Home To Stay!

I was late to the Ray Bradbury experience. I got hold of a copy of The Martian Chronicles when I was young, but it seemed just okay. In later years I got hold of more of his work and have come to appreciate him better. But truth told, I like Bradbury's stories best when they were adapted to comics form, and no one did it better than the guys at E.C. Comics, though they did it surreptitiously at first. Home to Stay! is an oversized collection from Fantagraphics of all the stories of Bradbury's adapted by William Gaines, Al Feldstein, and an amazing array of artists. 

In the early 50's comics were coming under fire, but the heat was not such that a writer of Bradbury's status considered it a problem to be associated with the format. In fact, he was a lover of comics and so after he was tipped off that some of his stories might have been lifted and altered ever so slightly, he  wrote a letter to the offices of Entertaining Comics and reminded them that they had "forgotten" to send him a check for fifty bucks for the secondary rights of the stories involved. (His letter is reproduced in this collection.) He then went on to suggest that EC and he enter a formal arrangement to bring his stories into comics form. And soon he had his fifty bucks and a new outlet to attract readers. 

EC lost no time in celebrating the new arrangement and the badge above soon began appearing on various issues of their comics when a Bradbury story was within. But after a few years, the war on comics became a bit too hot and Bradbury ask that his name no longer be used on the covers, though they continued to adapt his stories. It strikes me odd now that the writer of Fahrenheit 451 would wilt in the face of such a tirade, but as we see even today, it's hard to stand up for what's right, even when you know it to be true. Eventually EC folded and the adaptations stopped. But now we can enjoy them all over again. 

Here are the covers of the comics in which Bradbury's stories appeared. Few of the covers actually related to his particular contribution and I've noted when that's the case. 

(for the story "He Walked Among Us" based on "The Man")

(for the story "A Sound of Thunder")

(for the story "I, Rocket")

(for the story "The Screaming Woman", the only cover which features a Bradbury story with the badge)

(1965 Ballantine Books collection with Frank Frazetta cover)

(1966 Ballantine Books collection with a Frank Frazetta cover)

It was wise in the long run for Bradbury to allow EC to adapt his stories. It saved him the cost of lengthy and uncertain legal proceedings, and it proclaimed his name to comics fans for all time and spread his fame and influence. I enjoyed reading these stories, especially those rendered by Wally Wood and Joe Orlando. But other artists such as Johnny Craig, Reed Crandall, Jack Davis, Will Elder, George Evans, Graham Engels, Jack Kamen, Bernie Krigstein, John Severin, and Al Williamson are well represented. Whether you get to these stories in this collection or in any of the other EC reprints from across the decades, I wish you well. 

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A Frazetta Hoard!

Frank Frazetta was "The Man" when it came to fantasy paperback covers. There are many great artists who plied their trade this way, but Frazetta rose above the outstanding heard with images that seared into the imaginations of the folks who chanced upon them. He redefined Conan, he elevated Tarzan, and he gave us so many covers which are much better than the books they adorn. That said Frazetta Book Cover Art - Complete Collection Definitive Reference from Vanguard is an absolute trove of his mightiest work presented in its original environment. 

They followed that with the more recent Frazetta - World's Best Comics Cover Artist - Complete Collection Definitive Reference. This book is less impressive than the first, but it is still filled with some of the greatest of the classic images from artist. We are so familiar with Frazetta's horror work, it's nice to see other aspects get coverage. One is that several images were taken out of this book at the request of the Frazetta kids. It leaves several pages blank. 

I added The Fantastic Paintings of Frazetta also, but I must confess to being less than completely impressed. For one thing, the number of paintings included is smaller than I expected are presented in ways which make them difficult to savor thoroughly. We are given close-ups which add little but absorb valuable space in the volume. Frankly, I got the feeling this one was intentionally lean on works to create the greater need for sequels. 

I have long had in my collection the four-part series from Ballantine Books which published the vast majority of Frazetta's paintings at that time. I found the presentation in these Ballantine volumes superior to what Vanguard did with their book. 

It's difficult to resist a book called The Sensuous Frazetta, given how sexy so much of his art is by its very nature. This gives us a good look at all those statuesque dames he drew and painted, as well a choice selection of comics stories. This book has a number of bodacious insights into Frazetta's early career both outside comics and within. 

