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Year: 2011 Page 2 of 23

A Review: Captain America & Bucky #624

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On December 12, 2011

In 18 Reviews

JayJay recommended that I review this book because it’s been getting a lot of positive buzz online, much of it with regard to the allegedly well-portrayed romance at the core of the story.The Cover

Baffling.

The logo pops pretty well and is readable. It incorporates Captain America’s shield. “Captain America & Bucky” it says, which would lead one to figure that this book is about those two.

I’m familiar with a great deal of comic book material but not some of recent vintage. I don’t know who the male character pictured is. A Soviet, I guess, from the red star on his shoulder and the hammer and sickle in the background.
If I don’t know who the guy is no new reader would have a clue.

And the female character? How many non-comics readers know of Marvel’s Black Widow?

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Avengers #200

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On December 12, 2011

In 03 Marvel Comics

JayJay here. Some of our readers have commented about the article and video about Avengers 200 and the history of Ms. Marvel, so I suggested Jim have a look. For those unfamiliar with it, here’s the link:A Video Breakdown of the Sad History of Ms. Marvel, Sex Slave

And here’s what Jim had to say:

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.

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Jerry Robinson

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On December 9, 2011

In 09 Reminiscences and Tributes

Jerry Robinson died on Wednesday. He was 89.

He was a great artist, innovator and creator renowned for his work on Batman in the 1939 and the early 1940’s. He did many, many other things as well. He was an illustrator. A syndicated cartoonist. An author and historian. And a hero. He was a champion of the rights of cartoonists all over the world, often at great personal risk. He helped free a Uruguayan artist imprisoned because of his political cartoons, smuggled money to cartoonists in the Soviet Union who were disenfranchised and destitute because of government oppression, and aided Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in their fight to gain recognition and compensation for creating Superman.

I met Jerry only once, at the Baltimore Comic-Con a couple of years ago. I spoke with him briefly. He seemed to me to be a wise and thoughtful man. A gentleman, in all the best senses of the word, albeit with the heart of a lion. He was honored with a special Harvey Award for his many achievements. He gave a wonderful, unforgettable speech.

He was great.

Winner! – Part 2:

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On December 8, 2011

In 03 Marvel Comics, 09 Reminiscences and Tributes

The House of Harryhausen, or a Day with Ray

 
On one of my trips to London, during which I had made plans to get together with Michael Winner to check on his progress developing the Captain America movie, I was privileged to be invited to his home. It was in Knightsbridge, I believe.
 
Winner lived in a very nice home. I recall that he had a fine collection of Arthur Rackham illustrations on display in the hall as you entered. Wow.
 
We spoke about his ongoing development of a screenplay. He wouldn’t tell me much about it, except how brilliant it was going to be. He had acquired a vast collection of Captain America comic books. And, he had hired an assistant to advise him, an “expert” on comic books.
 
Uh-oh.
 
Winner introduced me to the guy. In a few minutes of conversation I sussed out that the guy had utter contempt for me—he was a Shooter-is-Satan Kool-Aid drinker. Worse he had a total misconception of Captain America, who he saw as Captain Yankee A**hole.
 
Double uh-oh.
 
Worse still, Winner seemed to weight this benighted fool’s observations at least the same as mine.Good grief.
 

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The Man Who Flew 35 Kamikaze Missions

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On December 7, 2011

In 09 Reminiscences and Tributes

Photo by Eliot Brown. http://eliotrbrown.com

Today is Pearl Harbor Day. “A date which will live in infamy,” said Franklin Delano Roosevelt. I’m sure it will. It also lives in the memories of Marvel staffers back in the early 1980’s as Morrie’s Day. Morrie Kuramoto, that is.

It started as a joke, or rather as a barrage of jokes. Morrie was Japanese, of course, and an older guy—so the wits and wags who worked in the Bullpen alongside Morrie made outrageous use of the occasion to tease him. Leave it to the likes of Elliot R. Brown, Jack Morelli, Stu Schwartzberg and the rest to suggest that Morrie pasted up recruiting posters for the Japanese Army, was Japan’s spy at Marvel Comics or flew 35 Kamikaze missions.

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Winner!

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On December 7, 2011

In 03 Marvel Comics, 09 Reminiscences and Tributes

I think it was Joe Calamari who introduced me to Michael Winner. Winner had just acquired the rights to produce a Captain America movie.

This would have been late 1984.

Joe was Executive V.P. of Business Affairs and, among other things, oversaw Marvel’s efforts to get movies on the screen. He brought Winner to my office to meet me, since Joe had volunteered me to be Winner’s Marvel contact and creative consultant for the film. Okay.

