A
comic review of art, storytelling, and theology.
Cover
Dated: March 1974
COVER
GRADE: B+
Art:
Nick Cardy
There
are many things to like about this cover – the mysterious infrared people
grabbing Superman midflight, the shock on Superman’s face as he’s twisted
backwards, the elegant, non-distracting but detailed New York skyline (or did
Metropolis also get a Statue of Liberty?) – but my favorite simple detail is
how Superman’s infrared vision also covers up the colors of the Action Comics
title. It would have been neat if they would have also covered up the price
circle and the CCA stamp of approval, but maybe the artist wasn’t allowed to do that.
However, there’s
something that just doesn’t “pop” about this cover that is hard to define. That
started me leaning towards an A- or B+ grade. After reading the thought
bubbles, it made it obviously a B+. The rough wording just takes away from the
cover. I guess it’s trying to clarify that Superman is using infrared vision
instead of heat vision, but it seems fairly self-explanatory or at least
interesting enough in the drawing not to warrant further explanation. As soon
as I read the phrase “I know they’re taking me to my doom -- but I don’t dare
resist!” I immediately thought “Yep, not an A.”
STORYTELLER'S
GRADE for "The Man Who Was Buried On Page 64": F
Story:
Cary Bates
Noam
Sythe is a brilliant, fame seeker who continuously gets overshadowed by other
global events. He attempts to create a news story so big he can’t possibly be
overlooked again. He creates Mento-Power to hypnotize three scientific leaders
in the fields of agriculture, astrophysics, and biology. Combining Mento-Power with
their intelligence, Sythe is able to project these powers onto the moon giving
it an atmosphere as well as primitive plants and animals. Unfortunately the
Mento-Power is also about to blow up the moon. Superman intervenes, but when Sythe
tries to stop him he is accidentally caught in the explosion of his own
Mento-Power.
REVIEW
It’s
hard to get excited about a story with a core plotline of terraforming the
moon.
Plus
anytime I read the word Mento-Power I could only think of this…
There
was one interesting element: Noam Sythe himself. Sythe should be the most
famous scientist ever. However, every time he makes a scientific breakthrough,
some global event occurs on that same day meaning that no one ever hears of his
accomplishments. For example, in 1927, Sythe discovered a prehistoric skull
that proved that man existed eons earlier than science believed, but on the
same day the headline of the newspaper was Lindbergh completing his flight across the Atlantic. In 1938, he
discovered a Dead Sea Scroll on the same day Orson Welles broadcast his
radio-scare about a Martian attack on earth. In 1945, he made a breakthrough in
earthquake detection on the same day the atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.
The list goes on and on. It's an interesting idea, what if your greatest accomplishments where always overshadowed by other world events?
How
I’d fix the story:
Noam
Sythe isn’t actually a bad guy and terraforming isn’t actually interesting. So
instead, what if Sythe decided that since his achievements always get buried
on the last page of the newspaper, why not rob banks or steal priceless
artifacts or become the dictator of your own country or something. Since you have
to tie the story into the cover (a la Julie Schwartz’s strategy of draw a cool
cover then figure out the story later), maybe Sythe kidnaps Superman in order to
boost his Mento-Power which plays a small part in the story as is. Now the
middle of the story focuses on Lois Lane trying to figure out what happened to
Superman. She finds a link between stories buried in the back of the newspapers
and ties them altogether to find Noam Sythe. Lois rescues Superman. Superman
stops Sythe. The story ends with a newspaper article on Sythe going off to jail,
but it’s buried on page 64 because the Metropolis baseball team wins the
championship.
ARTIST
GRADE for Superman: C-
Art:
Curt Swan, Murphy Anderson
So
it’s a tough task for an artist to make exciting art out of a story about
Mento-Power…
…and
terraforming
That
said, the artists basically phoned it in. Every page is a basic panel layout
with nothing dynamic. At one point, the story is so boring we get to see
Superman dream of writing in his diary.
STORYTELLER
GRADE for "Affair of the Bouncing Chair": B
Story:
Elliot Maggin
Ray
Palmer (aka The Atom) is observing a physics experiment when a chair off in the
other corner begins to bounce around. Palmer begins to investigate as the Atom
when an insect-like creature busts out of the leg of the chair. The bug is
growing at a rapid rate which the Atom successfully stops. The bug attacks the
Atom by shooting vibrations from its antennae. Palmer subdues the creature only
to discover that it is not trying to attack but to communicate. The Atom
deduces that the bug came from an atomic universe inside the molecules of the
chair leg and through a scientific accident enlarged itself into our universe.
The Atom uses his shrinking technology to return the creature to its universe.
