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Articles by Fred Hill
Animal Magic
Whether it’s man’s best friend or the king of the jungle, animals occupy a central place in our social, emotional and cultural lives. With pieces from Chris Flynn, Geraldine Brooks, Laura Jean McKay and many more, this edition of Griffith Review visits habitats near and far, wild and domestic. We visit the site of T-rex excavations, swim with turtles, spend a night at the zoo, find out about the storied history of mould, and diagnose pre-teen horse girls.
The Greatest Comic Book of All Time
Thanks for bumping this back up to the top, Luke. I am acutely aware that I posted this topic, then didn't answer it myself. That's because I couldn't really narrow it down. Also, what I tend to remember as the "greatest" stories from my youth are multipart storylines, what some todat would describe as "arcs," such as "The Kree/Skrull War" or "The Stone Tablet Saga." To make matters worse, earlier this month I noted how annoyed this question makes me when asked by mundanes.
The Abomination
I think Stan, in his series of "origins" books, was also trying to showcase a variety of artistic talent in the stories he chose. MAESTRO: WORLD WAR M #1-4: Decades in the future (or an alternate future, at any rate), World War III will devastate the Earth. When the first missiles were fired, strictly to advantage themselves later on, A.I.M. seized individuals whose bodies seemingly made them benefit from radiation.
Randy Jackson Re-Reads Steve Gerber's Howard the Duck
The Baron said: I did a little quick discreet research and, tonputnit delicately, assuming that Howard is constructed at all like terrestrial ducks, then he and Beverly would not be physically compatible, even if they were prepared to go the whole nine yards, as it were. IIRC, when we’ve seen Howard’s homeworld, the female ducks all have two mammalian breasts. Following this to its logical conclusion, it’s possible or even likely that Howard has a mammalian penis.
Randy Jackson Re-Reads Steve Gerber's Howard the Duck
With everyone else dipping their toes into the water--and given that lately it seems I'm more snarky than appreciative of comics--I thought I'd dip my own toes into the water with a reading project. So I'll be covering Steve Gerber's Howard the Duck. The comics I'll be covering specifically are (Adventure Into) Fear #19, Man-Thing #1, Giant-Sized Man-Thing #4-5, Howard the Duck #1-27, Howard the Duck Annual #1, and Max Howard the Duck #1-6.
Randy Jackson Re-Reads Steve Gerber's Howard the Duck
I have not watched all of the MCU. In fact, the last one I saw was Thor: Ragnarok. I haven't seen the final Avengers movies nor anything else recent. Heck, I haventg watched the Tom Holland Spider-Man yet. I have no idea olif there are plans for a Howard solo movie or not.
Watching "Unaging" Comics Characters "Move Past" Historical Events
Elsewhere, some of us were talking about the Silver Samurai, which led me to think of the time he fought John Belushi, which led me to think that the Peter Parker of 2023 cannot be the same Peter Parker that met the Not-Ready-For-Prime-Time Players on the set of Saturday Night Live in 1978.. Since Peter Parker is portrayed these days as being (approximately) in his mid-to-late 20's, then the Peter Parker of 2023 would have been born after John Belushi died.
The Greatest Comic Book of All Time
I have two greatest comics ever (I'm old, I collect a lot of debris.) But besides Fantastic Four 51 (the BEST comic ever), at the time I read Superman Annual #11, I thought it was unbeatable. Alan Moore got what I thought was EVERYTHING in it; Batman and Robin and Wonder Woman. Superman's Fortress of Solitude. A return to Krypton, and appearances by Lyla Lerrol and Kara. And to cap it off - a knock down dragout fight between Superman and Mongul.
The Pre-Defenders
These days, archival collections of The Defenders are likely to lead off with the "Titans Three" story (from Sub-Mariner #34-35) or even the "Undying Ones" crossover trilogy (from Doctor Strange #183, Sub-Mariner #22 and Hulk #126), but I like to go back further still. No, I don't go all the way back to Avengers #3 (although I could), I do go back as far as Tales to Astonish #84 (which I read for the first time reprinted in Marvel Super-Heroes #39.
