Fiction Foundry 25

(Mike tossed a quick appreciative smile to his mother.)

"Well, I don't want to pull you away from them any longer than necessary, so I'll cut to the chase.  I'd like you to come down to the building this afternoon for our trauma processing session."

"I...um...I don't know. Aren't Mary and Desmond coming?"

"Yes, they are."

"Well, I'm...not too sure they want to be around me is all."

"That is something that needs to be addressed," Leedle confessed, "but problems aren't solved by ignoring them.  You've all been through a lot.  Of course no one can make you attend, but I think you'll be glad if you do."

The seconds ticked by as Mike weighed the pros and cons of the situation.  He took so long, in fact, that Pastor Leedle finally broke the agonizing silence.

Born on the Bayou: Midnight's social commentary on race relations

This untitled Midnight feature continues the expansion in Midnight's activity outside of Big City. (Last month's adventure took place in Iceland). This time, Dave Clark and pals have gone to the Florida Everglades for some vacation alligator hunting. Unfortunately for our intrepid trio, once they get there, they can't find anyone willing to guide them into the swamp!

Locals believe the swamp to be haunted. "No one hez ever went in and come out alive," claims the one fellow with whom they are finally able to talk. The man is so convinced of Dave, Gab, and Wackey's impending doom that he refuses to rent his boat to them--but he will sell it. In a merciful gesture the seller throws his old hound dog into the deal, "jest [tuh] give yuh a fightin' chanc't." As they enter the depths of the swamp and commence their gator-hunt, a dark-skinned figure monitors the trio from a secretive perch high in a tree.

Because you know some kind of craziness would have to happen eventually, on the next page Dave jumps the shark...er, gator. Spotting a particularly large crocodilian, Dave strips off his shirt and dives into the swamp to wrestle the gator one-on-one. 

If this isn't weird enough, Dave's post-wrestling photo op is interrupted when a hawk plunges from the sky to strike. The non-superpowered-mere-radio-host deftly evades this flying hunter, who instead makes a slight scratch on the hound dog, who lets out a howl and then falls over dead. Dave remarks that the hawk had jesses on its feet--a sign that the bird was a trained hunter. Given the Fido's quick death, Dave concludes the bird must've had poison-tipped talons.


Oh my goodness. Where to begin with the plot holes?

• That the "mere human" Dave Clark can wrestle gators and dodge hawks? 
• That he has the atypical calm under duress and attention to detail to note that the bird attacking him has little straps on his feet? 
• The fact that the same guy who's supposedly got these fabulous observational skills (and knowledge of rather obscure practices like falconry) in the first panel calls the bird a "hawk" but four panels later calls it a "trained falcon"?

Naturally, our hero decides this attack warrants an immediate investigation. When he asks if anyone objects, however, only Gabby responds. Wackey has seemingly disappeared!

While Midnight and Gabby yell into the swamp for Wackey (perhaps not the most intelligent decision, since they've already established someone is sending birds of prey with poison-tipped talons after them) the bound and gagged inventor is struggling with two men who appear to be African tribesmen of some sort. Since he cannot call out for help, Wackey elects to turn on the wrist radio so Midnight and Gabby can locate him. This whole using-the-wrist-radio-for-location-more-than-communication thing is really starting to emerge as a trope for the Midnight stories. Shortly after this, Wackey is knocked out via a club to the noggin.

When the scientist awakes, his eyes are greeted by what appears to be a primitive village of black people, and Wackey assumes he's been spirited off to Africa. This tribe of "Africans," however, are ruled over by a white queen. I'm under the impression this "great-white-leader-of-African-savages" thing was a prominent racist trope at the time. Though I've previously defended Cole against the charge that Gabby was a racist caricature of black people, the depiction of the tribesmen (and their relation to this queen) certainly seem to confirm at least some mimicry of the racist caricatures found in many Golden Age comics...but is there more to the story?

The queen announces that since, "the white dog has trespassed on sacred ground," Wackey is to be sacrificed, "as have all the white swine before him." Yes, I realize it's not exactly unprecedented for human societies to embrace self-contradictory worldviews...but I find it hard to believe that Cole would've been blind to the irony of a white queen ruling over a black-skinned population and complaining about white interlopers. Is it possible that Cole was engaging in some subversive story-telling here about the hypocrisy of people ruling over a Jim Crow south (This story does take place in Florida, remember) and protesting efforts of "outsider" whites to enter and effect changes in their society? Subsequent details in the story serve to increase the plausibility of this theory...but we'll get to those in a moment.

