Strontium Dog Rage!!

Amazing video, showing the death of Johnny Alpha's partner Wulf Sternhammer, and Johnny's ultimate showdown with Max Bubba from the classic 2000AD strip Strontium Dog (Rage!). Whomever came up with this deserves an award... Magic!!!

Batman: A Death in the Family (Review)

This is one of the greatest stories of the Post-Crisis Batman. It would be a very welcome, but not essential, addition to any Batfan's bookshelf. To me only the trinity of  Miller's Dark Knight Returns, Year One and Moore's The Killing Joke belong to the category of being essential, (although I'm sure there are many out there that might add one or two that list). Death in the Family is a very well executed story. It is severely flawed, however by an outlandish plot and just two many 'million-to-one chance' type coincidences that writers use to keep a story moving and together. That said I've it's still excellent. My only real exposure to Starlin before this was his work on Warlock and Captain Marvel, and was surprised, in later life, when I actually stopped and noticed he wrote it and not Marv Wolfman or Doug Moench, being used to Starlin's wild space opera type stories. I do feel he goes a little over the top introducing the grit that had been the prevalent type of style since Miller's opus DKR.                                                                                                            

Of course, classic Batman artist Jim Aparo does his usual flawless job on pencils, while his work always looked better when he inked it himself, Mike DeCarlo, gives it a gorgeous slickness. The story opens with Robin being rash and aggressive and moody, taking unnecessary risks and Batman reprimands him. He stops him being Robin until he learns to come to terms with his parents death. Jason then leaves Wayne Manor where he goes back to his old neighborhood in Crime Alley where a woman gives him his late parents personal effects. He discovers his birth cert and realises that his mother is still alive, but because of the smudged writing on the cert and his fathers address book realises that it must be one of three women, two strangely enough located in Iran and one in Ethiopia, helping with famine relief. The fact that two are located in Iran where the Joker has gone attempting to sell a nuclear weapon is really a bit much to take. Jason leaves for Iran to track two of these women, without Batman knowing, Batman decides to leave for Iran also in order to stop the Joker (Strange coincidence). The two meet undercover in a lane way 2000 miles from home, Jason trying to find his mother in the same hotel Batman is stalking to find an associate of the Jokers (come on...)

Enough of the plot, Joker bludgeons Jason to death with a crow bar and kills him and his mother in a warehouse explosion in one of the most shocking depictions of a 12 year old being bludgeoned to death in code approved comics. What particularly unsettled me reading this is the callous, uncaring look on his mothers face as she watches her son being beaten with the Tyre iron. She winces and then casually lights a cigarette. Joker ties her up and Robin and blows up the warehouse, and we get the countdown scene where Jason tries to save his mother and they both try to make it out of the warehouse... and then BOOOOM!!!

Batman arrives on the scene to find the battered and burnt body of Jason.

The Joker is well off the scene and returns to the states as the Ambassador of Iran (no really) complete with turban and stuff, and plots to kill everyone in the UN assembly.Superman stops by to make sure Batman doesn't do anything stoopid, like jeprodising international relations like the big boy scout he is. Batman in one of the best scenes in the book nearly breaks his hand off Superman's face with an almighty  blow that would have probably felled Ali in his prime.
    There's a marvelous scene where Bruce Wayne and the Joker make prolonged eye contact as the Joker makes his way to the podium. Superman in disguise saves the assembly as he inhales all of the jokers toxic laughing gas, and then has enough lung power left to actually talk without exhaling the roomful of gas, in a move that conveniently sidesteps every biology, physics & chemistry law commonly held by man. Joker tries to escape batman jumps on his helicopter nad the Joker ends up shot in the chest. Batman jumps out of the helicopter and     then it explodes. Fini.

Rereading this years later I realise how depressing this book is and how sad the life of Jason Todd was. But it's still a great story, a real page-turner. Jason Todd was disliked by the majority of Batman's readers for being an obnoxious little prick, but in his last moments his inherent heroism shone through, and this adds added poignancy to his death. Interestingly this new edition for 24 bucks contains the sequel 'A Lonely Place of Dying' which is a good story and introduces the third Robin. It's crazy to think that when I originally picked up this book sans glossy pages it was exactly one tenth of the price it is to day. It always struck me as odd how Batman would take a twelve year old into battle with him, and does he learn his lesson after this? Hell no, he accepts another know-it-all pre-pubescent twerp to take up the mantle. There was only one Robin and his name is Dick Grayson and at least he was about 19 when he finished working with Batman and became Nightwing over in the pages of the New Teen Titans #39. 'Holy child endangerment Batman!!'
Here is the original cover for this collection which tears strips off the new one. (I tried to track it down after I lost the original but the guy in the shop was looking for 5 times its original cost). Bastard.

