boyajian@akov68.DEC (Jerry Boyajian) (07/03/84)
CAP'N QUICK AND A FOOZLE #1
This is not really a *new* comic, since it's just a continuation of the
serial from ECLIPSE MONTHLY. Written and drawn by Marshall Rogers, with some
sort of assist from Chris Goldberg, it features the (mis-)adventures of a little
girl * nicknamed "Cap'n Quick" in a rather bizarre dimension, where she meets up
with many equally bizarre characters, including a bunch a rats who resemble cer-
tain well-known political figures, a trio of would-be Machiavellians who resem-
ble an old, well-known comedy troupe, and a strange creature (who is not a bird)
named Klonsbon the Foozle. This is a funny, entertaining, and utterly charming
comic, in much the same manner as ZOT!. And quite well drawn to boot! Maybe now
that it's out, we'll see the third issue of SCORPIO ROSE (?) By the way, since
it has been about half a year since the last installment in ECLIPSE MONTHLY, you
might do well to re-read the episodes there before reading this.
* In his review in COMICS BUYER'S GUIDE, Don Thompson referred to the Cap'n as a
girl, and included parenthetically, "What makes you think she's a boy?". Well,
in re-reading the entire story to date, I noted that it is never made clear what
sex the character is (and I think it's on purpose) -- she's never given a name,
nor do we ever see a really good "shot" of her face. I'd like to think that she
*is* a girl, just because most people (admittedly including myself until now)
would automatically think she was a boy. Besides, I like little girls (no wise
cracks, please!).
JERRY IGER'S FAMOUS FEATURES #1 (Flamingo)
A general statement about Golden Age comics: personally, I'm not terri-
bly excited by them. I find that the stories don't flow very well, and the art
is usually very crude (of course, there are some exceptions, like Eisner, Fine,
Raboy, Crandall, et al.). The stories in this comic were all done in the 40's,
but not published until now, and they all feature the art of Matt Baker. I con-
fess that I wasn't familiar with Baker's work until now, and though he isn't as
good as the ones I've mentioned above, he is better than most GA artists. The
stories, unfortunately, have the usually pacing problems, etc., that most GA
work suffers from, and renders this book more of a curiosity than anything else.
HOWEVER, it's still worth very penny of its $1.50 price tag for its cover alone!
That Joe Chiodo painting is *beautiful*; I could sit and stare at it for hours.
I'm tempted to write to Pacific and ask them to do a high quality print of it.
I'd love to own the original, but I'm sure that someone's already snapped it up,
let alone if it were at a price I could afford.
DALGODA #1
Like CAP'N QUICK and ZOT!, this is a really *fun* comic. I admit that I
was not prepared to like it (I mean, *another* anthropomorphic animal comic?!),
it is much to Strnad and Fujitake's credit that it won me over within the first
few pages. It contains wonderful characterizations, a just-right mixture of ser-
iousness and humor, and questions galore (like, just what are Posey's motiva-
tions for helping Dalgoda, if he, as we find out, should have a predisposition
against Canidans?). And then, *then*, there is the pun in the title! (It's an
anagram, the solution of which I leave as an exercise for the reader --- though
if you *really* want to know, and can't figure it out, here it is rotated 13:
YNQ, N QBT). Some people might be put off by Fujitake's art, because it's rather
simplistic, but I was charmed by it, being reminiscent of late 50's/early 60's
Dell and Gold Key art. If following issues keep up the promise of this first,
this book will be high on my list of favorites in no time.
FLAMING CARROT #1
Well, Jeff, I know that you really like the Flaming Carrot, but after
the "Unique Stories" serial and this first issue, I can't really say it does
much for me. It's amusing, and it's bizarre, and it's different, but I just
don't think it's all that funny. On top of that, the art is a bit too crude for
my tastes (which in itself isn't too bad --- the art on REID FLEMING is very
crude, also, but the stories there were funny enough to overcome that flaw,
which is not the case with FLAMING CARROT). I'll probably keep going with this
one, but more to support Aardvark-Vanaheim than because I enjoy it.
