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scans_dailyFollowing on from sweettart1823 's postings from Kevin Smith's Green Arrow series, I thought it prudent to present the earlier attempt to update the concept of "Stanley and his Monster" for the DCU
"Stanley and His Monster" started as a back up feature in "Fox and the Crow" in 1966, it was... and let's be polite here, never exactly rib-busting stuff (as noted in this revamp, this was a time when "Leave it to Beaver" and "I Love Lucy" were as racy as society got), but the notion of a lonely, overimaginative six-year-old boy who couldn't have a pet due to being allergic to ALL of them, and finding a friendly, and hypoallergenic, monster living in the nearby sewers was a nifty one. He DID ask his parents if he could bring a 9 foot tall red hairy monster to live in the house as a pet, and they agreed, assuming he wasn't being serious, a dangerous thing to do in the DCU.
Partly (and openly) inspired by Calvin and Hobbes, this revamp was written and drawn by Phil Foglio (who probably needs little introduction on this forum), and dates back to 1993. 1993 was not a good era for the notion of "cute" or "fun" comics, as this cover gently pokes fun at..
It is also that rare event by any standard, a Vertigo crossover! I kid you not, this family friendly title cheerfully links itself to the Sandman title from the very first page...
Yup, meet Remiel and Duma (the Angel of Silence) who were in charge of Hell following the events of the Sandman story "Season of Mists".
They are just finishing their first full role-call of Hell having had to get all the demons back because of the Sandman series... and having confirmed that "Zzzxxymax (spit/drool) Bite-Your-Dog's-Head-Off Zznoq" is in residence, all is well... or is it...
A demon who's good? Now who could that be?
Meanwhile precocious six year old Stanley Dover is investigating the attic in his house accompanied by his best buddy (Who has just discovered Mr Dover's old disco gear....
At the dinner table, Stanley asks about "The Heterodyne Boys", who seem to be a cross between the Hardy Boys, Tom Swift and Doc Savage, which is quite a thought! Mrs Dover, a born librarian, instantly clicks on the memory...
Stanley doesn't want his dad to spoil the fun, so shushes him before he can mention THE book in front of his mother, who he KNOWS will not let him build anything from it because it'd be "too dangerous". (Please note that this is what a happy marriage looks like in the DCU, Darkseid knows there are few enough of those left these days)
Please note that Star Trek, the Next Generation was still on first run in 1993.
Stanley instantly has his heart set on building the Tree Fort the book describes, but the first problem is that there is only one decent tree in the neighbourhood, built by an old guy who doesn't like kids climbing on it...
and all he wants in return is the chance to build an office in the tree.
I skipped a few panels in smooshing that page, where Mr Vick mentions that he'd once owned a copy of the book, but his mother had burned it for being far too dangerous for kids to try, that's one reason Mr Vick is so keen for Stanley to get a chance, since he knows that into every childhood a little crazy risk is healthy.
So hurdle one is overcome...
The builder is entranced that Stanley has a copy of THE book (Word about it clearly got around) and says that he can have some unused lumber he has lying around if he can get it all shifted, and he'll have a quick read of the book whilst Stanley does it, since he wants to re-read the chapter on building a suspension bridge.
Of course, with a superstrong demon on hand, it takes a lot less time than one might think to gather lumber.
That's six--year old logic for you right there!
One thing I've had to trim out of the story here are the recurring dreams that Stanley has during the issue about how great his tree fort will be, it becomes the headquarters for Captain Clothespin and his sidekick the Furry Wonder, as they fight the Joker, it becomes the rather overcrowded HQ for the Justice League and now, Stanley finds it serves as a last line of defence for his family against... (and tell me you wouldn't buy this comic)
Well, it may LOOK like Wesley Dodds, but we know who it is really, thanks to the inverted tone speech balloons.
At any rate, a short while later the tree fort is complete, well, it's built, but not tree fort is ever complete until you've spent the night in it, which will also be a challenge to arrange, but worry not...
I love this page...
A cunning plan, eh?
So the boys are in their tree fort, and as is their wont, thoughts turn to ghost stories... Spot starts to tell a couple of PG13 (at LEAST) stories about how ghosts were treated in Hell before he stops himself, realising that Stanley is NOT a target audience for such things (His jollification of them is amusing, but it had to be trimmed)
Okay, that's just seven shades of adorable right there... (There's a nice line in their entry in DC's Who's Who where it mentions that the Monster is placid and peaceable, UNLESS something or someone were to threaten Stanley in any way, which would lead to who/whatever it was suddenly having to deal with a 9 foot tall omnivorous buzz-saw of teeth and claws)
There is someone scarier than that on the prowl though, and Stanley warns whoever it is that they can't come into his fort...
Nice twist there. Stanley hopes that this means he's not in trouble, but that would be over-optimistic, and he is marched home, though his mother is actually very proud of him for managing it (and says so), though she's a bit curious where he found the big red shaggy throw pillows she saw in the corner (oh if only she knew).
Meanwhile the Monster is left alone in the tree-fort, planning on heading home in a few minutes, but is interrupted by the arrival of an old, old friend, a sexy demoness named, Nyx... but more on her next time.
