The Comics Rack

SHOWCASE PRESENTS SUPERMAN VOL. 2

Ah, the Weisinger era. Never in the history of comics has there been such a run of good, bad and just plain stupid stories all produced in the interest of keeping the reader coming back. There's Titano, the Super Ape, the Bizarros, Hercules, Al Capone, Mental Man and more Kryptonians than Heinz has varieties. Yet, I keep on coming back for more. Why? Well, read on...

Showcase Presents Superman Vol. 2 reprints the Superman stories from Action Comics #258-275 and Superman #134-145 all from the early Silver Age and all edited by Mort Weisinger (for more on Weisinger, see the review of Showcase Presents Superman Vol. 1). For a younger comic reader, these stories may come as quite a shock. After all, Lois spends a great deal of time pining for Superman, Jimmy Olsen sports his famous bow tie and Superman is often portrayed as a victim of circumstance rather than the character of today who is more in control of each and every situation. For the older readers, however, this volume, and its predecesor, are a trip into the days of our youth, when summers were long and Superman could do no wrong.

It has been especialy interesting to read these stories with the addition of credits, something we never got to do in the original comics. Curt Swan was always the "good artist" and Wayne Boring the "weird" artist in the old days and it is good to see actual credits. It is also interesting to compare the work of Al Plastino and Kurt Schaffenberger (both in this volume) with Swan and Boring. Plastino's Superman seems stiff and bloated, while Schaffenberger's is finely detailed and nearly too realistic. Overall, Swan and Boring (particularly Boring's work on the science fictional tales and the Bizarros) contribute the best work here, including the Swan work on all the covers.

Of greatest interest is the work of Jerry Siegel. Siegel returned to DC in the late 50s and was allowed to work anonymously on Superman and quite a few other strips. Of the stories presented in this volume, the best are by Siegel, since they have some depth and emotion: something that tends to be missing on many of the other stories. Siegel also attempts to endow his creation with some personality and I'm finding (love those credits) that one of the signs of a Siegel story are the little bits of characterization that he adds to his work (Superman singing while riding on a missle, as an example). One has only to read "Superman's Return to Krypton" or "Superman's Mermaid Sweetheart" or any of the other Siegel stories to see that Siegel could not only write comics, but still had a vision for Superman and his cast of characters. In comparison, many of the other stories are just exercises in silliness.

There are lots of changes here, in the typical Weisinger style. Kryptonite starts to play a larger role in the stories, as it seems many of the writers were running out of ways to menace Superman. Aliens and time travel crop up more often and become established as a part of the world that Superman inhabits. The Bizarros are expanded upon and we find out that Superman is the reason the Bizarro World is square and the reason that Blue Kryptonite exists. In fact, about the only thing that doesn't change is Lois and her belief that she and Superman belong together, regardless of how many other suitors she spurns.

There is one major change in Action #274 that is worth noting on its own. I've never been able to find out how tightly Weisinger handled the continuity of the Superman family, nor how many ideas just appeared in scripts without prior editorial planning. In the Jerry Siegel scripted "The Reversed Super-Powers", there is the first mention of Telescopic vision in a Superman story. Prior to this, Superman (and for that matter Superboy) had managed to get along with only X-Ray vision and "super-vision" (although there is a mention of Microscopic vision in Action #259, again by Siegel, but is not mentioned again in this volume.). As established in this story, however, Superman has the power to see long distances and the heating property of his X-Ray vision is replaced with Infra-Red vision. Whether Siegel tossed these ideas in on his own, they were the result of editorial decision, or were conceived by another author will (probably) never be known. It does deserve a mention, because one could make a case for this being the beginning of the constant increase of Superman's powers. After all, by the time of Weisinger's retirement, Superman was practically invincible and had so many extraneous facets to his powers that he was far removed for the Siegel and Shuster conception of a "super human."

Maybe I'm a sucker for the past, but this is yet another tome to add to your overcrowded bookshelf. Although the stories are a bit sillier than the previous volume, there is still enough substance in this volume, particularly in the Siegel stories, to give you lots of enjoyment, whether you are reading them again or encountering them for the first time.

