![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alicemacher
Now that we've relived Identity Crisis (and survived to tell of it), let's take a trip back to the Golden Age, when members of the JLA's predecessor underwent their own, somewhat different crises of identity. This issue-length Gardner Fox story, from All Star Comics #30 (Aug-Sept 1946), is so delightfully cracky it took four artists to illustrate it. It previously appeared, way back when, on s_d 1.0, so no better time to post it again.
( 'As a sponge, I belong in this sink.' )
Tags:
- char: atom/al pratt,
- char: dr. mid-nite/charles mcnider,
- char: flash/jay garrick,
- char: green lantern/sentinel/alan scott,
- char: hawkman/carter hall,
- creator: gardner fox,
- creator: joe kubert,
- era: golden age,
- group: justice society of america,
- in-joke: crack,
- in-joke: nothing works that way,
- publisher: dc comics
My First Comic: JLA #7
Mar. 14th, 2012 03:17 pmjkcarrier
The earliest comic I can remember reading was Justice League of America #76, which contained reprints of two earlier issues, #7 and #12. I was only 4 or 5 years old at the time, so I couldn't really "read" it, but the strange imagery definitely left an impression. Rereading it as an adult is a slightly different experience -- Gardner Fox explains everything *to death* -- but no matter how you slice it, "The Cosmic Fun-House" is still an incredibly weird story.
(6 pages from a 25-page story)
( Read more... )
The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl!
Jan. 19th, 2011 08:40 amhatmanHello, S_D. It's been a while. Sorry about that.
Recently, I picked up a TPB entitled "Batgirl: The Greatest Stories Ever Told." It's entirely devoted to Barbara Gordon's time as Batgirl. It contains a mix of stories from 1967-1977 as well as a couple from '97 and '98. (The latter being flashbacks to her post-Crisis early career.) I'd be happy to share any other stories from the book if people are interested, but for now I'll just cover the first one, "The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl".
I've uploaded high-res scans to flickr. Here's the full batch. For those not familiar with the exact workings of flickr, you can click any thumbnail to see a larger version (duh), but once you've done that, you can right-click that image and choose "original" to see the full-size scan.
Actually, before I get to the story, I wanted to talk about the cover:
( Something about that face... )
With that out of the way, let's get to the story! Starting with a coincidence that left my jaw on the floor.
( About 5 pages out of 16 )
Thoughts? Reactions? And any requests for more stories from the book?
Recently, I picked up a TPB entitled "Batgirl: The Greatest Stories Ever Told." It's entirely devoted to Barbara Gordon's time as Batgirl. It contains a mix of stories from 1967-1977 as well as a couple from '97 and '98. (The latter being flashbacks to her post-Crisis early career.) I'd be happy to share any other stories from the book if people are interested, but for now I'll just cover the first one, "The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl".
I've uploaded high-res scans to flickr. Here's the full batch. For those not familiar with the exact workings of flickr, you can click any thumbnail to see a larger version (duh), but once you've done that, you can right-click that image and choose "original" to see the full-size scan.
Actually, before I get to the story, I wanted to talk about the cover:
( Something about that face... )
With that out of the way, let's get to the story! Starting with a coincidence that left my jaw on the floor.
( About 5 pages out of 16 )
Thoughts? Reactions? And any requests for more stories from the book?
Alanna of Rann
Sep. 29th, 2009 10:07 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
dr_hermes.insanejournal.comThe Adam Strange strip ran in MYSTERY IN SPACE beginning in 1958. It was a riff on Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter of Mars series in a way. Earthman Adam Strange found a way to get to the planet Rann of the star Alpha Centauri, although he could only stay there a short time each trip. This being a Silver Age comic, naturally he found some wildly implausible alien invasion or other menace to fight each time. But that was not the real reason he counted the minutes until the next Zeta-Beam would appear to take him to his heart's desire.
( Read more... )
dr_hermes.insanejournal.comSome bits from 1961 and 1962 issues of THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD. Script by Gardner Fox, art by Joe Kubert.
One of the most off-beat but underused aspects of the Silver Age Hawkman strip was that Katar and Shayera Hol had prepped for their arrival by using a device called an Absorbascon to transmit all memories and knowledge from the brains of Earth people. (There has to be a limit to the depth and type of information fed into the Hols' brains, I think. Probably they started with intake of language, geography, history, that sort of thing and cut off before they started getting into what size shoes Trotsky wore or how to make haggis. But you never know. The text says "everything" and perhaps the information was stored in compressed form in their brains, sort of like cerebral MP3s.)It was a slightly eerie touch that made our Hawks seem "other," not just everyday humans in costumes. They would sometimes sit in the dark and concentrate to try to bring out just the bit of knowledge they needed. One limitation was that (as I recall) they only did this Absorbascon process once. So if a Mad Scientist invented a reverse evolution ray while the Hols were here, they wouldn't have any information on it. Whether they would know about Green Lantern's weakness or Alfred's collection of antique keys is debatable. On the other hand, they would be great to have around when trying to do the SUNDAY TIMES crossword.
This last page doesn't relate to the Absorbascon, but I wanted to show off some Joe Kubert art. He often drew Hawkman and Hawkgirl at night, making them seem more mysterious and even ominous. Kubert also drew regular human bodies, something of a lost art. Shayera is not Jenna Jameson, Katar is not Lou Ferrigno. They're normal people in good athletic shape and that's enough.
