Smash Comics #20: Midnight and the Magician

In his third appearance, (Smash Comics #20) Midnight advances from fighting street criminals and corrupt officials, to squaring-off against an opponent with actual superpowers.

Chango the Magician became embittered after the death of vaudeville resulted in the corollary mortification of his career.  He seeks payback from the 'ungrateful' public by using magic to vivify items of wealth, and call them to himself.  

When Dave Clark--along with many other denizens of Big City--spots valuables fleeing their owners, the fearless radio announcer decides to hitch a ride on a runaway trunk! It carries Clark to Chango's hideout, an abandoned mine.  When he attempts to subdue the villain, Clark is caught in midair and transmuted into tobacco smoke through the power of mystic Pig Latin. (Who knew that harnessing dark forces was so simple?)

One might be forgiven for assuming that the involuntary adoption of a gaseous state would pretty well spell the end of a person.  However, in keeping with the double-fortune that always seems to follow Golden Age heroes, not only does Chango's power apparently have an effective radius, Smoke-Clark just happens to cross that barrier when he's directly above a lake.  Transforming back into his true self, Clark takes an invigorating (if impromptu) swim. As he emerges from the lake, Clark cannot remember how he got here (another side effect of Chango's enchantment) and concludes he must've fallen asleep fishing.  Upon returning to Big City, however, Clark is questioned by a man who witnessed his earlier ride-off on the magic trunk.  This, coupled with smelling the cigar smoke from a passerby, is enough to jog his memory.  Clark changes into his Midnight garb and speeds back toward the mine. 

Meanwhile, Chango has made good on an earlier threat to steal the federal treasury vault from Knoxville (TN?).  Thanks to the mystic trance required to transport the vault, Midnight is able to approach Chango undetected.  Yet for some reason our intrepid hero botches this advantage.  Rather than sneak up to the sorcerer and knock him unconscious, Midnight hurls a hypodermic dart from across the room, simultaneously: breaking Chango's concentration, alerting him to Midnight's presence, and sending the reserve vault plummeting to earth.

Side note 1: This is another great example of the bizarre items produced seemingly out of nowhere by an otherwise normal dude who just happens to occasionally put on a domino mask to beat up bad guys.  Oh well, I guess no one ever accused Golden Age kids' comics of belonging in the Norton's Anthology of great Western literature.

 

Unsurprisingly, this enrages the magician, who promptly conjures up serpents and charges them with pulling Midnight apart.  And it's just about time for another deus ex machina. This time, we learn that Midnight's dart had been laced with a sedative that now takes effect, knocking the villain unconscious before the snakes can finish their grisly task.  (Presumably, after their creator loses consciousness, the snakes simply dissolve into nothingness.)

With the villain thus restrained, Clark returns to Big City and surreptitiously passes information to the police indicating both the thief and the stolen goods can be located at Mills' Mine. (No word on the fallout of a federal building collapsing in the hinterlands.)

Side note 2: This issue features two very rare panels.  Typically, Jack Cole's characters are either asking questions or shouting.  A quick perusal of these early Midnight stories will demonstrate that most dialogue ends in at least one (and often two) exclamation points!!  However, for reasons that are not readily obvious (at least not to me) there are two panels in this story where Midnights speaks in simple dispassionate declaratory sentences.

Why no superhero post today?

When I started this blog, I had every intention of posting new content at least every Monday.  This week, however, I simply could not.  Last weekend, my wife and I lost our second child in utero in a row.  This time, we had to say "goodbye" to our daughter, Selah Ruth at only 17 weeks and 4 days.  To say that we are heartbroken would be an understatement.  

In the aftermath, I have struggled simply to find the motivation to care about much at all (outside of my immediate family).  I believe this is a pit of grief that will pass with time...but, much to my displeasure, there simply is no way to microwave grief.  It has a life cycle all its own and we ignore it to our own detriment.

I suppose the superheroes I have in mind on this day are all the millions of people out there who have suffered similar (or greater) losses than we did last Saturday, and yet soldier on.  They keep putting their hearts out there.  They keep caring.  They keep making a difference in the world.  

Needless to say, we would appreciate your prayers for our healing and our hope as we move forward on a path we did not choose.

Miss Melee : a review of issues 1-3

Synopsis Review

Miss Melee is a collaboration between writer Rob Johnson & artist Ariel Guadalupe. It chronicles the struggles of (at least initially-) retired superheroine Janice (Jan) Jones who has settled down to work an office job and help husband Mark raise their daughter, Jackie. The comic updates every Saturday, and explores the "working mom theme" of juggling family, corporate employment, and super-heroing.