Meanwhile, Midnight (Yes, Dave has apparently trekked into the swamp with his Midnight suit, fedora, and domino mask in tow, because...you just never know when you'll have to do some costumed crime-fighting?) and Gabby have followed Wackey's wrist radio signal to the village.

Just before the first spear is plunged into Wackey, Midnight emerges from the brush and launches into his standard melee. The queen orders her people to subdue this newest intruder, which they eventually succeed in doing...but only by "strength of numbers." Once bound, Midnight requests to hear the story behind the village and its denizens before dying.

The queen claims she is the great-great granddaughter (and last descendant) of the first mate on a slave ship who "detested slavery." Her ancestor led a revolt with escaped into the swamps with the refugees and founded this secret society. The queen announces her intention to maintain her family's vow to protect her people from enslavement.

I appreciate the sentiment I think Cole was aiming at here...but from a storytelling standpoint, there's still some pretty big plot holes. First, if her great-great grandfather "detested slavery" how did he wind up as first mate of a slave ship in the first place? Unless the guy experienced some John Newton-esque conversion experience, it's pretty difficult to believe. Second, since her g-g-granddad probably wasn't serving on board the slave ship with his family or many other abolitionist slave ship workers, then how exactly does she end up with such a fair complexion? She's the fifth generation removed now. Shouldn't she look a little more African?

After the explanation, the queen orders the sacrifice to proceed. At this point, Gabby (again) saves the day by countermanding the queen's direction. He tells the villagers he is the "voice of [their] ancestors."

Admittedly, there's at least two different ways to read this. If we assume the worst, then Cole may be reflecting some coded racism here (i.e., the ancestor of black people is a monkey). If we give him the benefit of the doubt, he may simply be trying to write Midnight and Wackey out of their jam with the resources available within the story.

When Gabby claims to speak for the ancestors, the villagers are shocked that he talks...and name him a ghost...but no one names him a monkey. No one, that is, until the queen asks, "How can a monkey talk?" I would counter, however, "How can a woman from a society supposedly isolated in the Florida Everglades even know what a monkey is?!

Despite the queen's protests, the villagers are initially persuaded by Gabby's claim and fall down in reverence.  While they're prostrate, Gab unties Midnight (who seizes the queen) and then leads his crew on a hot-footed retreat.

Around this time, the natives decide Gabby is not an authoritative voice from beyond and launch after the fugitives with spears in hand. The quartet make it to a motorboat (which--somehow--is sitting in the middle of the swamp near the village all fuelled up and ready to go?!) and speed away.

Once in the "modern world," Dave takes the queen on a whirlwind tour of America to demonstrate the changed status of black people. As you would expect, she "realizes the error of her ways" and goes back to the swamp to tell her people the good news.

There's no question that Cole's closing page glosses over the very real injustices that were still being experienced by black Americans in 1942. I get the impression, however, that his heart was in the right place. He was trying to tell a story underlining that slavery was a moral evil. I think he did that. What say you?

Fiction Foundry 24

The next morning, Jeanine prepared a celebratory breakfast of fried biscuits and gravy.  As always, this was accompanied by fresh fruit...which, as always, went largely ignored by the males of the clan Carson.  In a transparent attempt to bait her boys into eating some grapefruit, Jeanine was declaiming for the umpteenth time on its "wonderful flavor," when the phone rang.

"Hello. Carson residence." Jeanine announced in her best Southern belle voice. 
"Why no, not at all.  We're always happy to hear from you, Pastor Leedle.
Yes, we're just fine.  How are you this morning?
What's that now? 
Oh, yes.  I believe he could. Yes, one of us could bring him...but I'm not sure if he already had other plans. here, let me let you talk to him." 

With that, Jeanine handed the phone to Mike and resumed her place at the formica smorgasbord.

"Hello?"

"Michael!  Good morning, young man.  How're you feeling?"

"I'm great!  Mom made biscuits and gravy!"

"Well that's something special, isn't it?"

"Yes sir, they are...really good." 

The Time Gabby and Wackey Saved Iceland... (Smash Comics #32)

 

Rather atypically for the Midnight features,"War Over Iceland!" (March 1942) picks right up where the story from Smash Comics #31 left off.

We begin with Doc Wackey's elation upon learning the government has granted him a patent for his latest invention, "the atom reviser." The reviser was unnamed in Smash Comics #31, but it served as the macguffin which drove that particular story.   

[To catch up the new readers, the atom reviser allowed one to rearrange the atomic structure of anything--essentially transmuting any substance into any other substance.]