12 Year Old You
I have a feeling that kids today (and yes, my use of the phrase "kids today" marks me indelibly as an old guy) as a medium. Even if they still enjoy the thought of seeing Captain Potato battle the Living Birthday Cake, they're less likely to m want to "consume" it the way we did in the middle years of the last century. Perhaps it's analogous to the way that people today get their news on-line rather than by buying a newspaper.
The Baron Watches "Gilligan's Island"
Having seen my good friend Jeff's latest TV-based discussion, Jeff Watches Torchwood , I thought, "Since Jeff is posting about a current program that he's watching for the first time, I ought to post about an old program that I'd be watching for what would be at least the fiftieth, but which I haven't looked at in quite some time - and what better program to watch than one of the seminal comedies of its generation, one which had a profound impact on American television, and which went on to...
Prison Poem on Poverty: Family Values
Autumns leaves litter the grass Bare trees offer their switches My lips perfect for backhands Hunger introduces my stomach and spine Grandma’s house belongs to us all Stained church glass a witness Virginity snatched like the offering Church clothes remained my dress clothes Monopoly money buys food not clothes Neck-bones beans rice chitterlings Corn meal pancakes with no syrup The neighbors seem to have some We love Christmas and never had one Eight years old with a phone bill Utilities in...
X-men/Doom Patrol sales questions
I love this conversation. I mean, I was curious, too, when Randy posed his initial question, because I didn't know the answer. And I had never thought to ask the question! Leave It To Randy (which is the name of my next band) to ask a significant question. So we started off cool, and then .. The conversation turned to the '60s Doom Patrol. Which I loved. In real time, in the '60s.
RIP Charlie Watts
No flame wars. No trolls. But a lot of really smart people.The Captain Comics Round Table tries to be the friendliest and most accurate comics website on the Internet. TIPS ON USING THE BOARD
RIP Charlie Watts
My feelings are much the same, Randy.
Captain America
For those who don't know, S&K's last issue of Captain America Comics was #10. (They also did the Captain America stories in All Winners Comics #1 and #2.) The artists who continued CA in this period imitated the S&K style. Some of those involved had been inking Kirby's work. One of the artists was Syd Shores, who inked some of Kirby's CA stories in the late 1960s and did other work for Marvel in that period. #13 was the first issue with a post-Pearl Harbor cover.
Captain America
No fewer than THREE Captain America omnibus editions ship this week: Comic book titan Dan Jurgens' complete CAPTAIN AMERICA run! In action-packed adventures, Cap must somehow stop the war efforts of the Hate-Monger, a villain with ties to Hitler himself - and save Ka-Zar from the monstrous murderer Count Nefaria! But when Steve Rogers comes face-to-face with Protocide, he learns that everything he knew about his origin is wrong! And what happens when Steve's girlfriend, Connie Ferrari, gets...
'Falcon and Winter Soldier' episode 3: Just who are these guys, anyway?
By Andrew A. Smith Tribune Content Agency April 8, 2021 — Welcome to Who Are These Guys, Falcon and Winter Soldier edition! The third episode, “Power Broker,” introduced some people and concepts that are a little farther off the beaten path than usual. Leave us get to it, then: SAM WILSON I didn’t want to jump in without revisiting our main characters, whose comic book background may surprise some folks.
Post-Kirby Thor
#290: Up until this point, Roy Thomas had resisted the temptation of introducing new characters into the "Celestials" saga, but in this issue he introduces two: El Toro Rojo (a Deviant) and El Vampiro (an Eternal), both on the Mexican wrestling circuit. (Guest artist this issue is Arvell Jones.) Like Fantastic Four #207 (see "Post-Kirby Fantastic Four"), this issue is a kind of "one-off" within a larger arc and, also like FF #207, it could be skipped with little effect on the overall storyline.
Post-Ditko Doctor Strange
#54-57 + Marvel Fanfare #6: Marshall Rogers was asked to stay for another six issues, but there were a number of independent projects he wished to pursue at the time (such as Coyote, Scorpio Rose and Detectives. Inc., I'm guessing). Editor al Milgrom lined up Michael Golden to do the next little run of issues, and Roger Stern delivered two plots to give him a head start. Nevertheless, despite the lead, Golden was unable to meet the deadline for #54.
