Phil Seldon Day!

Kurt Busiek was born on this date in 1960. He first came on my radar with his stunning limited serries Marvels with Alex Ross. He and Ross then went on to give us Astro City. Busiek went on to utterly save The Avengers from the ruination of the Image folks. The Avengers run by Busiek and George Perez was the last-great run I enjoyed in a mainstream comic. It was superb. 

There are good comic book series, great comic book series and then there are transformative comic book series. Marvels by Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross is the latter. One can look back and see comic books before Marvels appeared and after and nothing is the same. To me 1994 seems not that long ago, but then that happens as one gets older. We are nearly twenty-five years into the 21st century and still the 90's feels like last week. Marvels covered a time period from 1939 to 1974, some key years in the development of the Marvel Universe. The series brings at once a warmth of nostalgia and a shock of the new, bringing fresh ways of seeing all-too-familiar yarns by great writers and artists from earlier decades. The story is almost literally told through the eyes of Phil Sheldon, a rather reflective news photographer who is on the spot when the superhero age began. 

"A Time of Marvels" takes us back to the Golden Age, to the very beginning when the Human Torch is first exhibited by his creator Professor Horton. We see him ignite and we see the reaction of fear spread across the room of reporters called in to witness this new creation. Sheldon himself is terrified of this new thing. Later the Sub-Mariner appears, and the world is turned upside down as he brings mayhem to the streets. He and Torch battle across the city, the average citizen represented by Sheldon is helpless, reduced to being a witness as beings not unlike gods battle overhead. Captain America comes to lead the fight against the Axis powers and before you know it a squad of mystery men have gathered. 

The story "Monsters" skips ahead to the 1960's and Sheldon and his wife Doris have two daughters. The "Marvels" have not stopped, the latest being the popular Fantastic Four who live largely public lives and are hailed as heroes by the people. Less understood are the Mutants, specifically a band of mutants dubbed the X-Men who seem fundamentally different and herald change, a change which the regular man and woman dread and fear. Sheldon falls victim to this bigotry and fear, as he tries to glean a living working for J. Jonah Jameson's The Daily Bugle and other newspapers. When a frightened young girl comes into his life thanks to the kindness of his daughters his attitude changes. 

In arguably the most bombastic of the installments is the story "Judgment Day" which shows how the world almost ended at the hands of impossible gods from space. The people of the world have become inured to superheroes, treating their presence casually, often with disdain as much as reproach. But things change when a gleaming silver figure arrives from out of space and behind comes a giant being who wants to destroy the entire world the people merely to satisfy its hunger. Sheldon like so many is terrified as he watches from a distance and struggles to remain confident the Marvels can save the day. His trust is warranted, but no sooner have the heroes saved the city than the citizens return to their old ungrateful attitudes. Sheldon is disgusted. 

Shifting forward to the 1970's and Phil Sheldon is a man looking to retire. But in the story "The Day She Died" he is bothered that the heroes he celebrates in his book of photographs titled Marvels are again treated with a casual disdain. His own confidence is shaken when a beautiful young girl he encounters dies during a battle between Spider-Man and the Green Goblin. He rejects his own life's work which documents the rise of the superheroes, though his young assistant pleads with him to appreciate that work. In the end he decides that his time documenting the "Marvels" is done and hands the task off to the young woman he'd trained. He and his family prepare to leave the city to enjoy their golden years. 

In 2019 Alex Ross and Kurt Busiek revisited the Marvels project with another story in which Sheldon and his daughters see the battle between the X -Men and the Sentinels in Rockefeller Center. 

I have not actually read this story, but it's apparently available in the 25th anniversary edition of the series. Like the Beatles, the boys and girls at Marvel are always trying to jerk another quarter or two out of my pocket. They are really good at it. 

As I said at the beginning this was a transformative series when it first appeared. I had never seen anything like the work Alex Ross was producing. His more realistic presentations of the heroes I was so familiar with made them much specifically human in my eyes. The idea of a normal human being feeling in awe of them had been dealt with, but never with such clarity and soulfulness. Through the lens of Phil Sheldon we were able to see the Marvel Universe again for the first time, and it was glorious. 

