The Uncollected - Call To Action!

Captain Action was the niftiest dang toy I ever saw. A hero who could travel the breadth of the multiverse and assume the roles of heroes from DC Comics, Marvel Comics, King Features, and beyond.

He could be any hero, whether that hero operated in outer space, the deep jungle, skyscraper-laden cities, or old west.

Just look at the ad! What self-respecting kid wouldn't want that doll...er...action figure. I for one sure did. But I never had one, so Captain Action remained a dazzling figment of my imagination. One way to tap into the Captain Action glory was in the world of comics and DC did the deed.

The debut issue, featuring a muscular cover by the painfully neglected Irv Novick, sports interior art by Wally Wood.

Wood was an artist, coming off his successes with the THUNDER Agents ideally suited to the genres that Captain Action straddled -- superheroes meet super-spies. But Wood was a master of finishes and while lovely to look at often, lacked from time to time the dynamics to move a story with gusto.

That gusto came in spades with the arrival of Gil Kane. Kane at this point in his career was seemingly free of the editorial involvement which limited his dynamics on vintage Atom and Green Lantern tales and this time brought a roiling energy to his pages that tumbled across the panels and seemingly leaped into the reader's lap.

For his part Wally Wood stayed on to apply his lush finishes to three of the next four issues of the limited run.

With the third issue Gil Kane took over the writing chores from Jim Shooter and his Captain Action became even more enigmatic and certainly lived up to his name.

The covers boil with drama and the figures strain with emotion.  These are some of the very finest of Kane's covers in a career which included many hundreds of cover images. These books demand to be read, and they ought to be read by a modern audience.

Several years ago now Moonstone picked up the Captain Action brand and made a few comics out of it which can with the greatest charity be called tepid. They didn't for whatever reason find the means or method to reprint these DC classics and more is the pity. We need these Captain Action yarns back in print and we need them now.

To read a sample check out this Groovy Link.

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The Uncollected - Metal Men!

I have to admit that I like Metal Men, or at least the notion of the Metal Men. Five distinctive robots seeking to find peace with the world and one another and at the same time save it from imminent destruction on a regular basis is a dandy premise for a comic book. But it's the personalities of these five robots, each supposedly derived from the nature of the metal which primarily comprises them. Gold is cool and adaptable, a proper leader, Iron is tough and strong and reliable, Lead is a bit dim but always ready able and willing to do what needs doing, Mercury is fluid and difficult, a good partner but one requiring patience, and Tin is the weakling but still possessed of an inner strength. Add to that mix the one female, the beautiful Tina and you have a proper crew run by their maker Doc Magnus, a genius with a keen understanding of science if not psychology.

Metal Men had a terrific run with writing by their creator Robert Kanigher and the art team of Ross Andru and Mike Esposito. Later Mike Sekowsky took command and tried to make the pure Silver Age heroes fit into the Bronze Age. It failed ultimately and they went into limbo, getting snagged by Bob Haney  now and again to show up alongside Batman in The Brave and the Bold.

Then in the late 70's DC tried them out again in a new series, this with writing by Steve Gerber and artwork by an up and coming Walt Simonson. Under a Dick Giordano cover this was a handsome package, but Gerber gave way to Gerry Conway who likewise passed the baton to Marty Pasko. The art though remained steady with Simonson producing some amazing material and later when he moved on the series got handed to Joe Staton. Based on the artwork alone this series deserves a reprinting in a handsome trade. These names will sell, I know they will. Come on DC, do the right thing.

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The Uncollected - Manhunter?

Why is there no handy-dandy easy to read collection of the Manhunter adventures from early issues of Adventure Comics. These Golden Age adventures by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby have been reprinted almost completely, but never have they been collected. I first encountered them in the back pages of New Gods when for a short time DC needed to fill out its comics expanded to justify a twenty-five cent price hike. I found the stories enthralling and no doubt it was those appearances which prompted one of my all-time favorite series.

The unforgettable Manhunter from the Bronze Age Detective Comics by Archie Goodwin and Walt Simonson has been collected several times on its own by DC and others. It remains a singular masterpiece, one which will shine for a great long time as one of its creators, Archie Goodwin, is no longer with us. DC has respected the creation (for the most part) and has done relatively little with the character, though not the name itself.

Jack Kirby, one of the important creators in Manhunter's Golden Age history, made a one-shot update for the pages of 1st Issue Special #5. This story has been reprinted as has all of Kirby's output for DC at this time. But never have the stories by Steve Englehart and Dick Dillin stories from Justice League of America which pick up on this very Kirby revision ever been collected. We, the Manhunter fans need these.

Add all of those fantastic yarns up and you have a rich reprint volume indeed. It's past time. Come on DC, it's the moment when we Manhunter fans get what we deserve.

Special Note: "The Uncollected" will be an irregular feature here at the Dojo where I suggest collections which seem long overdue to me. Hopefully I will learn to my glee that collections which I'm in favor of might in fact have already happened. We'll see.

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