One of the most off-beat but underused aspects of the Silver Age Hawkman strip was that Katar and Shayera Hol had prepped for their arrival by using a device called an Absorbascon to transmit all memories and knowledge from the brains of Earth people. (There has to be a limit to the depth and type of information fed into the Hols' brains, I think. Probably they started with intake of language, geography, history, that sort of thing and cut off before they started getting into what size shoes Trotsky wore or how to make haggis. But you never know. The text says "everything" and perhaps the information was stored in compressed form in their brains, sort of like cerebral MP3s.)It was a slightly eerie touch that made our Hawks seem "other," not just everyday humans in costumes. They would sometimes sit in the dark and concentrate to try to bring out just the bit of knowledge they needed. One limitation was that (as I recall) they only did this Absorbascon process once. So if a Mad Scientist invented a reverse evolution ray while the Hols were here, they wouldn't have any information on it. Whether they would know about Green Lantern's weakness or Alfred's collection of antique keys is debatable. On the other hand, they would be great to have around when trying to do the SUNDAY TIMES crossword.
( Read more... )
This last page doesn't relate to the Absorbascon, but I wanted to show off some Joe Kubert art. He often drew Hawkman and Hawkgirl at night, making them seem more mysterious and even ominous. Kubert also drew regular human bodies, something of a lost art. Shayera is not Jenna Jameson, Katar is not Lou Ferrigno. They're normal people in good athletic shape and that's enough.
Catching up with Thanagar
Aug. 21st, 2009 12:04 amdr_hermes.insanejournal.comA couple of panels from the Hawkman story in THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD# 42, June-July 1962. Art by Joe Kubert, story by Gardner Fox. It's a tradition in science-fiction to use advanced alien civilizations to show how our own progress might go. Let's see how Fox did.
Wellll, we're still not flying around our towns wearing anti-gravity belts and big artificial hawkwings. No "central cooking" delivering meals by pneumatic tubes, either. The closest to that might be if you're residing in a hotel and order room service, but dumbwaiters have almost vanished entirely and instead an employee brings you your order. The "identi-cards" are on target, though. I don't think debit cards existed all in 1962. By the late 1970s, there were such things but not in common usage. (Thanks for the exposition, Katar. Do you explain everything like that everywhere you go? "As you know, after we digest food, we have to eliminate it from our intestines. This is what I intend to do now. Excuse me for five to six minutes.")
Of course, Earthwomen are not interested in fashion and would not want to go shopping for clothes after being away six months. I don't know where Fox got such an idea, except maybe to show how odd Thanagarian culture is. It sure looks to me like Shayera is shopping online; although she might just be watching a show, the caption uses the word shopping in quote marks, so it's ambiguous. Then we see the Hols lounging about and watching the news which was recorded for them. We actually are ahead of this ourselves, what with YouTube and NPR archives. I do like the way Shayera is nibbling on a grape (or whatever) and that they seem to be watching a Mad Scientist.Then there's the Weather Control. This was a popular prediction in old school sci-fi. Nope, we haven't got that yet. The best we're doing is producing global climate change and that wasn't exactly a project we undertook consciously.
Wellll, we're still not flying around our towns wearing anti-gravity belts and big artificial hawkwings. No "central cooking" delivering meals by pneumatic tubes, either. The closest to that might be if you're residing in a hotel and order room service, but dumbwaiters have almost vanished entirely and instead an employee brings you your order. The "identi-cards" are on target, though. I don't think debit cards existed all in 1962. By the late 1970s, there were such things but not in common usage. (Thanks for the exposition, Katar. Do you explain everything like that everywhere you go? "As you know, after we digest food, we have to eliminate it from our intestines. This is what I intend to do now. Excuse me for five to six minutes.")
Of course, Earthwomen are not interested in fashion and would not want to go shopping for clothes after being away six months. I don't know where Fox got such an idea, except maybe to show how odd Thanagarian culture is. It sure looks to me like Shayera is shopping online; although she might just be watching a show, the caption uses the word shopping in quote marks, so it's ambiguous. Then we see the Hols lounging about and watching the news which was recorded for them. We actually are ahead of this ourselves, what with YouTube and NPR archives. I do like the way Shayera is nibbling on a grape (or whatever) and that they seem to be watching a Mad Scientist.Then there's the Weather Control. This was a popular prediction in old school sci-fi. Nope, we haven't got that yet. The best we're doing is producing global climate change and that wasn't exactly a project we undertook consciously.
One Perfect Moment: Snapper Carr
Jun. 10th, 2009 03:18 pmjkcarrier.insanejournal.comThose not well-versed in the Silver Age JLA often ask: "Why would the world's greatest super-heroes let some teenaged punk like Snapper Carr hang out with them?"
Answer: "Because somebody's got to save their sorry asses."
Answer: "Because somebody's got to save their sorry asses."
( Awww...shucks... )
dr_hermes.insanejournal.com
Now, I like Gardner Fox just fine. Aside from the impressive list of classic characters he created, Fox turned out thousands of whacky, imaginative stories with complicated jigsaw-puzzle plots and great hooks to draw the reader in. His characterization and dialogue were not strong points, but adequate; sometimes he threw in a small aside that gave the characters unexpected quirks. However, decade after decade, Fox insisted on taking a small obscure scientific fact and misusing it quite cheekily in a story. He must have know most of the gimmicks he came up with couldn't conceivably work, but hey.. if they sold an issue and entertained a reader, that was enough. Here, in "Earth's Impossible Day" (from THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD# 44, November 1962), he has Katar Hol trying to pull our legs. The idea is that fulgurites -- those small tubes of fused quartz created by lightning strikes -- still somehow have some of that lightning stored in them...!
( some sweet Joe Kubert art, for sure )
Today's mystery guest is also associated with birdlike characters, and I'm sure many of you are grinning and saying, "Of COURSE I know who that is, Doc! Who do you think you're dealing with here?" In any case, it's worth it just to show everyone this chipper beaming old chap.
( an autograph? why, sure, sonny )
