The Comics Rack

AVENGERS: THE KREE/SKRULL WAR

   After my experience reading the Avengers/Defenders: War, you would think that I might have passed on this one. After all, it reprints another fondly remembered sequence, this time from The Avengers, #89-97. The art was by Neal Adams, however, and, with a story by Roy Thomas, I figured "what the hey!" Must admit that I was pleasantly surprised. Even all these years later, I am still impressed by this story, involving, The Avengers, the Marvel Capt. Marvel, the Inhumans, a bunch of old Timely heroes and, sideways, the Fantastic Four in what was probably the first "cosmic" battle of the old Marvel universe.
   The basis for the story involves the Kree and the Skrulls, the two races who, at this point in the Marvel continuity, kind of ran rampant over the galaxy (at least when they weren't ducking out of the way of Galactus). Capt. Marvel, as you may remember, was Kree by birth and so, he gets wrapped up in the beginnings of the story and, along the way, gets the Avengers involved as well. All of this comes to a head with issue 93 and the wonderful story that deals with Ant-man making a journey inside the Vision. From there it is action all the way as the entire galaxy goes to war. The Avenger win. End of story. And a great story it is, too.
   Artwise, Sal and John Buscema bookend the Adams portions (the addition of John Buscema necesitated by Adams playing fast and loose with deadlines) and the work of all is good, solid comic book storytelling. Adams has a bit more flair to his work then the other two, as always, but his pacing and layout is quite clear and easy to follow. The inks by Tom Palmer, are also a joy to behold.
   Honestly, if they were producing comics like this today, I might still be reading what's out there on the news stands. Since they aren't, however, I will have to content myself with volumes like this, which you should have on your bookshelf without any hesitation.
   Avengers: The Kree-Skrull War is part of the Marvel's Finest series of reprints (at least my copy is) and retails for $24.95.

BEST OF THE WEST #33-37

   If you are like me and have tired of the current revisionist western titles that appear sporadically from various publishers, you should really be reading Best of the West. Bill Black and his crew at AC Comics have the only regularly published western comic currently available and it is the type of western that is simple, yet satisfying: no weirdness, no gray areas and no re-workings of classic characters. Nope, with Best of the West, you just get good guys against bad guys and the good guys triumph at the end. We've got a whole bunch of 'em to review this time around, so saddle up and hold onto your stetsons.
   #33-A Zorro cover, one-pager by Toth and story by Warren Tufts are the highlights of this issue that also features The Haunted Horseman (art by Dick Ayers),Tom Mix (nicely done by Carl Pfeufer), Masked Rider (passably done by Charles Nicholas), Red Mask (the usual Frank Bolle work) and The Durango Kid (rendered beautifully by Fred Guardineer). A Roy Rogers photo back cover rounds out the issue. A good solid issue, made even more so by the Zorro material.
   #34-A Roy Rogers photo cover leads into a Roy Rogers story by John Buscema (howcum Roy's eyes never look like they are open in the comics?), a 2-pager by Al Williamson, The Haunted Horseman by Dick Ayers, The Durango Kid by Joe Certa and John Belfi (not my cup of tea), Red Mask by Frank Bolle (how many of these things did he do?), and The Renegade Kid by (!) Doug Wildey. The same Roy Rogers photo cover that graced last issue closes out this one. Again, a good issue, particularly due to the Roy Rogers material and the Williamson and Wildey pieces. Most of this material is very hard to come by.
   #35-A nifty Frazetta cover leads off this issue, which contains The Haunted Horseman by Ayers, The Durango Kid, again by Guardineer (YEAH!), a character named Two-Gun Lil who, like her artist, should have remained anonymous, Red Mask by Bolle (no surprise), Annie Oakley by Ross Andru (surprise!), and Black Diamond by Bob Futanji. I would call this a weaker issue, but the Ross Andru piece is so fascinating that it makes me rank it higher (he draws in a style that nods to Jack Davis without being an outright copy). Also, the Bob Futanji work is pleasing to look at.
   #36-This issue is a bit of a change of pace as it has a Gene Autry photo cover, a short biography of Gene, an overview of the Autry Museum in Los Angeles and a Gene Autry comic story by a deservedly anonymous artist (the drawings of Autry are simply awful). Rounding out the issue are The Durango Kid by Joe Certa, Tim Holt by Frank Bolle and the ever-present Haunted Horseman by Dick Ayers. This is the weakest of the issues reviewed here, simply because the Autry story looks so bad. In fact, I'll go so far as to say that the only reason to buy this one is the Haunted Horseman story (There,I said it!).
   #37-This one is a "Special Origins Issue" and, starting with a special frontspiece introduction from Bullseye (the Simon and Kirby character) this issue is really excellent. I guess part of the reason I feel this way is that I was always a sucker for origin stories, and this issue does not fail to deliver. It features The Durango Kid by Certa and Belfi, The Haunted Horseman by Dick Ayers, how Tim Holt became Redmask by Frank Bolle (miles above the other work I've seen by him), The Lemonade Kid (one of the oddest characters to ever slap leather) by Bob Powell, the reformation of the Black Phantom by Frank Bolle (in his usual style) and closes with Red Hawk, again by Bob Powell. This is probably the best of the issues reviewed in this batch, even if the Lemonade Kid story is missing a page. If I were to suggest a single issue to see what Best of the West has to offer, this would be it.
   I would recommend any of these issues to you with no reservations, except for #36 and would actually go so far as to suggest that you go to the AC website and order the whole series. The only minor quibble I have is that the later issues of the series, except #37, have not editorial content at all and so, we have no way of knowing where or when most of these stories first appeared.
   Best of the West is printed in glorious black and white, appears at a kind of sporadic pace and has an SRP, starting with #33, of $6.95.

