Random Grab: Dazzler #22

While sifting through and creating a database of my comic books I noticed I have quite a few single issues of series that I've never read. So, in the spirit of this blog I'm going to randomly pick one of these books and give a short review. It's something of an experiment first to possibly discover books I may want to read in the future and second to see exactly how accessible some comics are. As a long time reader I know you can't judge an entire series based on one issue and I'm not trying to, but it's fun to dip your toe in and see what happens.

So, without further ado...

 Dazzler #22

"The Sisterhood"

December 1982

Writer: Danny Fingeroth

Artist: Frank Springer

My knowledge of this character comes solely from Uncanny X-Men and with that I can sum her up thusly: Alison Blaire is a mutant with the ability to convert sound to weaponized energy and light. She typically uses this power to help her fledgling career as a pop star (for special effects), but will also use it when needed to defend herself and others. I enjoyed her presence with the X-Men, but know next to nothing of her solo adventures.

First, let's talk cover: as an X-Men fan, this is a fairly attractive issue by cover alone. You've got Angel, Rogue and, of course, Dazzler. This is during Rogue's villain days with Mystique and Destiny, so it's especially interesting to me. I'm not really a fan of Dazzler's costume because even for 1982 it seems a bit dated where two years before in her first appearance it seemed appropriate. I'm no fashion expert, though.

The synopsis of this particular issue: Dazzler is recording a demo tape for a record company. Along the way she meets up with Angel, who is apparently in New York to pursue a relationship with Alison. At the climax of this issue, Angel and Dazzler do battle with Rogue, Mystique and Destiny, who have targeted Angel for revenge against the X-Men. .

Some of the things I noticed about this issue: 

- Dazzler has a pretty large supporting cast. We see some sidebars with her birth mother and father, who appear to have been separated for a long time. Her mother alludes to another daughter, Lois, whom she had with a second husband. This gives Alison a half-sister to add to the cast (who shows up at her door in the last panel). The bit with her father explains he and his ex-wife are back on good terms, suggesting some altercation in past issues. We also see interactions with her manager, band mates and boyfriend.

- And speaking of her boyfriend, Ken Barnett. He looks like a straight up porn star with his curly hair and mustache. Yikes.

- Seriously, what's the deal with the roller skates? At one point during the battle with Rogue, Mystique and Destiny, Dazzler makes a point to put on her roller skates. The only thing she successfully does with them is kick a villain in the face. Sure, it probably hurts more to be kicked with skates than a boot... but still. Also, the battle takes place in what appears to be a grass lawn. Now, it's been a minute since I've done any roller skating, but grass was never my surface of choice. 

- As someone that was born, raised and still live in the South, Rogue's accent has always bothered me. The use of "ya'll" in particular has always made me cringe because the writers never get its use right. Well, not only does Danny Fingeroth not use "ya'll" once, the southern drawl he gives Rogue is actually pretty believable.

- The art by Frank Springer is really good, but it feels retro even for the early 80's. It feels like it would fit snugly along with John Romita, Sr.'s Spidey work from the late 1960's, which I still enjoy immensely to this day. So, definitely not a knock to the art.

Here's where I come to the two questions this entry is supposed to answer:

Would I read it?

Yes. I'd try it out. I'm a fan of good supporting casts and quirky characters, so I'd give this a few more issues. I'm not blown away by this particular issue, but I'm not turned away either. In the end, I'm not itching to get to the next issue, but I wouldn't turn it down if I came across it on the cheap.

Is it accessible to a new reader?

Yes. I never felt lost while reading, which is an absolute miracle with anything associated to the X-Men. Some of that may be because I am vaguely familiar with the main character. As a plus, this particular issue gives quick and somewhat enticing glances to what appears to be multiple plot threads without losing the reader in a ton of complicated continuity. The main plot is light, but serves its purpose (which seems to be getting Angel and Dazzler together).

I'll count this one as a WIN.

Top 5 Single Issue Stories ("One and Done")

I've always been a fan of single issue stories or "one and done" issues as they're sometimes called. They're typically intimate, fun tales if done by the current creative team or mediocre (not always) fill-in issues from a back catalog to give the current creative team a rest. And so, I was inspired recently by Comic Geek Speak's Top 5 Single Issue Stories episode to create my own list. And, without further ado and in no real order...

