Comicscape - January 14, 2004

By: Tony Whitt
Date: Wednesday, January 14, 2004

OPINION:

I knew I should have stayed out of the Thor/Superman conflict. Several of you had quite strong responses to last week's column, and in the last week I've been labeled both a Superman-hater and a Thor-hater (neither of which is true, by the way). Honestly - do you think I'd be reading comics if I had a capacity for hatred big enough to encompass both these guys? In amongst all the "you hate Marvel, you hate DC, you suck" drivel, though, there were several letters that tried to look at the "issue" seriously, without any ad hominem attacks of the sort that make this column such fun to write, and to those people I express my heartfelt thanks. (Oh, it also turns out that there are a lot more rockin' songs about Superman than that reader last week led us to believe - thanks to all who wrote in to list them for me!)

Problem is, the whole furor took all the attention off the 5 Best and 5 Worst Comics of 2003, for which I got far fewer votes than I was hoping. So that I'm not basing the whole list on the votes of a small handful of readers (which would no doubt lead to yet more ad hominem attacks, mostly directed at me), I'm going to extend the voting by a week, and I'm going to expand it. As before, I'd like you to send me your votes for those best and worst comics, but this time you can send me your own Top 5/Worst 5 lists (and I'll just get out the calculator when the time comes). You should also state the reasons why you felt those particular titles deserved such kudos or brickbats. Those who have already sent in votes may feel free to expand on their prior entries - I'm sure that asking you to narrow your votes to one title for each was a bit short-sighted on my part, and it probably took some of the fun away. Your votes may be for a complete miniseries, a one-shot, or an ongoing title, so long as the book in question was released in 2003 (or, in the case of miniseries, was begun during 2003). To have your vote counted, send them by midnight Saturday, January 17th, to comicscape@cinescape.com, or to me directly. Votes sent after that time will not be counted.

Luckily, I did get a lot of responses regarding last month's column on Power Records, the book-and-record set

company that got many of us of a particular age into reading comics. Seems I'm not the only one who gets the warm fuzzies at the thought of these. For instance, Sam Gilmore writes, "I remember when I was 9 years old I bought a Batman Power record. I must've played that thing a hundred times. I have very fond memories of that. I wish I would've bought more and keep them. Man, that was a long time ago." Oh, Sam, it wasn't that long ago, was it? You're, what, 25 now, same as me? (ducks to avoid the shoes thrown across the room at him)

Actually, I'm the same age as Tom Cibelli, who writes, "I am 33 years old, and I had forgotten all about these record/comic combos. Now I distinctly remember two: 'Conan: The Crawler in the Mists' and 'Batman: Robin Meets Man-Bat.' The Conan book and record not only launched my interest in comic reading but it fostered my interest in DUNGEONS & DRAGONS. I credit both of these mediums (comics and D&D) with my adult interest in literature as well as my scholastic success. The 'Man-Bat' book and record scared me. I remember the drawing of the Man-Bat being pretty creepy, and I usually couldn't listen to this one alone!" You lucky stiff - I could never find the Conan record, and it was the one I always wanted! But I agree with you about the Man-Bat record - always seemed like such a placid title for such a cool story, even though that's exactly what happens at the end... That cover image (done by no less than Neal Adams, by the way, as was "The Crawler in the Mists" cover) was pretty scary stuff for a six-year old, and those bat screeches...! That set also featured one of the few panels I remember finding it odd that they'd not done a sound effect or something for: the moment when Bats discretely drapes his cape around the previously transformed (and now completely nude) Mrs. Langstrom. I'll bet the 12-year olds were more than happy to read this one alone...

Speaking of immoral acts, I'd love to raid Dirk Milsted's house after reading this: "I still have a broad collection of Power Records. My collection includes [the Peter Pan] 'A Story

of Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Werewolf' [record]...I am currently writing and rehearsing an original one man adaptation of A CHRISTMAS CAROL. In it, I perform all of the characters vocally and physically. I have to think that one of the reasons I became an actor was because I listened to the dramatization of the stories in Power Records. I remember practicing the different voices the actors used. I [still] pull [the records] out from time to time and listen to them. Even though they would be worth more if they had not been opened, I still find them enjoyable to hear even after all these years." Not only am I envious of you having that monster combo record which I was never able to find, Dirk (and which was also illustrated by Mr. Adams), I'm also heartened that I'm not the only one who still will give these a listen every once in a while. If only someone would put them all out on CD or in mp3 format...though, judging from our next reader's response, some people have...

