By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 1/14/2016
Recently I posted a news item about the new Badger book from Devil’s Due having low orders. Writer/creator Mike Baron reached out to me about it, and I presume he reached out to some other folks who remember the Badger from his 80s run. Part of the Capitol Comics/First Comics indie era, The Badger was […]
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 8/26/2015
Ever wondered what the exact Pantone shade of Batman’s cowl is (circa 1980)? How about Superman’s skin? Or perhaps what parts, exactly, are visible in Wonder Woman’s invisible jet? Well look no further, because legendary DC artist Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez has you covered. He posted the 1982 DC Comics Style Guide on his Facebook page today. The Style […]
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 4/8/2015
This exhibit of works from Craig Yoe’s original art collection has already garnered stellar accolades – tonight you can see why. And that’s not all …
I had the good fortune of seeing an early preview of Is That Art? at the Society of Illustrators a few weeks ago, and it’s a must-see for anyone who wants to connect with the magic and the power of creative design. The exhibit covers much of the first century of comics & cartoon art, and the work is displayed in ways that highlight deep connections and spark new ideas. A original Spark Plug parallel to a Peanuts strip where Snoopy is dismissed as a dog; a landmark portrait of Superman for Siegel-and-Shuster’s syndicate chief near a reflection on a woman’s dual identity by Fay King; the first Pogo newspaper strip; the original Fin-Fang-Foom-awakes page, signed by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Dick Ayers ….
I could go on, but I’ll leave you to discover all the wonders for yourself. The exhibit’s official opening is tonight from 5pm – 10pm at the Society of Illustrators, 128 E. 63rd St. in New York City. If you can’t make it this evening (or at all, alas), you can find some consolation in the extensive Yoe! Books library, which includes lavish and faithful restorations of material ranging from kitsch to classics. One place to start: the latest Yoe! Books/IDW publication, Milt Gross’ New York, which has been receiving impressive reviews.
If you can make it to the Society of Illustrators, don’t miss its other must-see exhibits. The original art from Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream is up through tomorrow (April 9), and seeing it at full size reminded me of seeing the original art for Robert Crumb’s Book of Genesis at the Hammer Museum – a revelation. As for the exhibit on Alt-Weekly Comics curated by Warren Bernard and Bill Kartalopoulos, well, that too deserves a book of its own – this exhibit is important not just for chronicling an influential, if under-appreciated genre within North American comics, but for helping us understand the world today.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 3/9/2015
Makes sense, right? Ebay user hugelyimpressive is auctioning off some rare Golden Age comics he came across is order to fund his wife’s boob job. Although enough has been raised for a modest enhancement, they are seeking DD size additions so keep bidding. The post includes a FAQ:
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is this for real? A: Yes. She honestly has asked me to fund implants. I didn’t put up too much of a fight to be honest :)Q: Can I see your wife’s current boobs? A: She’s a bit shy about this and so far has refused permission, but I will do my best to talk her round.
Q: How much is the operation costing? A: Around $7.5K. I did try to encourage medical arbitrage, sending her to Brazil, but she’s nervous, so it has to be Montreal.
Q: Will you send me a pic of the results? A: ALL WINNING BIDDERS WILL GET A CANDID PHOTO OF THE OUTCOME — this is optional…
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 6/6/2014
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 6/5/2014
A Kentucky man who hoped to sell his comics collection in order to help send his grandkids to college will probably be able to afford a semester or two. The collection, which included an Action #1, Detective #27 and Marvel Comics #1, sold for $1.5 million.
A comic from 1940 with the first appearance of Flash claimed the top individual price of $182,000. First issues of Superman and Batman from the same era sold for $172,000 and $137,000 in the offerings that ended Tuesday. His issue of the first-ever comic from Marvel sold for $95,000.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 4/1/2013
It started with this press release:
Coast City Comics is proud to announce the display of some rare comic books from the Golden Age, recently unearthed in Portland, Maine and estimated to be worth over $10,000 in value. The showing will be for one day only, this coming Monday, on the first of the month.
