Okay, actually, there is a very good reason why. I cannot go into the details, but some serious personal matters arose surrounding an individual involved with Negative Pop. Fortunately, everything has worked itself out. We are all very relieved at the outcome. I’m not certain what the future of Negative Pop will be. But hopefully this column will return again in 2003, in one form or another.
That said, let’s get on to business. Last time, I promised an interesting theme for this month’s reviews. Now, at last, it can be revealed:
Oh, what would comic books be without the presence of gorillas? Forget your alternate future timelines, evil clones, and spandex-clad ninja babes. If there’s one element of comic books that have been prevalent since almost day one, it’s been gorillas. Sooner or later, the spotlight shines on the simian species.
Here are but a handful of recent ape appearances. I could easily have written twice as many gorilla-related reviews. They’re everywhere. So, join me now for a look at a trio of books in the proud tradition of gorilla theater (insert rimshot)…
Fighting Yank # 3, $5.95 US, published by AC Comics
Writer & Pencils: Eric Coile; Inks: Bill Black, Mark Heike, & Mike Greczek
Rating 3.5 out of 5 stars
AC Comics publisher Bill Black is probably best known as the creator of Femforce. But he’s also an unabashed fan of the western and jungle girl comics of the 1940s and 50s. And it’s the later that is featured prominently in Fighting Yank #3. Of course, given a choice between ten gallon hats and leopard skin bikinis, I know which one I’d pick!
Fighting Yank is an actual World War II-era superhero. For this series, Black decided to transplant him into the 1950s, producing an homage to the works of Stan Lee & Jack Kirby. Of course, the Lee & Kirby superhero books were products of the Sixties, not the Fifties. But why quibble?
Recast as “America’s Ace Commie Crusher,” this riviting retro tale sees Fighting Yank parachuting into the hidden recesses of the African Congo. Joining forces with the pulchritudinous Cave Girl, Fighting Yank must do battle with the Communist supervillain known as the Panda and his army of apelike Beastmen.
With a set-up like that, writer/artist Eric Coile wisely decides to play the issue as a complete farce. The result is a hysterical tale that also delivers plenty of action.
The Panda’s oh so hideous plan revolves around a hypnotic ray that has enabled him to enslave the inhabitants of the hidden jungle Dawnworld. It turns out that practically everyone who lives in Dawnworld was originally from America or Europe, having gotten stranded there years before. The point is further driven home when native African jungle hero Prince Zantu arrives to assist the Yank and Cave Girl against the Beastmen. When asked by the Yank why Zantu hasn’t been hypnotized by the Panda’s weapon, Zantu proudly proclaims “I did not fall from a plane, white man! I was born here!” Which is Eric Coile’s amusing way of pointing out just how often in pulp magazines, movie serials, and comics white people would get stranded in Africa and become jungle heroes.
Coile also has fun with the conventions of the superhero genre here. Early on, the Yank engages in a bit of lengthy exposition on how the Panda’s weapon is based on “sub-sonic frequency wave dispersion,” which Cave Girl can’t be bothered with. Later, after meeting up with Zantu, the Yank once again launches into an overly detailed pseudo-scientific explanation of why he is immune to the hypno-ray. Hearing this techno-babble, Zantu impatiently proclaims “Your outworld speak slows momentum of story line!”
Eventually, as will happen in many a superhero tale, our intrepid protagonists are captured by the Panda’s forces. Tied to an alter, they are left to be claimed by a lingerie-clad giant gorilla named King Thong. Really!
Of course, all works out in the end, as our heroes escape, thwart the Panda’s diabolical plan, and watch as the Commie warlord is hauled off into the jungle by King Thong to be the giant gorilla’s bride. Fortunately, we don’t have to see that honeymoon!