The Flash #73

"One Perfect Gift"

February 1993

Writer: Mark Waid

Artist: Greg LaRocque 

A Christmas tale by the regular creative team of Mark Waid and Greg LaRocque. It's Christmas Eve and Jay Garrick and Wally West hit the town to do some regular good deeds (soup kitchen, shoveling snow) and help one man not make the mistake of his life. It's heartfelt, warm and exciting. Mark Waid is the architect of bringing the Flash's supporting characters together and making it a family book and, to me, this issue is where that can all be traced. Just about the perfect holiday book.

JSA #10

"Wild Hunt"

May 2000

Writers: David S. Goyer & Geoff Johns

Artist: Steve Sadowski

This tale revolves around what should have been a calm night for JSA member Wildcat (Ted Grant), but quickly turns into a brawl. David Goyer and Geoff Johns introduce the new Injustice Society and pit them against our feline bad ass and he beats them down single handedly. This is the book that solidified my love for the character. He's just a tough old boxer in a cat costume. Fun story that I've read countless times.

The Amazing Spider-Man #7

"Return of the Vulture"

December 1963

Writer: Stan Lee

Artist: Steve Ditko

You'd think it would be hard for me to narrow down a favorite issue of any Spider-Man book, but it's not. Sure, I have a lot of favorites, but this is THE favorite. To me it captures everything that's great about Spider-Man and the early Marvel years. There's action, comedy, the Parker luck and even a little bit of romance (with Betty Brant, friends!). I've written ad nauseam about this particular issue in the past on various web pages and will probably devote an entire post to it here in the near future, so I'll spare a complete synopsis. As the title suggests, the Vulture returns and the two square off a couple of times, culminating in a showdown at the Daily Bugle, which is absolutely hilarious. A perfect tale by Spidey's original creators.

Hellblazer #27

"Hold Me"

March 1990

Writer: Neil Gaiman

Artist: Dave McKean

From the time this book started it was firing on all cylinders under the careful, amazing and experimental work of writer Jamie Delano. Here, for a single issue, Neil Gaiman, who had just gotten The Sandman off the ground, with the assistance of long-time collaborator (or at this time, will-be-long-time) Dave McKean tell a creepy, yet strangely heartwarming tale of a dead thing just wanting to feel the warmth of another. I've read this a dozen or so times and it feels like it only gets better with age.

 

The Uncanny X-Men #308

"Mixed Blessings"

January 1994

Writer: Scott Lobdell

Artist: John Romita, Jr.

This one was relatively hard to pin down. Chris Claremont's one and done X-Men issues are some of the best you'll ever read of any title ever, but it's this particular tale by Scott Lobdell that I found myself reading repeatedly in my teenage years. It offered a lot of heart and warmth which, judging by this list, you'd think I long for (and honestly, maybe I do). It takes place on Thanksgiving and features a lot of reminiscing and heart to heart talk between Scott Summers (Cyclops) and Jean Grey (err... many code names) as well as some lighthearted fun amongst the other members of the team at this time (Beast, Forge, Banshee, Jubilee, Bishop, Gambit, Rogue, Iceman, Archangel, Psylocke, Professor X... whew). It's also noteworthy because Scott finally proposes to Jean. The whole issue culminates in Thanksgiving dinner where Charles Xavier gives a nice speech and Scott and Jean announce their engagement. Great stuff from the era where my collecting was in high gear.

There are a ton of other great issues I considered, but it honestly came down to the ones I frequently seek out and give a read to almost annually. Some of the above because they fit nicely in around the holidays and the others just because they're truly great stories.

Just for fun, here are a few honorable mentions:

- Daredevil #219 "Badlands" - June 1985

- The Amazing Spider-Man #248 "The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man" - January 1984

- Batman #247 "Merry Christmas... and a Deadly New Year" - February 1973

- Wolverine #9  "Promises to Keep" - July 1989

- Hellblazer #11 "Newcastle: A Taste of Things to Come" - November 1988

- The Batman Adventures #10 "The Last Riddler Story" - July 1993

Retro Ads #2: Special Horror Edition

It has been a minute since I've posted an old ad, so I feel like I've found something completely appropriate for this month and perfect for following up my last post. I bring you this gem from the back covers of Count Duckula #6 & #7 from 1989.

In a grab to mimick the excellent Hostess super hero ads, Colgate gets in on the game with a team-up of epic proportions: Colgate Junior and Captain America. Their villain? Count Plaqula!!!!!!

Hallowtober Readin'

Finally we've hit my favorite month of the year. To celebrate, I'll not only be posting on a more regular basis here (ahem...), but I've set a goal to read the entire 70 issues of Tomb of Dracula!!

My schedule is super crazy right now and I'm easily distracted, but this is a goal I'll stick with.