When Dave congratulates Wackey on the news (which, I remind you, Wackey was seemingly overjoyed to receive) he notes, "You'll soon be a millionaire what with royalties and all!"  That seems logical enough. Immediately, however, Wackey echoes the familiar war-time propaganda of selflessness and sacrifice for the national good, going so far as to declare:

If Wackey wasn't going to try to profit off of the invention, then why's he so excited about the patent being granted? If it's all going into the wise and benevolent hands of the government anyway, then why would he need a patent?

Unfortunately, before Wackey can effect his noble purpose, a mysterious gent in a brown suit and hat breaks into the lab and steals the reviser.

As the thief and his ill-gotten gain are hauled away by a dirigible, Gabby scrambles up the rope and succeeds in boarding the airship.  When the thieves notice their "hitchhiker," Gab is promptly tossed into the hold as a captive.

Gabby-as-conveniently-located-prisoner really became a regular trope for the Midnight tales. Usually, he's imprisoned with little to no supervision (because the criminals typically believe him a "mere monkey." Thus left to his own devices, Gabby proceeds to either radio Midnight with the villains' location/plans (as he does in today's story) ; or else frees Midnight from his own captivity, enabling the hero to finally defeat the bad guys. Here's a few examples:
 

"Here He Is! Midnight (with Gabby the Talking Monkey)" Smash Comics # 23

"The Circus Mystery" Smash Comics #24

"untitled" Smash Comics # 28

"Return of Chango" Smash Comics # 29

"untitled" Smash Comics # 31

Returning to our current story, onboard the dirigible Gabby has learned that the thieves are actually Nazi agents who intend to use the atom reviser to conquer the tiny country of Iceland.  (It's slightly annoying that we never receive any explanation for how these Nazis learned of Wackey's invention or knew where to look for it--I thought Midnight and his pals were supposed to have a "secret" lair?!)

Smash Comics #24

Smash Comics # 25

Smash Comics #29

Smash Comics #30

Smash Comics # 31

As the dirigible nears its island target, the balloon releases its helium and settles into the icy North Atlantic, at which point we discover it's not only an airship, but also a high speed ocean-going vessel.

The craft is spotted by Icelandic soldiers who scramble to defend their island home.  Unfortunately, they can little imagine the power about to be unleashed against them.  The Nazis use the reviser to transform all the defenders into candy! 

Because...it's the Golden Age and kids like candy...I guess?

The Nazis sweep across the island using the power of the reviser to conquer it without having to fire so much as a single bullet.  At this point, they throw their own little celebratory Oktoberfest and release their "mascot" Gabby from confinement.  Gabby takes the opportunity to repeat--verbatim--a line from the previous issue.

Smash Comics # 32

Smash Comics # 31

About this time, a German soldier comes charging in to announce that a "strange plane" is approaching the island.  Gabby immediately concludes--for no apparent reason--that this must be Midnight and Wackey.

Taking advantage of the chaos to slip out of the barracks, Gabby aids his pals by slinging mud in the eyes of the Nazis just as they're about to fire the atom reviser at the plane.  This buys our heroes the time to lay down a smoke screen, land their plane, and then proceed to their standard problem-solving method of beating the poo out of bad guys. 

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a lot of "strategy" involved in Midnight and Wackey's assault. No matter how tough the guy is, he's going up against a whole squad (or division, or something) of Nazi soldiers with his fists, a handgun, a monkey, and a septua+ generian...I would think some sort of strategy would be in order. This is not really a "let's-play-man-to-man-defense" situation.

Despite the fact that Midnight seems to be getting the best of the Nazis in the initial donnybrook, a wiley knife-wielding villain takes Wackey hostage and threatens to run him through unless Midnight surrenders.  Of course, our noble hero does so. 

After trussing up Midnight and Wackey, the portly one-eyed commander Von Kamp engages in the classic villainous gloat by revealing the long-term plan:  within 24 hours German reinforcements will arrive to "take over the island"and the reviser will be spirited away to the Fatherland to provide needed materials for the Nazi war machine.

(I guess stealing the atom reviser and effecting the conquest of Iceland weren't exactly "send your A-team" types of assignments. Of course, Cole's writing on this story wasn't exactly A-team material either, since the commander's name is spelled two different ways within the same story!)

 The single loose end left untangled by the Nazis, is Gabby.

On the one hand, I'm glad to see Team Midnight is finally trying to put together some sort of strategy for defeating this numerically-superior force. On the other hand, it's disturbing that the monkey sidekick has to be the one to come up with such a plan...and that no one questions the need to flesh out any details past "hey, I can set off this dynamite..."
 So after Gab distracts the lone soldier left to guard this critical piece of war-fighting technology the Nazis have inexplicably left outside, our heroic monkey (apparently) knocks out the guard and seizes control of the reviser, using it to transform the Nazis pouring out of the iron hut into molasses. 