I don't usually print responses from people who don't at least give a pseudonym, but this reader not only feels the influence Power Records had on him, he (or she) gives us more resources to look up: "According to my parents, Power Records were a big part of my learning to read. I'd play those records over and over and over while reading those pseudo-comics. Mom says I'd read them out loud on long car trips, and whenever I got to the end of the page, I'd made a beeping noise, just like the record. Sigh. I feel bad for kids these days, not having something like Power Records around. FYI, I know of a couple of websites that have Power Records stuff. First, there's Dann Hauser's STAR TREK site, which has a section on Power Records' STAR TREK series. It's mainly plot synopses and MP3 clips from each story. Pretty cool. The big treasure is Sean Huxter's GI Joe Adventure Team site. It has a section on the GI Joe records, with all four adventures available for download as WAVs. Extremely cool!" I've visited both these sites, and I can attest to the coolness of it all, especially the GI Joe stuff. Hmm, GI Joe...a male reader, then? Whatever your gender, thanks for the info!

Shawn McGuan says the Power Records line had a strong influence on him: "I was big on the Power Records I owned (Spider-Man: 'Mark of the Man-Wolf' and 'Invasion of the Dragon Men,' The Incredible Hulk: 'The Hulk at Bay,' Captain America and the Falcon: 'A Phoenix Shall Arise,' and The Fantastic Four: 'The Way It Began') and I know I read and re-read (and listened and re-listened to) all of these. They were definitely instrumental into making me a fan of reading. I also agree with you when you talk about how these were stimulating for 'a child intellectually hungry enough to devour comics at that young an age.' I've always had a fascination with words, and comics in general are responsible. (I particularly remember hitting the dictionary often in junior high when I'd come across the head scratchers in Reed Richards' word balloons during Bryne's FF run.) Power Records got the ball rolling, however.
I'll probably be spending most of my night digging around for whichever copies survived my various moves over the years." Hope you find them, Shawn! Now you've reminded me that I need to go have a look...

Seems like just about everyone that wrote in owned (or still has) that first Spider-Man record mentioned above, including Heath McKnight, who shares a valuable

lesson that today's generation won't even be able to comprehend: "When I saw that [Spider-Man cover in the column last month], I was instantly transported back in time! When I lived in Denver at the tender age of 5 or 6, and my parents bought me that Man-Wolf comic. Ol' JJJ's son was a werewolf with a necklace. Man, wow, I read and listened to that record a million times! I even had a Popeye one that I accidentally played at a lower speed, but I couldn't figure out why their voices were so low. I had to have been 3 or 4 when I had that Popeye record/comic..." OK, those of you who are under 20 and who do not have turntables: records came in four different speeds, and it was sometimes easy to mistake a 33 1/3 RPM disc for a 45 RPM one and thus play it too fast, and vice versa. I used to do that, too, Heath, though I did it on purpose most of the time...

Sadron Lampert writes, "I too had this Spider-Man book n' record set, and almost certainly carved some deep canyons into the record's grooves by the time I finally lost track of the set. Wow, good times. This is probably one of my earliest superhero/comic book memories, right up there with wailing my head off at the local toy store because my dad didn't want to wait in line so I could get Spider-Man's autograph (on whatever Spider-merchandise he was pimping c. 1977). (Oh, my, not you, too? - TBW). I can't recall ever having any other Power Records sets, but I'd say that like you this was one of the factors that sparked a of comic books and reading in general. Good stuff." No other sets, Sadron? Believe me, you were missing out - but most of them are still out there on eBay, and we won't tell anyone you're buying them if you don't tell on us...

