Amazing World of Carmine Infantino (2022 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Challenge)

My Mount Rushmore of comics would be comprised of Stan Lee, Julius Schwartz, Will Eisner and Jack Kirby. After reading this book, I might have to change my line-up. 

I knew of Carmine Infantino's work on The Flash and ushering in the Silver Age of Comics. I was familiar with his work on Adam Strange and Star Wars. But I never really knew just how much of an influence on the DC Universe and comics itself that Infantino had until now.

If not for Infantino:

+ The look and feel of Batman would be very different including DC Comics' loss of rights to the character.

+ DC's 1960s beloved oddball characters such as Deadman, Detective Chimp, Bat Lash, and Strange Sports Stories would not exist. 

+ DC might have folded in the 1970s during a time when newly formed Warner Bros. was looking to unload the fledgling House of Superman that was being crushed by upstart Marvel Comics.

+ The policy of returning rights and artwork to artists might never occurred. Or possibly been seriously delayed well into the 80s or later.

And there is so much more. So much, it fills a volume!

Amazing World of Carmine Infantino is over 170 pages of comic book history. Filled with his artwork, sketches and words, this autobiography is also an oral history as many of Carmine's peers and influences offer insight. There's also a ton of praise from countless others who benefited from Infantino's talent and tutelage. 

Within the last year or so, I read the graphic novel biography of Jack Kirby. Having finished this autobiography, I see now how much Carimine Infantino was the Jack Kirby of DC Comics. He did everything. Infantino was a writer, plotter, artist, cover artist, editor, publisher and later DC Comics president. But unlike Kirby, Carmine didn't get as screwed by his publishers as The King did. As for when Kirby was with DC, the promised creator freedom didn't appear. Infantino doesn't seem to blame executives for the thriving failure of Krby's Fourth World as Jack always did. Infantino just blames poor sales and moves on.

Dosed Carmine paint a rosy picture of himself? To some degree. But he also seems not to bear grudges (though, boy, does he hate Bob Kane) and he is willing to point out his shortcomings and defeats. Don't expect to get too much a reveal in the artist's personal life once he gets going in the comics profession. 

An enjoyable book, Amazing World of Carmine Infantino highlights an exciting time in the comic book history- The Silver Age. If you are a Marvelite, you probably wont do flips for this book. But if you are also a comic book history, this is a fascinating account of how the 'enemy' operated in the early days of the war between DC and Marvel.

Now, who do I replace on my comic book Mount Rushmore???

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #28 (Prose non-fiction about Comic Book History) of the 2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

We Served The People: My Mother's Stories (Family Comic Friday)

A young cartoonist learns about her mother's life growing up in China's Cultural Revolution in the biographical graphic novel: We Served The People: My Mother's Stories.

We Served The People: My Mother's StoriesWritten and illustrated by Emei Burell
Published by Archaia/ BOOM! Studios
Pages: 160
Retail: $24.99

From 1966-1976, millions of children were uprooted from their homes and sent to work in rural populations of China. The idea was to strip away the last vestiges of Capitalism from Communist China. One way to do that was to move children from modern cities to work on farms and plantations. The idea was that this most simple was of life would make the citified children of China less Westernized. But it actually had a reverse affect on Emei Burell's mother.

We Served The People is a first person account of a Chinese young woman's time working for a rubber plantation nearly 800 miles away from her family in Beijing.  As one of the only women taught to drive and operate trucks and tractors, 'Mom' learns about engineering first hand. This opens her up to wanting to get her degree in engineering when she was finally allowed to return to the capital city to be reunited with her family.

I feel like there's a sequel to this story because there's this huge build-up towards getting Emei Burell's mother to Sweden where she will eventually continue her college education in the sciences. But before she ends up in Sweden, the story ends. Yet, I really feel that Mom Burell was just getting started.

For a book advertising the impact of the Cultural Revolution on a person, We Served The People was more passive. Red Scarf Girl is an excellent prose account of Ji-Li Jiang's mis-education at the hands of a program that experts agree was a giant step backwards for China. Jiang's memoir tells more of how she had to change whereas this graphic novel is more about the aftermath of the lost years of education at the hands of the Mao Zedong school of thought.

The stories in the book were very interesting. I just expected more accounts during the Cultural Revolution instead of afterwards. Emei's mother spent almost a decade away from her family. But not even half of this book is devoted to that time of separation. I was just left wanting more.

One thing that I was quite upset at having too much of is something I mentioned recently in another review. It's the waste of paper. In between the stories, BOOM! Studios and Archaia put 2-4 solid read pages as dividers. I'm sure that the cost of red ink isn't cheap. Plus, there's the fact that the first 10 pages of this book are blank as well. If you had omitted all of that, you would have shaved 30 pages from the book and probably could've sold it for under $20.

Comic book publishers have got some great stories, such as this one, to tell. But in order to survive this hostile economy, brought upon thanks to a pandemic and exorbitant production costs, changes to how our graphic novels are printed must occur. Please, don't go digital only! But consider trimming those blank pages in order to make graphic novels of historical importance, like We Served The People more affordable.

We Served The People: My Mother's Stories is currently available in print and digital formats.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Short & Skinny (A Family Comic Friday Extra)

Journey back to the summer of 1977 in this Family Comic Friday Extra. Short and Skinny is a biographical graphic novel of growing up small and scrawny and at the beginning of the era of Star Wars!