While this is going on, Midnight applies a vicious spearing tackle to the gut of the lone guard left in the iron hut. (Seriously, these Nazis have a problem of guard hubris...one guy to guard the reviser...one guy to guard the masked American crimefighter.)

Gabby then frees Midnight and Wackey, who proceeds to restore the Icelandic army in time for them to prepare for the coming German fleet.  Understandably, the soldiers have questions about what happened to them, but Midnight insists there's no time for explanations because there's a German fleet en route to the island "due any hour."

Wow, Midnight!  That does sound serious.

However, one whole panel after warning the soldiers Nazis will be arriving "any hour," we learn that the soldiers had an "all-night vigil" waiting on the Nazi fleet.  Maybe this time discrepancy is explained by the relatively primitive nature of technology in the 40s. Maybe weather tracking and radar were such that you couldn't be any more specific than "a Nazi fleet will be here sometime in the next 24 hours" ; But this whole story has featured a machine that has an almost Cosmic Cube level ability to transform anything into anything else, so it's a little hard to buy that argument.

In any event, the drive to get the island's defenders restored and its turrets manned seems somewhat pointless, since the moment the German ships actually show up, Wackey just turns them into dynamite with the reviser and blows the whole fleet sky-high while it's still at sea.  

The story closes with Wackey and Dave having rushed back to Washington D.C. for a press banquet in Doc's honor...at which he falls asleep.   

So...yeah...this was a weird one. Lotta plot holes...not much that Midnight himself actually contributed to defeating the bad guys...and to top it all off, the story goes on about 2-3 panels beyond where it should've causing the whole story to end on a terrible anticlimax. At least, that's my assessment...but what say you?

Fiction Foundry 23

If they're still worried about infection, why'd they let her go home at all?  Why are they going to those meetings with Pastor Leedle?"

An awkward silence descended on the wagon.  Outside, Atherton whizzed by as if nothing in the world were changed, but inside time was frozen.

"What?!  What are you not telling me?" Mike finally demanded.

"Son..." Jeanine started, "You have to understand that Mary and Desmond--Mary especially--was injured very badly during the quake.  Mr. and Mrs. Potain have been rather...cool towards us since you kids were hospitalized."

Mike's head and voice dropped, as the unspoken portion of his mother's message dawned on him:  "You mean they blame me for Mary and Desmond's injuries."

"I...ah...I don't know that 'blame' is right word, Mikey," his father chimed in, as he made the familiar right onto Anderson Circle.

"But it isn't the wrong word either, is it?"

Another silent moment passed before Big Mike finally admitted.  "No, son.  No, I guess I can't say it's wrong."

MOST: a webcomic review

Synopsis Review

MOST  (updated each Monday) is the odd title of a webcomic written, drawn, colored, etc. by eighteen-year-old Richard Nyquist.

Before you ask, I've searched in vain for an explanation of the name, but so far haven't really received one.  I suppose the basic idea is that just as "most" is a superlative word, the two teenage superheroes (Ion and Echo) upon whom the comic focuses are also superlative.  

Nyquist makes clear that his protagonists are fairly new to the super-gig, describing his work as "kind of a coming-of-age type story."  The first two issues seem to be tracing an arc of how the boys will handle  being "left in charge" of crime-fighting in Skyhill City, when its premiere superhero Safeguard departs to "another corner of this galaxy" to intercept an emerging (but unspecified) planetary threat. 

In addition to shared Christian convictions that come through in the wholesomeness of his work, another thing I appreciate about Nyquist is his homage to the classic comics format.  A prime example is his inclusion of a "letters page" following his first issue.  Yes, it's nothing but a reformatting of emails and blog post comments...but there's just something about it that warms my heart and takes me back to being that little kid who had the world at his fingertips and hours of fun ahead of him anytime his parents dropped a mere 75 cents for an escape into superherodom.

MOST is a colorful, fun adventure with bombastic battle sequences between our bantering heroes and their dastardly foes. And while Ion and Echo aren’t the most skilled or powerful guys on the block, they’re not going to let that stop them!

If you're looking for a light, fun, wholesome superhero comic this is a good option.  This comic is available to everyone for free, but it does cost time and money to produce. If you find something you like here, consider tossing a few shekels into Nyquist's Patreon account in gratitude.
 

Sustainability - 2

Despite the fact that the comic is only about seven months old, Nyquist has kept up a pretty consistent posting schedule.  This leads me to believe the sustainability of this comic at least deserves the original rating I gave to Miss Melee. 