Post-Kirby Fantastic Four
MMV v16 (#164-174 & Annual #11 + Marvel Two-In-One #20 & Annual #1): This volume is by Roy Thomas and George and George Perez (primarily). I completed my collection of Fantastic Four in the '80s, but reading this volume reminds me that a accumulated the backissues piecemeal. #164-165: This two-parter features Crusader, the former Marvel Boy (one of them, anyway) of the '50s.
'WandaVision' episode 9 left us with questions. We've got answers!
After six years in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) has finally become The Scarlet Witch. (Courtesy Marvel.com) By Andrew A. Smith Tribune Content Agency March 11, 2021 — So did you watch “The Series Finale”? Q: Which series finale? A: You know what I mean. “The Series Finale” is the title of the last episode of WandaVision. Don’t pretend you didn’t watch it. Q: I did, but I have some questions. Like, now that it’s over, can we say what WandaVision means?
Post-Kirby Fantastic Four
MMW v15 (#151-163 + G-S #3-4): Like v14, v15 is choppy but a good mix. It sees the transition of Gerry Conway to Len Wein back to Roy Thomas (with Marv Wolfman and Chris Claremont writing the Giant-Size ones); Roy thomas Writes the lion's share this volume and Rich Buckler draws the most, but they're not necessarily the same ones.
Post-Kirby Fantastic Four
Moving on to MMW v13 (#131-141), Roy Thomas gives way to Gerry Conway. Conway was only 20 years old at the time, but already also writing Thor and Spider-Man. John Buscema continues to pencil, except for two guest fill-ins by Ross Andru and Ramona Fradon; all are inked by Joltin' Joe Sinnott. It is around this time that the word "comix" was substituted for "comics" in "The World's Greatest Comics Magazine," but it didn't take. In #129, Johnny leaves the FF to join Crystal in the Great Refuge.
Post-Kirby Fantastic Four
Just for the record, based on anatomical features, the various species of cougars, aka mountain lions, pumas (they're all different names for the same species, although there are regional subspecies such as the Florida panther, which is really the last survivors of a subspecies of cougars that once ranged up and down most of the east coast of North America, just as lions once roamed the entire area between North Africa to India, and thousands of years ago had even migrated to North America,...
Post-Ditko Doctor Strange
"In my younger and more vulnerable years," when I was actively seeking to build my comic book collection (as opposed to merely maintain it), I used to say that I collected in two directions at once. By that I meant that I not only collected from the present forward, but from the present back. By the time I got to college, I built my collection in three directions, including from the beginning forward.
Post-Ditko Doctor Strange
"He's not Father Time but Fawcett's version of Captain Midnight..." Ah. Yes, I thought I recognized him, but Father Time is the only (likely) character I could think of with a clock on his chest (which is odd, because Captain Midnight is a much more well-known character). "...but with Captain Marvel's wrist-pieces instead of gloves" Yes. The reason I said he was an amalgam of the two is that the original emblem (in pencil, before being replaced by the clock) was Mar-Vell's starburst symbol.
Post-Ditko Doctor Strange
MMW DR. STRANGE Vol. 3 - #169-179 + Avengers #61: As I mentioned above, #169 is a somewhat decompressed retelling of his origin. #170, the first all-new story since splitting into a solo title, fittingly features Nightmare, who was Dr. Strange's foe in his first appearance in Strange Tales #110.
Captain America
HULK #232: The conclusion to this story crosses over into Hulk #232, written by Roger Stern (although this particular issue is scripted by David Michelinie). Before I continue I would like to say that it's little bit of a cheat to reveal that Animus, drawn as a man, turns out to be a woman. Then again, there was no particular "mystery" set up surrounding "his" origin, and they did foreshadow a female voice back in #223. Moving on. Cap regains consciousness. Kligger and Jackson negotiate.
Captain America
#220: I keep forgetting to mention it, so this time I'll say it right off. After his one-issue stint in #217, John Buscema was replaced by his brother Sal, returning to Captain America as the new regular penciller. In #219 Sal was inked by Joe sinnott, which is who I wish had inked John in #217. But I digress... #220 is a short one, 13 pages, because the others were lost in the mail. the rest of the issue was filled with a not-very-good Falcon inventory story.