SWORD & HAND OF ZORRO

   Two gems came out last year from AC Comics and I just recently got around to purchasing, and reading, them. They are The Sword of Zorro and The Hand of Zorro: the second and fourth of the seven Zorro adaptions that Dell Comics did in the 40s and 50s of the original Johnston McCulley novels.
   Both of these bookas are just plain good comics. The art by Everett Raymond Kinstler is uniformly excellent, although it is a bit better in Sword than it is in Hand. The panels are more open in Sword with the figures set farther back, creating the illusion of depth in each panel. In Hand, everything seems to be in close-up, the line work is not as fine and the entire job looks like it was rushed under a deadline. Still good, but not as good as the earlier issue. AC has taken great pains to drop the color from these pages and, although I am not very familiar with Kinstler's work, it looks like the line work has very little breakup or, at least, has been well restored (AC also added grey tones to the stories, giving them a richness that makes up for the abscence of color).
   The adaptions of McCulley's stories are handled with a depth that is the equal of the artwork and were done by Dell's prolific writer, Paul S. Newman. For those of you who may not know, Newman may be the most prolific comic book writer in history, having penned thousands of stories during his career. Here, he takes the daunting task of cutting a novel down to 34 comic pages and manages to insert strong characterization, keep the plot intact and still has room for a beginning, middle and end with fight scenes along the way. He also keeps one bit of business that McCulley created for his novels: many people know that Don Diego and Zorro are the same person.
   Along with the comic stories, editor Bill Black has included some editorial material about Zorro, short informational bits about the creators and lots of photos of Zorro from movies and TV. He also hints at more Zorro reprints to come, but they have yet to appear as of this time.
   I would recommend both of these books to you, but, if you have to choose, go for The Sword of Zorro. It's the best of the two.
   The Sword of Zorro and The Hand of Zorro are still available from AC Comics and have a SRP of $5.95 each.