Showcase Presents Superman Vol. 2 is available at all the usual locations and has an SRP of $16.99.

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF SCROOGE MCDUCK COMPANION

Many years ago, Don Rosa had a goal as a writer/artist: to have a chance to draw Duck stories in the style (and as an homage) to the work of Carl Barks. Eventually, when Another Rainbow got the license to produce comics based on the Disney characters, Rosa was able to realize his dream and began to produce stories that made him the heir to the Barks' legacy. Rosa sold the family business (I believe it was involved in construction) and began to make a living by combining the page rate for his stories with sales of his original art. Disney, however, had problems with the sale of the original art and Rosa was forced to leave Another Rainbow and find work writing and illustrating Duck stories for the Disney publishers in Europe. Today, he is considered one of the most popular Duck artists in Europe, yet much of his output has not been seen in the US due to licensing problems with Disney. Fortunately, Gemstone, the current Disney licensee in the US, is making a stab at remedying this situation and has begun to present Rosa to audiences in the US.

The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck Companion, is the current release from Gemstone and collects seven Rosa stories and a fragment into a 208 page trade paperback. As the title states, this is a companion volume to Gemstone's recent release of Rosa's 12 part masterwork The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck: a tale that tells the story of Scrooge's early life based on hints and references in the Barks' Scrooge stories. Rosa found, however, that there were still some stories he wanted to tell upon the completion of the 12 part series and the Companion contains these "in-between" stories that further flesh out the longer narrative of Scrooge's life.

Even without the connection to the longer work, the stories in this volume are all great fun. The book starts with Scrooge earning his first dime (Old Number One) and then continues with the explosion of Krakatoa, a tale set in the Old West, a couple of stories set in the Yukon, an adventure at the Panama Canal and the volume closes with a tale that involves not only Scrooge and Donald, but the Beagle Boys, Gyro Gearloose, the Nephews and time travel (!) and is a fitting close to the volume. In-between, are covers, alternate panels and copious notes by Rosa on the creation of each story and how it fits into the larger tapestry of Scrooge's life and times.

The key to Rosa's sucess with the Ducks is in his following the path originally laid out by Barks in his longer Duck stories. Unlike the cartoons and newspaper comics, the Ducks, under Barks, were never just single gag characters. Scrooge was a self-made tycoon, who was still capable of taking off on an adventure at the drop of a hat. Donald also had an adventurous streak, but did not have his uncle's common sense. The Nephews are on a par with Scrooge, but are too young to lead. These strong characterizations were then placed into adventurous tales that were infused with humor that often bordered on slapstick. A strange mix, but one that set a very high standard and it is to Barks' credit that he was able to carry the characterizations over into the shorter comic stories and single page gags with never a question as to anyone acting out of character.

Rosa has taken this model created by Barks and added to it with a genius all his own. Scrooge is an adventurer and as tough a duck as anyone could want under Rosa. Donald and the Nephews are all distinct personalities within the Rosa stories and the large supporting cast that Barks created for the Ducks are further fleshed out. Major disasters, such as the explosion of Krakatoa or a cattle stampede, not only look comic, since Rosa's art style is more cartoony than Barks, but have humorous repercussions that are part of the storyline. The interactions of the characters are excellently done and probably the biggest addition Rosa has made to the Duck mythos is to expand on the relationship between Scrooge and Goldie, the lost love of his life: a romance that has some significance for Rosa and a thread that makes itself known in the poignant, final story of the volume.

All in all, I can't say enough about this book and recommend it highly, whether you are a Barks fan, a Rosa fan or a Duck neophyte. You couldn't invest in a better collection and this book will make a fine addition to your sagging bookshelf.

The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck Companion is a thick trade paperback with an SRP of $16.99 and is in full color, to boot!

For more on Don Rosa, see The Don Rosa Archives and Walt Disney's Donald and Scrooge.