There are a variety of titles from publisher Zeus Comics, dated from the late 1940s to the mid-50s. They were found in a wall during renovation of a house in Portland’s West End by comic creator Mort Todd. The comics, considered very controversial and risqué in the 1950s, include such titles as WEIRD MENACE, RED NIGHTMARES, FORBIDDEN FANTASY, SPIKE JONES and THE BLACK LEATHER KID, among others.
These comics were the target of psychologists, politicians and concerned parents during the 50s, when comic-book burnings were regularly sponsored by towns and churches. Not many of these comics are in existence today, so even beat-up copies are valuable.These valuable publications will be on display for one day only, this Monday, from 11AM to 6PM at Coast City Comics, 634 Congress Street in Portland, Maine.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 3/22/2013
Holy licensing deal, Batman!
It seems that the campy, kitschy 1966 version of Batman—which was long verboten to be mentioned at DC and WB in general due to its campy, kitschy nature. But as many noted, a line of toys based on the show was introduced at Toy Fair, and now we see that a whole line of merchandise, including a digital-first comic, is coming.
The comic will be by Jeff Parker and Jonathan Case, with a cover by Mike Allred.
Comic book fans also got a special treat when DC Entertainment unveiled art for its all-new digital comic book series BATMAN ’66, launching in summer 2013. Inspired by the classic TV series, the digital comic book features many fan-favorite characters like Catwoman, The Riddler, The Joker and, of course, the dynamic duo of Batman and Robin. Written by Jeff Parker, the series will feature cover art by Michael Allred and the first issue will be drawn by Eisner Award winner Jonathan Case. BATMAN ’66 will also be collected and available for sale in monthly print issues.
“The juxtaposition of offering a retro BATMAN ’66 comic as a current and modern digital first title is fun,” stated DC Entertainment President, Diane Nelson. ”DC Entertainment is the most prolific producer of digital first comics and, as we work to create new and compelling content, this is a great way to also preserve the legacy of our characters. It’s exciting to roll out the new BATMAN ’66 comic as part of this bigger initiative with our Warner Bros Consumer Product partners.”
The jokey, ludicrous approach to Batman on display in the show has long been thought of a the single greatest setback to serious superheroes for a long time. But now, apparently after 30 years of grim and gritty, it can be appreciated as an outlier.
Sadly, the DCD collection of the show remains in rights hell, due to the need to get approval from the heavy hitting lineup of guest stars, and myriad other rights issues between WB, which owns the characters, and Fox, which owns the series. Maybe this is the first step in paving a way to what would be a goldmine for all involved?
Via DCWKA and Twitter.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 3/4/2013
Wanna read some trippy excerpts from a 1979 comic based on the writing of drug guru Timothy Leary. The art is by Pete von Sholly and Tim Kummero, while the script was by Von Sholly and George Dicaprio, father of you-know-who. The older Dicaprio was quite active in the underground comics scene before spending more time managing his son’s career.
You can actually read the whole comic, which was published by Last Gasp, in Flickr form here.
Via io9
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 1/20/2013
Tweet Before “meta” was physical, before Modernism became Posted, before Art Popped, cartoonists drew stories about cartoonists and cartooning! Some of it was autobiographical (or possibly semi-auto… I doubt Milt Gross almost became Batman!), some of it was pure fantasy. (The pygmalian dream of a drawing come to life is represented twice in this volume, [...]
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 12/18/2012
After the internet reacted to a Facebook post by DC co-publisher Dan DiDio on DC relinquishing rights to a variety of pulp heroes, it was assumed that this might apply to the handsome series of hardcover Spirit Archives that DC published over the last decade or so. However why guess when you could talk to Denis Kitchen, the agent for the Will Eisner estate? According to Kitchen, DC retains the rights to the Archives for “the foreseeable future. There is a contractual formula I can’t divulge under which the rights would revert. When that might apply is impossible to predict at the moment.” However, DC no longer has the rights to create new Spirit stories.
As we noted yesterday, most of the Spirit Archives are out of print. When asked if there is a chance the books could be reprinted elsewhere, Kitchen teased “I would say watch for a press release in the not too distant future which might provide a clue.”
The Spirit is an enduring character with a wide comics legacy…so expect to see Denny Colt back before too long.
