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Was it possible to suffer a concussion from seeing too much beauty at once?  If so, maybe that's what happened...because the next thing Mike knew  the sermon was over and his family had joined "the pastoral receiving line."  They were standing midway back in the sanctuary shuffling step by step toward the exit when Big Mike Carson did something absolutely unprecedented.  He initiated social contact with another human being!

"Good morning, Jim.  Are you just about settled in?" the senior Carson asked a man with a red afro.  (Honest to goodness--Mike thought the guy looked like he could've been a body double for Ronald McDonald.)

"Oh hey, Michael! Yeah, we're just about finished unpacking.  Atherton is a really nice place.  I think we're going to like it here."

Mad Dog: a supervillain that sounds like he could come out of real life

Earlier this week The Peerless Power of Comics blog posted a short historical overview of one of my favorite minor villains:  Mad Dog.

source: http://www.writeups.org/mad-dog-hellcat-marvel-comics/

I first encountered Buzz "Mad Dog" Baxter through the secondary feature of Solo Avengers # 9 (Aug.

source: http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Solo_Avengers_Vol_1_9

1988).  If memory serves, this is one of the titles I picked up with mom during a grocery store run.

Though never particularly a fan of Hellcat, when paired in a story with her psychotic ex-husband, I'll always take time for the read.

I've pondered sometimes why I found the character of Mad Dog so compelling.  At the simplest level, it might be that his brown-dominated costume was pretty atypical in comics and so it made him stand out a bit.

At another level, however, I suspect that knowing a number of women who have experienced spousal abuse is the real root.  I like the idea of Patsy escaping and strengthening herself.  I recognize the reality of a dangerous possessive person who tracks her relentlessly...who is motivated not by wealth, or global domination, but simply by a desire to destroy one, particular person.

I suspect we've all felt like we had "Mad Dogs" in our own lives.  People who decide for us that living in peace is not possible.  There is no place we can flee to which they will not pursue.  There is no ransom that can be paid so that we might put the conflict behind us and carry on with our lives.

The only option is to quit running.  To turn and face the mad dog down.  To defeat them once-and-for-all, or be killed. 

Big City Slickers: Midnight in Smash Comics #26

As this story begins, oil has been struck!!  Big City denizens celebrate and a mass migration is planned for "Californee." (Okay, I made that last part up.) Unfortunately, the happy days come to a screeching halt when well production mysteriously plummets.  

We join Dave Clark and Alice Taylor (remember her from "The Circus Mystery" ) on a date at a local night spot.  Alice points out that a fellow diner--one conspicuously riotous Mr. Hobbs--is supposedly among the unfortunate well-owners in danger of losing everything. Dave speculates that Hobbs could be trying to drown his sorrows with wine, women, and song.

A page interrupts to announce a "Call for Mr. Hobbs!" The broke bacchanalian exits the scene, but not before asking his female companions to "Stick around...I'll be right back!"

Five minutes later, in another section of Big City, we drop in on another oilman.  J. A. Carlson is anxiously placing a phone call to the Big City police with news "of the utmost importance." Tragically, before he can reveal his secret, Carlson is cut down by an unseen gunman.  Hearing the shots over the phone line, the desk sergeant dispatches officers to Carlson's residence.  

Meanwhile, Gabby and Doc Wackey--who've been listening in on police calls--spring into action.  Gabby bounds outside just in time to hitch a ride on the police cruiser headed to the Carlson home.  Once there, he learns that the oilman has--indeed--died.

Despite his best efforts, Gabby finds nothing but a few bits of brightly-colored paper. Feeling he's exhausted his own investigative skills, the talking monkey decides to call in Midnight.

Still at the "niteclub," Dave receives the call on his wrist radio, whereupon, he awkwardly excuses himself from Miss Taylor by claiming to have, "forgotten an important bit of business I must attend to!"  On his way out of the club, Dave accidentally bumps into the returning (and perturbed) Mr. Hobbs. 