For those of you unfamiliar with Michael Winner’s work, he produced and directed many films including I’ll Never Forget What’s’isname, The Mechanic, the Death Wish series and The Wicked Lady.

Here’s his Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Winner

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Surprising Sinnott and Items of Interest

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On December 5, 2011

In 03 Marvel Comics, 12 From Storage

Surprising Sinnott

Sometime in late 1957, when I was six, star artist/inker Joe Sinnott visited Marvel’s offices, which were then located in the Empire State Building.

And he never came back!

Well, not for a long time, anyway.

The first time I saw Joe Sinnott was in 1975 at Phil Seuling’s Comic Art Convention, AKA “Seuling Con” and “July Con.” It was in the Hotel Commodore on 42nd Street in New York City. A fan had stopped Joe in the corridor, asked him for a sketch and handed him a hard-cover sketch book. Joe cheerfully complied. An admiring crowd had formed around Joe to watch him draw, staring as if he were performing magic, which, of course, he was.

I’m tall enough so that I could peer over the throng and see what Joe was drawing. Standing in a hallway Joe drew a perfect, beautifully rendered figure of the Thing. With a pen. In two minutes. He gave the guy his book back, politely excused himself and hurried on his way to a panel or something.

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Items of Interest – And Gary Gygax

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On December 2, 2011

In 03 Marvel Comics, 12 From Storage

About Iron Man….Steven R. Stahl made an interesting comment:

Steven R. Stahl has left a new comment on your post “A Gem of a Day“:
I’d be interested in an analysis of Iron Man, Mr. Shooter, mainly because I don’t think the character works well. He’s a combination of two characters: an inventor of a suit of armor and a millionaire playboy who has a vague desire to do good. There have been moments when the combination has done well, but not many, and Stark’s identity as a corporate chieftain is very thin. His various businesses have never existed in any substantive sense, except to cause trouble or to be attacked.
There’s also nowhere for Stark to go as a character if he doesn’t age. A playboy becomes repulsive if he ages to the point that he’s unattractive. Stark’s no exception.
I wouldn’t call Iron Man a failure as a character, given the movies’ successes, but he is a failure as a literary character. A novelist might separate him into two characters and then proceed.

SRS

I agree that Iron Man has rarely been handled well. There have been story problems and “literary” disasters in the portrayal, presentation and development of the character from the beginning. The ridiculous origin in Vietnam, is one. But I believe that the core of the character is solid. Genius, in fact. I believe Iron Man is not a failure as a literary character inherently, but far too often has been misunderstood, mishandled and misrepresented by comic book creative people.

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A Gem of a Day – Part 2

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On November 29, 2011

In 09 Reminiscences and Tributes

Steve Gives Us a Personal Tour of Geppi’s Entertainment MuseumYou’d think hitting a few imaginary home runs with one of Babe Ruth’s 1927 bats might be the capper for the day. Nah.

We could have spent days checking out the treasures in Steve Geppi’s office but he was eager to give us a tour of his pride-and-joy museum.

Somewhat reluctantly, Herman Rush and I followed Steve to his car. We drove from Diamond’s Timonium, Maryland headquarters to Baltimore, specifically, to Camden Yards, where Oriole Park, M T Bank Stadium and Geppi’s Entertainment Museum are located. There are also restaurants and upscale shops in the complex, plus two other museums.

At that time, Steve was a part owner of the Baltimore Orioles, so he could park in the special reserved area right outside the ballpark, close to the museum. Groovy.

I had been to the museum once before, to attend the spectacular Opening Gala Steve threw on September 7, 2006, the day before the museum opened to the public. What a party! I still have the invitation. It came in this box:

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A Gem of a Day

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On November 29, 2011

In 09 Reminiscences and Tributes

Lost WeekendSorry I didn’t manage to post anything over the long Thanksgiving weekend. I had some pay-the-bills work that had to be done and it took longer than expected, as everything always seems to.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, I am very thankful for your kind donations, which have enabled JayJay the Blog Elf to devote the time it takes to do all the technical work on this thing. Being computer/Internet unskilled, I literally couldn’t do it without her.

Onward!

I promised a review last week. Iron Man has been one of my favorite characters since back in the days when transistors seemed new. The plan was to do a review of Iron Man the movie and also a current Iron Man comic book, but I haven’t had a chance to watch the movie yet, and JayJay and I have been waffling about which Iron Man comic book to analyze. We’re hoping to find a good one that gives me the opportunity to cover some new ground. Suggestions welcome. It doesn’t really have to be an Iron Man book. Should be Marvel. Not by Bendis. Let’s give him a break.

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