Stefan Herzeler brought up the two Spidey records, as well as providing some info I knew nothing about: "I was born in 1975, and although they weren't as common in the '80s as they were earlier, I did grow up with the readalong records and tapes, had quite a bit of them, and I have been thinking much as you have: that kids today are missing out on something. I remember playing those records where I grew up in suburban Connecticut, and it really was more vibrant, more thrilling than TV...I see the way that technological progress has really sacrificed a lot, and the franchise-mentality of a character seems to be the driving force of what kids today get an impression of. (I know that franchise mentality was always there, but I think it's more explicit now, as in, the commercial products come first, the character and story come later.) I felt those records gave me a sense of what the character itself was about, and allowed me to become a lifelong comics reader. Those records were also my first exposure to Tolkien (I had a record of 'The Hobbit,' with dialog and a readalong book of the Rankin Bass Animated version). I actually tried to convince my friends in elementary school that I was a Hobbit, that's how much I loved it...So, I don't know if you're familiar with the surf guitar with outer space theme band 'Man or Astro Man?' but I think you'd like to know that on one of their songs, they sample some moments from the Spidey Power record story 'Invasion of the Dragon Men' (the song has the same title, and it's on their CD IS IT MAN OR ASTRO MAN?) and do their own instrumental song that is a tribute to it. I've even had the luxury of talking to the band themselves about that (to the one who calls himself 'Coco the Electronic Monkey Wizard') when I went to one of their shows, and they sort of hung around beforehand and let me talk and hang out. I was able to share with them how I had that record as a kid and what an impact it had." Actually, Stefan, I only know the band from their terrific theme to the SPACE GHOST COAST TO COAST series on Cartoon Network (the first season of which is now available on DVD), but it looks like I'm going to have to check that album out now... Thanks!

Craig Panichella also wrote in to remind us that it wasn't just my generation that were influenced by these things: "Maybe the next generation of comic book readers did get influenced by the cassette and book combos more than what you think. I started collecting comics very young, as well: 6-7 years of age. I was born in 1977, and the first books I can remember reading were the cassette and book combos of Superman and the Justice League of America, which was definitely before I was 6 and started reading comics. I mean, sure, my Mom got me the Bearnstein Bears, Zorro, and The Lone Ranger on cassette and book, but to this day I still remember that JLA story: Green Lantern and Superman building the headquarters, each individual JLA member using their abilities to stop a different threat, and what the aliens did to the Red Tornado at the end. It was so exciting to me, I still remember it today. (Wow...I don't remember such a story, but it sounds cool. Was this a Peter Pan release, or was it another company? - TBW) I can't say I remember many other books and stories I read around that time in my life. That JLA story led right into me reading comics. Like your brother-in-law, the fondest memories I have of growing up was my Dad taking me to the comic book store because he was not around all the time due to his work. He always practiced sports with us, but comics was something my twin brother never got into, and although I read mostly Marvel (if you figure, it was around 1983-1986), those cassette and hardcover book combos started it all. If more of those came out around the time I read them, you may have seen more comics readers today." I wish they had, Craig, I wish they had.

Richard Bowen had a question which, darn me to heck, I still don't have the answer to: "Am I the

only one who still has them? (That's not the question, by the way... - TBW) I have them in all the permutations - two Spidey book and record sets (the two you showed pictures of, in fact) a Batman B&R, a Spider-Man LP, two Superman LP's, two Star Treks (with cover art by Neal Adams), and the oddity of the collection, Holo-Man. Does that name ring any bells for you? It's copyrighted 1978 by 'Wavelength Holographics,' and though none of the eight (!) writers sounds familiar, the art is by Marvel's 'Jumpin'' Joe Giella. In short, a scientist is giving the President (not named, but clearly Carter) a demonstration of new advances in holography. When the machine is sabotaged by secret agents from the eastern bloc nation of, ahem, 'Surria,' it explodes. The scientist leaps to protect the Prez, and ends up somehow fusing with the holographic plates.