Coile sprinkles the story with plenty of visual gags. There are cameos by a dozen or so classic jungle heroes, a Betty Page look-alike, classic Marvel monster Fim Fang Foom wearing a propeller beanie, and walk-ons by Godzilla & Mothra. Jeeze, with all that, and numerous mentions of “vibranium,” this issue is a lawsuit waiting to happen!
Oh, yes, we also get to see Jungle Girl’s outfit pop off, much to her mortification. For those who have always wondered how jungle heroines could always run around in skimpy leopardskin bikinis without their goodies falling out, well, here’s your chance to see it happen.
This is a very humorous story. Recognizing that it’s an out-an-out farce, it works on that level. The humor is an interesting mix of sophistication and juvenile. At times I think it did get too nonsensical. But perhaps an attempt to root it more in reality might not have worked out very well.
Eric Coile adopts a very Kirby-esque style. In the opening credits, the penciller is humorously named as “Hack Koilby.” Rich Buckler and Ron Frenz have nothing on this guy! Actually, having seen Coile’s art in a recent issue of Femforce, I know his regular drawing style is rather different than this. He’s a talented artist, in my estimation. While it’s amusing to see him do a Kirby homage here, I’m glad he doesn’t do it all the time.
This issue also contains a reprint of a Fighting Yank story from the late 1940s drawn by Mort Meskin. If this is typical of post-war comics, than it’s apparent why the superhero genre rapidly declined in popularity in those days. Here we see the Nazi-smashing Yank reduced to thwarting fraud at a high school model airplane contest. Tut tut.
Also included is “The Man Who Conquered Death,” a Cave Girl story from the 1940s drawn by Bob Powell. I was surprised to learn that Cave Girl was an actual Golden Age character. Powell’s artwork is quite good, by the standards of that day.
I’m not too keen on the overly simplistic plots and one-dimensional characterization of most Golden Age material, so I fond this to be, at best, serviceable. But I do think it’s useful to take a look at stories such as “The Man Who Conquered Death,” and then contrast them to how comic books are plotted and paced nowadays. I’d like to see some sort of middle ground between the quick-fire eight page superhero stories of the 1940s and the sprawling, multi-issue arcs of the present.
But I digress. From a historical perspective, it’s good to see old material like this reprinted. The attention span and memory of the comic book industry seems all too short, easily forgetting many of the important creators from just a decade or two back, much less from the first half of the twentieth century. Despite their lack of sophistication, these stories help to preserve the memories and legacies of the Mort Meskins and Bob Powells of the industry.
Rounding off the issue is a text piece by Bill Black on Dawnworld. Yep, even that was a pre-existing creation, which first debuted back in 1952. And it was devised by none other than Frank Frazetta, in the pages of a series entitled Thun’da. As the article informs, Frazetta remained on the book for only a short while. He departed after the publisher struck a movie deal and refused to grant Frazetta any royalties. A familiar enough story, I’m sad to say. In any case, Black’s article helps fill in a lot of the background on the origins of Dawnworld and Cave Girl.
Recognizing that Fighting Yank does have the rather hefty price tag of $5.95, it’s difficult to say it’s worth recommending. AC Comics’ sales aren’t the greatest, which explains the higher than usual price tag. On the other hand, with about 36 pages worth of material inside, it is more packed than most other the typical monthly comics. It all depends on whether you enjoy this specific type of story, and if you have an interest in Golden Age material. If you do, then I think it’s worth checking out.
Savage Dragon / Hellboy collected edition, $5.95 US, published by Comics
Writer & Artist: Erik Larsen; Cover: Mike Mignola
Rating 4.5 out of 5 stars
They saved Hitler’s brain… and stuck it in a transparent bowl atop the head of a gorilla!
Erik Larsen has created dozens of audaciously wacky characters in his time. Powerhouse, the flying, super-strong underworld enforcer with the head of a chicken. Double Header, a crook who has the amazing ability to eat two hamburgers at once. Dung, a guy who shoots, well, dung (what were you expecting?).