Captain America
"I'll be back upon the publication of the Marvel Masterworks reprinting #215-230." I'm baaack! Marvel Masterworks Captain America Vol. 12 is all over the place creatively, but I love it! the 17 comics collected feature contributions by nine writers and seven artists (including back-up features and crossovers). Rather than attempting to summarize them here, I'll deal with them as I get to them. the volume features not one but two introductions, one by Don Glut and the other by Roger Stern.
RIP Dawn Wells
The Washington Post ran the Dawn Wells story inside in the obituary section. At least it was a staff-written story this time.* I like this excerpt: The Washington Post wrote: “It’s not my ego talking, but Mary Ann wasn’t just a silly and sweet ingenue,” Ms. Wells observed in her 2014 self-help book, “What Would Mary Ann Do?: A Guide to Life,” written with Steve Stinson. “She was bright, fair-minded and reasonable, and I like to think that’s what I brought to her. . . .
Walt Simonson's Thor
Thor #346 The Wild Hunt! Writer: Walt Simonson Penciller: Walt Simonson Roger Willis (the son of Dr. Willis from the last issue) is wandering around Greenwich Village. He’s worried he’s been pursued, so he’s changing cabs and buses frequently to keep people off the scent. We find out he’s a veteran of the Korean war, and he looks significantly older than his father. Someone stops him and asks him for a light, but it turns out to be one of his pursuers.
Captain America
I'm pretty sure it was Tony Isabella who wrote the stories involving Hydra with a long storyline that started with Foggy being recruited to join S.H.I.E.L.D. Isabella wasn't on the mag long, taking over after Gerber's run and before Wolfman took over for a fairly long run. I started collecting DD with Gerber's run and enjoyed Gerber's typical weirdness. Wolfman introduced some noir elements which I liked, but rather inconsistently.
Books about Comic Books
I wonder if the growing number of tv viewers also played some role in the decline of comics purchasing as potential comics buyers had more entertainment options to fill their free time. My parents, btw, were teens in the 1950s (dad born in 1940, mom in '43) and both came from fairly poor families and neither had a tv until after they had married in 1961 (I came along a year later).
Bill Everett / Sub-Mariner
My latest "project" is to attempt to reconcile original Golden Age Sub-Mariner continuity with modern Invaders stories (as I did once before with "Captain America's Golden Age Career), so I'm bumping this discussion back up to the top not only so that I can find it more easily when I'm ready to post, but also to move Cap's comments about volume one of Bill Everett's The Complete Golden Age Sub-Mariner over from the "What Comics Have You Read Today?" discussion.
'Doom Patrol' coming to DC streaming service
DC UNIVERSE DIGITAL SERVICE GREENLIGHTS NEXT ORIGINAL SERIES DOOM PATROL Live-Action Drama from Berlanti Production to Debut in 2019 We are pleased to announce today that the upcoming DC Universe digital service has ordered its next original series, the one-hour live-action drama DOOM PATROL, from executive producers Greg Berlanti, Geoff Johns, Jeremy Carver and Sarah Schechter. DOOM PATROL will begin production this year for a 2019 debut on DC Universe.
The Baron Watches "Gilligan's Island"
Having seen my good friend Jeff's latest TV-based discussion, Jeff Watches Torchwood, I thought, "Since Jeff is posting about a current program that he's watching for the first time, I ought to post about an old program that I'd be watching for what would be at least the fiftieth, but which I haven't looked at in quite some time - and what better program to watch than one of the seminal comedies of its generation, one which had a profound impact on American television, and which went on to...
AVENGERS. "And There Came ANOTHER Day..."
Avengers #216 (02/82) Writer - Jim Shooter Editor - Jim Salicrup Penciller - Alan Weis Inker - Dan Green Cover Art – Alan Weis “...To Avenge the Avengers!" I say again - I'm not very impressed with Alan Weis's art here - this cover is overwrought, over inked and just plain...ugly.
AVENGERS. "And There Came ANOTHER Day..."