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (#1)
After waiting for the various local stores to get this one, I finally
gave up and ordered from the publisher. And it was worth it! It's somewhat
crude (though not as much so as FLAMING CARROT), but I was entranced thoroughly
by the story. The book is dedicated to Jack Kirby and Frank Miller, and when
you look at the art, you can see why. The design and layouts are very much
Milleresque, though some of the figures themselves have the mesomorphic nature
of most of Kirby's characters. The story is a wonderful parody of Miller's
Daredevil/Elektra stories. Well, not exactly a parody, more like a takeoff in
style than in plot. Basicly, this is a revenge story. This Japanese master of
Ninjutsu is killed by the brother of someone *he* killed. The master's pet rat,
who "learned" the martial arts by imitating what he saw his owner doing, escaped
into the sewers of New York when his owner was killed. Eventually, a chain of
circumstances (which I won't go into here, because it would spoil for you one of
the better in-jokes) causes him and some baby turtles to come into contact with
some radioactive material, which mutates them into intelligent, erect, anthropo-
morphic (not again?!) creatures. The rat teaches the four turtles ninjutsu, and
charges them to avenge the death of the rat's former owner, which they do.
This comic doesn't have a number on it, and appears as if it were a
one-shot. Maybe the publishers want to see how well it does. I hope it succeeds,
so that we may look forward to more adventures of Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Dona-
tello, and Raphael.
MR. X #1
A new quality paper, color comic from Vortex, written and drawn by Jamie
and Gilbert Hernandez (it's not clear who does what, though the art looks like
pure Jamie). It's somewhat confusing, but if you're fond of the work of Los Her-
manos Hernandez in LOVE AND ROCKETS (I am), then you'll probably enjoy this. It
even features cameos by a couple of familiar faces from L&R. Definitely worth
looking into. It's a nicely put together package, but I'm not sure how this is
going to sustain it at $1.75, if Capital couldn't make it at that price.
STIG'S INFERNO #1
Yet another *fun* comic (this is getting to be an epidemic; not that I'm
objcting...), also from Vortex, story and art by Ty Templeton. This one is
*really* funny, folks. From sight gags (Stig's key chain, the moose head on the
wall, the team of investigators at Stig's death) to spoken gags (If you've been
following the socks-in-the-clothes-dryer discussion elsewhere on the net, you'll
get a charge out of one of the exchanges in this comic). Favorite line:" I won-
der who painted "Canto Two" on that rock up there". This comic reads like MAD
MAGAZINE in its better days (and that's a compliment). The back-up stories are
also amusing, if not quite as funny as the lead feature. I recommend this book
heartily, despite its one major flaw --- its price, $1.95 for a rather thin
comic. (See brief discussion after next review.)
VORTEX #9
I'm making a point of reviewing this because Brad Templeton here on the
net asked for comments on his brother Ty's work. Ty Templeton has two pieces in
here: "Killing Dragons" and "Geeks Hit the Streets!". The first one is rather
predictable, and yet it's carried off with style, and there's a touch more to
the end then what you predict. The second is a one-pager, continued to next ish,
and is Strange, and seems almost to be a parody of a certain type of shlock
superhero or horror comic story. Oh, and what I neglected to mention in the pre-
vious review is that I really like Templeton's art! It's nice and clean, and
shows an adeptness at serious *and* humorous art. This guy is a major new talent
whom I'm sure will really be in demand once he gets the exposure that VORTEX and
STIG'S INFERNO should bring him.
Oh, and the Dan Day story in here is nicely done, if trite.
**********
Frankly, I'm not sure just where Vortex's head is at regarding prices.
Let's look at some figures:
COMIC PRICE PAGES COLOR PAPER
MR. X 1.75 28 color slick, heavy, quality (Baxter?)
STIG'S INFERNO 1.95 24 black & white white (Mando?)
VORTEX 1.95 32 black & white newsprint
Note that page count does *not* include the covers. As for the paper grades, I
can't be sure of the differences between VORTEX and SI, but SI's paper looks a
lot whiter to me than VORTEX's. I'm not sure how they can charge $1.95 for the
two b&w books, when they charge only $1.75 for the color book (especially when
STIG'S has four *less* pages). Now, it could be that they are printed far more
copies of MR. X than the others because they figure to get a larger audience by
having the Hernandez's, but I can't see *that* big a difference. The other pos-
sibility is that there is only one price on the b&w books, whereas MR. X has an
American price ($1.75) and a Canadian price ($2.25). It could be that the $1.95
on the others is a Canadian price. If this is the case, they would do well to
start putting a (lower) American price on them, because in the absence of one,
the comic shops are charging the $1.95, which is really too much for the pro-
duct.
**********
Brad Templeton: You may forward my comments on your brother's work to him, if
you like, as well as my comments on the Vortex books in general. It might be (no
--- definitely is) to his advantage to get a lower (American) price (if that's
the problem) on his comic. And tell him I hope he does good, 'cuz he *is* good!
(And, no, I'm not just saying that because you're on the net.)
--- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC Maynard, MA)
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