One book I've long wanted to read was Big Apple Comix #1 (and only). That Wally Wood cover has snatched up my imagination each time my eyes get on it. It's provocative and screams for a story to be told. Alas no story correlates to this great image, but there are several tales of the seamy New York City of the 70's that the book is well worth reading and owning. First you have to understand this is a ground-level book, in fact an underground comic with all the brash and explicit spectacle you'd expect from such a comic but produced by mainstream talent. That's the real charm of this book.
It's produced by Flo Steinberg, she of the Marvelous Marvel Bullpen, and she's gotten together a who's who of that very Bullpen from the Bronze Age. There's artwork here by Marie Severin, Wally Wood, Herb Trimpe, Neal Adams, Larry Hama, Ralph Reese, Archie Goodwin, Al Williamson, Linda Fite, Mike Ploog, and Alan Weiss. The stories are gruff and often quite funny. There's a range of stuff from social commentary to nostalgic comedy. Some stories (the Severin one) have a Not Brand Echh/MAD feel. Some stories (the Neal Adams one) have a trendy National Lampoon feel. Some stories (the Al Williamson one) have a Pacific/Eclipse feel. Some stories (the Wood one and the Fite one and the Goodwin one) have a fully underground feel.
There's a real range of material here. My personal faves were the two pieces by Herb Trimpe. He produces a comic strip-style story of the King Kong story told from the point of view of one of the pilots who shot him off the Empire State Building and it's pretty funny. This one is inked by Wally Wood. And there's a charming sci-fi fable by Trimpe which shows his skills at this time to their fullest. Trimpe is an artist who gets not nearly enough credit for this storytelling and his artistry.
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It's produced by Flo Steinberg, she of the Marvelous Marvel Bullpen, and she's gotten together a who's who of that very Bullpen from the Bronze Age. There's artwork here by Marie Severin, Wally Wood, Herb Trimpe, Neal Adams, Larry Hama, Ralph Reese, Archie Goodwin, Al Williamson, Linda Fite, Mike Ploog, and Alan Weiss. The stories are gruff and often quite funny. There's a range of stuff from social commentary to nostalgic comedy. Some stories (the Severin one) have a Not Brand Echh/MAD feel. Some stories (the Neal Adams one) have a trendy National Lampoon feel. Some stories (the Al Williamson one) have a Pacific/Eclipse feel. Some stories (the Wood one and the Fite one and the Goodwin one) have a fully underground feel.
There's a real range of material here. My personal faves were the two pieces by Herb Trimpe. He produces a comic strip-style story of the King Kong story told from the point of view of one of the pilots who shot him off the Empire State Building and it's pretty funny. This one is inked by Wally Wood. And there's a charming sci-fi fable by Trimpe which shows his skills at this time to their fullest. Trimpe is an artist who gets not nearly enough credit for this storytelling and his artistry.
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