I've had a low-rent copy of ACG's Johnny Comet book for a long time and so I am familiar with the series. But seeing the work on better paper, with better printing in close to its original format was game-changing for me. This is a sleek handsome comic series, and it's not hard to see where Dave Stevens got some of his inspiration. Can't wait to jump in. 

And White Indian is new to me. I took the chance and was much impressed with these stories. Other works are included, but while such work is far from PC in the world of today, it still appears to make a rousing comic. Looking forward to reading these in the new year. 

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The Sound Of Thun'da!

Thun'da King of the Congo #1 has the distinction of apparently being the only full-length comic book illustrated by Frank Frazetta. He is credited with creating Thun'da though the scripts are by Gardner Fox. Frazetta left the comic after a single issue because editorial demanded he move Thun'da from a savage "Lost World" filled with prehistoric beasts to the relatively mundane jungle of the then modern Congo. Instead of a Burroughsian fantasy hero in the mold of David Innes, they wanted yet another Tarzan knock-off. The debut cover is a classic. 

They got what they wanted in subsequent five issues illustrated by reliable comics journeyman Bob Powell. 

Thun'da King of the Congo even went on to become a movie serial starring Buster Crabbe. But there was this one issue by Frazetta. 

The first story by writer Gardner Fox and artist Frazetta is titled "King of the Lost Lands", and it tells of how during WWII Roger Drum an aviator crashes his supply plane inside the mysterious regions of Africa. 

(Thun'da Model Sheet)

He finds a "lost world" filled with beast men and dinosaurs. He battles furiously to survive but eventually goes native and is soon dubbed "Thun'da" by the Valley People and the beautiful Phra. Presumably the name is a result of the boom his gun made as he fired his last bullets to kill a giant snake. This is a rugged story told at a rapid clip and features some fantastic Frazetta imagery. To read "King of the Lost Lands" go here. 

Here are the three remaining Frazetta Thun'da stories with links so you can read the entire thing. 

The second story is titled "The Monsters from the Mists!" and this yarn finds Thun'da fighting monkeymen who have tamed shaggy mammoths. Protecting the lovely Phra Thun'da battles against the apemen, killing thier leader and escaping their lair to lead a counterattack using fire against the enemy by uniting the tribes of the valley. To enjoy "The Monsters from the Mists" check out this link. 

The third story titled "When the Earth Shook" pits Thun'da and Phra alongside a sabretooth tiger named Sabre. Thun'da killed its parent and raises the beast as his companion. An earthquake opens the lost land up and a white hunter and his black bearers find their way into the valley. They take Thun'da captive and threaten him to help them find gold. But he escapes, raises the natives and fights back. The outsiders try to take their gold, but another earthquake buries them and closes off the lost world.  To read "When the Earth Shook" visit this link. 

The fourth and final story "Gods of the Jungle" finds Thun'da operating in the Congo as yet another jungle hero. He battles against natives and white hunters, particularly two Soviet spies who use native superstition to build up a false monster-god. Thun'da reveals the deception and puts down this threat of the agitated and decived natives and the spies are turned over to the authorities. The last scene shows Thun'da, Phra and Sabre heading out into the veldt. To read "Gods of the Jungle" go here. 

(Dave Stevens Bettie Page cover evokes the Frazetta classic.)

(Austrian Reprint 1983)

(Dark Horse Reprint 2010)

(Fantagraphics Books Reprint 1987)

Outstanding stuff. It's a pity Frazetta couldn't do more and it's a pity his vision was snuffed out. I've read some of the Powell Thun'da stories in an AC reprint and they are fine but predictable and bland. Frazetta's Thun'da is dynamic and grim, if not always logical. Like the best of ERB, the Thun'da stories by Frazetta and Fox don't always makes complete sense, but they always carry you away.

In 2012 Dynamite Comics got their mitts on Thun'da and attempted to retell the story. We meet Thun'd all over again, this time he's a conflicted man with an unsavory past and he's plunked down into a world brimming with dinosaurs. The covers are by Jae Lee and they are handsome enough, with issue three having some real power. The series ran for five issues and was collected along with a complete reprint of the Frazetta classic. 

These subsequent Thun'da tales lack the potency of the Frazetta classics, but we already knew that. I imagine there might be Thun'da stories out there I'm ignorant of. Please let me know. 

More Frazetta tomorrow. 

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