Also, DiDio’s FB status has apparently been deleted.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 12/17/2012
It seems that DC has stopped its program of licensing old pulp heroes, based on a post on Dan DiDio’s Facebook page, as reported by Graeme McMillan:
On his Facebook page, Dan Didio was asked “Are the Spirit, Doc Savage and the Avenger still at DC? Will we see them again?” only to respond with, “Sorry to say but none of these characters are still at DC but here’s hoping that another publisher gets them back in print soon.”
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 8/8/2012
Mitch O’Connell is known as a wonderful artist in a vintage/pin-up style. He also has a huge collection of old comics. And at a perhaps unthinkable cost to himself, he’s used that collection to give us one of the great treasures of our age: Sex in Comic! The top 100 strangest, suggestive and steamy vintage comic book panels of all time!
Here are three excerpts but the whole thing has us gasping for air.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 5/24/2012
Dara Naraghi has been running a features on his blog called Indie Cover Spotlight where he goes through his longboxes and pulls out the amazing, unlikely, and just plain forgotten indie comics of yore, say, like this cover of something called STAR RANGERS by Dave Dorman, a loving tribute to Fredric Wertham.
Or Chakan the Forever Man, who is actually quite Unforever, despite being turned into a video game:
The story behind Chakan is that he was such an accomplished swordsman that he challenged Death itself to a duel. If he won, he would be granted eternal life. Sure enough, he won, but ended up with one of those Faustian deals. He was granted eternal life, but in return he was compelled to hunt down and eliminate all evil from the world. Only then would he know peace.
But wait, there’s more to this story. Don’t ask me how, but somehow this little black and white indie comic was picked up by Sega and turned into a video game for the Sega Genesis!
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 5/23/2012
Frank Frazetta’s prodigious and varied output is given even more breadth by a new collection from IDW of the artist’s humor work. The contents of Frazetta – Funny Stuff date from the late 1940s, when he was still just a kid, really, and still a long way from the cavemen, exotic temptresses, movie posters, and cover paintings that would come to define his work. Yet, as Frazetta told The Comics Journal in 1994, “The funny stuff is the real me.”
In his early 20s, Frazetta produced stories for publications like Barnyard Comics and Thrilling Comics that mostly featured hapless ducks and lazy hicks. Frazetta’s work here is playful and cartoonish. The animal stories suggest the influence of contemporaneous animation work, whereas some of the Thrilling Comics stories show Frazetta paying tribute to one of his own heroes, Hal Foster. For the latter title, Frazetta drew a serial called “Looie Lazybones,” a relatively short-lived Li’l Abner knockoff; several years later Frazetta was ghosting Li’l Abner itself for Al Capp, a job that lasted nine years.
The middle chunk of Funny Stuff reproduces numerous illustrations Frazetta did for children’s books during the same period, mostly title page drawings.
Craig Yoe’s IDW imprint put the book out, and Yoe provides an illuminating introductory essay that draws from an encyclopedic assortment of interviews with Frazetta and his contemporaries. Ralph Bakshi, who collaborated with Frazetta on the animated sword-and-sorcery film Fire and Ice, provides a foreword that fondly remembers his friend.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 5/16/2012
From the gory, lurid world of pre-code comics….Dark Horse is putting together some kick-ass collections — in fact you’l soon be able to read the insides of all those comics that we post whenever we’re sick or late or whatever. Adventure into the Unknown indeed.
With a jaw-dropping selection of well-known titles, accurate color restoration, uncoated off-white paper, and an impressive roster of foreword writers, Dark Horse Archives is hitting another peak season this year with a lineup of pre-Code collections.
This heavy-hitting year will see more volumes in the Crime Does Not Pay Archives series, with engaging forewords from Greg Rucka and Howard Chaykin. Adventures into the Unknown Archives will feature a series of essays by Bruce Jones, focusing on the long-running horror anthology and the climate that led to the Comics Code Authority.
Historian Dan Nadel will provide enlightening introductions for Forbidden Worlds Archives—a true “grab bag” anthology where anything strange, fantastic, or horrific can happen—and writer/artist/historian Michael T. Gilbert will write a series of information-packed foreword pieces for Silver Streak Archives Featuring the Original Daredevil.