BEST OF THE WEST #56-59

#56 - The Haunted Horseman by Dick Ayers, Red Mask by Frank Bolle, The Durango Kid by (a sketchy) Fred Guardineer, Black Diamond by unknown, Rocky Lane by Tom Cooke, Rod Cameron by Clem Weisbecker and a half-pager of Pistol Packing Pattie by Frank Bolle make up this issue. The Ayers and Bolle jobs are just what one would expect and, as mentioned above, the Guardineer piece is a bit sketchier than usual. The Cooke story is passable and the Black Diamond story by unknown shows some Kurtzmann influence. Clem Weisbecker worked for Fawcett and MLJ/Archie, but outside of that, I've got no information. He may have been a painter who did comics on the side. The issue does contain one nifty bit in a full page illustrated letter from Tex Ritter to his fans, but, without any editorial content to put the letter in perspective, it loses something. No other editorial material in the issue and I'd have to rate the entire comic as just average.

#57 - A nifty Bob Lubbers cover of Firehair leads off this strong issue. The Durango Kid by Fred Guardineer is the first story with the return of the thick, luscious line work that one would expect from Guardineer. Next is The Haunted Horseman by Dick Ayers, again with a strong art job. This is followed by Latigo Kid by Joe Maneely: a welcome change of pace since Maneely's art has been virtually ignored by most reprint editions in recent years. His fine line work and ability to set figures in motion need to be seen by more. Next up is Firehair as rendered by Lee Elias. Elias has never been one of my favorites, but the drawing and storytelling are clear. Red Mask by Bolle follows in the usual Bolle style and the issue closes out with another nice change of pace with a humorous Jolly Jim Dandy story by Dick Ayers done in a great comic style, proving once again that Ayers was a versatile artist who could do humor, as well as serious storytelling. If you're curious about AC's western book, this is an excellent issue (lack of editorial content non-withstanding) and well worth seeking out.

#58 - Joe Certa and John Belfi open this issue with a nifty Durango Kid story and are followed by a rather dull Red Mask story by Frank Bolle. The Haunted Horseman by Dick Ayers is next, followed by another Latigo Kid story by Joe Maneely (YEAH!). Next, is a Lash Larue story that is uncredited, but looks like it might have been by Fred Guardineer and then the gem of the issue: a Kitty Carson story drawn by Bob Powell (yet another artist who's work is not seen often enough). Last is a Rocky Mastroserio two pager about Buffalo Bill Cody. No editorial content, and sketchy reprint information make this an "okay. but not great" issue, although the chance to pick up Powell, Ayers and Maneely in one comic make it a bit better than the norm.

#59 - A Monte Hale tribute issue with two stories: one by Gil Kane from 1948 and the other by Ed (I really don't think he is) Good. These are followed by The Haunted Horseman by Dick Ayers (nice), Red Mask by Frank Bolle (rather sketchy), The Durango Kid by Fred Guardineer (really nice art) and another Kitty Carson story by Bob Powell. There is also a guest editorial that reprints a tribute letter written by a fan in 2006 to Monte Hale. If you are a Monte Hale fan, this one is for you. As a standard issue of the title it is better than average, but still needs more editorial content and reprint credits for it to be outstanding.

THE COMPLETE CHESTER GOULD'S DICK TRACY VOL. 1

Apparently, we have entered a new era of newspaper strip reprints. Sure, we've all seen the Far Side and Calvin and Hobbes slipcase editions (and the millions of Garfield books at garage sales), but I'm talking about the older strips from the early part of the 1900s, when the continuity strip held sway over the gag-a-day and it was expected that adults were going to read the comic page. There is probably more classic newspaper strip material in print today (or promised within the next year) than there was in the last great revival in the mid to late 70s. And what makes these volumes of better quality than their predecessors is that they offer complete runs of many strips that have never been printed in their entirety before.