I've only ever read the first two issues and that was probably six or seven years ago, so I'm going into this with practically zero knowledge. It's a gaping black hole in my Marvel reading, so here we go...

 

This first issue is cover dated April of 1972. It was written by the legendary Gerry Conway and drawn by the magnificent Gene Colan. It introduces Frank Drake, who is down on his luck and out of options. Well, mostly out of options. He's conveniently inherited an old family castle in Transylvania. Turns out his family's last name used to be "Dracula" until they changed it to avoid the terror and curiosity it caused. And this castle? Yup, the original Castle Dracula.

He and his best friend, Clifton Graves, have come up with a grand idea to re-open the castle as a tourist spot to capitalize on its infamy. Along for the ride is his girlfriend (and ex-girlfriend of Clifton... drama), Jean. The trip to the castle is anything but fun as they have car trouble in the pouring rain. They hitch a ride via carriage to within walking distance of the place because the locals won't go any closer.

Once inside they become separated and Clifton Makes a startling discovery...

Yes, it's true. There is only one "cat" that could be inside a tomb labeled "Count Dracula". Despite some dated dialogue and questionable exposition, which was a staple of comics for the longest time, the story deftly moves along. The Count is reanimated thanks to Clifton, who is quickly thrown into a pit to await an unknown fate at a later time. 

Ol' Drac immediately sets to his old ways and finds a villager. He feeds on her in his trademark way and her body is discovered by the townsfolk. What does any average terrorized villager do? Grab a torch, organize a mob and set the castle on fire, of course!

During the course of this, Dracula manages to beat the crap out of his "cousin", Frank Drake. Using mirrors and the occasional crucifix, Drake manages to keep his weird, pale family member at bay. But he can do this for only so long and, in the end...

If I'm honest, while I did enjoy the story, it's nothing too special. It feels like it could have fit neatly into one of Marvel's horror, monster-of-the-month anthology books. It's in its infancy and I'm not entirely sure where it's going with its story at this point, but I am interested. That alone is the key.

As for its characters: Frank Drake just doesn't do a whole lot to get me to like him. Jean is a typical damsel in distress right up until the end when she turns. This is about the only time I find her remotely interesting. Clifton's a throw-away character at this point, but I'm interested in seeing what Dracula has in store for him, if anything. Dracula's the winner in this group. He's clearly the most interesting at this point, but he doesn't do much here beyond your stereotypical vampire bad guy.

I've read elsewhere this book doesn't really hit its stride until Marv Wolfman takes over the writing, which is by issue #7. Fortunately, Gene Colan stays with the book during its entire run. The art is appropriately dark and actually pretty creepy. 

For a first issue, I'd give it an overall 3/5. It's interesting, but it's not quite stellar. Yet.

"Geek Cred" and How I learned to Let Go.

I suppose I should start this off by sharing my "geek cred", right? I mean, how can I not? I have to stroke my ego a bit, right?

 Okay, here's what I've got: I've been reading comics for around twenty-three years. I'm thirty, so you can do the math. Up above you'll see the first two comic books I ever bought (picked out myself, really); The Transformers #35 (1987) and Yosemite Sam and Bugs Bunny #62 (1979). I didn't actually buy either of these the year they were released, but instead picked them up from a quarter bin. I remember I was with my grandmother that weekend and she was always tight with her money, but fifty cents? Yeah, she could squeeze that.

So that's what started me off down the long and enjoyable road. I'm a comic book nut. I love them all; from all-ages books (or, as we used to call them: kids comics) to beefed-up superheroes to indie books. If you've perused this blog, then you've probably already come to that conclusion.

So, what is this post really about? It's about being able to share something you love without completely alienating the person you're trying to share it with. It's about being a fan of something and getting along with other fans. It's about personal growth, really.

I used to spend a decent amount of time roaming the CBR Forums, but eventually it became too much. I have to say it's not because I can't stand other people's opinions, but I can't stand the constant railing of comic book fans against almost everything. They want change, they get it: they hate it. They don't want change, everything stays the same: they hate it. As fans, it appears we cannot be satisfied. And it's the minority that are the most vocal. Not every comic book fan gets on the internet and loudly shouts he/she hates whatever they've decided to hate. But, honestly, that's not even what I'm talking about, really.

This article stems from the ego involved in the fan community. You'd think "geek cred" was the end all/be all as to whether or not you're a "real" fan. It appears the ultimate measure of fandom by these standards is time. 

"I've been a fan since the beginning!" 

or

"I've been reading it for ____ years!"

