Who's the Best... Anthology Comic Series?

Redartz:  Good day to one and all! Today we consider a genre of comic close to many hearts (certainly close to mine, anyway): anthology comics. Books in which one was treated to a variety of stories, with different characters, different creative teams, all within a single issue. A given book may have contained just two stories (such as was found in classic series like Strange Tales, Tales of Suspense, and Tales to Astonish). Or it may have contained several stories, as with the dollar Adventure Comics, or Walt Disney's Comics and Stories. The stories sometimes shared a theme, such as sci-fi in Mystery in Space, or Batman Family stories in Detective. Story lengths varied, but you always got some variety for your comic coin. And after all, who doesn't enjoy a buffet?

 Following are a few examples to 'prime the pump':
 

 

Among my personal favorites were Adventure (a great line-up with Deadman and the JSA), Mystery in Space (some very nice stories by top talent) and the always fun Disney's Comics and Stories. What were your favorites? What were the best line-ups of features? Let's all get eclectic today... 

Guest Post - If I Had a Buck... George Perez Edition

Doug: That rascal Martinex1 is back today with another challenge for the Bronze Age Babies. Pack your quarters and come along for the ride!

Mike S: I am back with my game of riches, “If I Had A Buck…” A little reminder on how it works: you visit my other worldly comic shop and on the spinner rack sit nine comics. These comics may be from different eras and at different price points. You have a choice to make with the single dollar you have in your hand, so choose wisely and share your opinions.

Last time, we explored the artwork on the Ms. Marvel series from the late 1970s. The challenge was choosing amongst nine cover creators for the same character and title. Today I have a little twist, there will be nine different team titles but with one cover creator. 
 

George Perez is considered by many to be a modern comic art legend. He is ranked up there with all of the greats in the field; and perhaps he is most known for his prolific output, detailed layouts and backgrounds, and handling of multiple characters and teams. I dare say he has drawn nearly every Marvel and DC character over the years, and sometimes they all appeared in a single panel, cover, or poster.  In my purchasing history, his comic covers always drew my eye. There was a level of excitement in the artwork that few matched.

So here is the challenge. I have assembled nine comics, with nine teams and titles, with all nine covers drawn by George Perez. Note that the interiors may have been handled by other artists. Enter the store with only one dollar and make you choices (just as we sometimes had to do as kids by considering the covers closely). Share your decisions, thoughts about Perez, your memories, the cover dynamics, and his handling of the teams. So without further ado, have at it…

Avengers #149; Cover Price $0.25 (Still Only…)

X Men # 128; Cover Price $0.40

Fantastic Four #184; Cover Price $0.30

New Teen Titans #19; Cover Price $0.60

Justice League of America #192: Cover Price $0.50

Legion of Super Heroes #268; Cover Price $0.50

Star Trek #1; Cover Price $0.75

Defenders #53; Cover Price $0.35

Adventure Comics presents "Dial “H” For Hero" #485; Cover Price $0.50

BAB Firsts (the 1st Dressed for Success): Part One: Do Real Men Wear Pink?

 This post was originally published on September 4 2009

 Doug: Hey, it's our inaugural look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of superhero suits. Karen's been wanting to do this, but since she's out of town on vacation, I'll get it started. Most of these folks, bulging in all the right places, look good in their longjohns. But, what about the longjohns themselves? Hmmm... not always a good situation, to say the least.

Doug: We kick it off with the leader of one of our favorite groups, the Legion of Super-Heroes -- Cosmic Boy! What do you look for in a leader? Someone who can play diplomat, someone who's tough? How about a guy who can delegate tasks, or who isn't afraid to admit when he's wrong? A fellow who is the first into battle, and the last to leave, making sure that all of his charges have made it out safely? I'd like a man who can handle the simple jobs, like inventory of resources, but also make the really difficult decisions. And it shouldn't matter that he actually looks good in pink...

Doug: It's interesting that when the creators of Adventure Comics #247 (April 1958, whether writer Otto Binder, cover artist Curt Swan, or interior artist Al Plastino) sat down to dream up the Legion of Super-Heroes that would torment our young hero Superboy, they chose some pretty odd color combinations for these three new antagonists. Saturn Girl originally wore a yellow top accented with black over a green skirt, Lightning Boy (-Lad by their next appearance, in Adventure Comics #267) wore a red shirt with yellow sleeves over green trousers, and then there was Cosmic Boy -- a pink top with a sort-of black vest around it, over lavender trousers. By that second appearance, Saturn Girl was dressed in her familiar red/white pantsuit and Lightning Lad was in his blue/black/auburn outfit. But ol' Cos -- he got to stay in the pink and black.

Karen: Those original costumes the trinity wore were just hideous. I don't know who chose the color schemes but they should have been shot. Fortunately Lightning Lad soon got a much better costume (and an even better one when Cockrum began drawing the book), and Saturn Girl had at least an acceptable outfit, color-wise. But Cosmic Boy really got screwed over. The whole outfit is just, well, dorky.

Doug: The next major costume change for Mr. Rokk Krinn didn't occur until 1974 as a continuation of the major renovations of then-new Legion artist Dave Cockrum. Gone would be the pink, as well as most of the rest of his clothes!!

