Notes about this comic review: As an amateur script writer, cartoonist, and Sunday School teacher, I grade against the curve I know. You may ask what the Sunday School teacher grades against. I’m not trying to be the CCA. As a Sunday School teacher I use metaphors to bridge the gap in our understand of God. My Sunday School grade is based on how good of a Sunday School lesson I could pull out of the story.
COVER GRADE: C
Penciler: Nick Cardy
I enjoy the art on this cover. “Genie” Superman being birthed from the melodies of an arachno-snake charmer seems like an awesome idea, BUT this cover suffers heavily because the “story” told on the cover contradicts the story in the book! I’ve read about DC premier editor of the day, Julie Schwartz, frequently creating a cool cover and then telling the writers to work around it. I would have to believe this was a failed attempt at this template. I felt bad being so harsh with the grading on the cover because it’s probably more the fault of the writer for not following suit. I mean seriously. This cover writes its own story. Arachno-snake charmer challenges Superman with his “Genie” Superman. Epic fight ensues. Just as Superman is about to be defeated, he destroys Arachno-snake charmer’s flute-accordion-bagpipe-thingy thus saving the universe! See you next month! BUT that’s not the way the story goes (which is unfortunate cuz that story probably would have been better than what we got). So why hurt the cover art instead of the writer? Two reasons: (1) in some strange emotional way I felt let down by the art and not the story, and (2) the more I look at the cover, the more I really only love the look of “Genie” Superman. Arachno-snake charmer is interesting but not a standout. And regular Superman seems rather plain. Plus, why is Superman standing on a rock that says “SUPERMAN OF EARTH?” Does he keep it around for just such an occasion when a look-a-like from another world shows up? However, having said that, if there was a rock that said “SUPERMAN OF EARTH” I would totally use it for a photo-op. So thanks for that idea at least.
In honor of Nick Cardy, who recently passed away at the ripe old age of 93, and his frequently fine work on the covers of Action Comics, I want to send him off in a brighter light. So let’s take a quick look at Action Comics #418 to see an example of Nick Cardy’s prime cuts of meat.
It’s a simple layout with expressive, emotional, over-the-top action. It is poster worthy in every regard. Now that’s a good looking cover!
STORYTELLER'S GRADE for "The Made-To-Order Menace": C
Writer: Elliot Maggin
The core of this story is pretty “meh,” but the dueling subplots converge to provide a lot of fun. So let’s start with the boring stuff.
MAIN PLOT: Enter Towbee, minstrel of space…
He is neither good, nor bad, nor interesting, EXCEPT for his hairdo.
How do you classify this hairstyle? Multiple Choice:
(A) Beard comb-over
(B) He accidentally sucked his long hair into his nose
(C) His beard and hair just literally connected in some science defying way
(D) Interstellar weave of epic proportions
Anyways, Towbee has heard of Superman and wants to see how good he really is so he can use it as his next great story to tell. Towbee plays his Screensong, “an instrument that casts solid images as well as sounds,” and creates a large space bat. Towbee names his beast Artnig after a space pirate he knows. (I was hoping for a cool cross reference here, but I can’t find any other character in the DC universe named Artnig. Hopefully it’s a writer’s inside joke.) Towbee sends Artnig down to earth with no really plan in mind except to get a rise out of Superman.
Artnig decides to capture Clark Kent to draw out Superman in an standard “Bruce Wayne Held Hostage” stereotype. Without a cloud in the sky for cover to change into Superman, an environmentally-friendly Clark kills two birds with one stone.
Long story short, Clark changes into Superman and confronts Towbee in outer space.
From this encounter, Superman figures out Towbee’s creations are composed of light. With big glob of plastic that Superman borrows from his local plastic factory, he creates a special lens the appropriately diffracts the light that Artnig is made of into a beautiful explosion.
Towbee loves the story and heads back to outer space to tell it to everyone.
Fortunately for us, his story is over. It was pretty standard and mostly hurt by Towbee’s less than interesting, borderline villainy. Why didn’t they follow the obvious story from the cover!
SUBPLOT: Here’s where it gets a little more interesting…
Danny Victor is a boy with a dream to be in television. He visits his favorite TV host, Johnny Nevada to ask for a job. (This is the first of a 7 appearances of this Johnny Carson parody. Get it? Like Carson City in Nevada! Ha-HA!)
On his quest for his big break, Danny catches up with Clark Kent in an attempt to get a word in with Superman. But that’s right as Artnig attacks as mentioned before. So here’s the interesting part, when Clark Kent changes into Clark Kent and escapes Artnig, Towbee sends an replica Clark Kent because every story needs a damsel in distress.
Superman knows that this Clark is a decoy, but Danny Victor decides to save the day!
Danny asks fake-Clark to get Superman on the Johnny Nevada show. Fake-Clark, following his role as mild-mannered reporter, is so grateful to be saved that he immediately agrees. Superman arrives just in time to find out.
It’s a strange and interesting twist to an otherwise standard story. But now we have a separate Clark Kent and Superman. How do we resolve this problem?
Check out the conclusion in the SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER GRADE…
STORYTELLER GRADE for "The King of the Jungle Contract": B
Writer: Len Wein
This was another predictable but entertaining short story on Christopher Chance, the Human Target. A rather abrasive man named Gunther King interrupts (and steals) Chance’s dinner meal. He claims to be the best African safari hunter/guide and believes he is being hunted by his top rival, Ernest Holaway. (Is this an Ernest Hemingway rip-off or a play on Haul-away as in taking all the animals from Africa?)
