Ghosts and Girls of Fiction House

This YOe Books/IDW Publishing collaboration seemed doomed almost from the start. 

Craig Yoe's forward that recounts how he was first introduced to Fiction House's massive anthology series Jumbo Comics was a brilliant piece. Then we get an introduction by noted comic book historian Michael H. Price. However, his look at Jumbo Comics is a rambling mess that leads the reader to believe that they'll be experiencing stories of jungle goddess Sheena, swashbuckling tales adapted from Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo and Mickey Mouse inspired funny animal yarns written and illustrated by comic book legends such as Al Feldstein, Bob Kane and Matt Baker. Yet all you get once you slough through about 50 pages of pre-code comics commentary,, that seems more like an commercial for the authority's other scholarly works, is a collection of spectral tales called The Ghost Gallery. 

Jumbo Comics had about a dozen regular features that appeared in the publication's 15 year history. The book was known for it's voluptuous dames, thanks in very large part to Feldstein, Baker and Maurice Whitman. Yet none of these artists worked on The Ghost Gallery. Or if they did, none of their efforts are presented in this 2015 hardcover, except for a few sketches and completed pieces. Instead, one should expect to view the efforts of Alex Blum, Bob Hebberd and the famed but more anonymous staff of the Iger Shop. That's right; a lot of the work in this book was considered so beneath the staff at Fiction House, that it was sourced out to an art house and the lack of creativity and love for the source material shows.

Officially, it was titled The Ghost Gallery by Drew Murdoch. Only there was no Drew Murdoch on the Fiction House staff. He's actually the main character. You might think that he's narrating each story. But aside from the first page (and maybe the very last panel) which would have Murdoch explaining his paranormal investigations to a cynical criminologist, the author of these mortifying myths takes a more active role in the story. 

The stories seemed rushed, which is how it was in the Golden Age of comics. The more pages turned out, the more money a writer, artist or inker could make. Artistically, the art isn't bad. But it doesn't stand out amongst the crowds either. Here, it's the writing which is not all that good. The plots have more holes than Swiss cheese, and there seems to be massive edits throughout the flow of the adventures. That leads me to believe that perhaps the writer had these vast plots that due to time or page allotments had to be trimmed - alot!

Thankfully, the stories get better towards the end. Sadly, the less we see of Drew Murdoch, the better the ghost tales got. Eventually, Murdoch became a phantom in his own series, though his name remained in the title. Eventually, Fiction House too gave up the ghost when the comics scare saw an end to all but a handful of publishers by the end of the 1950s.

I just wasn't a fan of this book. I tried to enjoy it and it did get better the last third of the book. But I really could have done without all of the extraneous information about both the publisher history and all the extra details on the other features that appeared in Jumbo Comics but not in this volume. It was almost like Michael H. Price wrote an essay about the entire company's publishing history in hopes that would be used in other future Yoe publications that feature the other stars of Jumbo Comics. A clever way to save money- sure. And maybe this generalized history was Craig Yoe's idea. Regardless, it is not a great way to introduce readers to what they might find inside, especially if they bought this book expecting to find works by the omitted artists praised in the prose section of the book.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Ditko's Monsters

IDW Publishing remembers the late, great Steve Ditko in an over-sized special devoted to a pair of B-movie monsters.

Ditko’s Monsters
Written by Joe Gill
Art by Steve Ditko
Edited by  CraigYoe, with assistance from Christopher Yoe
Reprints Gorgo #1 & 8 (Charlton Comics, 1961-65);
Konga #5&6 (Charlton Comics, 1960-65)
Published by IDW Publishing with Yoe! Books

The British-American sci-films Gorgo and Konga aren’t original sci-fi movies from the Atomic Age. The pint-sized (for his species) Gorgo is a cousin of Toho’s Godzilla. Meanwhile, Konga is a descendant of the long-line of giant apes that evolved from RKO’s King Kong. Yet despite their cookie-cutter appearances, both Gorgo and Konga have developed cult followings.

The reason why both are mainstays in the schlock B-movie community of fans is because of their reign as kings of the comic book in the early 1960s. Charlton Comics was able to snag licensing rights to both properties at a time when both Godzilla and Kong were noticeably absent from the spinner rack.

The two titles continued the adventures of Gorgo and Konga long after the credits had rolled. The first issue of both series were adaptations of each character’s solo films. Then for the next 5 years, Charlton released 56 issues (23 issues per character) that pitted Gorgo and Konga against mutated prehistoric creatures, unsavory businessmen and the occasional nuclear bomb! Leading the charge in both titles was the yet unknown Steve Ditko.

Ditko’s time with Charlton occurred just prior to his co-creation of his most iconic characters such as Spider-Man, Doctor Strange and Doctor Octopus. Along with writer Joe Gill, with whom Ditko created Captain Atom and Blue Beetle at Charlton, Ditko took readers on masterful adventures of giant creatures without being credited. But now thanks to IDW Publishing and Yoe! Books, the master is finally getting his just due!

Yoe! Books has been known as a rising leader in publishing lost comic gems from the 1940s-60s. However, most of the books edited and compiled by Craig Yoe, while stunningly beautiful and remastered, aren’t very cheap. But in Ditko’s Monsters, fans of kaiju-like giants and Steve Ditko can enjoy a Yoe! quality edition in comic book format for a wallet friendly price. Plus, you get informative forewords from Tony Isabella and Steve’s nephew Mark Ditko, just like in a hardback Yoe! publication!