See, this is particularly why I don't like Smith's reworking, trying to reconcile these two series (which I do appreciate we're not asked to do, but is sort of hard to avoid) is just plain WRONG!
sweettart1823 's postings from Kevin Smith's Green Arrow series, I thought it prudent to present the earlier attempt to update the concept of "Stanley and his Monster" for the DCU"Stanley and His Monster" started as a back up feature in "Fox and the Crow" in 1966, it was... and let's be polite here, never exactly rib-busting stuff (as noted in this revamp, this was a time when "Leave it to Beaver" and "I Love Lucy" were as racy as society got), but the notion of a lonely, overimaginative six-year-old boy who couldn't have a pet due to being allergic to ALL of them, and finding a friendly, and hypoallergenic, monster living in the nearby sewers was a nifty one. He DID ask his parents if he could bring a 9 foot tall red hairy monster to live in the house as a pet, and they agreed, assuming he wasn't being serious, a dangerous thing to do in the DCU.
Partly (and openly) inspired by Calvin and Hobbes, this revamp was written and drawn by Phil Foglio (who probably needs little introduction on this forum), and dates back to 1993. 1993 was not a good era for the notion of "cute" or "fun" comics, as this cover gently pokes fun at..
It is also that rare event by any standard, a Vertigo crossover! I kid you not, this family friendly title cheerfully links itself to the Sandman title from the very first page...
Yup, meet Remiel and Duma (the Angel of Silence) who were in charge of Hell following the events of the Sandman story "Season of Mists".
They are just finishing their first full role-call of Hell having had to get all the demons back because of the Sandman series... and having confirmed that "Zzzxxymax (spit/drool) Bite-Your-Dog's-Head-Off Zznoq" is in residence, all is well... or is it...
A demon who's good? Now who could that be?
Meanwhile precocious six year old Stanley Dover is investigating the attic in his house accompanied by his best buddy (Who has just discovered Mr Dover's old disco gear....
At the dinner table, Stanley asks about "The Heterodyne Boys", who seem to be a cross between the Hardy Boys, Tom Swift and Doc Savage, which is quite a thought! Mrs Dover, a born librarian, instantly clicks on the memory...
Stanley doesn't want his dad to spoil the fun, so shushes him before he can mention THE book in front of his mother, who he KNOWS will not let him build anything from it because it'd be "too dangerous". (Please note that this is what a happy marriage looks like in the DCU, Darkseid knows there are few enough of those left these days)
Please note that Star Trek, the Next Generation was still on first run in 1993.
Stanley instantly has his heart set on building the Tree Fort the book describes, but the first problem is that there is only one decent tree in the neighbourhood, built by an old guy who doesn't like kids climbing on it...
and all he wants in return is the chance to build an office in the tree.
I skipped a few panels in smooshing that page, where Mr Vick mentions that he'd once owned a copy of the book, but his mother had burned it for being far too dangerous for kids to try, that's one reason Mr Vick is so keen for Stanley to get a chance, since he knows that into every childhood a little crazy risk is healthy.
So hurdle one is overcome...
The builder is entranced that Stanley has a copy of THE book (Word about it clearly got around) and says that he can have some unused lumber he has lying around if he can get it all shifted, and he'll have a quick read of the book whilst Stanley does it, since he wants to re-read the chapter on building a suspension bridge.
Of course, with a superstrong demon on hand, it takes a lot less time than one might think to gather lumber.
That's six--year old logic for you right there!
One thing I've had to trim out of the story here are the recurring dreams that Stanley has during the issue about how great his tree fort will be, it becomes the headquarters for Captain Clothespin and his sidekick the Furry Wonder, as they fight the Joker, it becomes the rather overcrowded HQ for the Justice League and now, Stanley finds it serves as a last line of defence for his family against... (and tell me you wouldn't buy this comic)
Well, it may LOOK like Wesley Dodds, but we know who it is really, thanks to the inverted tone speech balloons.
At any rate, a short while later the tree fort is complete, well, it's built, but not tree fort is ever complete until you've spent the night in it, which will also be a challenge to arrange, but worry not...
I love this page...
A cunning plan, eh?
So the boys are in their tree fort, and as is their wont, thoughts turn to ghost stories... Spot starts to tell a couple of PG13 (at LEAST) stories about how ghosts were treated in Hell before he stops himself, realising that Stanley is NOT a target audience for such things (His jollification of them is amusing, but it had to be trimmed)
Okay, that's just seven shades of adorable right there... (There's a nice line in their entry in DC's Who's Who where it mentions that the Monster is placid and peaceable, UNLESS something or someone were to threaten Stanley in any way, which would lead to who/whatever it was suddenly having to deal with a 9 foot tall omnivorous buzz-saw of teeth and claws)
There is someone scarier than that on the prowl though, and Stanley warns whoever it is that they can't come into his fort...
Nice twist there. Stanley hopes that this means he's not in trouble, but that would be over-optimistic, and he is marched home, though his mother is actually very proud of him for managing it (and says so), though she's a bit curious where he found the big red shaggy throw pillows she saw in the corner (oh if only she knew).
Meanwhile the Monster is left alone in the tree-fort, planning on heading home in a few minutes, but is interrupted by the arrival of an old, old friend, a sexy demoness named, Nyx... but more on her next time.
See, this is particularly why I don't like Smith's reworking, trying to reconcile these two series (which I do appreciate we're not asked to do, but is sort of hard to avoid) is just plain WRONG!
no subject
Date: 2010-09-20 07:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-21 05:45 pm (UTC)I bought a pair for my niece and nephew (which I don't think my sister-in-law apprechiated) but my brother and I grew up on books like that.
Maybe this is why family reuinions resemble the comparing scars scene from Jaws.... still, kids deserve some trust.