Sustainability -4

Miss Melee has been going strong for about a year-and-a-half now (since September 2015). This fact, combined with artwork and story-telling that is above average for a free webcomic lead me to believe MM is likely to keep it up.  

Language - 5

Three issues in, I've not encountered any language in MM that I wouldn't feel comfortable with my children reading/using.  In the world of free superhero webcomics that's kind of rare. 

Violence - 5

In terms of violence there's the natural amount you would expect for any "mere-mortal-trained-to-near-human-perfection" type character (e.g., Batman, Captain America, Black Widow, etc.). Naturally the only way she can take down the bad guys is with a healthy dose of fisticuffs. I don't feel like the violence has been gratuitous or excessive in any sense. Thus far, Miss Melee is a lot more late 1980s Captain America than early 90s Wolverine or Punisher.

Also as the dad of daughters, I appreciate the symbolism of a character who is both strong and feminine. I want my girls to learn that being a dedicated mom and wife needn't mean that they become passive agents. I like the idea that Miss Melee witnesses to a mom's ability to affect the world around her in positive ways.

Sexuality - 3

Though, as of now, there hasn't been anything I'd consider "excessive sexuality" depicted in the comic, some parents might have reservations about the bikini-clad images of Miss Melee.

Political Leanings - 4

It's so very refreshing these day to read a comic that isn't overtly promoting contemporary (usually Left-wing) political agendas. I assume that there are political values Johnson & Guadalupe embrace, but thus far they've been gracious enough not to bludgeon their readers with ham-fisted moralizing.

Morality - 3

Similarly to the political theme, Johnson has done a good job of presenting characters that embody what most would consider good morals (e.g., devotion to family, justice, etc.) without being implausibly "perfect."  For example, Jan clearly loves her family, but one senses there could be a storm brewing as a result of the secrets she is keeping...particularly from Mark.  As I've said elsewhere, trying to put a cape on God is not only idolatrous...it results in pretty boring stories as well.  

Artwork - 5

Far and away my favorite part of this comic is the art. Guadalupe does a nice job with the action scenes. While not educated enough in artistic styles to know the right terminology, the word that comes to mind is "classic." This look of Miss Melee reminds me of various Filmation productions from my childhood.

Storytelling - 3

I like the nuclear family depiction we're seeing so far; but I hope future issues will develop Mark's character. Unless he changes course and starts giving Mark some more depth, Johnson is on track to rehash the tired Disney Channel meme of dad-as-an-out-of-touch-but-affable-dunce-who-has-no-idea-how-important-his-kid-and-wife-are-to-the-survival-of-the-city.

Overall Rating: 3.88

Issue 1

The opening story features the Joneses enjoying the day at the Metrovale County Fair, until it is crashed by Brazilian Ninjas. Naturally, Janice slips away to change into her Miss Melee attire and whoop some bad-guy butt.

Melee clearly has a history with the ninjas, but it isn't clarified. (This aspect of the story has a Teenage-Mutant-Ninja-Turtles-vs.-the-Foot-Clan feel.) After dispatching the underlings, MM faces off with their leader, Guerreira. Just as she is about to seal victory, however, a few well-placed smoke bombs allow the villainess to make her escape. Of course, she can't do so without the obligatory threats.

As the smoke clears, it suddenly occurs to Mark that Janice is missing. In a panic he asks, "What if the ninjas took her?!? Just as Mark and Jackie decide to ask for Miss Melee's help, they discover Jan "hiding out" underneath a fair table.

I'm not sure if it was an artistic oversight or not, but the time line for the action in this issue seems a bit long. To all appearances, it's midday or early afternoon when the Brazilian Ninjas appear; yet by the time Jan emerges from underneath the table, it looks like sunset. 

 

Are we supposed to understand that the fight took a couple of hours? I don't know...maybe; but that seems kind of problematic in-and-of-itself. It's hard to believe it would take Mark hours to notice that his wife is missing. Even if you explain that away by appealing to some sort of stress-induced amnesia, there's still the problem of why Mark chooses to stick around the fairgrounds--WITH HIS 14 YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER--to gawk at an hours-long donnybrook when everyone else was apparently smart enough to flee!

Issue 2

The second issue opens inside the Jones home. Jackie explains she's been reading up on Miss Melee. Courtesy of the teenager's groupie crush monologue, we learn Melee first appeared in Metrovale 21 years ago alongside partner Osakan Riot ; and that her nemesis was someone named Lord Kharava, whom she fought in a titanic battle 15 years ago. That was the last the public had seen of her until the fight at the Metrovale County Fair.

Jackie speculates, however (and Jan's internal flash backs confirm) that though she may not have been wearing the costume, Melee kept busy subduing thugs and ne'er-do-wells in the intervening years.

