Showing posts with label newspaper strip reprints. Show all posts
Showing posts with label newspaper strip reprints. Show all posts

Popeye, Vol. 3: Let's You and Him Fight Review

Popeye, Vol. 3: Let's You and Him Fight
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Are you looking to buy Popeye, Vol. 3: Let's You and Him Fight? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Popeye, Vol. 3: Let's You and Him Fight. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Popeye, Vol. 3: Let's You and Him Fight ReviewFamous characters that have stood the test of time generally evolve into something much greater then their creators could have ever envisioned. Few people look back at the Siegel and Schuster days as the height of Superman or the Kane and Finger tenure helming Batman as the characters peak. Ian Fleming wrote some fine spy novels but without the films Bond would be just another fairly non-descript spy in an obscure series of books. In this respect Popeye is the rare exception to the rule because no one has ever outdone E.C. Segar. Rather than expand on Segar's wonderful, multidimensional Popeye later writers have only watered him down. Even the brilliant Fleischer cartoons failed to capture Segars magic. Segar had a much richer, livelier world for Popeye than any later incarnations. In the nearly 80 year history of Popeye THIS is the best.
If you've never read Segar's Popeye you're in for a shock. Popeye is rude, crude and often a bully. He has a soft spot for hard luck cases but his desire to help often backfires. What makes Segar so great is that he develops Popeye into a fully three dimensional character flaws and all. In one story Popeye tries to help the poor farmers of Nazilia by insisting that King Blozo give each one a doorknob sized hunk of gold. This ends up shattering the countries economy which is exactly what would happen. Segar delves into some deep philosophical issue concerning the danger of excessively helping the poor and the unfortunate fact that sometimes even the best of intentions can blow up in a persons face. After the economy is repaired King Blozo's kingship is challenged by General Bunzo from volume 2 in a general election. Popeye attempts to rig the election and Segar shows awareness for the dubious morality of Popeye's actions.
Popeye expresses his philosophy of life saying, "I don't do good deeds to get credick. I does `em on account of they oughter get done... an if ya does good deeds jus' to get yerself a swell seat in heaven yer selfish. The only reward ya should expeck for doin' right is the sort of cumfterble feelin wich ya get from doin it" That is an amazingly deep statement coming from a character in a daily comic. The above quote is expressed as an explanation as to why he is helping Wimpy to earn enough money to help his mother afford a place to live. Popeye ill conceived plan is to buy Wimpy a hamburger stand with hopes of turning a profit. When Wimpy inevitably eats his own product Popeye simply gives Wimpy five grand to pass on to his mother. To Wimpy's credit he does give the money to his mother... right before hitting her up for some cash which he proceeds to spend on burgers. Segar sets up an admirable philosophy for Popeye and then shows its flaws. Segar's Popeye is not a great man but he is a complex man with flashes of greatness. This is exactly what elevates Segar above the rest.
This book features a ton of famous firsts including the first appearances of Swee'Pea and Mr. Geezel and the single appearance of Bluto who gets the business end of Popeye's devastating "Twisker Punch". Wimpy is given a much larger role and pretty much takes center stage in the color Sunday comics. The Sundays center around Popeye, Wimpy and Roughhouse and they're at least as much fun as the dailies. Wimpy may be the most amoral character ever to exist in the funny pages. In one hilarious comic Popeye bets a man ten bucks that Wimpy wouldn't choke his own grandmother for a burger. After devising a plan to test Wimpy Popeye ends up ten dollars lighter. Finally let me state that the E.C. Segar comics are clearly a product of the depression era where a violent sailor with poor grammar could be a hero. On the other hand the Segar Popeye, who is fast approaching his 80th birthday, holds up amazingly well and feels much less dated than other decades old characters. If I could give this book six stars I would.
Finally let me close with one quick joke as an example of Segar's wonderful comedic flair....
Popeye: Nothin kin kill me Mr. Works I yam immoral
Mr. Works: You mean immortal
Popeye: I means what I means - tha's what I meansPopeye, Vol. 3: Let's You and Him Fight Overview