But there were imitators, and some were often okay, but rarely has an artist been able to bridge the gap between the fantastic and the mundane as effectively as Alex Ross. That's why he was Kurt Busiek's perfect choice to fashion the covers for the series Astro City which he produced with the help of Brent Anderson. The trio of Busiek, Anderson and Ross went on to give us ever more fascinating insights into the secret minds of heroes and those who live beside them. 

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Sandman Mystery Theatre Compendium One!

For all its popularity, I've never read Sandman from DC...with a few exceptions. I've read the Golden Age stories by Simon and Kirby and the later reboot by that same team. I've read a few of the Golden Age stories by other talents as well. And I've read a few installments of the DC/Vertigo series Sandman Mystery Theatre. I was searching for some variety in the 1990's in my comics reading after years of steady Marvel consumption and found this weird dark comic among many others. It deals with the established Golden Age hero but transforms him into an exceedingly mortal Wesley Dodds, living in a gritty urban environment filled with crime and bizarre murder. Dodds gets dreams and is forced to act upon those bewildering messages, to find the answers and solve the puzzles those dreams present. He is aided by Dian Belmont, the daughter of the District Attorney and in many ways the center of many of the stories. All the stories with a few exceptions are transmitted in four-issue arcs, giving the creators a good expansive canvas to spin their creepy yarns. 

The first four-issue tale is titled The Tarantula and offers up an exceedingly creepy series of murders and tortures committed by a weird, hooded individual. We meet a strange family and realize they are connected in perverse ways to the deaths. It's in this first sequence that we first meet Wesley Dodds, a wealthy man fresh from the Orient who is taking over his recently deceased father's expansive businesses. He's a quiet, even meek man who puts on a gas mask and invades city hall to gather data for his investigations. We meet Dian Belmont, a well-to-do young woman who is seeking not only pleasure but meaning and she and Wesley seem attracted to one another. Also on hand in this first one is police detective Lieutenant Burke, a hard-nosed racist and sexist cop who brings a distinct edge to the storytelling. All the stories in the series were written by Matt Wagner and Steven T. Seagle and drawn by Guy Davis, with some exceptions I will take note of as necessary. 

The Face shifts the action into Chinatown and involves both Dian Belmont and The Sandman with the Tongs. Actually, the villain is a killer who can shift his looks. We learn a great deal about Dian and about her former romances. The art by John Watkiss offers the reader a much more idealized hero than Guy Davis presented. 

The Brute gets The Sandman involved with the boxing game, in particular with a boxer named Ramsey who refuses to take a dive and is forced to flee with his ill daughter to escape the revenge of some mobsters. The titular "Brute" in this story is an enforcer with a particular secret. This story does an excellent job of counterpointing the extreme poverty present in the 30's with the creature comforts of the world both Dian and Wesley inhabit. The art on this sequence was by R.G. Taylor. 

The Vamp focuses on Dian Belmont again, this time her friends. Bodies drained of blood are turning up all over the city and getting to the bottom of this lurid mystery is The Sandman's focus. The repressive social morals of the era are highlighted in a story which gives us a villain who operates as do so many from pain and regret. 

The Scorpion brings the "Wild West" into the urban world of The Sandman. We are treated to a range of characters, from country singers to grasping oil executives. Wesley is pressured to participate in a financial scheme he has grave doubts about, meanwhile as The Sandman he attempts to stop a killer who leaves a scorpion brand and uses scorpion venom to slay his victims. 

The Sandman Mystery Theatre Annual is a treat as we get many chapters focusing on a mugger in Central Park. Each chapter gets a distinctive artist all its own. The talents in this one are John Bolton, David Lloyd, George Pratt, Alex Ross, Peter Snejbjerg, Stefano Gaudiano, as well as regular series artist Guy Davis. 

Dr. Death offers us a killer who uses perverse medical skills to do in his victims. The social ill focused on in this sequence is sexism and the brutality of men to women. These issues are counterpointed nicely by the increasingly complex relationship between Dian and Wesley. 

The Butcher, as the name implies, is to date the most gruesome of the sequences in the series. It is in fact the first of the storylines I followed back in the 90's when I plugged into the series. Burke gets a focus as he attempts to bring to ground a brutal killer who seems to wander the city at will unseen. What he leaves behind is nauseating. The Sandman is up against it when he finally has to confront the killer. 