"He finds himself in some sort of twilight zone, where a bearded old Shazam-type tells him he is now a superhero called, yes, Holo-Man. The scientist returns to earth and goes to tell the President what happened (apparently they're buds now), just as the Surrians launch a wave of holographic missiles as the prelude to an invasion. We are told not to miss the next exciting adventure, but as far as I know, that was the only one. The last page depicts something called the 'Holo-Squad,' consisting of a 'Laserwoman,' a kid named 'Wavelength,' and a blond woman called 'Utopia,' but no further information is given. The cover and back page both show a menacing figure in a purple shirt and skunk-striped hair who apparently is intended to be Holo-Man's nemesis, but, again, no further information was given. So do you know anything about this? The site you linked to was down - probably too much traffic from your link - but do you know if he had anything about it? Did my copy fall to earth from a parallel universe?"

Oh, I remember Holo-Man, all right. In 4th Grade we were required - required, mind you - to bring in a record of some sort that the whole class could listen to. Everyone else brought in what they had: Donna Summer, the Osmonds, and so on. I brought in what I had: Holo-Man. No need to tell you that no one was interested in hearing this exciting adventure all the way through, is there, or how vocal they were about it for weeks afterwards? Shudder. Anyway...after getting over the memory of that childhood trauma, I tried to track down the "Atomic Comics" company that supposedly was going to put out the Holo-Man series of book-and-records (and who also offered "the holodisc - a real laser-produced holographic pendant" (emphasis theirs) and the "Holosquad Membership Card" which was "good for dozens of offers from Atomic Comics!" For "dozens," read "none" - judging from the fact that "Atomic Comics" and "Power Records" just happened to share the same address, I'm betting that Power wondered whether they could make a regular series of book-and-records around this concept, with the same type of production schedule as a regular comic book, but were only able to produce one before the financial realities of the situation hit them. You can read (a little) more about the character here, but they seem to know as little as I do, and info about this guy is almost as hard to find as specific info about Power Records themselves. Not bad for a comic written by committee, though. Do I still have this one, you ask? Nah. Too painful to keep around.

I hope you enjoyed the trip down Memory Lane as much as I did, but the next order of business is your votes for Best and Worst Comics of 2003 - oh, yeah, and what's for sale this week. So, get your vote in by midnight Saturday, January 17th, to comicscape@cinescape.com, or to me directly. And as always, don't forget our discussion boards! Now, let's see what's going to be on the shelves, shall we?

THIS WEEK:

OK, just so no one goes on thinking I hate either

Superman or Thor, I'm putting their books right up front, without any jokes. DC is shipping ACTION COMICS #811, which features THE LEGION's Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning writing the three-part "Strange New Visitor" storyline running weekly in this month's Superbooks. They're also shipping the first issue of Kurt Busiek's four-part Prestige Format miniseries SUPERMAN: SECRET IDENTITY #1. And Marvel is shipping THOR #73, which features the fifth chapter in Dan Jurgens' story "The Reigning." There. Now can I go back to having a sense of humor?

I'd tell you more about CAPTAIN AMERICA #22, but the Marvel website doesn't seem to have it listed as coming out this week. Imagine.

One conscientious reader did send in a vote for one of the Five Worst Comics of 2003: AQUAMAN. Not to swing anyone's vote or anything, but would you go read #14 this week and see if you agree with him? I already know how I feel about it...

Lots of lovely stuff for the Bat-Fans this week, with BATMAN: DEATH AND THE MAIDENS #6 (Of 9); BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #175; NIGHTWING #89; GOTHAM CENTRAL #15 (hey, it's set in Gotham, the Joker's in it this month, and Tim Agen keeps telling me over and over how good it is - and he's right).

Can't find anything on CAPTAIN MARVEL #18, either - mainly because it appears that, as of this writing, the titles listed for sale for last week on the Marvel site are listed for every week in January. Think they're doing this specifically to piss me off, or do they really not care that you know what's been released and when?

Speaking

of things needing exorcising, DEMON: DRIVEN OUT #5 (Of 6) is out this week, in which Jason Blood and Ame Okumura join forces against Etrigan. That's almost a direct quote from the DC site, by the way.

And speaking of inner demons needing to be driven out, INCREDIBLE HULK #65 is shipping, too. I'd tell you more, but yadda, yadda, yadda...