Want to learn more information about Popeye, Vol. 3: Let's You and Him Fight?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future: The Biography Review

Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future: The Biography
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Are you looking to buy Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future: The Biography? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future: The Biography. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future: The Biography ReviewProbably every boy in post-war Britain, now grown to manhood, remembers The Eagle, and its unforgettable space hero, Dan Dare. The reminiscence which opens Dan Dare: The Biography, however, may seem a bit unusual, as it's by Monty Python member Terry Jones. There are also bits by, since it's a British book, "Sir" Elton John and "Sir" Richard Branson, although US readers may shrink from the honorary titles. But that may just be the price of admission for former colonists seeking to enter the world of post-war Britain, and to unearth the fascinating story of the Eagle and Dan Dare.
Absent the appendix, this hardback runs about 200 pages, with seven sections of sewn in color plates, equaling roughly 60 pages of color photographs, along with black and white photos in the text. The author also edited the Eagle Annuals, 1950 Eagle Annual: The Best of the 1950s Comic*Features Dan Dare, the Greatest Comic Strip of All Time and 1960 Eagle Annual: The Best of the 1960s Comic: Features Dan Dare, the Rolling Stones, the Space Race and World Cup 66 Previewed. The Eagle was a boy's paper, in the parlance of the time, (later there was a companion girl's paper) begun in 1950 by Marcus Morris, a Royal Air Force (RAF) chaplain, and Tatarsky reveals that Dan was originally conceived as a chaplain for the Inter-Planet Patrol, as illustrated in color pics of the first Eagle dummy sheets. Another set of plates compares characters from the comic, which ran on the front page of the Eagle, as drawn by the Eagle's four principle artists: Frank Hampson, the originator of Dan Dare; Frank Bellamy; Don Harley; and Keith Watson. All were top-notch artists, and each has his fans.
The comic ran in cliff-hanger form, with long story arcs, and appendix one gives a synopsis of each story, from 1950-1967 (there are 33 story arcs, if I counted right). Hampson created a multi-storied world of the sort that would later come to life in TV SF series like Star Trek in the US and Dr. Who in the UK. No wonder Dan Dare is slated for the big screen. Large, color hardback collections of the Dan Dare stories have been published by Titan Books in the UK, beginning with "Voyage to Venus", which Tatarsky notes, is another name for the first story, "Dan Dare: Pilot of the Future"Classic Dan Dare: Voyage to Venus, Part 1, and which currently run to numerous volumes.
Eight color plates are devoted to Dan Dare merchandise, which accompanies the chapter, "Selling Dan", but it's the tip of the iceberg. A great deal more DD paraphernalia is shown in the Dan Dare chapter of the dazzling collector's book, Blast Off! Blast Off! Rockets, Robots, Ray Guns, and Rarities from the Golden Age of Space Toys along with more recounted tales of the era of Dan Dare in the UK. One reason Dan Dare comics look so realistic and detailed is that Hampson and later artists worked from live models, and the sets look like props from a Gerry Anderson Supermarionation show (another unique SF contribution from the UK).
The appeals of Dan Dare are endless: US readers will be amazed to discover this vital stream of post-war Britain. The work of all four artists will enchant any fan of comic art; the endlessly engaging, multi-faceted story arcs will captivate any SF fan; and maybe part of the appeal is what Dan Dare represents: the hope that somehow good guys can make a difference.Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future: The Biography OverviewA major comic book hero-soon to be featured in a major Hollywood film-gets the star treatment in this lavishly illustrated biography. Dan Dare is the creation of legendary artist Frank Hampson, and for more than 50 years his interplanetary adventures captured the imagination of readers around the world. The success of films like Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow demonstrate the massive appeal of Dan's kind of retro-futurism. The author, with access to the original writers and illustrators and the entire Dan Dare archive, captures all the excitement of the original strips, while painting a portrait of a bygone age of comic book history.

Want to learn more information about Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future: The Biography?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...