Comic Books – Page 63 – Prattling before the Pratfall

A Cool Exec With a Heart of Steel

When I was in the 11th grade, for Christmas I wanted nothing but records, and one of those albums I wanted because of one song in particular…

[audio:/2008/MAY/IronMan.mp3]

… later, in 1975, Paul McCartney did this song:

[audio:/2008/MAY/MagnetoAndTitaniumMan.mp3]

Titanium Man and the Crimson Dynamo are Iron Man villains. The comic book stories I read forty years ago were wild and unbelievable, but today what’s even more unbelievable is those same super-hero stories are the basis for major high-budget movies. The Superman movie in 1978 I thought of as an exception to the rule. The Hulk TV show, a re-working of the The Fugitive, was more typical of what was being done with comic book material.

The previews for the new Iron Man movie look good, and it’s getting generally favorable reviews. Hey, it’s better than playing Grand Theft Auto 4. Now that’s trash!

[flv:/Video/2008/MAY/IronManMovie.flv 440 330]

I’m glad that the comics I loved as a kid are finally socially acceptable, because believe me it was tough remaining a comic book fan past junior high school. It’s beyond my comprehension how we got to this slick, crowd-pleasing, powerhouse movie from these humble, semi-animated beginnings that nobody over twelve dared admit to enjoying…

[flv:/Video/2008/MAY/IronManCrimsonDynamo.flv 440 330]

Tecch Support

A little ways back I posted a clip from the first Superman movie, with Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor. In that scene his henchman, Otis, played by Ned Beatty, has a black eye. Lex gave it to him earlier in the movie after Otis screwed up a slightly challenging technical assignment.

[flv:/Video/2008/APR/LexLuthor.flv 448 252]

Those numbers may as well be an IP address! I love this scene, and I’m fond of quoting it at work, because it perfectly dramatizes the reality of life in high tech, where support people who are earnestly working hard, and trying to do their job right, nevertheless totally screw it up.

Superman Family Doings

Bear with me for a bit of silliness. Here is a message thread that started with my father pointing out the news about the gigantic Antarctic ice shelf collapsing.

—–Original Message—–
From: George

You might want to think twice about purchasing any waterfront property right now.

Shortcut to: http://www.news.com/2300-11395_3-6235636-1.html

My father’s cousin commented on it.

—– Original Message —–
From: Lawrie

Well, we smart owners of real estate in Arizona are hoping for beachfront property when the “big one” finally cracks down the San Andreas fault and dumps California into the Pacific Ocean.

Here I am, changing the direction of the exchange…

—– Original Message —–
From: Doug

Hey, I saw that movie! It was Superman I. Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor, putting a nuke in the fault. “Bye, bye, California. Hello, new west coast. MY west coast. Marina del Lex.” OK, so I’m a fanboy.

… and this is my younger sister elaborating on what I said…

—– Original Message —–
From: Marianne

Remember “Otisville” on the map? Lex didn’t even allow his loyal follower one measly town!

(Fangirl, sister of fanboy)

…to which I say…

—–Original Message—–
From: Doug

OtisBURG, with the “R” backwards. I’ll check to be sure.

… and Lawrie finishes it off.

—–Original Message—–
From: Lawrie

You guys are just too funny!

Well, we fanboys take this sort of stuff seriously, so I did indeed check, and here’s how that scene in the movie really goes. (Isn’t Gene Hackman impressive? Some actors would have considered this role to be a throwaway job, but Hackman is completely compelling. No wonder Kevin Spacey, who played Lex Luthor in last year’s Superman Returns, borrows from Hackman.)

[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/2008/MAR/Otisburg.flv 448 252]

I was wrong! It’s not the “R”, but the “S” that’s reversed; which, now that I think about it, makes sense because it’s a sly reference to Superman’s “S” emblem.

This week the family of Jerry Siegel, Superman’s co-creator and original writer, won a victory in court. A lot of people have linked to the New York Times article about it, and I will too.

Superman was a sensation from the get-go, as was Batman. Bob Kane took sole credit for creating Batman, but a writer named Bill Finger actually had a lot to do with it. The characters were teamed up early in their existence, as heard in this brief clip from an old radio show.

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2008/MAR/SupermanBatmanRadio.mp3]

The Capitalism of Karl Marx Carl Barks

Donald Duck, by Carl Barks

I am truly concerned by what’s going on with the craziness in the financial markets right now. We need a clear understanding of the fundamentals of a working economy, and for that we turn to Uncle Scrooge McDuck. Click the thumbnails to enlarge the pictures and read the story.

This was the first comic book story by Carl Barks I ever read. If you’ve never read a Carl Barks story, now it’s your first too.

King Of The Rocketeer

Dave Stevens, born mere weeks before me, has died of leukemia. Dave was a comic book artist. A very good one. In fact, he was so good he was able to stop drawing comic books and instead concentrate on covers, pin-ups, and portfolios. Sadly, in his case, the good really did die young.

Stevens took an idealized vision of Bettie Page, the iconic 50’s “underwear model,” and paired her with a version of the character introduced in a 1949 Republic movie serial called King of the Rocketmen. With better art than story, and with installments sometimes years apart, Stevens had a cult hit on his hands, with a fan following that was big enough for it to be picked up by Disney and turned into a movie. Unfortunately, Disney was the wrong studio at the wrong time to make The Rocketeer, and the movie didn’t take off.

NOTHING CAN PREPARE YOU FOR THE WONDER OF… KING KIRBY!!!

Actually, Mark Evanier has given us plenty of preparation for his new book, Kirby: King of Comics. Years worth, in fact!

The book exists! It’s here! Mark’s first pass at a biography of comic book creative dynamo Jack Kirby does not disappoint. I’ll give it my usual short review for something that I consider to be a must-get item for anyone with any interest and inclination in the subject — get it! The page count is relatively low, about 220, but the format is B-I-G, as it must be to do justice to Jack’s powerful art. Reproduction and printing are faultless, and World Economy worriers take note — it was printed and bound in the U.S.A.

I’ve had the book for literally only an hour, but I can assure that, as expected, it does the job of providing a complete, but not overly detailed, history of Jack’s life and work. I’ll quote one passage, from pages 34 and 35.

[Jack] may also have fantasized the tale of his one day at Pratt Institute, a story he told often in later years. Details changed with each telling, but essentially involved him landing a few minor illustration jobs — minor in both importance and salary. These jobs, he said, turned around his father’s attitude about there being money in drawing. It was arranged for Jack to enroll in the famed art school, but the very next day Ben Kurtzberg lost his latest tailoring job, and his son had to quit art school.

It’s nifty to know there was some sort of connection between Kirby and the name Pratt, however tenuous it may have been! Personally, I don’t know if art school would have helped or hindered Jack’s natural talent.

Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, 1966 Mark Evanier and Jack Kirby

I’ve scanned a couple of photos from the book. The one at left is from 1966, and it shows what I would guess might be one of the last pictures of Stan Lee before he started wearing hairpieces. The other picture, of Evanier with Kirby, is undated, but I’d guess sometime in the 80’s. If you want to hear Jack’s voice, go back to this previous posting of mine

Bravo, Mark! THANK YOU, Mark. Kirby: King of Comics will hold us over until you complete your ultra-deluxe, obsessively detailed, KING SIZE edition.