Language - 5

Thanks (I assume) to Nyquist's Christian convictions, the language in Most is very clean and kid-friendly.

Violence - 5

The "violence" in here is so mild and cartoon-y I don't really think it's worth worrying about. (Nyquist's homage to the old Comics Code Authority seal--inset in the upper right corner of the cover image--proclaims itself a "graphic novel without graphic violence." Unless you thought the old Filmation stuff like He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was too violent, you won't find anything objectionable here. 

Sexuality - 5

Again, I can see no reason to worry about inappropriate sexual themes/imagery here.  I'd have no hesitancy about letting my kids read this.

Political Leanings - 3

Though two issues may not be enough to get a full picture, thus far Nyquist doesn't appear to be pushing any identifiable political position.

Morality - 3

I feel like the "3" rating here deserves some explanation.  It's not that there's any bad morals being promoted in Nyquist's work.  Rather, it's just that there's not a lot of overtly-expressed moral messages.  Personally, I much prefer that to clumsy self-righteous moralizing.  This is a sensitive area and one in which "less-is-more" is a solid rule of thumb.  

Bottom line:  I appreciate Nyquist's light touch here. 

Artwork - 1

The sole weak spot of Most is the artwork.  I hesitate to write that sentence, as Nyquist is doing everything himself (and his artwork is still a sight better than anything I could produce).  Doing it all alone and maintaining a weekly posting schedule could very well be creating constraints that keep him from bringing his "A game."  My unsolicited advice would be that Nyquist look for an artist to bring on board, allowing him to focus his energies more in terms of crafting his story arc. 

Storytelling - 2

With the caveat that I'm evaluating the storytelling with only one issue complete, I can say that it's acceptable...but not great.  Honestly, that may be coming...especially if (as it appears) Nyquist's adopting the model of unrolling stories slowly over an arc, it could well be that the richness of his tale simply hasn't been revealed yet. 

Overall Rating: 3.0

Fiction Foundry 22

Aisha, Mike's physical therapist, was nonplussed:  "There's just no way.  This...this shouldn't even be possible.  After being unresponsive for months, your muscles should've atrophied to the point that you'd need years of therapy."

"So...you're upset I'm not messed up worse?" Mike replied teasingly.

"No...I just can't believe it...and I've got serious reservations about sending you home this soon, but your primary says you're good to go."

No sooner were the release papers signed than Mike asked if they could swing by the Potains' home so he could check on Mary and Desmond.

"Well, honey..." Jeanine hesitatingly replied, "You've been through a lot.  Wouldn't you rather go home and get settled in a little first?"

"I've been settling for four months, mom.  I'd really like to go check on Mary and Desmond."

"Mary is still healing up too, bud" his father joined in.  "You know they...they really don't need us to expose her to any more potential germs or viruses."

"That doesn't make any sense. 

Midnight-as-ethical-alchemist, Smash Comics #31 (February 1942)

The Midnight feature in Smash Comics #31 was, again, untitled.  It opens in the secret lair of Dave Clark (alias Midnight) and his companions, Doc Wackey and Gabby the talking monkey.

An explosion rocks the lair and Doc comes flying out of the lab, his momentum stopped only by Dave.

Wackey reports he's developed a machine capable of changing the atomic structure of material objects, essentially allowing him to transform one element into another!

Despite a couple of in-house demonstrations, the remaining two-thirds of Team Midnight express skepticism.  Wackey proposes they come along and witness some additional outdoor testing. 

Unfortunately, it turns out that the people of the countryside are not uniformly salt of the earth.  A couple of no-luck miners spy Wackey transforming an oak tree into pure aluminum, when one of them hits upon an alternative plan for the machine.

He begins yelling for help, and when the heroic trio rush into the ramshackle cabin he bludgeons Dave over the head, trusses him up, and suspends our bound hero over a mineshaft.

Meanwhile, the miners-turned-thugs crunch Wackey with a full-nelson until he agrees to use the machine to turn rocks into gold.

The would-be financial titans load the gold rocks into their pick-up and head into Big City to sell them.  The short-sighted criminals soon learn, however, that Wackey is not the obeisant coward they took him for--as they've hauled and transported not a pick-up load of gold, but near-worthless brass!  I must point out, here, that these cats must be the most-incompetent miners in history if--after having spent "all their lives" scraping out a living in the field--they still can't tell the difference between brass and gold.  It's probably time to consider another career path, boys...but not crime.  You aren't particularly skilled at that either.

Meanwhile, back at the cabin Gabby has freed Midnight and the Doc and the trio are waiting with baited breath for the return of their erstwhile captors.

