normal cover price (SRP $7.95) for what really amounts to 2 good stories, a passable 3^rd and a forgettable 4^th could well be spent elsewhere.

SHOWCASE PRESENT SUPERMAN VOL.1

   I picked up a copy of Showcase Present Superman Vol.1 as soon as it hit the stands and my first surprise upon leafing through it was that I had read many of these stories before. What makes this a bit of a revelation is that the volume covers all of the Superman stories from Action Comics and Superman that were printed between June 1958 and November of 1959: quite awhile before I was reading the Superman titles on a regular basis. I guess that being a long time fan of comic reprints might just have a few drawbacks. Either that, or DC must have been in some really dire straits in the mid-60s (when I started reading their titles) and was depending a great deal on reprints to keep their costs down.
   In any event, this is a very good collection of Superman and features over 500 pages of Weisinger era stories. Weisinger was the editor of the Superman family of titles, beginning in the late 40s, when Siegel and Shuster were ousted from DC, until his retirement in 1970. This means, of course, that Weisinger controlled (and from what I've heard, controlled is not a strong enough word) the Superman franchise from the Golden Age through the Silver. Throughout this period, Weisinger had one major editorial dictum: that something new got added to the Superman mythos every month and, as a result, Superman and his supporting characters, got saddled with an awful lot of baggage during Weisinger's tenure. There are an awful lot of silly stories that were produced during this period. On the flip side, however, I don't think there has been a more creative period in Superman's history, then the time that Weisinger was at the helm.
   The volume at hand is a prime example of what I'm talking about. It has its share of silly stories (Superman as an old man, Superman with a lion's head, Superman as a cop, etc), but there are also a tremendous number of additions to the mythos that occur in this very short span of time (not even 18 months). The first appearance of the Artic Fortress of Solitude is here, as are the first Braniac story, the bottle city of Kandor, Metallo, Bizarro, Supergirl, Lori Lemaris and what I consider to be the template for the future "Imaginary Stories" that were to populate Superman tiles in the 60s and later influence the DC Elseworlds series. Of added interest, is that even the silly stories presented here have a bit more of a serious tone than the outlandish Weisinger stories of the 60s: mainly because they are Kryptonite free and the innumerable hues of Krypton that would plague Superman in later years hadn't been conceived yet.
   From an art standpoint, the volume is rather a mixed bag. Wayne Boring, Stan Kaye, Al Plastino, Kurt Schaffenberger and Curt Swan are all represented here and, except for Schaffenberger and Swan (who does all the covers) they all seem to have good and bad days. Boring is at his best when inked by Kaye and the pair, at times, create a very finely detailed work that is almost more illustrative than comics. As mentioned above, the stories (as stories) run the gamut with the good stories outweighing the bad and many of the good stories stand up quite well nearly 50 years later and don't seem dated at all. Of particular interest is the last two stories in the book, as they were written by Jerry Siegel. After being ousted in the 40s, Siegel was allowed back at DC as an uncredited scripter in the 50s and 60s. The two stories here have a different tone than the stories that precede them and are better written (as proof, just compare "The Super-Sergeant" by Otto Binder with the Siegel scripted "Superman Joins the Army" to see what I mean).
   As of this writing, the second volume of this title has been solicited and I will stand in line to get it as well. There is something universal about Superman and with the excellent reproduction DC is using on this series, coupled with the low price (Vol. 1 had an SRP of $9.99 - later volumes are more), I can't think of any other item at the moment that you should put on your bookshelf (even if they are in B & W).