Short and Skinny
Written and Illustrated by Mark Tatulli
Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Pages: 256
Retail: $24.99

I was born in 1977. As a result, I am addicted to anything from that turning point year in pop culture history. Short and Skinny is the true story of how a certain movie from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away forever changed the life of junior high school student Mark Tatulli.

When the story opens, it's the last few days of the 1976-77 school year. Mark is the next-to-shortest kid in school. Lacking confidence and muscle mass, he's the target of bullies and ridicule from even the closet of friends. But then one day while at the movies, Mark sees a trailer for a little picture called Star Wars. As a result, what appears to be the worst summer break ever now might not be so bad.

Nostaligia is huge right now. The economic crisis, the war on terror and our volatile political climate has left many longing for the good old days of the 70s, 80s and 90s. Shows like Fresh Off The Boat, The Goldbergs and The Kids Are Alright are big hits because they remind us old folks of the fun of being a kid without much to fear. Short & Skinny is one of those books that I could see becoming a TV series. But I think it would be better at an animated show than live action.

One reason for this is how Mark Tatulli adds like segments like his dossiers on the bullies of his hometown as well as skits on how to make a model of the Death Star with zero money down. These kind of elements just scream the need to be animated instead of ever performed in live-action. Plus Tatulli’s art style is one not to be missed. It’s got elements of Calvin & Hobbes and Bloom County that would be sorely missed if a bunch of human actions were to play the roles of Mark and his family and friends.

This was a book that I didn’t want to end. It reminded me how 1977-1983 was a great time to be alive. Star Wars was king. Comic books were still considered for ‘all ages’. And while there was still the dangers of drugs and kidnappings and the Cold War, it just seemed far, far away. I know that that time period wasn’t perfect. But I appreciate Mark Tatulli’s look which removes many of the warts and winkles that sullied that time in history.

And if Short and Skinny can’t be developed into a series, then hopefully, we’ll get a sequel in which we see how Empire Strikes Back impacted Mark Tatulli’s life.

Short and Skinny is rated for those ages 8-12. Fans of Star Wars and parents who grew up in this era and want to share it with their kids or grand-kids will love this late 70s time capsule.

Short and Skinny debuted in print and digital formats on October 16, 2018.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

This review was concurrently published on Outrightgeekery.com.

Dark Knight: A True Batman Story

   In the early 90s, Paul Dini was on top of the world. His work on the Batman: The Animated Series won him an Emmy. The show was a massive hit. He had a hot (but not really serious) girlfriend. Dozens of projects were falling in line for the writer.   
    But it all came crashing down one warm night when two men mugged and savagely beat him. Dini needed months of surgery, recovery, and healing. Sadly, the celebrated screenwriter spiraled into a dark depression and alcohol problem. Thankfully, he had the characters of his beloved Batman series to help him find his way out into the light.
     Most Batman stories hint at real life but still fall quite short. This biographical look at a segment at Dini's life was the real deal. It was such an insightful look at the creation of one of my all-time favorite TV shows- not just cartoons- TV shows period!
     If you love Batman: The Animated Series. If you want the inside scoop at the creation of Harley Quinn, the Joker's girlfriend. If you love metaphysical and psychological true crime thrillers- this is the non-fiction Batman graphic novel you've been waiting for.
    A Must Read! But with very graphic violence and some very raw emotions and language, this DC/ Vertigo graphic novel is for mature readers only!

    Worth Consuming

    Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Amazing Fantastic Incredible: A Marvelous Memoir

   If I am wrong about this, forgive me- For the first time ever, Stan Lee recounts his 70+ years in the comics industry in graphic novel form. 
  
    It's the way Stan the Man's autobiography was meant to be presented. From his earliest days at Atlas (now Marvel) as a copyboy for Joe Simon and Jack Kirby to surviving the great comics scare of the 1950s to partnering with the King to create the Marvel Universe up to his ubiquitous cameos in the Marvel Cinematic Universe- this epic work has it all.

   Some of these tales I've read before. Maybe not from Stan's mouth but I've heard many of the anecdotes before. But, to have the master's spin put on them, it's really cool. 

   However, the truth must be told, I think Lee does paint himself in a way too positive light. For example, in his numerous battles with Atlas/Marvel owner Martin Goodman, Stan is seen constantly fighting for his zany superhero ideas and bullpen of talent. But like they say 'the history books are written by the victors' and many of Lee's detractors are either no longer without or really bitter...

   Assisting Stan is the great Peter David (The Incredible Hulk) on co-writing duties with Colleen Doran (The Nightmare Factory) on art. Obviously, I can tell what Doran was responsible for but the dialogue and history of comics, I couldn't tell you where Stan Lee ends and Peter David begins. The writing talents are that seamless!
   
Amazing Fantastic Incredible is a work that I've seen many fans of comics have posted about on social media since the graphic novel hit stores in November of last year. Sadly, the reviews for this book have been mixed. Most of the complaints I've seen  have accused Lee of being a revisionist historian (remember what I said about the author and his frequent battles with his publisher earlier?) 

   But I loved this book!  The writing was unparalleled- what do you expect from the combined might of Stan Lee and Peter David?! But don't forget the art! Doran takes every page and has filled them with great easter eggs and original prints, and much more. This book is the ultimate feast for the eyes of any comics fan, be ye solely in the Marvel or DC camps!

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 10 out of 10 stars