IDW publishing has thrown their hats into the strip reprinting ring with the recent release of The Complete Chester Gould's Dick Tracy Vol. 1 and it is quite an impressive volume. The book reprints the five tryout strips that Gould created to sell the idea, under the title of "Plain Clothes Tracy", and then jumps right into the thick of things with the dailies and continuity Sundays from 10/12/31 to 5/20/31 printed in their entirety. As an added bonus, however, there is a final section to the book which reprints the non-continuity Sunday pages in color which ran from 10/4/31 to 5/22/31: a sequence I don't believe has ever seen print since their original appearance! There is also an informative introduction by Max Allan Collins and the first part of a long interview with Gould that was done in 1980.

The Tracy strip has long been one of my favorites and reading this newest reprinting has only strengthened my belief that this is one of the greatest comic strips of all time. As with many early comic strips (or comic books for that matter) things just sort of happen without a lot of logic and Tracy becomes a detective simply because his girlfriend's father is killed in a robbery. He approaches the police wanting to help and is soon made a detective. From there, the stories simply explode with action as Tracy moves from one case to another, solving each crime with a hefty dose of fisticuffs and gunfire. Within the sequences here, we also have the long storyline that introduces Junior to the Tracy cast, Tracy becomes engaged to Tess Trueheart (his girlfriend from the start), gets demoted, fights a bear with a target pistol, thwarts a kidnapping on an ocean liner and nearly dies from a bullet wound. Gould's sense of what makes an entertaining story is nearly always correct and his plotting of the strip, as one storyline dovetails into another and subplots reach their smaller conclusions, is something modern storytellers should study and emulate. These early stories also have the beginnings of the Tracy Rogue's Gallery: the odd criminals who are memorable due to their many quirks and had a major influence on Bob Kane when he began to work on Batman.

Like many early creators, Gould learned his craft while he was working. The early art is a bit crude, although it improves rapidly. Gould also has some trouble with Sunday strips once they become part of the regular continuity. While the early Sundays are most like Ed Whelan's Minute Mysteries in content (a crime starts the strip and is solved by the end with some sequences covering 2 weeks), the later, continuity Sundays seem to cause Gould some grief as they don't quite fit into what happens on either side of them. Editorial dictates of the newspaper strips demanded that the Sunday sequence had to sum up the previous week and prepare for the following week for those folks who only bought a Sunday paper. Gould often changes some of the story, or embellishes it, causing a bit of confusion when read in this collected fashion, but which probably went unnoticed when it was originally published. Fortunately, as time went on, Gould seems to straighten out this problem, although I don't think his Sundays ever worked quite as well as Caniff's.

The physical dimensions of the book brings up a few quibbles. The format is 9.5" wide by 71/4" high, which is ideal for the printing of 2 daily strips per page at what is very close to their actual printed size. It is not, however, very comfortable for reading, since the book does sit open well on one's lap, nor can it be read lying down (I finally found that opening it on the arm of the couch was best). This size also causes the Sunday strips to be printed at nearly a quarter of their original size and I found the lettering a bit hard to read, although the reproduction is excellent. I sort of wish that IDW had chosen to follow the method that NBM used years ago with their Terry and the Pirates volumes and had split the Sundays over two pages. It would have meant fewer strips per volume (there are nearly 500 here), but would have improved readability a bit.

These quibbles aside, this is one of the best books I've bought in the last year and it belongs on your sagging bookshelf. The next volume will be reprinting material that has only been reprinted in the old Dell Feature Book series and that was edited, so I think we will be in for a treat!

The Complete Chester Gould's Dick Tracy Vol. 1 has an SRP of $29.99 and can be found at your local comic shop or the usual outlets.

AMERICA'S GREATEST COMICS #11-13

I have long held the opinion the AC's America's Greatest Comics is one of the few comics that lives up to its name. Editor Bill Black has, apparently, reserved this title for the best material that he has found in his endless supply of public domain material. Each issue not only features top-notch comics, but the stories feature extremely clean reproduction that is a joy to behold.

