American Beetle!

This is a rather clever send-up of the iconic image from the 1999 flick American Beauty. The always alluring Miss Buxley looks ideal among the blood red petals on the cover of Billy, the Norwegian version of Mort Walker's Beetle Bailey.

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Red Book Of The Westmarch!

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien is the renowned and beloved fantasy of the 20th Century, a carefully constructed epic filled with elegaic romance, sprawling imaginary vistas, and pert memorable characterizations. I've read it a few times over the course of my lifetime, but I might have to say this most recent venture to Middle Earth might be the best yet.

For the first time I read the novel as Tolkien intended, a single book. The trilogy we know is a result of the limitations of publishing which balked at issuing a book so massive and opted instead in the early 50's to bring out the saga in three mostly annual volumes, each given a memorable title of its own. I've always preferred The Fellowship of the Ring, but this reading with the focus on a different structure has given me new admiration for The Two Towers and The Return of the King.

If each is seen as a single volume, there is almost inherently an expectation of a rise and fall within the narrative structure. That exists in abundance in the first part, the part of the story which introduces the majority of the characters and the mileau. Those characters follow a story arc which sees them become aware and finally resolved, transformed from bystanders into legitimate heroes.

Neither of the other volumes really has a fair chance to recreate that arc, and for the most part don't. But seeing the story as one complete yarn, the latter stages of the epic come more fully into focus and build on the charming and sometimes quaint beginning with robust full-blooded heroic adventure on an every-increasing scale. This sweep works when the story is understood as a single narrative and not three individual ones. This bias ingrained in my own understanding of the tale by its marketing, has limited to some small extent my appreciation of the latter stages. Until now.

Despite the clever marketing by Ballantine Books and others, when I'm thinking of the "Red Book of the Westmarch" in the future, it will always be two narratives and not four. 

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The Trial Of Yellowjacket!

The Trial of Yellowjacket is one of the most notorious storylines in the long history of comics. Featuring the downfall of a founding member of the Mighty Avengers, this saga seemed to follow on relentlessly from one of the most debated scenes in comics history. For Jim Shooter's reflection on how it was that Hank Pym came to be comics poster boy for wife beaters see this link.

Whatever the truth of that situation, this story was intended to document the collapse of a fundamentally good man when confronted with his own percieved relative uselessness to those around him. That frustration leading to one bad decision after another until his colleagues are left with only bad choices. Happily this collection not only tells the story of that fall from grace, but showcases how the completely humbled Hank Pym gathered himself and eventually re-entered the ranks of the pantheon of Assembers.

Below is a cover gallery for this sprawling storyline which ran from late 1981 into 1983. The Avengers battled many a foe during this time, not always focused specifically on the drama of Hank Pym, but always that personal tragedy develops through most of these tales if not directly then in terms of a similar theme, not something I realized when these first hit the stands way back when. Artistically it was a somewhat chaotic period for the team, but the storytelling was most memorable. 

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The Many Faces Of Henry Pym!

I stumbled across The Many Faces of Henry Pym yesterday and was enticed to pick this collection up by the eyeball-vibrating cover (which showcases the weird personal dynamic perfectly),  the relatively low price (under twenty bucks) and the fascinating assortment of sources. This is the story (mostly) of Dr.Henry Pym, one of the earliest Marvel Age superheroes, a man who has always it seemed had a hard time finding his niche in the larger Marvel Universe tapestry.

Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers

The first story by Stan Lee and his sibling Larry Lieber is the very first monster-genre story of Pym in his pre-hero days as the protagonist who gets shrunk and finds himself a man among ants. He survives, even thrives.

Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers

So much so that he becomes a diminutive costumed superhero, an Ant-Man who battles larger foes with the aid of the insect world. The dynamite team of Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers lavish their talents on the littlest Marvel superhero.

Don Heck

Soon enough though his tiny powers prove insufficiently impressive and Pym adds getting big to his repertoire and Giant-Man is born, aided by his girlfriend the always lovely Wasp. (On a side note, it's neat to have the infamous Living Eraser story in full color--what a magnificent creation!)  Don Heck is at his best here.