As I remember it

Avengers (Possibly the greatest Hawkeye story ever)

This is quite possibly the greatest Hawkeye story ever. It had been a long, long time since the archer had his time in the spotlight so this classic 1979 issue (Avengers #189) was more than timely. This one shows Hawkeye at his devil-may-care, wise-ass best.
      The plot is really simple, a disgruntled Hawkeye is forced to leave the Avengers to make way for the Falcon, as part of a government racial quota kind of thing. This leaves Hawkeye essentially unemployed but on retainer from the Avengers. We are treated to a look at Hawk's dilapidated flat in a rare touch of realism, which while his abode is not quite Dickensian, it is certainly in need of some D.I.Y. There are some humourous touches here too as we see a picture of the Scarlet Witch on the wall and a picture of the Falcon with some darts stuck in it.
 
There's a beautiful splash page at the beginning of this issue by John Byrne, depicting Thor swirling his hammer ready to take off and Iron Man in the doorway waving goodbye. As good as George Perez was at the time he hadn't quite matured into the artist he would become later in his career, and these Byrne issues were the standard against almost all other Avengers mags in the 70's were measured by (except for Neal Adams' issues during the Kree-Skrull war).

Anyway back to Hawkeye and his Job search. He spots an add in the paper for a security guard at Crosstech Technoligies, a rival to Stark Industries. Hawk impresses the guy with his guile claiming that if it was that easy for him to break in to the building, that he would be a highly effective security official. In a classic piece of jackassery, Hawkeye has his two feet on the table reading Playboy, when the employee arrives.













 In a piece of happenstance, there had been a series of break-ins lately at the plant, and Hawkeye is engaged with Deathbird! I haven't the issue at hand right now, but there is a 5 or 6 page fight scene between two that establish
Hawkeye as a force to be reckoned with, and that in a world of Asgardian Gods, Iron Men, and super soldiers, show that Clint Barton has what it takes to stand with the best of them. All in all, a highly entertaining issue...

The Triumph and Tragedy of World Class Championship Wrestling

Just watched this documentary last weekend and what a quality production  it is too, while it isn't quite on a par with the fantastic documentary made in 2005 Heroes of World Class, it does have a dozen or so actual matches on the second disc to make up for it.
   When your talking about World Class the Von Erich family immediately springs to mind, but the the promotion was top heavy with some of the finest talent in wrestling during the early-mid 80's. One legendary tag-team stands out in that era, the Fabulous Freebirds, legendary front-man Michael Hayes, 'Bam Bam' Terry Gordy and Buddy Roberts. Their feud with the Von Erichs ignited a territory that was already thriving and made it the number 1 promotion in the states. World Class was the only company in the US that had a true international following, even in places like Israel, not a country particularly noted for it rabid mat fans.

Michael 'PS' Hayes, Leader of the Fabulous Freebirds

Particularly interesting is the patriarch of the Von Erich's, Fritz's rise to prominence both as a heel and eventually as a successful promoter.
   Also well handled in the early part, of the doc is the description of the groundbreaking presentation techniques the World Class people were using, ie getting close ups of the action in the ring and using video profiles to enhance the talents' television characters and gimmicks. Sounds so basic now but nearly 30 years ago this was fresh and paved the way for the direction wrestling was to go. The WWF and Jim Crockett would later expand on these techniques but I believe World Class paved the way for a new type of product. Anyone, even the most casual wrestling viewer knows about the tragedy of the Von Erichs (6 brothers dead with only Kevin left) and has some idea of the circumstances surrounding some of them.It is not the purpose of this review to detail all of them, but let me just say that all of the deaths are detailed here and it makes for sad and sometimes uncomfortable viewing. It is observed here that David Von Erich would have been a huge stat probably on a par with Ric Flair had he lived and the are lengthy tributes to mans prowess as a ring general and mic man.   Of course brother Kerry's  NWA world title win over Flair in 1984 at the David Von

