John Simcoe

It's hard to be humble when you look like me!

      So how's everyone enjoying the new JLA? It seemed to be a bit muddled at times and the "Rock of Ages" storyline has been way too long. Writer Grant Morrison's plots are a little too weird at times, but the stories seem to have a little more impact than the previous version.
      Having the big shots seems to help it out a lot, but I'm eager for new members. My wish list: Captain Marvel, Mr. Miracle, Metamorpho, Hawk (80's version - but he's a bad guy now), Dove (ditto - but he's dead now), Plastic Man (he's in), Black Canary (with hip new costume), Black Lightning, Warrior, Steel (he's in), and Starman (I'd take either the 80's or 90's version).
      Criteria for membership should be a super power (or eight) or incredibly exceptional normal human skills or mechanically endowed super abilities. Plus, each member should be a substantial character. By substantial character I mean the hero should be an A or B -list hero be instantly recognizable by costume and be of a quality that sets him or her apart form other heroes.
      Who will it be? We'll all probably know by the time this appears.

Marvel Comics Group

Who's the man?

Marvel Two-in-One No. 99 features Rom pairing up with the Thing. It's written by one of my all-time favorite comic book authors, Bill Mantlo. He always seemed to pour a lot of emotion and character into his scripting.

      There are times when you just have to say "See Ya!" to family values and I had to do just that on Thanksgiving weekend 1997. Instead of staying with my brother and parents in Indianapolis, I rushed back to Ohio for the Mid-Ohio Comic Con. It was there that I got to meet my all-time favorite artist, Paul Smith. He drew one of the first comics I ever read, Uncanny X-men #166, and is probably why I started down this confusing comic book road. Smith's lines are what I've always tried to copy when I draw superheroes.
      There were other big names like John Byrne, Green Lantern's Darryl Banks, Kurt Busiek, Roger Stern, humorist Sergio Argones, fairy tale artist Craig Russel, Astro City artist Brent Anderson, ESPers scribe James Hundall, an inker who was selling Paul Pelletier art at fantastic prices, Golden age Batman's Sheldon Moldoff.
      There were a lot more people there that I just didn't get to see them!

      Sheba creator, artist, and writer Walter S. Crane IV

copyright Walter S. Crane IV

Smooth operator

One great thing about Walter S. Crane IV's Sheba is how ancient characters use modern dialogue.

also popped up at the Mid-Ohio. Sheba No. 1, published by Quebecor Printing for the first couple of issues and now published by Sirius, is one hilarious comic book.
      The story for this issue focuses on a mummified ancient Egyptian cat who's trip to the afterlife got side tracked. Thanks to some looters, the cat finally begins its journey, only to find the gods of Egypt aren't what they used to be.
      Crane's black and white art - which has a sort of Hepcats quality mostly due to the subject matter - is a delicate mix of pen and ink that lends itself to the story's gut-busting dialogue. His layouts get a little hectic at times, but that's just a small criticism.
      Another minor point is the cover - it just doesn't have much pizzazz, probably because the logo lettering is so thin. Sirius would be wise to make it a little bolder.
      The best part of the book has to be the script, it's a

copyright Walter S. Crane IV

When titans tustle

Bacchus, an Egyptian deity, meets a befuddled Jesus Christ in Sheba No. 1.

fine mixture of modern values and an ancient setting. Some of the funniest moments are when Bacchus, a slightly discouraged god, meets up with some other deities, including Jesus.
      You can order a copy of Sheba from Sick Mind Press, 30 Narrows Rd, Assonet MA 02702. The price? $2.95, whatta deal!