Jack Kirby and Frank Giacoia

The saga of Pym continues and getting large proves insufficient to stave off an early retirement. But it is a short-lived hiatus as Pym rejoins the Assemblers and adopts the colorful role of Goliath. This has more awesome artwork by the always Dashing Don Heck.

John Buscema and George Klein

John Buscema and George Klein

Pym as Goliath becomes a mainstay of the team until a lab accident toys with his mind and Pym becomes the swashbuckling Yellowjacket, a role better suited to woo his longtime love Janet Van Dyne. They wed and it's Yellowjacket he remains for many years to come until tragedy and near madness end that career also. Roy Thomas and John Buscema created a classic. 

Al Milgrom and Joe Sinnott

After failing as a superhero (more on that tomorrow), Pym tries to find footing as himself, a scientist who has significant skills to bring to the aid of the Avengers, this time allying himself with the West Coast contingent. Steven Englehart and Al Milgrom tell this tale.

Many years pass and finally Pym is forced to confront the chaotic career he has led. It brings resolution for a time.

But the death of Janet Van Dyne lures Pym to take on another role entirely, that of The Wasp, a hero who still seeks to stride a heroic path the best way he knows how.

A dandy little tome, though with some significant gaps, but those are sufficiently collected in other volumes of some classic Avengers stories. It's especially neat to have the wedding story with pulse-pounding artwork by John  Buscema and George Klein, a duo at the height of their powers.

This collection was not unlike a travelogue of the Marvel Universe, spanning decades, but delivering some fascinating glimpses of the what was happening once upon a time.

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Ads Of Atlas!

I first encountered (to my knowledge) the artwork of Ernie Colon in the pages of Atlas-Seaboard. His artistry on The Grim Ghost is most memorable. But it seems Colon was a go-to artist for the upstart publisher as these ad images demonstrate. The beautiful black and white image above appeared only in the black and white magazines that Atlas-Seaboard published, part of a two-page spread with the artwork below show in brilliant color. The characters featured in this downright graceful ad are Colon's own Grim Ghost, Sgt.Stryker, Tarantula, Destructor, Brute, Lomax, Scorpion, and Tiger-Man (another Colon book).

This iconic color ad showed up in a host of comics from the publisher.  The characters featured here are Wulf, Kid Cody, Comanche Kid, Morlock, Devilina, Ironjaw, Phoenix, and Captain Galland of Planet of Vampires  fame.

This half-page ad features the black and white magazines Atlas put out.

All of Colon's art for Atlas-Seaboard had a verve which jolted the attention. His faces beamed and his poses bristled with movement. Great stuff!

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Cartoons By Colon?

I've never found any confirmed credits on these cartoon gag book covers, but the main images sure looks like the luscious artwork of Ernie Colon to me. At the time there were being published I think Mr.Colon was also busily working for Harvey Comics on their kiddie line. Yikes!

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A Most Grim Ghost!

This bravura image was produced by the woefully underrated Ernie Colon, one of the many artists who flocked to the fledgling Atlas-Seaboard banner in 1975 when that little-company-that-couldn't suddenly exploded onto the comic book racks.

Above is the original artwork for Colon's cover for that special issue of Twomorrow's Comic Book Artist, at one time the most kick-ass magazine on comic book history I've ever seen.

Colon was a perfect choice for the cover art as he was the artist behind one of Atlas-Seaboard's best and most memorable comics, The Grim Ghost. This violent ballet of a comic was a real change of pace for color comics at the time, with it's brutality really having impact in the face of so many color comics with mere "action" to offer. This was violence, but offered with the gentle yet still sharp hand of Colon, an artist who rarely misses the mark.

Here are the covers for The Grim Ghost's short but brilliant run.

Ernie Colon

Ernie Colon

Russ Heath

Alas the revival of the Atlas line was pretty much a flop. The Grim Ghost was probably the best of the batch, but lacked the punch of the original run and was limited by incoherent art. It's too bad, this character deserves better.

Kelley Jones

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