Category: Comic Books

Superman in “A Game of Moonball”

In a blog post that was lost in what I’ll call The Great Database Disaster, I made a comment that I’m not ready to buy an HDTV set. I haven’t even decided yet if I want a direct-view set or a front projection unit. Note: I said FRONT and not rear projection. For example, this little gem looks interesting, but oh that sticker shock! A more reasonable choice would be this model.

For now, it’s an academic question, because it’ll be a year or two before I do anything, and the gear will be completely changed by then anyway. But why would I be considering a projector, rather than, say, a plasma or direct-view LCD? Because when I was a kid I had one of these…

…which was my #1 favorite childhood toy. This is the Kenner Super Show. The picture came from an eBay auction I just won. To a great extent, this blog is nothing more than me playing with an updated Super Show. In acknowledgment of this, I will present my favorite slide that I enjoyed projecting on the wall. It’s Superman and Lois Lane, in “A Game of Moonball.”

I have two comments about this 7-panel comic strip that I used to think to myself, whenever looking at it over 40 years ago, shining on the wall.

  1. The red and yellow are reversed on Superman’s “S” emblem
  2. Superman seems to almost be acting as if Lois knows his secret identity.

What I didn’t wonder back then, but I am now, is who did the art? It’s fairly apparent that Curt Swan did the pencils, but I’m not sure of who inked them. At the moment I’m inclined to say Stan Kaye.

The Phantom Artist

Just up the road from my town lives cartoonist Paul Ryan. His steady gig is drawing The Phantom comic strip. The Phantom is considered by many cartooning buffs to be the first super hero character. The Boston Globe had a feature article about Ryan this past Sunday. [Link] Ryan’s Web site is Second Star Graphics. [Link]

I see some striking parallels between Ryan’s childhood and my own, but our lives now are quite different, with Ryan living a life that I once coveted. What kept me from it is revealed in this paragraph.

A few years later, Ryan learned that a company in Connecticut was offering opportunities to amateur comic artists. By then, he was pushing 30 and had a low-paying job.

The company in Connecticut was undoubtedly the now-defunct Charlton Comics. At 30 I just didn’t have the stomach to live with such uncertainty. I’d already had my gigs in radio announcing and newspaper graphics, and both were low-paying jobs. I admire Ryan for having the talent and determination to make a living drawing pictures.

America at a Crossroads

PBS has a series called America at a Crossroads, hosted by Robert MacNeil. [Link] One of the shows is Frontline’s Gangs of Iraq, which I’ve watched online and recommend highly.

Tonight, one of the local PBS stations re-ran Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime, a collection of stories told by soldiers who have been fighting in Iraq. A variety of storytelling techniques are used in the show, including one that is best described as a video comic book. Not quite a comic book, and not quite a cartoon, this packs a lot of punch, don’t you think? Here it is. The drawings were done by an artist named Christopher Koelle. [Link]
[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/JUN07/AmericaCrossroads.flv 400 300]

Jonny Questioning

Previously on Dog Rat, I featured a Marvel Super Heroes cartoon with Captain America. The low-budget cartoons in this series went into production thanks in large part to the relatively successful and ambitious Jonny Quest, a half-hour primetime cartoon from two years earlier.

Jonny Quest was developed by cartoonist-animator-comic book artist Doug Wildey, who had worked for Alex Toth on an earlier cartoon called Space Angel, which shouldn’t be confused with Toth’s Space Ghost. We’ll be seeing some of both those spacey guys later.

The premiere episode of Jonny Quest, “Mystery of the Lizard Men”, originally aired on ABC-TV at 7:30 pm, Friday, September 18, 1964. I had just turned nine, and I thought this was one very cool cartoon — except for Bandit!
[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/APR07/JonnyQuest.flv 400 300]© H-B

… And That Ain’t “Peanuts”

The availability and value of so-called collectibles has changed greatly since the rise of eBay. Prices for certain items plummeted when it became apparent that they were, in fact, not particularly rare, while others skyrocketed in value. One area that has seen incredible inflation is comic book and comic strip originals by particular artists.

Philip Weiss Auctions is hyping the winning bids for original comic strip art by Charles Schulz, including “Li’l Folks” originals. The name “Peanuts” is, of course, another (equally-outdated) way of saying Li’l Folks.

(Oceanside, N.Y.) – Seven original comic strips by the renowned cartoonist Charles Schulz sold for a combined $152,550 at a three-session, weekend multi-estate sale held March 24-25 by Philip Weiss Auctions. The strips included a Sunday “Peanuts” page from 1963 that alone realized $37,000; three “Li’l Folks” strips; and four “Peanuts” dailies. Prices quoted include a 13% buyer’s premium.

Spider-Man #43The money that the Schulz originals fetched at auction doesn’t surprise me. What stunned me, however, was the $101,700 for the cover art to Spider-Man #43.

Drawn by John Romita Sr., this is a particularly favorite issue of mine, although it’s not one of his best covers. How much was Romita paid for drawing this cover in 1966? Probably not even $100.

I’m pleased that a Romita original can command this much money, and I would like to believe that Jazzy Johnny will get a cut of the bucks transacted at this auction. It’s the right thing to do. (It’s possible that Romita was selling it himself, but given what I know about the history of such peak period Marvel Comics art, I doubt it.)