Comic Book Herald

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The Evolution of Marvel Cosmic, Part 5: Cosmic Embiggening Silver Age-Style, 1967

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[Fantastic Four art by Jack Kirby (p), Joe Sinnott (i), Stan Goldberg (c), Sam Rosen and Artie Simek (l)]

For our last entry, see here for a Kirby Thor extravaganza—in another galaxy!

The strangest thing about Jack Kirby’s legendary 102-issue run on Fantastic Four isn’t any of his creations, which are of course mostly wonderfully bizarre and, well, wondrous—it’s that his raw creative energy peaked when both the series and his art were just fully coming into their own; both had started to kick into gear once the Inhumans were introduced (issue #44), but while things had already been going strong for a year or so previously, the storytelling really began to struggle to keep pace with the frenetic Kirby crackle (evidenced especially in the transition from the Inhumans to Galactus storylines, with both ending up frustratingly hyper-compressed and truncated). Of course, much of this was simply the tension between punishing deadlines and Jack’s urge to keep shaking it up every month, creatively. [Read more…] about The Evolution of Marvel Cosmic, Part 5: Cosmic Embiggening Silver Age-Style, 1967

The Good Asian Chat

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In 1882, the United States passed a ban on Chinese immigrants, blaming them for the 1874 Depression. In 1924, the Johnson-Reed Act expanded the ban to include Asians and Arabs. By 1936, over a half a century after the original ban…the Chinese were the first generation to come of age under an immigration ban.

Following Edison Hark—a haunted, self-loathing Chinese-American detective—on the trail of a killer in 1936 Chinatown, THE GOOD ASIAN is Chinatown noir starring the first generation of Americans to come of age under an immigration ban, the Chinese, as they’re besieged by rampant murders, abusive police, and a world that seemingly never changes.

Two Asian critics- Ritesh Babu and Harry Kassen discuss and dig into the ambitious Asian-American Noir drama.

[Read more…] about The Good Asian Chat

The Evolution of Marvel Cosmic, Part 4: King Kirby & Princeling Thor’s Mission to Space, 1966

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[covers & interiors by Jack Kirby (p), Vince Colletta (i), Stan Goldberg (c), Artie Simek/Sam Rosen (l)]

Part 3 of this “Evolution of Marvel Cosmic” series is here, along with links to previous posts.

Before the introduction of the imperial but adorable Rigellians—of the fictional galaxy Rigel, a name taken from a real star in the Milky Way, part of the Orion constellation—Jack Kirby and Stan Lee’s Thor comics were thoroughly rooted in two things: a pulpy, streamlined reinterpretation of Thor-centric Norse myths, squeezed into backstories (excellent stuff, really), and very silly, mostly mundane villains for him to fight (like Cobra and Mr. Hyde)—but there was a lot of potential with screwball ideas like the Absorbing Man (imbued with Asgardian enchantments courtesy of the God of Lies) and having the Nordic Thunder God encounter the gods and heroes of Ancient Greece (Ares and Hercules). [Read more…] about The Evolution of Marvel Cosmic, Part 4: King Kirby & Princeling Thor’s Mission to Space, 1966

Merely a Monument; Always a Seamark – Sandman and DC Universe Connections

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The recent adaptation illustrates how crucial the Sandman’s connections to DC continuity are to Morpheus’ Story.

Throughout the press tour in anticipation of Netflix’s adaptation of The Sandman, there’s been focus on a particular diversion from the source material — its lack of connective tissue to a grander universe. This is usually spun as a liberating factor — “for too long the weight of the DC universe weighed heavy on the brains of the dreaming, etc, etc.” The usual assumptions also hang in the air, namely that some rights issue is preventing the authors from following the script exactly. While excising the comics’ connections to the DC world is, for the most part, done without losing too many key plot details, the absence of the DC Universe is indicative of larger tonal problems for the series. [Read more…] about Merely a Monument; Always a Seamark – Sandman and DC Universe Connections

BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES – The 30 Greatest Episodes For 30 Years

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On September 5, 1992, Batman: The Animated Series premiered on Fox Kids, introducing the world to a vision of The Dark Knight that appealed to all age groups. Created by Eric Radomski and Bruce Timm, with writers including Paul Dini and a voice cast centered on Kevin Conroy, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Loren Lester, Bob Hastings, Robert Costanzo, Mark Hamill, and more, Batman The Animated Series was both a distillation of everything that made The Caped Crusader popular for decades as well as an inspiration for countless TV shows, comics, movies, and of course fans, in the years that followed.

Personally, BTAS was the thing that not only made me a Batman fan, but got me into superheroes in general. From its initial season to its rebranded second season of The Adventures of Batman & Robin to its update in The New Batman Adventures, I was obsessed with Timm and company’s interpretation of The Dark Knight. In my eyes, it’s the version of the character that I see first when I think about Batman. Every interpretation is ultimately compared to this version, and in its balance of all ages thrills with a mature storytelling style, the animated series encapsulated everything that makes this character special.

So to celebrate 30 years of Batman: The Animated Series, I’m ranking my 30 favorite episodes from across the series’ 109 episodes that were made from 1992 through 1999. And while this doesn’t include the animated movies, Batman Beyond, or the 3-part “World’s Finest” from Superman: The Animated Series, those stories also have a special place in my heart. [Read more…] about BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES – The 30 Greatest Episodes For 30 Years