Avengers #215 (01/82) Writer - Jim Shooter Editor - Jim Salicrup Penciller - Alan Weis Inker - Dan Green Cover Art – Alan Weis “All the Ways of Power!" So, the Avengers enter 1982 with a guest artist that is celebrated on the splash page (in probably too long a chatty banner) - Alan Weis - and while I love some of his (later?) work - I can't say I'm impressed here! The composition of this cover seems very strange to me (the advert doesn't help!) Tigra and the Surfer feel cramped and the other...
Silver Sightings: Batman's Silver Age: What Took So Long?
I don't know that Uncle Joe was especially prominent in a Hooterville show with three young women who start the show naked (albeit behind a fence). (Actually, the girls were behind the rim of a water tower.)But as I remember (and it's been a few years), he tended to comment on the shenanigans going on around him, which made him kind of the viewer's POV character.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN. “Once More With…”
Amazing Spider-Man #164 (01/77) Writer - Len Wein - Editor Penciller - Ross Andru Inker - Mike Esposito Background inks - David Hunt Cover Art – John Romita "Deadline!" John Romita solo work on this cover and while it's not horrendous, it is painfully simple and derrivativly dull. "Within seconds you'll be DEAD!" is quite thrilling though and goes a way to explain this issue's title.
RIP Buck Henry
Story I first became aware of him from his SNL appearances. It was later that I made the connection that he was the co-creator of Get Smart!
AVENGERS. "And There Came ANOTHER Day..."
Avengers #212 (10/81) Writer - Jim Shooter Editor - Jim Salicrup Penciller - Alan Kupperberg Inker - Dan Green Cover Art – Alan Kupperberg “Men of Deadly Pride!" At last we get to the beginning of an interesti8ng newv phase for the Avengers and the title as a whole - with quite a fine cover by Alan Kupperberg which is actually IMHO better than his interior work here.
AVENGERS. "And There Came ANOTHER Day..."
Avengers #211 (09/81) Writer - Jim Shooter Editor - Jim Salicrup Penciller - Gene Colan Inker - Dan Green Cover Art – Gene Colan & Dan Green “...
AVENGERS. "And There Came ANOTHER Day..."
Avengers Annual #10 (01/81) Writer - Chris Claremont - co-editor - David Anthony Kraft Penciller - Michael Golden (& colourist) Inker - Armando Gil Cover Art – Al Milgrom “By Friends -- Betrayed!" First things first - I am actually surprised that the cover was not by Michael Golden and getting him to do the interiors always seemed such a coup. Al Milgrom does fine enough and personally I think he's channeling his Golden or working from his roughs..?
AVENGERS. "And There Came ANOTHER Day..."
Avengers #209 (07/81) Writer - J.M.DeMatteis Editor - Jim Salicrup Penciller - Alan Kupperberg Inker - Dan Green Cover Art – Al Milgrom “The Resurrection Stone" Al Milgrom puts in a good solid cover here with a nice cover appearance of Wonder Man and a rare centre-stage role for the Beast.
'Watchmen' isn't an adaptation: It's something better
By Andrew A. Smith Tribune Content Agency Oct. 24. 2019 -- Watchmen arrived on HBO Oct. 20, to rave reviews, viewer excitement and … well, honestly, a lot of anxious confusion. Let’s deal with that. For those living under a rock for the last 33 years, Watchmen was a 12-issue comic book series published by DC Comics in 1986.
AVENGERS. "And There Came ANOTHER Day..."
Avengers #205 (03/81) Writer - David Michelinie Plot - Bob Budiansky Penciller - Alan Kupperberg Inker - Dan Green Editor - Jim Salicrup Cover Art – Alan Kupperberg & Joe Rubinstein & Marie Severin “Shadow of the Claw!" "...And the Claw shall inherit the Earth!" is a bit of a jumbled mess as a cover, I think it's down to the over-use of the red but surely the two inkers over Kupperberg can't have helped - the composition is a bit flawed too, the guest-villain has his back to the reader and...
AVENGERS. "And There Came ANOTHER Day..."
Possible, although I've never read an explanation, and if it was imposed on Steranko, that would have been either by Lee or Goodman, but that still leaves the question of "why?" Perhaps it was something to do with whether co-creator Al Feldstein or even someone representing the estate of Joe Maneely, the other co-creator, may have taken legal action over ownership of the character, a perhaps that was moot by the time Englehart used him in CA&TF a few years later.
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