Conan the Barbarian (1970) #5

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This issue’s based on a Howard poem; it’s hard to say how much Thomas added on his own without reading the poem. It seems like he includes it at one point and, if he does, he added a lot.

Thomas’s approach is a little different than before–five issues in, the series doesn’t have a consistent tone of stories, though a mix of battle and quest might be accurate. Conan’s the protagonist and active in the story. Thomas even adds a little dimension to the character (not a bunch, but a little). Even though the issue opens with Conan in a town and ends with him on the road, the end is strong enough to give the book an “on the road,” journeying feel to it.

Windsor-Smith has a couple pages of spotty art–a silly-looking demon in particular. Maybe it’s the Giacoia inks. The rest looks good.

Conan the Barbarian (1970) #4

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Well, Thomas avoids falling into the trap of predictable plot developments this issue. He’s adapting Howard’s The Tower of the Elephant, which gives the issue a somewhat different Conan than usual. As opposed to being a really active force in the story, Conan’s more an explorer here. Yes, at the end he’s responsible for bringing about the change, but he does it unknowingly.

In some ways, it might be the least compelling of the issues so far. It’s full of information, but not serialized information. Conan’s sidekick this issue lasts a few pages and makes little impression. The big reveal at the end has nothing to do with Conan, just its own thing. Conan’s a little sprog in an overwhelming preexisting situation.

Windsor-Smith’s art is solid, though he doesn’t get to do much–the story’s very dense, his panels are often tiny.

It’s all right, but it doesn’t connect.

Conan the Barbarian (1970) #3

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Thomas runs into a not insignificant problem this issue. Though the details are different, he has a lot of the same dramatics he used in the previous issue, especially when it comes to Conan’s friend and Conan’s friend’s wife. Having the same plot point in both issues… Thomas isn’t just making the series predictable, he’s making it melodramatic and pat.

He also needs to start using thought balloons. Having the characters give asides to the reader isn’t working.

Those problems aside, it’s a fantastic battle issue. Windsor-Smith gets in a grandiose scale even though he’s often dealing with small panels. There’s a real tension to it (and the battle, at least, is unpredictable).

The Conan mythos lets Thomas do so much—the story opens with a war god talking to Conan—it doesn’t seem like he should need repetitious plot points.

Taken on its own though, a fine issue.

Conan the Barbarian (1970) #2

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It’s another issue where Thomas has a short present action (here a couple days) and makes it a full read. Well, actually, a couple days is only a short present action in the seventies and eighties.

Anyway… this issue Conan gets taken into bondage by some giants. Windsor-Smith draws them sort of as abominable snowmen. Their origin is in here too, but not the location of the story, an underground city. That element—feeling like one is in a world with an unknown history—is rather important. Because Thomas spends so much of the story on the action and unpleasantness (Conan eventually leads the human slaves to uprise), that implied history is what gets the reader’s imagination going.

Again, Windsor-Smith has some issues. It’s the ties. His eyes here are strange—the lines are all sharp, not round. But, also again, he has mostly wonderful panels.

Good stuff.

Conan the Barbarian (1970) #1

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Thomas and Windsor-Smith are off to a great start. Windsor-Smith’s art is, of course, not as finished as he’s become, but he does have some amazing panels. Oddly, when he’s at his lesser, he resembles an unintentional Mike Ploog (especially in the faces—but sharp compared to Ploog’s roundedness). It’s very strange.

The story introduces Conan but also gives the reader some sense of the world he’s in. Thomas has this sort of time machine device, which might not make any sense, but it does the job of placing the events.

It’s an action issue—the present action takes place over less than a day—and Thomas works in a number of scenes. It’s a full read, ending with Conan alone. It sort of starts with him alone, moves him into having companions and leaves him worse than he started.

There’s an energy and excitement to the book.

The Immortal Iron Fist: The Origin of Danny Rand (2008) #1

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Thank goodness Marvel felt the need to recolor the first two appearances of Iron Fist with some terrible glossy digital coloring from Andrew Crossley. Someone with time on his or her hands should do a comparison between Crossley’s “modern” colors here and the originals from Marvel Premiere.

Oddly, there’s a classy opening from Fraction and Kano–I think that opening must be Fraction’s last work on Iron Fist–and Kano does his own, non-glossy colors.

The origin issues hold up pretty well. Both Thomas and Wein write in the second person, which makes the whole experience–learning about K’un-L’un, Iron Fist’s origin, Danny Rand’s traumatic childhood–palatable. Kane pencils the first part, Hama the second, Giordano inks them both smoothly. Even the silly coloring can’t mess up Giordano inks on a kung fu comic.

The reprinted stories aren’t classics in the quality sense, but they’re solid seventies stuff.

The Immortal Iron Fist: The Origin of Danny Rand 1 (October 2008)

Oddly, there’s a classy opening from Fraction and Kano–I think that opening must be Fraction’s last work on Iron Fist–and Kano does his own, non-glossy colors.

The reprinted stories aren’t classics in the quality sense, but they’re solid seventies stuff.

CREDITS

The Origin of Danny Rand; writer, Matt Fraction; artist and colorist, Kano; letterer, Dave Lanphear. The Fury of Iron Fist!; writer, Roy Thomas; penciller, Gil Kane; inker, Dick Giordano; colorist, Andrew Crossley; letterer, Gaspar Saladino. Heart of the Dragon!; writers, Thomas and Len Wein; penciller, Larry Hama; inker, Giordano; colorist, Crossley; letterer, Saladino. Editors, Cory Levine, Thomas and Jeff Youngquist; publisher, Marvel Comics.

Batman (1940) #340

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The cover announces Gene Colan on art, so does the title page, so obviously DC wanted to sell him on the book. But then why did they put him with Gonzales on inks? It barely even looks like Gene Colan. All the detail in the faces, for example, is gone. Except in close-ups and those are the best panels.

In this issue, Batman fights the Mole. I don’t think the Mole ever makes a return appearance. These eighties books seem intent on creating new villains who never get invited back. The issue does have some potential–at one point it’s an old dark house thriller at Wayne Manor with Colan art and that combination works, even with the inking problems.

Thomas clearly wrote some of the dialogue. It’s very expository in a way Conway doesn’t write expository dialogue. Some of its rather goofy.

It’s forgettable, but probably worth the sixty cents.

Batman 340 (October 1981)

Thomas clearly wrote some of the dialogue. It’s very expository in a way Conway doesn’t write expository dialogue. Some of its rather goofy.

It’s forgettable, but probably worth the sixty cents.

CREDITS

A Man Called Mole!; writers, Gerry Conway and Roy Thomas; penciller, Gene Colan; inker, Adrian Gonzales; colorist, Adrienne Roy; letterer, Ben Oda; editors, Dave Manak and Dick Giordano; publisher, DC Comics.

Batman (1940) #338

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It’s sort of hard to believe Conway wrote both the terrible lead story and the mildly charming Robin backup. I mean, the Robin story–Dick solving a mystery at the circus–has it’s problems, like Conway keeping crucial information until the last scene so as to explain all the problems away… but at least he’s trying.

The Batman lead story is another thing entirely. Not only is there an idiotic reference to fingerprints being found on wet grass, but there’s also a bunch of malarky about the Americanism of sporting events. Alfred, the Brit, says it’s un-American to dislike sports.

The story’s villain is the world’s best (chemically engineered) athlete who decides to kill all of Gotham’s famous sports figures. Batman finds him through fumbling and stops him from killing a bunch of people in a mall.

I don’t know if Conway was just dozing off through scripting or what; terrible story.