“The comics found in these collections are incredibly hard to find, expensive, and full of freewheeling, pre-Code fun (and sometimes viscera). It’s a joy to be able to handle these comics and work on these collections—but a bigger joy comes from being able to bring these stories to new readers and to finally assign credits to some creators who have been uncredited for decades!” said Dark Horse editor Philip Simon.
The comics in these anthologies are seen as revered and influential—but they’ve been impossible to find. Now Dark Horse is making these gems available in affordable collections for discussion, dissection, and inspiration!
Adventures into the Unknown Archives Volume 1 is on sale May 30, 2012.
Silver Streak Archives Featuring the Original Daredevil Volume 1 is on sale June 27, 2012.
Crime Does Not Pay Archives Volume 2 is on sale July 11, 2012.
Forbidden Worlds Archives Volume 1 is on sale December 12, 2012.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 3/27/2012
The Simon & Kirby Library – Crime.jpg
How dangerous or offensive were pre-code crime comics – really? Most of us probably agree that the anti-comics hysteria of the early 1950s was ludicrously overblown, and can probably also think of a few current issues that are similarly hyper-inflated by reactionary gasbags. Dr. Fredric Wertham’s claims (enshrined in his ridiculously titled pseudoscientific 1954 screed Seduction of the Innocent) about the ill effects of comic books on easily-corruptible young minds probably said more about Wertham’s Germanic way of seeing the rest of humanity than they did about observable reality. But how do these Golden Age crime comics look to contemporary readers? A couple of new releases collect some of the best pre-code crime comics and prove that they still pack a wallop, both in terms of their swift, punchy visual storytelling, and in their ability to deliver real shocks.
![Simon and Kirby Do H.H. Holmes Reprints in Review: The Lurid World of Pre Code Crime [Column]](http://www.comicsbeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Simon-and-Kirby-Do-H.H.-Holmes.jpg "Reprints in Review: The Lurid World of Pre Code Crime [Column]")
The Simon and Kirby Library, launched last year by Titan Books, includes a volume simply titled Crime that collects outstanding genre work by the legendary duo Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. The selections here are mostly from 1947-1948, when the two freelanced for Hillman Periodicals (publisher of Real Clue Crime Stories) and Crestwood Publications (Justice Traps the Guilty). However, there are also two stories here from the 1950s that demonstrate the shift in style, tone, and subject matter occasioned by the adoption of the Comics Code Authority in 1954. Both of these later stories seem markedly anemic when compared to those that come before them – both literally and figuratively bloodless.
![Simon and Kirby Do Guy Fawkes Reprints in Review: The Lurid World of Pre Code Crime [Column]](http://www.comicsbeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Simon-and-Kirby-Do-Guy-Fawkes.jpg "Reprints in Review: The Lurid World of Pre Code Crime [Column]")
Simon and Kirby’s pre-code work was never as lurid or gruesome as other crime comics of that era (see below), but they were certainly violent and blood was often visible. Still, the worst acts happened “off-screen.” Simon and Kirby’s story of America’s “first serial killer,” H. H. Holmes of Chicago, merely shows the madman chloroforming a victim. How Holmes dealt with corpses is hardly even hinted at. However, other stories involving gunplay do show bloodied and/or dead victims.
The Titan volume’s real value is that it documents two young, energetic creators experimenting with a medium still in its infancy. We see them finding new ways to tell tightly compressed stories with great economy, while avoiding cliché and easy ways out whenever possible. Kirby already had a way with faces. His tendency to vary line thickness helped him differentiate characters’ features, which made the dynamically staged action that much easier to follow. There’s never any confusion as to who is punching who, whereas in other artists’ hands characters can be lost in the tangle of a brawl.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 3/26/2012
Buzzfeed cribs from Superdickery for 25 Hilarious Vintage Comic Book Covers. These are all oldies, but sometimes it is just so great to take a break and look at these amazing covers from the golden age of comics. And we like posting them, because sometimes Pinterest just won’t do.
To our eternal shame, we did not have this one cataloged in our “Jimmy Olsen’s Wild Kingdom” file. That changes now.
