Comics reviews by Michael Vance, R. A. Jones, Dr. Jon Suter, and Mark Allen, including reviews of comic books, comic strips, books about comics, brief biographies of comic book and strip writers and artists, and related subjects. This is the logo for the weekly column called Suspended Animation; all the reviews and art will follow soon.
Tags: logo comics reviews comics comic strips history comic books reviews SF horror superheroes Westerns funny animals Superman Batman Spiderman
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Suspended Animation Classic #1
First published on Sun. Jan. 8, 1989
Introduction
By Michael Vance
John Steinbeck considered them as important as novels, and Charlie Chaplin admired these ‘movies without movement’.
They captivated enormous audiences of adults and children long before radio, motion pictures, and television, enjoying a popularity that’s now worldwide. Yet, in America, where graphic storytelling was created in newspapers, many adults think that this artform is exclusively for children.
The truth, however, is that there are comics for adults, and they are capable of looking profoundly into the human condition. Comic books and strips are not just for children anymore.
Comic strips and books are simply stories told through words and art, and how they speak to readers is unparalleled in other media. Their longevity is proof of their importance.
There is a handful of strips that are read daily by more than 200 million readers, putting their sister arts to shame. But popularity is not the only gauge of quality, and that is why Suspended Animation was created.
The purpose of this new weekly column is to review the best and worst in comics. We will review comics written and drawn solely to entertain as well as comics with political, religious, and philosophical slants.
Comics sold only through bookstores will be examined, as well newsstand magazines and collections. You’ll discover that the Hulk and Batman television shows and the Superman movies are not representative of the entire field.
We’ll point out books with violence, sex, and tough language you’ll decide are not for children but are right for your tastes. And you’ll learn that some books written for children are just as fun when read by adults.
Tags: comic strips comics comic books reviews Hulk Superman Batman
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Suspended Animation Classic #2
First published on Sun. Jan. 15, 1989
The Rocketeer!
By R. A. Jones
Everyone dreams of flying, whether with the wings of an angel or the jets of an airplane or the rockets of a space ship. Dave Stevens brings those dreams to life with his pen in the pages of “The Rocketeer Adventure Magazine.” And if you share his fascination for adventure and for America in the 1930s, you’re invited to soar to new heights with Cliff Secord – The Rocketeer!
Cliff’s an aviator who occasionally straps a rocket to his back and dons a single-finned helmet to take to the skies. Cliff shares a common parent with Indiana Jones in the pulp magazines of the ‘20s, ‘39s, and ‘40s – a parent full of action, intrigue and excitement whose only interest was to entertain.
An added delight in Rocketeer is a wealth of outlandish gadgets that promised to be our future. Among these in the Autogiro – half airplane and half helicopter – that seems to symbolize the spirit of adventure and experimentation of the 1930s.
In the first two issues, Cliff follows his angry girlfriend to New York City to recapture her affections. He falls afoul in a nightclub fight, however, and broke and broken-hearted, Cliff becomes an operative for “Jonas”, himself a shadow of one of the most famous of pulp crime-fighters. Together, they become embroiled in a serial murder investigation that promises Cliff will be the next victim!
This magazine’s back-up feature, “Brucilla, The Muscle”, by Michael Kaluta, concerns a troupe of ‘girl scouts’ – The Galactic Girl Guides – who resemble The Little Rascals thrust hundreds of years into the future. Although it suffers from too great a dose of ‘cute’, “Brucilla” is an apt companion to the exploits of The Rocketeer, full of fun, movement and colorful characters.
“The Rocketeer Adventure Magazine” is fun, and if you enjoy flights of fancy into the near past or forward into the distant future, you’ll find both in this exceptional but infrequent comic book. Both Stevens and Kaluta deserve the highest praise for some of the best art in comic books or strips today.
The Rocketeer Adventure Magazine #s 1 & 2/Comico, publishers/$27.5 (originally)/available in comic shops/for all ages.
Tags: Comic book adventure Dave Stevens pulp pulp magazine hero movie
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Suspended Animation Classic #3
First published on Sun. Jan. 22, 1989
Japanese Comics
By R. A. Jones
Like Jazz and the movie musical, the comic book is a uniquely American creation. But in the decades since World War II, it has been largely ignored, even reviled, by the masses in its country of origin.
Not so in other parts of the world, where it has been developed into a respected and much-loved artform. Larger magazine-sized comics, known as graphic albums, have proliferated in Europe, while scores of comics are published each month throughout Latin America and the Far East.
Without doubt, the country which has most taken comics to heart is Japan. According to one source, in any given year, more pulp is used in Japan to create comic books than to produce toilet paper.
Japanese comic books, called “manga”, are often several hundred pages thick and deal with subjects that run the gamut from science fiction to golfing. Likewise, their readership is composed of children and corporate heads alike.
Now, selected samples of Japanese comic books are available in America, translated into English. More than half a dozen such titles are currently on display in comic book specialty stores.
Dealing mainly with science fiction or historical adventure, they bear such titles as Lone Wolf and Cub, Akira, Mazinger, Appleseed, Grey, Area 88, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, and Pineapple Army.
The newest arrival is entitled Justy, a bi-weekly mini-series which will run for nine issues. Justy is a science fiction adventure which, like most Japanese comics, is extremely fast paced since it uses very few words, allowing the pictures to convey much of the story.
As such, it would probably prove highly attractive to those who enjoy breakneck thrillers of the Star Wars variety.
Because they are a fast read, Japanese comics could also be used as an inducement to youngsters who normally won’t crack a book. The Japanese are much freer than Americans when it comes to depictions of nudity in some comics, however, so parents might want to help their children make the proper selection.
Tags: Comic book manga Japanese comics art science fiction
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Suspended Animation Classic #4
First published on Sun. Jan. 29, 1989
The Desert Peach
By Michael Vance
And now for something completely different.
If you have any knowledge of history, you are probably familiar with Erwin Rommel, the famed German general who commanded the equally famous Afrika Korps during World War II. He is best known by the nickname “The Desert Fox”.
But are you ready for – The Desert Peach?
That is the title of a new series which focuses on the exploits of Rommel’s fictional brother, Pfirsich. Pfirsich is the opposite of his more famous sibling: he is taller, better looking, more concerned with protocol.
He is also gay.
At first glance, you would be hard-pressed to figure out why Donna Barr – the writer and illustrator of the book – would choose to make such a character the main protagonist in this series.
In many ways, he embodies all the negative stereotypes associated with gays; he is a rather effete, mincing short, more interested in handkerchiefs and china tea services than he is about the more mundane pursuits of combat.
But it is by using this seeming stereotype that Barr is able to explore and explode several other stereotypes. The series gives us a new perspective on the German soldier – one far different than you will get in the typical war movie, for example.
And it looks at war itself in an unusual way. It focuses more on the day to day operations than it does on epic battles, and by doing so dispels the delusion many people still have of war as a grand and glorious adventure.
Nor is Pfirsich presented as purely one dimensional or the butt of some joke. When provoked, he is a coolly efficient fighter; he simply prefers to indulge in more ‘civilized’ behavior.
Even the most sensitive gay won’t be terribly offended by Pfirsich. Best of all – heterosexuals can unreservedly cheer for him too.
Not for every taste, of course, but if you’re open-minded and looking for something new – sit down for a helping of “The Desert Peach”.
Available at more daring comics shops.
Tags: Comic book art comics cartoon review World War II German army
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