The Hourman is about exactly what you think it's about. The broader DC Universe is tapped into as Rex "Tick Tock" Tyler debuts in the series as "The Man of the Hour". I've always liked Hourman and it was nifty to see this "origin" story. Tyler is a man who seems to genuinely want to help people with the talents his "Miraclo Pill" has granted him. He is unclear how to do that. He and Sandman do a proper team up and it's great to see. 

The Python closes out this first of two volumes reprinting the series. The Sandman finds himself investigating a strange series of bizarre strangulations, and the search takes him into the world of celebrity and the health industry. Dian for her part becomes integral to the story when she ends up at a remote health farm, one in which clothing is optional. It's all handled with taste. The art for this sequence was produced by Warren Pleece. 

I haven't commented on the covers for these stories. Art and photography are combined by Gavin Wilson for all the covers with the assistance of Richard Bruning on some. These offbeat covers give the series a bizarre but distinctive look. I'm not sure how effective they were, because I likely hesitated originally on the series by judging the book by its covers. I've come to appreciate them more as the years have rolled by. 

More to come in volume two later this month. 

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The Spirit Archives Volume Eighteen!

The Spirit stories are still prime in this eighteenth volume collecting stories from the first half of 1949. Will Eisner's art is top-notch, and he is joined by Jules Fieffer during this period, which adds more humor to the series. Abe Kanegson's lettering is staunch throughout this run and deserves a shout out.  

Ice January 2, 1949

The Spirit helps a young Lieutenant Carson of the Harbor Department get to the bottom of some mysterious smuggling which has been plaguing Central City for some time. It seems the outlaws are staying outside the limits and sending in their smuggled goods via little ice bergs. The Spirit is nonplussed when he learns that Carson is hopeful of completing the case and asking Ellen Dolan to marry him. This causes The Spirit to act with haste and before you know it Ellen thinks they are engaged. 

A Prisoner of Love January 9, 1949

The Spirit's "engagement" to Ellen throws Ebony White into a turmoil. He finds The Spirit left for dead in the snow and takes him to the hospital where a trap is set for the hoods Fracture Bones and Dude Doyle. Thanks to Ebony, the violent Fracture gets the mistaken notion that Ellen Dolan might be interested in him. Needless to say, he's quite mistaken. 

The Explorer January 16, 1949

Still disgusted with how things are going between The Spirit and Ellen, Ebony decides to strike out for the North Pole. He doesn't get very far in the snow before falling in among a gang of hoods who The Spirit is tracking. Despite his lack of direction, Ebony is helped mightily by Lolo, a young Eskimo girl who has indeed traveled South from the North Pole regions to Central City. 

Thorne Strand and The Spirit January 23, 1949

Thorne Strand is a striking beauty who takes control of her husband's boxing promotion firm driving him to commit suicide. Despite a partnership with the hood Roxie Haven, Thorne proves to be a woman who doesn't much need a man. She is of course attracted to The Spirit. When she imagines Roxie has killed our hero, she finds herself in a world of hurt with the law. 

A Slow Ship to Shanghai January 30, 1949

Thorne Strand is released when insufficient evidence can be gathered to convict her. She then contracts with smugglers to deliver The Spirit into their hands. But when those smugglers turn out to be a crew of all women led by Captain Long Jane Silver, the jealousies offer The Spirit the chances to escape. There is no end of double-crossing in this one. 

The Big Sneeze Caper February 6, 1949

Jules Feiffer steps in beginning with this one to assist Will Eisner on scripts with this story which offers up a pretty sharp satire of film noir classics such as The Big Sleep and The Maltese Falcon. Ebony is the focus of this yarn which has him in the role of hard-boiled detective who takes on a substitute baby-sitting job for the lovely Mercedes Klutch. But it turns out that thugs want to kidnap the kid Ebony is supposed to look after which brings The Spirit into the mix when we finally meet "The Big Sneeze". This one is filled with jargon associated with the genre and even features a glossary at the end. This one is fun, but a tad overwritten. 