Has anyone ever explained why Superman was so often shown being so venal on these covers? Superhero as paid mercenary? Did he need the money to buy new glasses? Was it a metaphor for the lack of money in the comics business? Was Mort Weisinger just obsessed with money?
This cover is great in so many ways we can’t even begin to enumerate them, but the fact that Batman must use a shotgun so force his sidekick to dig his own grave while Superman relies only the force of his personality is a start.
Oh Dick Giordano, what were you thinking?
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 3/22/2012
George Tuska’s version of ROADHOUSE.
Via Pappy’s Golden Age.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 12/29/2011
From 1958’s Superman’s Girl Friend, Lois Lane #5
Can you imagine what would have happened if the Internet existed in 1958? Perhaps people like Mort Weisinger could not exist in a wired world. Julie Schwartz would probably have been running a website and playing Halo.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 12/25/2011
An EC classic by Johnny Craig for some holiday ho ho horror.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 12/19/2011
Is there a new Lichtenstein roaming the forests? Scott Edelman has brought to our attention thr work of Sharon Moody who paints trompe l’oeil painting of comics by Jack Kirby, Sal Buscema and others – but Edelman is bothered by the fact that the source artists are not credited anywhere:
The intended market of buyers for these works of art would probably assume that the comics depicted in them sprang whole from the mind of the artist, and are a commentary on pop culture in general, rather than being line for line reproductions so close to the original comics that the artist might have been better served taking a photograph of the original comic book pages and framing that. Roy Lichtenstein, who I felt was profiteering on the work of great comics artists, at least altered them to suit his own style…
And Moody’s own explanation of her work.
Recently I have been making paintings based on games, toys and other forms of entertainment that reflect the universal human desire for amusement, diversion, and stimulation. These seem a proper subject for trompe l’oeil paintings, which by their very nature are intended to divert and entrance us with their illusionism and by the questions they raise—in a playful way—about perception and reality.
It’s part of the whole problem in the mash-up age of art — curation has replaced creation at times. Moody could have just sat down and made a Tumblr blog, but she picked up a paintbrush.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 12/12/2011
Not too long ago, we presented for your amusement several videos recapping the rather appalling events of Avengers #200, in which Ms. Marvel was kidnapped, drugged and forcibly impregnated, and after giving birth to a reincarnation of her rapist, went off with him in a happy daze. The writers on the story are listed as Jim Shooter, David Michelinie, Bob Layton and George Pérez but it’s been noted that in the years since, no one has actually taken credit for coming up with the story. It’s like that one round of blanks in the firing squad — every man can believe he is the innocent one.
Now over on his blog Jim Shooter has come out and confirmed that he’s wiped the entire incident from his memory:
I found my copy of Avengers #200. I read it. I agree with the consensus, it’s heinous. But, I don’t remember much about how it got that way.
I am credited not only as Editor in Chief but as one of the co-plotters. However, I didn’t see anything in the book that jogged my memory. No bits that I remember suggesting. No corrections of the sort I might have made to a plot passed before me.
But I did see many things I would have had changed if I’d seen the plot. For instance, leaving aside the Ms. Marvel mess for the nonce: Iron Man thinks it’s okay for the weird, mysterious child to be given a “laser torch” and electronic equipment so he can build a machine. What?! As the massive machine is being assembled, no one bothers to question what it is or does. What?! Trouble ensues. No kidding, really? Good grief.
There is perhaps some comfort all thes years later in knowing that Shooter offers a flat out apology:
But, in those days, in any case, the buck stopped at my desk. I take full responsibility. I screwed up. My judgment failed, or maybe I wasn’t paying enough attention. Sorry. Avengers #200 is a travesty.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 12/8/2011
Yesterday’s comments by Tom Brevoort on the lack of sales support for female characters at Marvel did not go unnoticed by the usual gender issue commentators.
Sue at DC Women Kicking Ass suggests that blaming the readers may not be the way to go given a lack of marketing support:
Did we give these books the level of promotion that we do for the bazzillion ‘WOLVERINEDEADPOOL!” titles.