Any time you have a conversation about the thing you like and you preface it with "I've been into X for X amount of years!", then your ego has become too involved. If you're having a conversation with a like-minded individual, then it's a battle of who's been a fan longest and not really about much else. Sure, sometimes it evolves into a pretentious pissing contest of epic proportions when you start talking about what you like about each thing. 

Just for example: one person's a big fan of Batman's Knightfall storyline, but the other guy is a fan of Hush... someone will undoubtedly tell the other person they're wrong for that opinion. Or, belittle it in the face of their own superior opinion.

But what if the other person is not a fan? These are the people with the biggest hurdles to jump in order to get into pretty much any fan community. Start throwing your "geek cred" at them and your pretentious opinions and you've pretty much alienated a new person. 

All this comes back to letting go. When my wife and I first started dating, I took her to see Iron Man. She knew very little of the character and, honestly, didn't give a shit. She was more impressed with my passion about the medium than my knowledge, but again... didn't give a shit about comics. Then she saw the movie and was instantly hooked. She wanted to read the comics and become involved in everything Iron Man. Well, I bought her a few Iron Man books and it just wasn't her thing. Not comic books in general, no. She ended up liking The Walking Dead and Fables a lot, but just not super hero comics in general. And as much as I wanted her to like my cape comics more, I realized they're not for everyone. 

That was a big step for me as a geek. Realizing that in the greater scheme of things, no matter how much I liked something... sometimes it doesn't mean shit to someone else. Not in a bad way, mind you. Again, my wife loves my passion for the medium and even loves some comics herself, but in the end, it's not really her thing and... that's okay. She can love the hell out of the Iron Man and super hero movies, but not give a crap about the comics and... that's okay. As a matter of fact, I think she's able to enjoy them more because she doesn't have to feel let down by any changes that are made from the source material! I envy that, but as an aside, I've let go of that too (a topic for another day, perhaps). Her ability to like or not like something doesn't effect my ability to do so. My experience with the interest at hand also doesn't make my opinions superior to hers or anyone new to the interest.

And that's kind of my point; you can have been "into" something from the beginning or for years and it not mean a damn thing to anyone else. People new to the interest may value your opinion and look for guidance, but in the end it may not mean anything to them once they've found their way to enjoy something. As an old fan, you should let your passion infect others instead of alienate. Share instead of shun. If you really want your interest to survive, it'll take more than you as a fan. So, take a step back and stop prefacing everything with, "I've been a fan since..." because it really doesn't mean anything to anyone but yourself and your ego.

Also,  if you were paying attention, you'd have noticed that while I was not able to share my love of super hero comics with my wife, I was able to share my love of comics and, as a result, brought someone new into the hobby; a die-hard Walking Dead comic fan that, ha ha, was into it before the show. So, I guess she has a little "geek cred" herself now, huh?

;)

Spinner Rack: The Spectre (1992)

 

The Spectre

Run: 1992-1998 / 62 Issues & 1 Annual

Written by John Ostrander 

Drawn (mostly) by Tom Mandrake 

I've sat here for a few minutes with my fingers on the keyboard just trying to figure out how to start this post. It's hard to put into words just how complex, layered and brilliant this book is. Once again we join Jim Corrigan, 1930's tough guy cop, still attempting to come to grips with the choices his alter ego, The Spectre, makes. Being the "embodiment of God's wrath" and feeling compelled to avenge and punish all who've committed (or, in some cases, are about to commit) horrible acts against others, Jim has a tough time getting his human conscience to the surface in order to control Spectre.

Throughout the story Jim is faced with some pretty tough moral dilemmas in the face of what he believes God would, or would not, want him to do. The story makes a compelling case for a progressive view of Christianity, which is something you don't see too often. Ostrander's own views and questions about Christianity and his experience at seminary school really define the tone of this book and, unless you're an unquestioning sheep, chances are good he works through questions you may have had. It's amazing this book is twenty years old because many of the dilemmas tackled are still prevalent today. That says something about or society, I think.

All of this is cloaked in a non-traditional, often violent and gritty, story about a 1930's cop in a modern world with an extremely powerful alter ego. That's just a fluff, superficial description. There's just so much more to this story that my limited abilities as a writer are inadequate to properly detail it.

Tom Mandrake's art is similarly complex and dark. Lots of moody, appropriate style throughout. I can't imagine this book drawn by anyone else. 

To date I've read Spectre's adventures in Adventure Comics and the 31-issue (and one Annual ) Doug Moench-penned 1987 volume. While I'm pretty wild about both of those, Ostrander and Mandrake's volume is, to me, the definitive Spectre book. And while it does have elements from both of those books, it stands alone and tells what I believe to be the final Spectre story.