Next, we briefly flash to a scene of Jan at her workplace--Keng Consolidated--where we discover her employer, has apparently kept a secret file on Miss Melee. However, this tantalizing detail is left hanging...for the moment.

I can only guess that Jan must've stashed her outfit somewhere at Keng Consolidated because the next thing we know she's zooming down the freeway on the Melee Cycle in hot pursuit of a riotous biker gang. In multi-tasking mom fashion, she decides now would be a splendid time to call up her friend Rimi.

We learn Rimi's husband, Keichii, is Jan's costume-supplier. Even more importantly, we learn that Rimi is none other than the aforementioned Osakan Riot! Jan encourages her to come out of retirement, but as the scene ends all Rimi is willing to commit to is that she'll "think about it."

After dispatching the bikers and ending the call, the fourth scene is of a plainsclothes Jan picking up Jackie after gymnastics. En route to the grocery store, mother and daughter engage in the sort of deep soulful banter common during the teenage years:

When Jan surreptitiously spies a gang of would-be bank robbers, she pulls the car over and orders Jackie to stay put while she "makes a withdrawal." In stereotypical fashion, Jackie whips out her phone and commences texting, or surfing, or whatever. The budding quinceaneran is jolted back into the moment, however, by the sounds of gunfire and robbers being hurled hither and thither.

Miss Melee is obviously caught off-guard when Jackie excitedly asks her, "Didja see my mom? Is she okay? Can I have your autograph?" MM complies but makes the mistake of signing Jackie's name without having asked it. When the astute girl points it out, Jan covers by explaining that she read about Jackie in a newspaper article proclaiming her "the best gymnast in the state."

The final scene of this issue finds the three members of the Clan Jones occupying different worlds in the same house. Jan and Jackie are both consumed reflecting on the events at the bank--Jan, berating herself for not having been more careful in the autograph incident; and Jackie with her excited conclusion that the only reason the purple-clad heroine would know her name is that she must be considering Jackie as a potential side-kick.

 

And Mark? He's thinking about how great his burgers were.

Issue 3

The chase scene with the biker gang in Issue 2 introduced the idea of there being performance problems with the Melee Cycle. Issue 3 opens on this note, with Miss Melee dropping the bike off at an autoshop called the Laboratory.

The twist is that this is where Mark Jones works. It turns out that Mark built the Melee Cycle twenty years earlier at the heroine's request. At the time, the relationship between Mark and Jan was purely professional. (It was not until four years later that she--as Jan--asked him out on a date.)

Through the years, Jan has kept her identity a secret from Mark. She knows him as one person. Mark knows her as two: his wife and his client. (C'mon, Janice! Have you never watched a soap opera, or read your Walter Scott--Oh what a tangled web we weave...?!)

As with Jackie at the bank, Jan evidences increasing difficulty keeping her separate lives separate. Here, she thanks Mark for the pro bono tune-up by calling him "honey."

 

In the next major scene Miss Melee happens upon a trio of hoodlums mugging an elderly couple. You can predict what happens. (I REALLY LOVE the way Guadalupe draws action scenes!)

After the baddies are dispatched, the couple thanks Miss Melee and expresses their conviction that, "This city needs more heroes like you."

Just at that moment, a winded Jackie shows up and announces her availability.

Despite the "obvious-ness" of Jackie's reasoning, Melee makes clear she is NOT in the market for a sidekick. She tells the teenager to go home, take off the outfit, and never put it on again. In keeping with the idea of the thinning wall between Jan's home and hero lives, a sullen Jackie comments:

Later the same day, Melee confronts a gang leader named Leo Rex along with his entourage (apparently inside their home base). She informs Rex that he and his pride have, "pushed around your last dockworker."

JUSTIN'S CRITICAL SIDE-NOTE: In doing this, Johnson introduces another (and heretofore, unmentioned) sub-plot into an already overcrowded issue. Especially considering how many gratuitous action scenes have been thrown into the mix by this point (e.g., the bank robbery, the mugging, the biker gang) it seems like one of them could've easily been re-written in such a way as to anchor this idea so it doesn't just come "out of the blue."

At any rate, just as it appears that Melee may have bitten off more than she can chew, relief arrives as a blast from the past. Osakan Riot/Rimi has decided to come out of retirement!

 
While putting away the Rex Pride, Melee and Riot engage in some old-fashioned battle banter, wherein Rimi tries to help Jan see that Jackie is simply the proverbial apple to Jan's motherly tree:

We next flash back to the Jones home where Jan is still mulling Rimi's points. After a newscaster reports that Miss Melee was spotted with "an as yet unknown heroic looking girl" and Mark responds excitedly wondering who this potential sidekick might be, the frustrated Jan announces she's going to bed.