Do we maybe ask our overlords at Disney for some advice, “Hey, you guys seem to know how to market female-led IP, um, help?”
Right now Marvel is profitable; they have the money to grow the business. And as I said about DC earlier this year, I believe Marvel is leaving money on the table with female readers.
I am aware that Marvel’s purse strings are apparently tied up in in the hands of dude who makes the Simpson’s Mr. Burns look like a soft touch.
Susana Polo at The Mary Sue also suggests that not trying to reach a new audience may not be ultimately advantageous:
That’s right, ladies. All we have to do to get a retailer to see us as a part of their audience is to spend money on them. But the money comes first, and in comparable quantities to the rest of the entrenched demographic that they are already focusing on to the exclusion of others, or no dice. This is absolutely how a shrinking industry should feel about attracting a new and potentially eager audience. It is absolutely not the opposite of the way this transaction is supposed to go. Companies in the business of giving product in trade for money always play hard to get with untapped demographics. That’s how you know the demographic wants you.
Also linked to at the Mary Sue: this two-part Escapist look at the strange history of Ms. Marvel
I watched these videos all the way through because they clicked something in my subconscious brain. Short version: In Avengers #200, Ms. Marvel, who was (as the above covers indicates) was created as a direct attempt to play off the then current surging waters of feminism, is abducted to hell, given mind altering drugs, has sex while in this date rape state, and eventually gives birth to the guy who raped her, all while the rest of the Avengers look on and think it’s awesome. At the end of the story she even goes off with the guy who arranged the kidnapping, rape, and mind control pregnancy. And no one stops her.
Although the Escapist doesn’t mention it, the story in question was written by Jim Shooter, George Perez, Bob Layton, and David Michelinie. It squicked out enough people to give rise to this bit of historic comics criticism from the ’70s
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 11/30/2011
About once a year, we give Stately Beat Manor a really good going-over — tossing out unwanted pamphlets, moving some stuff into storage, organizing permanent additions and so on — and after doing so we write a post with our thoughts about storage and hoarding and so on.
This is that post, c. 2011.
I assume most of you reading this are borderline hoarders, like The Beat. Your shelf porn resembles a splatter film. You have more longboxes than you do pieces of silverware. Your home contains at least one Billy. You have at one time — perhaps even at this very moment — made use of some kind of software to catalog your collection even if it was just Excel or Google spreadsheets. You know the drill.
Herewith, some observations on comics and collecting comics.
• Art supply stores have some awesome storage options.
Screw “The Container Store” and all that expensive bullshit. I made a trip to A.I. Friedman, the venerable art supply store here in NYC, and came away with two items that I’ve long thought would be very useful. #1 was a cheap portfolio for storing artwork, flat posters and the like. All of that stuff had been sitting in an unsightly pile on top of my Expedit, and now it looks all sleek and organized in a black portfolio like all the cool kids carry. Less than $15 and you’re good to go.
The second item was one that I did not know existed. Cool-looking poster tubes in colorful plastic! Alvin Ice Tube 25 Inch Clear
You know all those unsightly rolled up posters from Con and so forth? Now they are super sightly! The tubes have a strap for when you are banging around the Javits or wherever.
I should add that this was a prime spot for purging. I live in a New York Apartment and don’t really have room for an art show. I saved a few key pieces –some nice screen prints various folks gave me over the years, Ben McCool’s first signing poster, a giant poster from RETURN OF THE KING that shows Frodo and Sam in a very gay embrace on the skirts of Mount Doom – you know the kind of stuff that will make a great art show some day.
I was pleased to note that although it had started out as an art and office supply store, A.I. Friedman has been attempting to adapt to modern times with a huge section of laptop and iPad bags and covers. Although it was large, it was dwarfed by the row upon row of racks of Moleskine and Moleskine-like little notebooks for jotting important thoughts. Everyone may own a tablet soon, but to be truly profound, a ponder must be scribbled in a little wee bookie.
• A pamphlet is a fleeting thing.
Every time I do a purge, it’s easier to get rid of these suckers. I will, however, never get rid of my original runs of SANDMAN, PREACHER, and INVISIBLES because they had the cool letters pages which were all the contact we ha
The Badger looks like the last kind of comic that would interest me, but comparing it to lost golden age IPs as to why it failed feels like rubbing salt in a wound.
Baron was obviously hoping this would get him back in the game (and probably back to making a living with comics).
Pointing out that he has failed seems like insult to injury.
Comics fail all the time, no need to point a spotlight when an older creator stumbles.
Almost everything fades with time. Don Winslow was a very popular character in the ’40s, featured in a radio show and two movie serials. But how many people under 70 have hard of the character today?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Winslow_of_the_Navy_%28comic_strip%29
For that matter, how many people under 40 have heard of Lil Abner (a comic strip that ended in 1977), or know Dick Tracy as anything but a Warren Beatty movie?
Maybe Baron should create something new instead of trying to relive past glories. (That goes for the entire industry, not just Baron.) How many people who bought comics in the ’80s are still going to a comic shop today? Some, but they’re outnumbered by younger people who may have never heard of Badger.
Without passion or prejudice, Heidi, you have stated the facts.
Wait 12 weeks between third and fourth rounds, 20 weeks between fourth
and fifth rounds, and 6 months between fifth and sixth. You have a
smaller fatter version of yourself as the lean muscle mass you had will have
decreased, and the fat will still be there. Fast weight loss which focuses on low calorie intake and fat burning without proper nutrition is
indeed a starvation practice. Craig Primack said in an interview with The Star
Telgram. These drops sell for about $25 online (I used these because a lady at
work bought them and didn’t use them so I paid $32 for three 2oz bottles.
“it’s obvious that all kind of comics were being published in multiple genres, and the styles are more like what you’d find on tumblr today than the “house superhero style” that many think is essential to the form. A lot to parse.”
You’re right. If Will Eisner, Jack Cole or Jack Davis had come along 30 years later, fans would have rejected their styles for being too “cartoony.” And they might have rejected Kirby and Ditko. Heck, they DID reject Kirby and Ditko in the ’70s and ’80s. They didn’t draw enough like Neal Adams.
Five 80s comics I’d rather see brought back than ‘Badger’:
The Ballad of Halo Jones
The Elementals
New Statesmen
Thriller (the DC Comics series, not the album)
Video Jack
I think the better strategy would be for Baron to get back in the scene with a title from the big two and then bring back The Badger. He was the go-to writer for the Punisher. Wish there was a way to get him back on that title with a hot artist to raise and reestablish his profile.
I have always looked his works, Nexus and the Badger are two of my faves, but I almost missed the book in the solicits because it’s from such a small publisher.
I enjoy the artists attached to the project, but they are not hot artists at the moment. That’s another obstacle to getting attention.
I would love to see First comics make a comeback, but fusing them with Devil’s Due, a publisher that has a slightly sorted history, doesn’t seem like a partnership that offers First much.
All in all, First’s reappearance in the field feels slight and timid.
Looked his works should be loved his works.
Oliver C: I’d also go for a Thriller revival. That book was about a decade ahead of its time — a Vertigo comic before Vertigo existed.
I seem to see this phenomenon more among fans than creators, but it does all seem to be focused on the same time period (generally 25-30 years ago, so right now the mid-80s to early ’90s). In the cases I’ve observed, the fans really liked Comic, and want Comic to come back so they can have more Comic, and they’re dead sure it’ll be a hit because, well, it’s their favorite comic ever. Sometimes it even does come back (usually if it was a Marvel/DC book and they’re interested in preserving the trademark, or there was a toy line/cartoon attached and the owner of that is), at which point it either has middling success before limping towards cancellation or tanks right out of the gate, and the social media babble is full of protestations that it would have worked if They Had Just Done It Right. Never during this process will the notion that the rest of the world just isn’t as enthused about their favorite thing from when they were eight enter their minds.
All of which is a very roundabout way of saying I’ll be eyeing the fortunes of IDW’s ROM revival with some interest.
(There’s also an interesting permutation of this where a fan-turned-pro will try to make their favorite mid-list character or concept into the new superstar, despite decades of evidence indicating that very few people give a damn. Geoff Johns has done this at least twice, with Hawkman and Cyborg.)