Karen: We can blame artist Mike Grell for this one. He mentions in an article in Back Issue 33 (April 2009) that Cockrum had revised so many costumes, that he felt that Cosmic Boy looked out of place in his old one. He wanted to keep him recognizable so he kept the black part of the costume, and replaced the rest with flesh - not realizing that he had essentially given Cos a bustier! I always thought he looked like a male stripper in this outfit!

Doug: Keith Giffen, along with author Paul Levitz, were the next to take a crack at redesigning the look of Cosmic Boy. After the Crisis, DC wanted to revamp several key titles, giving us Frank Miller's Batman: Year One, John Byrne's Man of Steel, and George Perez's take on Wonder Woman in a series renumbered to a new first issue. One of the major players in Legends, the mini-series that would re-launch characters not in the above books, was Cosmic Boy. In fact, he was not only one of the supporting stars there, but he was featured concurrently in his own mini-series, titled simply Cosmic Boy. So, what did Levitz, Giffen, and cover artist (and then-Legion artist) Steve Lightle do? Well, of course -- they brought back the pink!!

Karen: Maybe they were all fans of Good and Plentys??

Doug: Lordy, I hate Good and Plenty!! But that is funny -- the picture to the left is exactly those colors!

Doug: Finally, finally, Rokk got a costume that didn't look so, so... well, whatever. Anyway, umpteenth re-boot artist Barry Kitson put Cos in a nice midnight blue and black outfit, still paying homage to the circles-on-the-chest motif that the character had worn for nearly 50 years. It was a nice change, much more believable and attractive than anything Mr. Krinn had previously worn.

Karen: Although I didn't enjoy this umpteenth revision of the Legion, Cos' costume did look nice. Hard to go wrong with blue and black.

Doug: I'll admit to never having seen Smallville (I was told early on that this was a mistake -- that it is really quite a good program). So I can't say much here other than Ryan Kennedy played Cos alongside Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad in an episode that aired in January 2009. This is certainly the most toned-down outfit in our portfolio of garish costumes!

Doug: So, what's the verdict on Cosmic Boy's sense of fashion? I vote for "Fashion Disaster".

Karen: I have to agree with you on this - I wouldn't say his costumes were dreadful, but they weren't good either!

Uncharted Waters -- Aquaman on the BAB? Adventure Comics 435 and 436

Adventure Comics #435 (September/October 1974)(cover by Jim Aparo)

"As the Undersea City Sleeps"

Steve Skeates-Mike Grell

Adventure Comics #436 (November/December 1974)(cover by Jim Aparo)

"The King is Dead; Long Live the King!"

Steve Skeates-Mike Grell 

Doug: Talk about a superhero who is more often than not the butt of the joke around here (and elsewhere!). Aquaman... is he anyone's favorite character? I know he has his apologists; neither Karen or I would be among them. But is it the character we malign, or what has/has not been done with him? Several months ago I decided to take the plunge (heh heh) and purchase the trade paperback The Death of a Prince. The book reprints Aquaman's Bronze Age tales from Adventure Comics and then in his own self-titled magazine. The issues included begin in Sept./Oct. 1974 (today's review) and conclude in Aug./Sept. 1978, and maybe those statistics tell a large part of the story -- over a four year period the character never saw the spinner racks on a monthly basis. In all, there are 27 stories, yet only a handful are full-length (18+ pages); most run the length of your typical split-book allotment, which is around 10 pages. So due to that fact, I selected the first two stories in the tpb to tell you about today. By no means do I endorse these tales as the best in the book, nor would I say they are the worst. They're simply the first two, I like Mike Grell's art, and so that's why we're going with them. Seems fair. One more thought -- those Jim Aparo Spectre covers are sweet, aren't they? Makes me wish I had those stories in reprints, too. Shall we head under the sea?

Doug: Aquaman is swimming toward the domed city of Atlantis after some time away dealing with Justice League of America affairs. He remarks how good it feels to be back in the depths, when suddenly he begins to feel lightheaded -- something isn't right here. He spies some "farmers" asleep on the ocean bed, and then immediately spies the Manta Ship and his old nemesis, Black Manta! Manta and his goons are... rustling squid. SCREEEECH!! That was the sound of my ride coming to a sudden halt. Say what?? Farmers? Rustling squid? Hokey smokes -- now I know why I've never read Aquaman comics! And we're three panels into this.

Doug: The preceding paragraph break was to allow me to regain my composure. OK, so Black Manta takes advantage of Aquaman's stupor and bests him in hand to hand combat. As Aquaman kneels to clear his head, the Manta releases an inky substance akin to that emanated from the very squid he had just pilfered. In his present condition Aquaman is no threat, and Black Manta gets away. Back in the palace, Aquaman ponders his next step. Of high import is determining exactly what sort of chemical or compound Black Manta had used to cause the Atlanteans to become drowsy. Aquaman consults Dr. Vulko to see if he's been able to isolate the threat. No dice. Outside a few days later, we see a shrimp farm (man...) suddenly attacked by several projectiles, each releasing a chemical into the water (I'll tell you this -- I was pleased that the term "gas" was never used in this underwater story). As had been the case earlier, the farmers fall to the ground, unconscious, and Black Manta and his men emerge on the scene to steal the shrimp harvest. He's going to be rich from all this heisting! By the way, do any of you marine biologists out there in BAB-reader land know if squid and shrimp can survive in depths to the ocean floor?