Whoo hoo! Vertigo is shipping FABLES #21 this week, the action of which all takes place in bars. My kind of book.

It also seems like the sort of book Neil Gaiman might have written, but he's off doing wonderful things such as MARVEL: 1602 #6 (Of 8), which of course we know nothing else about. Will someone remind me to renew my subscription to PREVIEWS, please?

Speaking of wonderful things and books you need subscriptions to, Peter David's FALLEN ANGEL #7 ships this week, featuring Black Mariah. Don't know who that is yet? Then you're not reading one of the best books out there, and shame on you for it, too.

As for books

which should be getting votes for "Best of 2003" (betcha thought I was going to say "Speaking of" again, didn't ya?), Wildstorm is shipping the GLOBAL FREQUENCY: PLANET ABLAZE trade paperback for $14.95, collecting issue #s 1-6 of this fabulous Warren Ellis maxiseries. They're also shipping STORMWATCH: TEAM ACHILLES #19, THUNDERCATS: HAMMERHAND'S REVENGE #4 (Of 5), and a hardcover graphic novel written by Kevin J. Anderson and drawn by Robert Teranishi called THE SAGA OF SEVEN SUNS: VEILED ALLIANCES for $24.95. Time to start digging in the couch for loose change again!

SPIDER-MAN UNLIMITED #1 I know something about - mainly because the Marvel website accidentally put the info for it up last week. Oh, well. It's a new bi-monthly title featuring by Joseph Goodrich and Brian Lynch, art by Takeshi Miyazawa and Sean Chen, and an appearance by Spidey's old enemy Slyde. Oh, SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #9 is out, too, but yet again... SPIDER-MAN AND DR OCTOPUS: NEGATIVE EXPOSURE #4 (Of 5) is also out, but all you need to know about that one is that it's written by Brian K. Vaughan. Right?

Yup, Judd Winick is writing GREEN ARROW again, and a new five-part storyline, "City Walls," begins in #34 this week. Ah, it's good to be alive...

Yes, THE PUNISHER #1 is out this week, and no, I don't have a copy of PREVIEWS to tell you more about it. Sorry, kids.

HAWKMAN #23 should be good, though - it's written by Geoff Johns as usual, and in it the weekly 6-part "Black Reign" storyline continues. Oh, the JSA are in there somewhere, too. This is Geoff Johns, after all.

I love Will Pfeifer. No, really, I do. Who else would have thought up a story in which a male user of the H-E-R-O dial gets transformed into a female superhero? But that's what happens in H-E-R-O #12, bless him. Say, Will, I know a few people who would pay good money for that dial...

Dark Horse is doing us all a favor. Not only are they shipping both LONE WOLF 2100 #11 and SYN #4 this week, they're also shipping the second issue of Joss Whedon's new series TALES OF THE VAMPIRES. If you haven't read it yet, you obviously didn't pay attention to my review of the first issue last month, and shame on you yet again.

If you're looking for rough trade (paperbacks, that is), DC's giving you a choice this week between JLA: ZATANNA'S SEARCH, featuring the Silver Age storyline that introduced the fabulous femme in fishnets to the DCU, and OUTSIDERS: LOOKING FOR TROUBLE, reprinting OUTSIDERS #s 1-6 and the lead story from TEEN TITANS/OUTSIDERS SECRET FILES #1. Both go for $12.95 apiece. Unless, of course, you wimped out and bought that reprinted edition of OUTSIDERS #s 1-3 out a month or so ago...

And speaking of teen heroes, TEEN TITANS #7, written by the ubiquitous Geoff Johns, is also out, and it features a certain super hero from another planet who got into a little fight with another mighty hero from another comics company. That's all I'm going to say, dammit, so leave me alone.

Oh, yeah...ULTIMATE ADVENTURES #6, ULTIMATE X-MEN #41, and WEAPON X #17 are all out from Marvel, too, but....sigh.

Paging Mr. Joe Quesada...

Questions? Comments? Let us know what you think at comicscape@cinescape.com -- and don't forget to participate in our comic book message forum!

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