The Brown Wedge

Comics: A Beginner’s Guide: Horror

EC

It was, more than anything else, EC’s powerful horror comics that led to uproar and US Senate hearings in the ’50s - and for years afterwards, comics were aimed more squarely at children than any time before or since.

They don’t seem so scary today, over 50 years on. The twists are often predictable and kind of repetitive when you read a lot of them, and the insistence on describing everything in captions (the panel outlines and caption lettering were produced before the artists got to start work) is wearing. Nonetheless, they had lots of terrific artists: Johnny Craig, Harvey Kurtzman, Wally Wood, Jack Davis, George Evans, Jack Kamen, Reed Crandall, Graham Ingels. Ingels was particularly strong on creepy characters and atmosphere, but the general standard was exceptional. … read on …

Comics: A Beginner’s Guide: Horror

EC

It was, more than anything else, EC’s powerful horror comics that led to uproar and US Senate hearings in the ’50s - and for years afterwards, comics were aimed more squarely at children than any time before or since.

They don’t seem so scary today, over 50 years on. The twists are often predictable and kind of repetitive when you read a lot of them, and the insistence on describing everything in captions (the panel outlines and caption lettering were produced before the artists got to start work) is wearing. Nonetheless, they had lots of terrific artists: Johnny Craig, Harvey Kurtzman, Wally Wood, Jack Davis, George Evans, Jack Kamen, Reed Crandall, Graham Ingels. Ingels was particularly strong on creepy characters and atmosphere, but the general standard was exceptional. … read on …

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA PART 2: PRINCE CASPIAN or WHOS’ GOT THE HORN?

The problem with any film of this second Narnian book is that — while it has strong scenes and beasts galore — the logic behind its structure is, more than anything else, Aslan Arses About (for c.1300 years). He’s not a tame lion, you know — no indeed, but he is an extremely passive-aggressive and self-satisfied one, never more than this story, and no actor can read his lines without underlining this. Nor can any director hope to expand on the memorable scenes and beasts without giving in to how pellmell pagan this story is, first to last. It isn’t Christian and it isn’t clever: and while I don’t think it especially steps on your fond memories of the original, it massively wimpily sidesteps Aslan’s tactical masterstroke in the book, where he calls to arms the Wine God (Silenus with his fat ass) and the Party God Magnus Bacchus, and they supplement their army of maenad riot grrls with a division of hott and bovvered schoolgirls… … read on …

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA PART 2: PRINCE CASPIAN or WHOS’ GOT THE HORN?

The problem with any film of this second Narnian book is that — while it has strong scenes and beasts galore — the logic behind its structure is, more than anything else, Aslan Arses About (for c.1300 years). He’s not a tame lion, you know — no indeed, but he is an extremely passive-aggressive and self-satisfied one, never more than this story, and no actor can read his lines without underlining this. Nor can any director hope to expand on the memorable scenes and beasts without giving in to how pellmell pagan this story is, first to last. It isn’t Christian and it isn’t clever: and while I don’t think it especially steps on your fond memories of the original, it massively wimpily sidesteps Aslan’s tactical masterstroke in the book, where he calls to arms the Wine God (Silenus with his fat ass) and the Party God Magnus Bacchus, and they supplement their army of maenad riot grrls with a division of hott and bovvered schoolgirls… … read on …

Is The Anti-Life Equation A Proper Equation?

According to Wikipedia, this is the formula for the evil god Darkseid’s Anti-Life Equation, currently menacing DC comics:

“loneliness + alienation + fear + despair + self-worth ÷ mockery ÷ condemnation ÷ misunderstanding x guilt x shame x failure x judgment n=y where y=hope and n=folly, love=lies, life=death, self=dark side”

Now, I may not know much about maths, let alone the higher-dimensional equations of the Fifth World - but I have to ask myself - is this actually an equation? Even if you put “Anti-Life =” at the start? … read on …

Comics: A Beginner’s Guide: Children’s Comics

The last item (bar a bonus insert) in this series was on European comics. Two of the all-time great children’s creators could have been covered there. It’s worth noting that comics have been a medium aimed overwhelmingly at children, especially in anglophone countries, for most of their existence, so unsurprisingly some of the best cartoonists ever were in that market.