I have a number of problems here.  First, on this page, Cole refers to the locale of Clark and Taylor's date as a "niteclub."  Okay, so that's not a standard spelling for the opposite of daytime, but I could look over it--if it weren't for the fact that Cole referred to the place as a "night spot" on the first page of the story!  C'mon, brother!  Pick a spelling and stick with it.

Secondly, you get the impression that Cole had absolutely no idea how to write about Alice. For example, she apparently has no response at all to: (1) her date's watch buzzing, (2) her date putting said watch to his ear and voices coming from it as from a telephone, (3) her date verbally responding to his watch.  Really?!  I didn't realize watch-phone combinations were so commonplace in 1940s America.  

But wait! (as an infomercial pitchman would say) there's more!  Not only does Alice have nothing to say about the watch-phone, when Dave suddenly up and ditches her (for the second time now--remember the Circus Mystery story--all she can muster in response is, "Well I like that!" ???  Really?  What does that even mean?  Was Cole trying to smooth things over and make it look like Alice really was happy to be getting dumped because her absentminded boyfriend had some "business" that needed tending?

As soon as Dave (now fully-garbed as Midnight) sees the bits of paper Gabby collected, he announces, "That's all the evidence necessary! I think I can name the killer!" If the reader hasn't already deduced that Hobbs is the suspect, all ambiguity is removed when Midnight tells Gabby they must make a quick stop to investigate Hobbs' oil wells before apprehending the murderer.

The duo arrive to find that the supposedly-dry wells feature an extra-large pipe, which Gabby speculates must be pumping "10,000 barrels a day!"  Hidden beneath a trap-door, they discover a number of branch wells siphoning-off the black gold of Hobbs' competitors.

Just at that moment, two of Hobbs' men (Chad and Butch, we'll learn) get the drop on Midnight and Gabby and a raucous brawl ensues.  Meanwhile, two more Hobbs-men observe this and telephone their boss asking what to do.  Hobbs tells them to close the hatch, sealing in the three men (and monkey) until Hobbs himself can get there.

When Hobbs arrives, the heartless cur sets about opening a spigot in order to flood the shaft with oil, drowning all of its occupants.

With the oil rising, Midnight grabs a nearby barrel and has Gabby take refuge beneath apparently to secure an air supply.  This, however, is another aspect of the story that doesn't make sense to me.  If Midnight wants air, why would he artificially restrict his supply to the confines of the barrel?  Isn't the top of the shaft full of breathable air as well--and a lot more of it?!  If the argument is that the air in the shaft is becoming unbreathable due to oil fumes, how exactly is the air inside the barrel any different?  Wouldn't the oil trapped under the barrel also be releasing toxic fumes?

Fortunately for our heroes, Doc Wackey has been watching events unfold on the visoscope, and promptly springs into action to save his pals.  After scattering Hobbs and his accomplices by ramming a car into the nearest Hobbs oil derrick, the Doc unlatches the trap door, freeing Midnight and Gabby.

Midnight gives chase to the fleeing Hobbs.  For some unexplained illogical reason, Hobbs decides to flee by climbing yet another oil derrick.  Once at the top, Hobbs produces a hand-gun and takes aim at our hero.  Yet for some reason, the same man who killed Carlson earlier is unable to hit a man climbing up a ladder towards him?!  Midnight, apparently utilizing the equivalent of go-go-gadet arms, manages to land a haymaker in the middle of Hobbs' chest, knocking the villain off-balance.  Before Midnight can save him, Hobbs drops off the side of the derrick to his own poetic demise.

After rejoining his companions on the ground, Midnight treats the reader to a moralistic assessment that Hobbs has, essentially, reaped that he he'd sown.  As a final wrap-up, when Gabby expresses regret that they never caught the murderer of Carlson, Midnight reveals that--DUH! DUH! DUH!--the scraps of paper Gabby found at the murder scene gave it away.  They were confetti that had gotten on Hobbs during the initial party at the night spot.  They fell from him during the murder, leading to Midnight's immediate identification of the killer.