MEN OF MYSTERY #38-41

   Men of Mystery is AC's longest running reprint title and, of late, has been the only place that comic lovers can find reprints of the secondary characters that were published by Fawcett. This batch is no exception, so hang onto your goggles and here we go!
   #38-This issue opens with a fair Bulletman story by Bill Ward and is followed by a Commando Yank story which may be one of the dumbest stories I have ever read (suffice to say, I don't think a baseball game would continue if the pitcher were to die in mid-game!). The issue is partially salvaged by a Paul Gustavson Rusty Ryan tale and an Emil Gershwin art job on Spy Smasher, but then hits absolute rock bottom with a tale of Lee Granger, Jungle King. According to Black's notes on the issue, Granger was a backup feature in Master Comics and, although the art leaves something to be desired, it is the collision of realism and fantasy in the story that I find objectionable. Seems that Granger has a sidekick who happens to be a lion...not a bad idea, but the lion talks, which completely blows the jungle adventure premise of the strip out the window. The issue closes with a Black Cobra story drawn by Robert Webb in the style of Bill Ward. Probably one of the weakest issues I have seen from AC in a long time.
   #39-After a Kirbyesque cover, Joe Certa and John Belfi kick off this issue with a Fighting Yank story. Pyroman, a forgettable character, follows close behind and is drawn by Ken Battlefield. Ernie Schroder does the honors on Airboy in the next story, which is followed by an uncredited, and very cartoony, Spy Smasher story. Bulletman by Bill Ward and a Marvelman adventure by Don Lawrence round out the issue. Schroder's art on Airboy is of interest, even though it is quite sketchy in spots. The cartoony Spy Smasher story is fun and Bill Ward is welcome anytime AC wants to print him. Marvelman is also a welcome addition. Better than the previous issue, but still not quite at the top of the heap.
   #40-Just about the time I think I am going to burn out on this book, an issue like this pops out of the presses and restores my interest. Under an overwrought cover by Will Meugniot, we have The Black Terror by Meskin and Robinson, the only Kid Terror solo story ever done, as drawn by George Tuska, a strange and uncredited Bulletman story, a passable story of The Purple Claw with art by Ben Brown and David Gantz and then the grand gem of the issue: a Little Wise Guys story drawn by Ralph Mayo. This is followed by Spy Smasher by C. C. Beck and Co. Issues like this one are why I continue to buy AC reprints. Meskin and Robinson stories rate right up there with Simon and Kirby in my opinion and this story alone would be worth the price of admission. You add a Little Wise Guys story (I consider anything to come out of Lev Gleason to be worth reading) and you could fill out the rest of the issue with Lee Granger for all I care! This is an excellent issue of Men of Mystery.
   #41-A more controlled cover by Meugniot graces this issue which features Bulletman, a Fawcett cover gallery, Spy Smasher, Ibis the Invincible (I think it may have been by Schaffenberger), the odd character, Nature Boy, drawn by John Buscema and no credits to be found, except on the Nature Boy story and the two Simon & Kirby covers that are reproduced at the end of the issue. This issue falls just behind the previous one in terms of quality. Even with the lack of credits, the stories are all solid and the Simon & Kirby covers are just icing on the cake. Another must-have issue.
   Men of Mystery retails for $6.95 and can be found at more astute comic shops, or ordered from the AC website (see our Links page).

AMERICA'S GREATEST COMICS #5-6

   Of the many comics out on the market today, there is one that I find lives up to its title and that is America's Greatest Comics. Bill Black and the crew at AC Comics make sure that each issue is a comic collector's dream by featuring some of the best work produced by companies other than the big two. What makes the book so great? Well, read on...
   #5-In this issue we have Wood, Orlando, Kubert, Busceme, Evans, Ditko, Ward, and Meskin: a veritable who's who of comics. Not only that, but the manor genres of horror, western and science fiction are covered as well. And if that doesn't whet your appetite, the selections presented here all have a good story to go along with the nifty art. So, what's not to like? Well, there are no credits in the book to tell you when each story was done. Sure, you can guess by the company listing by each artists' name that appears on the table of contents and it also helps to know that the Wood and Orlando job was done in the pre-EC years, but having definite title, issue and year credits would help a lot and make an already great package even better.
   #6-If it was possible, this issue is even better than the previous one. Here we have Kitko, Rico with Ayers, Wood, Crandall, Everett, Powell and Kamen. Just to ice the cake, however, there is also a solo Kirby story, a Simon & Kirby collaboration and two covers: one from Black Magic and the other from Justice Traps the Guilty...both by Simon & Kirby. Credits are a bit imporved with this issue, since most of the stories refer to the comic title of the stories original orgin, but still lack issue numbers, years, or other specifics.
   We tend to review a lot of AC product and this is because of its quality. If you are a fan of older comic material, you should be buying the many reprint titles that AC has to offer and, particularly, America's Greatest Comics. It is far and away the best reprint book currently on the market. 'Nuff said!