Having switched his reversible suit to the "Midnight side" (in order to preserve his secret identity?), Dave burst out of the cabin door onto the unsuspecting Spade and Weasel, and proceeds with his signature ethical pedagogy.

While, Midnight is busy pummeling Spade, Weasel retreats to the pick-up and turns the element-transformation ray on his pursuers.  Midnight and Spade are caught in the blast and immediately transformed into brass statues.

Weasel means to subject Doc Wackey to a similar fate (I guess at this point, Weasel: (A) has given up all hope of using the ray to make gold, (B) is under the wildly-unjustified assumption that he'll be able to figure out how to use the machine on his own, or (C) more-than-likely has become so enraged he's thinking only about short-term revenge.) Yet again, however, the hero is rescued from certain doom by the timely interposition of that paladin primate, Gabby.

While Gabby has Weasel preoccupied, Wackey leaps to the machine and restores Midnight and Spade.  Midnight's pummeling of Spade picks right back up without missing a beat. This, alone, was fairly impressive to me.  Yet the superlatives of our "non-powered" hero don't stop merely with being able to quickly recover from the 1940s equivalent of being frozen in carbonite; he's apparently punching Spade  so fast  that the force of gravity doesn't have enough time to pull his near-unconscious body to the ground! 

I don't know, man...that's pretty dang fast.

The story comes to an abrupt ending with another example of the supposedly justice-conscious crusader handing out mulligans for kidnapping, theft, and attempted murder.

Ummmm...okay, kids.  I'm not entirely sure what the moral lesson is for today--If you steal stuff and then try to kill the hero who pursues you, be sure you at least sound sincere when you apologize?

Fiction Foundry 21

The Carsons offered a chorus of positive responses, and Leedle began:

Our Father in Heaven, 

Giver of life and all good gifts, 

we thank you for preserving the lives of Michael, Desmond, and Mary.  

We thank you for the healing that you have already brought to them.  

Today, especially, we thank and praise You for bringing Michael out of his coma.  

We ask that You continue to bless each of these dear ones as they process what they have lost 

and adjust to the new lives to which You have called them.  

Amen.

The little room briefly filled with an amen chorus, before the pastor continued:  "Well, I don't wish to intrude any longer on your family time.  I'm sure you have a great deal to talk about...but, when you are feeling up to it, Michael...I'd like to invite you to some group processing meetings.  You've suffered quite a trauma, and it will take some time to work through it.  Desmond and Mary have been participating for about a month now."

Taken somewhat aback at the suggestion, Mike could only muster an, "Ummm...Okay, pastor.  Yeah, that sounds good."

"Excellent!" Leedle replied with such a look of joy you'd have thought he was a kid opening a Christmas present.  He gingerly patted Mike's shoulder, and after a quick handshake and hug for Big Mike and Joyce, the pastor shuffled back out of the room.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Three weeks later, Mike was finally released from the hospital.  Though the time had passed like an interminable prison sentence to Mike,the medical staff ceaselessly reinforced how "unprecedented" it was for him to even be up and walking--much less going home.

The Unrealized Potential of Chemical King: what went wrong?

My introduction to the Legion of Superheroes came about primarily via 1988's seven volume Who's Who in the Legion of Superheroes? series.  I was always a fan of teams, and though I'd not heard of the Legion before, I knew I liked the Justice League...and I figured a "legion" had to have even more heroes in it than my beloved JLA. 

Readers of this blog will not be surprised to learn that my interests naturally gravitated toward some of the more obscure Legionnaires. One example of this was Chemical King.

Chemical King by Chris Sprouse
Source: http://www.legionworld.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chemical_King

One of the first things that attracted me to the character was simply his name:  Chemical King already had a more serious-sounding tone than the bevy of: lasses, lads, boys, and girls that predominated in the Legion.

A second feature I liked was the heavy green of CK's outfit.  Yes, I know it's not exactly unprecedented (DC did have an entire Corps of galactic heroes running around in green, after all) but amongst the Legionnaires, it seemed to stand out.

Finally, even as a kid who basically knew nothing about chemistry, I found the description of his powers pretty interesting--"able to speed up or slow down chemical reactions at will or exert slight control over chemical combinations, changing them to alter their outcome."

So given the trifecta:  (1) a good name, (2) a good look, and (3) a good power set, what explains the lackluster phenomenon of Chemical King?  Well, here's at least a couple of a theories.

No real plan for the character

According to the Who's Who books, Chemical King's first appearance was Adventure Comics #371...but that's not quite right.