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Instead, Mike began his weekly absent-minded scan of the sanctuary.  He was daydreaming about what this rumored "big reveal" in the new Star Wars movie might be, his gaze was suddenly arrested.

Though Trinity Fellowship had long featured a respectable amount of Christian statuary and iconography, Mike was pretty sure that today...for the first time in his life...he was seeing an angel. She was about his height with a smooth creme-colored complexion, highlighted by just the right amount and distribution of freckles.  Her hair was a gorgeous red, not exactly deep auburn...but not flaming orange either.  As he reflected on whether he'd ever seen anyone so beautiful, Mike came to the firm conviction that she simply couldn't be human.

What I learned about White Tiger this week

While perusing back posts of the (perhaps defunct?) Comics in Crisis blog, I ran across a post by Brian Reaves lamenting the tendency of comic book publishers (especially you, Marvel!) to kill off characters in really stupid ways in pursuit of cheap (and progressively fleeting) sales boosts. 

Through the course of reading Reaves' critique, I learned quite a bit about White Tiger, a character that I had heretofore assumed was created out of thin air to supply a particular type of diversity for the Ultimate Spiderman: Web Warriors cartoon, in the same way that Apache Chief, Samurai, El Dorado, and Black Vulcan did for the Superfriends.

Turns out, Ava Ayala (who, it turns out is actually the fifth holder of the White Tiger mantle--seriously, Marvel, it was a neat concept when Falk pioneered it with the Phantom back in 1936...but c'mon man!) had an older brother named Hector, who was the original 1970s White Tiger

Source: http://www.comicbookreligion.com/?c=15093&White_Tiger_Hector_Ayala

From the little info supplied by Reaves (and some commenters) I think I'd like to learn a little more about old Hector.  

What say you, dear reader?  Would you like to read more about the original White Tiger?  Let me know in the comments.

My history with Green Arrow

When I was a child, Green Arrow was one of my favorite superheroes.  (Actually, it was a pretty close race between him, Hawkman, and Apache Chief.  Yes, I was a bit of a weirdo.)  

Anyway, at the time I only knew superheroes from cartoons...like this classy piece of high-quality television from 1973:

When I got a little older and started reading comics, I quickly learned of the left-leaning politics of the Emerald Archer as he was then being written, and lost any real interest in trying to follow his books.  (Besides, by that time, I'd discovered Marvel and had Hawkeye, so I didn't really need Oliver Queen anymore, did I?)

Hawkeye

Well...the CW's Arrow series helped reignite some of that old passion.  Little did I know that the Season 4 story line wherein Oliver runs for mayor was NOT just something whipped up for television, but had precedent in the comics.  

So, if you too are a fan of old school Green Arrow, I recommend you head over to Pete Doree's The Bronze Age of Blogs and give "What Can One Man Do?" a read.





P.S. -- I just found this witty.  You're welcome.

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 Alistair Marcusey would probably have advocated that such people be drug out into the street and publicly caned.  "Service starts at 10:00am...not 10:05." Mike imagined him saying in his melodramatic formality.

About two stanzas into Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise Mike mentally checked out of the service. Try as he might, Mike found it near impossible to follow the hymns...or even much of the sermon once Pastor Leedle got past the obligatory, "Good morning and welcome to Trinity Fellowship.  We're blessed and honored to have you here..."

Wonder Woman and Moon Girl

Courtesy of Pappy's Golden Age Comics, I read my first Moon Girl story.  The first thing that struck me was how similar Moon Girl looked to Wonder Woman in her color scheme and what not.

Moon Girl

 

Wonder Woman

This got me curious about their respective chronologies and whether one might've influenced the other. 

As it turns out, Wonder Woman appeared in 1941 and Moon Girl not until six years later, so there's a pretty clear chronology there.  