And then there is Brainiape. Exploding on the scene in Savage Dragon #23, Brainiape was a mangy, ill-tempered, telepathic gorilla with a human brain in a glass bowl atop his skull, who seemed to have a perpetual swarm of flies hovering around him. Despite his horrid lack of personal grooming, Brainiape harbored ambitions. He saw himself as the natural successor to the deceased criminal Overlord as head of Chicago’s Vicious Circle. And, a year later, in issue #s 34 & 35, we learned wherefore those ambitions originated. For Brainiape’s brain was that of the power-mad Adolf Hitler.
The Savage Dragon / Hellboy collected edition reprints those two issues. This was the historic, hysteric meeting between Larsen’s fin-headed green cop and Mike Mignola’s demonic supernatural investigator. It was a natural match-up considering both characters were odd-looking heroes with a penchant for brawling who often got involved in oddball adventures fighting bizarre villains. When this two-parter originally appeared, it was a real thrill to read. Larsen produced a wacky, exciting story to pair up the two heroes. It’s nice to see it in a collected edition. Hopefully some of Hellboy’s fans who may have missed it the first time will read this, enjoy it, and try the ongoing Savage Dragon series.
The plot opens in Romania, 1952. Hellboy is slugging it out with an armored Nazi. Knocking off his opponent’s helmet, Hellboy finds it is none other than Hitler himself, alive and well, trying to revive the Nazi party. “All the more reason to kick your ass,” Hellboy declares, and he proceeds to do just that. Unfortunately, the armor is still in the experimental stage. It begins to overload. Hellboy beats a hasty retreat, as the explosion blows Hitler apart. All that’s left is his head, which is left bouncing across the Romanian countryside. Retrieving Der Fuhrer’s noggin, his followers reason “Maybe we can save his brain.”
Flash forward to the present (well, to 1996, which is when the issues were originally published). Powerhouse is berating Brainiape for his latest attempt to seize power from Cyberface, the Vicious Circle’s current leader. In order to avoid Cyberface’s anger, Brainiape reluctantly accepts the assignment of killing the Savage Dragon.
Cyberface, though, has his own problems. Due to his incomplete resurrection by Project: Born Again (looooooong story, see assorted early issues of Savage Dragon and Rob Liefeld’s Bloodstrike), the Vicious Circle’s leader in slowly decomposing. Horde, the mind-controlling leach creature secretly manipulating Cyberface behind the scenes, doesn’t want to lose his figurehead just yet, preferring to lurk in the shadows. And so Horde & Cyberface entreat their mystical ally Abner Cadaver to find a solution. Cadaver uses a spell to summon all manner of creatures to Chicago who have been reanimated by magic, in the hope that one of them will have a cure. And so the city soon finds itself overrun by vampires, zombies, and a really big mummy.
The Dragon is quickly dispatched to the Chicago trainyards to stop the arriving undead, who are starting to tear up the town. There he runs in to Hellboy, who has come to Chicago to investigate this supernatural gathering. And the pair soon cross paths with Brainiape who, upon spotting Hellboy, remembers his long-lost identity as Hitler.
The rest of the story is a series of high-speed, humorous fight scenes, as the Dragon and Hellboy fight an assortment of supernatural fiends, Brainiape, a huge sea monster, and each other. It quickly gets very over-the-top, but in a good way. Brainiape riding a bicycle is a memorable sight. As is the Dragon & Hellboy’s escape from the sea monster, which I just cannot give away. You definitely need to see it for yourself.
The only real weakness of the story is that the subplot of Cyberface dying never actually intersects with the Dragon and Hellboy’s team-up. It does provide the impetus to bring Hellboy to Chicago, since he comes to investigate the gathering undead. But neither he nor Dragon ever figure out that it was Abner Cadaver who summoned the creatures, much less the reasons behind it. At the end, when all the monsters depart, the two heroes are left shrugging their shoulders. But it’s a minor quibble. If Larsen had involved Cyberface and Cadaver with the main action, it would have probably taken an extra issue to tell the story.