Was Rob Liefeld in charge of backgrounds on this page?

Doug: As Black Manta gloats, one of the farmers begins to rise. Manta looks at him incredulously, , when suddenly the man's cloak comes off to reveal Aquaman underneath! The Sea King outfitted himself with an air tank, and as he could get his oxygen from either air or water, he could make himself immune to whatever pollutant Manta had introduced to the waters around Atlantis. Since this is a superhero mag, our two antagonists mix it up a bit, with Arthur Curry getting the better of his big-domed opponent. In fact, Aquaman threatens to break Black Manta's arm if he doesn't call off his goons. Inside the Manta Ship, though, the thugs are just waiting for an opportunity to fire a blast ray. Because that's what thugs do. However, those of us who know Aquaman best from the Super Friends shows know that mental telepathy with sea creatures is his dominant power. And that's indeed what he uses, calling several whales to him to buffet the Manta Ship.

Doug: While everyone's occupied with the whales, Aquaman batters Black Manta senseless. He thinks to himself that this is about the 47th time he's knocked out his foe. Aquaman surfaces, where the Manta Ship has gone in hopes of getting away from the whales. He hurls Manta toward the ship and tells them to get lost. Say what? Don't they have some sort of dungeon in Atlantis, or some underwater version of Arkham Asylum? As the Lord of Atlantis returns to his kingdom, he thinks that sooner or later all this messing with Black Manta is going to come to a head. Duh... did you get a look at the title of this trade paperback, bro?

 

Doug: The second story flat-out wastes a page at the beginning, with a three-panel look at the climax! Inside, we begin in the royal chambers of Aquaman's palace. One of the ages-old tropes in DC comics is the stand-in robot, and here we get the underwater version. One of Atlantis's scientists has basically invented the DC version of the life-model decoy, prospectively to be used at state functions when Aquaman is away. Aqualad (yes! -- loved the Teen Titans!) is present, but takes leave right away. He's miffed that Aquaman seems to be shirking certain state duties in exchange for convenience. Aqualad just thinks that a king's place is doing a king's business. But as he swims away, he encounters a large underwater fish/lizard -- the Bugala. Having fought the beast in the past, and knowing that he cannot defeat it alone, Aqualad quickly returns to Atlantis.

Doug: In the palace, Aquaman has picked up the presence of the Bugala on his video monitors. Understanding the danger, he readies to head out to engage it. But Mera cautions him that his meeting with the Canadian ambassador is about to commence. Aquaman shrugs it off and tells the science staff that now would be a great time to test their robot. Outside the dome of the city, Aquaman swims toward the Bugala. He pulls up short, and attempts to influence the creature telepathically. However, he decides that the beast must have developed immunity to his commands. Trying a more direct approach, the Sea King is instead battered down onto a coral reef, and slumps to the ocean floor. Reeling, he attempts to clear his mind and to quickly deduce the goings-on. As he locates the Bugala, it is only a short way from the dome.

Doug: Aquaman swims as fast as he can to catch the leviathan, but then zooms past it and into a hatch in the dome. He swims headlong into the meeting he was supposedly attending, alarming the Canadian dignitary. Then Aquaman busts the head clean off the robot and clutches a small remote control-looking doohickey, that had been in the neck of the robot. Aquaman crushes it in his hands; outside, we see the Bugala collapse. Turns out that big beastie had itself been a robot, but was being controlled from inside the city! And the scientist who created the Aquaman robot? He's making tracks, but Aquaman overtakes him. Question of the day is -- who put him up to it? And out on a bluff, waiting for the dome to fall? Black Manta and a larger-than-normal army of goons.

Doug: I really can't say that I enjoyed these stories. The Mike Grell art was nice -- jibed nicely with what he was doing in Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes around this time. But Steve Skeates's scripts were pretty pedestrian. That's part of the problem with any done-in-one and I think handcuffs an author; but a seven-page done-in-one is a whole 'nother animal. Another issue that strikes me is the difficulty in drawing underwater stories. In most of the panels in the first tale above, there is very little to show the reader that the setting is beneath the waves. Additionally, I think almost all artists have deficiencies in differentiating swimming poses from flying poses. With Grell's Legion work as my only basis for this statement, I can declare that throughout the 15+ pages I read there were many times I felt like I'd seen a particular action pose but in an airborne situation. I'm not knocking Grell's figurework, which again I generally enjoy. But it would have been nice if more often we could have seen some sort of swirling effect, certainly some bubbles, to show us that we were not in a surface setting and that motion was perhaps slowed by the resistance of the water. But all that being said, I am intrigued enough to continue reading the Death of a Prince trade; I'm looking forward to the advent of the Jim Aparo stories, as Aquaman is one of his hallmark characters.