The answer to my next question--whether there was any actual influence or just a similar color scheme--was answered to my satisfaction by a quick look at the Moon Girl entry on Public Domain Superheroes Wiki.

Raised in a small kingdom in a remote part of Samarkand, the girl known as the Princess of the Moon was taught that she came from a long line of women who had been unbeatable in battle. Unfortunately, she wasn't told this until after she had sworn to herself that she would never marry a man unless he was a superior warrior to her.

So...yeah...that pretty much looks like a blatant ripoff of Wonder Woman. 

For those who may be interested, apparently Comixology put out an updated Moon Girl story in 2010.  The description on CBR actually doesn't sound that bad.

I wonder if anyone has considered a Moon Girl meets Moon Knight story?  I mean, if Claire's problem is that she needs to meet a man who can best her in combat, I'm thinkin' Marc Spector could give her a pretty good run for her money.

          

Midnight vs. Liver Lip McGaw

Smash Comics #25 saw Midnight taking on a terroristic thug named Liver Lip McGaw.  The story begins with Liver Lip running an extortion racket.  When one of his underlings fails to intimidate the Acme Motor Company, McGaw shoots the man in a rage.

Taking matters into his own hands, Liver Lip begins "visiting" Acme employees, threatening their wives and children unless the men agree to sabotage the company under his orders.  

Meanwhile Doc Wackey and Gabby are testing another new invention--the "visoscope" which enables them to "see everything that goes on in the city." They tune in to Acme just in time to witness the sabotage.  Immediately, Wackey informs Dave Clark, while Gabby shuttles off to try and be of some assistance until Midnight's arrival.

When Midnight gets there a brief scuffle ensues before he and Gabby subdue the conscripted saboteurs.  What doesn't make a lot of sense, however, is the reaction of the Acme employees.  When Midnight initially asks the men, "What's your game?" He's greeted with a stone-cold refusal to talk.  Okay.  I guess that makes sense.  The guys are still worried about their wives and children, right?  They don't want to turn on Liver Lip because they're afraid he'll retaliate against their loved ones.  

But, literally moments later, when Midnight (essentially) says, "Okay.  Whatevs...Off to jail with you." They all immediately fall apart like wet tissue paper, begging "No! Not that!"  What gives here?  Have they suddenly lost concern for their families, or are these guys so self-centered that they wouldn't even do a little jail time to protect their wives and children?

After hearing the men's stories, Midnight sends them home. Courtesy of the visoscope, Midnight learns that Liver Lip is watching a cock fight at the Hamilton Sport Club, and our hero is off to dispense a righteous beat-down.

Upon Midnight's arrival the donnybrook breaks out, and the predictably dirty Liver Lip manages to shank Midnight in the shoulder. 

Having pinned Midnight to the wall with his dagger, Liver Lip produces a battle axe from somewhere I guess it's hanging on the wall of the Sport Club? and prepares to deliver the coup de grace.  

However, at just that moment, one of the other people in the club informs Liver Lip that, "The cops have been tipped off! They've surrounded the building!We're trapped!"  

More desirous of avoiding arrest than he is of ending Midnight, Liver Lip decides to flee.  For reasons no one can possibly fathom, the bad guy decides his best bet is to put on some stolen skis and sail down an exterior staircase while swinging his axe at the cops to clear his path. 

Okay...so...even if all the simple act of skiing down stairs was pulled off without any hitch (already a wildly implausible scenario) just exactly how did Liver Lip see the rest of this playing out?  First, he has an axe.  The cops have guns.  There seems to be a pretty obvious weaponry advantage. Second, even if he makes it to the bottom of the stairs and isn't immediately rushed by the cops who have the Sport Club "surrounded" what comes next?  Is he going to run away while wearing skis?  Is he supposed to ski off on a level surface of asphalt with not even a set of ski poles?  

Overall, it's impossible not to think this is a story where Jack Cole just ran out of time and threw something together to meet a deadline.