REVIEW
It’s
a pretty tight story for only 7 pages, but I think it could honestly even been
shorter. The concept is interesting although not impactful to any real plot or character development in the grand scheme
of things, but what comic stories are in this era? My main complaint is that
Palmer kinda acts like a jerk to his physics student, rushing her away from the
lab with condescending sarcasm. It seems unnecessary, but maybe since I don't know the character very well, that’s an
aspect of Palmer’s personality that I just didn’t know. But it seems out of character from the previous stories I read.
ARTIST
GRADE for The Atom: A
Art:
Dick Dillin and Dick Giordano
I
wasn’t too fond of the subatomic creature, but it looks okay.
However
this is perhaps the best character drawings I’ve seen in a while. They are all
fairly consistent throughout the story (although the Atom’s hairstyle does
change a couple times from panel to panel). The art style is dated, but it could easy pass for high quality comics today although perhaps not for mainstream DC or Marvel. That’s a
rare feat since I have to grade most of the Superman art on a curve for the
70s, otherwise it’d get a D average at best.
Plus
I always enjoy a good pic of Palmer shrinking into the Atom.
While
the art and action is above average, the kicker is that the art foreshadows the
story. When the Atom attacks, you can see that the bug isn’t actually violent.
I
also love the scripting for its alien language.
And
last but certainly not least, check out that title graphic in the previous
section. I love how the chair is drawn right into words "Affair of the Bouncing Chair".
THEOLOGY
GRADE: A
The
Atom story ends with a comment that cuts so deep it almost feels out of place. “We’re
a strange breed, we humans…who react with violence to an open hand of
friendship!” It’s followed up with a few closing panels that are supersaturated
with a barrage of jokes about pizza and blondes and breaking chairs. Perhaps
the writer is trying to soften the blow - so much so that you almost forget the
harsh commentary on the violence of humans even though it’s the crux of the
whole story.
Ready
for another punch in the gut along the same lines: "The human heart is the
most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad
it is?” (Jeremiah 17:9) Didn’t know that was in the Bible, didya? That’s a far
cry from the inspirational saying, “follow your heart!” I believe there is a
universal truth that humans are fundamentally evil. That’s not to say that
people aren’t caring or generous or sympathetic, but at the deepest level,
people are self-centered.
“Hold
on now!” you might say. “I agree that people are self-centered, but self-centered
is way different than evil.” I would argue that self-centeredness, or selfishness,
is the source of all evil. And I’m not just talking about people like Hitler
either. I’m talking about all people. “Evil” is defined as behavior that is
morally wrong or bad, and “morals” are defined by a society as the acceptable
behaviors they follow. So something that is morally good in the USA may be morally
evil somewhere else. If we super simplify the whole thing, morality is a set of
rules for the good of everyone. So by definition, isn’t selfishness the exact
opposite? Selfishness is focusing on yourself instead of the good of everyone. So by definition, selfishness is immoral, and immoral is a nice way of saying "evil".
This
thought experiment is getting a little too theoretical, so let’s take a step
back. I believe that people are fundamentally evil no matter how many good
things they try to do. This isn’t an attempt to tear people down, but to point
out a fundamental flaw in all of humanity. The first step is admitting you have
a problem. People turn to many things to cope with their imperfections – drugs,
fame, power, family, love, pets – but I believe there is only one cure, and that
is Jesus. I say this not because it's what religious people say, but from personal
experience. I was depressed and angry and hurting (even though I went to church). Then I discovered what a real relationship with Jesus was like, and everything changed.
EXCESSIVE
USE OF FORCE:
Superman
rescues the president when his car crashes into a lake. How does Superman save the
president, you might ask? He could just pick up the car, right? That’s seems to
make the most sense. Well, not if it’s the first page of Action Comics. The writer’s
often like to open the comic with a jump right into some fantastic action
sequence with Superman. This time, instead of simply rescuing the president, he
freezes the whole lake. I suspect any living creature in that lake is now dead.
“But wait!” you might say. “I’ve seen a YouTube video where a guy freezes a
fish and then thaws it out and it’s just fine.” That is true, but from what I’ve read, I don’t think all fish can do that. Many kinds of fish in colder
regions can survive freezing to a degree. I’m not sure about the fish in a
seasonal environment like Metropolis, much less all the other creatures that
can’t survive like that. Just do a Google image search of “flash freeze lake”
you’ll be simultaneously amazed and creeped out.
DEAR
EDITOR (seen in #437):
Not much
in today’s letters regarding issue 433 except an odd criticism and over-analysis of Superman’s handwriting.
Although there is a follow-up letter to the mystery of Action Comics 429 and a couple readers want to talk about Superman being overworked at DC Comics and
how to enlarge the bottle city of Kandor.