Technically, CK's first appearance was in Adventure Comics #354 (March 1967). This story was set in the future where Superboy was summoned by the "adult" legion.  CK appears simply as a statue in a special hall commemorating fallen legionnaires. 

Of the five dead heroes that appear on the cover, only Ferro Lad had even appeared.  Chemical King’s fate would match the cover exactly, while stories of Quantum Queen, Reflecto and Shadow “Woman” (Shadow Lass when she got introduced) would play with the dooms foretold here.  (Adventure 354 - The Adult Legion)

So, in other words, the character was created, named, and given a specific look first...and only later was an attempt was made to supply an identity and personality. While I'm just an amateur fiction writer, I would suspect this is a process that almost never ends well.

A "brainy" power set too closely mirrored by other legionnaires

A second, possibly more serious problem for CK, was his power set--which, yes, I just discussed as a strength.  Let me explain.  

While I love the description of CK's powers, it is rather hard to get a mental image of what it means to be able to "speed up or slow down chemical reactions."  At the very least, it's much more difficult to visualize than saying:  "This guy is super strong." "That girl can shoot lasers from her eyes."  This character can run at the speed of sound."(etc.)  

CK had potential to be a superhero for the hard-core science nerd...but really developing his power set and making it meaningful and predictable to fans was probably fated to address only a small niche of the fan base.

The other aspect of this problem is that many of the avenues that might have been available for developing CK's power set were already taking up by the more prominent Element Lad and his ability to "transmute one substance or element into another."  Furthermore, Element Lad's powers seem never to have been restricted to anything like a similar degree.  

Wrapping up

Working within those parameters, there really weren't too many ways left available to help CK stand out.  Of course it might still have been done via great personality development, but if generating compelling personalities was that easy, all literature would be filled with riveting characters.  Plus, working with as large a cast as the Legion, you simply don't have the time to pay minute attention to every single character.  

At least, that's my best guess about what happened to Chemical King.  What say you?

Fiction Foundry 20

If we hadn't been there--"

Mike's words suddenly choked off, as the tears welled in his eyes and a trembling crept over his body.

"If you hadn't been there, you could've gotten hurt somewhere else...somewhere that no one might have found you in time."  His father said.

"Quite right, Brother Carson," announced a familiar voice from the doorway.

Pastor Leedle shuffled across the floor towards the family, with exactly the same welcoming countenance he'd worn every Sunday for the last nine years.

"Forgive me for intruding...but I happened to be up on the third floor checking on Mrs. Klingleman and one of the nurses told me that you'd woken today.  I thought I might drop by briefly to see how you're all holding up."

"It's no intrusion at all, Pastor. Thanks for stopping by." Jeanine reassured him.

"Here.  Have a seat, Pastor." Big Mike said, vacating his own chair.

"Oh no.  I'll just be a moment. " Leedle said furiously waving his congregant back into the seat.  "I just wanted to drop by to see if you needed anything.  Are you feeling well, Michael?

"Well..." Mike thought for a moment, "Yes sir.  Apart from not liking being in here and feeling a little stiff, I- I guess I'm alright."

"Well that is a blessing, indeed." Leedle replied pensively.  For a moment, the minister's mind seemed lost in another world, but an announcement over the hospital intercom seemed to restore his focus on the present.  "Forgive me. I just...have a lot on my mind.  Would it be alright if we had a quick prayer?"

Vacay Post: The Question?

Given my love for Midnight, it should come as no surprise that yet another blue-clad, fedora-wearing crime-fighter intrigues me.  Ever since I was introduced to the Question on the greatest superhero cartoon ever (a.k.a. Justice League Unlimited) I've been eager to learn more about him.  If you are too, enjoy this twelve-minute documentary from YouTube...and have a happy Thanksgiving!

Fiction Foundry 19

Big Mike and Jeanine had spent the better part of two days without no idea what had become of Mike and his friends.

"So, how did you find out?  How did I get here?"

"As it happened, firemen called out to fight the Gammon Plant blaze found you pretty early on--but you were all unconscious, and since none of you had any identification, no one at the hospital knew who to contact.  Eventually, Desmond came to and from there, the hospital was able to get in touch with the Potains.  They contacted us."

"How are Mary and Desmond now?"

At this, his parents' faces suddenly took on an ashen hue.  "Honey, I--I don't--" his mother began before allowing her words to trail off as her gaze fell to the floor.

"There's no easy way to say this, son." Big Mike interjected.  "Desmond suffered a few broken bones and some damage to his eyes, but Mary...she..."

"She, what, Dad?  She what?!" the pitch of Mike's voice rising in step with his panic.

"Somehow, during the quake Mary's back was broken.  The doctors said it looked like she had suffered blunt force trauma.  She's lost the use of her legs, Mikey."