Erich memorial in front of 40,000 fans is given good coverage and is David's death is highlighted as turning point in the company and that World Class not as strong after his demise.
      The other big stars of the company get very good coverage such as the tragic Gino Hernandez, who also would have done great things in the business until his untimely death in 1986 from drugs. Gary Hart provides poignant recollection of Gino. Chris Adams also features strongly who also sadly passed away. Details of the brutal stabbing of the legendary Bruiser Brody in a dressing room in Puerto Rico is also recounted. It is often noted from Kevin Von Erich the last surviving member of the clan that the Texas style of wrestling was hard hitting and was often extremely physical. The promotion really took a turn for the worse when 'the Modern Day Warrior' Kerry Von Erich, by now the biggest star of the company was involved in a motorcycle accident in 1986. He was out for months and the promotion floundered and lost much momentum  even more tragically Kerry lost half a foot as a result, yet with the aid of a prosthesis he was still able to compete at reasonable level, although it was clear to those around him that he was in great physical pain. Other bad booking decisions caused the promotion to flounder further such as the introduction of 'Lance Von Erich' a pseudo Von Erich said to be a cousin. The fans saw through it for what it was, and Fritz came out on television eventually to tell the fans he wasn't the real deal. The fans lost some faith in the Von Erichs as a result. Booking really reached its nadir with the worked 'heart attack' of patriarch Fritz, Kevin rightly observes that people were eventually thinking after that that it got uncomfortable for the fans, watching tragedy after tragedy. One of the last topics discussed was the sale to Jerry Jarrett and World Class becoming CWA. Truly the end of an era. Also discussed is Kerry's move to the WWF where he became the Texas Tornado as most fans probably remember him. Jim Ross comments that Kerry was a bit frayed at the edges and wasn't the athlete he was, but I remember him being a hugely charismatic addition to there roster at the time and Triple H says that Kerry had 'IT'. Kerry did well for a while winning the Intercontinental Championship from Mr. Perfect and was hugely popular with women, kids and fans in general, but sadly the plug was pulled on his big push soon after as Kerry was becoming unreliable; his drug problems were spiraling out of control and by 1993 he was facing jail for possession, rather than disgrace his family he decided to end it all, shooting himself in the chest, Kevin gives a harrowing account of that day. The documentary ends with Kevin saying he's had a good life, and I it is a testament to mans strength that he is as well balanced as he is after all that went on with his family.

Kerry as the Texas Tornado in 1990

The story of World Class is a story of fame, excess, great wrestling, tragedy and a degree of disillusionment. To say drugs were large part of downfall of many involved with World Class would be an understatement. The second disc has some really good matches from the era. The Von Erichs Vs The Freebirds feature heavily, also Bruiser Brody and Abdullah the Butcher in a gore-fest  Fritz takes on Kong Kong Bundy. Kerry takes on Flair in excellent cage match. There are a great many interviews, TV spots etc also. A very good set and well worth your time and money.

Ghost Rider by John Byrne

Found this fantastic commision by John Byrne from his Facebook Page. absolutely stunning.

The new 52 Action Comics, Superman

Just read Grant Morrison's new 52 reboot of Superman graphic novel and it wasn't bad. However it was far from great. There is a beautiful scene at the end of #6 which was fantastic, where Superman with his new costume takes off into the sky after winning the hearts of the Metropolitans he's saved, and being given the key to the city that warmed my heart. It was nearly worth the 25 bucks I paid for the book. But, however in general i found it to be quite boring at times. I believe the thoughts of the reboot and the novelty factor of the new costume, a reboot of comicdom's most famous character, was enough to keep me engaged with this book. In truth it wasn't that bad, really. It just didn't live up to the hype that surrounded it. The story was disjointed in places and it lacked emotional impact apart from the aforementioned scene. That new costume is the business. Superman is a lot younger here and lacks the lantern jaw he always sported in earlier incarnations. Even in the main Superman title which is set 5 years later, Supes is a lot slimmer than he had been, basically this is what Smallville should have been, give me John Byrne's Man of Steel any day over this. Ambivalent towards it. Maybe in six months time I'll spot a few things in it that I didn't spot on first reading that will change my view. Bought from Sub City comics, Exchequer St.. Dublin, Ireland, a great place to hang out and browse a few issues, staff very knowledgeable and friendly too, although they maintain the erudition and coolness that sets them apart from the posse.

Make your own mind up..

Superman cartoon early 40's Max Fleisher studios

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6pFloO9YKM&feature=related

'Faster than a speeding bullet..'Max Fleisher's Superman. click on link above .

This is the classic cartoon created by Fleisher Studios. A true classic. Forty years ahead of its time. tears strips off all Superhero cartoons for 50 years up until the excellent Batman Adventures arrived on the scene in 1992, which paid homage to the darker style and tones of this cartoon. Superman's comic book fans will recognise the black & red chest symbol as the one that was used to denote the Earth-2 Superman, who still lived in the 40's and Mark Waid's Kingdom Come versions of the hero.  I believe this is in homage to this masterclass in animation. The realisism was provided by;   ( from Wikipedia:)
"Rotoscoping, the process of tracing animation drawings from live-action footage, was used minimally to lend realism to the human characters and Superman.^[2] Many of Superman's actions, however, could not be rotoscoped (flying, lifting very large objects, and so on). In these cases, the Fleischer lead animators, many of whom were not trained in figure drawing, animated roughly and depended upon their assistants, many of whom were inexperienced with animation but were trained in figure drawing, to keep Superman "on model" during his action sequences"  
Fleisher only made seventeen of these trailers which were played in cinemas at the time before the main feature.