Cole tries to resolve the story with yet another deus ex machina.  This time, as Liver Lip is skiing down the stairs (the preceding is a phrase that I, literally, never would've anticipated having to write at any time in my life...ever), Midnight nails him with the vacuum gun, throwing the villain off-balance, causing him to lose the axe and pitch forward down the stairs.  Cole's artwork makes clear that Liver Lip landed on the upturned blade of the axe, presumably decapitating him (if the reactions of the surrounding police officers are any indication). 

While there is a certain primal satisfaction in watching a scoundrel like Liver Lip "reap what he has sown," the details of this story are bit more disturbing than what we have seen to this point. Dobbs (Smash Comics #19) dies in a fire of his own creation.  Midnight knows nothing of it.  Similarly, in Smash Comics #21, Julie the Jerk meets his end when he loses his footing while attempting to flee and is impaled on a church steeple.  Again, Midnight had no active hand in his death.  Yet here, it is Midnight's vacuum gun that causes Liver Lip to lose his balance.  Perhaps even more disturbing, given that this is a tool that allows Midnight to swing from building to building--and that has even maintained suction to a speeding motor boat--wouldn't it be reasonable to expect that the retraction on the vacuum gun would've pulled Liver Lip back before he landed on the axe?  

What is the reader to make of this?  Did Midnight know what he was doing...and what its outcome would be?  Is the hero of Big City now to act as judge, jury, and executioner? 

Fiction Foundry 5

"Oh yeah?" he replied. "We'll see." With a yank of the PRNDL and a floored accelerator the neighborhood became a blur of color.  "This is what it would look like if Captain Kirk drove a station wagon."  Mike Jr. mused.

Three minutes and forty-eight second later, the car halted in a hail of dust and pebbles on the outer edge of the Trinity Fellowship parking lot.  Considering the number of times Jeanine made the sign of the cross and muttered something about "merciful Jesus," Mike figured the ride itself should count at church service.

The family scrambled to the front door, pausing only a moment so that Jeanine could make sure her dress was smoothed and no strands of hair were terribly out of place.  Big Mike heaved open the large wooden door and the Carsons made their entrance.

Standing on the dais facing the congregation, Mr. Marcusey glared daggers of disapproval at the family.  Mike had heard missionaries talk about how Africans would wait until all the members arrived (no matter how long it took) before beginning service.

Secret Wars: Did I really miss anything?

Since I started reading comics toward the tale end of the 1980s, I missed out on the original Secret Wars storyline when Marvel introduced.  Therefore, I was pretty excited to run across an overview of the series on the Marvel University blog.

What I learned from "Prof. Flynn" is that I didn't miss much.  I remember the tandem toyline released with Secret Wars.  I well recall agonizing over whether to ask my mom for one of DC's Superpowers line toys, or one of the Secret Wars characters.  (As it turns out, looks like I made a wise choice going with Hawkman). 

I was a little surprised to learn that the original version was pretty much as it was depicted in the Spiderman cartoon of the 90s (except that in the original mini-series it was Captain America, rather than the Webhead, who was chosen to lead the heroes.

Also, I'm pretty sure Madame Web didn't have anything to do with the Beyonder's initial gambit.)

Fiction Foundry 4

This was one of those times in life when a statement sounded like one thing, but was meant to achieve something completely different.  Mike knew full-well that his seemingly off-hand comment was the rhetorical equivalent of dangling red meat in front of a wild beast.

Michael Carson, Sr. ("Big Mike" to everyone in the neighborhood) was a spirited competitor.  From his boyhood on, Big Mike had played--and excelled at--virtually every sport played in Atherton, first in school and community leagues.  In his younger days, he'd even been known to engage in some of the illegal sporting events (i.e., the car and motorcycle races undertaken by a small cadre of Atherton teenage boys out at the abandoned WWII air base.)  His son had issued a challenge, and "Big Mike" immediately saw himself on the Indy 500 Speedway.