Rene Goscinny

I won’t say too much about him, because everyone knows Asterix (with artist Uderzo, who continued writing it after Goscinny died). His writing is a constant delight not just on this, but on Ompa-Pa (a Native American; artist Uderzo again), Iznogoud (a vizier in a 1001 Nights world; artist Tabary) and especially cowboy Lucky Luke, with Morris. (Asterix is easy to find, but the others are less common, though there are English-language editions.) … read on …

Comics: A Beginner’s Guide: Children’s Comics

The last item (bar a bonus insert) in this series was on European comics. Two of the all-time great children’s creators could have been covered there. It’s worth noting that comics have been a medium aimed overwhelmingly at children, especially in anglophone countries, for most of their existence, so unsurprisingly some of the best cartoonists ever were in that market.

Rene Goscinny

I won’t say too much about him, because everyone knows Asterix (with artist Uderzo, who continued writing it after Goscinny died). His writing is a constant delight not just on this, but on Ompa-Pa (a Native American; artist Uderzo again), Iznogoud (a vizier in a 1001 Nights world; artist Tabary) and especially cowboy Lucky Luke, with Morris. (Asterix is easy to find, but the others are less common, though there are English-language editions.) … read on …

dept of you gotta be wtfkn kiddin me YOU BIG HERBERT

i: i am rereadin THE SANTAROGA BARRIER by frank herbert ftb i am co-host of A BITE OF STARS A SLUG OF TIME AND THOU, and we need to start our homework for SERIES TWO

ii: i have probbly not reread it since i was in my teens (= the 70s what were we thinkin) and largely recall it as bein about a secretive community rooted in hallucinogenic CHEESE hurrah

iii: the cheese is called JASPERS cheese

iv: the hero is called called gilbert DASEIN and his lovely g/f is called jenny SORGE

v: the hero is named in sentence ONE, by which time i had already said “yikes hang on!” to myself: “this is a bit of a massive clunky steer surely, nameswise — when did f.herbert go so bunyan on us?”

vi: anyway the steer (as i know know but back then didn’t) is towards THIS and THIS, and therefore HIM, and also (cheese-wise) HIM

(vii: sez wiki, “The novel was loosely based on Martin Heidegger’s ideas, noticeably on his book Sein und Zeit” — bearing in mind it is, in my memory, about HALLUCINOGENIC CHEESE , i am currently enjoyin how hard the word “loosely” seems required to work; i will update all interested sluggards when i have got past page 12)

dept of you gotta be wtfkn kiddin me YOU BIG HERBERT

i: i am rereadin THE SANTAROGA BARRIER by frank herbert ftb i am co-host of A BITE OF STARS A SLUG OF TIME AND THOU, and we need to start our homework for SERIES TWO

ii: i have probbly not reread it since i was in my teens (= the 70s what were we thinkin) and largely recall it as bein about a secretive community rooted in hallucinogenic CHEESE hurrah

iii: the cheese is called JASPERS cheese

iv: the hero is called called gilbert DASEIN and his lovely g/f is called jenny SORGE

v: the hero is named in sentence ONE, by which time i had already said “yikes hang on!” to myself: “this is a bit of a massive clunky steer surely, nameswise — when did f.herbert go so bunyan on us?”

vi: anyway the steer (as i know know but back then didn’t) is towards THIS and THIS, and therefore HIM, and also (cheese-wise) HIM

(vii: sez wiki, “The novel was loosely based on Martin Heidegger’s ideas, noticeably on his book Sein und Zeit” — bearing in mind it is, in my memory, about HALLUCINOGENIC CHEESE , i am currently enjoyin how hard the word “loosely” seems required to work; i will update all interested sluggards when i have got past page 12)

Comics: A Beginner’s Guide: Bonus: Flash

(I thought it was worth adding this review of a recent release as a supplement to the recent piece on old DC superhero comics).

The second Flash volume is, for me, the best Showcase* collection yet. I love Carmine Infantino’s art on these old comics, the cleanness and liveliness and sharpness of everything he draws. I’m also fond of two odd stylistic tricks: the use of little hands pointing and gesturing in captions, and especially the bizarre way he depicts the city: almost everywhere Flash goes, from any angle, there is a huge paved plain, like the biggest city square in the world, with a modern city skyline in the distance, whatever is in the foreground.

The stories are sometimes very disposable: trivial and inconsequential, just another crook with a ridiculous gimmick (mirrors, tops, boomerangs…) captured by our hero. On the other hand, there is plenty of clever stuff, and some extraordinarily bizarre tales, often based on Infantino showing up with a cover idea he liked and John Broome writing something to fit. The one where he is correctly thinking “I’ve got the strangest feeling I’m being turned into a PUPPET!” is an old favourite. There’s a great splash page, also, where the Flash is running towards Grodd (an evil super-powered gorilla - Infantino always liked drawing apes), beaming adoringly, saying “Grodd, you… you’re WONDERFUL!” Sadly he doesn’t actually kiss him. … read on …