His father's final sentence struck Mikey like a gut punch with a sledgehammer.  The boy just sat there mutely staring into space, for what seemed like an eternity.  At last, the silence with a barely audible whisper: "It's all my fault."

"Oh no, honey! No, it isn't."Jeanine retorted.  "This was just a terrible accident--"

"It was my idea to go through the plant, mom!

Midnight's "Case of the Yehudi Murder," Smash Comics #30 (January 1942)

"The Case of the Yehudi Murder" begins when aged Big City bachelor Mr. Hobbs is accosted by a man who collapses at his feet claiming to be dying.  Hobbs barely has opportunity to reply before the man expires...and then seemingly evaporates!

When he reports these events to the local police, Hobbs is initially accused of drunkenness.  The officer asks mockingly, "Who do you suppose done it?  Yehudi?"

 







Aside from the title, this is the one-and-only mention of the word yehudi in this story.  This makes Cole's decision to use it in the title a bit curious to me.  As near as I could tell online, yehudi is most-commonly used as a synonym for Jew...perhaps it has the sense of an especially physically-tough Jew.  However, neither of those uses make much sense to me within the context of this story.  Am I supposed to understand that the officer is calling Hobbs a Jew?  Was Cole appealing to some contemporary stereotype (of which I'm utterly ignorant) about the streets being full of ruffian Jews killing people? Any help making sense of this would be much appreciated! 

After the old man identifies the (apparently) very-much alive Sheriff J.J. Stanbaugh as the mysterious vanishing corpse, Hobbs is labelled  insane and sent off to a padded cell.

Alone in the cell lamenting that no one will listen, Hobbs receives a note that through the barred windows from Midnight!  Big City's avenger believes, for it turns out that--yet again--Doc Wackey's visoscope provided evidence corroborating Hobbs' story.

On this basis, Midnight and Gabby set to sleuthing, ordering Wackey to keep his eye on the visoscope and report anything of significance.

The scene then shifts to the apartment of one Professor Craft, who is receiving local dignitary Mayor Smith.  Upon entering the apartment, Smith is seized by thugs in Craft's employ.  The professor reveals his plan:  kill Smith, as well as a host of other city leaders, and replace them all with a look alikes.

Thanks once again to the visoscope, Midnight is almost immediately aware of the danger facing Mayor Smith, and sets out for Craft's apartment.

When he and Gabby arrive, we see a reprisal of an older tool used by Midnight--acid!  This time, our hero uses what appears to be a simple squirt gun loaded with some sort of super-acid.  What's really revealing, however, is Midnight's vain rationale:  he simply does this to make a more dramatic entrance!

Though it seems vain to me, the fact that Craft's thugs are initially too scared to attack a man who can "walk through doors" suggests that perhaps our fedora-bedecked paladin understands the criminal psyche better than I do.

It's at this point, that the story really moves into "shark-jumping" territory.  Incensed at the timidity of his hired muscle, Craft seizes the initiative himself by hurling a crate of "experimental snakes" at Midnight.

I for one would love to know precisely what sort of professor Craft is.  He's quite the polymath if he's mastered advanced plastic surgery, and  the engineering skill needed to create a disintegration ray and he dabbles in "experimental snakes" on the side.  For that matter, if Craft has all of these superlative skills, why is he living in an apartment?!  Shouldn't this super--genius have at least pulled together enough resources to have his own house?

As always, when Midnight is down for the count, his trusty sidekick simian Gabby picks up the slack.  The manglin' monkey launches himself at Craft's face and delivers a furious furry pummeling.  Leaping to the controls of the disintegration ray, Gab turns it on the villains and sends them crying for the hills.  As the bad guys scatter, he returns to the side of his envenomed compatriot and proceeds to draw out the poison.

Wackey then informs his fellows that Craft has sped up his timetable and means to eliminate the other office holders and install his own men immediately!  Without pausing for even so much as a bandage job on his snake-bitten elbow, Midnight and Gab are right back at it.  Fortunately, their first stop is quick swing next door (courtesy of the vacuum gun) to save District Attorney Kane.

Our hero comes crashing through the window just as Kane is being held at gunpoint.  Midnight delivers a shattering blow to Craft's face.  Then, lest the festivities end too quickly, Gabby uses a well-placed spitball to cause one of the terrified thugs to leap into Midnight's arms, which our hero interprets as a challenge to a scrap.  A whole lot of crashing ensues, and the story ends with four thugs out cold, and Midnight not even out of breath.

And that, friends, is how you write a crazy Golden Age action packed comic!