Ditko’s Monsters reprints a total of 4 issues from Steve Ditko’s time at Charlton. Issue #1 of Gorgo recounts the events that took place in the 1961 live-action feature in which the junior dinosaur is kidnapped by deep-sea scavengers. The second adventure has Gorgo being kidnapped again, this time by Soviet agents! In both stories, Gorgo’s momma is mad and ready to destroy entire cities just to get her baby back!

The Konga stories are from later in the comic adaptations run. Here in issues 5-6, scientists try to revert the giant ape back into his original form as a chimpanzee. I’m going to need Charles Darwin’s help to figure out how a chimp can change into a gorilla. But that sort of plot gaff is actually the fault of the 1961 John Lemont movie and not the team of Gill and Ditko.

All of the stories chosen for Ditko’s Monsters were selected by Giffin Yoe. Young Griffin is already showing signs of the mastery and love of classic comic books like his father Craig has for the medium. I liked the issues the editor choose for this book. But I preferred the Gorgo stories to those of Konga. The artwork is more alive with an explosive palette of colors. Plus, the Konga tales seem a little disjointed, with some scenes of action getting a bit repetitive in the transition from issues #5 to #6. Unfortunately, unlike what it says on both sides of this flip-book comic, Gorgo and Konga never fight each other, except for a place in fans hearts.

Ditko’s Monsters is a book that I hope to see more of from IDW and Yoe! They don’t have to be about Gorgo or Konga. It would be amazing to have more 100-page specials devoted to lost comics of my dad’s youth. Maybe one could be of the Lonely War of Captain Willy Schultz or a special on the lost Captain Marvel character from M.F. Enterprises! If such occurs, here’s hoping that young Griffin Yoe will get more chances to oversee the editing process!

A perfect read for fans of MST3K, Svengoolie, The Bone Jangler or Steve Ditko! Ditko’s Monsters debuted in print on April 17th, 2019.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Milt Gross' New York

DC's pair of New York World's Fair Comics are the cultural benchmark of that global event. Superman went from kids curiosity to household name to worldwide icon thanks to these publications. Batman and Robin jumped in visibility too, though maybe not yet to the extent of the Man of Steel.

The two volumes of World's Fair Comics weren't the only funny books being peddled from 1939-40. There was another comic being sold during that time as well. That's My Pop! Goes Nuts for Fair was an early precursor to the modern graphic novel. However, with a 25 cent price tag, unusual New Yawker-style syntax and phrases, and an unfamiliar lead character, the book was a minuscule seller and long forgotten by collectors and historians- until now! 

Previous to this collection's 2015 publishing, the great comic book historian Craig Yoe had crafted a retrospect on That's My Pop! creator, Milt Gross. During his research, Yoe learned of the World's Fair book. But apparently, he couldn't find any evidence of the book. Once The Complete Milt Gross Comic Books and Life Story debuted, Yoe's search finally bore fruit. A rare comics collector sought of  Craig Yoe and presented him a very delicate copy of the missing book Finally, this lost treasure was allowed to return to print and countless new generations of comic book fans. 

Comic book legend Jim Steranko pens the forward. A product of the same New York as Milt Gross, Steranko reveals how the cartoonist inspired him as well as capture the Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD innovator's childhood neighborhood. Yoe continues with an introduction into the history of Milt Gross' That's My Pop! comic strip. He also explains about the history of this book's 1939 production and subsequent failure to find an audience. 

When I read from both Steranko and Yoe that this book was full of zany dialect, I was a little apprehensive to read this book further. But my wife knew that I am a fan of Jewish humor, Yoe Books and comics history in general. This was a gift! So I pressed on. 

The meat of this volume was actually very good. It's full of clever gags about a man named Pop, who will do anything to save a buck as equally will he attempt to earn a dollar! Some of Pop's schemes are as elaborate as the plans of a Rube Goldberg machine. More often than not, Pop's cons are discovered by the local authorities. Sometimes, the proud papa succeeds!  Always off to the corner is Pop's tow-haired son, in awe of his old man's genius. 

Milt Gross' comic book is something that could not be published today. His 'tar-baby' renderings of African Americans are just one example of stereotypes portrayed in this book. I highly doubt that the Jewish Milt Gross was racist. His humor just reflects the time period, warts and all. 

I am actually glad that Craig You doesn't edit these books. He is a historian and he believes that to revise these works would actually cloud an observers view of the true nature of time period. Being a history major, I agree with this theory.

To erase all presence of past wrongs doesn't make the world better. If anything, it prevents us from trying to do better than our parents and grandparents. They say that failure to learn from the mistakes of history causes us to repeat it. If we can't remember the mistakes of the past, we'll never have an example in which to learn from.

To all publishers out- learn from Craig Yoe! Don't be like DC Comics and cancel a collection of classic comics that depict false characterizations of minorities. Print them as ugly as they are! Then use your introduction, foreword and even afterwords to reinforce that those ideals aren't who you are anymore.

IDW Publishing- I applaud you for supporting Yoe Books in the creation of these time capsules. They are an informative and educational as they are entertaining!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.