Visitor February 13, 1949

When the bank teller Miss Cosmik and two robbers disappear in a blinding explosion The Spirit is left to solve the mystery which suggests that Earth might very well be under surveillance by Mars. When our hero finds the lovely Miss Cosmik, he finds she wants to stay on Earth where she has come to appreciate emotions, something forbidden on Mars. The ending is worth waiting for in this one. 

The Valentine February 20, 1949

What could go wrong when the post office decides to forward wayward valentines to four random people. This story answers that question with gusto as we meet the reluctant criminal Oswald Skrabble and the spinster Ramona Sludge. The Spirit's romantic problems are enhanced when Ellen Dolan is also the recipient of one of these belated valentine missives. 

The Deadly Comic Book February 27, 1949

Eisner and Fieffer give Frederic Wertham a poke in the eye with this striking satire that mocks the hysteria surrounding the supposed seduction of the innocent wrought by comic books. While a hapless music teacher tries to return a comic book to its rightful owner before he can be harmed, The Spirit and Dolan face down a barrage of bullets to capture villains. Violence and mayhem abound in this raucous call-out of the wacked notion that comics are the root of all evil. 

Glob March 6, 1949

This story is send-up of modern art. Glob was an iconoclastic caveman and artist who was trapped in a cave for three million years until he was found by Leonardo Snitch, an aspiring artist and thief. Escaping the trap, the two go into Central City and Snitch uses Glob's work to wow the art critics, the very same ones who had rejected him. The Spirit finds a tough opponent in the powerful prehistoric Picasso. 

Death, Taxes and...The Spirit March 13, 1949

When Socrates Grime was killed while attempting to post his taxes, his spirit will not rest until those papers are with the proper authorities. But Grime's ghost is frustrated when the documents become stuck in Commissioner Dolan's hat. Eventually through a complex set of events the taxman does indeed cometh, and Grime can go to his eternal rest at long last. 

The Vernal Equinox March 20, 1949

When Spring brings a thaw to Central City, the melting snow overwhelms the Narrow Creek Dam which was built substandard in the six months since two escaped convicts had hidden their loot in the creek. The Spirit fights to save the city from a horrendous flood. Explosions and assorted mayhem mark this wild tale in which P.S. Smith plays a crucial role. 

Foul Play March 27, 1949

When a lonely milkman steps over the form of The Spirit as he returns from his morning duties, he becomes increasingly concerned that he might become blamed for what he thinks might be a terrible crime. His reluctance to become involved at first compels him to cover his tracks and that leads to a tragedy. The message of this story is to not believe everything you think you see. 

A Pot of Gold April 3, 1949

Mr. Carrion and Julia return to Central City in time to put their fingers on Kerrigan's Gold. Also, on hand to share this bounty are Spiv of London, Ali Ben, and a thug named Rock Salt. Suddenly a beautiful woman with flaming red hair and a strong Irish brogue named Wisp O'Smoke appears. The myth is that such gold can only be gold in the presence of a leprechaun. When later the gold turns to dross it suggests such a magical creature might indeed be present. The Spirit has his hands full when he gets his mitts on this pot of gold.  

Lovely Louie April 10, 1949

In a satire of professional wrestling icon Gorgeous George, we are presented in this story with Lovely Louie. When Louie is contracted to take part in an event by the police, Dolan objects to the way that Louie's antics have ruined wrestling. Louie takes this to heart and changes his ways, fighting always to win. Such tactics make betting on wrestling potentially lucrative, and the gamblers think they have a sure thing when Commissioner Dolan is maneuvered into fighting Lovely Louie. The Spirit is required to turn his hand to the situation. 

Dolan Walks a Beat April 17, 1949

This story features some lush Jerry Grandenetti backgrounds. Dolan has lost his position as Commissioner but instead of retiring decides to return to being a flatfoot cop walking a beat. Meanwhile his second in command Beagle gets overwhelmed. Dolan's downfall was engineered by newspaper magnate Mr. Stain of The Daily Crusader. Ellen and Ebony travel to the capitol to seek the Governor's support for Dolan's reinstatement. But he has a requirement. 