      I come from a sort of "new generation" of comic book readers. As a youngster, I only read superhero origins as summaries for a larger comic book story it took me a long time before I ever sullied my hands with reprints.
      I say this because it's at the root of a terrible, terrible secret that I possess. It's one that will cause many to cringe, but I gotta say it.
      See I've never really liked Jack Kirby's art. (GASP!)       Like I said, an admission like that could get me shot in many fan circles and I bet there's one or two readers who have already torn this page out of the APA, but please, I implore you keep reading.
      Before I go much further, I'd like to state that I understand fully well what Kirby's accomplishments are and his contributions are to the medium, but I just can't help my general distaste for his art.
      See, I always thought he drew women with a somewhat shapeless and un-delicate manner.
      His perspectives, lauded by many for their originality, left me asking "what's the matter with his hand?"
      Most of all I couldn't stand his heavy use of blacks. The thick lines just oozed off every page.
      I just couldn't stand his stuff, especially when I was younger. As a teen, when I looked through DC's Who's who, I couldn't help but shake my head at how he had "ruined" all those cool characters like Mr. Miracle and Demon.

copyright Jack Kirby

Gone, but not forgotten

This is a sample from Jack Kirby's Satan Six. It's a nice surprise to find in a back issue bin. The snappy dialogue is by Tony Isabella and Kirby. The series, which came out in 1993, features a mixture of Kirby and John Cleary art.

      Now as an adult, who's interested in the history of comics, things are much clearer. I can see he's the king, even if I'm not one of his loyal subjects.
      Now I'm most impressed by his character and technology designs - look at Dr. Doom, his armor is a magnificent symbol and then look at all those great gizmos, like the Ultimate Nullifier or Psycho Man's emotion control box.
      I can look through a Marvel Universe or a Who's Who and say "Kirby" and "Not Kirby" to each character. There's a amazing division, probably about 40 to 50 percent in the Marvel Universe, of characters created by Jack Kirby. His designs, with all their tubes and discs, are simply some to the best and that's what I DO like about Jack Kirby.

      This all brings' me to a Jack Kirby's "Satan's Six" No. 1 by Topps comics.
      I actually bought this issue to take to the Mid-Ohio and have Tony Isabella sign, but I never did because I hadn't read it (or even taken it out of it's sealed bag). By Mid January, I broke it open and read it.
      The story line was great and it was an incredibly original idea. If I got it right, five people stuck in purgatory get a chance to return to earth and they take it, not knowing that one of Satan's minions is scheming against them. Unfortunately for the demon, a bumbling knight keeps making

copyright Jack Kirby

Touched by an angel

Pristine, a guardian angel in Satan's Six, isn't afraid to talk to the readers.

things turn out for the better, despite his intentions to do otherwise.
      I'm not sure if i did the storyline any justice, because the way it's executed is quite entertaining.
      Kirby and Isabella, who are cocredited as writers, do a great job with Pristine, a guardian who breaks the fourth wall and gives readers the low down on what's going on.
      Brian Bluedragon, the aforementioned knight, is a boisterous, Thor-like character who just wants to get things done. He's kind of like a walking hurricane.
      Like the writing, the art was a split duty, too. Kirby drew 8 pages and newcomer-at-the-time John Cleary drew the rest. It's an odd mix because Kirby draws a couple of pages, Cleary kicks in. The art styles are radically different, Kirby with his standard stuff and Cleary who says he's inspired by McFarlane, Liefeld and Larson.
      The two divergent styles really clash. It's like watching a movie started by Oliver Stone, with a middle by the Zucker Brothers and then finished up by NBC for a TV movie.
      Still though, "Satan's Six", now five years old, is a bargain thanks to it's clever plot and scripting. As a bonus, it's also got a Wolff and Byrd feature that harkens back to all those EC-style stories.