If you’ve never read any issues of Savage Dragon, than pick up this collected edition. Between this special, and the recently-released 64 page Savage Dragon Companion, you’ll have the perfect crash course in the wonderful world of the Dragon.
Supernatural Law # 35, $2.50 US, published by Exhibit A Press
Writer & Artist: Batton Lash; Cover: Murphy Anderson
Rating 5 out of 5 stars
Alanna Wolf and Jeff Byrd are lawyers who specialize in cases involving supernatural individuals and occurrences. Vampires, werewolves, demons, marsh monsters; you name it and they will probably represent it.
This time around, Wolf and Byrd have a particularly unusual client: Nicky Gorillo, a mobster who, after a car accident, had his brain transplanted into the body of a gorilla. Now Gorillo is up on charges of racketeering & extortion, with Wolf and Byrd defending him in court. Not that they are particularly happy to be doing so, as Gorillo is a rather unpleasant individual to work with. Unpleasant, as in he has a penchant for inflicting grievous bodily harm on anyone he doesn’t like.
Such is the premise of “The Trial of the 800 LB. Gorilla.” The title is, of course, a reference to the old joke “Where does an 800 LB. Gorilla sit?” And, like the gorilla in the joke, Gorillo thinks he can sit anywhere he wants, including on his lawyers! Wolf and Byrd have the unenviable task of refuting the government’s case while making sure that their client’s brutish behavior doesn’t end up throwing a monkey wrench into the defense (ouch).
The always humorous Batton Lash is in top form here, dishing out gorilla joke and references with a rapid-fire cornball relish. Including, of course, the obligatory uttering of Charlton Heston’s famous line. I’m sure you know the one. In any case, I cracked up at more than a few points while reading this story.
Lash also takes the opportunity to pay homage to many of the comic books that were published by DC Comics in the 1950s, which were famous for their use of gorillas. DC editor Julius Schwartz tried to fit as many gorillas, usually colored purple, onto covers as possible. According to legend, sales on issues usually jumped at least ten percent whenever a giant simian was featured on the covers. Which would explain why the idea caused DC to go ape (sorry). In any case, the cover to Supernatural Law # 35 prominently features Gorillo, colored in a very purple hue, no less. And longtime DC Comics artist Murphy Anderson, who has no doubt drawn a few gorillas in his time, inks Batton Lash’s pencils for the cover art.. In addition, according to Lash, the layout & narrative pacing of the story is based on a Carmine Infantino story from DC’s 1950s title Strage Sports Stories. So, yep, when Lash decided to make this a tribute issue, he wasn’t just monkeying around (last one, I promise).
Batton Lash also offers up a second tale in Supernatural Law # 35. He tries his hand at doing a silent, wordless story… and is far more successful than some of those creators who participated in Marvel’s “Nuff Said” theme month last winter. Wolf and Byrd are representing an “It,” a monster who lives under a kid’s bed, in a lawsuit brought by the parents. As Wolf and Byrd attempt to prove, it’s in fact the kid who is the real monster, terrorizing It repeatedly, rather than the other way around. The title “Words Don’t Do It Justice” is an effective pun by Lash. And the silent storytelling allows him to use a variety of humorous visual gags. While not nearly as funny as the lead story, “Words Don’t Do It Justice” is definitely an amusing story.
All in all, Supernatural Law #35 is a great issue. I definitely recommend picking it up. And that’s no bull… it’s a gorilla!
Honorable mentions: Yes, we have no bananas, we have no bananas today. But we do have more gorilla appearances to let you know about.
And there are no doubt other recent ape-related books out there that I can’t recall at the moment. Gorillas… I tell ya, they’re everywhere!
(For the curious, this column did appear on Negative Pop in January 2003, as part of the site's final update. My thanks to Alan for having given me the opportunity to contribute to his web venture. It was a blast, Alan!)