The Spirit Now Deputy April 24, 1949

In a follow up tale which finds Dolan once again Commissioner, The Spirit is made an official part of the Central City police department. This leads to him being hamstrung by red tape and such, leaving him no time to actually pursue criminals. He and Ebony leave Wildwood Cemetary and seek an apartment, but that too proves to be less than ideal. The only solution seems to be for The Spirit to break the law and become a wanted figure once again. 

The Hunted May 1, 1949

The underworld of Central City believes that The Spirit is now wanted by the law. Even with that situation Commissioner Dolan leaves town for a convention, leaving Ellen in charge. A blind man shows up on the doorstep and begins an elaborate swindle of Dolan's lovely daughter. Meanwhile The Spirit is busy undercover trying to find the Lamb Gang. By the end of this one there's little doubt where The Spirit's loyalty lies. 

Hamid Jebru May 8, 1949

The Spirit is off to Egypt to collar the villain Hamid Jebru who committed murder in Central City in hopes of finding a secret tomb. Our hero has his hands full as Jebru is a cunning and dangerous felon, one who has put fear into the hearts of other baddies in the region. The story is set up as if these two stalwarts are drawn together inexorably by fate. 

The Crime of Passion May 15, 1949

Monroe Shmink is a bookie and when he stumbles across an old milk cart horse owned by Ebony White named Asterisk, he sees his opportunity to pull a fast one and lay down bets which he's certain he'll not have to cover when Asterisk certainly loses. But the mob has other ideas, and Monroe is stranded between jail and death. As The Spirit closes in, the race unfolds in an unpredictable way. 

The Space Sniper May 22, 1949

Artemus Peap had sought escape in a spaceship created by Adolphe Link in an earlier Spirit story. Now he returns to Earth with the startling news that Link has gotten control of a Nazi rocket put into orbit during the war but then forgotten. We learn how Peap and Link learn of this weapon and how Link gets control of it. The ending is a stunner. 

Young Dr. Ebony May 29, 1949

In a satire of daytime radio serials, we get the saga of Young Dr. Ebony who leaves police work behind to seek work in Dr. Bidawee's Dog & Cat Hospital. He is amply assisted by the ample and beautiful Miss Portion. Things take a dark turn when Miranda of Alcatraz Hill and Jest Plain Cyanide show up with smuggling on their minds. This overwrought and sappy tale was supposedly written by one "Alonzo Hack" who stepped in to replace Will Eisner, who shows up for a cameo in this one as well. 

Black Alley June 5, 1949

We get a grim and dark noir classic when Mr. "Killer" Freeze takes a contract on The Spirit from the "Big-Six Combination". He lures his prey into the Black Alley in the wee hours when activity is quiet with the intent of killing our hero. It's a brutal battle, but despite his careful preparations, Freeze finds The Spirit a tough adversary. 

Satin June 12, 1949

The Spirit's longtime ally Satin returns, once again needing our hero's help. She wants him to travel to the island of Puerto Que to prove the innocence of her husband Kurt Von Breck for a murderous crime. We quickly learn that Satin's husband is far from innocent, but we also learn that he dearly loves Hildie, Satin's adopted daughter. When a hurricane blows across the island, things really get going. It's always nice to see Satin show up, she's one of The Spirit's most sturdy allies. 

The Prediction June 19, 1949

Humid J. Millibar of the weather service predicts snow for June and that creates havoc with his superiors. When gangsters also want to know the weather, they kidnap Millibar to help them with their heist of a quarter million bucks. Meanwhile The Spirit has a plan to get the money through to its destination and Ebony plays a key role. Will it snow? Even Millibar has doubts before this one is over.

The Elevator June 26, 1949

Behind one of The Spirit's greatest splash pages (by Jerry Grandenetti by the way), we find a complicated tale which takes place almost entirely aboard a single elevator car. When two hoods, a swindler, and Ebony White all take the same car, we know that danger is brewing. The secret of the elevator operator is key to it all. There's some dandy storytelling in this one. 

Yet another fantastic assortment of Spirit yarns. The addition of Jules Fieffer to the writing team really injects some freshness to the proceedings and Eisner's artwork was never more beautiful. With the help of talents like Jerry Grandenetti, the strip is operating at peak proficiency. 

We wrap up 1949 next time with volume nineteen of The Spirit Archives. See you in a fortnight amigos. 

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