      A friend at work gave me a great magazine the other day, it's called The Movie Market.
      The magazine is a huge catalogue listing of celebrity photos for sale. Each page contains 169 thumbnail sized pictures of people like Gillian Anderson, Don Johnson, Howard Stern, Daphne Zuniga and literally hundreds more. Most of the stars have several selections and many are, uh, quite revealing.
      The Movie Market sells prints of the photos at various sizes, which can range from 6x4 inches all the way up to 16x20. Prices are dirt cheap, probably due to the high volume they sell. Most sell from $1.75 (for color 6x4) to $5 (for color 8x10). The 16x20 poster size is priced at $17.
      The big stars are in it too. You can get shots of Harrison Ford, Pamela Anderson, Madonna and Jodie Foster or just about anybody you can think of.
      You can reach The Movie Market at P.O. Box 3900, Dana Point, CA 92629 -8900 or call (714) 488- 8444. I'm sure if you asked real nice they'd give you an issue.

      Lost in the Alps is a graphic novel put out by NBM Comics Lit and originally published in Europe in 1984. NBM has been offering the title in its latest catalogues.
      It's priced at $15.95 and is a pretty thick volume, probably about 150 pages. The story centers around an English author, Woodworth, who's trying to find out more about his long missing brother. The trail leads Woodworth to a tourist resort in the Alps. It's there he finds all sorts of goings on: the police on the hunt of an escaped criminal, a mystery woman,

copyright NBM comics

Face off

Cosey, artist for Lost in the Alps, has a style that looks a lot like Frank Miller and David Mazzuchelli.

avalanches, an abandoned mansion, plenty of skiing, a runaway pig and more oddities.
      The story itself is fairly weak and may have suffered in the translation from whatever language it was originally in, but that's not the important part of this book it's the art.
      The penciller, listed only by the name "Cosey" is a great talent. His art is full of subtleties that keeps the reader in awe. He's a master of perspective and renders buildings and structures with elegance. One scene shows a worms-eye view of several snow-covered cabins as they creep up a hillside, a reverse of the same shot is equally amazing.
      Cosey's character illustrations are quite similar to art by Frank Miller or David Muzzeielli in their Daredevil days. Perhaps one or the other copied Cosey's style or Cosey theirs.
      Is Lost in the Alps worth $16? Well, that depends. Are you an artist who likes classic Daredevil? Then yes. Do you want an engaging story? Then avoid this one.

      So, after insulting Jack Kirby, I bet you won't be willing to listen to me on who I really in the comic world, but I'll give it a try.
      To me, probably one of the best writers in the 70's and 80's was Bill Mantlo. He worked on a wide variety of books, like

copyright Marvel Comics Group

In the shadows

In this panel from the second Cloak and Dagger grphic novel, Bill Mantlo, the writer, Dagger tries her best to pep up her ever gloomy partner.

Cloak and Dagger, Marvel Team-Up, Deadly hands of Kung Fu, Peter Parker The Spectacular Spider-Man and vast amount of other stuff that I can't remember at this moment.
      What I liked so much about Bill was his ability to get to the root of the character and give them a soul. He was especially good at characters who faced a lot of inner turmoil and self-doubt. Probably the character he most worked on was Cloak, who was always depressed and full of self loathing.
      Every time I looked up after reading one of his stories, I would just be amazed at the depth and the almost tortured lengths his stories stretched the characters he worked on.
      Sure there were plenty of great writers back then, like Frank Miller, Roy Thomas, John Byrne - the list goes on and on - but I think that Bill Mantlo should land in the top ten of any comic fan who sits down and takes a look at his stuff.
      Maybe next time I'll try to round up a list of some of Bill's best stories.
      So where's Bill Mantlo now? Well that's the sad part. In the early 90's, Bill was in an accident while he was in-line skating in San Francisco. He was hit by a car and went into a coma. I read about this in Comic Buyers Guide when it happened

copyright The Associated Press

Sing for her supper

Could Madonna play the Black Canary? I think so.

to him and haven't heard anything about him since. I've actually written into CBG a couple of times, hoping for some news, but none has filtered back to me. Bill, I miss your stuff!

      Every time I put together a Comics on the Brain, I'll try to do a dream cast-type thing.
      How about Madonna as The Black canary?

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