#11 - The cover proclaims this issue to be a "Spotlight on Steve Ditko", but also contains a Kirby/Simon story, a Buster Crabbe adventure by Alex Toth (with John Celardo) and a Kirby and Ditko collaboration from (I think) Foxhole in the 50s. The rest of the magazine is all Ditko and appears to be from the many different periods of Ditko's career (mostly Charlton), but, since only the first story has reprint credits, it's kind of hard to tell. There is a nice introduction to the comic by editor Black and the opening story that follows, from This Magazine is Haunted (1954), makes an excellent set-up for the stories to follow. Ditko was one of the true geniuses of comic art and this is a great collection of his non-superhero work, well worth tracking down.

#12 - Sub-titled "King Kirby in the 1950s!", this issue is a combination of stories, articles, reproduced pages and covers that form an overview of Jack Kirby's work in the 50s. The articles not only put all the material into chronological perspective, they also focus on the types of comics Jack did during these years, particularly the westerns for Atlas and the sci-fi/horror stories he did for DC: material that has never been adequately documented before. Within the articles, Black also reproduces selected splash pages, ad art and covers that only made me want more. The stories reprinted are a Davey Crockett tale (never before reprinted), a story of the 3 Rocketeers, a short war story and two stories from Black Magic. There are also a couple more covers and two examples of Kirby's newspaper strip art that, like the majority of the material in this collection, I've never seen before. The only minor quibble is that the second page of the second Black Magic story is also inserted in place of page 2 of first story; making for an odd read. That slight flaw aside, this is an outstanding issue and one that is well worth your time to locate.

#13 - Another excellent issue, this one begins with a Joe Kubert story of Kenton of the Star Patrol from 1950. This is followed by a Mort Meskin story, a solo Woozy Winks story by Jack Cole, a racing story by Bernie Krigstein, a Bob Powell tale from Race for the Moon #1, a beautifully rendered Ditko science fiction story and closes with a Kirby story from Alarming Tales #1. Along the way, there are also a number of covers reproduced, including the Howard Nostrand cover for Adventures in 3-D #1 that simply leaps out at the reader. Although this issue leaves a lot to be desired in both the editorial and credit departments, it more than makes up for these lapses in the variety and quality of the stories. The art throughout is of a uniform high quality and it is gratifying to be able to find Kirby and Ditko alongside Powell and Krigstein in the same book. Well worth the time and trouble to find a copy.

MEN OF MYSTERY #60-62

#60 - Another issue devoted to the characters from Quality Comics, but there is a tremendous lack of credits this time. Of the six stories presented here, only the opening story and the two Lady Luck stories are credited. The opener, a Doll Man story by John Spranger, is excellent. Captain Triumph and Manhunter are passable, but the uncredited T-Man story is well done and a good read. The two Lady Luck stories feature the art of Klaus Nordling and look good in a kind of "big-foot Jack Cole sort of style." Overall, an okay issue with the chance to get some more of Nordling's Lady Luck making it one you should search out.

#61 - A good, solid collection of stories from various publishers this time around. The issue opens with a Doll Man story by Al Bryant, followed by an Ibis the Invincible tale by Kurt Schaffenberger; both of which are excellent. Next up is a Mysterious Traveller by Steve Ditko, Strong Man by Bob Powell, an uncredited (mercifully) Commando Yank story and the issue closes with a Major Midnight story again, uncredited, but done in a generic Fawcett house style. The first four stories in this issue alone make it worth searching for and even the Major Midnight story is worth a squint (Major Midnight was Captain Midnight with a new name, but I can't find any information about why the change was made).

#62 - This issue opens with another Doll Man story (do we see a trend here?) drawn this time by John Spranger. This is followed by a Bob Powell Avenger story (excellent), an anonymous Ibis the Invicible story (badly drawn and blessedly anonymous), an Australian Manhunter story and another adventure of T-Man (no art credit, but this is rapidly becoming one of my favorite strips). Extra features this time out are a single page "Mandrake's Magic Page" feature (quite enjoyable) and a two page "U Solve It" feature narrated by The Green Hornet and drawn by Al Avison. Lack of credits and editorial content mar the issue, but, except for the Ibis story, this one is worth a squint.