On the way, she drops in to check on Jackie who's hard at work on what she insists is, "a school project." (Of course, you know that isn't true.) Jan finally retires to her bedroom confident that her conversation with Jackie has effectively squelched the sidekick dream. Jan now believes she can, "keep my two lives from mixing..."

 

In the next major scene, we flash across town to a new character--one Vanessa Kennedy. Ms. Kennedy looks to be a hacktivist who's targeted Keng Consolidated as a corporate villain. Upon successfully breaching Keng's security features, Vanessa is greeted by the face of the aforementioned Lord Kharava on her computer screen. The erstwhile nemesis of Melee informs Vanessa that he can give her power she needs to truly combat injustice as she desires.

We next see Vanessa entering a Keng facility on the outskirts of Metrovale (presumably she's been directed to this locale by Lord Kharava). After stepping onto a glowing circular template, Vanessa is awash in light as an automated voice announces: "S.A.B.R. system initiated. Commencing installation." As Issue 3 ends, we are left with the distinct impression that S.A.B.R. has not merely given Vanessa power...but it may, in fact, have twisted and darkened her personality as well.

X-23 and Allah

I was reading a post by Ben Smith on the Comics Cube blog, focusing on this (from my perspective) new character of X-23.  As someone who jumped off the regular comic collecting train about 1999, much of this stuff I had no idea about.

In discussing the process by which X-23/Laura passed through the painful process of acceptance at the X-Mansion, he briefly mentions a theological discussion she had with the New Mutant Dust, a devout Muslim.

Yes, even this is a little bit ham-fisted...but it represents the type of theological exploration I wish we saw more of in superhero stories.  While I applaud Marvel for presenting a person of faith as not being a bigot or fool, I wish we saw more of this nuanced story-telling with regard to Christian characters as well.

Here's hoping that such are forthcoming, if not from Marvel or DC, then from the bevy of independent comics being produced by the likes of the good folks at the Christian Comic Arts Society.

Smash Comics #19: justice for "the least of these"

In the early Jack Cole stories, Midnight frequently displayed passionate interest in justice for "the least of these."  The second adventure of Midnight, as recorded in Smash Comics #19 is one such example. 

It opens at the National Soap Box Derby in Millville, where Dave Clark is supplying radio news coverage.  Suddenly, young Bobby Brant crashes in dramatic fashion. After examining the boy, a physician from the crowd announces Bobby didn't just "lose control," but passed out from malnutrition. A Mr. Dobbs then appears contradicting this diagnosis, insisting Bobby is hale and fit as a horse--owing to that steady nutritious diet he (supposedly) receives at Dobbs' orphanage.  

Though Bobby confirms Dobbs' story, Clark is skeptical.  He wonders what motive the doctor could have to lie about the boy's condition.  Dave decides that he needs to make an appearance at the evening's city council meeting--as Midnight!

While, as the reader ultimately learns, Dave's skepticism is well-founded ; rather rather than conduct any preliminary investigation, Midnight simply drops into the middle of the council meeting brandishing a handgun and demanding to know:

When the accosted chairman responds that the council annually allocates a quarter million dollars, Midnight basically offers a “my bad, guys...later!” and takes off.   

Meanwhile, back at the orphanage Dobbs--enraged by the loss of the $1,000 soapbox derby prize--decides that Bobby needs to be "punished."  Just as he begins to lash the boy with a bull whip; Midnight arrives on the scene, reminds Dobbs of the terms of the Golden Rule and then commences to do unto Dobbs as Dobbs had been doing unto Bobby.

Like the bully he is, Dobbs immediately begs for mercy, handing over the money he's  illegally pocketed, but not before protesting, "those ratty councilmen get the real sugar--and I take the rap!" 

So it’s back to the council meeting where--the city fathers have been forewarned by Dobbs that their comeuppance is en route.   The extra muscle the council has called in for security forces Midnight to utilize tear gas to even the odds. (One wonders where and how a vigilante radio announcer of the 1940s would acquire a supply of tear gas.  I'm under the impression that wasn't a standard inventory item at your local five-and-dime.)  

Clark takes the council members hostage and drives them out to a body of water where he’d previously enlisted the orphans to construct a water torture device.  (Okay, so they don’t call it a “water torture device,” but that’s what it is.)

Each councilman is ordered to deposit $50,000 in the bank so the boys at the orphanage can go to college.  Anyone refusing gets dunked (simulation drowning, I guess?)  Before long, all have acquiesced. 

Meanwhile back at the orphanage, Dobbs decides to set fire to the structure for insurance money.  

Unfortunately for him, the closing panels leave the impression that Dobbs is answerable to a Providence even more passionate about justice for orphans than Midnight: