Fifty years ago today, Walter O’Malley announced that the Dodgers were moving from Brooklyn, New York to Los Angeles, California.
Not that we know people who are BITTER about that sort of thing, oh no. But just ask any Brooklyn Dodgers fan this question: You’re in a room with Hitler, Stalin and Walter O’Malley and you have a gun with two bullets: Who do you shoot? And of course the Dodger fans would say, "You shoot O’Malley twice."
If I want to be reminded of a very good reason for being where I am for the next six weeks or so, all I need do is look out the window. The foliage is always glorious. I wish I were a poet, or Henry David Thoreau, or James Lee Burke, so I could properly celebrate the changing of the leaves.
But I’m not. What I am is a guy who’s had a lot of reason to think about superheroes and – here comes a stretch – they’re changing, too, just like the leaves.
Well, maybe not just like. Actually, whether you think these überpowered gallants are getting glorious or dreary as dishwater is emphatically a matter of opinion. If you’ve already made up your mind about this … permission to skip to another column granted. If you haven’t … some remarks.
They’re getting darker, these superheroes. Grim, tormented, almost tragic. No doubt about that. Just read a few comics, or, if time and/or budgetary constraints don’t allow for a trek to your nearest pop art dealer, turn on the television.
Because one of the major changes in the superhero saga is that they’re no longer the exclusive property of comics (or low-budget film and video enterprises.) There are the big budget theatrical movies, of course. And television is rife with superheroes, and I’m not referring to the Saturday morning kiddie television ghetto, either; I’m talking prime-time network stuff. It’s about money, as it usually is.
One of the major criticisms of comics like The Legion of Super-Heroes is that the series is so old, and has so many characters, that the continuity is too convoluted and complex for new readers. It would seem to be an unlikely candidate for television, a medium not necessarily known for depth nor consistency.
This past Saturday, the first new episode of the season explored the origins of Timber Wolf. I’m old enough to remember when Timber Wolf was introduced, in the late 1960s. In fact, I still think of him as a “new” character, one of the edgier Legionnaires with a mysterious, tortured past.
The animated Timber Wolf also has a tortured past. Like the original, he is Brin Londo received his powers from his father. On this episode, written by comics veteran J. M. DeMatteis, Brin is charged with the murder of his father. The Legion convicts him of the crime, and he flees to clear his name.
Unlike the original, this Timber Wolf is angry and violent, not shy and timid. He fights first and may ask questions later, or may run off and hit something else. In this, he is not unlike the other Legionaires. The others will often burst into a room and start attacking whatever seems to be abnormal. Of course, since this is children’s network programming, they rarely actually hit anyone, but instead use their powers, aiming rays of energy, cold or heat in a way that is not easily imitated by anyone without a squirtgun.
The life of a spy is a cramped, paranoid, fear-ridden thing, not one of derring-do and adventure. Matt Kindt knows that well. His second graphic novel Super Spy
The production design of Super Spy might lead the reader to expect one kind of story – the front cover shows a woman, crouching, with circles explaining bits of spy paraphernalia and events in her career. The back similarly depicts a man. Both are obviously cramped, forced into an uncomfortable position, with their hands at the edges of the cover – perhaps the walls are closing in on them? It’s a strong visual metaphor both for the life of spying – constrained, constricted, having ones life shoved into a box – and for the hardships of WW II itself. So far, so accurate. But the cover also hints that this will be a story primarily about these two people. We don’t know their names on the cover, but the tags on “his” picture refer to “her,” and to their shared experiences.
Super Spy is not the story of two people; there are at least six major characters, of whom these two are only the ones we meet first. These two are not even necessarily the most important characters. And, given the dangers of spying in wartime, it’s wise not to get too attached to any character in this book. Kindt knows that spycraft is a very dangerous profession, and he shows us all of those dangers.
Archie Comics president and co-publisher Richard H. Goldwater died from cancer, according to a press release from Archie Comics. He was 71.
Richard shared top duties at Archie with chairman and co-publisher Michael Silberkleit. He was the son of John Goldwater, Michael is the son of Louis Silberkleit. Together, John and Louis partnered with Maurice Coyne to form the pulp magazine publishing company that evolved into the golden age’s MLJ Comics, birthplace to Archie Andrews 65 years ago. Together, Michael and Richard steered the company for the past several decades, keeping Archie a household name while adding Josie and the Pussycats and Sabrina The Teen-Aged Witch to the short list of American comic book icons.
While other major comics companies were sold to big conglomerates, Goldwater and Silberkleit kept Archie Comic Publications family owned, establishing values that were well reflected in their publishing output.
(Pictured left-to-right: Archie managing editor Victor Gorelick and co-publishers Michael Silberkleit and Richard Goldwater. Copyright Vanity Fair, All Rights Reserved.)