According to a nifty chart by the American Institute for Economic Research, $10,000 in 1972 would be about $53,797 in 2011. That sounds like too low a figure to be a stand-in for a man about to die. Maybe it’s okay if Chance is doing some charity work, but King isn’t exactly poor and he doesn’t get the nice guy discount.
Chance encounters two “accidents” involving the five most difficult animals in Africa to hunt on foot known as the Big Five. Holaway starts easy with a leopard and then moves on to the most deadly animal in Africa (dun dun DUN!), the Cape Buffalo!
Wait, what? Cape Buffalo? This statement is actually true when it comes to hunting. The Cape buffalo reportedly causes the most hunter deaths because wounded animals will ambush and attack pursuers.
After escaping two of the Big Five, Chance is taking fire from someone in the distance.
It turns out to be King who shows up just in time to shoot Holaway and save Chance. But…
Chance and King are rather evenly matched in the fight which unfortunately ends more by accident than skill…
I guess it’s a good thing King paid in advance.
ARTIST GRADE for Superman: C
Penciler: Curt Swan, Inker: Murphy Anderson
After reading the story, I’m having a hard time remembering how I felt about the art one way or another. I can’t recall any big gaffs, but at the same time nothing really stuck out to me as interesting. The only thing that really comes to mind is when Artnig breaks into Clark’s room.
I guess neither bad nor great is the definition of average.
ARTIST GRADE for Human Target: B-
Penciler/Inker: Dick Giordano
I enjoy the art, but it doesn’t draw me into the story. The main reason that this grade sneaks out of the C range is that the dynamic and interesting panel layouts give a great flow to the story.
So the art flows by in a neat way, but it never really has the depth to immerse you deeper into the story. But, hey, this part was cool…
SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER GRADE: A+
I love the simplicity and intelligence of the ending of “The Made-To-Order Menace.” Through a simple, logical thought process, Superman solves the problem of what to do with an additional Clark Kent.
I think as Christians, a lot of times we think we are Clark Kent, but the truth is that we are also a Superman underneath. The verse that comes to mind is John 14:12 “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father(NIV).” I recently heard an argument that in this verse Jesus is not talking about us doing things that are greater in power or greater in kind but greater in extent. In this argument, “you will do greater things than these” means that we will take the gospel farther than Jesus ever could. This argument is very comforting to the average 1stworld citizen living a comfortable life. I’ve never seen any miraculous healings or people being raised from the dead so that gives me some comfort that I’m doing fine where I am. But what about the next couple verses? “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” So when Jesus says “anything” was he actually saying “anything specifically related to furthering the gospel in a reasonable manner” or did he mean “ANYTHING”? Jesus wasn’t the only one who did miracles in the Bible. What about the disciples? What about Paul? Did God give them something that isn’t available to us? So either we can ask God for anything (which includes miracles) or we’re forced to say that the Bible isn’t true.
It’s comfortable to live in mediocrity as Clark Kent, but don’t forget that the “Clark Kent” persona was created for Superman to fit in on earth. You may look like Clark Kent, but if God created you, Jesus died for you, and the Holy Spirit lives in you, aren’t you really also a replica of Superman? It’s important to remember that it’s not you doing the miracles, but God wants to do miraculous things through you.
It’s comfortable to live in mediocrity as Clark Kent, but don’t forget that the “Clark Kent” persona was created for Superman to fit in on earth. You may look like Clark Kent, but if God created you, Jesus died for you, and the Holy Spirit lives in you, aren’t you really also a replica of Superman? It’s important to remember that it’s not you doing the miracles, but God wants to do miraculous things through you.
CLARK KENT’S MONTHLY GOOF:
Remember, kids, A.1. is how steak is done!
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE:
“…and then gathering great piles of sand from the beach, fusing the sand together with super-pressure to construct a dike of super-hard glass to keep back the flood!” So this tsunami is about to hit Roditin, India. Superman follows the common solution for holding back flooding with the sand bag wall, except he packs his sand into glass. Awesome, but excessive. I tried looking up Roditin, but it didn’t exist according the Wikipedia or Google. I have a conspiracy theory that this town was abandoned thanks to Superman’s misguided save. Perhaps Roditin was a coastal town primarily inhabited by poor fishermen. As a comparison, a cyclone reached the coast of India the night of December 5th, 1972 (perhaps the disaster in this comic is based on this real event). 80 people were killed and 30,000 people left homeless. (Cool side note: this cyclone is visible on The Blue Marble photo taken by Apollo 17. It’s in the top right corner.) This sounds like a win for Superman averting that disaster. However, in the months that followed, the giant, super-hard glass wall blocking the entire coastline completely unbalanced the ecosystem. Within days the fishermen of Roditin are forced to leave the area because they are literally blocked off from their livelihood. Within months the rest of the town of Roditin is completely deserted along with any other community blocked off from the sea from the super-wall. The effects on the flora and fauna are undoubtedly changed but difficult to quantify. End result of Superman’s save: 0 dead, thousands left homeless, ecosystem completely altered. So I guess in the end Superman still wins, just not as awesomely as it first seemed.
Dear Editor (seen in #424):
The second comes from Seba Whitney from Alpena, MI saying "This Towbee fellow is none to bright either! On the last two panels of page 14, Superman stands a good 2 to 3 inches over Towbee's Clark." E.N.B.'s response provided the real interest. "We can explain the 'error' concerning Clark's height. The real Clark deliberately slumps slightly in order to appear shorter than Superman. So Towbee didn't goof after all." Interesting.