Phase II is one week old, although I hasten to point out that tweaks and additions and improvements are being made literally every day. That sort of thing never ends, I’m told. Now that each of our weekly series are up here available for your perusal and entertainment – our second week installments begin tomorrow – there are a lot of people to thank. The “without whom” lists, each in alphabetical order, which I certainly hope are complete but know in my heart of hearts there will be people who are hiding in the recesses of my mind. To them, my embarrassed thanks and gratitude. We appreciate you all.
First and literally foremost, I want to thank my partners Brian Alvey and Glenn Hauman and our v-p Martha Thomases for service well above the call of duty: the 25 hour work days (which continue), the sacrifice of personal time (which continues), the “do-this-immediately” hysteria, and, most of all, for putting up with a psychotic E-I-C. You’re the best.
Next, our staff, columnists and contributors, including Mike Baron, Hilary Barta, Rick Burchett, Chris Burnham, Kai Connolly, Michael Davis, Joanna Estep, Ian Gibson, Mike Grell, Robert Greenberger, Bo Hampton, Marc Hempel, Lovern Kindzierski, Alan Kistler, Linda Lessman, William Messner-Loebs, Ric Meyers, Mary Mitchell, Adriane Nash, Dennis O’Neil, John Ostrander, Andrew Pepoy, Bob Pinaha, Michael H. Price, Bill Reinhold, Matt Raub, Mike Raub, Elayne Riggs, Nick Runge, Mark Ryan, Larry Shell, Joe Staton, Lisa Sullivan, Arthur Tebbel, John Tebbel, Robert Tinnell, Timothy Truman, Trevor Von Eeden, Mark Evan Walker, Shannon Weaver, Matt Webb, Mark Wheatley, Andrew Wheeler, Skip Williamson, and John Workman. We couldn’t ask for a better bunch of associates.
Steven J. Massarsky, an attorney and businessman best known for co-founding Valiant Comics with Jim Shooter, died October 5, 2007 at 12:26 p.m. in Manhattan from complications related to cancer.
In 1989, Massarsky co-founded Voyager Communications Inc. (Valiant Comics), which grew into the third largest comic book publisher in the U.S. The company was sold to Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. where Massarsky remained as President and Publisher of the Acclaim Comics division until their bankruptcy. Prior to that, operated an entertainment law practice. His clientele included Nintendo, The Wailers, Cabbage Patch Dolls, the Psychedelic Furs, Collins Management, Aerosmith,
and
.
The response to Massarsky’s passing has been mixed. One industry pro said that thanks to a royalty agreement he signed with Massarsky, "I got the biggest damn check I’ve ever seen. Paid off all back debts and made a sizable downpayment on the home I am now in — which would never have happened otherwise. Because of the deal Massarsky made with me." On the other hand, other industry pros said Massarsky never paid them for work performed and that he "was such an asshole he was kicked out of rock ‘n’ roll by Aerosmith while they were still on drugs."
For a detailed, although obviously biased, look at Massarsky’s time with Valiant, see this interview with Jim Shooter.
Twenty five years ago today, the musical Cats debuted at the WinterGarden theater on Broadway. Featuring music by Andrew Lloyd-Webber, the show drew its lyrics from T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats. The show ran for 7,485 performances over nearly 18 years, breaking the record for longest-running Broadway musical in 1997. The show closed almost seven years ago, and sadly, they still can’t get the cat smell out of the theater.
Wow, it’s been some week for ComicMix, and we appreciate all the kind words of support and terrific reviews we’ve seen so far! Please let us know where you’ve seen our comics discussed, we don’t want to miss any feedback! In the meantime, here’s your weekly wrapup of our regular columns:
As you can see, Mellifluous Mike Raub‘s Big ComicMix Broadcasts are now all accessible right from our front page, so no need to recap them here any more; just scroll down on the right sidebar and there they are! In fact, it just so happens that all of the above columns can currently be accessed from our section entitled "More Comics News" at the bottom of our front page, mixed in with our news items. Can a separate column archives be far behind? Well, that would be telling, wouldn’t it?
Needless to say, it has been a rather eventful week here at ComicMix, but not so much that we can’t take the time out to WELCOME all of you who may have just discovered us via news of our new, weekly and FREE comics. If you missed some of our Big ComicMix Broadcasts this week, here are some things we pointed you toward:
Even if you hate CSI: Miami, you will still enjoy this montage of cheesy David Caruso one-liners here, then take a trip here for some ideas on making your own montages and getting CBS to use them!
That preview of the new Wallace and Gromit special can be seen here. Actually it is a short film about the next TV special, Trouble At’ Mill, which will debut on BBC One in fall/holiday 2008.
If you are lucky enough to own any original Jack Kirby art from Captain Victory, Image Comics needs your help in order to produce the best looking hardcover of this project. Drop them a line here.
Columns / Glenn Hauman / News
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